Charles and Camilla treated to 'best of Irish' in advance of St Patrick's Day Participate Sign up for our weekly Chiswick newsletter Comment on this story on the Prince Charles had the chance to learn how to pull a pint of Guinness when he and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, paid a visit to the Irish Cultural Centre this week ( March 15th) to mark the centre's 25th anniversary. Staff and volunteers turned out to welcome the Prince of Wales and his wife, (who was wearing a green dress for the occasion) before they were given a whistle-stop display of Irish music and dancing in advance of the centre's St Patrick's Day festivities. Prince Charles went behind the bar in the foyer of the Centre, where bar staff member Jude demonstrated how to tilt a pint glass and pour in the Guinnesss. He was given a round of applause for his efforts, amid shouts of 'Slainte', but there wasn't time for more than a sip of the drink before he had to move on. The visitors then viewed an energetic performance by young Irish dancers, and were shown around an exhibition of contemporary Irish art by curator Barbara Stanley. The Prince unveiled a plaque commemorating the 25th years of the centre. He and his wife also met a group of Irish nurses who work in the NHS. The visit took place ahead of the royal couple's forthcoming trip to Ireland next week. The royal visitors were officially welcomed by the chairman of the ICC Board, Peter Power-Hynes and greeted by all the members of the board, before being shown around by cultural director Rosalind Scanlon. The party also chatted with members of the local knitting circle, many of whom are long-time emigrants from Ireland and they also joined in singing 'The Mountains of Mourne' with choir members. They also visited the Library and chatted with volunteer John Byrne. The atmosphere throughout the visit was described as relaxed and friendly and there was general agreement that the visitors seemed genuinely interested in everyone and enjoyed their experience. The ICC has been the home of Irish culture for the last 25 years and became a registered charity in 2013 before re-opening a new centre in 2017. As well as a new foyer, bar, and mezzanine area, the centre has a large performance auditorium ,together with several rooms where cultural events and performances relating to irish music, film, literarture and art, as well as classes lectures and conferences, take place. The Centre also plays an active role in the wider community, with open-access programmes for all ages and interests and backgrounds. Valuee Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. 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The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 As a kid growing up in church, I remember being warned about meditation. Meditation was a weird and scary habit, something practiced by Hollywood actors who sat in a lotus position while reciting ancient Hindu mantras. Perhaps because of the fear that meditation is too closely connected to Eastern religion, Ive rarely heard of a pastor encouraging his congregation to meditate. The Bible does encourage Gods people to meditate on his word, though. In Psalm 1:2, the Scripture says that the blessed man meditates on Gods law, day and night. Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, tells us at least six times about the importance of meditating on Gods Word. In Philippians 4:8, Paul tells his readers to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure and so on. The Greek word he uses in that passage is one that has the idea of carefully pondering or reflecting upon certain things. In other words, were called to meditate on what is true, and what greater truth is there than the word of God? Biblical meditation is quite different from Buddhist or Hindu meditation, however. The goal of meditation in Eastern religions is to empty the mind of all thoughts, desires or opinions. The goal of biblical meditation is instead to fill our minds with the truth of Gods word. What were hoping to do when we meditate on Scripture is to replace our sinful and fleshly thoughts with the holy and spiritual thoughts of God. How do we meditate on the Scripture, then? Meditation begins with simply reading a section of the Bible repeatedly, perhaps five or six times in a row. I find that it helps to read it aloud and not merely inside my mind. Saying something out loud engages not only our minds in the act of meditation, but also our bodies. Speaking aloud also helps us with memorization the more we repeat a passage out loud, the more likely it is to stick in our minds so that we can remember it later. While reading the passage, we want to turn the words over in your mind. In other words, meditation calls us to think carefully about the words that were reading. We can formulate questions and answer them to ourselves to better understand Gods word. Heres an example: Imagine youre reading Psalm 1:1: Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. After you read it aloud several times, you might ask yourself, Why is there a progression of movement in this verse, from walking to standing to sitting? Or, What does it mean to be blessed? Or perhaps, What are the benefits of delighting in Gods law? You can simply ponder those questions and consider the answers to them in your mind. Then ask God to give you wisdom to understand his word in deeper ways. Meditation isnt quite the same as studying the Bible in detail. When we meditate, were just pondering Gods word, chewing on it in our minds, and allowing the spirit of God to speak through its words. When were meditating on Scripture, we arent necessarily writing anything down or parsing Greek words. Were simply letting Gods word saturate our hearts and minds so that it becomes a part of us. As it does that, the Holy Spirit will begin to transform the way we think. Our values will slowly align with the values of God. Fleshly thoughts anger, lust, pride, greed, envy, and the like will be replaced with spiritual thoughts and feelings. Meditation isnt a pathway to immediate spiritual transformation, but it is a powerful step in the process of learning to know and apply Gods word. So theres no need to be afraid of biblical meditation. It isnt some weird spiritual exercise invented by celebrities and New Age gurus. Instead, its a biblical practice that, when properly applied, helps us to know and obey God in deeper ways. Matt Morton is the teaching pastor at the Creekside Campus of Grace Bible Church in College Station. Former United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron visited Aggieland on Friday night to discuss the state of the UKs alliance with the United States, the war in Ukraine and much more during the Memorial Student Center Wiley Lecture Series at Texas A&M Universitys Rudder Auditorium. Cameron served as prime minister from 2010 to 2016 and became the youngest prime minister since 1812. He opened the lecture by sharing the details of his recent trip to Ukraine. Two weeks ago I loaded up a truck full of food, clothes, medicines and other donations from my local community and I drove 2,000 miles from my home in Oxfordshire all the way to the East of Poland near the Ukrainian border, he said. Why? Because I wanted to do what I could to help those families who were bombed and rocketed out of their homes. And dont let anyone tell you that whats going on here is complicated, or there is more to it. NATO did not provoke [this], Ukraine is not in any sense legitimately part of Russia. This was a full on invasion of a sovereign independent country. A member of the United Nations, it has been subjected to the most appalling brutality. Cameron said he knew his trip might have been an odd thing for an ex-prime minster to do, but was glad to help where he could. One minute I am talking to [Russia President Vladimir] Putin as a fellow leader, the next I am handing out food parcels to his victims, he said. He went on to discuss what binds the United States and the United Kingdom together. It is not just our shared history, our shared language or our shared culture, it is the fact that our alliance and Americas presence in Europe and in NATO makes our world more peaceful and more prosperous, he said. Most of those pompous leaders think multi-racial democracies dont work, we know they do work. We have had some tensions in recent years and there are more challenges we may face. But building that shining city on a hill is still a worthy vision and we should never let that dream die. In conclusion of his opening speech he stressed that the countries are better together in combating opposition. Look what happens when these success stories join forces, that unique partnership between the United States and the United Kingdom exploring the frontiers of space together, developing transformative technology together, fighting and eradicating devastating diseases together, he said. The values that make our nations and so many other nations great, are the values that we need more than ever: self-determination, the rule of law, open markets, free speech, freedom of choice, so that all the change of uncertainty around us we can be a beacon of light in dark times. Cameron was later joined by Mara Liasson, a Fox News political analyst and National Public Radio correspondent, for a moderated discussion in world affairs among the Aggies. Liasson asked Cameron many questions about the war in Ukraine , including when he thinks the war will end and if the world is looking at 15 to 20 years of conflict. Obviously we hope that is not the case. I have met Putin many times and got to know him very well over the period I was in office. I mean this is someone who lies the entire time he has no morality, he doesnt care how many people he kills or how many cities he reduces to rubble, he responded. Now the difficulty we have is of course we hope that he will be removed in Russia through some process the plan we have to have is to give the Ukrainians everything we can to put him into that position. Liasson pondered that the sanctions in the west are going to come at the price for the west. She went on to ask Cameron: Gas prices are up, food prices will go up, how much stamina do you think ordinary people, citizens in the west, have for the sacrifices they are going to have to make to help Ukraine? Cameron said he believed the people would have quite a lot of stamina and the situation in Ukraine feels like something from another lifetime. This is one large bullying country invading a fully independent sovereign state, and the pictures we see on our television screens of homes and hospitals and schools being shelled, bombed and missiled, I think you will feel more outraged about it on day 20 than you do on day one. I dont think we are getting numbed or dulled into a sense of accepting, he said. So I think people will accept, but they need the governments to lead them in that way and I think particularly on oil and gas it is very hard in Europe, because Europe has become so reliant on it. But ultimately if we dont do something about it we are funding Putins warship. He also discussed democracy versus autocracy, the use of chemical and nuclear weapons in wars, the relationship between past presidents and prime ministers, the relationship between China and the U.S., oligarchs and Brexit, the effects of the pandemic, social media and closed with stories about his weekly visits with Queen Elizabeth II and past presidents. 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe MARION On Friday, superintendent for Marion schools confirmed an investigation into sexual assault allegations against a high school teacher found no misconduct. "We can say that specific complaint was fully investigated and that the district found no evidence of sexual assault," Keith Oates, Superintendent for Marion Unit #2 District, told The Southern. However, chants of "What do we want? Safety! When do we want it? Now!" could still be heard across the grounds of Marion High School as students walked out in light of the teacher being allowed to return to the classroom. Approximately two dozen students walked out of class and protested at 10 a.m. Friday because of various allegations against the teacher, including sexual assault, homophobia, transphobia and racism, according to freshman Jaycee Patterson. We are at a walkout today because the school board decided to let a teacher who has many allegations against him come back into school to teach, Patterson said. Patterson said the teacher made high school students "uncomfortable" through his actions and inappropriate comments. The Southern is not naming the teacher as no criminal charges have been filed and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has declined to investigate the complaint, according to Oates. For one student, Abbigail Norris, started to feel uncomfortable and have incidents with the teacher in September. In February, several students took specific examples of incidents to the principal, Patterson said. According to both Norris and Patterson, the school board and DCFS looked into the situation. The Southern reached out Friday to DCFS for confirmation that a case was opened. A representative said the agency could neither confirm nor deny that fact. A police report has not been filed, according the Marion Police Department. The teacher was then allegedly allowed to return to school, Norris and Patterson said. Approximately 25 minors participated in the walkout. I feel angry about it, because we've come to the school board about it and they didn't really do anything other than just tell us to move on, Norris said. We're just trying to get the message through everyone's heads. That this isn't right. This shouldn't be what students go through. Multiple family members of students also showed up to the walkout in support of their students, including grandfather David Barnes. Barnes said that this is an issue of students being uncomfortable. He said he believes it is not being properly addressed. Just like they're saying that if (the students are) uncomfortable and they (the school) say that students come first, then that needs to be properly addressed, Barnes said. Obviously, it's not properly addressed. Otherwise we wouldn't have some of the kids out here doing this. I felt like I'd come out here so at least my granddaughter can see that I support her in this. When school officials got word of the walkout, an email was sent to parents and guardians of students, trying to persuade them not to participate, according to an email obtained by The Southern. The email said: We have been made aware of this possible occurrence via anonymous social media posts during the last few days. While free speech is encouraged we ask for parent/guardian cooperation regarding the potential walkout on Friday, April 1st. Unit 2 Administration asks that you discourage your student(s) from participating in the walkout due to concern for the safety and security of your student(s) and a disruption to the learning environment. As always, the expectation is for students to remain in class throughout the entire day. The email also said that, should a student leave the building, that would prompt a call to the parent letting them know that they had left. The school contacted police to come to the school as a precautionary measure, according to the email. Schools officials declined to provide further details on the matter, citing privacy for their employees and the students. The Southern attempted to reach the teacher twice via email for comment. The Southern also requested comment from the school on three separate occasions twice by email and once in person during the walkout. However, the requests for comment were ultimately declined and questions were deferred to Oates. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. MONCKS CORNER Business Facilities magazine named Santee Cooper one of its Top Utilities, noting that the power provider did much more for South Carolina than provide energy. Business Facilities cited a range of economic development programs and incentives, the utilitys leaner and greener resource plan, and the development of next-generation commerce park Camp Hall as reasons why Santee Cooper earned the honor. Santee Cooper employees work hard to make South Carolina better in a number of ways, and we are pleased that Business Facilities recognized Santee Cooper as one of its Top Utilities," said Pamela Williams, Santee Cooper Chief Public Affairs Officer and General Counsel. According to Business Facilities, The Top Utilities were selected based on several factors, and the list covers an assortment of local players, multi-state entities, and membership organizations. These power providers are among the most successful in offering innovative programs and expert assistance to attract businesses that need to build a warehouse, break ground on a factory, or add a headquarters campus. Santee Cooper offers a range of economic development programs and incentives. In 2021 alone, Santee Cooper provided site-development loans, grants and other support to state and local governments, electric cooperatives, and other organizations across the state and, along with these organizations, helped to attract more than 2,300 jobs and $1.4 billion in economic development investment last year. Santee Cooper has also developed a broadband program to support providers in achieving a statewide rollout to unserved areas. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A St. George native is celebrating the 129th anniversary of the chief petty officer rank while serving aboard currently deployed Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. Master Chief Petty Officer Joel C. Brandt joined the Navy to broaden his horizons. "I wanted to do something different and get out of my small town," Brandt said. "The field I entered was aligned with my interests of math and science." Growing up in St. George, Brandt attended Mississinawa Valley High School in 1999 and is a current student at Thomas Edison State University. Today, Brandt serves as the command master chief for Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 72 assigned to USS Harry S. Truman. "As the command master chief of HSM 72, I am the senior enlisted adviser to the commanding officer and an executive level manager with a strong focus on human relations-type programs," said Brandt. "The favorite part of my job is interacting with the 300-plus sailors that serve at the squadron. It is very interesting hearing everyones individual story and background. I love watching our sailors work on the aircraft, and knowing that all of their hard work has an impact on world events." Brandt was selected for chief petty officer in 2007 while was stationed at Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in Charleston. "Being a chief is an awesome responsibility, but scary to know the influence you have with the junior sailors," Brandt said. With a crew of nearly 5,000 sailors, the Chiefs Mess, as its called, makes up approximately 8% of the crew and serves as the connective tissue that bridges the gap between the officers vision and the enlisted crews daily tasking. The chief understands the mission and vision of the command and has the training and experience to teach and guide junior sailors, both officer and enlisted. Truman, who deployed from Norfolk, Virginia, Dec. 1, 2021, is on a regularly scheduled deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, where it has been operating with NATO militaries conducting dual and tri-carrier operations, enhanced air patrols and enhanced vigilance activities, in addition to several bilateral military exercises. Since arriving in the Sixth Fleet area of operations, a key aspect of our mission has been to build integration and interoperability with our NATO allies and partners, said Rear Adm. Curt Renshaw, commander, Carrier Strike Group Eight. These efforts have focused on the Western Mediterranean, Ionian and Adriatic Sea. In early March, the carrier sailed into the North Aegean Sea, an area where a U.S. carrier had never operated before. Brandt and the sailors they serve with have many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during their military service. "My proudest accomplishment on deployment has been watching our sailors succeed and do well," Brandt said. "In the Navy, I am glad Ive stayed in as long as I have and accomplished more than I ever thought was possible." As Brandt and other sailors continue to train and perform missions, they take pride in serving their country in the United States Navy. "Becoming a chief has allowed me to continue to grow in my technical career as well as a leader," Brandt said. "After wearing the anchors for awhile, I began to realize the great responsibility I had and still have. With great power, comes great responsibility." "I could not even begin to do this job without the support of my wife, Kristina," Brandt said. "She is the glue that holds our family together, and she has raised three incredible boys." Brandt's wife, Kristina Brandt, resides in St. George. Brandt's grandfather, aunt and uncle all served in the Navy. His father served in the Air Force and another aunt served in the Army. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 COLUMBIA -- The South Carolina Department of Education has expanded two successful home-grown programs, Call Me MISTER and Teaching Fellows, and is pushing an initiative, TeachSC, in response to the growing teacher shortage in the state. "There is no profession more rewarding or more crucial to the future success of our state and nation than teaching, State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman said. If we are truly committed to ensuring every South Carolina classroom is led by a high-quality teacher, we must act now to address our growing teacher shortage. Whether you are in high school, college, or someone seeking a more fulfilling career, I encourage you to check out these proven programs and consider becoming a teacher and having a lifelong impact on current and future generations of learners." As a part of this commitment, the SCDE is providing $1,690,000 in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding over three years to national nonprofit, TEACH. TEACH builds comprehensive, technology-driven solutions to attract and cultivate future teachers. TEACH South Carolina (TeachSC) is a statewide coalition of K-12 schools, colleges, government, community organizations and nonprofits with a mission to recruit the next generation of South Carolina teachers and help them through the process of getting certified. At the center of this initiative is www.TeachSC.org, a centralized hub for prospective teachers to explore the profession and find support, all for free. The TeachSC platform will address barriers to entering the profession, helping prospects understand the critical role teachers play in shaping the future of South Carolina, and then helping them choose and apply to a teaching program that meets their needs. I know first-hand the remarkable impact a teacher has on a child, said Katie Crews, senior program manager for TeachSC. The work we do at TeachSC helps ensure that those who dream of leading the next generation of the world can realize those dreams. By assisting these leaders in realizing their dreams, we ensure every South Carolina child can feel the impact of a quality teacher. In the last five years, teaching programs across the country have seen their enrollments stagnate or decline. In South Carolina, between 5,000 and 7,000 teachers retire, transfer to another school district, or leave the profession early each year, while just over 2,000 new teachers graduate annually from the states teaching programs, according to data from the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement (CERRA). For the 2021-22 school year, more than 1,000 teaching positions were vacant at the beginning of the year. A program of CERRA, the South Carolina Teaching Fellows, aims to recruit talented high school seniors into the teaching profession and to help them develop leadership qualities. Each year, the program provides fellowships for up to 200 high school seniors. The SCDE has provided $1,213,622 in federal ESSER funding to CERRA to expand the Teaching Fellows program. The CERRA partnership will address educator and teacher pipeline shortages worsened by COVID-19, assist with efforts to stabilize and support the educator workforce, provide ongoing support to recruit and retain a diverse pool of educators, and collaborate with educator programs to expand clinical opportunities and experiences for prospective teaching candidates. We are thrilled to partner with the SCDE in their efforts to recruit high-caliber SC graduates into the teaching profession, said Dr. Jenna Hallman, Executive Director/Director of Collegiate Programs for CERRA. The additional funding for the SC Teaching Fellows Program will allow us to expand our marketing efforts, provide professional growth opportunities for the program leaders on each college/university campus, and increase the number of awards. The mission of Clemson Universitys Call Me MISTER (Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role Models) Initiative is to increase the pool of available teachers from a more diverse background particularly among the states lowest performing elementary schools.The SCDE has provided $600,000 in federal ESSER funding to Call Me MISTER. The Call Me MISTER initiative will use the funding to continue supporting existing Call Me MISTER programs and support up to 60 additional MISTERs matriculating among 18 four-year partner colleges and nine, two-year technical colleges in South Carolina, from fiscal year 2021-24. It is expected that a MISTER who completes his program of study and becomes certified to teach will assume a teaching position in a public school and teach a minimum of one year for each year they received financial support from the program. We are thrilled with the ongoing partnership and support of the Call Me MISTER program by the South Carolina Department of Education, said Dr. George J. Petersen, Professor and Founding Dean of the College of Education. The support of our nationally renowned program speaks volumes to our states commitment to the transformative education provided by the Call Me MISTER program. The SCDE has created a webpage for anyone looking to explore the teaching profession. To find out more about all three initiatives, please visit www.aspiretoinspiresc.org. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 (TBTCO) - Bao hien xa hoi (BHXH) tu nguyen la chinh sach bao hiem cua ang va Nha nuoc vi quyen loi cua nguoi lao ong va Nhan dan, uoc Nha nuoc bao ho, do co quan BHXH thuc hien voi nhieu loi ich thiet thuc giup nguoi tham gia co cho dua on inh khi het tuoi lao ong. Wyomings Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) has some problems. For me, all the frustration of trying to work with the people who run it came to a head on Friday, March 25, during a one-hour Zoom conference. There were nearly 180 people in attendance, landlords from all over the state and a few ERAP administrators. Ive been part of several Zoom meetings, and this one was the worst. Karla McClaren was the moderator, and she duly introduced some of the ERAP team, and provided an outline for the meeting. Overlapping and undermining all of this, however, it was nearly impossible to hear anything, because no one could control the audio. Everyone was asked to turn off their mute button, which is customarily something the host can do as an override function. Not so with us, however, as several non-attentive landlords were distracted and didnt turn their buttons off, so for a while everyone had to overhear something like, Put the towels, we washed the towels! The towels! Not there. There! Over there! Half a dozen of these brilliant conversations were going on simultaneously. This went on for most of the meeting, and I still dont know what towels have to do with ERAP. Additionally, the chat box at the bottom of the screen was going absolutely crazy. The questions and comments were flying like bullets from a machine gun. Trying to read them, trying to learn about ERAP, and still not knowing where the towels go turned the meeting into a headache and mostly a waste of time. Some landlords, so far as they could be heard, asked questions and made comments. Some of the things that I came away with are that some landlords, like me, are extremely frustrated with the long periods of time they have to wait for an ERAP check, not knowing if a check is coming at all, having to submit and re-submit documentation, and really having difficulty communicating with the ERAP office. In my own experience I have heard, Im sorry were trying to correct that; We have that as an agenda item for our next meeting; That is a top concern of ours too. And still no check. Some landlords claimed to have spent at least forty hours being on hold and trying to ask basic questions about the status of applications, and just exactly what does ERAP need additionally to get a check. Many complained that they have bills to pay, like mortgages, and several talked about how some of their tenants were unable to produce any of the required documentation, or were missing just one small thing, which could, and sometimes does, make it impossible to get ERAP money. Many were concerned that soon they would have to evict some of their tenants, even little children, and sick people, too. Doubtless, most landlords have many long and heart-wrenching stories, and at times these are awfully confusing, but from the lives and stories of my own tenants, I agree with all the landlords who spoke. The things they said are absolutely true, and many of us, imperfect as we may be, are all that stands between housing and homelessness for many of our tenants. We landlords are human beings with hearts, and we have eyes to see the desperation and confusion that are part of the ongoing legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic. We know the pressure of having to pay mortgages, many utility bills, repairs and basic requirements for acceptable housing. Wyomings ERAP office, meanwhile, spent the first year of its existence hardly paying out any of that federal money, some two-hundred million dollars, perhaps spending their time and our money decorating their offices. Other states, surprisingly Texas among them, paid out most of their federal ERAP money in the first year of the pandemic. That was doing it right. Why the big delay in Wyoming? Some ERAP money has been paid out, totaling thirty million dollars so far. It looks like the money will hold out till 2025. Still, why all the delay and confusion and excuses? The E in ERAP does not stand for Eventually. It stands for something rather different, so lets get moving! The slowness and frustration are unbelievable, and I still dont know about those towels. Tom Gagnon lives in Rock Springs. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 LOOK Shorty! That incredulous shout from a visitor to the Blackman Ranch last Saturday in Piparo drew a chorus of audible gasps from a small touring party. Led by Isaac and Nehilet Blackman, through the green acres theyve called home for more than three decades, the group was halted in their tracks at the sight of a tall, striking figure. Standing between two trees in long, flowing white garb, he smiled welcomingly. Guitar in hand, the man beckoned them forward, saying: This is the exact spot where I wrote so many of my songs. There are no more visa appointments at the United States Embassy in Trinidad for 2022, so be 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. Nieto, Santiago Santiago Julio Nieto (12/4/1934 - 3/20/2022) A first-generation Mexican American, he was referred to as "Jim" by friends and family. Though born in Los Angeles, Jim was a true son of Tucson. He grew to find his life's calling as a husband, father, uncle, Nino, compadre, and entrepreneur. He was a proud member of Tucson High's class of 53', Caballeros Del Sol, and recipient of Tucson's Father of the Year award. Meeting his wife Mary Alice Nieto as a teenager in high school, they began a loving marriage that spanned over 50 years of utter and complete devotion. Together they raised four beautiful and successful children: Kathy, James, Nicholas, Alicia. To know Jim was to know he loved food, travel, and was undeniably fun. Jim will always be remembered for his charismatic smile, unwavering happiness, and warm affection for family, friends, and community. He derived genuine pleasure and satisfaction in his selfless caring for others. The joy and laughter he brought to those he loved will never be forgotten. A genuinely self-made man, Jim worked his way from a union plumber to being the president and founder of one of the largest mechanical contracting companies in Southern Arizona. His work was his life's passion. His tireless work ethic is reflected in the countless buildings he constructed under which the City of Tucson's residents have worked, lived, and played over the last 50 years. A true family man, he was able to pass on his entrepreneurial spirit to his children who all run their own businesses in the construction industry, building a legacy that will remain in perpetuity. Jim is preceded in death by his wife, Mary Alice Nieto; parents, Federico Nieto and Rosaura Flores Nieto; grandchild, Clay Timmons and survived by his sibling, Natalia Nieto Slana; children, Kathy Nieto, James and (Sandi) Nieto, Nicholas and (Dr. Rhonda) Nieto, Alicia Nieto; in addition to over 30 surviving nephews, nieces, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. You will be missed, papa. We love you. The memorial service will be held on April 9th at 11 AM at St Frances Cabrini, 3201 E Presidio Rd, Tucson, AZ 85716. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Beacon Foundation, PO Box 50544, Tucson, AZ 8570. Arrangements by Al Moore Grimshaw. As Arizona officials warned this week that theres very extreme wildfire potential this year, the governor sidestepped a question of what role he believes climate change plays. Ill leave it to others to talk about what effect climate change or change in the climate has had on that, Gov. Doug Ducey said Thursday in response to the question at a press briefing. But its certainly the lack of precipitation, and precipitation during the customary months have affected this condition greatly, Ducey said. He was referring to the wet weather last year that produced a lot of vegetation, and the predicted hot, dry spring and summer that will dry out that growth and create fire fuels, according to state fire management officials. The Republican governor has a mixed record on the issue of climate change. In 2015, Ducey said that, after being briefed by experts, he was convinced the climate is changing. Its going to get warmer here, he said at the time. What I am skeptical about is what human activity has to do with it. By 2019 he was willing to put aside that skepticism. Ducey told Capitol Media Services then that it only makes sense that people and what they do are having an impact. Humans are part of the earth, the environment and the ecosystem, he said. But the governor has shown no interest in changing Arizona laws and regulations to reduce greenhouse gases. In that 2019 interview, Ducey rejected the idea that California should adopt California-style limits on vehicle emissions that are tougher than those required by federal law. Manufacturers have since agreed with California to increase fuel efficiency to reduce all emissions, including greenhouse gases. I think you can have a growing economy economy and an improving environment, Ducey said. Thats what were having in Arizona versus what Californias having, which is a mass exodus. On Thursday, his press aide C.J. Karamargin said Duceys view has not changed and that he remains opposed to tightening up vehicle emission standards despite the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency saying transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gases, exceeding electricity generation and industrial sources. But Karamargin said the state is doing its part. Arizona is committed to maintaining a diverse energy portfolio which directly impacts the issue, he said. Karamargin also said the state is now home to many firms that can help address the issue, including Lucid Motors, which produces an all-electric vehicle in Casa Grande, and companies that manufacture the lithium-ion batteries necessary for such vehicles. If you look at the types of industries, the types of manufacturers we are pursuing and we are getting, there can be no doubt that Gov. Ducey has his eye on the future and the technologies that can address these issues, he said. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer. Last August the world watched the horrific evacuation of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. It was a humanitarian disaster that continues today. A month ago, the world watched as Vladimir Putin encircled Ukraine, virtually unopposed. The humanitarian disaster that resulted also continues today. The invasion of Ukraine has rendered Afghanistan yesterdays news. Ukraine and the human pain being inflicted by Putin deserves all of the media coverage it is getting. That we sat and watched the invasion unfold in slow motion and shied away from a confrontation in defense of a free people is appalling. And yet, every day people are being slaughtered by the Taliban in Afghanistan. That is not yesterdays news to any of the families involved. More than 75,000 Afghani refugees were brought to the United States. Most have been sent to local jurisdictions, leaving resettlement agencies and cities to sort out housing, food, transportation, education and other provisions. In Tucson we have received roughly 700 refugees. I have spoken with dozens of them. Each tells the same story; family and loved ones are stuck in Afghanistan. And they are being murdered daily. Under the current Taliban regime, girls are not allowed to attend school beyond grade 6. Females are not allowed outdoors unless they are in full cover burka. And females are not allowed outdoors without a male companion. Widows are therefore relegated to starvation. And all women and girls are relegated back to second-class status under Taliban rule. That is what we left behind. Under the current Taliban regime, anybody who was remotely associated with the United States is subjected to public beatings, family members are shot in front of loved ones, homes are ransacked, people are abducted without trace, and women are taken into forced marriages with Talibs. That is what we left behind. Journalists are Taliban targets. Anybody associated with the former judicial system is a target of the Taliban. Public safety and military are targets. With the shattered economy, people are starving and homes without fuel for heat result in people freezing to death. This is every day in Afghanistan in the wake of our departure. Our refugee resettlement process was dismantled under the previous administration. We reduced the cap on the number of refugees we would receive to 18,000, the lowest in the history of our program. The new cap is six times that number. There is insufficient staff to process the refugees who were fortunate enough to end up on U.S. soil. Refugees who are here are largely stuck in hotels, unemployed and struggling with language, education and cultural issues. They are also struggling with the trauma they experienced during the botched evacuation, and with the trauma they continue to experience when they receive daily updates from loved ones who were left behind. If the process of resettlement is broken domestically, extracting people from the slaughterhouse that Afghanistan has become has proven next to impossible. People cannot safely leave their homes, and yet our process requires them to cross international borders to apply for certain forms of visas to come to the United States. Visa requirements have been waived for many countries not for Afghanistan. Since the last two weeks of August, the U.S. exit from Afghanistan has resulted in the death of thousands of people whose only crime was supporting our efforts prior to our leaving. The people in Ukraine deserved a more robust response to the obvious threat Putin posed prior to the invasion. Now our allies in Eastern Europe wonder if theyre next in line. The people who allied themselves with us in Afghanistan dont have to wonder. They have become next in line for Taliban atrocities. Thats every days news now. It may be out of the news cycle, but it remains a burden our federal structure owns and must address. Steve Kozachik represents Ward 6 on the Tucson City Council. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Under the dome: It didnt get much attention, but on the same day Gov. Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 2, barring transgender athletes from womens and girls competitive sports, he also signed SB 6, the Sgt. Craig Johnson Act. Named for the Tulsa Police officer killed while attempting to make an arrest in 2020, the new law will make it easier to pursue accessory to murder charges. Tulsa District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler asked for the change after he was unable to bring that charge against getaway driver Matthew Hall because Johnson had not died at the time he and accused shooter David Ware fled the scene. With the signing of SB 6, accessory murder charges now apply if the person knew or reasonably should have known that the act committed upon the victim could foreseeably result in their death. Oklahomas portal for funding applications for the states $1.9 billion American Rescue Plan Act allocations closed Thursday. Requests totaled almost $18 billion nine times the amount available. The Legislature continues to move slowly and methodically forward with recommendations for ARPA spending. Among proposals approved at the subcommittee level last week is an advance fiber optic technician training course developed by Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology in Okmulgee, in conjunction with the Muscogee and Cherokee nations, to be offered through Career Tech centers. Committee meetings continue in the Senate and resume in the House this week. Each chamber is considering bills and joint resolutions already passed by the other. Poll numbers: Stitts job approval has dipped below 50% and is at a net +3, but he still holds a 14-point lead on his presumed Democratic opponent for re-election, Joy Hofmeister, according to an independent poll released midweek. Amber Integrated, an Oklahoma City-based firm with Republican roots but no horse in this years gubernatorial battle, said polls conducted in late March showed Stitts approval rating has moved from 52% in December to 47% currently, while disapproval rose from 37% to 44%. Also, Stitt was the choice of 59% likely Republican primary voters against largely unknown Broken Arrow physician Mark Sherwood. Sherwood came in at 15%, with 26% undecided. Nevertheless, Stitt led Hofmeister 44% to 30%, largely unchanged from three months ago. In other races, 2nd District Congressman Markwayne Mullin had a sizeable lead on contestants in the GOP primary to succeed U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, but 38% say theyre undecided. James Lankford led Jackson Lahmeyer 64% to 10% in the other GOP primary, and challenger Gentner Drummond was up 37% to 16% against incumbent John OConnor in the Republican attorney general primary, with 47% undecided. Campaigns and elections: Former Oklahoma City Mayors Mick Cornett and Kirk Humphries signed a fundraising letter urging support for Drummond. Cornett, it may be worth noting, lost to OConnor Stitts hand-picked choice for attorney general in the 2018 Republican runoff. Lahmeyer called on Lankford to vote against Supreme Court nominee Katanji Brown Jacksons confirmation, something Lankford had signaled he was going to do anyway. Meetings and events: Vicki Ruzicka, manager of Library Services for Tulsa Public Schools, will be the featured speaker at Heart of the Party, Oklahoma Federation of Democratic Women meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Baxters Interurban, 717 S. Houston Ave. Second District Congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Markwayne Mullin will have a telephone townhall at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday. Those wishing to participate must sign up by 5:35 p.m. at mullin.house.gov/live. Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler will speak on the McGirt ruling at the Republican Womens Club of Tulsa County meeting at 11:30 a.m. April 12 at Tulsa Country Club, 701 N. Union Ave. Make reservations by emailing rwctulsa@gmail.com. The Republican Womens Club is holding a candidate meet-and-greet, with light refreshments and a cash bar, at 6-9 p.m. April 21 at the Doubletree Hotel-Warren Place, 6110 S. Yale Ave. Admission is $15, and tickets are available through Eventbrite. Bottom lines: OConnor has joined another multistate lawsuit against federal mask mandates. ... The Oklahoma Democratic Party accused Stitt of choosing the national spotlight over the best interests of the state when he decided to not only sign Senate Bill 2, but by making an event of it. Randy Krehbiel, Tulsa World Featured video: Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. International visitors to Vietnam should get value-added tax (VAT) refunds for their purchases right at the designated shops where they have bought them, instead of at airports before leaving, a tax expert has proposed as a measure to encourage their spending in the country. Nguyen Thi Cuc, chairwoman of the Vietnam Tax Consultant Association, made the recommendation at a tourism conference held in Hanoi on Friday with the theme of Restoration of Vietnams tourism: New directions, new actions. As the average per capita expenditure of foreign tourists in Vietnam remained low, the government should adopt effective steps to boost their spending during their stay in the country, VnExpress cited Cuc as saying. One of the most appropriate measures is to make it convenient for international travelers to receive VAT refunds, the expert said. Under a circular issued in May 2014 by the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance, foreigners and overseas Vietnamese are given a refund of 85 percent of VAT on their goods purchased at eligible shops. The 15-percent remainder of the tax is accounted as service fees. Currently, before leaving Vietnam, international travelers receive such refunds at airports or ports by presenting to a refund customs inspection officer the invoices and VAT refund declaration forms issued by the said shops. After the officer checks and stamps the papers, visitors will take them to the payment counter to get their refund. Such procedures are inconvenient and time-consuming for foreign tourists and discourage their spending in Vietnam, Cuc emphasized. She therefore recommended that travelers be able to get VAT refunds right at such shops through some simple steps, as being applied in many other countries. The expert believed Vietnam, which is building its e-government mechanism by applying digital technologies, can adopt the new practice easily. Such simplified VAT refund procedures should be applied from the end of this month, when e-invoices are scheduled to be widely used across the country, Cuc suggested. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! When a dead whale washes ashore, inhabitants of coastal villages will gather to bathe the creature, then conduct the funeral service, prepare a grave and pay tribute to the whale like a person who has passed away. This unique custom was formed hundreds of years ago in some coastal localities in the north central province of Ha Tinh and has been upheld until now. A few days ago, in Dan Truong Commune, Nghi Xuan District in the province, a dead whale measuring some 1.5 meters long and weighing around 60 kilograms washed up near Luong Ninh Hamlet. Local residents notified each other of the news. Then, they jointly moved the whale onto land, bathing it and conducting the burial service. According to the beliefs of the locals, the whales wash ashore because they are exhausted after saving fishermen in distress. The locals call whales Ca Ong, or Sir Fish. Nguyen Thi Nga, a local official in Luong Ninh Hamlet, said that the custom of conducting burial services for whales was established in the area hundreds of years ago. A whale grave recently built by local people of Luong Ninh Hamlet, Dan Truong Commune, Nghi Xuan District, Ha Tinh Province. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre Legend has it that when seafarers of the previous generations were in distress in the sea, whales appeared to take them and their boats to shelter. To express their gratitude to the whales, local residents began building temples to worship the fish. Local people see a dead whale washing ashore like seeing their loved ones. The first one to discover the dead whale will host the funeral, hire a monk to perform funeral rituals, conduct the burial service as well as be in mourning for the fish for 30 days, Nga said. Some 200 meters away from Luong Ninh Hamlet, local residents of Dan Truong Commune built a temple for whales. On the first day and the 15th day of each lunar month, they give offerings to the whales and pray for favorable weather conditions, safe fishing trips, and lots of fish. Whales as family members Located around 60 kilometers away from Dan Truong Commune, a temple and tomb complex dedicated to whales covers thousands of square meters toward the beach of Cam Nhuong Commune, Cam Xuyen District in the province. A dead whale washing ashore is shrouded in red cloth as part of the burial service conducted by local people of Dan Truong Commune, Nghi Xuan District, Ha Tinh Province. Photo: Anh Thu / Tuoi Tre This is one of the largest temples to worship whales in Ha Tinh, dating some 600 years ago. It was ranked as a provincial cultural and historical relic in 2017. Legend says that when King Le Thanh Tong in the 15th century and his subordinates encountered a storm during a boat trip, a whale suddenly showed up and led the kings boat to the shore, and then it returned to the sea. When coming home safely, the king bestowed on the whale the title of Hai Nhan Ngu Ton Than (the Deity of the Sea). The local peoples custom of conducting burial service and building temples to worship whales was created around this time and was passed down through generations. In the 20th century, the Hai Nhan Ngu Ton Than temple was relatively small and experienced ravages of wars. Around a decade ago, the temple underwent expansion, with graves of whales being rearranged. The temple complex comprises the main shrine to worship the Nam Hai Nhan Nhu Ton Than (the Deity of the Southern Sea) and a cemetery housing nearly 200 graves of whales. The Ngu Ong Temple where local people worship hundreds of dead whales washing ashore in Cam Nhuong Commune, Cam Xuyen District, Ha Tinh Province. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre As shared by the head of management board of the Ngu Ong (Sir Fish) Temple, Nguyen Huu Phuong, a 64-year-old resident in Cam Nhuong Commune, most of the inhabitants in the commune do seafaring jobs, so they show great reverence for whales. Once they see a dead whale washing ashore, they will use clean water to bathe the whale, then use wine to clean the fish again before using red cloth to wrap around it and conducting a proper burial for it. The rituals of worshipping whales are the same as those for a person who has died. After burying the fish, the first person to see the fish washing ashore has to be in mourning for the fish and hold a memorial service on the third day, the 49th day, the 100th day since the funeral. "After two years, the whale will be reburied in another land in a brick or stone tomb, Phuong continued. The local fishermen will thoroughly name each whale washing ashore. A whale weighing over 50 kilograms will be called Ca Ong (Sir Fish) if it is a male whale, or Ca Ba (Madame Fish) for a female one. For smaller whales, they will be named Duc Cau (Uncle Fish) or Duc Co (Aunt Fish). The main shrine to worship the Nam Hai Nhan Ngu Ton Than. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre Phuong recalled that he has worked as a seafarer since he was little but has yet to struggle in the sea to be saved by whales. However, his late predecessor in the temple management board told him that the former had encountered an incident in the sea and was brought to the shore safely by a whale. The whale burial and worship custom was established a long time ago and is not a superstitious belief. All of the local fishermen have faith in whales, believing that whales are their good friends as well as the savior of many previous generations, Phuong asserted. Pointing out three earthen graves, Phuong said that three whales washed ashore in Cam Nhuong last year and were then buried by local residents. Two years after their funerals, their graves will be relocated to the tomb area. Every year, local people in Cam Nhuong Commune hold the Cau Ngu (whale worship) festival at the Ngu Ong Temple on April 8 to pray for good weather and safe fishing trips. On the first and the 15th day of each lunar month, local people visit the temple to perform rituals and offer incense sticks at a local cemetery for whales. Whale graves built in orderly rows, with gravestones showing the dates the whales passed away. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre The head of the management board of the Ngu Ong Temple offers incense at whale graves. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre Offerings prepared by local people for the Cau Ngu festival held on April 8 annually. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Check out the news you should not miss today: Society -- Multiple areas in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang have been severely flooded due to a heavy downpour that started on Friday morning. -- Three people have been sentenced to nine months in prison for arranging for a Chinese resident to stay in Vietnam illegally. -- One person was killed after a truck and an automobile collided head-on in northern Vietnamese province of Thai Binh on Friday. -- A 13-year-old child died of suffocation while two others fell unconscious after breathing in toxic fumes emitted by an aerator for fish tank inside their house in Phu Yen Province on Friday. -- A 16-year-old boy has died after falling from the 28th floor of an apartment building in Ha Dong District, Hanoi on Friday afternoon. World News -- Brazil's central bank employees began an indefinite strike for a wage increase on Friday, threatening the stability of the wildly popular Pix instant payment system and the publication of data releases, according to Reuters. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A 16-year-old boy died after falling from the 28th floor of an apartment building in Ha Dong District, Hanoi on Friday morning. The victim was L.N.N.M., 16, who went to Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted. M. fell to his death from the balcony of his house on the 28th floor of the Van Phu Victoria apartment building in Phu La Ward of Ha Dong District. After receiving a report on the case at around 3:30 am on Friday, the wards police arrived at the scene to examine it in order to clarify the cause of the incident. Officers completed the autopsy procedures and handed over the victims body to his family by Friday afternoon. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnam has become the 111th member of the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) that addresses the rights of performers and producers of phonograms in the digital environment, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced on Friday. Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, permanent representative of Vietnam to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, handed over the instrument of accession to the WPPT to WIPO director general Daren Tang on the same day. The WPPT addresses the rights of performers and producers of phonograms in the digital environment. Vietnams accession to the WPPT aims at strengthening the protection of related rights of those two kinds of beneficiaries under relevant WIPO treaties and meeting the countrys commitments under new-generation foreign trade agreements that it has recently signed, according to Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai. We expected that the accession and implementation of the WPPT will encourage the development of Vietnams cultural industry, especially strongly promoting film and performance activities that contribute to the social-economic development of our country, she said at the accession ceremony. During his speech of congratulation on the accession, WIPO director general Daren Tang said the WPPT participation underlines Vietnams commitment to the global intellectual property system and to strengthening the rights of performers and producers in the digital environment. From My Tam, to Den Vau, to Son Tung MTP, musicians and creators are an increasing important part of Vietnams economy and the creative industries have a key role in driving growth forward, Tang said. By joining this treaty, Vietnam underscores its commitment to developing these cultural and creative sectors and the jobs and opportunities that go with them. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! From a script point of view, Underbelly: Vanishing Act is faced with a dilemma, but one that Nines Head of Drama Ryan sees as a storytelling opportunity. Based on the real-life mystery that surrounds the bizarre disappearance of Melissa Caddick, it is a case that NSW Police have as an open finding: theories include suicide, murder or even faking her death. (Writers) Matt Ford and Michael Miller didnt want to just tell a story that was a box ticking bio-pic. In fact, in a show like this, it cant be a strict bio-pic because we dont really know what happened. After she went missing, we actually dont know what happened to her, he tells TV Tonight. From a storytelling point of view, that is really interesting opportunity. Theres a whole lot of things that we know about Melissa Caddick. But after the point that she went missing, we really dont know much at all. From a storytelling point of view, that is really interesting opportunity. For the record, Caddick was an Australian financial advisor who disappeared in 2020 the day after ASIC agents and AFP raided her home in Dover Heights on the suspicion that she had stolen millions from investors, including her own friends and family. 3 months later human remains discovered south of Tathra were confirmed to be Caddicks through DNA testing. Now it gets the Underbelly treatment led by former Wentworth star, Kate Atkinson. Shes a brilliant actress, first and foremost. Its not a show where she needs to have a great physical likeness to the real person, but as it turns out, Kates of a similar age to Melissa Caddick. So, that sort of helps with the verisimilitude of the whole piece. But mostly, shes just an outstanding actress who holds the screen. Kate Atkinson is outstanding and in almost every scene. Its a really complex role. The interesting thing about the script is that theres a certain amount we know about the real story of Melissa Caddick, and theres a lot we dont know. So the script and the show are able to go to places that are unexpected. Thats very demanding on an actress, to be convincing and capable. But Kate pulls it off. Shes outstanding and in almost every scene. Why the Underbelly brand for this story -previously associated with gangsters? It is a slight pivot for the Underbelly brand and thats okay, Ryan continues. Underbelly is about criminals living the high life, as much as it is about gangsters. Its about gangster bling, the proceeds of crime and the lifestyle that comes with crime. There are true crime dramas or inspired by real events but we dont want to make a docu-drama that just rehashes facts with actors. We want to tell a story that somehow shines a light on character motivations, or is greater than the sum of its parts. ..trust, deception, about how somebody could create a second life for themselves This was a story that raised all sorts of issues about things like trust, deception, about how somebody could create a second life for themselves are an alternative way of relating to people. That was bigger than just the story of one individual crime or one individual person. They are stories about what it is for a human to relate to other humans, and raise questions about how so much of how we operate in the world is based on an assumption of other peoples good faith. We assume that people were dealing with have similar world views or similar values to ourselves, or if they have different values, then theyre articulated. But when that trust breaks down its terribly distressing for people. This was something that played out in real life and something that enabled us, in the drama, to dramatise something about human emotional connections that are bigger, more universal than just the crime. The two part drama also includes Colin Friels (Water Rats, BlackJack, Mystery Road) youll have to stay tuned to see the nature of his role, Maya Stange (Love Child, A Place to Call Home, Wolf Creek) Frankie J. Holden (A Place to Call Home, Underbelly), Anne Tenney (The Castle, A Country Practice, Always Greener) and Sophie Bloom (Love Child, Amazing Grace, Reef Break). Weve got some lesser-known faces and names who really pop But Ryan is also excited about new ensemble cast members making their mark. Weve got some lesser-known faces and names who really pop, Jerome Velinsky plays Melissa Caddicks husband. Hes terrific. Hes done some guest roles on some other Nine shows, but hes not a face that will be familiar to the audience. Ursula Mills plays the ASIC investigator. Its her first TV role. Shes done a lot with the Sydney Theatre Company -fantastic talent. And Dylan Hare who plays Nash is terrific. So its a really fresh, new ensemble. The series by Screentime will paint a picture of a daughter, wife, mother and friend who kept Sydney and the nation guessing after embezzling over $40 million leaving police and her victims to piece together the mystery of who Melissa Caddick really was. Kate Atkinson does a voiceover as Melissa in this show, which is also an Underbelly sort of trope, so we pose the question right from the very start: is she telling the truth, or is she lying? Ryan asks. And therefore, is she alive or is she dead? Right from the start, you will be taken into the confidence of a confidence trickster. Underbelly: Vanishing Act 8:40pm Sunday, 9pm Monday on Nine. BLOOMING THE INTERNATIONAL CHARM OF THE BRAND, FENJIU IS EMERGING AS THE TOP WINE BRAND OF CHINA Beijing, China--(Newsfile Corp. - April 2, 2022) - Fenjiu, a leading wine making company of China has proudly announced that on March 20, 2022, it entered the Royal Thai Embassy in Beijing to showcase its magical wine and food. This took place in the second episode issue of the high-end life and food program "Ambassador's Gourmet Parlour" exclusively presented by the famous Chinese wine Qinghua Fenjiu came to the Royal Thai Embassy. The Honorable Ambassador, His Excellency Arthayudh Srisamot welcomed the guests to the Embassy, alongside the Director of Thailand Tourism Administration Pan Kenan. Ambassador's Gourmet Parlour Thai chapter To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/119048_bf2c195984d6cbfc_001full.jpg "We are delighted to host Ambassador's Gourmet Parlour to the Thai Embassy, and we had a great time with some of the most delicious stimulations to our taste buds," said The Honorable Ambassor, His Excellency Arthayudh Srisamot of Thailand, while welcoming the team at the Embassy. Fenjiu enters the Royal Thai Embassy in Beijing as a guest To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/119048_bf2c195984d6cbfc_002full.jpg Qinghua Fenjiu, a famous Chinese wine known for its delicate fragrance, has always aimed to become a carrier of exchanges between Chinese civilization and other civilizations in the world in the new era, and is committed to dialogue with the world in more diverse ways. According to the officials, the Ambassador's Gourmet Parlour program coincides with the event of the Royal Thai Embassy. Ma Xiaodong, deputy general manager of Fenjiu International Trade Co., Ltd., took a photo with Arthayudh Srisamoot, Ambassador of the Royal Thai Embassy to China To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/119048_bf2c195984d6cbfc_003full.jpg Story continues In addition, the famous Chinese liquor Qinghua Fenjiu has once again entered the field of international consumption, telling domestic and foreign consumers a new story of Chinese liquor, allowing more consumption to visitors, who can appreciate the unique charm of "International Fen" and taste the unique connotation of Chinese wine spirit. National Tourism Administration of Thailand Exhibition Area Meigong Market To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/119048_bf2c195984d6cbfc_004full.jpg Themed around Thai railway, the Thai-style event hosted by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Thailand, there were fresh fruit stalls on both sides that attracted everyone to stop and watch. It was themed to look like a railway, and the only "market on the rails" in the world. Thailand Maeklong Railway Fair The re-engraving of the city landscape. This event has simply restored this magical landscape of Thailand as the vendors on both sides of the railway sold all kinds of fresh fruits and food. The event simply brought the rich and diverse Thai culture to China and according to Pan Kenan, director of the Beijing Office of the National Tourism Administration of Thailand, the purpose of this Thai-style event is to let friends who cannot go to Thailand during the epidemic experience the authentic Thai culture here. Ms. Pan Kenan, director of the Beijing Office of the National Tourism Administration of Thailand, and the chief editor of Sohu Food, discharge the water lamp To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/119048_bf2c195984d6cbfc_005full.jpg Every November, Thailand holds the Loy Krathong Festival, where people put their own hand-made water lanterns into the river to express their best wishes. At the scene of this windy episode, the editor-in-chief of Sohu Food and Director Pan put the water lanterns carrying beautiful blessings into the pool, allowing the audience to experience a "water lantern" in an immersive manner. Coconut cake, produced by Thailand National Tourism Administration To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/119048_bf2c195984d6cbfc_006full.jpg Furthermore, the event was crowded, and the special snacks such as coconut-flavored cakes attracted most of the tourists. The event also included special snacks, Thai special dance performances, and Muay Thai performances. Anna, chef of the Royal Thai Embassy in China, made Thai fried rice noodles To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/119048_bf2c195984d6cbfc_007full.jpg "My favorite Thai food is pad Thai rice noodles because it doesn't need a lot of water, and the ingredients in it are very rich, including rice noodles, seafood and various seasonings, and the taste is very rich." The ambassador said. The Ambassador also talked about Thailand's table manners and how the children and adults are served food. Ms. Pan Kenan, director of the Beijing Office of the National Tourism Administration of Thailand, tasted Fenjiu liqueur chocolate To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/119048_bf2c195984d6cbfc_008full.jpg "I want to bring this wine chocolate back to Thailand to share with my friends," said Director Pan, whose heart was instantly captured by this wine chocolate made from Fenjiu. Fenjiu, as the representative of light-flavor liquor, is very close to the internationally popular whiskey and vodka in taste and is very suitable for the liquor-flavor of cocktails. At the same time, the pineapple, apple, pear and other aromas in the compound aroma of Fenjiu make it more acceptable to consumers in terms of taste than other aroma-type wines. Nowadays, in China, Fenjiu often uses limes from Thailand to make cocktails, and gradually formed a unique cocktail culture, which is widely sought after at home and abroad. To watch this entire program, please click the link below: https://youtu.be/cGz-hRcZefs For more information, please visit the website at: www.fenjiu.com.cn Contact: Zheng Xingsheng Tel: +86351 270 9799 Website: https://www.fenjiu.com.cn/ Publisher: TCB To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119048 Angel Rosemond has always had a knack for languages. She easily picked up the Spanish her mother taught her as a child in their home. "I actually loved learning languages," Rosemond said. The 20-year-old from Douglasville, Georgia, also loved helping her community and felt called to serve her country after she joined the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC). "When I thought about what I wanted to do in the future, I wanted to help people. Then I thought, 'How do I want to help America?'" Rosemond said. "By joining the military I can help in a small way." Rosemond combined her two loves at the University of North Georgia (UNG). The junior is pursuing a degree in modern languages with a concentration in Arabic as a member of the Corps of Cadets. "I wanted to major in something that I could use in the military that was interesting to learn. I landed on Arabic," said Rosemond, who hopes to attend the Defense Language Institute. Rosemond has progressed toward that goal since she earned early acceptance to UNG coupled with an ROTC scholarship. After she graduated high school in 2017, she attended UNG's Summer Language Institute (SLI) for Arabic and earned eight academic credit hours during the six-week summer session. In summer 2018, Rosemond studied abroad in Fes, Morocco. "It was an amazing experience!" Rosemond said. "I got to experience a different culture and grow my language skills in the real world. My favorite part of the study abroad was my host family who lived in the old city." SLI and her study abroad trip were funded through a Project Global Officer (Project GO) scholarship. "The scholarships are really important," Rosemond said. "I try my hardest to get them and keep them and get more." Hard work is in store for her in spring 2020 as she prepares for Advanced Camp in the summer at Fort Knox in Kentucky. The rigorous, 12-week training is a program cadets must complete to be commissioned in the military. Cadets are tested on rifle marksmanship, buddy-team live fire, hand grenades, first aid, Army combat fitness, land navigation and much more. "Training for Advanced Camp is the most difficult thing I've done aside from one other thing," said Rosemond, who is the squad leader for Delta Company. The other thing is becoming a member of Sigma Gamma Rho, one of nine historically black international Greek-lettered sororities and fraternities. Rosemond along with UNG students Imani Arnold and Uriyah Davis made history Nov. 17 when they were presented as the newest members of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc., the first African American sorority presence at UNG. "I want a little bit of legacy," she said. "I'm hoping Imani, Uriyah and I can ramp up interest and build a community here because there are not that many people on campus who look like me here." In his recent rally in Florence, South Carolina, Donald Trump spoke in support of candidates he would like to see in office. That was the main purpose of his rally. But he said something else that received less attention but which was even more important that if he were reelected, he would introduce reforms so that the president would have the authority to fire everyone in the executive branch. In his words, he would make them all fireable. While this may have popular appeal, it is actually quite dangerous it would produce the most significant increase in presidential power in American history. Trump claims that this expansion of power is a way for him to eliminate what he has termed the deep state, but whatever you think about that term, Trumps proposal would just make things worse. It is true that the president cannot fire anyone he wants to fire, except for those who are political appointees. This limitation on presidential power exists because of the Pendleton Act of 1883 (later strengthened by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978), which created the merit system of hiring members of the bureaucracy. The merit system for the civil service (a better term than deep state) is good for the country, because it demands evidence of expertise for hiring and a verifiable cause for firing employees. This also means that the civil service can oppose any president who attempts to act outside of the law, since the rank-and-file employees are not beholden to the president. The merit system was created to eliminate what Trump has called the swamp. Back in the 1800s, it was called the spoils system, when federal jobs were given as rewards to political loyalists, regardless of the level of their incompetence. In the 1800s, the executive branch was very small, but it grew enormously under Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1900s and has continued to grow. It currently includes 15 departments, which I want to list here because seeing these helps one understand the breadth of governmental operations contained within them: Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury and Veterans Affairs. There are other entities, such as the Federal Reserve, that are part of the executive branch, but whose employees are not at this point fireable by the president. Again, all of these have political appointees in key leadership positions (including Cabinet secretaries, who are fireable), but the merit system exists for most civil servant jobs. The Constitution put a delicate system of limited government into place, including separation of powers and checks and balances. And while the Founders (especially Alexander Hamilton) talked of the importance of an energetic executive, they were unanimous about the principle that the president was not to be a king or tyrant. Ours was to be a republican (lowercase r) government. If a modern president can fire anyone in the executive branch at will, we will no longer have limited government. Imagine what could change if this proposal were implemented. What used to be civil service jobs would be handed out like candy for presidential loyalists who would be eager to please the president with everything they did. This would mean that any president would be able to use the CIA and the FBI for political purposes, and anyone standing in the way could be fired immediately. Political opponents of the president could be harassed and jailed at will. The IRS could become a political tool used to intimidate or threaten anyone who disagreed with the president. And the Department of Justice could launch investigations into the presidents opponents and could be forbidden to investigate the president or anyone the president wanted to protect. This would be a nightmare. I have no idea what is motivating Trump to make this proposal, but it would have deep and lasting implications for our future. It would create a much deeper swamp than the country has ever seen. And it would effectively create regime change in America. It would destroy the delicate balance established by the Constitution a balance that can sometimes be frustrating but which is essential for keeping our nation from transforming from a republican, representative government to a regime of almost unlimited presidential power. If this were to happen, there would be no need for another attempted insurrection in the United States; the country we know would have fallen using T.S. Eliots expression with a whimper rather than a bang. Solomon D. Stevens is the author of Religion, Politics, and the Law and Challenges to Peace in the Middle East. He wrote this for InsideSources.com. Once upon a time: (Story before bedtime at end of post) To contemplate what you see daily as the West says one thing, does another thing and then screams as they do another thing completely, many times very much different from what is logical and sensible. It is as if illogical and nonsensical actions and reactions has become a Western norm.embedded within its society What I see is the Empire in freakout mode. Russia has what the Western World has to have and needs, it is called resources. Thus, it is why the west looks condescending at Russia as a gas station, except this gas station is a bear and has nukes for claws Going into how we got to this point in history is mute at this point and if you are confused.it is because you desire to be. By now even a Yankee Doodle should be able to find Ukraine and Russia on the world map! The Ruble is performing against the Western attacks and Russias partners are opposing the Empires constant frantic intimidation. In the long & short interim, the U.S./EU is messing itself up, whether out of panic and or fear, they continue estranging China, India and Iran after it implemented extra manipulations on Iran over its long range rockets program, and implemented visa limitations on Chinese authorities, then as India is buying Russian oil and the USA is telling them how much to buy and tossing threats at India, if they buy too much oil from Russia The West seems to be lost in its own rhetorical and hubris of lies, sins and worshiping of itself, to the point of being disconnected from the real world of planet Earth. Thus, they just dont ask, they tell, demand and coerce others to do as they say.to make it worse, they actually want other countries to do as they say and not as we do In Ukraine there will be some massive well planned explosive activity on the Eastern Front of Ukraine and soon, what most likely will be called Novorossiya, Novorussia, or New Russia is becoming a new state as we watch. I suspect a baby Transnistria will be absorbed into Novorossiya as a satellite state.but, it looks more and more as if Ukraine will become landlocked. What will be Ukraine is going to be scavenged by the NATO Hyenas of Poland and company along the border. It is inevitable The Russian Bear is not just revamping the worldwide power structure; shes redrawing the complete playbook of the Western Empire. Ripping out the pages that say, USA is your god! & replacing them with all countries are equal Id say Russia is very much in control and in control means the Russian plan is approaching the expectations that are destined, by our destiny and as far as I might be concerned, it is and would be a new beginning for us all.a better way of life At the end of the day, the Russian Bear is mauling to death what needs to die My question is, Will the Bear finish off the Devil it finds under its claws and within its jaws? That my friend is the trillion dollar question! Let me tell you that story I promised before going to bed Once upon a time: The Western Empire sneered, ignored and laughed in the face of the Russia Bears questions and worries. Then as the Western Empire was getting ready to hurt the bears babies. Russia said, Back Off! The Empire laughed and said, You are just a gas station and by the way, clean the windows as you fill it up!!! Except this gas station is a Russian Bear and has Nukes for Claws You have a good night now WtR KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian troops moved cautiously to retake territory north of the countrys capital on Saturday, using cables to pull the bodies of civilians off streets of one town out of fear that Russian forces may have left them booby-trapped. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that departing Russian troops were creating a catastrophic situation for civilians by leaving mines around homes, abandoned equipment and even the bodies of those killed. His claims could not be independently verified. Associated Press journalists in Bucha, a suburb northwest of Kyiv, watched as Ukrainian soldiers backed by a column of tanks and other armored vehicles used cables to drag bodies off of a street from a distance. Locals said the dead the AP counted at least six were civilians killed without provocation by departing Russian soldiers. Those people were just walking and they shot them without any reason. Bang, said a Bucha resident who declined to give his name citing safety reasons. In the next neighborhood, Stekolka, it was even worse. They would shoot without asking any question. Ukraine and its Western allies reported mounting evidence of Russia withdrawing its forces from around Kyiv and building its troop strength in eastern Ukraine. The visible shift did not mean the country faced a reprieve from more than five weeks of war or that the more than 4 million refugees who have fled Ukraine will return soon. Zelenskyy said he expects departed towns to endure missile and rocket strikes from afar and for the battle in the east to be intense. In his nightly video address Saturday, the Ukrainian leader said the countrys troops were not allowing the Russians to retreat without a fight: They are shelling them. They are destroying everyone they can. Russia, Zelenskyy said, has ample forces to put more pressure on Ukraines east and south. What is the goal of the Russian troops? They want to seize the Donbas and the south of Ukraine, he said. What is our goal? To defend ourselves, our freedom, our land and our people. Moscows focus on eastern Ukraine also kept the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol in the crosshairs. The port city on the Sea of Azov is located in the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region, where Moscow-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian troops for eight years. Military analysts think Russian President Vladimir Putin is determined to capture the region after his forces failed to secure Kyiv and other major cities. The International Committee of the Red Cross had hoped to evacuate Mariupol residents Saturday but had not yet reached the city. A day earlier, local authorities said the Red Cross was blocked by Russian forces. An adviser to Zelenskyy, Oleksiy Arestovych, said in an interview with Russian lawyer and activist Mark Feygin that Russia and Ukraine had reached an agreement to allow 45 buses to drive to Mariupol to evacuate residents in coming days. The Mariupol city council said earlier Saturday that 10 empty buses were headed to Berdyansk, a city 84 kilometers (52.2 miles) west of Mariupol, to pick up people who managed to get there on their own. About 2,000 made it out of Mariupol on Friday, some on buses and some in their own vehicles, city officials said. Meanwhile, Ukraines deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, said 765 Mariupol residents on Saturday used private vehicles to reach Zaporizhzhia, a city still under Ukrainian control that has served as the destination for other planned evacuations. Among those escaping was Tamila Mazurenko, who said she fled Mariupol on Monday, made it to Berdyansk that night and then took a bus to Zaporizhzhia. Mazurenko said she waited for a bus until Friday, spending one night sleeping in a field. I have only one question: Why? she said of her citys ordeal. We only lived as normal people. And our normal life was destroyed. And we lost everything. I dont have any job, I cant find my son. Mariupol has been surrounded by Russian forces for more than a month and suffered some of the wars worst attacks, including on a maternity hospital and a theater that was sheltering civilians. Around 100,000 people are believed to remain in the city, down from a prewar population of 430,000, and they face dire shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine. Zelenskyy said a significant number of Russian troops were tied up in Mariupol, giving Ukraine invaluable time that is allowing us to foil the enemys tactics and weaken its capabilities. The citys capture would give Moscow an unbroken land bridge from Russia to Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014. But its resistance also has taken on symbolic significance during Russias invasion, said Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Ukrainian think tank Penta. Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, and without its conquest, Putin cannot sit down at the negotiating table, Fesenko said. About 500 refugees from eastern Ukraine, including 99 children and 12 people with disabilities, arrived in the Russian city of Kazan by train overnight. Asked if he saw a chance to return home, Mariupol resident Artur Kirillov answered, Thats unlikely, there is no city anymore. In towns and cities surrounding Kyiv, signs of fierce fighting were everywhere in the wake of the Russian redeployment. Destroyed armored vehicles from both armies lay in streets and fields along with scattered military gear. Ukrainian troops were stationed at the entrance to Antonov Airport in suburb of Hostomel, demonstrating control of the runway that Russia tried to storm in the first days of the war. Inside the compound, the Mriya, one of the biggest planes ever built, lay wrecked underneath a hangar pockmarked with holes from the February attack. The Russians couldnt make one like it so they destroyed it, said Oleksandr Merkushev, mayor of the Kyiv suburb of Irpin. Irpin has seen some of the fiercest battles, and Merkushev said Russian troops left behind them many bodies, many destroyed buildings, and they mined many places. A prominent Ukrainian photojournalist who went missing last month in a combat zone near the capital was found dead Friday in the Huta Mezhyhirska village north of Kyiv, the countrys prosecutor generals office announced. The prosecutor generals office attributed Maks Levins death to two gunshots allegedly fired by the Russian military and said an investigation was underway. Elsewhere, at least three Russian ballistic missiles were fired late Friday at the Odesa region on the Black Sea, regional leader Maksim Marchenko said. The Ukrainian military said the Iskander missiles did not hit the critical infrastructure they targeted in Odesa, Ukraines largest port and the headquarters of its navy. Ukraines state nuclear agency reported a series of blasts Saturday that injured four people in Enerhodar, a southeastern city that has been under Russian control since early March along with the nearby Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Ukraines human rights ombudsman said via Telegram that the four were badly burned when Russian troops fired light and noise grenades and mortars at a pro-Ukraine demonstration. The head of Ukraines delegation in talks with Russia said Moscows negotiators informally agreed to most of a draft proposal discussed during face-to-face talks in Istanbul this week, but no written confirmation has been provided. However, Davyd Arakhamia said on Ukrainian TV that he hopes that draft is developed enough so that the two countries presidents can meet to discuss it. ___ Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Andrea Rosa in Irpin, Ukraine, and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Si, Se Puede! is the motto of the United Farm Workers of America. Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta were the driving force behind the activist group that fought to make change for the workers. Fifty years later, the work hasnt stopped for Huerta, who continues the civil rights fight. On Saturday, Huerta will take part in the Recuerda Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Celebration at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. This years event, which starts at 8:30 a.m., pays tribute to essential workers on the front line of the pandemic. Huerta says that when she and Chavez organized farm workers, it was to empower them. Unlike in the movie about his life, it took three years just to get started on that work. (The biggest challenge) was convincing them that this was never going to change unless they changed it, Huerta says. They are the ones that had to step up. They had to fight for their rights. And they did. Thats what we were successful in. The Dolores Huerta Foundation continues to lead the fight for rights. Huerta says the foundation still meets with people in their homes and helps them work to improve their living conditions. You cant wait for somebody to come and do it for you. You have to do it for yourself. And so that message is still very, very strong, Huerta says. Because we know our country is going through a lot of turmoil right now, in the United States, we have a lot of division. And we have a lot of inequities. So this message of empowerment is exactly what Cesar and I were doing, and what I continue to do it with my foundation is talking to people in their communities and organizing them so that they can then do the jobs that need to be done into the terms of getting their communities right. Huerta, 91, was born in Dawson and spends her time in Bakersfield, California. She often travels back to New Mexico to see family and friends, because the state holds a special place in her heart. New Mexico is always a healing journey, she says. Theres something about New Mexico, I dont know what it is the people, or the ambience, or the weather. Something about the climate here, that is also very healing. Its not only physically, but mentally, spiritually healing. I was always a sickly child, growing up in California, and my mother sent me one summer to live here with my dad, who was here in Albuquerque. And so I spent the whole summer here with my dad, and I never got sick again. Its very healing every time I come here, I just get reinspired and rejuvenated. According to the city of Albuquerque, the event will be livestreamed on the Recuerda a Cesar Chavez website and Facebook page so that the public can safely observe all the activities in store. Attendance will be limited. In-person event highlights include a car show, blood drive, health screenings, work glove donations, presentation of the Si Se Puede Awards, a performance by Latin band Nosotros, and many other cultural activities and performances. Its so important to remember our citys legacy of community leadership, and lift up their mission to create equitable opportunity, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said in a statement. The fight for labor and civil rights did not pause when the pandemic hit and is as critical today as ever. Were grateful for our partners and Albuquerque advocates who are keeping the fight alive and making progress happen. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Police say five teens beat restaurant workers outside Coronado Center on Thursday afternoon, with two of them pistol-whipping the employees. The teens then shot out the back window of an SUV in the parking lot as they fled the scene, authorities said. Michael Ross Jr., 18, and a younger teen, Angelo Morales, allegedly pointed guns at the Fuddruckers employees and pistol-whipped them. Ross is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery in the incident. Rebecca Atkins, an Albuquerque police spokeswoman, said Morales was also arrested, but she did not say what he was charged with. Three other teens were issued criminal summons for battery. Atkins said there were people inside the SUV when the teens shot out the window, but nobody was struck by gunfire. According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court: Police responded around 3:45 p.m. to the burger joint after a 911 caller reported a group of teens had attacked employees and then shot out an SUVs window. A Fuddruckers employee told police the group came in trying to get change and when he refused because it was against store policy they began yelling. The employee said he escorted the teens outside, and they began punching him and another employee before two teens, later identified as Ross and Morales, pulled out guns. The employee told police the pair pointed the guns at him and then pistol-whipped both employees before taking off toward Target. Atkins said police found the teens at the Target and seized two guns, one from Ross and the other thrown into a vehicle by Morales in the Target parking lot. Morales girlfriend, another teen, told police the Fuddruckers employee was rude to her, so she and her friends attacked him. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal New Mexico middle school students now have the chance to show off their civic skills for the chance to win $1,000 with the inaugural National Civics Bee sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Students in sixth through eighth grade have until April 7 to submit a short civics-related essay to enter the first round of the competition, according to Sara Fitzgerald, Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce senior vice president of policy research and strategic communication. Kyle Beasley, civics bee chairman, said the competition reflects the Chambers commitment to community engagement. We want to teach our kids young about how they can stay informed and involved in important decision-making that keeps our community moving forward, and the civics bee makes it fun and kid-friendly, he said. The top 10 finalists will move on to an in-person quiz competition in Albuquerque on May 3. All finalists will receive a trophy, with cash prizes for the top three winners and $1,000 for the first-place winner, Fitzgerald said. This is a pilot program with Albuquerque being one of six cities in the nation to host the competition this year, she said. Students interested in entering will have to submit a 500-word essay that identifies a problem in their community and ways in which citizens can solve that problem. Essays must include or answer: What is the problem, and how do different members in your community or neighborhood view it? What civic principles or systems could help to address the problem? What is your idea or recommendation for solving the problem? What primary sources, such as the Declaration of Independence or the United States Constitution, provide supporting evidence or examples for your idea or recommendation? How might members of your community or neighborhood bring your idea or recommendation to life? Essays can be submitted at civicsbee.secure-platform.com/albq/ FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Attorneys for Parkland, Florida, school shooter Nikolas Cruz will have one goal when jury selection starts Monday: to identify candidates who might give Cruz the single vote he needs to get a life sentence instead of death for the 2018 murders of 17 students and staff members. The process will involve a lot of educated guesses. Court officials said perhaps 1,500 or more potential jurors could file through Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherers courtroom over several weeks as she, prosecutors and Cruzs public defenders select 12 panelists, plus eight alternates, for his penalty trial. Those chosen must say they can put aside their animosity toward Cruz for the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and judge the case fairly. The potential jurors must also be available through September. Cruzs attorneys should not even try to get a jury or juror who doesnt know about the case because that is ignorance; you would have to be living under a rock, said Orlando defense attorney Mark OMara. OMara came to national prominence after his successful 2013 defense of George Zimmerman, who was acquitted of murdering Black teenager Trayvon Martin. He is not involved in the Cruz case. Jury candidates who declare that they can be objective will complete a questionnaire that dives into their backgrounds and asks whether they can handle viewing graphic evidence. They will then return in a few weeks for courtroom interviews, where they must declare that they are able to vote for the death penalty but also dont believe it should be mandatory for murder. Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October to 17 first-degree murders, 17 attempted murders and a jail assault, leaving the jury to decide only whether the former Stoneman Douglas student gets death or life without parole. Instead of deciding whether someone is guilty based upon objective evidence, jurors sitting at this death penalty trial must answer a subjective question: Have prosecutors shown that aggravating factors the number of deaths, the weeks of planning and the cruelty and horror of Cruzs actions outweigh mitigating factors such as his lifelong mental illness and the death of his parents? For Cruz to get death, the jurors must all answer, yes. To get at least one no vote, Cruzs attorneys must show that his path to the murders wasnt pure 100% personal-created intent, said OMara, who has defended about a dozen capital cases that ended with no death sentences imposed. It is going to be difficult. Death is the default sentence in this case. The fact that no one who opposes capital punishment on principle can be selected for the jury eliminates some female, minority, religious and liberal candidates who could potentially be sympathetic toward Cruz, Miami jury consultant and lawyer Geri Fischman said. White people strongly support the death penalty, a Gallup poll last year showed, while most Black and Hispanic people oppose it. The survey also showed that more women oppose capital punishment than men, and that only a quarter of liberals support the death penalty compared with 70% of conservatives. Broward County is 2-to-1 Democratic. Catholic Church leaders, some Protestant denominations and Judaisms major rabbinical organizations also oppose the death penalty on theological grounds, although many individual members support it in practice. Death-qualified juries are skewed in favor of the prosecution, Fischman said. This wont be the first time Scherer, prosecutors and Cruzs attorneys begin picking a jury for him. In October, Cruz faced trial for assaulting a jail guard nine months after the shooting. Prosecutors wanted a conviction to use as an aggravating factor in their argument for the death penalty. Almost 300 prospective jurors were screened, 10 times what is typical in a Florida assault case. About half said they couldnt judge Cruz fairly, and three women cried just seeing him. The other half said they could be just, but the process ended with Cruzs sudden guilty plea. Until 2016, a Florida judge could impose the death penalty if a majority of jurors agreed. But after the U.S. and Florida supreme courts mandated a higher bar, the Republican-majority Legislature amended the law to require unanimity. This is the system used in 18 of the 26 other states with capital punishment. That change gives Cruz a chance, but the jurys composition is key, OMara and Fischman note. Both prosecutors and defense attorneys can strike a potential juror if they are able to persuade Scherer that the persons background or answers demonstrates unfairness. Cruzs attorneys might challenge school employees, for example, or someone with a relative who died at the hands of another. Both sides receive 10 peremptory strikes for any reason except race or gender. Scherer has indicated she might add more, given the cases high profile. Fischman said that if she were advising the defense, she wouldnt preclude any occupations, ages or economic groups. Instead, she said she would look closely for stealth jurors: candidates who skew answers to be picked so they can vote for death. Anyone who tells you repeatedly they are going to be fair, that they have no biases, that they have no preexisting views on this case, is likely hiding something, she said. Someone who says they have no views on a shooting where innocent children were killed is not being forthright. OMara said he might seek racial minorities and jurors with relatives who have been criminal defendants because they might be more sensitized to the inconsistencies and biases of the judicial system. He said he would avoid accountants, engineers and others whose occupations require very precise answers. Such professionals use a mental scale to precisely weigh the aggravating and mitigating factors a battle Cruz cannot win with 17 dead victims, he said. When you get to that kind of analysis, you get away from what the defense wants: the humanity of the jurors and the defendant, he said. The bottom line: A case like Cruzs has no certainties for the defense. You are, in effect, playing to one juror you just dont know which, OMara said. GENEVA The former chief prosecutor of United Nations war crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda has called for an international arrest warrant to be issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin is a war criminal, Carla Del Ponte told the Swiss newspaper Le Temps in an interview published Saturday. In interviews given to Swiss media to mark the release of her latest book, the Swiss lawyer who oversaw U.N. investigations in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia said there were clear war crimes being committed in Ukraine. She said she was particularly shocked by the use of mass graves in Russias war on Ukraine, which recalls the worst of the wars in the former Yugoslavia. I hoped never to see mass graves again, she told the newspaper Blick. These dead people have loved ones who dont even know whats become of them. That is unacceptable. Other war crimes she identified in Ukraine included attacks on civilians, the destruction of civilian buildings and even the demolishing of entire villages. She said the investigation in Ukraine would be easier than that in Yugoslavia because the country itself had requested an international probe. The current ICC chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, visited Ukraine last month. If the ICC finds proof of war crimes, she said, you must go up the chain of command until you reach those who took the decisions. She said it would be possible to bring even Putin to account. You mustnt let go, continue to investigation. When the investigation into Slobodan Milosevic began, he was still president of Serbia. Who would have thought then that he would one day be judged? Nobody, she told Blick. Del Ponte added that investigations should be carried out into possible war crimes committed by both sides, pointing also to reports about the alleged torture of some Russian prisoners of war by Ukrainian forces. ___ This story corrects Del Pontes title to chief prosecutor of U.N. war crimes tribunals. ___ Follow all AP stories on the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-war. SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. David Frodsham was a top civilian commander at a U.S. air base in Afghanistan when he jokingly asked an IT technician for access to YouPorn, the video-sharing pornographic website. During his time in the war zone, Frodsham told one woman that he hired her because he wanted to be surrounded by pretty women, and routinely called others honey, babe, and cougar before he was ordered home after the military verified multiple allegations of sexual harassment. I would not recommend placing him back into a position of authority but rather pursuing disciplinary actions at his home station, wrote one commanding officer when recommending that the Army order Frodsham to leave his post at Bagram Airfield and return to Fort Huachuca, a major Army installation in Arizona, according to a U.S. Army investigative file obtained by The Associated Press. But when Frodsham returned to his home station in fall 2015, he rejoined the Network Enterprise Technology Command, the Armys information technology service provider, where he had served as director of personnel for a global command of 15,000 soldiers and civilians, according to his Army resume. By spring of the following year, he was arrested in Arizona for leading a child sex abuse ring that included an Army sergeant who was posting child pornography to the internet. Among the victims was one of Frodshams adopted sons Frodsham pleaded guilty to sex abuse charges in 2016 and is serving a 17-year sentence. But records reviewed by the AP show that the U.S. Army and the state of Arizona missed or ignored multiple red flags over more than a decade, which allowed Frodsham to allegedly abuse his adopted son and other children for years, all the while putting national security at risk. The state permitted Frodsham and his wife, Barbara, to foster, adopt and retain custody of their many children despite nearly 20 complaints, and attempted complaints, of abuse, neglect, maltreatment and licensing violations. Meanwhile, the Army gave Frodsham security clearances and sensitive jobs at a time when his illicit sexual practices made him vulnerable to blackmail. He would have been an obvious target of foreign intelligence services because of his role and his location, said Frank Figliuzzi, the former assistant director of counterintelligence for the FBI. Fort Huachuca is one of the more sensitive installations in the continental United States. People with security issues should not be there. In addition to NETCOM, where Frodsham worked, Fort Huachuca is home to a contingent of the Armys Intelligence and Security Command, according to its website. Public relations officials at Fort Huachuca confirmed that Frodsham was a program manager for NETCOM before he was arrested on child sex abuse charges. They declined to say whether Frodsham was disciplined after returning from Afghanistan, or whether the Army ever considered him a security risk. Frodsham, former Sgt. Randall Bischak and a third man not associated with the Army are all serving prison terms for the roles they played in the child sex abuse ring. But the investigation is continuing because Sierra Vista police believe additional men took part. Now, the criminal investigation is spilling over into civil court, where two of Frodshams adopted sons have filed separate lawsuits against the state for licensing David and Barbara Frodsham as foster parents in a home where they say they were physically and sexually abused throughout their lives. A third adopted son filed suit Tuesday in Arizona state court in Cochise County, said attorney Lynne Cadigan, who represents all three. In the latest complaint, 19-year-old Trever Frodsham says case workers missed or overlooked numerous signs that David and Barbara Frodsham were unfit parents. These included a 2002 sex abuse complaint filed with local police by one of the Frodshams biological daughters against an older biological brother, and the fact that David and Barbara Frodsham were themselves victims of child sex abuse. Trevers allegations echo those featured in an earlier lawsuit filed by his older biological brother, Ryan Frodsham, and one filed by Neal Taylor, both of whom were also adopted into the Frodsham household. In an interview with the AP, Ryan Frodsham said his adoptive father began sexually abusing him when he was 9 or 10 years old and the abuse continued into his teens, when David Frodsham began offering his sons sexual services to other men. Makes me throw up thinking about it, Ryan said. In his lawsuit, Ryan Frodsham said the state was informed that David and Barbara Frodsham were physically abusing their children by slapping them in the face, pinching them, hitting them with a wooden spoon, putting hot sauce in their mouths, pulling them by the hair, bending their fingers back to inflict pain, forcing them to hold cans with their arms extended for long periods time, and refusing to let them use the bathroom unless the door remained open. In his AP interview, Ryan said Barbara never sexually abused him but walked into the room where David was abusing him at least twice. She knew what was going on, he said. The lawsuits and related legal filings also say investigators with the Department of Child Safety and case workers with Catholic Community Services, which subcontracts foster and adoption work from the state, failed to effectively follow up on 19 complaints and attempted complaints regarding the Frodsham home spanning more than a decade. The complaints began in 2002, when the Frodshams applied for their foster care license, and continued until 2015, when David Frodsham was charged with disorderly conduct and driving drunk with children in his car, prompting the state to suspend their license indefinitely and remove all foster children from their home, although the charges were later dismissed. Five months later, the Army deployed Frodsham to Afghanistan, where he was ordered back to Arizona after only four months of service. REPORTS FELL ON DEAF EARS The lawsuits say the Frodshams adopted children attempted to report their own physical and sexual abuse without success. For instance, Neal Taylors lawsuit says he attempted to report that David Frodsham was sexually abusing him in two phone calls to his case manager, both of which he placed from school. The first time, the case manager reported the call to Neals adoptive mother, who interrogated him and proceeded to punish him, according to his lawsuit. The second time, the case manager refused to meet with him unless he disclosed the reason for his call over the phone, because he would have had to drive 90 minutes from Tucson to Sierra Vista for a private meeting. Ryan Frodshams lawsuit and the related legal filings say he reported repeated alleged physical abuse by Barbara Frodsham to Sierra Vista police when he was 12 years old after running away from home. Police photographed several bruises, returned him to Barbara Frodsham, and reported the incident to the state Department of Child Safety. Despite the photographs and a police report, a case worker who met with Ryan five weeks later found his allegations unsubstantiated. Arizona Department of Child Safety spokesman Darren DaRonco declined to answer specific questions about the lawsuits. He instead sent an email outlining the states procedures for screening prospective foster and adoptive parents. Despite all of these safeguards, people are sometimes able to avoid detection, DaRonco said, especially if a person has no prior criminal or child abuse history. Yet David and Barbara Frodsham have both said they were abused as minors. In their written application to become foster parents, Barbara Frodsham indicated that neither she nor her husband had been sexually victimized. But in recent pretrial testimony for Ryan Frodshams lawsuit, she said she would have revealed her abuse if she had been asked by a state investigator as part of the licensing process. David Frodsham, for his part, told a probation official after his guilty plea that he had been abused as a teenager. Many child welfare experts believe people with a history of child sexual abuse are more likely to abuse children in their own households and should be questioned to ensure theyve overcome their trauma before being allowed to provide foster care. Arizonas child welfare case workers did not know how to interview and, therefore, they didnt get candid answers from the Frodshams, said Kathleen Faller, an expert witness retained in Ryan Frodshams lawsuit. In pretrial testimony, Faller also said the state should not have granted the Frodshams foster care license. Barbara Frodsham, who divorced David following his guilty plea, did not return multiple telephone calls from the AP, and did not respond to detailed questions left on her voice mail. At the time of her husbands sentencing, she was working at Fort Huachuca as a personnel specialist, according to law enforcement records. A spokeswoman at Fort Huachuca said she still holds the position. Attorneys for the state and the other defendants are seeking to have the cases dismissed, based in part on state law that grants immunity to state employees for mistakes or misjudgments committed in the course of their work. The law does not provide immunity for gross negligence, which the Frodsham brothers and Neal Taylor are alleging. The state also says all the complaints about the Frodsham children and the Frodsham home were properly handled. CHILD SEX ABUSE RING The Frodsham case started as child sex abuse investigations often do: with an undercover Homeland Security agent lurking in a chat room favored by child pornographers. The Philadelphia-based agent, using the Kik messaging app, ran into someone calling himself Pup Brass who was posting videos and photos labeled pedopicsandvidd. Kik offers users a degree of anonymity but it stores IP addresses, which help identify a devices connection to the internet and can help identify the devices owner. According to a Sierra Vista police probable cause statement, federal and local law enforcement agents using the IP address and other information some gleaned from social media accounts soon determined that Pup Brass was Sgt. Randall Bischak. When they raided his home, seizing computers, cell phones, tablets and CDs holding child pornography, Bischak confessed that hed been having sex with a 59-year-old man he called Dave and his teenage son. In at least one instance Bischak had secretly recorded the sex on video. He also told investigators that he and Frodsham discussed having sex with small children and that Frodsham had supplied him with at least one of the little ones. Thomas Ransford, who specializes in child sex abuse cases for the Sierra Vista police, was no stranger to Frodsham. In the mid-2000s, he served as a military police officer at Fort Huachuca when Frodsham was director of Training, Plans, Mobilization and Security. So, I knew him. I was familiar with him, attended meetings with him, Ransford recalled. He also knew that Frodshams foster kids were always in trouble. When Ransford first questioned Frodsham he denied everything. He was pompous, like he was the smartest guy in the room, Ransford recalled. Then Ransford played the video Bischak had secretly taken of himself having three-way sex with Frodsham and his adopted son, Ryan, and Frodsham began to acknowledge his crimes. Ryan Frodsham also initially denied his father had abused him. Ryan appeared very defensive of his father and did not want to implicate him in any misconduct, Ransford wrote in a probable cause statement. But when Ransford showed him a compromising photograph seized from Bischaks cell phone, Ryan began to open up. Over the course of several months, Ransford said, Ryan identified others he said were part of his fathers child sex abuse ring, fueling the continuing investigation. Theres others were aware of, Ransford said. Its open. The Frodsham child sex abuse ring is part of a cluster of sex abuse cases that have come to light in Cochise County, Arizona, over the last several years, including several involving U.S. Border Patrol agents, two of whom worked at the Naco, Arizona, Border Crossing. Among them: John Daly III. A year ago, authorities arrested the recently retired Border Patrol agent after DNA evidence led them to suspect him in at least eight rapes, and to consider whether he is the so-called East Valley rapist, who terrorized women outside Phoenix throughout the 1990s. Prosecutors in Maricopa and Cochise counties have charged him with multiple counts of sexual assault and kidnapping. Daly, who is being held without bail, has pleaded not guilty. Dana Thornhill. A year ago, Thornhill was sentenced to a 40-year prison term after pleading guilty to years of sexually abusing his two children. Thornhill was charged following a stand-off with police in which he holed up in a local church. At the time, Thornhill was the chaplain at the Naco Border Crossing. Paul Adams. In 2017, Adams was charged with raping his two daughters, one of whom was just 6 weeks old; taking videos of the sexual assaults; and posting them on the Internet. Adams, who took his own life before standing trial, was also stationed at the Naco Border Crossing. Ransford believes the cluster of cases should be attributed to good police work and effective prosecution, which give victims and others the confidence to report child sex abuse. People report because they know somethings going to be done about it, he said. But Cadigan, the attorney representing the Frodsham brothers and Neal Taylor, wonders whether child sex abuse in southern Arizona is on the rise. Law enforcement has been very effective, and I appreciate their efforts, but Ive been taking these cases for 30 years and Ive never been so busy, she said. A SCANDAL-PLAGUED DEPARTMENT The physical and sexual abuse allegedly endured by the Frodsham brothers and Neal Taylor occurred at a time when Arizonas child welfare system was embroiled in scandal. In 2013, officials revealed that what was then the Department of Protective Services had a backlog of more than 6,500 abuse and neglect complaints it had never investigated. The revelation prompted then-Gov. Jan Brewer to dissolve the entire department and create a new Cabinet-level office called the Department of Child Safety. It is evident that our child welfare system is broken, impeded by years of operational failures, said Brewer, a Republican. Underlying the scandal were deep budget cuts to family support services, leading to soaring abuse and neglect complaints and what an auditor generals report would later refer to as unmanageable workloads, staff turnover and the limited experience of some CPS supervisors and newly hired investigators. In 2014, an analysis produced for the state Legislature showed that the increase in workloads in Arizona during the decade that ended in 2012 was greater than in any other state but one. It also showed that the response time for abuse and neglect complaints ballooned from 63 hours to nearly 250 hours, between 2009 and 2012. In its defense against Ryan Frodshams lawsuit, the state is trying to exclude any mention of the departments troubled past. There is no evidence that the types of problems that led to the dissolution of CPS has any relation to or impact on his case, the state said in a pretrial motion. But David and Barbara Frodsham were licensed as foster parents in 2002, at the dawn of what was perhaps the departments most troubled period, and formally adopted the three men going to court about a decade later, shortly before the system collapsed. The jury is entitled to the full picture, lawyers for Ryan Frodsham said. In his AP interview, Ryan Frodsham said he filed his lawsuit for one reason: I want the state to admit what it did was wrong. ___ This story has been updated to correct that Fort Huachuca is home to a contingent of the Intelligence and Security Command. ___ To contact APs investigations team, email investigative@ap.org VALLETTA, Malta Pope Francis said Saturday he was considering a possible visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and blasted the leader who launched a savage war, delivering his most pointed denunciation yet of Russias invasion of Ukraine. In his remarks in Malta, Francis didnt cite President Vladimir Putin by name, but the reference was clear when he said some potentate had unleashed the threat of nuclear war on the world in an infantile and destructive aggression. We had thought that invasions of other countries, savage street fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past, Francis told Maltese officials on the Mediterranean island nation at the start of a weekend visit. Francis has to date avoided referring to Russia or Putin by name, in keeping with the Vaticans tradition of not calling out aggressors to keep open options for dialogue. But Saturdays criticism of the powerful figure responsible for the war marked a new level of outrage for the pope. Once again, some potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interest, is provoking and fomenting conflicts, whereas ordinary people sense the need to build a future that will either be shared or not be at all, he said. Francis told reporters en route to Malta that a possible visit to Kyiv was on the table, but no dates have been set or trip confirmed. The mayor of the Ukrainian capital had invited Francis on March 8 to come as a messenger of peace along with other religious figures, but has recently warned even healthy city residents who fled that the city is still endangered by Russian hostilities. Francis also said the war had pained his heart so much that he sometimes forgets about the pain in his knees. Francis has been suffering for months from a strained ligament in his right knee. The inflammation got so bad that the Vatican arranged for a tarmac elevator to get him on and off the plane for Saturdays flight to Malta, and his limp was more pronounced Saturday. The Malta visit, originally scheduled for May 2020, was always supposed to focus on migration, given Maltas role at the heart of Europes migration debate. The issue took on more import with the forced exodus of over 4 million Ukrainian refugees. Francis focused his remarks on the perilous Mediterranean migration route and Europes flawed migration policies in welcoming people fleeing war, poverty and conflict. Speaking with Maltas president by his side, Francis denounced the sordid agreements the European Union has made with Libya to turn back migrants and said Europe must show humanity in welcoming them. He called for the Mediterranean to be a theater of solidarity, not the harbinger of a tragic shipwreck of civilization. Francis was referring to the EUs program to train Libyas coast guard, which patrols the North African countrys coast for migrant smuggling and brings the would-be refugees back to shore. The program was strongly backed by Italy and other front-line Mediterranean countries to try to stem the flow of hundreds of thousands of desperate migrants each year. But human rights groups have condemned the EU-funded program as a violation of the migrants rights and documented gross abuses in the Libyan detention camps. Just this week, German said its military would no longer provide training to the Libyan coast guard given its unacceptable, and in some cases illegal, treatment of migrants. Francis has condemned the Libyan detention facilities as concentration camps, but he went further Saturday to shame the EU for its complicity in the abuses there. Civilized countries cannot approve for their own interest sordid agreements with criminals who enslave other human beings, he said. Malta, the European Unions smallest country with a half-million people, has long been on the front lines of the flow of migrants and refugees across the Mediterranean and often has come under fire for refusing to let rescue ships dock. Just this week a German aid group sought port for 106 migrants rescued at sea and, by Saturday, the ship was heading to Sicily instead. Malta has frequently called upon its bigger European neighbors to shoulder more of the burden receiving would-be refugees. Francis has frequently echoed that call, and linked it on Saturday to the welcome the Maltese once gave the Apostle Paul, who according to the biblical account was shipwrecked off Malta around A.D. 60 while en route to Rome and was shown unusual kindness by the islanders. Later Saturday, Francis travelled by catamaran ferry to the island of Gozo, making his own the Mediterranean seafaring tradition to celebrate a prayer meeting at Maltas national shrine. Flanked by two Maltese churchmen who are key aides at the Vatican, Francis sat on a white chair on deck for the hour-long trip and was welcomed by thundering canons as the ship came in Gozos port. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. GUATEMALA CITY Eager to show its trying to slow the steady flow of its people north to the United States, Guatemala recently tripled prison sentences for migrant smugglers. The day after Guatemalas legislature approved the measure in February, 18-year-old Yashira Hernandez left her home near the Mexican border for the trip north hiring a smuggler to help. A month later, Hernandez was back, deported from the U.S., fretting over her familys debt and contemplating a second attempt again with her smuggler. While the legal reform is supposed to dissuade smugglers and cast the government as a willing partner of the U.S. in managing migration, experts and lawmakers say it will only make the trip more expensive. The poverty, violence and other factors pushing Guatemalans to migrate remain strong and the smuggling networks continue to ply their trade sometimes with the help of public officials. Possible prison sentences hold little importance if those responsible rarely make it to trial. Guatemalas government says it is preparing for further increased migration due to a decision announced Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to end a system limiting asylum at the southwest border on May 23. That policy had been based on reducing the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic. Officials throughout the region expect migrant smugglers to seize on the policy change to drum up more business with misinformation about the sort of reception migrants will meet. Guatemalas immigration agency said it was forming a multidisciplinary group to respond to changes in migration flows, including securing the countrys borders. In 2020, more than 21,000 Guatemalans were deported home from the U.S., but prosecutors only charged 12 people in connection with migrant smuggling, according to data from the Attorney Generals Office, said lawmaker Andrea Villagran. Only four of the 12 were convicted. You have to see the lack of capacity the Attorney Generals Office has to bring these criminal structures to justice, said Villagran who voted against the reform. The law change is only a show. What this law did was increase the price of smuggling. If the problem isnt really resolved, the people are going to continue wanting to migrate. Villagran also said theres little motivation for the government to slow migration. The interest is in continuing to export Guatemalans so they can continue sending remittances and continue sustaining this countrys economy, she said. Last year, despite the global pandemic, Guatemalans sent home $15 billion. Hernandez said she decided to leave last month to escape poverty. Her family scraped together thousands of dollars to hire a smuggler, but in a months time she was back where she started, now with a massive debt that is virtually unpayable if she stays in Guatemala. She was unaware that the penalties for migrant smuggling had risen to 30 years from 10, now on par with sentences for kidnapping and murder. Here theres no work and a lot of violence, Hernandez said. The tougher sentences were proposed by the office of President Alejandro Giammattei. His relationship with Washington has been tense, in part because the U.S. government has listed corruption as one of the root causes of immigration in Central America and has accused his administration of undermining Guatemalas justice system while inventing charges to prosecute anticorruption crusaders. Ursula Roldan, a migration expert at the Rafael Landivar University, said that while poverty and corruption remain rampant, emigration will continue. She notes that deportations from the U.S. have fallen even as Guatemalan emigration continues. Its not that people arent trying to leave Guatemala. Its that the containment is in Mexico, at the southern and northern borders, she said. Thats where the problem is building. Guatemalans have featured prominently in recent high-profile and deadly smuggling cases in Mexico. In January 2021, the incinerated bodies of 19 people, including 16 Guatemalan migrants, were found in northern Mexico near the Texas border. Prosecutors said they were shot by a Tamaulipas state police unit and then burned. In December, 55 migrants were killed and more than 100 injured when a semitrailer carrying them crashed in southern Mexico. Again the majority were from Guatemala. This year, Guatemalan authorities, under pressure to show theyre taking smuggling seriously, arrested 10 people allegedly involved in smuggling the migrants killed last year near the Texas border. People keep migrating because the structural causes of migration are still there, they havent changed, Roldan said. Stuardo Campos, the prosecutor charged with applying the new law, sees the increased sentences as a positive development and says smuggler arrests are up, but concedes that the factors driving migration are strong and says he lacks the resources to effectively tackle the problem. Campos noted that the new law requires prosecutors to show proof that moving, housing and helping migrants was done for an economic benefit. Thats a tall order when migrants almost never agree to testify against their smugglers. Many smugglers offer a second or third try if the first fails, and migrants have almost no hope of paying off the original debt without reaching the United States. So theres a large disincentive to helping prosecute their smuggler. Campos laments that lack of cooperation. He has 340 open investigations into migrant smuggling involving 10 smuggling rings operating across Guatemala. In the case of those killed in northern Mexico, Campos said the leader of the smuggling ring was a former mayor who is now a fugitive. There are criminal networks within the government that facilitate the entrance and exit and even (false) documents for migrants, said Villagran, the federal lawmaker. The whole system is so coopted that any popularly elected public official could be tied to these networks, she said. Ultimately, they need political favors to survive and those favors translate to financing of electoral campaigns. In the first three months of this year, 7,552 Guatemalans were deported from the United States. Among them were Hernandez and 20-year-old Emileth Tobar. Tobar left Guatemala on Feb. 1, the same day Congress voted to increase the sentences for migrant smugglers. Her mother had died, and as the eldest child it was her responsibility to provide for her siblings. Like Hernandez, she was detained shortly after crossing the U.S. border and within a week was flown back to Guatemala. It was her third attempt. When they deported us the plane was full of young people; they told us the oldest was 26, she said. Now we have to figure out what to do. Modern artists flocked to New Mexico, bringing fresh ideas and drawing from its cultures and landscapes across the 20th century. Open at the New Mexico Museum of Arts, Western Eyes: 20th Century Art Here and Now, explores how artists ranging from John Sloan and T.C. Cannon to Georgia OKeeffe and Fritz Scholder responded to the states rich heritage and stunning terrain, imbuing their work with styles informed by national and international trends. The common thread is beginning at the early 20th century, art in New Mexico was a national and international dialogue, curator Christian Waguespack said. At no point was New Mexico provincial. It has always been engaged in the most forward-thinking trends of the time. Most New Mexican art lovers know the story of the broken wagon wheel that prompted Ernest Blumenschein and Bert Phillips to stay in 1898, eventually forming the influential Taos Society of Artists. The exhibition will allow visitors to see unexpected works by artists they think they already know, Waguespack said. For example, there are works by Gustave Baumann, but they arent the Baumann you expect, he continued. The Santa Fe artist is known for his prints of glowing aspens and luminous landscapes. Weve got this great painting he did in the 1960s, Waguespack said. Its completely abstract. OKeeffes section compares her earlier, more representational Lake George and New York paintings to the work she produced in Abiquiu. Her Desert Abstraction (Bear Lake), a 1931 oil on canvas, is so pared down that curators have been uncertain how to hang it. Which side is up? Waguespack asked. Theres no objective way to see it. OKeeffe would often hang her paintings different ways. For OKeeffe, it was about form and color. Attempts to clarify the issue failed when the artist visited Santa Fe. At the museum, somebody asked her about it and she said, Yes, thats mine. It happened at a time when artists were playing with abstraction. The painting is really more about OKeeffes vision rather than the lake itself. Taos Society of Artists member Victor Higgins was a New Deal artist who painted the mural Moses the Law Giver at the former Taos County Courthouse in 1934. He studied with Diego Rivera and brought Mexican approaches to political art, Waguespack said. Its an international dialogue between Taos and Mexico City. The exhibition displays Higgins preliminary painting of the piece. T.C. Cannons (Kiowa/Caddo) Washington Landscape with Peace Medal Indian (1976) exemplifies the influence of Santa Fes Institute of American Indian Arts on Native American painting. Cannon enrolled in IAIA in 1964, where Scholder (Luiseno) was one of his teachers. They created a voice and an aesthetic for themselves, Waguespack said. I love it because its very indicative of how the Native American artists were taking control of the way Native Americans were represented. They were engaged with the art of the time; hes being influenced by Pop and Expressionist color. "Awakening (Memory of Father)," Agnes Pelton, 1943. (Courtesy of The New Mexico Museum of Art/Blair Clark) "The War Bonnet," E. Irving Couse, circa 1920, oil on canvas, 24 3/16 x 29 inches. Collection of the New Mexico Museum of Art. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. McEntire, Jr., 1981 (1981.18). (Courtesy of The New Mexico Museum of Art/Blair Clark) "Desert Abstraction (Bear Lake)," Georgia O'Keeffe, 1931, oil on canvas, 16 1/2 x 36 1/2 inches. On long term loan to the New Mexico Museum of Art from the Museum of New Mexico Foundation (1984.336). (Courtesy of The New Mexico Museum of Art/Blair Clark) "Light," Raymond Jonson, 1917, oil on canvas, 44 1/2 x 41 1/4 inches. Collection of the New Mexico Museum of Art. Gift of John Curtis Underwood, 1925 (292.23P). Courtesy of The New Mexico Museum of Art/Blair Clark) Prev 1 of 4 Next Cannon was inspired by a chief who traveled to Washington, D.C. to collect a peace medal. Hes got a top hat a symbol of white fashion, Waguespack said. He makes us think more critically about the peace medal and the top hat. A former Chicago set designer, Raymond Jonson is known for his modernist absraction-meets-theosophical spirituality Transcendental paintings of the Southwest. After visiting New Mexico in 1922, he returned home and painted its landscapes. His 1917 oil on canvas Light reveals a more representational side to his work. Its a landscape, but it looks so modern, Waguespack said. It was incorporating the ideas of the Transcendental Painting Group and (the Russian non-objective painter Wassily) Kandinsky in Europe. The show also reveals how the Ashcan School founder John Sloans palette shifted after he came to New Mexico. The artist spent his summers in Santa Fe for 30 years. The desert landscape inspired a new concentration in his rendering of form. We think about 20th century art as about this place, Waguespack said. But almost everything that happened here had broader connections. Taos Society of Artists first president E. Irving Couse studied art in both New York and Paris. He spent his summers in Taos, where he painted Native Americans. The exhibition includes c. 1920 oil on canvas The War Bonnet. The painting shows a pueblo man holding a Plains war bonnet. There are people who have a knee-jerk reaction to the painting, Waguespack said. They have this idea that Couse was doing the Edward Curtis thing. The photographer provoked criticism by mixing tribal regalia and promoting the cultural stereotype of the so-called vanishing Indian. But Taos Pueblo members often traded with the Plains tribes. People in Taos were trading for beautiful moccasins and bonnets because they were desirable objects, Waguespack said. We have this idea that Native people lived in isolation from each other. It isnt as far-fetched as he thinks it is. There are lots of voices in Matthew David Rudds arsenal. Though the Albuquerque native cant be seen on camera, movie lovers can hear his voice in the film, Jujutsu Kaisen 0. The anime film is currently playing in theaters and Rudd provides the voice to Panda. Yes, a panda, Rudd says with a laugh. This role is going to be a big one. This is one of the most fortuitous moments that I have in my career. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 follows Yuta Okkotsu, a nervous high school student, who enrolls in the mysterious Tokyo Jujutsu High School under the guidance of Satoru Gojo after being haunted by the curse of his childhood friend. The film is based on Jujutsu Kaisen 0, a prequel manga to the smash hit supernatural adventure series Jujutsu Kaisen from Gege Akutami. Rudd has been a voice actor for more than a decade. Hes been involved in projects of all sizes. I was super lucky to roll into this one, he says. Recording for the film was done during the pandemic. This is when Rudd put more work into his home recording studio. He splits his time between Dallas and Los Angeles. It was scary during lock down because nothing was happening on the recording fronts, he says. We wondered if finding new jobs was in the cards. Because we could record at home, the industry wasnt too affected. Rudd found many commonalties between him and Panda. Its not much of a stretch to play him, he says. I add grit to his voice. The show is pretty heavy and Panda is the comedic element. Panda is there as emotional support. Hes making people laugh. Oh, and hes a talking panda. Hes the only big, talking animal in the show. Rudd says Panda is also a cursed corpse spirt. Thats the only information they give you about his background, he says. They show something in this movie that they hadnt mentioned about his story. Theres a big fight scene and the way he incurs damage. You see it and it leads to more questions. Growing up in New Mexico, Rudd was exposed and influenced by Native American and Mexican culture. After graduating from Sandia Prep High School, he went to Florida to attend Ringling College of Art and Design. It was there he explored filmmaking and working with audio recording. I started auditioning for audio roles and I was pretty lucky to have a couple video games, he says. Im a huge fan of animation and how things are recorded. Its still fascinating for me. I have a 7-year-old son and he loves the shows Im in and we watch them together. Rudd still makes trips back to Albuquerque to visit his dad, Tim, a few times a year. New Mexico will always have an impact on me, he says. I grew up in the art world. IN THEATERS Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is playing at AMC 12, Century Rio 24, Cottonwood, Icon Cinema, Winrock 16, Regal Santa Fe Place In todays day and age, what can be better than a free event at a historic venue? On Saturday, April 9, and Sunday, April 10, the University of New Mexico Sculpture Program and Corrales Historical Society are collaborating to present Juntos. The event is a showing of work created by UNM sculpture students from professor Randall Wilsons beginning and advanced sculpture classes and will be exhibited in the Historic Old San Ysidro Church in Corrales. The creative work presents both the canons of fine art and the functional potential as identifiers of beauty and its role in art as design (and) design as art, Wilson said. A powerful foray into the value found in community, making with its presentation of sculpture inside of a gathering place a historical building, the Old San Ysidro Church in Corrales. The students are presenting sculptures made in a curriculum unfolding the potential of individual expression in three studio assignments that are characters, constructions, and bird baths. The works are created in wood, cast concrete, steel and paper mache. One of the projects is looking at the architecture itself and we will be working with the idea of viga and corbel in an abstracted way, Wilson said. I have the advanced class casting concrete, so we are working on designing bird baths but again, its still a bit about architecture as well. Though not completed, the bird baths are shaping up for some interesting figures. They are almost finished but what I am seeing are interesting forms, said Carol Rigmark, visual arts coordinator with the Corrales Historical Society. They are fairly contemporary and interpretive and I think sculpture is a medium that can really lend itself to that. To Wilson, this showing is about educating the public. I think its about learning something about the people as these are the sons and daughters of New Mexico, Wilson said. So the public has an onus to perhaps look into the work and they find it interesting that is fine and if not, that is OK, but there will be something for everybody I believe, because of the figurative work. Wilson has served as a professor at UNM since 2012, after teaching in California since the 1980s. One of the things that I brought, I believe, to the school was the idea of art and function, coming together as sort of fusion of disciplines instead of separation, Wilson said. I moved here nine years ago from Los Angeles, and was teaching both in design and architecture for over 20 years including at SCI-Arc, Southern California and was teaching at Art Center in Pasadena. The Old Church is an incredible environment that exemplifies the value found in sculpture and its historical prominence in New Mexico, Wilson said. Corrales Historical Society is a nonprofit organization that promotes greater appreciation for the traditions and histories of the centuries-old community of Corrales and its residents of today and the past. The mission also serves to support CHS in preserving, maintaining and promoting the Historic Old San Ysidro Church. The church is 154 years old and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and is also listed on the New Mexico Register of Cultural Properties. We are very fortunate to have an opportunity to exhibit at the old church in a few weeks, Wilson said. Despite its age, it has stayed in fairly good shape. It is a beautiful building and you know the fact that its 154 years old now, but it is just the simplicity of it, and the feeling that you have walking around or sitting in it, Rigmark said. It is so representative of, to me what New Mexico was and continues to be and it is well maintained. Sun and Fire food vendors from Jemez Pueblo are providing food with Native American roots during the two days of the show. Both breakfast and lunch are being served featuring Frito pies, burritos, chile stew with Pueblo bread, enchilada plates and more. One of the reasons people will have a good time is that we are providing food, Rigmark said. But it also can be sort of a social event so we will set up tables so people can linger and socialize as well. The book Commissions y Corridos: Poems shows the breadth of subjects, the depth of thinking and the vibrant flow of creativity of distinguished Albuquerque poet Hakim Bellamy. Not all the poems are commissions, and Bellamy suggests in the books preface that none is a corrido, per se. But they are songs. They are songs about my life in this place, full of characters (including Burque itself) real and make believe, he writes. The opening poem is all-embracing One Hundred Years of Corridos: A Song for the New Mexico Centennial. The centennial year was 2012, which happened to be the first year of Bellamys two-year term as Albuquerques inaugural poet laureate. The poem notes, in part, For one hundred years BC / before the Commodores / before Lionel Ritchie / and for one hundred years more / weve farmed, feasted, and fixed cars. The poem later advises that with New Mexico having the oldest and highest state capital in the country, people on both coasts / should look up to us / instead of wondering / if they have to exchange their money before coming. In the profound and provocative poem Bread & Roses, Bellamy assigns different meanings to the words labor and unions. It opens with a reference to slavery as a union of labor: The very first unions in America / were brought here by boat, / broken by back. / By whip, / rape, / and rope. The poem moves forward in time and places workers alongside historic figures, many of them labor leaders: We are Dolores Huerta. / We are Cesar Chavez. / We are Samuel Gompers. / We are Gabriel Prosser. / We are Lucy Gonzalez Parsons. / And we are Rosie the Riveter. Another Bellamy poem, Bless Me, was inspired by the life and literature of Rudolfo Anaya. However, the poems focus is on the character of Antonio, who is six when the curandera Ultima comes to stay with his family in Anayas famous coming-of-age novel Bless Me, Ultima. One particular line in Bless Me resonates today in view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It reads and its quite normal / for war / to make people lose their faith . / in everything. Another poem pays tribute to teachers in their roles in and out of the classroom. It concludes, For as long / As youve been on your feet for me / I will stand for you. Several poems are specifically about Albuquerque. The shortest poem in the collection is this haiku: Albuquerque. Where / the desert doesnt get in / the way of your view. Another poem, ABQ Manifesto (For We Are This City), has the spirit of an anthem: We be loco. / We be local. / We be lobos / singing to the night. / We are your favorite citys / favorite city. A third, Sidewalk Society, takes a critical look how Albuquerque values its public art. Some of the poems in the collection were composed during Bellamys tenure as the citys poet laureate. The volume, part of a series celebrating Albuquerques poets laureate, is copublished by the citys Arts and Culture Department and the University of New Mexico Press. Bellamy has lived a multidimensional life. Hes been a member of two national champion poetry slam teams. Hes a musician, actor, journalist, playwright, community organizer, facilitator of youth writing workshops and was the on-air host for New Mexico PBSs AColores! program. According to Shelle Sanchez, director of the Albuquerques Arts and Culture Department, whats important about the process of selecting the citys poet laureates is that it is community-led and driven, and is separate from city government. Lehar Raj is Senior Media Activation Manager, India at Essence, a global data and measurement-driven media agency that is part of GroupM. Joining Essence in 2016, she has been an advertising technology and media planning advisor for brands in the e-commerce, non-profit, technology and video streaming sectors. She is currently leading social media activation for the agencys clients in India and Southeast Asia. Additionally, she is a member of GroupM Indias Youth Committee, a shadow board that works with the Executive Committee on organisational projects. Prior to Essence, she served at Fever FM and start-up Jukebox Studio. In conversation with Adgully, Lehar Raj, Senior Media Activation Manager, India, Essence, shares about her journey with Essence, long term career in the Digital sector and social media, future career related plans and more. What particular skill sets do you think you bring to the table? Firstly, communication. I pride myself on being able to convey not just my thoughts and ideas, but how I feel about them too. Whether it is giving a review of the latest movie I watched or presenting a media approach to clients, I am able to convey both information and my excitement about it. This really comes in handy when pitching ideas, because the recipient of those ideas can often sense my passion and excitement about them. The second would be proactiveness. I do not shy away from taking on additional responsibilities and putting in a few extra hours to get the best output. It always ends up being an enriching experience and, very often, a great opportunity to meet and interact with new people. How did you join your current organisation? I began my career in sales, but was always looking to do something more technical. That was when I stumbled upon Essence, which had set up its office in India and was looking to hire people who were familiar with JavaScript and SQL languages. I was interviewed and, during the process, really loved my interactions with the interviewers. That was when I decided this was the kind of work culture I want to be a part of, and the rest is history! Icons in this field you look up to and how they have influenced you and your work? My colleagues at Essence and the clients I work with are some of the most brilliant people I have had the privilege of crossing paths with in life. They have definitely helped me grow, not just professionally but personally as well. What are the five most productive things that you do in your everyday routine? I would be lying if I say I do five productive things every day! My day pretty much starts with me opening the laptop and ends with me watching sitcoms on television thanks to the pandemic. That being said, the three highlights of my day would be: a morning huddle with my team, eating my mothers experimental food for the day, and listening to my sibling share about her job every evening, while I share my day with my partner. Do you think a career in this field is a viable one in the long term? Absolutely, it is so exciting! It is like a TikTok trend that changes every other day. There is just so much to specialise in creative, data analytics, media planning, consumer research, and more. The sky is the limit in this field, as long as you are willing to welcome and embrace it with open arms, like Shah Rukh Khan in DDLJ! What does it take to succeed in a career? The art of balancing something we all struggle with, including me. Balancing between delivering expectations to all stakeholders internal and external. Balancing between each step and with the individual involved in the process of producing quality work; there is not one individual who is more important than another and everyone has an equally important role to play. Balancing work and personal life everything happens on the go and if boundaries are not set, burnout is inevitable. What would be your advice to youngsters planning to enter this industry? I think this applies to any industry do not get caught up in the pay scale when you start your career. It is important that we use the first few years of our career to build our knowledge bank and identify our strengths and weaknesses. Once you have a solid foundation, everything else will catch up quickly. Where do you see yourself in five years time? I do things on-the-go and maybe that is why this field is so apt for me. It is hard for me to envision my next six months, let alone five years. Hopefully, I will be working remotely from Hawaii, sipping on a pina colada while discussing a media plan with clients. Is there any organisation that you would like to work with in the future? Disney, in particular, Marvel! I love all Marvel movies and I feel so passionately about each character. I love how they celebrate people, differences, ethnicities, and values. I would definitely want to join the team and play a role in taking their stories to every nook and corner of the world. It is my lifelong dream, and it would be such a privilege to see my name in the credits for one of their movies! Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd (KNPL) has elevated Mr. Anuj Jain as Managing Director, Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. He succeeds Mr. H M Bharuka, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Kansai Nerolac Paints who has been spearheading the company for the last 21 years. In his tenure spanning over 30 years at Kansai Nerolac Paints, Mr. Anuj Jain has worked in various capacities and played a pivotal role in driving growth organically and inorganically along with business excellence. Mr. Jain commenced his journey with Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. in 1990 as a management trainee. He worked with the decorative sales function covering various markets in the North and South regions of India. Being recognized for his noteworthy contribution and expertise in marketing, he rose the ranks to take over as Vice-President, Decorative Marketing & Sales in 2003. Subsequently, he was promoted to Director, Decorative for Kansai Nerolac Paints in 2010. He has been serving as Executive Director in charge of the Sales & Marketing, Manufacturing, Technical & Human Resources functions since 2018. Commenting on his appointment Mr. Anuj Jain, Managing Director, Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd said I express my heartful gratitude to the Board and Kansai Paints Japan for entrusting me with this enormous responsibility and for their unstinted support, rendered during my tenure as the Executive Director. I look forward to strengthening the companys position and taking it to greater heights with the support of our Nerolac family. The focus on innovations to grow our business is in sync with our plans to establish Nerolac as a Paint+ brand. Backed by our principal Kansai Paints Japan and the technological prowess we have built in India, we will continue to provide superior, sustainable solutions to our customers. The Indian beauty brand SUGAR Cosmetics crossed the 2 million milestone on Instagram making SUGAR the ___ Indian digitalfirst brand to join the 2 million clan on the platform (Instagram page handle & link - https://www.instagram.com/trysugar/). SUGAR Cosmetics, one of the fastest growing premium beauty brands in the country, was established in 2015 by Ms. Vineeta Singh & Mr. Kaushik Mukherjee, to allow women to discover, understand, and enjoy beauty products that are specifically curated for them by beauty experts who understand the complexities of Indian skin tones and complexions. Having had crossed the 1 million landmark in a span of 5 years since its inception, beauty brand SUGAR Cosmetics crossed the 2 million milestone on Instagram in less than a year and a half since, proving to be one of the fastest growing Indian D2C beauty brands. Right from their early days, they quickly understood how essential it is to prioritise value-based content that is put out on social media pages and through the engagement received, they slowly but surely also started to learn about where their followers interest lies. Through this the brand has now succeeded in making the page engrossing for everyone that would like to know more about the beauty space by generating content that is as much educational as it is appealing to watch. Rejoicing on this achievement, Vineeta Singh, Co-founder & CEO at SUGAR Cosmetics said, While the journey from 1 to 2 million has been a short one, there have been many teachings along the way. Extremely grateful for our digital family to have reciprocated our love and efforts towards them. I strongly believe social media is a powerful tool to educate the masses about makeup rather than bombarding them with offers and promotions, and this just proves to be a boost to continue doing the same! Speaking on this milestone, Resha Jain, Head of Content Marketing at SUGAR Cosmetics said, Crossing the 2 million followers milestone feels like a pat on our backs for a job well done! At SUGAR Cosmetics we tap into the greatest network of influencers and nanoinfluencers with whom our audience connects effortlessly with and feels a sense of similarity to. We make certain that our audience learns something new from the content we offer, and that no question or doubt is left unanswered. Our customers are everything to us; they are the ones who determine our brand's success and recognise our true potential, for which we are truly grateful." SUGAR Cosmetics presence on other social media platforms has also been growing and evolving at a great pace. Their YouTube page has also had a huge growth spurt this year reaching 469K subscribers. Twitter on the other hand has also had a great engaging growth and stands strong at 22.7k. The brands strategies for each social media page, be it LinkedIn or Instagram, differ platform-wise which makes it compelling for the followers to engage with. To combat discrimination, we first have to recognise and acknowledge it. The latest Anti-Workplace Discrimination campaign by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) aims to kick discrimination out of the workplace by emphasising that an individuals work performance is based on ones abilities and experiences garnered over the years and not by characteristics such as gender, age, family responsibilities and race. Lorraine Paul, Assistant Director of Marketing Communications at TAFEP explains, Our campaign Workplace Discrimination. Know it to end it. not only aims to raise awareness of workplace discrimination, especially in areas pertaining to Age, Gender, Family Responsibilities and Race, but to also establish TAFEP as a resource and recourse centre for any individual who is facing or has experienced workplace discrimination, and needs help, or employers who need assistance in implementing fair and progressive employment practices. It is through the acknowledgement of our unconscious biases; which may lead to discriminatory thoughts and behaviours that we can actively take the first step towards creating a fair and inclusive workplace, where everyone is respected at the workplace. The spot that was first launched in March 2022, aptly tells us that the measure of a persons contributions within the organisation should be based on their abilities, experiences and work outcomes, and not on other factors. Tay Guan Hin, Chief Creative Officer of BBDO, added, It's critical everyone should be given a fair opportunity to contribute and excel at work without such biases clouding our thoughts and behaviours. Our campaign featured a diverse cast of gender, age, family responsibilities, and race to reflect our society. By knowing and acting fast on biases happening around us, we can do our part to create a fair and inclusive workplace for everyone. After all, for a subject like workplace discrimination, it is only when we all do our part to create a fair and inclusive workplace that we can start making the change. And it all starts with knowledge, because like the spot puts it, we need to know it to end it. TVC Radio, digital banners and FB/IG OOH include Bus Shelters, MRT Platform Screen Doors and HDB Lift Lobbies Credits: Client: Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices Chief Creative Officer: Tay Guan Hin Senior Art Director: Amanda Ler and Derek Chia Senior writer: Ivan Ng and Joe Yeoh Account Management: Chermaine Chong and Erica Sanidad Project Lead: Anne Lee Producer: Anita Toh Production House: Smallshop Director: Elgin Ho DOP: Alan Yap Executive Producer: Yee Zhiyun Editor: Jacen Chan, Knackfolks Audio Engineer: Mark Toh, Knackfolks Photography House: Nemesis Pictures PTE Ltd Executive Producer: Jeremy Wong Photograher: Juliana Tan Producer: Justin Goh Digital retouching: Miracle Factory Government asks for intensified measures to protect Lam Dong forests Deputy PM Le Van Thanh has just asked the Ministry of Public Security to co-operate with concerned agencies to investigate and deal with the rampant forest destruction in neighbouring areas of Dalat City. A forest is destroyed by illegal loggers in Lam Dong Province A rising number of forest destruction cases in the central highlands province of Lam Dong have recently been reported by local media. The problem has mostly occurred in some neighbouring districts of Dalat City including Duc Trong, Lam Ha, and Bao Lam where land prices have been sharply increasing. Since the beginning of 2022, authorities in Lam Ha District have dealt with three cases in which loggers destroyed local forests to take the land. "In the latest case we found a group destroying a pine forest in Nam Ban Town," a representative of the Lam Ha District Forest Ranger Department said. "After clearing the trees on an area of 1,300 square metres, loggers were starting ground filling work when we arrived. They arranged teams to watch for local authorities and fled before we arrived." According to deputy director of Tan Mai Company, Vuong Hoang Tru, there has been increased destruction of forested land around Dalat City since land prices are rising. "The problem has been reported in Ta Nung Commune and Ward 7," he said. "Forest land has been illegally used for construction and trading." The Government Office on March 31 issued a document signed by Deputy PM Le Van Thanh to the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, asking them to deal with forest destruction and illegal forest land occupation in Lam Dong Province. The Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee has also asked district authorities to intensify forest protection and strictly punish illegal loggers in their areas. Local districts have also been asked to reclaim the forest land for replanting trees in the rainy season of 2022 Beginning with the Obama presidency in 2009, progressivism and its surly companion, wokeness, invaded the American political landscape. Progressive liberals champion political correctness at the expense of free speech, Critical Race Theory at the expense of white people, and defunding the police at the expense of law and order. They characterize America as an evil society weighed down by oppression of minorities and women. To be woke, says Scott McConnell in The American Conservative, is to believe that all social life is permeated by interlocking systems of oppression, and that overturning them is a moral imperative. Progressivism has morphed into our newest religion. It is an authoritarian movement that wants total compliance with its dictates, said Daniel Greenfield, Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, with severe punishments for those who disobey. Thanks to their religious fervor, todays liberals believe that freedom of speech is a flawed concept. Conservative viewpoints are demonized by the Left as hate speech. Woke, says Urban Dictionary, is a state of awareness only achieved by those dumb enough to find injustice in everything except their own behavior. People who violate the progressive code, said political commentator Mark Levin in Liberty and Tyranny. A Conservative Manifesto, are socially ostracized, sued for discrimination, forced to resign, and driven out of business. In short, progressivism and wokeness run contrary to all of the values that we used to revere as typically American: freedom of speech, respect for individual rights, the rule of law, equality of opportunity via free market competition, the acceptance of personal responsibility, and the American Dream. Wokeness, said Greg Gutfeld on Fox, takes stuff that you love and can turn it to poison. A recent example of this poisoning has been supplied by the Walt Disney Company, which used to be the purveyor of Mickey Mouse and other things American. Disneys current management has been seduced by the powerful LGBTQ lobby. The company has announced that, from now on, 50 percent of its characters will be LGBTQ or minorities. In a shameless case of overreach, Disney attacked a new parental rights law just passed in Florida that bans instruction concerning sex from kindergarten through the third grade. A strong majority of Floridians support the law. Disney doesnt give a damn. Following the lead of the left-wing media, Disney has attempted to mischaracterize the law as anti-gay. The important thing to realize is that a majority of Disney employees are not in lockstep with their management. Jose Castillo, a current Disney employee who is running for Congress in Florida as a Republican, said that the "silent majority" of Disney employees supports the parental rights law despite the loud minority leading Disney to oppose it. "Disney and similar corporations listen to the loudest voices in the crowd," said Castillo. The Disney cast members who support the parental rights far outnumber those who are protesting against it." English broadcaster Piers Morgan summed it up: Youve got this small group of very woke people that bully companies into following their very narrow worldview. What about the majority of Americans -- do they accept wokeness? The answer is no. Wokeness is an example of what I call the tyranny of the minority. The actual number of the woke remains small, says Scott McConnell, perhaps six percent of the population, according to Pew surveys of American political attitudes. It is educated, it is mostly white, it is heavily concentrated in the media and universities. But it isnt powerful enough to control the country if majorities are mobilized to resist it. Many polls, including NPR/PBS/Marist, Pew, and Fox make clear that most people are opposed to political correctness, defunding the police, and major increases in government spending. As voters from New York City to Buffalo to Seattle showed without ambiguity, McConnell says, when wokeness is on the ballot and opposed vigorously, it loses. In activism and voting patterns, Americas most rapidly growing demographic groups are largely showing themselves indifferent or actively hostile to woke policies. The Democratic Party is beginning to recognize that its support of the extreme leftist agenda has become an enormous handicap at the polls. [Democratic] politicians and party strategists are admitting that their biggest challenge comes from within, said Chris Cillizza at CNN. Woke liberals are demanding adherence to policies on crime, the environment and government spending that are simply not shared by a majority of the country. Cillizza says there is broad acknowledgment that talking about things like defunding the police or the Green New Deal or ending the detention of people coming across our southern border illegally are a recipe for political disaster in the 2022 midterm elections. Wokeness is a problem and everyone knows it, said Democratic Party strategist James Carville Its hard to talk to anybody today -- and I talk to lots of people in the Democratic Party -- who doesnt say this. But they dont want to say it out loud. What does the future portend? It is likely that wokeness will be rolled back, concludes Scott McConnell, its practitioners and cultural preferences first widely mocked and then ignored, its victims rehabilitated and in some cases honored. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warns that, Corporations will invite serious consequences if they become a vehicle for far-left mobs to hijack our country from outside the constitutional order. Predictions suggest that the Republicans will win back both houses of Congress in November and retake the presidency in 2024. That ought to spell the death knell for wokeness. Good riddance. Ed Brodow is a conservative political commentator, negotiation expert, and author of eight books including Tyranny of the Minority: How the Left is Destroying America. He is a former U.S. Marine officer, Fortune 500 sales executive, and Hollywood movie actor. Image: US Congress Every day, I meet people who are concerned by current events. They see schools, municipalities, states, and federal alphabet-soup agencies pushing globalist agendas and opposing the people they are supposed to serve. But people speak of their grave concerns only in hushed tones, if at all. And most of them, lacking clear direction, are paralyzed into inactivity. I want to show how one community is coming together. Perhaps it will inspire others to do the same. Evil wins by isolating individuals and discouraging them from acting. That's why the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights specifically protects "the right of the people peaceably to assemble." There is power in personal connection. Our Founders knew it, and so does every tyrant. But it's not only state power that can prevent peaceful assembly. We also see psychological manipulation used to isolate us. Media companies employ swarms of behavioral psychologists whose task is to keep us glued to the screen; they have isolated more people and crushed more communities than any tyrant in history. Thankfully, the spell of social media is not irresistible. As rational creatures, we can choose a better way. When we break the grip of social media and get people together, we are empowered. Assemblies of people are force multipliers. Like the dying embers of a campfire, physical proximity rekindles the flame. Once gathered, we are positioned to fight the next dragon: discouragement. In war, psychological operations are designed to undermine the enemy's will to act. They do this by exaggerating the power of the enemy and belittling the power of any resistance. People who feel powerless lack the courage to act. But the propaganda that makes you feel powerless is a lie. The truth is that even the smallest resistance is infinitely powerful. You can resist the power of lies by refusing to adopt their language. You can resist the destruction of families by keeping your own family together. You can push back against the forces of secularization simply by going to church. These and a thousand other acts are more powerful than you know. And courage is contagious. By acting, you encourage others to act. If you are looking for a list of meaningful actions to give you a starting place, you will benefit from an article in The Federalist written by Joy Pullman titled "85 Things You Can Do To Help The United States Shake Wide Awake." Pullman compiled assorted ideas from The Federalist staff. Suggestions range from the simple act of playing a board game or reading with your kids to writing a book or running for office. The fourth suggestion on the list is "Start a neighborhood group present yourself under an umbrella that welcomes all other responsible members of your community who are sick and tired of being sick and tired, and who are willing to stand up." Inspired by Pullman's article, several people from Evanston, Wyoming did just that. We called a meeting on a cold January morning. A baker's dozen showed up. Many had never met one another. But soon friendships were forming. We decided that the answer to global and impersonal problems is to focus on local and personal solutions. Our second meeting doubled in size and brainstormed a list of key decision-makers in Evanston. Since nobody can attend to everything, tasks were divvied up. Some volunteered to cover the school board, while others went to the legislative session, local party meetings, or the city council. We share what we learn with each other and recommend action when needed. We are unabashedly Evanston-first. We are not careless about other communities, but we are confident that Evanston's success will benefit them as well. By the third meeting, we adopted a motto: "We gather to build, not to tear down. We focus on local solutions to distant problems. We work to support neighbors for a better community." Evanston is defined by geographical boundary lines. We have had enough of the false language of "neighbors" in Timbuktu and "communities" that will never occupy the same real estate. Our commitment is to real flesh-and-blood community. Real-world encounters expose the fraud of divisive ideologies. That makes us non-partisan. We invite participation from everyone. No political, ideological, or religious requirements are needed only a desire to share ideas and work for the mutual benefit of our friends and neighbors. Try this in your community. Don't wait until you have figured all the angles. Just get people together and get out of the way. The Bill of Rights protects assemblies because they have amazing power to build. Graphic credit: j4p4n, public domain. In the German state of Baden-Wurttemburg, the minister of agriculture and consumer protection echoed the elitism of Pete Buttigeig and suggested that in the face of exploding energy costs, struggling citizens simply don an extra layer. For Peter Hauk, the comfort and provision of his people is a small price to pay for an escalation of tensions between two foreign nations. Prior to the conflict's eruption on February 24, Germany received 55% of its gas, a third of its oil, and 45% of its coal from Russia, and Hauk is calling for a complete ban on the imports, in turn ramping up energy costs. So what about the people who won't be able to afford to heat their homes properly? Hauk, being the altruistic and compassionate humanitarian he is, acknowledges that his countrymen aren't the concern, it's the people in a foreign nation that take precedence. Here's what he told his constituents: "You can withstand 15 degrees [Celsius] in a sweater. No one dies of it. But people are dying elsewhere." Hauk is taking a page from his American counterpart: Pete Buttigeig told the American people the high gas prices were our part to pay for the war in Ukraine, and if we didn't like it, we should simply buy an electric vehicle. So what's the deal? Is it a joke to them, or are they just unbelievably oblivious? These people might be politically liberal, which certainly indicates a decent level of mindlessness, but they aren't stupid. These are the same elites who hate the common man, calling us "useless eaters" and "life unworthy of life." They say we had better get used to eating bugs and that we will "own nothing and be happy." They live by the philosophy of "rules for thee, but not for me," consistently violating the standards they put in place for us. They consider us a joke. And should we blame them? We allow ourselves to be pawns in their games, believing they aren't that bad when they toss us a crumb, or falling for every little distraction they throw our way. Although overt political enemies of our God-given rights are without a doubt hazardous to our security, they aren't the only threat. "Green" globalist elites seeking to subjugate the people of the world are found in all political parties. Don't be fooled. From the day in November of 1963 when Walt Disney decided to locate his new theme park in the area south of Orlando, Disney's corporation has had a seemingly perfect symbiotic relationship with the state of Florida. Disney wanted a Disneyland-style park somewhere in the eastern part of the country after realizing that the vast majority of the visitors to his Anaheim venue came from the west coast. There were many more potential patrons out there, and Disney wanted them, and the fortune they would spend, to have a theme park bearing his name available to the eastern part of the country. St. Louis had been a major contender for the park until the evening that a tipsy August Busch, Jr., the head of Budweiser, insisted to Disney that any amusement park without alcohol sales would be a foolish venture. This ran counter to the family-style venue that Disney imagined, so St. Louis was scratched as a possibility. Niagara Falls and a few other northern sites were eliminated because of the weather factor; Disney wanted the park to be open year-round, and icicles hanging from Magic Kingdom castles would not have been an attractive look. Florida was the obvious choice. Disney, using shell companies, secretly bought up vast tracts of land in the area south of Orlando. It was important that the buyer remain unidentified to prevent massive escalations in land prices, which surely would have occurred had area residents known the purpose of the purchases. Other areas of Florida, notably Palm Beach, had been anxious to land the coveted nod from Disney, but Walt saw what he wanted in Central Florida, and there was no looking back. The Florida Turnpike, then being constructed, would run north and south and join I-75, bringing hordes of tourists from the north. I-4 ran east and west and brought Florida residents from both coasts. It was and is the perfect crossroads. Everyone was happy, except possibly the landowners in Palm Beach who thought they had a shot at landing the park in their backyard. The fact that the Disney Corporation was run from the People's Republic of California didn't seem to be a problem. Disney had been shifting a large number of its workers to the more tax-friendly Florida in recent years. But then along came Florida's HB1557, a seemingly innocent bill aimed at prohibiting sex education for kindergarten through grade 3 in Florida's schools. We all know the nonsense propagated about the 'Don't Say Gay" law and the progressive drivel offered by the supporters of the LGBTQ, etc. agenda. The Disney Corporation at first remained silent on the matter. Then, prodded by "woke" members in their midst, they decided to condemn the bill, saying it never should have been passed and asking the courts to strike it down. A determined Governor Ron DeSantis says it is a good, commonsense bill that will be enforced. Woke progressives, lacking common sense, will try to defeat it. Gov. DeSantis will prevail. The Disney properties, conservatively estimated to be worth just slightly less than $4 billion, cannot be picked up and relocated to a more 'woke" location. Florida, for its part, cannot afford to lose the billions in tourist dollars and the resultant hundreds of millions in sales and hotel tax dollars that Disney brings in. Not if it wants to continue to be a no-income-tax state, that is. Picture a Gary Cooper High Noon gunfight, with DeSantis facing off against some trans, or pan, or whatever sexual member of the Disney Crew. I like the governor's chances. If a state loses revenues, it can, though grudgingly, raise taxes. If the Disney Corporation so turns off its tourist trade by appearing to be pandering to a group indifferent to the innocence of children that they stop coming to the park, or lose state-provided tax incentives, there's comparatively little they can do. Stay tuned. We all know that the progressives are persistent, but they've never been up against a guy like the Florida governor. Image: kordite. Progressives have a pedophilia problem. Full stop, as the Barack Obamas of the world might say. From CNN producers to Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) station chiefs and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) field agents; from the woke Disney corporation to Democrat donors; from Hollywood to the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA); from Facebook/Meta to the Lincoln Project to America's public school system the progressive Left has a demonstrated prurient interest in underage children. This is not guilt by association, innuendo, or conjecture; it is a firmly established fact pattern. And this is not to suggest that no Republicans have ever espoused or committed similar atrocities against children; extremely rare countervailing exceptions like Republican Dennis Hastert (who, unlike Democrats, was actually imprisoned in part for his crimes of child molestation) prove the rule that many Democrats have a strong affinity for pedophilia and the normalization of the same. Empirically and factually, an overwhelming majority of public figures who are confirmed and aspiring pedophiles (along with pedo-friendly corporations like Disney) are progressive Democrats in terms of political orientation. All of this is hushed up by our progressive media, and thanks to progressive privilege, virtually nobody is ever prosecuted or punished. Why is it never a national scandal when Democrats routinely prey on young children? Simple because the progressive media protect Democrats far better than Rome's Praetorian guard ever protected any of the Caesars. If Jeffrey Epstein's client roster had been chock-full of identifiable Republicans (instead of Democrats from Bill Clinton to Bill Gates to Bill Richardson we knew nothing!), or if FOX News producers were outed as skeevy pedo perverts, the earsplitting cacophony from the media would be maximally amped with hysterical shrieks of sustained, collective outrage. Moreover, if the progressive Epstein had instead been a prominent conservative donor and activist, he would've been rightly imprisoned decades ago. Perhaps he would even be alive today rather than conveniently dead. Instead of truth and exposure, we have media silence. A favorite media tactic is the lie by omission. If a station chief or agent from John Brennan's beloved and woke CIA sexually abuses a two-year-old baby, but CNN producers and the media decide it is not a scandal, then poof, it all goes away. Like the tree falling in the forest with nobody to see or hear it, perhaps it simply never happened at all. The one time the media did make a national scandal of child molestation was when they saw it as an opportunity to take down the Catholic Church in the wake of the Church's scandals and cover-ups. But even there, the media's motive was strictly to discredit and destroy the Church itself, not to condemn the practice of predatory homosexual pedophilia. If the mental health "professionals" of the progressive American Psychiatric Association (APA) weren't themselves so deeply mentally and emotionally disturbed, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) would do a deep dive on why the denizens of the left seem vastly more predisposed to acts of pedophilia than traditionalists and people on the Right. Instead, the official position of the APA and most psychiatrists is that conservatives are mentally ill because, well, they're conservative. Pick a deep blue state at random say, Oregon. A former longtime mayor of Beaverton, Dennis "Denny" Doyle, was recently charged with possession of child pornography. But that was nothing new in the Beaver state. There was also popular Portland mayor Sam Adams, who relished pederasty with underage boys. Oh, there was also Democrat governor Neil Goldschmidt, who committed statutory rape against a 13-year-old girl and went on sexually abusing her for many years afterwards. Goldschmidt's victim's life was destroyed, and she died decades later at age 49, with drugs, alcohol, and mental illness as contributing factors. Unlike Dennis Hastert, none of these progressive figures went to prison for his crimes of molesting children. They all got a free pass. And most voters and politicians living near Oregon's deep blue I-5 corridor between Portland and Eugene didn't (and don't) care. As long as progressive pedophiles and their institutional cheerleaders and enablers have a (D) next to their name, pedophilia does not necessarily conflict with the values of Democrat voters or progressive Supreme Court appointees like Ketanji Brown Jackson. This is the same political party that always screams without irony that it's for the children. Democrats, their corporate affiliates, and their voters are likewise indifferent to the widespread sexual trafficking of children near America's porous border with Mexico, even as they wildly celebrate President Brandon's recent endorsement of sex "reassignment surgery" and hormone-blockers for children. To rephrase a couple modern figures of speech: Democrats gonna Democrat. And yes, that is who they are. Image: Jeffrey Epstein, CBS Evening News via YouTube. Whatever happened to the polling for the Texas governors' race? We have not seen a single poll in over a month. What makes all this interesting is that both candidates won their primaries easily on March 2. The latest poll was 52-47% (The Hill-Emerson). The RCP average is Abbott plus 8 points. What does this silence mean? It could mean nothing or simply a coincidence. Or it could mean that pollsters would rather do other polling. As far as I can tell, the O'Rourke can't find the magic of 2018. Everything was going for Beto in 2018, especially running against Senator Ted Cruz in President Trump's first midterm. Also, Beto was the darling of the left, who saw defeating Cruz as a national calling and sent millions down here to do it. It's a bit different today, as The New Yorker, hardly a right-wing source, recently noted: By last November, when O'Rourke announced his gubernatorial campaign, he was no longer an unknown. "It's going to be much harder for him to campaign as a new voice or an alternative to business as usual," James Henson, the director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, said. O'Rourke is popular among Democrats and the runaway favorite for the primary, on March 1st, but more than seventy per cent of Republicans now have an unfavorable opinion of him. "For Republicans in the state, he's become what Ted Cruz is for Democrats the figure they really love to hate," Henson said. Among independents, O'Rourke is more disliked than the incumbent governor, Greg Abbott, and head-to-head matchups show Abbott leading by ten points. So here we are, 30-plus days without new polls. Beto O'Rourke is popular with Democrats but enthusiasm on that side of the political world is a problem. He is losing independents and enthusiasm is not a problem with them. And the candidate had scheduling conflicts when President Biden came by Ft. Worth a few weeks ago. And last, but not least, I don't see Beto much, but the governor is everywhere. So maybe Beto will soon join the Biden press secretary at MSNBC. PS: Click for my videos and podcasts at Canto Talk. Image: Mike Rastiello. Viktor Orban has now served twelve years as prime minister of Hungary, emerging as one of the most exemplary conservative leaders of our time. On Sunday, he once again faces re-election as he seeks to lead Hungary for a fourth term as prime minister. Although this is a pivotal election for Hungary and for Europe, it is also vital for American conservatives to hope and pray for an Orban victory. For one, Orban has shown what populist conservatives can do when given sufficient time and political capital to succeed. While it is true that the system of government in Hungary and its relative age has prevented the development of a U.S.-style "Deep State," Orban's refreshing willingness to use power for conservative ends has allowed him to deliver on ideological priorities and also benefit the Hungarian people. His innovative family policies have seen birthrates rise, his independent foreign policy has allowed his country to wield outsized influence with regional and world powers, and his fortitude on immigration has helped preserve Hungarian national identity. Over the last two years, I have had the pleasure of getting to know several leading officials within Orban's government, including now-president Katalin Novak, foreign minister Peter Szijjarto, and political director Balazs Orban. Like Prime Minister Orban, they are unashamedly patriotic, Christian, and anti-establishment, drawing the ire of globalists from Brussels to Washington. Nevertheless, Orban's government has stood strong, refusing to bow to globalist diktats and safeguarding the Hungarian nation's sovereignty and the Hungarian people's traditional values. Now these very globalists are striking back. As 2020 showed, the number-one threat to U.S. national security is not any foreign adversary, but domestic subversion by an unaccountable elite that includes the permanent political class, the intelligence agencies, and the fake news media. This enemy is currently at the forefront of the effort to remove Viktor Orban. There, it seeks to oust a democratically elected leader simply for prioritizing his national interest over the latest "current thing." Using their vast NGO network, they have been funding and organizing subversive opposition groups for years much as they did during the Trump presidency in the United States. This year, they have helped assemble a ragtag coalition of all the various opposition parties behind Peter Marki-Zay, a fake "conservative" manufactured to appeal to the hardworking, small-town Hungarian voters who have historically supported Orban. Marki-Zay's motley crew even includes former communists and neo-Nazis. Yet this coalition is laundered by globalist special interests and their allies in the U.S. media as an alliance for liberal democracy. In reality, these efforts expose the true face of modern "liberal democracy" an authoritarian ideology hell-bent on world conquest, which is prepared to align with virtually anyone to achieve its goals, before ultimately discarding its former unsavory allies. This same "liberal democracy" encourages the brutal crackdowns on protesters that took place in Australia and Canada in the name of public health. It pursues an endless "war on terror" until it aligns with Islamists to wage war in the Middle East before backing communists against those very Islamists. It questions the integrity of an election where a non-liberal candidate prevailed with vague insinuations of Russian interference or mass data manipulation, while simultaneously condemning any criticism of elections where a liberal candidate prevailed as dangerous to democracy. Indeed, should Orban succeed in his re-election attempt, expect to see the State Department, the fake news media, and international institutions with so-called "observers" question the outcome. In addition, with the ongoing destabilization of neighboring Ukraine, a strong Hungary under Prime Minister Orban is critical. A weak and chaotic government in Budapest is exactly what these globalists want, as it is more likely to do their bidding. This will come at the expense of the Hungarian people, who will face indecision and disarray, and the American people, who will lose one of the few genuine allies we have in the world. With President Trump having been ousted by election fraud and President Bolsonaro at risk of a similar coup, Orban may well be the last man standing in the Western national-populist movement. Just as he stood by us in January 2021 in recognizing Stop the Steal as an internal affair of the United States at a time when most of the world's nations were condemning our president and our movement we should stand by him on Sunday. Mark Ivanyo is an attorney and the executive director of Republicans for National Renewal, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting national-populism within Republican Party institutions. Photo credit: Estonian Presidency. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dicks last day on the job will come next weekend. The Mayors Office for Police and Crime (Mopac) has agreed that Dame Cressidas last day in post will be Sunday April 10. She quit in a surprise move last month but agreed to stay on until arrangements to find a replacement were finalised, with a successor expected to be appointed in the summer. Dame Cressida Dick arriving for a Service of Thanksgiving for the life of the Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey, on Tuesday (Kirsty OConnor/PA) Deputy commissioner Sir Steve House will temporarily serve as acting commissioner while the recruitment process is ongoing, London mayor Sadiq Khans office said. The mayor will work with the Home Secretary to appoint a new commissioner to address the deep cultural issues facing the Met Police Service, his office added. A spokesman for Mr Khan said: The mayor thanks Dame Cressida Dick for her decades of public service. My last working day as Met Commissioner will be 10th April. It has been a tremendous honour to serve the people of London and the UK. "I will share more on the work of my brave officers and staff next week. Cressida Dick pic.twitter.com/KqUoNbtVKf Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) April 2, 2022 The mayor has been clear that candidates for the next commissioner must have a plan to restore the trust and confidence of Londoners. The Met tweeted a picture of Dame Cressida and a quote from her which said: My last working day as Met Commissioner will be 10th April. It has been a tremendous honour to serve the people of London and the UK. I will share more on the work of my brave officers and staff next week. Dame Cressida will take unused annual leave after April 10, with her last day of employment being Sunday April 24. Dame Cressida Dick with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan in 2021 (Victoria Jones/PA) Home Secretary Priti Patel confirmed during the week that the circumstances of Dame Cressidas resignation will be reviewed by the outgoing chief inspector of constabulary Sir Tom Winsor. The Home Office said the review, to begin on April 1 and expected to finish by the summer, will aim to: Establish and assess the full facts, timeline of events and circumstances which resulted in the stepping aside of Dame Cressida; Consider whether due process was followed; and Include recommendations on how accountability and due process may be strengthened. Dame Cressida quit after Mr Khan expressed his displeasure at her handling of outrage over racist, misogynist and homophobic messages shared by a group of officers based at Charing Cross police station. Her resignation, which came hours after she said in a media interview she had no intention of quitting, was greeted with dismay by many officers. Drinks giant Diageo is doubling production at its canning facility in Belfast with a 24.5 million investment. The company is also investing 16 million in its bottling plant in Runcorn in England. Diageo said the ramping up of production was required to meet growing demand for Guinness products in the domestic and export markets. Deirdre Delaney, operations manager at Diageos Belfast packaging site (Diageo/PA) The expansion work at the two plants is to commence immediately with the additional production capacity set to come online next year. Existing warehouses at the Belfast facility are being converted into a new packaging line capable of producing 72,000 cans an hour. The Runcorn investment will upgrade its bottling line and expand warehousing capacity. Aidan Crowe, operations director for beer at Diageo, said the 40.5 million investment would deliver a significant development of the companys packaging facilities. The projects in Belfast and Runcorn will support our growth ambitions, helping us to deliver end-to-end product innovation, and reinforce our agility to meet demand and provide excellent service to our customers around the world, he said. Deirdre Delaney, operations manager at Diageos Belfast Packaging site, added: This is an exciting time for our site in Belfast as we invest in our business to support the growth of our business. We contribute considerably to the local economy in Belfast and the 24.5 million investment will further support our supply chains and local communities. Veterans who fought in the Falklands War have marked its 40th anniversary by revisiting the port they returned home to after the conflict. Rosyth dockyard, on the Firth of Forth, prepared Royal Navy ships for their journey to the south Atlantic battle, which began on April 2, 1982. It also saw several of the ships and their crew return home after the brutal 74-day conflict. More than 50 veterans, Babcock employees and members of the Royal Navy gathered at the port on Saturday to commemorate those who fought in the war, and to recognise the dockyard workers who were working day and night to prepare the boats. In attendance was Craig Mac McDermott, who was onboard the HMS Antrim, which served as the flagship during the recapture of South Georgia in April 1982. With tears in his eyes, he reflected on the brutal conflict that claimed the lives of more than 900 men. It makes me cry, he said. I was 17. I was a boy, fighting other boys. Mr McDermott, who lives at Erskine home in Edinburgh, a place set up to support war veterans, said he shared stories of his time at war with fellow comrades at the ceremony. We shared the same water, he said, with a smile. Also at the event was Alf Ramsay, who started working at the Rosyth dockyard in 1974 as an apprentice. He spoke about his time working 16-hour shifts preparing the ships, including HMS Plymouth, for battle. I am still working here, he laughed, 48 years later. The now production engineer said during the Falklands War he worked in the dockyards fabrication bays, producing mostly ammunition lockers. Obviously there was a need for all the ammunition when they were going down to the South Atlantic, he said So, it was ammunition lockers that we were building, and they were fitted on to the ships. It was long hours, 16-hour shifts sometimes, seven days a week, but it was worth it. Reflecting on the moment the troops returned to the dock at the end of the war, Mr Ramsay said the state of the ships, including the Plymouth, which he described as battle-scarred, shed a light on the brutality of war. (PA Graphics) It brought home a bit of reality as to what the guys were going through, he said. We were just seeing it on the television, so it did bring a bit of reality to what had gone on, it was emotional. Veteran Norman McDade, who prefers to go by the name Mac, was onboard the Plymouth aged 20 during the war. The now 60-year-old lives in Erskine and shared fond memories of the day he and his crew returned to the ships bay in Rosyth, where he stood proudly on Saturday. It was quite something, he said, emotion in his voice. We had a lot of small boats with us on the way in, lots of people up on the Forth bridges. I remember people on top of the railway bridge, right on top of it, waving at us as we came through. It was quite emotional when we came in because I could see my family, they had a banner up. It was quite a welcome home, the whole dockside was full of people. The Plymouth was hit by four 1,000lb bombs on June 8, 1982. Miraculously, none of them exploded, but they still caused a lot of damage that day, a day Mac said he will never forget. Speaking about the condition of the Plymouth on return to Rosyth, the veteran said: We had a lot of damage, we had a big steel plaster, if you like, on our funnel where the bomb had gone through, so it was quite something to see the reshaping of the ship. He added: There will be a lot of remembering as we go on through the next couple of months. I dont think I will ever forget it. After speaking to some people here today, it feels like it was yesterday. The ceremony heard speeches by members of the military, including the Lord-Lieutenant of Fife Robert Balfour and Rear Admiral Mark Beverstock. A plaque was also unveiled to the sound of a pipe band to recognise the dedication and hard work of the Rosyth dockyards workforce during the war. Commenting on the day, Brigadier Andy Muddiman ADC Royal Marines, Naval Regional Commander Scotland & Northern Ireland said: Its very gratifying to see, as we begin the Falklands 40th anniversary period here in Scotland, that we are quite rightly focusing on the significant efforts of our colleagues who worked in the Rosyth dockyard at the time. It was down to their efforts and those of other dockyard personnel around the country that Britain was able to achieve such a huge undertaking. To refit, and in some cases completely outfit from scratch, a number of merchant ships, in just a few days, for a purpose they hadnt been designed for, to then sail some 8,000 miles and operate as part of a quickly created taskforce within a war zone was an incredible task. As much as it was the soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who fought the war, they couldnt have done that without the extremely important preparation. Sean Donaldson, managing director at Babcock Rosyth, said: Rosyth Dockyard employees played an important role in the national effort, supporting some of the fleet at the outbreak of the conflict, including the conversion of five trawlers into minesweepers. The Rosyth event is one of a number of commemorative events Babcock is proudly supporting throughout the UK this year. Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams in Chasing Amy. (Photo: Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection) After his 1994 black-and-white indie sensation breakout, Clerks, Kevin Smiths second most highly regarded film is undoubtedly the bittersweet 1997 boy meets lesbian romantic comedy Chasing Amy. One of the central reasons: Joey Lauren Adams, who transcended the dude-centric energy of Smiths smart-yet-sophomoric brand of shenanigans with a soulful performance and unmistakable voice that keyed a more mature, more nuanced story (even if the writer-directors depiction of bisexuality in the film was called clumsy and hasnt necessarily aged any better). A sometimes charming, sometimes infuriating rom-com dressed up as a raunchy buddy comedy, Chasing Amy pushed the boundaries of sexual mores, pitted the casual (and sometimes not-so-casual) misogyny of comic book culture against budding male vulnerability, and tackled the complications of love and friendship in ways that deeply connected with a generation of almost-adults in the 90s who were just figuring out how to grow up, Shannon Keating wrote for Buzzfeed in exploring its sexual politics in 2017. Think pieces aside, few can deny Adams killed as Alyssa Jones, comic book artist and gay objection of affection for Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck), the Bluntman and Chronic writer whose pursuit of her threatens his relationship with his best friend Banky Edwards (Jason Lee). While Smiths flock of players typically portray the same character in every entry of his View Askewniverse, all three actors actually played different roles in 1995s Mallrats but have hung on to their Amy personas ever since. Adamss career had been on the uptick since a guest role on the popular '90s sitcom Married With Children (her character famously took Bud Bundys virginity) lead to the short-lived spinoff Top of the Heap in 1991. Notables roles in the 1993 movies Dazed and Confused, The Program and Coneheads as well as 1994s S.F.W. would follow. Smith and Adams dated after making Mallrats together, and when their relationship ended, the filmmaker wrote Chasing Amy as "sort of penance/valentine" and a "thank-you homage" to Adams. (While a rumor later surfaced that Adams herself was bisexual, she denied it, and married Brian Vilim in 2014.) Kevin Smith and Joey Lauren Adams at the Chasing Amy premiere in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc) Adams drew instant high praise for her compelling turn as Alyssa. All-time great critic Roger Ebert called her a discovery. Wrote Newsweeks David Ansen: Adams will tear your heart out as she fights to bring Holden back to his senses. Opined Rolling Stones Peter Travers: She delivers Alyssas stand on sexual politics with bewitching persuasiveness. The Arkansas-born actress won the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress, and also earned high profile nominations from the Golden Globes (Best Actress, Musical or Comedy) and the MTV Movie Awards (Best Breakthrough Performance and Best Kiss, shared with Carmen Llywelyn). So why havent we seen much of Adams since? And especially in the past decade or so? Its not that Adams hasnt been working, but much of her work has flown under the radar. Her most memorable post-Amy role probably came in 1999s Big Daddy, in which she played the lawyer Layla Maloney, love interest to Adam Sandlers unlikely caretaker. I bought a boat after that film, and called it Big Daddy, she told Funny or Die in 2012. In the years that followed, Adams worked with Shirley MacLaine (2000s Bruno), Sally Field (2000s Beautiful) and James Toback (2001s Harvard Man) and Harvey Keitel (Beeper), but none of those projects broke through. She did voice a squirrel in Dr. Dolittle (2001) and play Jennifer Anistons sister in The Break-Up (2006), but those were her only hits of the decade and certainly not the type of leading lady opportunities it felt like she deserved after Amy. Adams has worked with Smith twice again, reprising her role of Alyssa Jones for cameo appearances in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019). Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams during 2005 Vulgarthon: 10th Anniversary of Chasing Amy Q&A at Cinerama Dome Theater in Hollywood, Calif. (Photo: Albert L. Ortega/WireImage) After a six-episode arc in United States of Tara in 2010, her steadiest role in more recent years came in the 2016-17 CMT sitcom Still the King, in which she costarred with country star Billy Ray Cyrus through two seasons and 26 episodes. So what is her relationship with acting now? The now-54-year-old Adams hasnt done much press in recent years, so we can only speculate. She hasnt come right out and said it, but Joey Lauren Adams seems to have all but retired to wedded bliss, wrote Giant Freaking Robots Ross Bonaime a year ago. According to Adamss IMDb page, however, she recently completed a comedy called Tankhouse, is currently filming the horror movie Oak and could re-team with Smith for a Mallrats sequel. In the meantime, well continue Chasing Joey. From afar. You know, not literally. When mom-of-three Patricia Feldman decided on helping fund her son's engineering degree at Purdue University, she didnt expect him to graduate owing nearly $100,000 to a loan servicer in addition to several federal student loans. It sounds worse than a payday loan, Feldman told Yahoo Finance. "It sounds almost illegal." Income-share agreements, known as ISAs, are an alternative type of student loan financing where a borrower receives a loan, then pays a percentage of their income after graduation. The terms of an ISA depends on various factors, such as their major topic of study and projected future earnings. A Purdue ad for ISAs as an alternative to student loans. (Source: Purdue) Purdues Back a Boiler program, launched in 2016, offers ISAs to students seeking alternatives to traditional federal and private student loans. Feldman's son took out a $10,373 ISA for the 2018-19 academic year, and a $29,491 ISA for the 2019-2020 year, according to documentation seen by Yahoo Finance. That $39,864 loan ballooned to $99,660.50 as of January 2022. "This is more than double the original lend," Feldman stated in a January 18 letter that was addressed to Purdue President Mitch Daniels, and seen by Yahoo Finance. "In what world is this equitable for my son?" Since the ISA stated that the borrower would not have to pay if they did not find a job, or earned income that did not exceed $40,000, Feldman added: "Should I encourage him to stay home, run out the clock on the agreement (104 months) and owe nothing? He wouldnt do that because he is a fine young man, with a great education and a good job. All due to Purdue." When asked about Feldman's case, a Purdue spokesperson told Yahoo Finance that "Purdue takes seriously its commitment to make sure Back a Boiler participants are fully aware of their repayment obligations in advance of entering into any agreement. Our website, as well as our contracts, clearly spell out those terms. And each Back a Boiler participant must successfully complete a quiz prior to entering into an ISA to ensure their awareness of those obligations." 'This horrendous deal that I've gotten him into' ISA companies previously claimed their product is neither a "loan" nor a "credit," but instead a "contingent debt" since a student doesn't have to pay the ISA until they find a job. The federal government recently categorized ISAs as "private education loans." Feldman initially thought the ISAs were a great alternative to traditional loans since they were tied to a borrowers income and marketed as a fresh new way to pay for college. She now thinks what she helped her son sign up for was far worse than a federally-backed student loan. "I write to you with a sickening stomach because I arranged and encouraged this loan," her letter to Daniels stated. "I made a terrible mistake, but in continuing to market and entice unsuspecting students and parents, you are to blame. I will be fighting this for a very long time as my son attempts to pay back an alarming amount of money." Feldman said after her son made two $900 monthly payments on his nearly $100,000 in debt, she tried to pay the entire sum off on behalf of her son but the terms of the ISA didnt allow for a lump sum payment. So now her son has $900 monthly payments while juggling his first job out of college. It's been just this horrendous deal that I've gotten him into, Feldman said. Purdue students in the stands during the college football game between the Boilermakers and Northwestern Wildcats on August 30, 2018. (Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty) 'We write today to highlight troubling ongoing practices by a Title IV school' Feldman and her sons negative experience is becoming more commonplace, according to student loan advocacy group Student Borrower Protection Center (SPBC), which is working with Feldman and pushing for increased federal oversight of ISAs. Aside from categorizing ISAs as private student loan debt, the federal government reminds higher education institutions "of their obligations when recommending, promoting, or endorsing private education loans. In August 2021, California became the first state to move toward regulating ISAs. "Colleges that market private student loans must follow the Departments rules regarding preferred lender arrangements and private student loans, including disclosing key terms and establishing a code of conduct," an Education Department (ED) spokesperson told Yahoo Finance. "These rules relate to loans not offered by the federal government, including ISAs that meet the definition of a private education loan." On Thursday, SBPC sent a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona requesting the federal agency to investigate how Purdue is structuring and marketing its ISAs. We write today to highlight troubling ongoing practices by a Title IV school that appear to violate provisions of the Higher Education Act ('HEA') and otherwise to jeopardize the schools Program Participation Agreement ('PPA') with the Department, the advocacy group wrote, adding that Purdue seemed to be masking its relationship with private student lenders through its Back a Boiler program. Purdue Pete joins the Paint Crew student section during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Purdue Boilermakers on January 24, 2020, at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Purdue, which is governed by the Higher Education Act since it draws on federal funding as a Title IV school, is generally prohibited from co-branding private loan products with student lenders and is bound by substantial restrictions and disclosure obligations around so-called 'preferred lender arrangements' ('PLAs') between colleges and creditors, the SBPC letter stated. All available evidence indicates that Purdue has brazenly ignored these limits and responsibilities as part of a scheme to drive its students to take on risky, high-rate private student loans, the letter added. "Purdues ongoing lawlessness in the face of these clearly articulated expectations requires the Department to put this statement into action." Some students who have taken out ISAs at other educational institutions have ended up suing the same lender that Purdue works with, Vemo Education, Yahoo Finance previously reported. Advocates have previously sounded the alarm over the growing number of ISA providers that presented themselves as an alternative to traditional student loans, arguing that many of the products offered skirt consumer protection laws and engage in deceptive practices. Purdue President Mitch Daniels watches a replay during a game at Ross-Ade Stadium. (Photo: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports) "Our findings are just the latest in a long line of serious concerns surrounding the back-room deal Mitch Daniels cut with the student loan industry and his friends on Wall Street to push high-cost loans onto Purdue students," Ben Kaufman, who heads research and investigations at the SBPC, told Yahoo Finance. "It boggles the mind why Mitch Daniels is so resistant to just following the law, but it's clear that the Department of Education must step in. Too many students have already been harmed by Mitch's predatory pet project in private student lending." The ED spokesperson added that over the next year, the agency "plans to work with other federal partners to provide additional information to colleges on how to further improve the accuracy and consistency of requirements related to preferred lender arrangements" in an effort to provide more transparency to parents and students who may have been approached by schools offering ISAs. 'I will flood his email' Thanks to the student loan payment pause, which is currently set to end after May 1, Feldman said she wasnt yet making monthly payments for her sons federally-backed student loans. I'm fully prepared to do that," Feldman said. "That's part of what I have to do. I don't like it. But that's what we're gonna do. Student loan payments and interest accrual on federally-held debt have been suspended since March 2020, meaning that nearly 37 million borrowers have not had to make loan payments during that time and their amount due has not increased. There is also a debate over cancellation: President Joe Biden backed the forgiveness of $10,000 in student loan debt on the campaign trail in 2020. During his administration, prominent Democrats have repeatedly urged a seemingly skeptical President Biden to enact broad-based cancellation of up to $50,000 via executive action (as opposed to legislation passed by Congress). The impatience over a decision by the White House reached a point where even a major student loan refinancing company has joined the chorus of voices calling for student loan forgiveness. (ISAs would not be part of the cancellation.) In any case, Feldman and her husband have been working to obtain more information about ISAs and publicize the issue. Feldman also said she began sending weekly emails to Purdues Daniels. I emailed him every Monday for months," she said. "And it was the same letter, just repetitive." She added a lawyer from Daniels office reached out to her in late February to understand her situation, but the correspondence has been quiet recently. For me, Mitch Daniels will never have another restful night, Feldman said. If I don't hear [from him], I will email every day, I will flood his email. And I don't know what it will do. But it's something I can do. Aarthi is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. She can be reached at aarthi@yahoofinance.com. Follow her on Twitter @aarthiswami. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn In 2015, naval observers noticed that Russia had purchased and refurbished a small fleet of dilapidated cargo ships barely suitable for scrap. Russia lacked modern supply vessels and needed the creaky ships to transport weapons and supplies to Russian troops fighting in Syria on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad. In 2018, Russias largest floating repair dock sank near Murmansk, in northern Russia, damaging Russias only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov. Officials blamed a power outage. In 2019, 14 Russian sailors died in a fire on a mysterious submarine operating off the coast of Norway. Five months after that, the cursed Kuznetsov, still in Murmansk, suffered a fire that killed at least one, injured many others and left the ship damaged. A superpowers navy is supposed to project force around the world and demonstrate fearsome combat capabilities. Russias navy, during the last few years, has been showcasing something else: cracks in Russias military that stem from an unproductive economy, widespread corruption and the obstinacy of autocracy under President Vladimir Putin. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Presidential Grants Foundation CEO Ilya Chukalin in Moscow, Russia March 29, 2022. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTER Those flaws are now on display for all the world to see in Ukraine, which Russia invaded on Feb. 24, clearly with the aim of rapidly deposing the elected government and installing a puppet regime. Much has gone wrong. Russian missiles and artillery fired from long distances have wrecked many undefended areas and killed hundreds of civilians, but Russias territorial gains have been minimal and its losses great. At least 10,000 Russian troops have died, approaching the death toll Russia suffered in Afghanistan during an entire decade in the 1980s. Ukraines military has destroyed hundreds of Russian tanks, trucks and other military vehicles, and dozens of aircraft and helicopters. The Russian effort to take Kyiv, Ukraines capital, completely foundered and those troops have largely withdrawn. [Follow Rick Newman on Twitter, sign up for his newsletter or send in your thoughts.] More stunning than numerical losses may be widespread evidence of incompetence and hollowness. Russian vehicles break down due to dry-rotted tires and poor maintenance. Units have abandoned dozens of multimillion-dollar tanks for lack of gas. Russia seems to lack modern logistical tools such as cranes, pallets and fork lifts, crucial for moving materiel quickly and safely under stress, including combat. Camouflage efforts are primitive. Russian troops communicate over open radios, susceptible to interception, and loot Ukrainian homes and stores for basics such as food. One unit of panicked Russian troops appears to have turned on its own leader, running him over with a tank. A top British intelligence official said Russias command and control is in chaos. The cancer of corruption and inefficiency What happened? Western analysts obviously failed to notice many fundamental problems with Russias military, with many estimating before the invasion that overwhelming firepower and a deep kit of military tools would help Russia steamroll Ukraine. They had reason to believe that, however. For the last decade, Russia has increased defense spending and embarked on an aggressive modernization program, funded by lucrative sales of oil, natural gas and other valuable minerals. The 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimea region encountered little resistance and went smoothly, from a military perspective. Wrecks of a Russian Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) and military vehicles are seen on the front line near Kyiv as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, Ukraine March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich One thing thats extremely difficult to diagnose from a distance, though, is the cancer of corruption and inefficiency. Russia has adopted some market reforms since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, but it has also become a kleptocracy with endemic graft and plodding state agencies that make Americas federal bureaucracy look like a whiz-bang startup. In Ukraine, those shortcomings may have metastasized into disaster. Corruption is part of the political and economic system in Russia, and what we are seeing in Ukraine is part of the explanation, Katarzyna Zysk, a professor at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies in Oslo, tells Yahoo Finance. The problem is theres no accountability. We assume this continues to be part of the problem in the Russian military. Russias annual defense budget is around $62 billionless than one-tenth what the United States spends. Even then, secret bidding for military contracts and an overcomplicated military bureaucracy leave ample room for graft. In a couple of rare admissions, Russian military leaders have estimated that 20% to 40% of Russias military budget is stolen. Former Russian foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev, who now lives in the United States, said on Twitter on March 6, the Kremlin spent the last 20 years trying to modernize its military. Much of that budget was stolen and spent on mega-yachts in Cyprus. Some analysts have been aware of the holes in Russias military, even if it wasnt yet evident on a battlefield. In a 2020 analysis for the University of Oxford, Zysk identified a slew of Russian military vulnerabilities: overlapping weapons programs that sap resources, logistical shortfalls, a weak drone program with limited attack capability, shipbuilding hindered by sanctions imposed after the 2014 invasion of Crimea, radar and satellite shortcomings, young people who want to leave the country en masse, poorly trained draftees, and more. Putin personally favors Russias submarine force, which might explain why the navy gets 26% of Russias military funding, with just 14% going to the ground forces that account for the majority of the Russian military. But the main problems behind Russias military woes, the Oxford paper concluded, are pervasive corruption, low labor productivity, brain drain, the inability to acquire a large blue-water navy and, limited innovation. A destroyed Russian armoured fighting vehicle is seen amid Russias attack on Ukraine continues, in the town of Trostianets, in Sumy region, Ukraine March 28, 2022. Picture taken March 28, 2022. REUTERS/Oleg Pereverzev Putin himself is responsible for those problems. As Russias leader or de facto leader for 22 years, he has fashioned the entire economy according to his liking, and probably purloined more of the nations wealth for himself than anyone else. Putin is the corrupter-in-chief, Barry Pavel, director of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council, tells Yahoo Finance. In autocratic systems like Russia, China or North Korea, its much easier to skim a lot of money off the top. The same thing is happening in the military. Each branch of the military gets a certain budget, and it seems to me there are chunks off the top that go for the aggrandizement of those leaders. Dude, I stole your army U.S. intelligence officials have deduced that Putins deputies are reluctant or afraid to tell him the truth about Russias shoddy military and its halting war in Ukraine. That might be because those are the same people who plundered the military budget in the first place, leaving poorly equipped troops to deal with the deadly consequences on foreign turf against a determined defender. Nobody wants to tell Putin, dude, I stole your army. America shouldnt gloat. The U.S. military is clearly more competent than Russias, with better accountability, superior integration and a highly professionalized officer and enlisted corps. But theres still plenty of waste, fraud and abuse in the U.S. military budget, plus the infamous military-industrial complex that sometimes prioritizes profits and campaign donations over national security. Americas two-decade mission in Afghanistan ended with an ignominious withdrawal last year, followed by the immediate collapse of the U.S.-backed Afghan government. A general view of destroyed Russian tanks and vehicles, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Dmytrivka village, west of Kyiv, Ukraine April 1, 2022. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra Russia does have an effective submarine force, advanced missile technology and, of course, a vast nuclear arsenal. So it would be a mistake to assume Russias sloppy performance in Ukraine means it would roll over in a broader conflict with NATO or any other power. After 2014, when Russia took over Crimea, we exaggerated Russias capabilities, says Zysk. Now we are in danger of exaggerating in the other direction. If Russia were preparing for a war with NATO, theyd be preparing very differently. They would use different kinds of weapons, morale would be better, their psychology would be different. That's a test best avoided. Rick Newman is the author of four books, including "Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman. You can also send confidential tips. Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn Sweet Homemade Gourmet Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich for Lunch The peanut butter and jelly sandwich is an American classic: synonymous with memories of school lunches and often thought of as an easy option when there's nothing left in the kitchen. But for some avid peanut butter and jelly lovers, this iconic combination is just the beginning. Foodies around the internet are cooking up comforting and creative dishes that prove PB&J can be much more than just a simple childhood staple. Soy Nguyen, a food influencer from Los Angeles, Calif. took to TikTok recently to share a new, savory twist on the dish kimchi-topped PB&J. "I wanted to try something different and thought kimchi would be an interesting element to add," Nguyen tells Yahoo Life. "I love kimchi with everything, so why not classic PB&J? It was great because the kimchi didn't overpower the PB&J but it provided good texture with a nice crunch." Ravi Parikh tells Yahoo Life he found his idea of the weirdest take on a PB&J at a state fair and has never forgotten the combination. "This deep-fried peanut butter and jelly included cottage cheese and jalapeno, which I wasn't aware of until I bit into it," Parikh, who lives in Austin, Tex. recalls. "The flavor combination took some getting used to, but it wasn't bad by the end." Stephanie Cole, a self-proclaimed peanut butter and jelly aficionado from Ashland, Oreg. shares her best sandwich creation came to her one day while she was feeling both creative and hungry. "My favorite and possibly the strangest combo of PB&J I've made is this ... chewy sourdough bread with top-quality almond butter, apricot jam, bacon, cream cheese and sriracha sauce," she says. While spicy peanut butter and jelly recipes may not seem like the most natural combination, even professional chefs are taking this innovation to the masses. In Louisville, Ky. at The Manhattan Project restaurant, Chef Ronnie Dunning and owner Erick Strnatka worked together to create the PB&J Burger, a combination of peanut butter, jelly, habanero jack cheese and bacon that became so popular during Louisville's annual burger week that it became a permanent staple on their menu. The PB&J burger, a menu staple at Kentucky restaurant The Manhattan Project, contains peanut butter, jelly, bacon and habanero jack cheese. (Photo: The Manhattan Project) "We got the inspiration from a burger that caught our eye in a magazine," says Strnatka. "We made some tweaks to get the flavor profile we wanted and it turned out amazing." For Cara Campbell, the Calgary, Canada-based food blogger behind The Gourmet Bon Vivant, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are best enjoyed in a glass. Her two-ingredient peanut butter and jelly mixed drink calls for Chambord, a naturally-flavored raspberry liqueur, and peanut butter whiskey to emulate the flavors of the classic sandwich. To make a PB&J cocktail at home, "prepare two rocks glasses with ice, then pour in one ounce of Chambord," says Campbell. "Next, slowly add two ounces of peanut butter whiskey. Garnish with berries and mix for the full PB&J effect." Peanut butter whiskey and Chambord make up this PB&J cocktail, created by Cara Campbell, a Canadian food blogger. (Photo: The Gourmet Bon Vivant) And Campbell isn't the only foodie combining the flavors of peanut butter and jelly with alcohol. Tony Yanow, owner of the restaurant Mohawk Bend in Los Angeles, Calif., says "edible cocktails" have become popular menu items. "We have three brunch menu items that each have a full cocktail's worth of alcohol in them," Shapiro explains. "So far, our most popular has been the almond butter, bourbon and jelly sandwich." Each of Mohawk Bend's boozy PB&Js contain Four Roses bourbon whipped into housemade almond butter and blackberry and fig preserves and are served on sourdough bread. From savory dishes to sweet cocktails, it seems peanut butter and jelly can be turned into anything, even a beloved local candy confection. Robyn Dochterman, the Scandia, Minn. owner of St. Croix Chocolate Company, forages for local wild grapes to make her own jelly for creating bite-sized peanut butter and jelly chocolates. "It's hyperlocal and the wild grapes give the combination just a little more tartness while still feeling familiar," Dochterman says. Familiarity truly seems to be the common link that makes PB&J sandwiches so universally beloved. And, while most concoct their more creative versions of the sandwich later in life, others have grown up on their unique peanut butter creations. Glenn Boyd recalls his own dad making these peanut butter, mayonnaise and relish sandwiches when he was a kid. (Photo: Glenn Boyd) Glenn Boyd of Canton, Ohio, serves up hist perfect peanut butter sandwich sans jelly, with a whole lot of nostalgia. "My perfect sandwich is wheat bread, crunchy peanut butter, a thin layer of mayonnaise and a layer of sweet relish," he says. Boyd recalls the days growing up when his dad, who was the captain of the Fullerton Fire Department in Fullerton, Calif. would make these sandwiches for the crew at the firehouse. "My dad always said don't even bother buying creamy butter, why would you waste your time?" Boyd shares. "Now, as an adult, I still eat it and am reminded of those days with my dad. It's really perfect any time of day, but I like it most as a late-night snack; sweet, salty and nostalgic." Want lifestyle and wellness news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Lifes newsletter. Ricardo Zuniga, the Biden's administration special envoy for the Northern Triangle countries, says the U.S. will likely see an uptick in asylum requests and immigration. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Democracy in Central America appears to be on the downslide. In Guatemala, an anti-corruption judge went into exile on March 21 amid threats to her life after presiding over cases implicating high-level Guatemalan officials, including the countrys president, Alejandro Giammattei. In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele has arrested hundreds of people in response to a spikein homicides, including a string of gang-involved killings last weekend that left scores of people dead. Bukele's crackdown has raised fears that hes trying to further consolidate power and is trampling on civil liberties. In Honduras, former President Juan Orlando Hernandez faces extradition to the U.S. under a cloud of accusations that he colluded with drug cartels to ship tons of cocaine to the U.S. in return for financial support for his political party. All this took place in a span of two weeks. Ricardo Zuniga, the Biden administration's special envoy for the region, spoke of the challenges in Central America, and how they are expected to result in an uptick of immigration from the region, while visiting Los Angeles for a Summit of the Americas event earlier this week. All were trying to do now is halt the slide" of democracy and accountability, Zuniga said in an interview with The Times, "so that we can have some place to build from." Zuniga spent most of his three-day stay meeting with Angelenos who form part of the Latin American diaspora. His visit came just days ahead of Friday's announcement by the Biden administration that it planned to end by late May a controversial policy that has blocked most migrants from seeking humanitarian protections at the U.S. border. The policy often referred to as Title 42 was invoked by the Trump administration, referring to a rarely used 1944 public health statute that allows for the quick expulsion of migrants either to Mexico or to their home countries. Trump administration officials cited the need to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Over the last two years, border authorities have used Title 42 to expel migrants in about 60% of encounters more than 1.7 million expulsions while allowing others in with humanitarian exemptions. But as the response to the COVID-19 pandemic changed within the U.S., officials began preparing an end to the policy. Biden's decision to undo Title 42 is a potentially risky move as the midterm elections approach. Immigration hard-liners on the right are certain to pounce if the policy reversal leads to a Central American exodus. Zuniga, the U.S. principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, said State Department officials have been preparing for months to implement the policy reversal. Speaking with The Times on Wednesday, Zuniga, who also is the administration's special envoy for the Northern Triangle countries, spoke about what's next for Central American relations, starting with the lifting of Title 42, a decision that a number of Republicans and at least one prominent Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, quickly attacked on Friday. Once the policy changes, the number of apprehensions along the U.S. southern border will initially look as if its decreasing, Zuniga said. But thats because for some time data have been collected in a misleading way. After then-President Trump implemented Title 42 in March 2020, the administration allowed border officials to quickly expel migrants seeking admission into the U.S. without much processing. There really werent any repercussions to crossing illegally, so the same person would often try to cross multiple times. Thats one reason why the Border Patrol stopped labeling this data as apprehensions and labeled them as "encounters." Encounters can mean multiple attempted crossings by one person, a classification that has artificially inflated the numbers. For several months, the Biden administration had hinted at lifting Title 42 but had stopped short of doing so, sparking criticism and increased pressure from immigration advocates and progressives. Zuniga believes that after Title 42 is reversed, it will dissuade some people from trying to cross more than once because there will now be consequences such as prison time attached to those attempts. But what we are preparing for is the expectation that there will be increased numbers of migrants overall, he said. People will continue to come to the United States for the same reasons as they always have, Zuniga said. Many Central Americans don't believe that economic conditions will improve, while democracy, the rule of law and the security situation continue to deteriorate. Whats different from this moment is not just that its Mexican and Central American immigration although thats big, Zuniga said. Its Venezuelan. Its Nicaraguan. Its Cuban. Its Colombian and to some extent Ecuadorean. We are seeing a lot of communities at once because the displacement caused by the pandemic is so widespread. Misinformation and disinformation about the administration's policy reversal is another concern for Zuniga. He believes that misperceptions and false reports could lead to a significant increase in immigration. They are going to be sold an impression that now, 'The border is open. There are no more restrictions. Title 42 is gone. You won't be returned,'" he said. "And the question is how to make sure people understand and get the real information ahead of time that the implications are real. As in the past, State Department officials are working on messaging in order to stem the possibility of a sudden Central American exodus. They are in conversations with Central American leaders about what the policy lift means and how they plan to enforce immigration law and prosecute multiple border crossings. They plan to run advertisements in regional radio stations in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, urging would-be immigrants to stay put and warning them of the dangers of clandestine immigration, Zuniga said. Also, State Department representatives have spoken with Central American government leaders about readying consular services to provide rapid access to documents, including passports, to those who end up in U.S. immigration detention and are removed from the country. But Zuniga knows that word of mouth probably will have the greatest impact on immigrants' perceptions. We can do all of those things, but its going to take real cases of people having the real experience of going through that process for people to understand there is going to be a process. "We need to implement it as efficiently as we can, so thats peoples experiences, and thats what they report back 'That's what mi primo dice' 'That's what my cousin says.'" This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. GENEVA (AP) The former chief prosecutor of United Nations war crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda has called for an international arrest warrant to be issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin is a war criminal, Carla Del Ponte told the Swiss newspaper Le Temps in an interview published Saturday. In interviews given to Swiss media to mark the release of her latest book, the Swiss lawyer who oversaw U.N. investigations in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia said there were clear war crimes being committed in Ukraine. She said she was particularly shocked by the use of mass graves in Russia's war on Ukraine, which recalls the worst of the wars in the former Yugoslavia. I hoped never to see mass graves again, she told the newspaper Blick. These dead people have loved ones who dont even know whats become of them. That is unacceptable. Other war crimes she identified in Ukraine included attacks on civilians, the destruction of civilian buildings and even the demolishing of entire villages. She said the investigation in Ukraine would be easier than that in Yugoslavia because the country itself had requested an international probe. The current ICC chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, visited Ukraine last month. If the ICC finds proof of war crimes, she said, you must go up the chain of command until you reach those who took the decisions. She said it would be possible to bring even Putin to account. You mustnt let go, continue to investigation. When the investigation into Slobodan Milosevic began, he was still president of Serbia. Who would have thought then that he would one day be judged? Nobody, she told Blick. Del Ponte added that investigations should be carried out into possible war crimes committed by both sides, pointing also to reports about the alleged torture of some Russian prisoners of war by Ukrainian forces. ___ This story corrects Del Ponte's title to chief prosecutor of U.N. war crimes tribunals. ___ Follow all AP stories on the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-war. People gather for a rally in support of Ukraine in front of parliament in Tbilisi, Georgia. (Daro Sulakauri / Getty Images) In the hilly, cobblestoned capital of the Black Sea country Georgia, a Russian IT worker made his latest of multiple attempts at what would normally be a mundane task: opening a bank account. A branch manager, sounding skeptical about Artyom Smirnovs reasons for being in Tblisi, asked what would happen if he just went home to Nizhny Novgorod, a city in western Russia. I could be put in jail just for saying Im against the war! said Smirnov, 25. His request for an account was rejected, along with those of a Russian couple at the bank branch. Russias invasion of Ukraine has sparked Europes biggest refugee flow since World War II, with millions of people driven from bombed-out homes and devastated cities. Roughly a quarter of Ukraines 44 million people are either internally displaced or have sought safety outside the countrys borders. But the war has also spun off a smaller diaspora: Russians, in numbers estimated to be approaching a quarter-million, have chosen to leave their homeland rather than remain under President Vladimir Putins rule. These exiles are mainly young, well-educated and relatively affluent. Many are from the tech sector or have other portable remote-working skills; others are journalists, activists or academics, or worked for progressive nongovernmental organizations. Such affiliations have been essentially criminalized under repressive measures enacted by Putins allies soon after the Feb. 24 invasion. Those include the shutdown of independent media outlets and a ban on criticizing the special military operation, as it is officially called not a war. By the tens of thousands, these expatriates arrive daily in cities like Istanbul, Turkeys commercial capital, or make their way to the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, or cluster in the capitals of other ex-Soviet republics such as Georgia, Armenia and Kazakhstan. Almost the first thing many of them will say is that they recognize that they are immensely privileged, that there can be no comparison between their plight and that of war-traumatized Ukrainians. But they acknowledge, quietly, that they left behind entire lives apartments, jobs, relatives and have little idea what the future might hold. And they also understand that theyre far from welcome everywhere. As elsewhere, Russians arriving in Tblisi more than 25,000 in just the first three weeks after the war began, according to Georgian authorities have taken to social media to exchange tips and warnings: about balky landlords and suddenly skyrocketing rents, about circumstances under which its unwise to speak Russian in public, about feelings of guilt and shame over the war Putin is waging in their names. The Russian leader, for his part, has gone out of his way to vilify those who have left, likening them to gnat-like insects. The Russian people will always be able to distinguish the true patriots from the scum and the traitors, Putin said in a bilious March 16 speech. And just to spit them out like a midge that accidentally flew into their mouths. Many of those who fled made their decision precipitously, in the days or hours after the invasion began. With European airspace closing, and with cash and flights hard to come by, many seized an opportunity to depart for places like Georgia, where they could travel without a visa. American author and journalist Masha Gessen, who visited Moscow days after the wars start, described a startlingly swift uprooting. People that I know in Moscow started to feel panicked, like really panicked, Gessen, who was born in Russia, said in an interview last month on the public radio show Fresh Air. Gessen reported a distinct sense that the borders were likely to close, that the country was just spiraling into some kind of North Korean scenario in which it would become impossible to leave. That was the experience of Dasha Takk, a 30-year-old who made a comfortable living in Moscow directing TV commercials and is attempting to settle in in Tblisi. We were watching the news and deciding where and how to go, she said. Then a friend reported that two other acquaintances had been taken off a flight by Russian security officials and prevented from leaving. We realized we need to go fast while we still can, and took the first flight to North Caucasus to cross to Georgia, Takk said. Bad weather held them up for five days, but they arrived safely and found a place to stay. The welcome has been muted, though, in part because of Georgians unhappy history with Russia. Putins forces invaded in 2008 and occupied about a fifth of the countrys territory. The fact that nearly all the arriving Russians share Georgians sympathies with Ukraine, the exiles say, does not entirely remove the stigma and some Georgians worry that the influx could again make them a target. Smirnov, the IT worker, says he understands that mistrust. Some think we just want to avoid sanctions; some say we must go back and fight Putin, he said. I have this feeling Im a bad guy by default now, and I have to prove Im normal. Russian authorities are showing signs of worry over the tech-heavy demographic of those who are leaving the country. One industry lobbyist, Sergei Plugotarenko, told Russian lawmakers last month that April alone could bring the loss of 100,000 technology workers, who are eagerly welcomed elsewhere in the region. On channels on the encrypted app Telegram, those who want to leave Russia, particularly if they work in the tech center, are being warned to take steps such as purchasing a round-trip ticket, traveling light and deleting as much information as possible from phones and other devices. Travelers have reported being forced to unlock their phones and being interrogated by security service operatives about why they are leaving. Even after reaching safety, some emigres report falling prey to depression and disorientation. At first, I was enthusiastic to start something new, said Sima Kondratenko, a 19-year-old photography model who left Moscow with two friends. But reading the news from Ukraine, you get deeper and deeper in this dark abyss you just dont understand how all this could happen. Kondratenko, whose mother is Ukrainian, said she and other exiles had found solace in throwing themselves into volunteer work with Helping to Leave, an international organization that remotely provides Ukrainian refugees with logistical and other assistance. From Georgia, it runs around-the-clock chat forums to provide information and advice. One of the groups Russian founders, Egor Eremeyev, 34, said relief work helped expat volunteers put their own upheavals in perspective and envision a future that might not lie in Russia. When they come to us, they get this new self-identity Im a normal person, I help other people, help to overcome the humanitarian crisis that is going on, he said. Eremeyev, a longtime activist before he left Russia for Georgia, was pessimistic about whether antiwar protests could truly threaten Putins rule. Public opinion polls suggest that most Russians, particularly older people who get their news from state TV, accept the Kremlin narrative that Ukraine, not Russia, was the aggressor, and that the West deliberately provoked the conflict. He can last for a long time, he said of the Russian leader. If there are 100,000 people protesting, they can arrest them and pack into their detention centers and police stations they were getting ready for this for years. Kolotilov is a special correspondent and King is a Times staff writer. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, such as the ones shown here in an undated file photo, are often made to look similar to authentic tablets "with 'M' stamped on one side and '30' on the other," prosecutors said. (U.S. attorney's office for the District of Utah) After an investigation spurred by dozens of fentanyl overdoses in the Fresno area, the alleged leader of a drug trafficking ring and 17 others were arrested and charged by federal authorities, prosecutors said Friday. Horacio Torrecillas Urias Jr., the self-proclaimed "M30 King of Fresno," and the others were charged last month with trafficking fentanyl powder and pills, cocaine and methamphetamine, according to the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of California. The investigation into the ring began after a series of overdoses last fall involving counterfeit oxycodone tablets, commonly labeled "M30," which were found to contain fentanyl. "Similar to authentic oxycodone M30 tablets, they are small, round, and light blue or green in color with 'M' stamped on one side and 30 on the other," the U.S. attorney's office said. According to the criminal complaint, Torrecillas obtained tens of thousands of counterfeit M30 pills and large quantities of other drugs from sources in Mexico, then distributed them along with his co-defendants to dealers in California and elsewhere. Local, state and federal agencies including the Fresno Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Department of Homeland Security participated in the investigation. "During the investigation, federal, state, and local law enforcement agents conducted traffic stops, intercepted packages, and executed residential search warrants that resulted in the recovery of over 55,000 M30 fentanyl pills, 6 pounds of fentanyl powder, 10 pounds of methamphetamine, a pound of cocaine, 25 firearms, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition," the U.S. attorney's office said. In one case, an investigation into the overdoses of two juveniles last October led to the arrest of Uriel Diaz-Santos on suspicion of supplying the pills. During a search of Diaz-Santos' phone, investigators determined that Torrecillas may have supplied Diaz-Santos with the pills, according to the federal complaint. In December, investigators searched a phone found at the scene of another overdose and discovered conversations between the person who had overdosed, Torrecillas and another person, Brayan Cruz, in which they discussed a drug sale, prosecutors said. Following busts of other dealers, investigators said they discovered other conversations involving Cruz, Torrecillas and other dealers negotiating sales, some in private messaging apps on social media sites. Investigators said they obtained a wiretap warrant for Torrecillas' cellphone in January. In one intercepted conversation, they said, he asked another person to drop off a package at the post office to send to New Mexico. The package was found to contain 3 pounds of methamphetamine. Over the course of several weeks, investigators said they intercepted several conversations between Torrecillas and others negotiating the sale, purchase and distribution of thousands of pills and other drugs. Fentanyl is a true danger, not just to our community, not just to our state, but to our nation," Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama said in a news release. "It was fentanyl overdoses that led to the development of the Fentanyl Overdose Resolution Team (FORT) here in Fresno. Last year alone, they responded to 84 overdoses, with 34 of them resulting in death." The defendants each face prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life and fines of $1 million to $10 million, prosecutors said. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. By Tyler Clifford and Nathan Layne (Reuters) -A jury will begin deliberations on Monday in the trial of four men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, as one of the most closely watched trials in recent memory involving allegations of domestic terrorism neared its conclusion. The 12-person jury was presented with dueling narratives during closing arguments that concluded late on Friday afternoon. Granted the option by U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker, jurors chose to start discussing the case on Monday. On Friday, jurors heard a government prosecutor describe the defendants as "filled with rage" and bent on sparking a civil war, followed by defense attorneys who accused the FBI of entrapping their clients, who they said were often high on drugs and prone to "crazy" talk rather than concrete action. The case stands as one of the most high-profile prosecutions of alleged members of right-wing organizations that have risen in prominence in the years since former President Donald Trump's election in 2016. It also highlights the extent to which the pandemic and government efforts to control it have become a wedge issue in U.S. politics, pushing some people to extremes. In his closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler sought to portray the men as hatching a specific plan of attack over several months, which included collecting firearms and conducting reconnaissance on Whitmer's vacation home. "They trained to kidnap the governor, they cased her house in the middle of the night, they mapped it out, they planned it, they gathered weapons and bombs," Kessler said in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "That is the conspiracy that they are charged with and in America it's a crime." All four of the defendants - Adam Fox, Brandon Caserta, Barry Croft Jr. and Daniel Harris - have been charged with kidnapping conspiracy. Fox, Croft and Harris were also charged with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction. If convicted the men could spend the rest of their lives in prison. The attorney for Fox, who prosecutors have accused of being the ringleader of the plot, argued that his client was lured into actions by FBI informants and was vulnerable to entrapment due to his heavy marijuana use. "Somebody rattles the keys, somebody beats the drum and gets 'em all worked up," said the attorney, Christopher Gibbons. "Thats unacceptable in America. Thats not how it works. You dont make terrorists so we can arrest them." Two other men initially charged in the alleged plot struck plea deals. The pair, Ty Garbin and Kalen Franks, served as star witnesses for prosecutors, who sought to prove that the four defendants planned to break into Whitmer's vacation home in northern Michigan, hog-tie her and take her away at gunpoint for a "trial" on treason charges over her COVID-19 mandates. Garbin is currently serving a six-year sentence, while Franks is awaiting sentencing. The four on trial are among 13 men who were arrested in October 2020 and charged with state or federal crimes in the alleged kidnapping conspiracy. Seven of them are facing charges in state court. DUELING NARRATIVES The FBI said it had begun tracking the group's movements after seeing online discussions that included posts about the violent overthrow of some state governments. The group's goal was to end pandemic restrictions, as well as trigger a second American civil war as adherents to the "boogaloo" movement, Kessler said. Harris, Caserta and an undercover informant who testified at the trial were members of the Wolverine Watchmen, a militia group, prosecutors say. Croft and Fox were members of the "Three Percenters," a similar far-right organization. In charging documents the men are accused of discussing Whitmer's kidnapping and planning to meet in Wisconsin to train with assault rifles. The men were also alleged to have discussed buying supplies to be used in the kidnapping and putting Whitmer's vacation home under surveillance, prosecutors say. Fox ordered $4,000 worth of explosives from an undercover FBI agent posing as a co-conspirator, according to the indictment. The document also accused Fox and Harris of making payments for the explosives. Joshua Blanchard, Croft's lawyer, described his client as engaging in "crazy" and "stoned" talk at times, but denied that he was ever involved in a concrete plan to kidnap Whitmer. "There was no plan, there was no agreement," Blanchard said, accusing FBI informants of attempting to lure his client into action. "It's just smoke and mirrors." (Reporting by Tyler Clifford; Editing by Frank McGurty, Aurora Ellis and Mark Porter) Two veterans, whose paths crossed when fighting during the Falklands war, have been reunited four decades later. Bill McDowell, 60, and Norman McDade, also 60, met for the first time since the 1982 conflict at a home in Bishopton, which is run for veterans by charity Erskine. The pair, who both now live in Erskine, likely came across each other during a transition of British troops on to ships heading into battle during the Falklands. They decided to reunite to mark the wars 40th anniversary on Saturday. Mr McDade, who prefers to go by the name Mac, joined the Royal Navy aged 17 in 1978 and trained as a chef. But when war broke out between the British and the Argentines, Mac and his crew onboard the HMS Plymouth were ordered to head to the South Atlantic to fight. When not dodging bombs and defending troops against fighter jets, the Navy chef-turned gunner was involved in assisting in the transportation of soldiers arriving from the UK onto ships going into battle. On May 27, the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) arrived in South Georgia carrying the 5th Infantry Brigade, including Mr McDowell, who was a member of the Scots Guards. The troops were then transferred to smaller ships, including the Plymouth and HMS Intrepid, to be transported on to East Falkland. This is where the two were believed to have come across each other for the first time. There is definitely a possibility we waved at each other or saw each other at this point, Mac said. Its not always easy to recognise everyone because we all look a little different now, most of us certainly have less hair. Speaking about his memory of the transfers between boats, Mr McDowell said he was reduced to tears on several occasions. In the boats most of us were crouching, kneeling or sitting in icy water which gathered in the bottom, at times it was so cold that I could barely hold my rifle, he said. The two Falklands veterans in the grounds of the Erskine Home in Bishopton, Renfrewshire (Andrew Milligan/PA) There were several ship-to-ship transfers, as the QE2 could not be put at risk. He said on June 5, the troops embarked the HMS Intrepid, which was an amphibious assault ship used by the Royal Marines and headed to Bluff Cove. It was from HMS Intrepid that we were launched, crammed into a couple of landing crafts for what could only be described as a night of freezing cold and wet hell. The whole night was spent in the bitter freezing cold, pitch black, South Atlantic winter. At one point during the night, shells burst over the landing crafts, shells which were fired from Royal Navy warships that were unaware that the battalion was in the landing crafts and came very close to identifying us as enemy and opening fire. The flat-bottomed ships were tossed mercilessly in the waves and every time the boats bow came crashing down, the freezing cold water would come pouring into the boat and rushing over there would be a collective gasp as the water hit us. When 2nd Battalion Scots Guards landed at Fitzroy, a settlement on East Falkland, on June 6, Mr McDowell and his comrades then went on to fight in the Battle of Mount Tumbledown a week later. On June 13, the bloody conflict, with hand-to-hand fighting, led to the deaths of nine Scots Guards troops and 47 wounded. I still find it difficult to talk about the moments that changed my life forever, Mr McDowell said. I was confused, scared and a long way from home. The UK could massively scale up its nuclear power capability by 2050 with new stations having far greater capacity, it is understood. The Business Secretary has suggested six or seven new sites could be in operation by that point, with all but one of Britains existing plants set to be decommissioned by 2030. The PA news agency understands that while the number of stations is likely to remain similar to now, the plan is for each new site to be far more powerful than those they will replace, significantly pushing up the UKs capacity. The Sunday Telegraph reported that Boris Johnson is preparing to announce plans to expand the Governments commitment to move forward with new large-scale nuclear power stations this decade. The newspaper said the plan had been to back one by 2024, but it is thought the new ambition will be to support the construction of two by 2030. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has suggested six or seven new nuclear sites could be in operation by 2050 (James Manning/PA) The move to scale up nuclear power production will reportedly form part of a major expansion of homegrown energy in the wake of the Ukraine crisis. It comes as the Governments energy security strategy is expected to be unveiled on Thursday. Asked about the scale of the its nuclear ambitions, Kwasi Kwarteng told The Sunday Telegraph: There is a realisation across Government that we could do more on nuclear. With energy, youre thinking maybe 30, even 40 years [ahead]. If we fast forward to 2050, there is a world where we have six or seven sites in the UK. That isnt going to happen in the next two years, but its definitely something that we can aspire to. The Prime Minister said, in terms of the energy generation mix, we could see maybe a quarter of that being nuclear. Id say 15 to 25 per cent. But obviously in the first three years youre not going to suddenly have six new nuclear stations in three years. Its physically impossible to do that. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS. Accompanied by the Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited "Yerablur" military pantheon, paid tribute to the memory of the heroes who sacrificed their lives in the Four-Day War of 2016 and the Artsakh liberation war, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister laid flowers at the tombs of the victims of the Four-Day War, Sparapet Vazgen Sargsyan and Commander Andranik Ozanyan. Nikol Pashinyan laid a wreath at the memorial to the fallen freedom fighters. According to new guidelines, Modified 'Maharshi Charak Shapath' is recommended when a candidate is introduced to medical education The Hippocratic Oath, ethical code attributed to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, is a widely adopted guideline to conduct medical profession throughout the ages. (Representational image: iStock) New Delhi: Medical education regulator National Medical Commission (NMC) has recommended that 'Maharshi Charak Shapath' should replace the Hippocratic Oath in a new curriculum for MBBS courses and students pursuing them in the country. According to new guidelines, "Modified 'Maharshi Charak Shapath' is recommended when a candidate is introduced to medical education." The guidelines also recommend a 10-day yoga "foundation course", beginning June 12 every year and culminating on the International Yoga Day on June 21. "Yoga training is recommended to be initiated during the foundation course,(one hour, preferably in the morning in orientation week). Yoga practices shall be for maximum one hour every day during the period of 10 days beginning from 12th June every year to be culminated on International Yoga Day, i.e. June 21, to be celebrated in all medical schools across the country," according to the revised guidelines. According to the guidelines, a robust continuous formative and internal assessment is required to ensure competencies and thereby a competent medical graduate. "If required, we can have two internal assessments and the third internal assessment can be calculated from various unitary and continuous tests taken throughout the year," it said. Interestingly, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya recently said in Parliament that 'Maharshi Charak Shapath' would be optional and not forced on medical students. Charaka Shapath or Charaka oath, a passage of text in Charaka Samhita which is the Sanskrit text on Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine), is a set of instructions by a teacher to prospective students of the science of medicine. The Hippocratic Oath, ethical code attributed to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, is a widely adopted guideline to conduct medical profession throughout the ages and still used in the graduation ceremonies of many medical schools. The Russian minister also praised India's foreign policy as 'independent' and 'not bowing to US diktats' New Delhi, April 1 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening told visiting Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov that there should be swift cessation of violence in Ukraine and conveyed India's readiness to contribute in any way to the peace efforts. With India buying Russian oil at highly discounted prices and the Russians apparently willing to offer more, Mr Lavrov had, after talks with external affairs minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, earlier declared his country would be ready to supply any goods that India wanted to buy from it, adding that the Rupee-Rouble mechanism is a way to bypass trade in dollars and the Western sanctions imposed on Russia. Discussing the Ukraine crisis and its economic impact on trade ties, EAM Jaishankar told his Russian counterpart that as a developing economy, global volatility in different domains is of particular concern to India and that it is important for both countries that their economic, technological and people to people contacts remain stable and predictable. India has close defence ties with Russia spanning decades and these were also discussed on Friday. Interestingly, Mr Lavrov hailed Russia, India and China as three natural partners that have a common approach to resolve problems. The Russian foreign minister wrapped up his scheduled two-day visit to Delhi in the evening after calling on PM Modi. Asked whether Indian mediation was possible to solve the Ukraine crisis, Mr Lavrov at a select media briefing organised by the Russian side in the afternoon also indicated in a somewhat cautious answer that Russia was seeking certain security guarantees from Ukraine and that the West had ignored its responsibilities, adding that if India wanted to support the peace initiatives, Russia was not against this. The Russian foreign minister said, India is an important country. If India sees to play that role which provides resolution of the problem...If India is with its position of a just and rational approach to international problems, it can support such process. Mr Lavrov also said there was no approved plan as yet to resolve the Ukraine crisis. The Russian minister also praised India's foreign policy as independent and not bowing to US diktats. He appreciated that India was looking at the Ukraine crisis in its entirety of facts and not in a one-sided way, adding that both countries always respect and accommodate each others interest. India has not voted against Russia at the UN on the Ukraine crisis and has also not condemned Moscow for its military offensive in Ukraine. During the talks on Friday, EAM Jaishankar also sought to convey New Delhis consistent stand to Moscow that violence and hostilities ought to end immediately, with New Delhi conveying a veiled disapproval by saying that differences and disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy and by respect for international law, UN Charter, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. In his media remarks at the start of talks, the EAM said, Our meeting today takes place in a difficult international environment quite apart from the pandemic. India, as you are aware, has always been in favour of resolving differences and disputes through dialogue and diplomacy. In his remarks at the start of talks, Mr Lavrov recalled that bilateral ties and the privileged strategic partnership between both nations had sustained through many difficult times in the past. Mr. Lavrov said, We respect basic Indian principles based on legitimate national interests. Speaking later at the select media briefing, Mr Lavrov said that for gas supplies from Russia to Europe, an honest scheme has been found for payment in roubles since the West had promoted discrimination by freezing Russian accounts in Euros and Dollars. Mr Lavrov blasted the West for forcing others to join their politics and accused the US of acting recklessly in nations such as Libya and Syria. by Stefano Caprio In the fog of mistrust and hostility that has long imobilized relations between Catholics and Orthodox in Russia, the charge of proselytism has been progressively "neutralised". However, another accusation remained, far more incisive and historically well-founded in its various interpretations: that of Uniatism in Ukraine. The history of a Church since 1596 reluctant to exalt the Moscow "third Rome". One of the first signs that Russian politics was veering towards a rather aggressive form of nationalism was the expulsion of several Catholic missionaries from Russia in 2002. This was certainly not a striking event, but rather a common occurrence in the history of missionary works that have to settle in countries around the world that are not always well disposed towards the Catholic Church. Specifically, two years after President Vladimir Putin took office, it indicated a clear stance in defence of Orthodoxy as the "state religion", which, moreover, had already been elevated above all other confessions in the law on religious freedom reformed in 1997, at the proposal of the Communists and inspired by the patriarchate of Moscow. The prologue to that law proclaimed that the historical religion of Russia was Orthodoxy, while four other religions were recognised as "traditional secondary": Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and... Christianity, evidently meaning Catholics and Protestants, present in Russia for centuries, but distinct from the Orthodox as another religion. It was not a slip of the tongue, and in fact that term has never been corrected: Russian Orthodoxy is in fact a distinct spiritual dimension, in which Christian dogmas are mixed with pagan residues, much more so than in the other branches of Christianity, and above all are reformulated into universalistic national ideals, which indicate Russia as a "salvific people" for the whole of humanity. It was, in short, a sign not so much and not only of the disagreements between the Churches of East and West, but directly of an application to the politics and construction of the new (post-Soviet, but also post-Eltsinian) Russia; the construction of a framework of reference values and principles based on the distinction and rejection of the so-called "West", understood as a whole as a space dominated by the degraded spirit of the enemies of the true faith, by the Antichrist prophesied in various forms by the biblical scriptures and medieval sagas. The anti-Catholic reaction was thus provoked by a resurgence of this post-religious ideology, meaning a wholly political interpretation of the 'religious renaissance' of post-communism, which had turned from a spontaneous search for God into a rebirth of the State Church. The accusations against missionaries and Catholic structures in Russia concerned the "ecclesiastical" version of the invasion of the enemy, Catholic "proselytism" on Orthodox canonical territory. It was evident that this accusation was specious, since Catholics were a tiny minority within the Russian population, a few hundred thousand out of 145 million, of whom only a very small percentage attended church. Nor could it be claimed that the Catholics had taken away the faithful from the Orthodox, given that the few hundred Russian Catholics who were not of Polish, Lithuanian or German origin were mostly unbaptised or did not attend the Churches of the Moscow Patriarchate. Since the opening of the apostolic nunciature in Moscow in 1990 and the episcopal appointments in 1991, there had not been a single real case of conflict between Catholics and Orthodox in Russia over disputes over worshippers or places of worship, which were returned with great difficulty, so much so that even today many are denied. Personal relations between priests and faithful of both sides were more than cordial, in many cases downright fraternal. The expulsion of the missionaries took place under a bureaucratic pretext: the four Catholic apostolic administrations (Moscow, Saratov, Novosibirsk and Irkutsk) were elevated by the Holy See to the rank of diocese, an almost automatic decision after a certain interval of time, and this (incautious) decision was considered a "declaration of war" by the Orthodox and nationalists. In the ten years, until the meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill in 2016, relations between Catholics and the Russian Orthodox remained frozen in a mixture of mistrust and hostility, and Catholics on the territory of Russia were forced to limit their activities as much as possible. The accusation of proselytism was progressively "neutralised", thanks also to a commission chaired by the patriarchate that made it compulsory for Catholics to ask permission for any new initiative. Another accusation remained, far more incisive and historically well-founded in its various interpretations: that of Uniatism in Ukraine. The Greek-Catholic Church in Ukraine has no direct branches in Russia, except for small communities scattered here and there in Europe and Siberia, but "Uniatism" and "proselytism" were associated in a single strategy of "Catholic invasion" in the area of the patriarchate of Moscow. The Union of Brest had been signed in 1596, as a response by the Russian Orthodox of the Kingdom of Poland to the proclamation of the Moscow Patriarchate seven years earlier, choosing to rejoin the papal 'first Rome' instead of exalting the Moscow 'third Rome'. Since then the dispute in these lands has experienced moments of stagnation and dramatic periods, such as when in 1946 Stalin decided from on high to suppress the Greek-Catholic Church by imposing its fusion with the Moscow Patriarchate, in the pseudo-Synod of Lviv organised by the then secretary of the party in Ukraine Nikita Khruscev, with the endorsement of "Stalin's Patriarch" Alexis I in Moscow. The Uniates were harshly persecuted throughout the Soviet period, and they did not wait for the end of the empire to return to the forefront: in 1990 they came out into the open, taking back the churches they had taken away almost fifty years earlier, and expelling the "Muscovite" priests, many of whom declared themselves on the side of the Greek Catholics. The Holy See had no choice but to recognise its own Eastern-rite faithful in Ukraine, whom the saintly Pope John Paul II defended against accusations and hostilities within the Catholic Church itself. In 1991, the nuncio to the Soviet Union published the appointments of Uniate bishops in three dioceses, which became many more in the following years, covering the territory of the entire independent Ukraine. There are about 3 million Uniates, the majority of whom live in the western parts of the country, but they have churches and monasteries in every region. While the Patriarchate of Moscow has almost completley overcome the issue of "proselytism" over time, its guard against Uniatism has never been lowered: when there was the anti-Russian Maidan uprising in 2014, from patriarchal circles the finger was pointed at the Uniates as the real inspirers of the uprisings, even attributing to them the spiritual paternity of the most vocal groups of the Ukrainian extreme right, the "neo-Nazis" who were indicated by Putin as the enemies of the "Russian world", against whom the defensive "special military operation" was necessary to free Russians and Ukrainians from Western influence. It should be added that many of the Greek Catholic priests and bishops actually come from the Ukrainian diaspora around the world, or have spent long periods in various countries, such as the same Major Archbishop Svjatoslav (Sevcuk) who met Pope Bergoglio in Argentina, and whom the Uniates explicitly call "our patriarch". His predecessor, Cardinal Ljubomyr Husar, had returned to Ukraine after long years of exile in Rome, which he spent with many compatriots in the monastery of Grottaferrata and in the Ukrainian church of Santa Sofia in Via Boccea, the Ukrainian cathedral abroad built by Cardinal Iosif Slipyj, who had come to Rome after 18 years in a Siberian lager. Today Husar's body rests in the new Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, on the left bank of the Dnipro, the river of the Baptism of Rus' in 988. In this modern Byzantine church consecrated in 2011, Archbishop-Patriarch Svyatoslav resides, housing hundreds of people in the crypt to protect them from the Moscow bombings. He declared it "a miracle" that the capital is still standing and not occupied by Russian tanks, in a dramatic video link-up with his confreres at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome on 29 March. Svjatoslav recounted that "the invasion had been well planned, we found our parishioners, choristers and youth groups holding lists of targets to be eliminated, in which were all the leaders of our Church and of the Orthodox ones". The most violent fighting took place around the Greek-Catholic cathedral, from which the Russians thought they could cross the river and take over the historic Orthodox cathedral of St Sophia, on the heights of the right bank. "They were apocalyptic moments, when we thought the world was collapsing, and we had to organise ourselves as best we could," says the archbishop, "the most important thing was to stay in touch with the bishops and priests, so that they could take care of our people". Svyatoslav's daily five-minute messages became everyone's only source of information and directives for action, with the phrase "it's me, Kiev is alive!", which he recounted between tears: "With you I can cry, I must give people words of hope". And so 'the moral strength of the Ukrainian people has become a miracle that surprises the world, the life of the capital is being reborn, even though only one million people, a third of the population, are left'. The figures for Ukraine's martyrdom are impressive, as all the newspapers now testify on a daily basis, and Svyatoslav points out that "all the priests have remained in their parishes", even those in the ghost-cities of Mariupol, Cernihiv and Kharkiv, razed to the ground by Chechen bombs and missiles: "1300 rockets in a month, churches and historical buildings have been destroyed". Two churches a day are demolished, knowing that people take refuge in crypts, and most of them are churches of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine. The archbishop also tells of a great solidarity between the Churches, Greek-Catholic, autocephalous and Moscow. Representatives of all the communities are in constant contact with each other, especially in the protection of St Sophia, the cathedral-symbol of Christianity in Kiev, where a mosaic of the Praying Madonna protecting the people is still preserved, which miraculously remained intact even during the Tatar-Mongolian invasion in 1240. The apostolic nuncio, Mgr Visvaldas Kulbokas, a Lithuanian, the only ambassador who did not move to the safer Lviv, also remained heroically in Kiev, because "I am a pastor, before being a diplomat", and Svyatoslav confirms: "we are pastors, not altar boys to power". The archbishop thanked Pope Francis, who called him immediately after the start of the hostilities and made him feel his closeness, also through the frequent calls of Cardinal Parolin. He gave thanks for "the extraordinary event of the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, because we are experiencing an apocalyptic clash between good and evil and we need a miracle from Our Lady, from the one who crushed the head of the ancient dragon, we need the supernatural strength of the Immaculate Conception that we, Catholics, Orthodox and many ordinary people, feel in our midst". The history of Catholics in Russia and Ukraine begins a new from faith and communion in suffering, and this is the real hope for these lands. The new Baptism of Kiev regenerates humanity in need of rediscovering peace and love among Christians, among peoples and among men. RUSSIAN WORLD IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO RUSSIA. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE IT EVERY SATURDAY IN YOUR E-MAIL? TO SUBSCRIBE, CLICK HERE. The Chinese continue to gloss over the possibility of mediating between Kiev and Moscow. The EU threatens to respond in case of Chinese aid to the Kremlin. Europeans demand an end to Beijing's trade boycott of Lithuania. The Union wants to relaunch human rights dialogue with the Chinese government. Brussels (AsiaNews) - No commitment to mediation in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict; business as usual; silence on human rights. As was expected, the European Union got nothing from China in the annual summit held yesterday by videoconference. The fact that the meeting of EU leaders with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang did not go well is evidenced by the fact that the two sides did not issue a joint statement, but only separate declarations. Not surprisingly, Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, spoke of "open and frank" talks. Translated: the two sides disagreed on everything. Ukraine was the highlight of the discussion. The Europeans repeatedly asked Beijing to mediate between Moscow and Kiev. On the ongoing conflict, the Chinese have an ambiguous position: on the one hand, they rhetorically support Putin's positions; on the other, they remain cautious to avoid clashes with the US and the EU. Von der Leyen said that any support to Moscow would damage the reputation of China in Europe. On this point, the EU leader was clear: "We have adopted massive sanctions that are effective. More than 40 countries in total have joined these sanctions. So we also made very clear that China should, if not support, at least not interfere with our sanctions." Von der Leyen's reference is to US intelligence information according to which Beijing would be willing to help the Kremlin militarily and economically. In its statement, with an unusually threatening tone, the EU said that "any attempt to circumvent sanctions or support Russia by other means must be stopped." In this sense, Europe's weapon is to push its companies to leave China. On the Ukrainian issue, Xi said China and the EU should play a "constructive role" to add stability factors to a turbulent way. In an indirect blow to Washington, the Chinese president called on Europe to follow an "independent" policy on China. On the same evasive line, Li pointed out that Beijing has promoted "in its own way" peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. If no progress has been made on Ukraine, the same can be said about Sino-European trade relations. Chinese media emphasize the stability of bilateral trade, which in 2021 reached a record 800 billion dollars. However, the EU has asked Beijing to end the unjustified trade boycott of Lithuania, imposed due to Vilnius' growing relations with Taiwan. Otherwise, the Union will pursue the complaint against the Chinese already presented to the World Trade Organization. The Europeans also continue to demand equal treatment for their companies operating in China. Regarding the respect of human rights in China, the EU has reiterated its concerns about the condition of minorities in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, as well as the Tibetan population and the crackdown on the democratic movement in Hong Kong and Chinese human rights defenders. European Council President Charles Michel explained that the Union insisted on the revival of the bilateral dialogue on human rights, adding that Li was willing. On the eve of the summit, however, international groups have asked the EU to suspend talks on the issue with China, which they consider unnecessary, and to initiate a "shadow" discussion with humanitarian activists who can provide a more realistic picture of Beijing's repressive policies. Today's headlines: a state of emergency declared in Sri Lanka to stem protests; Covid-19, all of Shanghai in lockdown (to greater or lesser intensity), first difficulties in hospitals; the Council of Ulemas launches an appeal not to attack restaurants open during the day during Ramadan; in Russia a pensioner is attacked and robbed by other women for sugar; Tokyo media caught between Russian gas and condemnation of the war in Ukraine. YEMEN Yemen's waring parties have reached an agreement for a two-month truce. UN source say it is the first nationwide ceasefire since 2016. The country is experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world and the war has already claimed nearly 400,000 lives. Sixty per cent of these have died from hunger, lack of medical care and lack of drinking water. CHINA The 25 million inhabitants of Shanghai are subjected to a more or less severe lockdown. Even those in the east remain confined, although the measure was due to end yesterday. The escalation of cases driven by the Omicron variant, which jeopardises the "zero-covid" policy, is worrying. First alarms also came from hospitals, fearing possible victims in nursing homes for the elderly. SRI LANKA In Sri Lanka, a state of emergency has been declared by the authorities following violent protests outside the private home of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Yesterday, security forces arrested 53 protesters; five photojournalists were also detained and tortured in a police barracks. A curfew was in force for the second night, but protests continued. INDONESIA The Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI), the country's most important Islamic institution, launched an appeal for Ramadan. The leaders ask that restaurants and street food vendors, which are open during the day - for non-Muslims - in the holy month of fasting and prayer, not be hit or damaged. Retailers, they say, "must not be forcibly closed" to respect "those who do not fast". RUSSIA In the Tula region of Russia, a 73-year-old pensioner was attacked by other women as she was returning home. The aim of the attack was to take away 5 kg of sugar she had just bought at the supermarket. The woman had waited for hours for the entire load to be delivered, which was sold out in 30 seconds. UZBEKISTAN The authorities in Uzbekistan are expecting the return of at least 100,000 labour migrants from Russia. Their return is linked to the 'fall of the rouble', as Labour Minister Mikhitdinov explained. In response to the emergency, he promised to create new jobs for them in the local construction industry. JAPAN Japan cannot give up the Russian gas and oil programme 'Sakhalin-2' as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida explained, but is trying to balance it with its clear opposition to the invasion of Ukraine. Shell, which held 27.5%, has withdrawn from the project; Japan's Mitsui&Co. controls 12.5%, Mitsubishi 10%. The remaining 50% is in the hands of the Russians of Gazprom. ISRAEL The Israeli digital hunters of Fake Reporter have identified the 'strong point' of the Kremlin's media operations against Ukraine. It is the website 'War on Fake', used by the Moscow leadership to spread propaganda messages in Russia and abroad via the social accounts of Russian diplomatic representations around the world. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Like it or not, these are some of the pioneers of the modern automotive industry, as they have not only started new trends with these cars, but they are not considered niche products anymore either. And you only have to look at their rivals, which they have indirectly influenced, to understand why.In this story, we are going to put the spotlight on the second generation Nissan Juke for one obvious reason named Kolesa , as they have turned it into a full-blown R. Now, that might not mean anything to you, unless you have a soft spot for small crossovers, or you simply cannot have enough of the GT-R, because what could possibly be that exciting about a Juke-R, right?Actually (insert meme here), this is a digital ode to the original Nissan Juke-R , which was based on the first-gen. As some of you may remember, a handful of them got the same engine as the R35 GT-R, as well as many other upgrades. The twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 was tuned to push out 690 brake horsepower, which turned this model into a real pocket rocket.Other highlights included the dual-clutch automatic transmission lifted from the Godzilla , dedicated exhaust system, custom suspension, Brembo brakes, sticky tires wrapped around the alloys, and bespoke looks. The work continued inside with the front bucket seats, racing harnesses, and roll cage, which created a very racy feel.As for the one imagined by the said website, it follows a similar theme, albeit applied to the second generation. In a side-by-side comparison with the regular Juke, this one stands out like a punch to the face. It features a new front bumper, bigger central air intake, chin spoiler, and blacked-out V-motion grille. The back end follows the sporty theme, with the new bumper, more aggressive diffuser, a single reflector mounted in the middle, and quad exhaust pipes. A big wing decorates the tailgate, and the Juke-R log o sits on the left side of the license plate.There are no swollen wheel arches on this project, but the Nismo-branded alloys are brand-new, and appear to have been lifted from the GT-R. If you look behind them, you will see cross-drilled rotors, and bigger calipers, part of the uprated braking system. Also, it sits closer the ground, as in the real world, it would have a new chassis setup as well. Moreover, due to the obvious weight-saving design of such a model, it might have less comfort and tech equipment.Unfortunately, the pixel manipulator behind these renderings decided to call it a day before imagining the cockpit. Thats a pity, because we would have wanted to see the Spartan approach, but we can tell you that a modern-day Juke-R would definitely follow in the footsteps of its predecessor in this department too. Thus, it would receive front seats with integrated headrests and extra side bolstering, racing harnesses, and a roll cage to keep occupants protected if something bad happens.We wouldnt dream of a new Nissan Juke-R if we were you, because it would be tricky to make due to the stricter emission regulations. On top of that, not many people would be interested in owning a mega crossover, and those who would be, would probably not afford it, because in case you forgot, the original one was a six-digit affair, and it is still valued at well over $200,000 today. That said, do you think the Japanese automaker should still give it a go? EV kWh Deliveries of the 2022 GMC HummerPickup Edition 1 deliveries began in December last year. As you might know already, this all-electric truck sold immediately after reservations were made possible. The interest people manifested surprised even the company executives, who told the press at the time they were delighted about how the EV was received.With the Hummer EV Pickup now reaching more owners or companies, transactions on the used market were expected to happen. What almost nobody foresaw was one selling for more than $164,000 over the MSRP, which couldnt be changed by dealers because the manufacturer handled the reservations.But it happened. This all-electric truck with four-wheel steering and the impressive Crab Walk function found itself a new owner for the impressive price of $275,000. This unit was an Edition 1 spec, which means it has all the bells and whistles, including the three electric motors, air-ride suspension, the 200-battery pack, Super Cruise, launch control, underbody cameras, the extreme off-road package, multifunction tailgate, and removable transparent panels.The Detroit-built truck was offered on BaT at no reserve after the selling dealer put just 10 miles on the odometer. The first 790 miles were added previously by the original holder of the reservation. This new Hummer doesnt even have its own section on the auction site. Its listed under the Electric Vehicles category.According to investor information GM published recently, there are only 99 Hummer EV Pickups delivered to customers in the U.S.While were strongly in favor of people spending their hard-earned money exactly as they please, we cant help but wonder if the used car market is still extremely hot or theres just enough money to go around for everything that generates a little hype.A couple of auction watchers sarcastically said they feel like theyre in the metaverse, indicating that something like this cant actually take place in our own current reality. While the BaT community was polite about the surprising transaction and didnt let out a lot of their own feelings, social media feedback turned into a bashing contest where someone said rich people are ruining the car enthusiast market one auction at a time.In the end, the market makes its own rules, even if some of us like it or not. Supply and demand both play a major role in these buying and selling decisions.Let's also not forget that the first GMC Hummer EV Pickup sold for $2.5 million.Cheaper versions of the all-electric truck will arrive in 2024, with prices starting from around $80,000 if battery cell costs won't completely unbalance the scales. Sometimes fires happen in the forests, and they need to be extinguished as fast as possible. However, since flames are spreading with incredible speed, sometimes firefighters need more than trucks and tons of courage to extinguish wildfires. Since some of these fires are happening in remote areas, almost unreachable with any kind of wheeled or tracked vehicle, an aircraft is the best bet.The most efficient airplanes in firefighting are the amphibious ones, which can land on water, refill and take off to drop their loads on top of large areas. With the DHC-515 Firefighter, DeHavilland can drop up to 700,000 liters (app. 185,000 US gallons) per day, twice as much as its closest competitor.DHC-515 was built after the aircraft maker learned essential lessons from the DHC-415 firefighter aircraft. Thanks to its rugged construction and intelligent technologies, it can refill in just 12 seconds from any lake, river, or sea. That's an important advantage over land-based aircraft. Also, unlike a helicopter, which has to stop and drop the tank to refill it, the airplane doesn't have to. It can fill "on the run" while cruising on the water.Like the DHC-415, the new model features a straight-wing design with a big wingspan and turboprop engines placed on top. These prove to be more trustworthy at lower speeds than jet engines. Moreover, they emit up to 50% lower CO2 in the air and are more fuel-efficient than turbofans. The aircraft can refill even in rough waters, with up to 6 ft (2 meters) waves, thanks to its rugged construction. It can also perform in high winds, typical with megafires . Unfortunately, due to climate changes, wildfires are happening more often than a few decades ago, and new solutions are needed. DeHavilland Canada installed state-of-the-art electronic equipment and navigation systems, so the aircraft would be more effective in the battles with fires.By now, the DHC-515 won the hearts and money of 22 European customers. Countries like France, Greece, and Spain already used the DHC-415 for firefighting, so they trust DHC aircraft. Due to that, the factory from Calgary, Canada, will deliver the last batch around 2025. You can see that in the main image of this piece. It was snapped back in the beginning of March as one of the bombers, deployed with the 69th Bomb Squadron from Royal Air Force Fairford in the United Kingdom, was flying over the Alps.The instance was snapped from an unidentified airplane as it was on an undisclosed Bomber Task Force operation. These are "predetermined deployments with NATO partners and allies to demonstrate and strengthen the shared commitment to global security and stability," according to the U.S. Air Force (USAF).The Alps are Europes highest and most extensive mountain range. They cross eight countries (France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia), and at their highest (Mont Blanc), measure 4,809 m (15,778 feet). In fact, the range has no less than 128 peaks that reach above the 4,000-meter (13,123-feet) threshold.With those numbers in mind, its easy to understand why even the beast with eight engines hanging by the wings is just a spec of dust on natures playground.With all the horrors taking place in Ukraine, the Stratofortress seems to be popping up more and more often in USAFs releases. The Big Ugly Fat Fella made its comeback to Europe just a week or so before Russia invaded Ukraine.Simple math shows that, if need be, these bombers could easily reach any targets on this Earth the things range is rated at 8,800 miles (over 14,000 km), but that's before aerial refueling. Now, you might think that pitching a Ferrari 812 Superfast against a McLaren 600LT is a bit unfair, given the difference in horsepower levels. But you should always remember that there's more to a car than that. In today's Italy versus the United Kingdom battle, the weight of these two machines might just play a decisive role in establishing the outcome. So before moving on with the quarter-mile (402 meters) action , let's have a look at the specs of both cars. The limited-edition 812 Superfast is powered by a 6.5-liter, naturally-aspirated V12 that puts out 789 horsepower and 530 lb-ft (718 Nm) of torque.But the 812 Superfast is quite heavy, as it weighs in at around 3,968 lbs (1,800 kg)! That's not quite the figure you'd expect from an Italian supercar. But that's what you get when you add all the modern amenities to what is essentially a road-legal race car. Looking at the 2,989 lbs (1,356 kg) McLaren , its 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 unit is rated for 592 horsepower and 457 lb-ft (620 Nm) of torque. So in terms of horsepower to weight ratio, these two cars are not that far apart, but the McLaren does have a minor advantage.As you'd expect from a CarWow test, the McLaren and the Ferrari will be going through three different challenges: an all-out quarter-mile drag race, a roll race, and last but not least, an evaluation of their stopping power. For the first run of the day, the two contenders seem to be quite evenly matched, and we get to see a photo finish! The Ferrari reveals the reason for having "Superfast" in its name on the second run, as it gets an excellent start and finishes the same way. Finally, the third run is the decisive one, and the 600LT gets the win, which isn't necessarily proof that it's the faster car here.The 600LT crossed the finish line in 10.7 seconds, while the 812 Superfast required an additional 0.4 seconds. The human factor is not to be taken lightly, and chances are that if this test would be repeated with 10 other drivers, the results would vary time and time again. Moving on to the roll race, it will be interesting to see if the McLaren will score another victory due to being lighter or if the Ferrari will turn the tables using pure grunt. For the first run, both cars will be using their least sporty settings and will be engaging in a wide-open-throttle battle as soon as they hit 50 mph (80 kph).If you were expecting to see the McLaren 600LT in the lead for this one, you'd be disappointed. The 812 Superfast is in front for both the half-mile and 1-mile marker, with an exit speed of just under 200 mph (321 kph). For the next run, both cars will be engaging their fastest settings, but once again, the result is the same. As they are tied for points, the braking test will be the one to settle the score. Usually, you'd expect the lighter car to win this one, but the brakes on the 812 Superfast are on a different level, it seems, and fans of the Italian manufacturer will be happy to see the conclusion. Speaking exclusively to Reuters , Zak Brown said adding more races to a season of F1 and exploring new locations is what makes this sport interesting to watch. Sharing the drivers enthusiasm for the new venue in Las Vegas, Brown said it will be the perfect fit. He also praised the interest manifested by promoters in posh locations like Singapore and Abu Dhabi, underlining that billionaires and business leaders will follow the motorsport throughout the world.With Miami, Austin, and Las Vegas confirmed for 2023, Zak Brown thinks Monaco should up the ante or face the loss of an annual presence of the racing held there. He acknowledges the importance of the track there, but also points out the fact that theres now a need for more glamour than the tiny European principality can offer.His vision is based on the fact that other places where F1 drivers race are already offering better deals, which means they just pay more to have the event held there.The executive is not only focused on the money, as he points out that the cars got a bit wider, and the street circuit makes overtaking almost impossible. This doesnt translate into an enhanced viewership experience as it already happens elsewhere in the world. Id much rather have Monaco than not... but just like the sport is bigger than any one driver or team, I think it's bigger than any one Grand Prix, said the CEO.In his opinion, F1 should have 17 or 18 fixed, permanent races, while other seven or eight can take place once every two or three years. Brown also considers 23 races are enough, but he doesnt dismiss the idea of having a season with less than 22 races in a year an opinion thats not shared by current Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali.In the end, you should remember that Zak Brown is regarded as a good CEO for McLaren's F1 endeavors, and he identifies himself as a marketer and an engineer. The XP-72 was, for all intents and purposes, the ultimate evolution of the mighty Republic Thunderbolt, one of the toughest, deadliest piston fighters of World War II. Its Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine could lug this 10,000 pound (4,536 kg) jug of an airframe up past 400 miles per hour (644 kph) and 42,000 feet (13,000 m) in the air.It was also tough; it could shrug off flak and machine-gun fire barrages and still take its pilot safely back to base. All in all, the Thunderbolt is up there with the Spitfire and the Mustang as one of the most memorable aircraft from that era ever to fly. But as outstanding as the capabilities of the P-47 were, Republic engineers knew there was room for even more. More specifically, Republic engineer Alexander Kartveli knew there was room for improvement.The Georgian-born engineer, as in the Eastern European Georgia, not Atlanta, had grand ideas for what the Thunderbolt's airframe was capable of. Firstly, while powerful and reliable, the iconic Double Wasp engine was a bit like last week's newspaper by 1944. Entertaining enough, but there was juicier stuff out there at this late stage in the Second World War.The juicier engine selected for the upgraded Thunderbolt was the gargantuan 4,360c cubic-inch (71.489L) Pratt & Whitney R-4360-13 radial leviathan that made more power than most early jet engines. We're talking about upwards 3,500 horsepower. And to think it ran on regular aviation gas, and not jet fuel.With the engine paired with the Thunderbolt's airframe, the result was something Republic hoped would be twice as good as the P-47 it originates from. Speaking of Republic prototypes, the design team was also hard at work on the XP-69 high altitude fighter. A high-altitude fighter intended to feature a pressurized cockpit, perfect for shooting down German and Japanese bombers at heights above 30,000 feet (9,144 meters).Ultimately, it was the mildly more conventional XP-72 that was chosen to commence production. An order of as many as 100 airframes was thought to be on the table between the Farmingdale, New York, based Republic Aviation and the Army Air Corps. The finished product had a very similar silhouette compared to the base P-47. But closer inspection reveals a tougher, beefier aircraft, with an enormous quad-bladed propeller that swallowed huge swaths of air through themselves as they dragged this 14,433 pound (6,560 kg) airframe all the way to an estimated top speed of 490 to 500 miles per hour at service altitude.In the second built prototype, the prop arrangement switched to a wicked-looking contra-rotating dual prop configuration. Armament was slated to be one of three configurations. You'd find either the eight browning machine guns in the average P-47D, a set of four M4 37 mm autocannons, or a third configuration using a mix of machine guns and autocannons with two M4s and four M2s in each wing. Such a powerful airplane could have gone toe to toe with the best variants of Axis fighters in service during the period, including the German Bf-109G, Fw 190 A-5, and the Japanese A6M5 Zero and N1K-J Shiden.It's almost a guarantee that an airplane of this caliber could be a difference-maker in a potentially long and dragged-out tail end of the war. That is, if not for a couple of big problems. For one thing, the priorities of the U.S. Army Air Corps had changed somewhat since 1941. By late 1944, P-51D Mustangs and British Mosquito fighters were already escorting hoards of bombers from the American Eighth Air Force into the heart of Germany.With Dresden, Berlin, Stuttgart, Hamburg, and just about every other German city of any significance in ruins, and with Imperial Japan soon to follow, there simply wasn't a need for a point defense interceptor the likes of which fought, for example, in the Battle of Britain. But on top of all of that, right around the time the XP-72, colloquially called the Superbolt by enthusiasts, took to the skies, the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star jet fighter had already made its first test flight.Regardless of whether or not the Axis forces surrendered by the end of 1945 or not, the writing was already on the wall for the twilight of the piston-engined fighter. As such, the production order for the Superbolt was canceled.From then on, Republic set about building the admittedly excellent F-84 Thunderjet instead. The fate of the two only prototypes remains a mystery to this day. The first thing youll probably notice is that there arent many people working on these new production and assembly lines. Robots are doing all the hard work, with some human supervision. What is truly fascinating about this footage is how streamlined everything seems to be. You could use a Vivaldi soundtrack for this video and it would fit perfectly!As the drone is skillfully controlled and keeps flying through the factory, youll be able to see where the employees are in bigger numbers. Theyre overseeing the paint process and analyzing lots of data that are required for making sure each vehicle passes certain important tests. Yes, we know Tesla had a lot of issues in the past with their alignment and fitment, but those seem to have been sorted out.Elon Musks European agenda seems like its going to work brilliantly. Tesla knows how to do simple, yet very attractive marketing and Europeans want EVs. Norway proved things could change rapidly if incentives are aplenty and the Supercharger network keeps expanding. This Gigafactory will play a key role in the carmaker's plans sooner than most of the experts anticipated.The Berlin plant is not yet fully finished, but its operational and thats what matters. There are some parts that still need some finishing touches, like the exposed sector showed at the end of the video. From here on out, the American carmaker could easily expand and bring its expertise from U.S. and China. Making energy a part of the European branch of Tesla would also be a smart next move. Theres a clear need for alternative sources of power now across the pond.Besides showing their newest factory, Teslas also looking for new hires. What better way to attract more employees, if not by showing where they could work, what impact they could have on the decarbonization of personal transport, and how cool itd be to wear the clothing they provide together with some awesome benefits, like the 35% off on products. Merchandise and services, not cars. Unfortunately for the Japanese firm, the March 2022 and first-quarter U.S. sales pretty much speak for themselves, reminding the world that the chip shortage isnt over (and is unlikely to come to an end too soon anyway).Toyota sold a total of 194,178 vehicles in the United States in March 2022, and this represents a decline of no more, no less than 23.5 percent. When it comes to the first quarter as a whole, Toyota Motor North America (which comprises all brands, including Lexus) shipped 514,592 vehicles, this time a drop of 14.7 percent versus the same period a year ago.As far as the Toyota brand itself is concerned, its sales declined 22.6 percent in March, while the drop recorded by Lexus year-over-year exceeded 29 percent.While Toyota doesnt say it clearly, the whole thing is obviously the result of the very constrained chip inventory that the company has to deal with as we speak.The entire automotive industry is going through some very hard times right now, with Ford, for instance, recently announcing the temporary halt of all manufacturing operations at another North American facility. This time, the production of the Mustang will be suspended as the American company tries to restore its supply inventory and then resume manufacturing at normal speeds.Nobody knows for sure when the chip shortage is supposed to come to an end, though. Earlier forecasts indicated the whole thing could happen in the second half of the year, but the geopolitical tensions are making this recovery uncertain, especially as it causes new shortages of components and materials across the globe. Palmdale, CA (93550) Today Plenty of sunshine with gusty winds developing this afternoon. High 87F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. Low 59F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph. Chinese embassy in U.S. protests against Washington Post's Taiwan-related op-ed Xinhua) 08:09, April 02, 2022 The screenshot shows a letter sent to the editorial board of The Washington Post, which was written by the Chinese Embassy in the United States. (Photo credit: Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America) "The Taiwan question and the Ukraine crisis are totally different in nature. Ukraine is sovereign state, and the Ukraine crisis is a conflict between sovereign countries, while Taiwan is part of China's territory, and the Taiwan question is a Chinese internal affair," the letter read. WASHINGTON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in the United States has sent a letter to the editorial board of The Washington Post in protest of an op-ed carried recently by the newspaper that absurdly related the Taiwan question to the ongoing Ukraine crisis. Sent by Minister Counselor Zhu Haiquan, chief of the political section of the Chinese embassy, the letter -- part of which appeared in the Opinion section of The Post's website - was a solemn response to the op-ed authored by Bi-khim Hsiao dated March 24 and titled "Ukraine has inspired Taiwan. We must stand against authoritarianism," which used the Ukraine issue to distort the fact that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China. "The Taiwan question and the Ukraine crisis are totally different in nature. Ukraine is sovereign state, and the Ukraine crisis is a conflict between sovereign countries, while Taiwan is part of China's territory, and the Taiwan question is a Chinese internal affair," Zhu wrote in the letter. "Taiwan has been and will always be an inalienable part of China's territory. It is not an independent sovereign state," he said. Combing through historical facts confirming and reaffirming Taiwan's status since World War II neared its end, Zhu wrote that "the 1943 Cairo Declaration states that Taiwan shall be restored to China. The 1945 Potsdam Proclamation reaffirms that the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out. Since the People's Republic of China was founded and became the sole legal Government representing the whole of China, Taiwan has indisputably become part of China. The (United Nations General Assembly) Resolution 2758 has further confirmed Taiwan's status. These are ironclad facts." "In the video call with President Xi Jinping on March 18, President Joe Biden reiterated that the United States adheres to the One-China policy and does not support 'Taiwan independence.' The claim that Chinese mainland 'threatens' Taiwan cannot hold water at all. People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese bonded by blood ties. Millions of Taiwanese live and work in the Chinese mainland. Why would family members threaten each other? As Taiwan's largest export market and source of its biggest trade surplus, the mainland can only bring tangible benefits and well-being to Taiwan compatriots. How can there be any threat?" Zhu said. "The Taiwan question is not about 'democracy versus authoritarianism,' but about secession versus anti-secession. Using 'democracy' and 'authoritarianism' to draw a line between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait is to provoke confrontation and seek an excuse for 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces. This is the only and real threat to the people of Taiwan. The future of Taiwan lies in peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and the reunification of China. Chinese people on both sides of the Strait should work together to pursue national reunification," wrote the diplomat. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Ed Napleton Automotive, an Oakbrook Terrace-based dealership group, agreed to a record $10 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and Illinois attorney generals office for allegedly adding on illegal fees and charging Black customers more for financing during purchases. The settlement agreement, announced Friday, was filed jointly with a complaint in Chicago federal court, alleging the multistate dealership group charged thousands of customers hundreds or thousands of dollars for add-on products such as paint protection without informed consent. Advertisement The complaint also alleges that Napleton discriminated against Black customers, charging them on average $99 more for add-on packages and $190 more in financing interest charges than white customers. Working closely with the Illinois Attorney General, we are holding these dealerships accountable for discriminating against minority consumers and sneaking junk fees onto peoples bills, Samuel Levine, director of the FTCs Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a news release. Especially as families struggle with rising car prices, dealerships that cheat their customers can expect to hear from us. Advertisement In a statement issued Friday, a spokesman for the Napleton group vehemently denied any wrongdoing. The Ed Napleton Dealership Group has resolved disputed claims made by the Federal Trade Commission and the Illinois Attorney Generals office, said Napleton spokesman Tilden Katz. We made this decision to avoid the disruption of an ongoing dispute with the government. As a result, we reluctantly determined that it was in our best long-term business interests to resolve these matters. Founded in 1931, family-owned Napleton has grown into one of the largest Illinois-based auto groups, with 51 dealerships in eight states: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Minnesota, Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania. The complaint names eight dealerships as defendants, including Ed Napleton Elmhurst Imports and Napletons Arlington Heights Motors. One consumer cited in the complaint alleged the Arlington Heights dealership tacked on $4,000 in add-on fees without consent. In addition to violations of federal consumer fraud, truth in lending and equal credit opportunity acts, the complaint also alleges Napletons Arlington Heights dealership and its general manager, Hitko Kadric, ran afoul of Illinois auto advertising regulations with an April 2021 direct mail campaign offering a $3,000 gift card toward the purchase of a new car. Under Illinois law, dealers are prohibited from offering a free gift in connection with the purchase or lease of a vehicle where the final price is reached through negotiation. Advertisement Katz said the settlement is the result of a three-year investigation and that there was no actual finding of intentional wrongdoing. Napleton has taken steps to implement additional safeguards to ensure full transparency to our customers, he said. A record-setting monetary judgment for an FTC auto lending case, $9.95 million of the $10 million settlement will be used to provide relief to consumers, with $50,000 paid to a special fund of the Illinois attorney generals office for law enforcement and public education. Consumers who are eligible for relief will be contacted by the FTC. The settlement requires Napleton to establish a fair lending program that caps the additional interest markup. It also requires the dealerships to charge consumers only with express, informed consent, and prohibits them from misrepresenting the cost or terms to buy, lease or finance a car. rchannick@chicagotribune.com Will Smith, right, hits presenter Chris Rock on stage while presenting the award for best documentary feature at the Oscars on March 27 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. A nursing student administers the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center at UNLV, in Las Vegas in 2021. Lily Prince's 'Both Sides Now' opens at the Carrie Chen Gallery on April 9 You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Business writer Tony Dobrowolski's main focus is on business reporting. He came to The Eagle in 1992 after previously working for newspapers in Connecticut and Montreal. He can be reached at tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com or 413-496-6224. Jacque Mena comforts her five-year-old daughter Dahiana as she receives her second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at Esperanza Health Centers medical clinic in the 4700 block of South California Avenue, March 30, 2022, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) Some Illinois providers may have to cut back on COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinics for vulnerable groups as federal funding dries up a situation that health care leaders fear could leave the state ill-prepared for another COVID-19 surge. Until now, COVID-19 tests were free to people without health insurance because a federal program reimbursed medical providers for tests given to the uninsured. But that program stopped accepting claims March 22 because Congress didnt allocate additional money to it. That same program is slated to stop paying for COVID-19 vaccines for the uninsured on Tuesday. Advertisement President Joe Biden has been pleading with Congress to approve additional funding, and its possible Congress could reach a deal in the coming days, though it may be for far less money than the president requested. For now, many major Chicago-area providers say theyre continuing to give people without health insurance free COVID-19 tests and vaccines, including Walgreens, CVS Health, Northwestern Medicine, Duly Health and Care and Sinai Chicago, among others. But some smaller providers, in areas that serve vulnerable populations, are already planning fewer vaccination and testing clinics. Others worry that if theres another COVID-19 surge, they wont be able to quickly scale-up to meet demand for tests and vaccines. Advertisement Though COVID-19 case counts are low now, a more contagious version of the COVID-19 subvariant BA.2, also known as stealth omicron, is now the dominant strain in the United States. We still do want to be able to help the community, but we cannot do it at the capacity they were requesting, such as every weekend, said Jamie Tountas, chief strategy officer Mobilevax, a River North-based company thats been using the federal funding to partner with community organizations to offer testing and vaccines in underserved neighborhoods. Its heartbreaking. For example, Mobilevax had been discussing going out to Metropolitan Family Services center in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood frequently once the weather warmed. But that now seems unlikely, Tountas said. When it is not free and it is not accessible, it becomes another barrier for individuals, and, more importantly, it puts all of us at risk, said Roxanne Nava, executive director of the Belmont Cragin and Skokie offices of Metropolitan Family Services. It puts more people at risk for unintentional spread. Esperanza Health Centers, which has community health centers on the West and Southwest sides of the city, plans to continue providing free tests and vaccines, for now, but may have trouble continuing to do so if theres another surge, said Dan Fulwiler, president and CEO of Esperanza. At the moment, Esperanza is able to absorb the extra costs of testing and vaccinating uninsured people only because the demand is so low, he said. A worker inside a shipping container outfitted as a COVID-19 testing facility waits for drive-up appointments in a parking lot at Esperanza Health Centers medical clinic in the 4700 block of South California Avenue, March 30, 2022, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) Were very worried if the demand goes up again we might have to revisit that decision, Fulwiler said. I think the choice wed have to make is how much can we afford to lose doing it. Over the course of the pandemic, about half of all the COVID-19 tests and vaccines Esperanza has provided have been for people without health insurance, he said. Another COVID-19 surge without that federal funding for the uninsured could mean that Esperanza would have to cut other programs to meet demand, he said. Or, Esperanza might have to offer less testing and vaccinations than the community would like. Advertisement Though providers no longer have to offer free testing to people without insurance, they must still provide free COVID-19 vaccines to them, under federal requirements, even if they dont get reimbursed for them. A provider like Esperanza might have to deal with that requirement by simply offering fewer COVID-19 vaccines to everyone, he said. The lack of federal funding for uninsured patients comes at the same time the state health department has closed its 10 community-based COVID-19 testing sites. Those sites closed March 31, with the state health department citing a steep drop in demand and an anticipated end to federal funding for them. Some worry that the closing of those sites, combined with a lack of money for testing for uninsured people, will make it more difficult for some people to access testing. The state health department, however, said many resources remain for people to get tests and vaccines, such as free at-home COVID-19 tests from the federal government, federally qualified health centers which offer services to people with low incomes, and 33 state-funded sites that provide free, saliva-based, SHIELD COVID-19 tests. A worker speaks with a driver at the drive-thru COVID-19 testing and vaccination site on March 31, 2022, in Arlington Heights. All 10 of the drive-thru facilities sponsored by the Illinois Department of Public Health close down March 31. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune) The state is currently strongly positioned to respond to a potential surge, with the state stockpile of tests nearly fully replenished, said Michael Claffey, a spokesman for the state health department, in an email. There are more than 1.5 million rapid tests on hand, with a half a million more on the way in the coming weeks. Chicago Department of Public Health spokesman Andrew Buchanan also said in an email that, While provider reimbursement programs are changing, no resident should be turned away from receiving, or be asked to pay for, a COVID-19 vaccine. Advertisement He noted that providers may still get reimbursements for testing people without insurance through a separate Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services program. That program will continue to pay providers for the tests regardless of a persons income or immigration status. People who live in certain ZIP codes of the city may also order additional, free, at-home COVID-19 tests at https://www.accesscovidtests.org/. The federal government is continuing to offer two sets of four free at-home tests to people at covidtests.gov. Though options remain for uninsured people to get tests and vaccines, some providers say any reduction in access is worrisome, especially for people who live in hard hit communities and lack health insurance. Though COVID-19 case numbers are low now, they may not stay that way, especially without widespread testing and vaccinations, some say. What we have to understand is we cant take help away from these communities just yet, said Dr. Mick Singh, chief medical officer and CEO of Mobilevax. We cant allow that to be completely taken away abruptly because these are the most at-risk populations and they will be the most asymmetrically affected. This is how we make sure our health systems dont get overburdened in the long run. lschencker@chicagotribune.com The Checkup for April 2, 2022: Steep rise in cases over the last week PITTSFIELD Miguel Angel Estrella, the 22-year-old aspiring tradesman shot and killed a week ago by Pittsfield police, will be buried Saturday after an invitation-only funeral. On Friday afternoon, people came through a Pittsfield funeral home to say goodbye to the man they knew as "Miggy." In time, a report will render the official judgment as to whether Pittsfield police were justified in shooting Estrella twice in the chest late March 25 outside his home in the Bartlett School Apartments on Onota Street, after twice being called to reports of a distraught man with a knife. Estrella was in obvious distress after drinking and had been cutting himself. People who knew and loved Estrella cant believe his life ended this way. Estrellas sister, Elina, has started a crowdfunding campaign in her brothers memory, dubbed "Long Live Miggy." On it, she writes: Miguel was a big part of his community. He was loved by many, he had so many plans. Its a tragedy that could have been prevented. Everyone involved who failed him in his time of need will feel their wrongdoing. Mental health crisis should not be a death sentence, she wrote. Estrella is also survived by his mother, Marisol Estrella, and a brother, Jean Carlos, as well as his girlfriend, Daneya Falwell. For the past week, Estrellas friends, mentors and co-workers have struggled to speak of him in the past tense, as they shared stories about a person they describe as warm-hearted, playful, generous, respectful and community-minded. His closest friends, when asked what people should know about Estrellas life, said this: Your past doesnt define you. Here are some of their stories. Robert Jefferson, a former outreach worker for the Pittsfield Community Connection program who had known Estrella for years and once had temporary custody of him: He was like my kid. I spent more time with him than I did my own kid. Up until recently, you know, he still called me every day. He was a good kid. He's just misunderstood a lot of the time. People like him get swept under the rug a lot. They forget about who they are and what they need stuff like that. Even in trouble, I was the go-to. Id just go with him to hell and back. And I'd go back with him. He shouldn't be gone right now. That's a fact. I just wish, I'd had enough time to get to him. But unfortunately, I didn't. Debbie Vall, a community member and friend of Estrella: He was going to be going to McCann [Technical School in North Adams] this year because he wanted to be an electrician. That has been his dream for as long as I can remember. He's not just a statistic. He's just not another Hispanic man. He is a person. He had hopes and he had dreams and he had plans for his future. And he was going after those plans with full force. He had faced a lot of adversity and he had a lot of barriers, a lot of barriers. But he struggled and he was always smiling. Tayshia Hoisington is the sister of Estrellas girlfriend, Daneya Falwell: When I first met Miggy, oh my god was he loud! I looked at my sister, like, Who is this? But my family learned to love him, like they all love him. He comes around every single holiday. He made my family laugh. Miggy was hands down the funniest person. You could be in the worst mood and he'll find something to just light you up. What I'm gonna miss the most is every single morning him and my sister used to wake me up just laughing about nothing about nothing. When I first first met him, all I did was shake my head. He had a lot of energy. But as years went by, I've seen him grow a whole lot. The Miggy we know to this day, that was not him a couple years ago. Like he's changed a lot for the better. He had a plan, a set goal, and he was ready to move forward. Which is why he motivated me a lot. He realized he's getting older and he wants to accomplish things. He was working really hard, even with my sister, and helping motivate her. He was taken away too soon. Daneya Falwell, who lived with Estrella as his girlfriend, said he had been suffering from depression: Everything he's been through, losing a lot of friends. He was talking about losing his friends. He wasn't happy. He just struggled with a lot. He wasn't hurting anybody at all. He wasn't a threat to nobody ... but himself. We were going to buy a house. We were going to have a vacation in May. We can't do none of that. He was my future. He helped me get a job. He said even if you dont, I got the bills, don't worry about it. He had just started living. Carolyn Valli, CEO of Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity, where Estrella worked after graduating from a construction training program: We all know him in many-faceted ways. And all of them are good. I've known him for over seven years. He has gone through ups and downs, but every single time there's been a down, he's come to me and said, I'm going through this" or "I'm going through that." "What do you think about this? And he's always been resilient and putting together a plan about how to overcome that. About six months ago, he was just going to pick somebody up at his house and his car got shot up. They called the police. Miguel told me this firsthand. He said, The first thing [the police] said to me is, Miguel, we thought you got out of that life. And he said I'm not in that life. He was the one who was victimized, yet he was being villainized. I can only imagine if that bias came to the site [of the shooting] on Friday. I tried calling the police department [at the time] and their big concern was, Can you get him to tell us who did it? And he was like, I won't do that. Because we all know what that means in the street, that means you will be dead. So he was not going to do that. He came to me probably two weeks later, because he kept hearing from whoever it was that shot up the car. He said [the shooter] was going to go to [a Habitat work site] one day. And he said to me, I can't put you guys at risk. I didn't do anything wrong, but I'm not gonna have any of you die. Because, you know, that's the person he was that he cared more about other people than he did for his own safety. When I got the call [that he'd been shot], I just couldn't believe it. I couldn't understand how if somebody was self-harming themselves, why you didn't take them and bring them to Jones [the psychiatric department at Berkshire Medical Center]. That's the piece that I don't get at all. They're saying that he was advancing on police. I absolutely do not believe that. Because that is not who he is. Gail Krumpholz, a community member who has known Estrella since he was young: What a wonderful human being this young man was; his life was cut too short. We want to make sure, all of us, that he is presented as the wonderful human being that we all knew, and were working with, from the age of 15 or 16 years old. Kendell Thompson, a friend of Estrella: He overcame a lot of adversity. You know, since he was 14, he changed his life around a lot. He got his GED. Went on to a program out in Boston. Got his life together. Came back here. He got himself together and did great things. He was a great human being. He didn't deserve that. Always did good things for others and the community. He did good for his community. He'd pick up community service at the schools. Always paid rent for his mother. John Schnauber, a social worker who had known Estrella for seven years: He did a lot of jobs for the community. He worked at the farmers market. Anytime that he was needed by any of his friends, and by the community itself, he was there. All we had to do was ask him. I mean, he had a beautiful soul. He really did. He had life situations that led him in different ways. And honestly, it's just the way the world is nowadays. It's the way that he was left to grow up. The system is so unjust. This was almost a foreseeable outcome. Quote "These kids walk home from school getting guns pulled out on them." Jon Schnauber These kids walk home from school getting guns pulled out on them. They are not safe. And there's not [anything] being done about the kids needing help. They need a home, they need somebody to care, that's what they need and nobody in this community will give them a place to even be safe. People go to City Council meetings and they ask for programs for their children or a drop-in center. I've been to them recently when [officials are] walking around and saying "Weve got $31 million" or whatever, "to hand out." But not for that. Not for them. Orrin Powell, a human services worker, now employed by 18 Degrees: There was a change in Miggy. He wanted better. And he did better. He chose to want to improve his life with work, with aspirations of getting a house, improving his credit. That's the biggest thing for me, the change in him. He wanted it and he was seeking it out. He was driving his own vehicle towards success. And that's not an easy feat. Change is not easy. And he was changing every day. Dubois Thomas, Habitat staffer who worked with Estrella: I had some dealings with Miguel over the last several years. Miguel understood that it wasn't just a light switch to flip, and then life would just change. He knew it was going to be a day-to-day thing. It's just a travesty that for young men that look like Miguel and I, a bad day or a mistake is the end of your life. He didn't deserve that. I'm at a complete loss in my imagination for how that could have gone down that way. Rachel Hanson, a licensed social worker who had known Estrella since he was a young teen participating in the Pittsfield Community Connection mentoring program: Miguel was a good person. He was there for his community. He was there for his friends. He worked really hard. He shoveled driveways for the elderly. He overcame so much adversity. There were things that he went through in his life and there were ways that he struggled. He was a good person and he cared about other people deeply. It's tragic, what happened to him. Absolutely tragic. It shouldn't have happened. Quote "He knew he wanted to get out. It wasn't just for him." Rachel Hanson He struggled in different ways, at different times, for different periods of time. There were times that he was in really dark places. And he had people around him that were able to help him his friends, you know, people he could call on. He always came back to a point where he knew he wanted to be successful. He knew he wanted to get out. It wasn't just for him. It was for him, his friends, his family. His dream wasn't just solo. He was a natural born leader. He wanted it for everyone. He worked so hard to be able to be successful. And he touched so many people and allowed them to believe in themselves. Hes going to leave a hole in our lives. Forever, forever. And it's gonna affect so many people. Miguel brought people around to the [PCC] program. He realized that there were a lot of people who could benefit. We had dinners where we had kids in the community come over and serve each other food and not only do that, but make the food together, as a whole big family. Miguel was at the head of that. He brought people over and he wanted to do more. He was so resilient. It was genuine. It came from his soul. It's what drove him. It's what drove him every day. Brent Getchell, a construction manager at Habitat who worked with Estrella: So many people cared about Miguel. We took him in. He was an employee of Habitat because we felt strongly that he was going somewhere. And that he was teachable, trainable, respectful. He treated everyone kind of even-keeled. When the pandemic hit, him and I were the only ones on the job site for what seemed like forever. I worked side by side with him and spent eight hours a day with the guy, every day, and he became one of my best friends. We had a shooting at a job site, in the intersection, about a year ago. A guy got out of the car, walked around the corner and shot four shots into a house, then went up the street and shot a couple more shots. Within five minutes, we had eight or nine cruisers show up. Once they saw Miguel, it didn't matter who else was on the job site. One police officer approached Miguel and [asked] what was going on, what's happening. Why are they shooting at you? And Miguel's like, I'm not in that. I work. You can see I'm working full time for Habitat. I don't have time for that stuff. I just want to make sure the people here are okay." It turns out it had nothing to do with Miguel. It just happened in that neighborhood. Even though I considered the police officer to be harassing Miguel, Miguel maintained a very respectful demeanor. Very respectful, probably more so than I would have. Last Friday night? I don't know what happened. I could speculate. I just know he was done wrong. And so was the community. Because we lost such a great, great person that was going places. Elizabeth Walker, a community member who knew Estrella: He was working so hard to bring his family up, stable and good. But right along with it, he was bringing this community up and he had every intention to keep doing that. It wasn't ever just about him. I think everybody feels like family, because he made us feel that way. Like you were taken care of and he would have our back. You are the owner of this article. The Berkshire Dream Center announces the grand opening of Bright Morningstar Kitchen, Berkshire Countys first restaurant-style soup kitchen, on Friday, April 1, at 475 Tyler St. A ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11:15 a.m. will be followed by a free lunch in the dining room from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Reporter Heather Bellow, a member of the investigations team, joined The Eagle in 2017. She is based in the South Berkshire County bureau in Great Barrington. Her work has appeared in newspapers across the U.S. GREAT BARRINGTON Clinton Church Restoration is inviting the public to a celebration today to honor a woman who championed Black history, culture, community, and particularly the legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois while serving as the first female pastor of the towns historic Black church. The Rev. Esther Dozier would have turned 80 on April 2. The festivities at Saint James Place will begin at 4 p.m. with music, tributes and refreshments, free of charge. Donations can be made to Clinton Church Restoration in Doziers memory. The nonprofit, that sprung from the former Clinton African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church on Elm Court, is repurposing the former church into an African American heritage and cultural site. The late Rev. Dozier was active in the church for four decades after moving to the Berkshires from rural Alabama with two sisters, according to event organizers. She was pastor for nine years the first woman following 48 male pastors. Sign-up for The Berkshire Eagle's free newsletters Sign up Dozier began an annual Du Bois birthday celebration in 2001. This has since morphed and expanded into the towns annual W.E.B. Du Bois Festival. Dozier also supported the Du Bois Boyhood Homesite and worked to place the church on the National Register of Historic Places. Her reach went beyond the church. Dozier believed that the church was a place for refueling but her activities and influence extended far in to the community, said the release. In addition to lifting up Black history and culture and the legacy of Du Bois, she spoke passionately against injustice, intolerance and socio-economic inequality. Delano Burrowes, Doziers nephew and a Brooklyn-based artist who helped plan and will speak at the event, said that his aunt was so much about the future. She planted seeds for a lot of the conversations were having today, she said. Her legacy prompts us to think of our own what are we doing about the future? How can we live up to her ideals of hope, action and service to our communities? Clarence Fanto can be reached at cfanto@yahoo.com. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of The Berkshire Eagle. Lenox native James Brooke is a visiting fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He has traveled to about 100 countries, reporting for The New York Times, Bloomberg and Voice of America. On April 9 at 4 p.m., he will give a talk called Ukraine Will David Beat Goliath? at Trinity Church in Lenox. A young man is dead. A community is in shock. Important questions need answering. Friends and co-workers question fatal police shooting in Pittsfield, as investigation begins Friends and co-workers of Miguel Estrella, 22, are mourning his loss in a fatal Pittsfield police shooting Friday and questioning why officers resorted to lethal force. On a Friday night in Pittsfield, police officers fatally shot Miguel Estrella. It was the second time police had interacted with Mr. Estrella while responding to a disturbance call from Onota Street. The first time, officers found Mr. Estrella unarmed in the street with what appeared to be self-inflicted wounds on his face. He declined medical attention, according to police, who say they determined the scene was safe and left Mr. Estrella in the care of his girlfriend. When another disturbance call came saying that Mr. Estrella needs to be taken to the hospital, police responded and found Mr. Estrella in the street again, this time holding a knife. His girlfriend pleaded with police to take him into custody. Mr. Estrella, still wielding the knife, then began approaching the officers, who twice used Tasers in an unsuccessful attempt to incapacitate him, after which one officer drew his gun and shot Mr. Estrella twice. The 22-year-old later died at Berkshire Medical Center. We hope that the State Police investigation into this tragic loss of life is swift and thorough. All the facts surrounding this sad night must be brought to bear to determine exactly what occurred and what should happen in the aftermath. We will not prejudge the outcome of that probe, and we urge others to do the same to avoid unnecessarily turning the temperature up while the city is already on edge. Still, the circumstances here speak to a problem bigger than Pittsfield: All too often, Americans in the throes of mental health crisis wind up dead at the hands of police when they or their loved ones ask for help. While we await the critical details of an investigation, there are broader questions about police response to people in extremis that we believe are not only relevant to this case but could hopefully go toward preventing such tragedy in the future. A police mental health co-responder ended their shift minutes before the first 911 call from Miguel Estrella's address Events at a fatal police-involved shooting unfolded so fast Friday it is uncertain whether a mental health co-responder could have arrived in time to help save the life of Miguel Estrella, according to an early review by the Pittsfield Police Department. Several high-profile police killings in recent years have spurred a vigorous conversation across the country about the role and application of policing. This has led some departments to rethink approaches to confronting people in distress. Pittsfield is one such department, employing a mental health co-responder who can help officers de-escalate situations involving people in crisis. That co-responder was not on the scene on this fateful Friday night, however, either for the first call when Mr. Estrella was unarmed or the second when he was holding a knife. Pittsfield Police Chief Michael Wynn told The Eagle that, based on an initial review, the mental health co-responder shift ended before the calls. In fact, it was a matter of minutes, according to Chief Wynn, who said the shift ended at 9:40 p.m. while the first call to Onota Street came at 9:46. We believe this mental health co-responder program is a sensible and compassionate one that the PPD was right to adopt. If this sort of response could pose a considerable difference in how difficult scenes like this one play out, why is that response limited to a single shift? If we believe that a trained mental health professional can sometimes be more appropriate than the threat of lethal force, why is the former less ready to deploy than the latter? Like crime, people becoming distressed enough to hurt themselves or others can happen at any time. If the PPD is implementing this program which it should we shouldnt have to wonder whether six minutes could have been the difference between a person in pain getting the help they need and that same person dying in the street. As with any police shooting, every detail is vital here. Eyewitnesses gave varying accounts to a scene that played out in a public street at night. That can make getting to the truth more difficult, though no less crucial. Would Pittsfield Police putting body cameras on officers make it a bit easier to get to the truth in these tough situations? A knife is not a firearm, but it is a deadly weapon. Mr. Estrella apparently had hurt no one but himself. He approached officers, but its unclear exactly how. Its also unclear exactly what the verbal exchanges were between Mr. Estrella and the officers. Any uncertainty only fans the flames of controversial events like these that stand to drive a wedge between communities and the police duty-bound to serve and protect them. Facts and accountability matter, but without body cams is there a definitive way to get to them? Meaningfully addressing the mental health crisis in this country cannot and should not end with policing policy. Mr. Estellas loved ones said that he had struggled with a history of abuse as a child and clinical depression in adulthood. That our society fails so many of our neighbors like Mr. Estrella goes to the paltry mental and behavioral health services available to those who need them most, especially in rural, underserved regions and vulnerable, low-income communities. Increasing those resources is a systematic way to curb outcomes involving police presence and gunshots, as well as the lifelong suffering that precedes them. Realistically, though, that systemic shift will not be a quick development, even if we as a society pursue the most ideal models. This will not be the last time that police will confront a person in crisis, and we sadly recognize its not the last time it will end tragically. This particular tragedy, where a community loses a young man with his entire life in front of him, cries out for thoughtful reviews of both the mental health crisis response and continuum of force policies within the Pittsfield Police Department. It is awful that someone who needed help wound up losing his life. The only thing worse would be forgoing any opportunity to learn how to prevent such pain in the future. I almost cant believe that Im about to say what Im about to say, but I believe it to be true. If youre looking for guidance on how to live an interesting and moral life, you will find great inspiration in the lives of comedians. Advertisement This thought came to me after recently finishing Bob Odenkirks memoir, Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama. While Odenkirk today is most known for his role as Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul (premiering its final season April 18), the bulk of the book, as the title indicates, is about his years pursuing his passion for making comedy. What struck me is that, despite myriad setbacks along the way, Odenkirk has had an interesting and fulfilling professional life, combined with the pleasure of having a loving and supportive group of family and friends, while even promoting some good along the way. Advertisement Comedian and actor Bob Odenkirk has a new memoir, "Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama." (Random House) Odenkirks story was reminiscent of the animating spirit of another recently released book, All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business which covers Mel Brooks 70-year romp through the comedy landscape. Looking at my shelves, I saw echoes in a bunch of other books: Tina Feys Bossypants (2011), Amy Poehlers Yes Please (2014), Steve Martins Born Standing Up (2007) and Marc Marons compilation of interviews, Waiting for the Punch: Words to Live by from the WTF Podcast (2017). How can people who get famous for putting an arrow through their head (Martin) or staging an epic scene of flatulent cowboys around a campfire (Brooks) possibly be exemplars for living a happy and productive life? My theory: Start small, with whoever will have you. Mel Brooks first performing work was in the military at the end of WWII, while entertaining the troops. Odenkirk wrote sketches for his Southern Illinois University campus radio station. Martins first time performing was part of a gig selling souvenirs at Knotts Berry Farm theme park. To describe the beginnings as humble is an understatement. Surround yourself with the like-minded. Another consistent theme is the benefit of working with a community of others trying to achieve the same ends. For Brooks, it was on Your Show of Shows where he first met Carl Reiner. For Odenkirk and Fey, it was Second City in Chicago. For Poehler, Chicagos iO Theater. Being among people you think are talented helps with believing you might be talented too. Laughing all day while youre at work also helps. Keep working with those talented people. Advertisement Steve Martin and Martin Short. Fey and Poehler, Odenkirk and David Cross, and Brooks and Reiner are all comedy soul mates. Brooks and Reiner had dinner together almost nightly up to Reiners death. How great is it to produce great work with your closest friends? Say yes, and The core of improv on stage is saying yes, and to keep building on anothers suggestion, which must create a high tolerance for risk and new challenges. Brooks went from comedy to producing serious films like The Elephant Man. Fey tried her hand in at writing a Broadway musical version of Mean Girls. Odenkirk is now an action star after his butt-kicking turn in Nobody. Failure only makes you stronger. Fey, who would go on to perhaps the most impactful impression in the history of Saturday Night Live as Sarah Palin, was initially rejected as a performer on the show. Martin would do club shows for zero laughter. Brooks, even once established, as a writer/director/producer thought it was a good idea to put Jami Gertz and Jason Patric on roller skates in all-time turkey, Solarbabies. If you can survive Solarbabies. You can survive anything. Advertisement John Warner is the author of Why They Cant Write: Killing the Five-Paragraph Essay and Other Necessities. Twitter @biblioracle Book recommendations from the Biblioracle John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books youve read 1. The Last Confessions of Sylvia P. by Lee Kravetz 2. Lost & Found: A Memoir by Kathryn Schulz Advertisement 3. H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald 4. Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion 5. Slow Days, Fast Company by Eve Babitz Stephanie K., Lake Forest Im looking for a book that combines the intersection of the exploration of a subject, with the personal, human experience of the author. Theres a risk that Stephanie will have read this, but Lab Girl by Hope Jahren feels like the perfect fit. 1. Bewilderment by Richard Powers Advertisement 2. Three Girls from Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood by Dawn Turner Trice 3. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro 4. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen 5. Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead Denise T., Chicago I recently unearthed a bag of books Id taken from an office at school that Id packed up and stuffed in a closet, which cut me off from the visual reminders of a bunch of titles that are truly special reads. One of those is Toni Cade Bambaras challenging, but highly rewarding, The Salt Eaters. Advertisement 1. Einsteins Dreams by Alan Lightman 2. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut 3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 4. The Risk Pool by Richard Russo 5. Portnoys Complaint by Philip Roth Nick T., Urbana Advertisement Nick tells me every single one of these books is a reread, so Im going to try hard to give him something new, another favorite from that school office pile, Edwin Mullhouse: The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943-1954 by Jeffrey Cartwright by Steven Millhauser. Get a reading from the Biblioracle Send a list of the last five books youve read and your hometown to biblioracle@gmail.com. A pair of migrant families from Brazil passes through a gap in the border wall to reach the United States after crossing from Mexico in Yuma, Ariz. (Eugene Garcia/AP) The ban on asylum-seekers at the U.S-Mexico border on public health grounds was imposed by a president who wanted to restrict immigration entirely. It will soon be ended by a president who is facing increasing pressure from within his own party to welcome immigrants. The path ahead for President Joe Biden looks far from smooth. With the end of the ban on May 23, he faces an expected increase in migration at the border under a system incapable of managing such large migrant flows and buckling under a backlog of more than 1.7 million asylum cases. Advertisement Republicans are already eager to assign Biden blame for the expected images of thousands of people likely to be crammed into temporary border facilities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that it would lift the asylum ban, known as Title 42, next month. The ban had become increasingly hard to justify as pandemic restrictions ended around the country. Advertisement Many Democrats and immigration advocates viewed it as nothing more than an excuse for the United States to avoid its moral and legal obligation to offer safe haven to asylum-seekers at the border. By delaying the end of Title 42 for nearly two months, Biden appeared to be seeking a political balance between liberals who want the policy scrapped and moderates who have joined Republicans in supporting continued restrictions. He may end up satisfying neither. The expected influx of migrants could create a political damaging crisis for Biden with the the November midterm elections approaching. That debate will probably hinge more on partisanship than facts. Migrants rest in a dormitory of the Good Samaritan shelter in Juarez, Mexico, March 29, 2022. (Christian Chavez/AP) American attitudes on immigration are based on perception, not reality, said Rene D. Flores, a sociology professor at the University of Chicago who studies public opinion and immigration. Its not about deciding what is the most sensible immigration policy, he said. Its about managing public perception. The president has already faced withering criticism from both Democrats and Republicans over how he has managed immigration. Republicans say his push to repeal Trump-era restrictions has led to an increase in illegal crossings. Democrats have criticized the administrations continued use of a policy that forces migrants back to Mexico to wait out their claims, even though that policy was reinstated by the Supreme Court. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll last year found that most Americans disapproved of how Biden had handled a sharp increase in migrant children and an influx of Haitian migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Approval of his other efforts on larger immigration policy fell short of other top issues. Ryan Enos, a professor of government at Harvard University, doubted that the end of Title 42 would shift public opinion much, especially when views about immigration have become so polarized. Advertisement Any issue besides the economy is going to be a marginal issue, he said. The seven-week gap between Fridays order and the expiration of the asylum ban late next month is meant to allow officials time to increase staffing at the border, including erecting tents for an expected influx of asylum-seekers. It also allows for government officials to vaccinate more migrants at the border. But in the interim, it creates a policy muddle. Nearly all migrants seeking to cross into the U.S. will be turned away under a health authority that American officials say is no longer necessary. It also gives opponents of ending Title 42 plenty of time to sue. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said Biden was refusing to listen to Americans and had chosen to jeopardize the safety and security of those very Americans he swore to protect and defend by ending Title 42 expulsions. He said Texas must now take even more unprecedented action to keep our communities safe by using any and all constitutional powers to protect its own territory. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said the decision confirms that President Biden has abdicated his responsibilities and is actively working to make the border crisis worse. From Day One of his administration, he has failed to protect our nations security and to secure the border. Advertisement Migrants, below, walk outside a camp that blocks the entrance to a pedestrian crossing into the United States, above, Nov. 8, 2021, in Tijuana, Mexico. (Gregory Bull/AP) From the other side, Biden faces criticism for waiting so long to act. The continued use of this policy even for the next two months is indefensible and unjustified, said Efren Olivares, the deputy legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Centers Immigrant Justice Project. The Title 42 restrictions went into place in March 2020 under the Trump administration as coronavirus cases soared. While officials said at the time that it was a way to keep COVID-19 out of the United States, there always has been criticism that the restrictions were used as an excuse to seal the border to migrants that Trump did not want to let in anyway. It was perhaps the broadest of President Donald Trumps actions to restrict crossings and crack down on migrants, and he instituted the policy over the objections of CDC officials, the AP reported. The health order has caused migrants to be expelled from the United States more than 1.7 million times since March 2020 without a chance for them to request asylum. Biden came into office promising a return to more humane immigration policies after the Trump administration, which separated thousands of children from their parents at the border. But Trump dramatically changed how the U.S. system functions, shrinking the number of asylum-seekers allowed into the U.S. and adding restrictions that caused the backlog of immigration court cases to explode. Biden undid many of Trumps policies and raised asylum caps, but some of his attempts have been stopped by courts, including the effort to end the Remain in Mexico policy, which forces migrants to wait in Mexico for their asylum cases to play out. The Supreme Court reinstated that policy, and there are thousands of people now in Mexico waiting for a chance to seek asylum. Advertisement Administration officials acknowledge there is likely to be a large influx at the border when the ban lifts, including Ukrainians displaced by the war with Russia. The U.S. government is erecting tents, bolstering agents, hiring more civilians and working to reduce the existing case backlog. Jessica Bolter, an associate policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, estimates the hardest hit spots could be Del Rio, Texas and Yuma, Arizona locations that are already overwhelmed. We were always going to see a significant spike in border crossings, she said. To some degree, the administration doesnt have a ton of options. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Friday that a long-term solution can only come from comprehensive legislation that brings lasting reform to a fundamentally broken system. Biden knows prospects for Democrats and Republicans to come together on such a deal are remote. A 22-year-old man was fatally wounded, and three others were injured in a separate shooting within minutes of each other overnight Friday in the Pilsen and Palmer Square neighborhoods, Chicago police said. The fatally attack happened shortly after 11:30 p.m. Friday in Palmer Square neighborhood in the 2100 block of North Bingham Street. Advertisement Preliminary information said the victim was on the sidewalk when two males fired shots after an argument, striking him to the chest. He was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Shortly before 11:30 p.m, three men were shot in the Pilsen neighborhood in the 900 block of West Cullerton Street. Advertisement Police said the victims were involved in an exchange of gunfire with people in a red pick-u truck. A 33-year-old man suffered a wound to the right arm, and a second man, 34, suffered a wound to the buttocks. The third man, 47, suffered gunshot wounds to the body and was listed in critical condition at Stroger Hospital where all three men were taken for treatment, police said. The latest shooting happened shortly after 1:30 a.m. Saturday near the Oak Park and Chicago border in the 900 block of South Austin Boulevard. Police said a 26-year-old woman was northbound on Austin Boulevard when someone inside of a red sedan fired shots hitting her in the back. She was taken by Chicago Fire Department paramedics to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood where she was listed in critical condition, police said. Detectives were investigating. On March 31, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Tajik Justice Minister Muzaffar Ashurion, who came to China to attend the Third Foreign Ministers' Meeting on the Afghan Issue Among the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan, in Tunxi, Anhui Province. Wang Yi said, President Xi Jinping and President Emomali Rahmon have established deep friendship and strong mutual trust, and the strategic guidance of the two heads of state has provided the most important political guarantee for the development of bilateral relations. China firmly supports Tajikistan in safeguarding its independence, sovereignty and security, and in achieving its development goals. China will be Tajikistan's trustable and reliable strategic partner. Wang Yi said, China is ready to work with Tajikistan to jointly advance Belt and Road cooperation with high quality and help Tajikistan accelerate industrialization and agricultural modernization. China is ready to run Luban Workshop well to provide talent support for Tajikistan and enhance friendly exchanges among the youths. China is ready to strengthen cooperation with Tajikistan to fight against COVID-19 and speed up the construction of a China-Tajikistan center for traditional medicine. Ashurion extended congratulations on the positive outcomes of the series of meetings on the Afghan issue. He said that President Rahmon cherishes the friendship with President Xi Jinping and Tajikistan is also a reliable partner of China. Tajikistan is committed to expanding all-round cooperation with China and is ready to deepen Belt and Road cooperation and strengthen cooperation in investment, energy and production capacity. He thanked China for its strong support for Tajikistan's fight against the pandemic and expressed his willingness to strengthen bilateral cooperation in traditional medicine. The two sides agreed to deepen cooperation in the security field, firmly crack down on the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism, and separatism and transnational organized crimes, and maintain respective and regional security and stability. The two sides agreed to strengthen coordination and cooperation in multilateral institutions such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia. The first person announcing their candidacy to become the Wheat Citys next mayor is a familiar face. Advertisement Advertise With Us The first person announcing their candidacy to become the Wheat Citys next mayor is a familiar face. Three-term city councillor Jeff Fawcett (Assiniboine) revealed to the Sun on Friday that hes entering the race to replace incumbent Mayor Rick Chrest after first being elected to council in 2010. Earlier this year, Chrest announced his intention to retire from politics after eight years as mayor while Manitoba prepares for municipal elections later this October. With Fawcetts announcement, there are now four people who have declared their intentions to run for municipal office in Brandon. Councillors Shaun Cameron (University), Sunday Frangi (Meadows-Waverly) and Glen Parker (Riverview) have all said theyre running for re-election. "I want action, I want people to look at this election and have choices," Fawcett said. "Consciously or unconsciously, we did have to convince our current mayor to run again last time. He was going to be getting into his 60s. We did twist his arm, but I did have a lot of discussion with a lot of people at that point that if he wasnt going to run, they would have liked me to run." He had a lot of praise for Chrest, saying hes "loved" working with him and hell miss the mayors presence on council. If Chrest was running again, Fawcett likely wouldnt have entered the race. Asked what his leadership style would be like as mayor, Fawcett even said hed like it to be similar to Chrests. "I try to do that at my business, I try to do that on my other boards in that you do listen to people," he said. "Ive never been the smartest person in a room, but almost every room I go in, I get to learn an awful lot because I do like to listen to people. I know there are people skilled and talented in things that I am not. "Thats what municipal politics is; we dont agree on a lot of stuff, but you always listen and you find the skillsets of everyone around you and use them to their strengths." Throughout Chrests tenure as mayor, the Sun has run editorials criticizing him for having a lack of forward vision for the city. Though he doesnt believe things will change overnight, Fawcett said Brandon needs to better establish itself as Manitobas second-largest city "Weve always kinda been in that flux of are we the largest town in the province or the second major city," Fawcett said. "The reality is, we are the second major city in this province. We do need to step up and make sure that were addressing large urban issues and representing our region." He said southeastern Winnipeg has been working hard on development with the province and Brandon needs to step up and become more ambitious to get similar results. According to him, people have been asking again if he was going to run. At his business, D&B Sprinklers, preparations were being made in the event he might throw his name in the ring. One of the factors Fawcett said led him to run for mayor is timing. Hes at a point in his life where his sons are 18 and 19 respectively and he can take on the job without missing too much of their lives. "Im in that right spot in life, sometimes timing matters a great deal." The councillor also feels hes ready to put his experience in municipal governance and working with his council colleagues into practice. "Over time, Ive watched how the council itself matters and the people on there matter," he said. "I really want to work with the people on there. They bring skillsets that I dont have. You bring out the best in those people and you really get a picture of what Brandon needs when you listen to everybody on there. I think theres lots to do with the new group with at least a handful of new people on there." When it comes to his qualifications, Fawcett pointed not just to his time on council and his experience running a business, but his work with the Brandon Urban Aboriginal Peoples Council, the Brandon YMCA, the Blue Door Project, Helping Hands and more. Despite being the representative for one of the citys 10 wards, Fawcett said hes always aimed his efforts for the city as a whole. Those who watch council meetings regularly will know Fawcett is a believer in fiscal responsibility. Another factor in his decision to run for mayor is he thinks he can help the city balance its need to be prudent with taxpayers dollars while maintaining and improving services. With the provincial and federal governments spending big during the pandemic, Fawcett worries extra costs might get passed down to the municipal level. "We watched [former prime minister] Paul Martin as he fixed the federal government by hampering the provincial government and trickling everything down," he said. "We applauded him for what he did for the feds, but it came down. We really, really have to watch that things dont trickle down to the municipal level because it has nowhere to go but the taxpayer." In last years Meadows-Waverly byelection, fewer than 100 people voted. This time around, Fawcett would like to promote higher voter turnout. He said he chose this week to announce his candidacy in part because he wants to give any potential candidates looking to fill his seat on council enough time to mull over whether or not they want to make the four-year commitment if elected. "I think it is important that we have people run and you dont have to run against someone," he said. "You can just say I also want to run, youre doing a good job but I also want to run, Im willing to put my name up because Im at a good time in my life and if you choose me I think I could do a good job. I would expect people to run against me as mayor." Fawcett said he believes Chrest getting acclaimed through no fault of his own led to "embarrassing" voter turnout in 2018. He hopes a real contest for mayor this time around will improve turnout not just for council races, but for seats on the Brandon School Divisions board of trustees as well. "Im very excited about it," Fawcett said of his campaign. "My familys really excited about it as much as I do want competition, the reality is Ive entered the race because I intend to win it and Im going to do everything I can to win, because I want to still participate and still grow things Ive been working on, still continue to work with people Ive been working with in the community." For the full interview, listen to next weeks episode of the Suns podcast "Sunny Side Up," available at anchor.fm/the-brandon-sun, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. cslark@brandonsun.com Twitter: @ColinSlark ROME When Jade Harper of Peguis First Nation came to Rome to help make a documentary about the First Nations delegation meeting the Pope this week, she knew what she needed to bring: a brick. Advertisement Advertise With Us ROME When Jade Harper of Peguis First Nation came to Rome to help make a documentary about the First Nations delegation meeting the Pope this week, she knew what she needed to bring: a brick. Not just any brick. One from the former Brandon residential school attended by her grandmother and other relatives. The documentary filmmaker visited the site of the old school in 2015. While there, she felt compelled to take some small pieces of the structure with her. "I didnt know why back then," Harper said, adding shes held on to the items for seven years. When Harper learned she would be coming to Rome to help document the journey of survivors, "I brought those things with me, and I will be letting pieces of them go here," she said Friday. "I do not have a gift for the Pope, but I am returning some of what they brought to our homelands as a way of moving forward and healing." Harper wasnt yet sure where she will leave the items, but knows what it will mean for her. "The brick and wall pieces were witnesses to the traumatic experiences of my relatives," she said. "Im simply returning something that was never ours in the first place." Winnipeg Free Press One of the driving forces behind Granthams relocation after the deadly flood of 2011, in which 12 townspeople were killed, may not be easily applied to towns devastated by this years floods. Jamie Simmonds was a planning engineer who in 2011 was catapulted from finding faster ways to get projects approved to giving Grantham a second lease of life. Mr Simmonds moved on in 2016 after the new Grantham estate, about 100 kilometres west of Brisbane, was built on nearby higher ground. His work on the Strengthening Grantham Project gave him a worldwide reputation for community recovery that he will take to a conference at the US National Academy of Sciences in Washington next week, where he is slated to speak. In 2018, backbencher Julia Banks, upon resigning from the Liberal Party, denounced bullying and intimidation and an entrenched anti-woman bias in the party. Former deputy leader of the Liberal Party, Julie Bishop after leaving parliament - said that the treatment of women in politics would not be tolerated in any other workplace across Australia. Illustration: John Shakespeare Credit:SMH So why is nothing happening? Is the problem that we just see politics as horrible anyway? Or that politicians only acknowledge it at the point of retirement or resignation? Will this ever change if there is too great a cost to air concerns beforehand? A study in the Australian Journal of Social Issues published last week analysed the responses of Liberal MPs to allegations of bullying and intimidation by female MPs and found that a politics is tough repertoire served to downplay and legitimise bullying and intimidation as normative and unproblematic. As the authors, Jasmin Sorrentino, Martha Augoustinos and Amanda Le Couteur from the University of Adelaide, point out, the consistent pattern of responses to bullying is to deny it happens more with women than men, and to shrug it off as part of an intense political environment. Consider this language. When Morrison was asked on The Project about whether women had been bullied before his leadership win he said: Well politics is pretty ferocious. I mean, its probably been the most ferocious period of human politics over the last decade that I think we have seen since ... Gough Whitlams time when those ballots are conducted, both men and women are subject to a lot of pressure when they are making these decisions. Loading The president of the Liberal Partys Federal Womens Committee, Helen Kroger, told ABCs RN that both men and women cry during leadership contests, but that politics was just a rough and tough game and an environment which is not for everyone. What worries me is that accepting this premise just means only those blessed with rhinoceros hides, or narcissistic types who are oblivious to criticism because it is also packaged with attention will bother with politics. Dont we want gentler souls in politics along with the thick-skinned spotlight-bathers? And arent we all sick of ugly spats on our public stages? How often do you see a genuine act of grace in political life? In 2018 Fierravanti-Wells said if women wanted to complain, they should go through a complaints process. And we all know how that works out. Four years later, she is making her complaints public. Her serious charges should be investigated by the party, and probably wont be. I cannot speak to the truth of them. But in previously denying bullying when it happens to other women, and by shoring up the narrative that politics is a tough business, she too has been part of the problem. Sure, her act of vengeance on budget night was gutsy, but true courage would also require talking about behavioural issues in your own party or across parties when you are in Parliament, when you are in a position to lend weight to other people, when you are being watched by other men and women who have suffered from similarly vile behaviour and been silenced by the prospect that their complaints would only see that behaviour get uglier. There are many ways to support other women under fire without trashing your own party. Loading Think of all the women who either participated in, or silently watched the mass cultural bullying of former prime minister Julia Gillard. The stifling notion of putting up with all behaviour in the cause of unity is partly what made Brittany Higgins think she had to stay quiet about her alleged rape. She said: There is a strange culture of silence within the parties, as though to speak of poor conduct would be letting the team down. Who would it be letting down? Mostly the bullies. On Thursday night, speaking on a panel about women in politics (that I was also on with the journalists Jess Hill and Marian Wilkinson, organised by Avalons wonderful Bookoccino bookstore), Julia Banks was blunt: The leader determines the culture. This applies of course to all party leaders. What kind of culture is Albanese creating? How accountable has he been, and will he be to bullying behaviour in his party? Will Kitchings experience give him, and the party pause? The worst time for such allegations to be responded to is at the time of someones death. Health economist Professor Martin Hensher warns that long COVID poses a serious public health threat and critical data is missing. At the moment we really have no idea of the extent of long COVID in Australia, he said. We are flying pretty blind. Professor Hensher, who worked alongside a team modelling long COVID at Deakin University, estimates that at 12 weeks post infection, anywhere between 80,000 and 325,000 of the more than two million Australians infected during the first Omicron wave alone will have ongoing symptoms. And, while a large proportion are predicted to recover within six months, thousands are expected to experience persistent symptoms. He is part of a growing chorus of experts calling for the urgent rollout of a national survey to measure the scale of long COVID in Australia and a database to track symptoms. Loading In Australia, up to 30 per cent of seriously ill COVID-19 patients have reported at least one symptom persisting after six months. The most common symptom was shortness of breath, but others included fatigue, headaches and a loss of taste or smell. Ms Costello, who was double vaccinated six months before contracting the virus, and before boosters were approved, is one of an estimated more than 90,000 Australians who have a smell or taste disorder after six months. The figure in Australia is far below other parts of the world where Delta was the prevalent variant. Studies have found up to 60 per cent of people who had Delta lost their sense of smell and/or taste, compared to one in five with Omicron, the most common variant in Australia. About two per cent of those people will have impaired senses long term. Peoples experiences range from complete or partial loss to distorted and imagined senses. Some people complain certain foods taste like garbage or rotting meat, while others can smell faeces or smoke when neither are nearby. Ms Costello often gets phantom garbage smells. Exactly why this occurs is still unknown, but there is an emerging consensus, including by a team studying the phenomena at Harvard Medical School, that smell loss occurs when the coronavirus infects cells that support neurons in the nose. To the frustration of sufferers, there is no easy cure for olfactory dysfunction. Smell training, which involves sniffing several potent scents twice a day to stimulate the olfactory system, is the recommended treatment. But it will not help everyone. There arent robust studies on its efficacy among COVID-19 survivors and earlier studies show it works to some degree on about half of sufferers. Chrissi Kelly, who founded UK charity AbScent after losing her smell due to a sinus infection and now is a published researcher in the field, said it took dedication and at least four months to see results. Simon Carney, a spokesperson for the Australian Society of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, said smell training kits should be included on the Medicare Benefits Schedule. Steroid nasal sprays and vitamin A drops have also shown some efficacy. Professor Carney said the area had long been neglected, but that COVID-19 had spurred promising research in the UK and elsewhere, including a trial of a drug to stimulate olfactory nerve growth. Ms Kelly, who regained her sense of smell after eight years before losing it again from COVID-19, said most peoples senses would return in time. Susanna Vitikainen, who lives in Ocean Grove on Victorias Bellarine Peninsula, gets phantom smells (phantosmia) and has lost her sense of taste on and off since contracting COVID-19 in January. Susanna Vitikainen, who suffers from long-COVID with a variety of symptoms including loss of taste, phantom smells, fatigue, nerve pain and brian fog. Credit:Luis Ascui But more distressing for her is the severe nerve pain, chest pain, heart palpitations, fatigue and brain fog, which forced her to resign from her job as a chef. I will spend days in bed, and Ill be lucky to go to [the] kitchen or shower or get dressed, said the 54-year-old, who was double vaccinated and booked in for a booster when she was infected. At The Alfred hospital in Melbourne, senior clinical neuropsychologist, Dr Leonie Keall is treating an increasing number of people with perplexing symptoms lingering many months after their coronavirus diagnosis. Some were infected as far back as July last year. Demand for neuropsychological treatment is soaring to record levels nationally and Dr Keall says there is a growing need for more services to help treat increasing numbers of people experiencing brain fog post COVID. Some people describe it as feeling like theyre hung over every day, they have greatly reduced mental clarity, they feel less sharp, theyre forgetful, Dr Keall said. One woman said she felt like her whole world had been thrown out the window and another said it was like her brain had been cut in half. Its been really tough on a lot of people. Some of her patients describe absent mindedness, like putting objects in the fridge mistakenly. Others have trouble remembering words or their phone numbers. For most people, fatigue fuels their cognitive difficulties, so her job is to help them manage their sleep and to regain their concentration through cognitive rehabilitation therapy. Most of the patients she treats are aged in their 20s to 50s and many were high-achieving people with fast-paced jobs before being struck down with coronavirus. For some, treatment can be easily adapted into their daily life; keeping a whiteboard in their kitchen to trigger their memory, setting timers to ensure to take regular breaks at work and keeping a diary to remind them of what they need to do each day. But it is the unpredictability and uncertainty of the condition that distresses people the most. Its confronting, and it is a scary thing for people, Dr Keall said. They want answers on when they will be better, but the research is still in the early stages. The hardest thing is that we cant give them those definitive answers. Professor Carney said smell and taste loss could lead to a significant reduction in quality of life. The loss of taste can make people extremely depressed and suicidal, he said, especially in a country like Australia where we are so food and drink culture orientated. Loading Ms Kelly said there was also a biological component to the depression as the smell sense was located in the same part of the brain that governed emotion and memory. Disruption to the mechanisms of smells, in this very important, central part of the brain, of course is going to affect the way we feel and think and act, she said. A 2021 study, co-authored by Ms Kelly, found health care professionals often overlooked the serious consequences of smell and taste loss, including malnutrition, reduced psychological wellbeing and impaired relationships. The tax structure has meant that since 2015, Australian adherents have been able to draw on $400 million in tax deductions not available to followers of other religions or denominations. A Mormon Church spokesman did not respond to written questions about this discrepancy, but said the church operated in accordance with tax laws. Dr Neville Rochow, QC, says the church has structured itself to minimise tax. In the mid-2010s, Dr Rochow was involved in a Mormon-instigated econometric study used to justify its tax status and to ensure that religious trust properties of other churches were not taxed. Soon after, it started to direct substantial donations and tithing through its charitable trust a decision he was not involved in. Before that, in a submission it made to Treasury, the church said it spent just $36,000 a year, on average, on charitable donations between 1985 and 2010. There has been little to no growth in the 61,600 Mormon adherents in Australia over the past decade that could explain the reported 2000-fold increase in charitable giving. Each year, funds are transferred from the churchs charitable trust to a separate entity, Sydney-based LDS Charities Australia. From that entity, about $70 million a year is distributed to global charitable causes. The church spokesman said after LDS Charities Australia was created in 2012, there was a desire and the ability to significantly increase the support of global humanitarian and development projects. That $70 million a year is close to the amount the global church whose strongest following is in the United States itself says it gives each year on average throughout the world, according to its own annual reports. LDS Charities Australia has no paid staff, Australian website, expenses or infrastructure to run what purports to be one of the countrys major charities, collecting more in individual donations than Oxfam, Beyond Blue or Caritas Australia, the Catholic Churchs international aid charity. It runs in parallel with the Utah-based Latter-Day Saints Charities, which apparently directs the churchs charitable spending throughout the world and includes all its senior staff, management and infrastructure. A church spokesman denied LDS Charities Australia was run by Utah-based Latter Day Saints Charities and said it funded programs through other charities including the Red Cross, Water for the People and the World Food Programme, allowing it to keep costs low. All decisions about which projects are funded are made right here in Australia, the spokesman said. The programs it cited were also funded by its Utah-based charity. University of Tampa professor of sociology Ryan Cragun, an expert on Mormonism, said it was inconceivable that the church was making significant global charitable decisions from Australia. Its a stunningly hierarchical religion, Professor Cragun said. So, any big decisions like that are going to be made in Salt Lake City. In 2019, the Australian Tax Office made a binding ruling that for an Australian charity to have deductible gift recipient (DGR) status which allows tax write-offs for donors it must have Australia as the focal point of the DGR in a legal or organisational sense. University of Tampa sociology professor Ryan Cragun Krystian Seibert, a charities expert at Swinburne Universitys Centre for Social Impact, speaking in general terms, said the DGR rule meant the operations and management decisions of a charity needed to be made from Australia. It can, of course, engage and consult with partner organisations outside Australia, but if it effectively outsources operational and management decision-making to individuals or organisations that are outside Australia, that could raise issues under our tax laws. Mormonism is a US religious movement that began in the 19th century and has become incredibly wealthy. A Washington Post investigation in 2020 revealed the church was secretly running a $US100 billion investment fund, Ensign Peak Advisors, that was accumulating vast tax-free wealth by investing in hedge funds, Chevron, Visa, Apple and some of the biggest landholdings in the US. Professor Cragun said the church, for a time, disclosed its charitable giving, which equated to less than 1 per cent of its revenue. It is shocking how little they give, he suggested. But on the flipside, this is the part thats really interesting: they advertise it every single time. And thats where the ex-Mormon in me is like, Thats exactly what Jesus said not to do. He said many of the churchs current leaders called apostles had backgrounds in senior positions in the corporate world. The international church, he said, was run like a multinational corporation, with practices all but identical around the world. According to Cragun, the church is likely to milk the system for every tax deduction they can... And theyre very, very good at it. Senior ex-Mormon Simon Southerton has been involved in a complaint to the Australian Charities and not-for-profits Commission about the churchs tax practices. Loading The sea devoured the beaches and the wind brought down trees and their branches on Saturday as the low-pressure system that brought flooding to the North Coast earlier in the week moved south. Only 11 beaches were open between the Queensland and Victorian borders and waves reached heights of over five metres, nudging closer to six metres on the South Coast, with south-facing beaches copping the brunt of the weather. The lifeguard tower at Bondi Beach at high tide on Saturday morning. Credit:Dylan Coker The high tide all but swallowed Bondi in the morning, with waves slurping across its famous promenade and spilling across the road. It also lapped at the front steps of houses in Avoca on the Central Coast. A dinghy broke free of its moorings at Gordons Bay and made it as far as Bondi, where it was spotted half-submerged in the broiling swell and triggered a search party, until the owner presented at a police station and declared it was unmanned. Police have made an emergency declaration due to an ongoing hazard south-west of Brisbane, where two bodies have been found. About 4pm on Friday, police attended a Blakes Road property at Rosewood, west of Ipswich, to conduct a welfare check. Police say due to the rural nature of the location, there is no risk to any other property owner. Credit:Jason South Inside, they found two bodies, but preliminary investigations indicate the deaths were not suspicious. However, police have identified several potential hazards within the home resulting in an exclusion zone being declared as a precaution. Online exchange platform Syndex paid tribute to Mr Perry, aged in his 50s, as a great friend and colleague, who joined the company in 2020 to lead its Australian business. Chief executive Ross Verry said Mr Perry was a genuine champion of the businesses he worked with and for, and, we were in awe of his standing in the Australian and global agricultural sector. Most of all he was a standout bloke, with a huge zest for life and a wonderful family that he adored and who adored him, Mr Verry said. He leaves behind a wide group of family, friends and colleagues that will miss him dreadfully. Pilot Dean Neal. The AXIchain website stated Mr Perry had a long history in banking, finance, and capital markets in the agriculture and agribusiness industries. He lived in NSW, and once worked as the head of agribusiness for ANZs corporate and institutional banking division. The company said both Mr Perry and Ms Woodford were on the flight, which was from Melbourne to Ulupna, near Victorias northern border, to visit clients in regional Victoria. Nine News reported on Saturday the charter company that owned and operated the helicopter, Microflite, was working to put together a tribute to the people who died in the crash. Ms Woodfords friend Miriam van Heusden told The Age and Sydney Morning Herald she was very passionate, strong and family-orientated, and was living her dream as the companys chief executive. Martin Gibson, who said he was Ms Woodfords friend of 25 years, described her on Facebook as a beautiful, fun-loving and genuinely compassionate soul. Linda Woodford, founder and chief executive of AXIchain. Credit:AXIchain She packed a lot into her half century, and shell leave a big hole in so many peoples lives, including mine, he wrote. Pilot Dean Neal, aged 32 from Cheltenham, was remembered by his family as someone who was fun-loving and lived life to the fullest. Dean has always been the most conscientious of professional pilots and always put the safety and wellbeing of his passengers in the highest of his priorities during his many years of professional service, his father, Rodney, said in a statement. We know Dean would have done anything in his power to deliver his passengers safely to their destination. Albert Park grandfather and stalwart of the global meat industry Paul Troja, 73, took the flight to Ulupna, near Victorias northern border, to assist with the sale of a business, according to his son Luke Troja. He had vowed it would be his last job, and welcomed a new granddaughter only the day before the crash near Blairs Hut on Thursday. Stalwart of the global meat industry Paul Troja. Credit:Nine News He wanted to spend more time with family, but he wanted to do one more last job to get money behind him, so he could help us out with things that we wanted to do, Luke Troja told Nine News. This was going to be it, then he was going to give it away. Another man who died in the tragedy, also from NSW, is yet to be identified. Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators took over the site of the helicopter crash on Friday, and bureau chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said they would stay there analysing the wreckage for at least three days. Once their analysis was done and they had retrieved any components to take back to their Canberra technical facilities, it would be up to the helicopters owner or their insurance company to have the wreckage winched out. As of Friday afternoon, investigators were yet to retrieve anything from the aircraft, or talk to the pilot of the other helicopter, which was in convoy with the one that crashed. Mr Mitchell said, that certainly will be one of our priorities. Well gather anything we can, whether it be recorders, whether it be anything that passengers may have had on them at the time, Mr Mitchell said. Well also look at not only whats on the ground there, [but] well try and put up drones ... to get a picture of what was the flight path of the helicopter in its final moments, particularly where it may have impacted any of the trees, and what that story can tell us. Victoria Polices Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the terrain of Mount Disappointment and amount of wreckage strewn around the scene meant it would be a complex investigation. He said it would be some time before the bodies of the five people who died in the crash could be retrieved. On March 31, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Umurzakov Sardor Uktamovich, who came to China to attend the Third Foreign Ministers' Meeting on the Afghan Issue Among the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan, in Tunxi, Anhui Province. Wang Yi said that since China and Uzbekistan established diplomatic ties 30 years ago, the two countries have trusted and supported each other and deepened cooperation in various fields to an unprecedented level. The two heads of state have maintained close exchanges and established solid mutual trust, charting the course for the development of China-Uzbekistan relations. China will continue to support Uzbekistan in pursuing the development path that suits its national conditions and is ready to work with Uzbekistan to implement the important consensus between the two heads of state and push bilateral relations to a new level. Wang Yi said that China is willing to further align the Belt and Road Initiative with the new Uzbekistan Development Strategy and make proper preparations for the China-Uzbekistan Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee. China stands ready to expand its economic, trade and investment cooperation with Uzbekistan, select and implement a number of key cooperation projects, and expand new energy cooperation to create a diversified and multifaceted cooperation pattern. Umurzakov said that President Shavkat Mirziyoyev values his high-level mutual trust and deep friendship with President Xi Jinping. Uzbekistan firmly adheres to the one-China policy and is committed to deepening the friendship between the two countries. Uzbekistan admires China's development achievements, looks forward to learning from China's experience in governance, especially in poverty alleviation, and is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in various fields. The two sides agreed to strengthen connectivity cooperation to add new impetus to the regional integration process. It was also agreed to tap the potential of agricultural cooperation, strengthen people-to-people exchanges and cooperation at the sub-national level, deepen anti-pandemic and medical and health cooperation, and build a China-Uzbekistan health community. The two sides agreed to support Kazakhstan in hosting the third China + Central Asia (C+C5) foreign ministers' meeting to deepen solidarity and cooperation and jointly withstand risks and challenges. The two sides also agreed to enhance communication and coordination within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Wang Yi said that China fully supports Uzbekistan in hosting the SCO Samarkand Summit, and stands ready to jointly oppose external interference, combat the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism and build a solid regional security barrier. Umurzakov thanked China for its support, and hopes to work together to ensure the success of the Summit. The two sides exchanged views on the Afghan issue. Umurzakov congratulated China on successfully holding a series of meetings on the Afghan issue and achieving important outcomes of these meetings. Wang Yi expressed his welcome and support for Uzbekistan's hosting of the Fourth Foreign Ministers' Meeting on the Afghan Issue Among the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan. He also expressed his willingness to work with all parties to help Afghanistan attain peace, stability and development at an early date. Ive been in the Liberal Party for over 40 years, and Ive never witnessed such a vicious preselection with such distortions of the truth, Ms Ficarra told The Sun Herald and The Sunday Age on Saturday. It almost caused me to want to leave the party from what I saw. Liberal members elected Mr Towke as their candidate for Cook in a ballot in July 2007 in which he won 82 votes and Mr Morrison won 8, but this sparked a dispute over the claims against Mr Towke and led to Mr Morrison being endorsed as the candidate the following month. Another person who voted in the ballot, Lorraine Johnson, said she knew of claims made against Mr Towke that were false. I remember it was an unfair preselection. It was unfair to Michael Towke, she said. The two statutory declarations, signed in 2016 about the events in 2007, claim Mr Morrison told party members it was electorally risky to select Mr Towke because of his ethnic background and because of rumours he was a Muslim. Outgoing Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells left it until she was on the way out to take a stand. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The ballot came less than two years after the Cronulla riots in 2005, which pitted some beachgoers against youths with Middle East backgrounds at the beachside suburb that is part of the Cook electorate. One of the declarations was from a delegate in the preselection, Scott Chapman, who said Mr Morrison spoke about his rivals family background as a factor in the contest. Scott Morrison told me that, if Michael Towke were to be preselected, there would be a swing against the Liberal Party in Cook because of Mr Towkes Lebanese background, Mr Chapman said. Also during that meeting, Scott Morrison informed me that there was a strong rumour about that Michael Towke is actually a Moslem [sic]. Mr Chapman worked for the local Liberal effort after the preselection and helped Mr Morrison win the seat, gaining recognition for this in the Prime Ministers first speech to Parliament when he thanked Mr Chapman for being part of his campaign team. In his 2016 statutory declaration, however, Mr Chapman said that Mr Morrison had told him during the 2007 contest that there were numerous allegations against Mr Towke. The Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age sought comment from Mr Chapman, but he declined to respond. The second declaration, written by Mr Towke, says a number of party members told him Mr Morrison had appealed to them to vote against him solely on the rationale that my family heritage was Lebanese because this would hurt the Liberal campaign. He was adamant and explicit that a candidate of Lebanese heritage could not hold the seat of Cook, especially after the Cronulla riots, he said. It was also brought to my attention that in some of these meetings Morrison informed the preselector that he was aware of a strong rumour that I was actually a Muslim. Scott Morrison, speaking with locals at Cronulla Beach in the lead up to the 2007 federal election, and (inset) Michael Towke. Credit:Dallas Kilponen/Jon Reid This masthead has previously reported that Mr Towke grew up as a Maronite Catholic and went to Marcellin College in Randwick and later attended Our Lady of the Way, a Catholic church in Sylvania, where the Liberal branch became part of his base in the preselection. The statutory declarations were signed in 2016 after several years of litigation in which Mr Towke received $50,000 from News Corp Australia publications over their reports on the claims made against him and also received $33,000 from the Liberal Party to refund his legal costs. Loading The two statutory declarations were not used in legal proceedings and appear to have been prepared to record events for media inquiries, although their contents were not revealed until this weekend in an online report by this masthead and a report in The Saturday Paper. Mr Morrison on Saturday denied that he had ever warned Liberal Party members the safe seat of Cook for which he hoped to be pre-selected at that time in 2007 could be lost because voters might mistakenly believe Mr Towke was a Muslim. Asked directly if he had said those words, or warned about Mr Towkes Lebanese background, the Prime Minister said no three times to questions from journalists. Mr Morrisons spokesman emphatically rejected the claims when asked on Friday if the Prime Minister had spoken in this way about his opponents Lebanese background or the rumour he was a Muslim. These claims are baseless and false and reflect poorly on those spreading such lies with such malicious intent, the spokesman said. The former member for the seat, Bruce Baird, who was aware of the preselection dispute but did not vote in the contested ballot, said he had never heard Mr Morrison say anything racist. I never found him racist, I didnt find him a bully, said Mr Baird, who employed Mr Morrison at the Tourism Council when he led the organisation in the 1990s, in a period between being a NSW government minister and moving into federal politics. There were lots of people he interacted with, but nobody said he was a bully. Ive never heard him say anything racist at all. Another former member, Stephen Mutch, who represented Cook in the 1990s, said he voted for Mr Towke in the ballot after hearing from Mr Morrison. Mr Chapman was one of Mr Morrisons campaign team in the 2007 election and was thanked by the Prime Minister in his first speech to Parliament, but wrote the statutory declaration in 2016 to record the conversations in which Mr Morrison raised Mr Towkes family background. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age sought comment from Mr Chapman but he declined to respond. The second declaration, written by Mr Towke, says a number of party members told him Mr Morrison had appealed to them to vote against him solely on the rationale that my family heritage was Lebanese because this would hurt the Liberal campaign. He was adamant and explicit that a candidate of Lebanese heritage could not hold the seat of Cook, especially after the Cronulla riots, he said. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age contacted Mr Towke, but he declined to comment. The statutory declarations were signed in 2016 after several years of litigation in which Mr Towke received $50,000 from News Corp Australia publications over their reports on the claims made against him and also received $33,000 from the Liberal Party to refund his legal costs. The two statutory declarations were not used in legal proceedings. Mr Morrison on Saturday denied that he had ever warned Liberal Party members the safe seat of Cook for which he hoped to be pre-selected at that time in 2007 could be lost because voters might mistakenly believe Mr Towke was a Muslim. Asked directly if he had said those words, or warned about Mr Towkes Lebanse background, the Prime Minister said no three times to questions from journalists. Asked where the story had come from, Mr Morrison said youll have to ask them. Mr Morrisons spokesman emphatically rejected the claims when asked if the Prime Minister had spoken in this way about his opponents Lebanese background or the rumour he was a Muslim. These claims are baseless and false and reflect poorly on those spreading such lies with such malicious intent, the spokesman said. Labor leader Anthony Albanese said on Saturday that the comments attributed to Mr Morrison spoke to his character. These reports join other reports from within the Prime Ministers own party. You have, whether its the former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, his current Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, the comments that have been made by Gladys Berejiklian, the former premier of New South Wales, the comments this week of Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, but also crossbenchers like Pauline Hanson and Jacqui Lambie, who have dealt with this prime minister, he said. There is a theme comes through about the Prime Ministers character, and Ill leave other people to look at those comments and make their own judgments. Mr Albanese pointed out that Mr Morrison had won just eight votes in the first ballot for the seat of Cook, before the preselection was re-run. They [Liberal pre-selectors] judged that other candidates would be better to represent their local community than Scott Morrison, he said. The former member for the seat, Bruce Baird, who was aware of the preselection dispute but did not vote in the contested ballot, said he had never heard Mr Morrison say anything racist. I never found him racist, I didnt find him a bully, said Mr Baird, who employed Mr Morrison at the Tourism Council when he led the organisation in the 1990s, in a period between being a NSW government minister and moving into federal politics. There were lots of people he interacted with, but nobody said he was a bully. Ive never heard him say anything racist at all. Another former member, Stephen Mutch, who represented Cook in the 1990s, said he voted for Mr Towke in the ballot after hearing from Mr Morrison. In that preselection, Morrisons telephone sales pitch to me galvanised my support for Michael Towke, said Dr Mutch, who became an academic at Macquarie University after leaving Parliament. Dr Mutch added that he had great sympathy for Senator Fierravanti-Wells in her complaints about manipulated preselection processes in the NSW division of the Liberal Party, a concern that led some members to go to court last week to seek the right to vote in preselection ballots. The fact that genuine grassroots democracy is a sick joke in the party is the reason I am no longer a member of it, he said. Senator Fierravanti-Wells told the Senate last Tuesday that Scott Morrison was not fit to be prime minister because of his conduct. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The events of 2007 have been disputed within the Liberal Party ever since Mr Morrison gained endorsement and entered Parliament, leading Senator Fierravanti-Wells to tell the Senate last Tuesday that he was not fit to be prime minister because of his conduct. In an extraordinary attack on a Liberal prime minister from an elected member of his party ahead of an election, Senator Fierravanti-Wells described Mr Morrison as ruthless and a bully and said he had made racial comments against Mr Towke in the 2007 preselection contest. Mr Towke was close to Ms Fierravanti-Wells who had supported him in his preselection bid. Mr Morrison rejected those claims last week and said he understood why Senator Fierravanti-Wells was disappointed she had lost a ballot last month to keep her place on the Senate ticket, which means she will leave the upper house on June 30. Cabinet ministers including Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, Finance Minister Simon Birmingham and Financial Services Minister Jane Hume defended Mr Morrison and noted that Senator Fierrvanti-Wells had lost the ballot to stay in Parliament. I can say that Ive never experienced bullying within the party, certainly not from this prime minister, Senator Hume said last week. Two other candidates in the disputed 2007 preselection, Paul Fletcher and David Coleman, also lost to Mr Morrison but went on to win other seats for the Liberal Party at later elections and both serve as ministers in the government. Mr Fletcher is Communications Minister and Mr Coleman is Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. In the years since the ballot neither has said Mr Morrison made racial comments or acted unfairly, but both declined to comment for this story. Questions over character are likely to become part of the election campaign after Mr Morrison challenged Mr Albanese on whether he had the toughness to lead the country. Mr Albanese has been under fire from the government over his refusal to launch a review into the treatment of Kimberley Kitching, who died of a suspected heart attack on March 10. With Senator Kitchings friends revealing concerns that she was bullied by Senate colleagues including Penny Wong, Kristina Keneally and Katy Gallagher, the government has accused the Labor leader of being a hypocrite for not being willing to look into problems in his own party after calling for reviews into the Liberals. What weve got from Anthony Albanese, at the first sign of hard questions, and were not even into the campaign, he has gone into complete hiding. Frankly, I think its pretty gutless, Mr Morrison said on March 22. The Prime Ministers supporters dismissed the claims from Senator Fierravanti-Wells by saying they were motivated by sour grapes because she did not keep her position on the Coalition Senate ticket for the coming election at a ballot held last weekend. Labor aged care spokesman Clare ONeil took a swipe at Mr Morrison during an interview on Sky News on Friday by listing people including Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce who had expressed a very dim view of the Prime Minister. Australian academics are calling for the voting age to be lowered from 18 to 16 years of age, as the push for young people to have a say about issues like climate change gains momentum around the world. Chair of adolescent health at Melbourne University Susan Sawyer believes its only a matter of time before Australia lowers the voting age. Secondary student Brigid Potter, 17, supports lowering the voting age. Credit:Jason South Professor Sawyer, one of the worlds leading authorities on adolescent health, says the rise in social media combined with a more politically active younger population demonstrated that 16-year-olds were aware of their political clout. In this age of social media, young people have realised that they can be much more politically active and can influence political decision-making through the range of activities that they have been engaged in, she says. A beachfront house in Bronte sold for $17.7 million at auction on Saturday, surpassing its 2018 sale price by $6.5 million. Four buyers turned out to compete for the three-storey home owned by F45 co-founder Rob Deutsch, and bidding from two parties pushed the sale price past the $17.5 million guide. F45 gym founder Rob Deutsch sold his Bronte house. Credit: It was one of 921 Sydney properties scheduled for auction on Saturday. By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 66.1 per cent from 657 reported results, while 153 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate. The auction for the three-bedroom house began with an opening offer of $14 million. Bidding hit $15 million on the second offer, then climbed in a mix of six-figure increments and $50,000 raises as two of the bidders went head-to-head. Brussels: China has offered the European Union assurances that it will seek peace in Ukraine but says it will be on its own terms, deflecting pressure for a tougher stance towards Russia. Premier Li Keqiang told EU leaders that Beijing would push for peace in its own way, while President Xi Jinping said he hoped the EU would treat China independently, in a nod to Europes close ties with the United States. Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during a video meeting with European Union leaders on Saturday. Credit:Xinhua/AP The EU told Beijing during the virtual summit with Li and Xi that ended in the early hours of Saturday not to allow Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions imposed over Russias invasion of Ukraine. We called on China to help end the war in Ukraine. China cannot turn a blind eye to Russias violation of international law, European Council President Charles Michel told a news briefing with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after the first EU-China summit since December 30, 2020. on Friday announced the temporary slowing down of production of COVAXIN across its manufacturing facilities, having completed its supply obligations to procurement agencies and foreseeing the decrease in demand. "For the coming period, the company will focus on pending facility maintenance, process and facility optimization activities. As all existing facilities were repurposed for the manufacture of COVAXIN, with continuous production during the past year, to meet the public health emergency of COVID-19, these upgrades were due," said. Certain highly sophisticated equipment which was required to enhance the process stringency was unavailable during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has to be stressed that the quality of COVAXIN was never compromised at any point in time, it said. During the recent WHO post-EUL inspection, agreed with the WHO team on the scope of the planned improvement activities and indicated that they will be executed as soon as practical. The company was also pleased to learn from the WHO, that the necessary optimization work "does not indicate a change in the risk-benefit ratio (for Covaxin) and the data, available to WHO indicates the vaccine is effective and no safety concern exists". The WHO has further stated, "The vaccine is currently under the WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL)". This risk assessment by the WHO is based on the supply of hundreds of millions of doses of COVAXIN globally, during which the product has demonstrated an excellent safety and efficacy profile in detailed and thorough post-marketing surveillance activities. "More than 1 million doses of COVAXIN were oriented under the clinical trial mode, where the safety of subjects was actively documented. Finally, COVAXIN has been extensively evaluated in 30,000 subjects in more than 10 controlled clinical trials, resulting in more than 15 publications. Based on this wide body of data as well as a wealth of empirical evidence from India and globally, this is a strong justification for the WHO conclusions on COVAXIN safety and efficacy," Bharat Biotech said. "Notwithstanding this excellent safety and efficacy record, Bharat Biotech is diligently working to further improvements and upgrades to ensure that the production of COVAXIN continues to meet ever-increasing global regulatory requirements. Since patient safety is the primary consideration for any new vaccine, there can be no compromises in meeting operational excellence objectives," 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.) IT major is shifting its services from Russia to its other global delivery centres, according to sources. The move comes amid mounting pressure on UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who has been fielding some tough questions lately over the Russian presence of Infosys, a company in which his wife, Akshata Murty, has a share. Sources said that is transitioning services from Russia to other global delivery centres but did not elaborate on any details. has less than 100 employees in Russia, and the status of the local staff there and whether they will be relocated could not be immediately ascertained. To a emailed query by PTI, Infosys said, "We do not have any comments". The UK earlier imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Russian businesses and individuals, with Sunak issuing a call for all UK to think very carefully about any investments in Russia over the ongoing Ukrainian conflict. With reference to stringent sanctions being imposed on Russia, Sunak, who is the son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy was asked on air if his advice to businesses was not being followed within his own home. The minister stressed that the operations of individual was a matter for them. Last month, an Infosys statement said the multinational software services major supports and advocates for peace between Russia and Ukraine. The statement had said: "Infosys has a small team of employees based out of Russia, that services some of our global clients, locally. We do not have any active business relationships with local Russian enterprises. "A key priority for Infosys in times of adversity, is to continue extending support to the community. The company has committed USD 1 million towards relief efforts for the victims of war from Ukraine. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ltd (MCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd (CIL), on Friday said it has produced 168 million tonnes (MT) of coal during the financial year 2021-22 registering a growth of about 14 per cent over the previous fiscal. The company said it has set new milestones in all the performance parameters vis-a-vis coal production, despatch and overburden removal (OBR). Addressing a press conference here, MCL Chairman-cum-Managing Director O.P. Singh said: "The last fiscal has been a great year, full of achievements for the company, and I am happy to inform that MCL's achievement in had been 103 per cent of target at a record 168.17 million tonne for the financial year ended yesterday." Besides, the company has dispatched 176.17 MT coal to the consumers, with a growth of 21 per cent over previous year, he said. Similarly, the MCL has registered a growth of more than 18 per cent in overburden removal at 207 MCuM (million cubic meters), which will help us toAincrease the during the current fiscal, Singh said. He also said that MCL had been successful in meeting the rising demand of coal during the third quarter of last financial year 2021-22, despite challenges posed by Covid-19 pandemic. About the future of coal demand, Singh said: "It is estimated that the coal demand will continue to remain high in the coming times." The company has set a target to produce 176 million tonne coal in the financial year 2022-23. "We have also made advance preparations, keeping in view the erratic rainy season and other operational challenges, to meet the rising demand by producing more coal," he said. He also said that the company has also done capital expenditure of Rs 3,805 crore during the last financial year, which would help MCL in meeting the future goals. MCL is the largest coal producing company in the country, having its mining operations spread over Sundergarh, Jharsuguda and Angul districts of Odisha. --IANS bbm/vd (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prabhakar Sail, an independent witness of the (NCB) in the drugs-on-cruise case involving Aryan Khan, died of a heart attack, police said on Saturday. Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil said the death seemed suspicious and he has ordered Director General of Police Rajnish Seth to conduct a probe. "Prabhakar Sail, 37, died of a heart attack at his house in Mahul (in Mumbai) on Friday evening," a police official said earlier in the day. He was rushed to the civic-run Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar where he was declared brought dead, the official added. "The sudden death of Sail looks suspicious and I have ordered the DGP to probe the matter," Walse-Patil told reporters. Police initiated a probe by registering an Accidental Death Report at suburban RCF Police Station. Sail was living in a rented house in Mahul area for the last few days, said a senior police official, adding it was not immediately known why he had shifted there. Sail's lawyer Tushar Khandare confirmed that he suffered a heart attack, and said Sail's family members do not suspect foul play. Sail, who claimed to be the bodyguard of NCB witness K P Gosavi, had alleged in an affidavit that he had heard Gosavi discussing a Rs 25 crore pay-off deal to let off Aryan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, in an alleged drug seizure case. The NCB had told a court later that Sail has turned hostile. Aryan Khan was arrested during an NCB raid on a cruise ship off the coast on October 3, 2021. He and 19 others were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for alleged possession, consumption, sale/purchase of banned drugs, conspiracy and abetment. Aryan and 17 others got bail while only two accused are currently in judicial custody. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On April 2, 2022, President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Xi Jinping pointed out, China and Azerbaijan are traditional partners of friendly cooperation. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 30 years ago, China-Azerbaijan relations have maintained a sound and steady momentum of development. The two sides have deepened political mutual trust, made solid progress in cooperation across the board and conducted closer coordination on international and regional affairs. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China and Azerbaijan have stood together and helped each other, demonstrating the traditional friendship between the two peoples. Xi Jinping stressed that I attach great importance to the development of China-Azerbaijan relations and stand ready to work with President Aliyev to take the 30th anniversary as an opportunity to push for more achievements in bilateral ties and cooperation in various areas for the benefit of the two countries and the two peoples. Aliyev said, Azerbaijan-China relations have continued to develop on the basis of mutual trust. The two sides have carried out mutually beneficial cooperation in politics, economy and trade and other areas at a high level, and multilateral cooperation has also achieved fruitful results. The Azerbaijani side supports the Belt and Road Initiative and believes that the traditional friendship between Azerbaijan and China will continue to deepen and benefit the people in both countries. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has become the first party since 1988 to touch the 100-seat mark in the with the results of biennial elections to the Upper House. The rise of numbers in the House has been accompanied by a decline in Congress numbers as the opposition party has lost a string of assembly polls since 2014. The loss of Punjab to the Aam Aadmi Party in the recent assembly polls has further brought down Congress numbers and the party will be close to losing the status of Leader of Opposition that its leader has in the House, by July this year. The and NDA's growing strength in is also likely to translate into the government legislation having a smoother passage in the upper House. In Himachal Pradesh, candidate Dr Sikandar Kumar was elected unopposed to . The party now has all seats from the state in the Upper House of . S Phangnon Konyak, who is the president of BJP Nagaland unit's Mahila Morcha, was also elected unopposed to the Upper House. She is the first Rajya Sabha MP of the BJP from Nagaland. BJP Tripura president Manik Saha won the lone Rajya Sabha seat from the state on Thursday, becoming the first member of the BJP from the state in the Upper House. BJP and Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) MLAs cast their votes in favour of Saha and he left his rival candidate Bhanu Lal Saha far behind in the race. BJP and its ally United People's Party Liberal won the two Rajya Sabha seats in Assam for which polling was held. For the first time, Congress will have no Rajya Sabha MP from Assam. The polls later this year in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and next year in Karnataka will be vital for Congress to also shore up its numbers in Rajya Sabha. (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.) At least 26 villages in disputed Meghalaya's Jaintia Hills have written to the state government voicing their concern at the possibility of being "given away" to the neighbouring state of Assam, officials said. At a meeting held on Friday, village elders from 26 villages under an umbrella organization called Labang Nongphyllut Pangam Raliang Area Committee (LNPRAC) at Lamarang village, resolved to remain in . Block I in Jaintia Hills district and Block II in Ri-Bhoi district are part of the 6 areas with more complicated differences between and that will be resolved during the second round of border talks. The other four areas are Langpih, Borduar, Nongwah-Mawtamur and Psiar- Khanduli. LNPRAC adviser Erwin Sutnga told PTI : Village elders from at least 26 villages in the area have met me. They have written to the state government of on their desire to remain within the jurisdiction of the state. He said that another 10 villages will also soon submit their resolution on the issue. According to Sutnga, the villages under Block I and Block II were originally under the United Khasi-Jaintia Hills district and followed the land ownership and the jurisdiction of the tribal chiefs (Syiems). He however, said a notification by the then Governor in April 1951 creating another district the then Mikir Hills (now the Karbi Anglong district) resulted in some of these villages being transferred to the then new district. Several objections to the transfer of villages went unheard and have remained unresolved till date, he said. Meanwhile, at least two persons were injured along the Assam-Meghalaya border at Jatong village in the disputed Block II area when unidentified miscreants attacked, officials said. The incident took place Friday evening and following the attack, police personnel from both Meghalaya and arrived at Jatalong to disperse the crowd that had gathered there, they said. The area has been tense for some time. Today, a magistrate from the district headquarter of Nongpoh in Ri-Bhoi district was also deputed to monitor the situation, a senior district official 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.) With the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) finding that the government was not able to use more than Rs 842 crore of central funds for the irrigation sector between 2014 and 2020, the Opposition Congress and BJP demanded action against officials responsible for such an "inefficiency". Senior Congress leader and MLA Suresh Routray said the government must punish those who were responsible for the "non-utilisation of funds and delay in project completion". "The government has been taking action against corrupt and inefficient officers. Now, it must dismiss those responsible for the return of funds and delay in projects, Routray said. BJP Kisan Morcha president and former MLA Pradip Purohit also hit out at the "inefficient officials and engineers" for the non-utilisation of funds. "This is an anti-farmer government and it has no such efforts to provide irrigation facilities for agriculture," he said. The report on the state's performance on surface irrigation was tabled in the assembly on Friday. The auditor also covered 24 irrigation projects, which were completed or partly completed from January 2011 to March 2017. The detected several deficiencies in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the projects. Though the state government had initiated various at a considerable cost in order to provide adequate water supply for farming, it was, however, noticed that the "objective was not fulfilled and this deprives farmers of irrigation facilities", the said in its report. During the period (2014-19) covered by this performance audit, the checked five major irrigation projects, nine mega lift points (MLPs) and 10 minor for which a sum of Rs 12,742.11 crore had been incurred up to March 2020. Other than nine MLPs, project costs escalated in the "range between 182 and 4,596 per cent due to delay of work", it pointed out. Despite escalation, only one major initiative, the Upper Indravati Irrigation facility, was completed and the four other projects were in different stages of execution, the report said. The performance audit of surface irrigation revealed several deficiencies in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the projects. "The financial management of the test-checked projects was marred due to surrendering of funds resulting in non-completion of projects...," it said. The auditor said there were also instances of loss of central assistance, parking of funds without utilisation, non-realisation of government revenue, non-adjustment of advances and inadmissible payment of tax. The projects were found "deficient in preparation and execution of DPRs and incorrect calculation of benefit cost ratio (BCR)". "These led to modifications in design and scope of work and revision in cost estimates affecting the schedule of implementation of the projects," it said. Similarly, in spite of incurring an expenditure of Rs 12,742.11 crore in all of the test-checked projects, the irrigation potential achieved was 1,22,418 hectare as against the proposed IP of 5,02,842 hectare, which constituted only 24 per cent of the envisaged potential, the report mentioned. Odisha's water resources minister Raghunandan Das said non-completion and non-achievement of irrigation potential are mostly due to problems in getting environment and forest clearance. The CAG, however, said the delay was due to "deficient DPRs, defective survey and investigation, deficient design in the execution of the projects, and inadequate availability of water in the canals". The auditor has also made some recommendations to the water resources department to improve financial and administrative management. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The on Saturday clarified that allocation of power from central generating plants is done by the Union government to states on their request and the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has no jurisdiction over those. "Power from the Central Generating Stations (CGS) is allotted by the Central Government to the States on their request. The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has no jurisdiction in the matter," a statement said. According to the statement, if any reallocation is to be done it is only on the request of the state government; and that also in case any other state is willing to take the surrendered power. The DERC jurisdiction extends only to fixation of tariff and giving advice and direction to discoms of their state. The DERC cannot give any direction to the central or the state governments, it stated. In case of NTPC Dadri-II Thermal Power Plant, the central government had made allocation of this power to Delhi and Uttar Pradesh vide letter dated 8th March, 2011, it stated. The ministry said that "Satyendar Jain, Minister of Home, Health, Power, PWD and Industries, Government of NCT of Delhi, vide his DO letter dated 6th July, 2015 had surrendered power from 11 central generating stations which also include Dadri stage-II thermal power plant of NTPC, with immediate effect and to reallocate the same to other needy States. As per the said letter Delhi had surrendered full 735 MW allocation permanently." Thereafter, the ministry stated that the Government of India wrote to all States on November 20, 2017, May 8, 2018, November 14, 2018, December 24, 2018 and February 6, 2019, that this power which has been surrendered by Delhi is available for reallocation. "The Government of Delhi did not protest or withdraw their letter of surrender. The reallocation of power surrendered by Delhi was done to other states as and when other states requested for it," it explained. The statement showed that since April 2016, the power was reallocated six times from Dadri stage-II plant from the share of Delhi. The Delhi Government did not protest against these reallocation at any time, the ministry stated. The balance power from Dadri stage-II to an extent of 728 MW was available for reallocation and, accordingly, on 28th March, 2022, the same has been given to Haryana based on their request, it stated. No request for withdrawal of the surrendered share had been received from Government of Delhi to the Government of India till March 28, 2022, it informed. "It was only after reallocation of this power on March 28, 2022, that the Government of NCT of Delhi woke up on March 30, 2022 and wrote to to restore the Delhi share from Dadri stage II", it stated. The Government of NCT of Delhi has quoted a letter from DERC dated 6th January, 2022 which was written to NTPC and a letter of DERC dated 14th October, 2021. However, as pointed earlier, DERC has no jurisdiction in the matter of allocation of power from central generating stations, it stated. "It may also be noted that Delhi have relinquished their share of 756 MW from Dadri-I indicating that this power is surplus. Thus, if Delhi is really under crisis and have concern about their consumers, they should not have surrendered their share from Dadri-I," the ministry explained. As the reallocation to Haryana has already happened on March 28, 2022, any further reallocation can only be after hearing Haryana as Haryana is now also an affected party and any withdrawal would impact their power adequacy plans, the ministry stated. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) was imposed in Karauli city of after communal tension broke out there following stone-pelting at a motorcycle rally passing through a Muslim-dominated area on Nav Samvatsar, the first day of the new year under the Hindu calendar on Saturday, officials said. Over 25 persons were injured in the stone-pelting, leading to communal clashes, necessitating the imposition of the and deployment of the additional police force, they said. The has been imposed in the city. An additional police force has also been deployed to maintain law and order, Karauli District Magistrate Rajendra Singh Shekhawat said. Terming the situation in the city as tense but under control, he said some incidents of arsons too took place at several places. Over 25 people suffered injuries. Of them, five to seven are under treatment. One injured person was referred to a Jaipur hospital in critical condition while the rest were discharged after primary treatment, the police control room said. It said a rally was being taken out and when it passed through a Muslim-dominated area, some miscreants pelted stones at it, leading to an eruption of communal clashes in which a few two-wheelers and shops were torched. Police officers, including Bharatpur IGP Prashan Kumar Khamesra and Karauli SP Shailendra Singh rushed to the spot and an additional police force was deployed to control the situation, the PCR said. DGP ML Lather has also deployed ADG Sanjib Kumar, IG Bharat Lal Meena, Jaipur's Crime Branch DIG Rahul Prakash and DCP, Jaipur South, Mridul Kachawa in Karauli, it added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Outpatient department (OPD) services were disrupted across on Saturday following a joint call of the IMA's state chapter and the Health Services Association (JHSA) demanding a fair probe into the death of a Ranchi-born doctor in Rajasthan. The OPD services were affected in most government and private hospitals of following a 12-hour strike called by the two forums. The medical fraternity in Rajasthan has also been agitating and demanding justice for their colleague who allegedly died by suicide in Dausa district of the western state last week. The police had filed a case of murder against her following the death of a patient. General secretary of (IMA), Jharkhand chapter, Pradip Singh told PTI, OPD services across government and private hospitals remained paralysed in Jharkhand. Doctors and medical staff are aggrieved over the incident that took place in Rajasthan and the police action that provoked her to take the extreme step. Singh said the doctor had done her MBBS at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Ranchi. The police lodged Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against her in violation of Supreme Court order, he said. The apex court has directed that Section 302 (punishment for murder) cannot be imposed on doctors. There is a direction to constitute an inquiry committee even before an FIR. Noting that the situation is no different even in Jharkhand, Singh said doctors often face violence from patients and their relatives. So, we demand that the Medical Protection Act be implemented as soon as possible in Jharkhand, he said. Joint secretary of IMA Ranchi, Dr. Ajit Kumar said, OPD services at two major government hospitals in Ranchi were affected. The service was also hit in private hospitals of the city. Meanwhile, terming the doctor's death as extremely sad, Union minister and former Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda urged Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and PMO to take stern action against the guilty. According to a report from East Singhbhum district, around 1,000 doctors went on a strike during the day. Medical practitioners, holding placards, staged a two-hour demonstration in front of the district collectorate here in protest against the incident and support of its demand for immediate implementation of the Medical Protection Act, said Dr. Saurabh Choudhary, secretary of IMA, Jamshedpur. Barring emergency services, Dr. Choudhary said all routine medical services remained suspended in the medical facilities of the district. A delegation of IMA, Jamshedpur, met the Deputy Commissioner and handed over a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in support of their demands. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, on Saturday said the newly signed trade pact with Australia is expected to take bilateral trade from the existing USD 27 billion to nearly USD 45-50 billion in the next five years and the government expects one million jobs to be created in India in the next four to five years. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IndAus ECTA) was signed by commerce minister and his counterpart Australian trade, tourism and investment minister Dan Tehan in a virtual ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison today. Noting that the IndAus ECTA truly symbolises the unity and the spirit of cooperation between the two countries, Union Minister Goyal while addressing a press conference after the deal was signed said, "It is a historic day for India, as it is the first agreement India has entered with a large developed country in a decade. "We expect one million job creation in India in the next four to five years. In-services also we have expanded the scope of bilateral relations. India has offered services and access to services in many sectors to Australia and likewise, reciprocated by Australia," Goyal said. "A number of new opportunities will open up for Indian chefs and yoga instructors in the years to come. Post-study work visas for our young boys and girls who are going to Australia are also part of this agreement," he added. Goyal pointed out that over one lakh Indian students live in Australia and also shared information regarding the promotion of tourism. "There are over one lakh Indian students living and studying in Australia. We're looking at a work and holiday visa arrangement for promoting tourism. A post-study work visa between two and four years will be available for Indian students, particularly for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) graduates," he said. Referring to the newly signed trade deal, Goyal said the Ind-Aus ECTA is expected to almost double bilateral trade to about USD 45 to USD 50 billion in the next five years. Australia is offering zero duty access to India for about 96.4 per cent of exports (by value) from day one. This covers many products which currently attract 4-5 per cent customs duty in Australia. He further said that removing trade barriers will have great potential for labour-oriented sectors, like textiles, pharmaceuticals, leather and will also have huge potential for engineering goods, automobile and many more. In services, Australia has offered 135 sub-sectors to India, while India offered 103 sub-sectors to Australia. Key areas of India's interest like education, IT, Business, professional services, health, audio-visual have been committed by Australia under ECTA. Adequate safeguards have been provided in the agreement to prevent circumvention or diversion of goods from any non-party. There is also a provision for bilateral safeguard measures to protect against sudden surge in import of goods. For the first time, a clause has been introduced for a special review mechanism, which provides for compulsory review after 15 years in a time-bound manner. During the press conference, Goyal gave information about his visit to Australia next week. "I shall be visiting Australia next week and will meet Australian business leaders along with the large business delegation of India to build the bridges and the greater economic cooperation between business persons and our diaspora in Australia and India," the minister said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement is a "watershed moment" for bilateral ties. "Consensus on such an important agreement in such a short period of time shows the mutual trust between the two countries. This is truly a watershed moment for our bilateral relations," PM Modi said at the virtual signing ceremony of the agreement. PM Modi said the newly signed trade deal will contribute to the increasing supply chains resilience and stability of the Indo-Pacific region. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that the signing of the Agreement further develops the promise of economic relations between the two countries. The Australian government said that the deal will eliminate tariffs on more than 85 per cent of Australian goods exports to India, rising to almost 91 per cent over 10 years. On the very first day of the implementation of the interim pact, over 6,000 tariff lines would be available for Indian exporters at zero duty. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) signed between India and Australia on Saturday will give a boost to engineering goods exports from India, the industry body said. "The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement bodes well for the engineering goods sector. The deal would add to the growth momentum and help the exporters get deeper market access in Australia," said Mahesh Desai, Chairman, Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India. India's Union Minister for Commerce and Industry and Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan on Saturday signed the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, in a Virtual ceremony in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison. India has signed a trade deal with Australia less than a week after inking a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the United Arab Emirates. "The trade deals signed by India and those in the pipeline would together give a giant push to the engineering sector which has been one of the key sectors propelling exports from the country. Engineering being a labour-intensive sector, the rise in exports would mean creation of more and more jobs," said Desai. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President said here on Saturday that India and share a broad regional consensus on the issues related to Afghanistan, including the formation of a truly representative and inclusive government, combating terrorism and drug trafficking and preserving the rights of women, children and other ethnic groups and minorities. President Kovind met with his Turkmen counterpart Serdar Berdimuhamedov on Saturday and discussed the recent developments in . As immediate neighbours of Afghanistan, our countries are naturally concerned about the developments within that country and their external repercussions, he said in a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs. We share a broad regional consensus' on the issues related to Afghanistan, which includes the formation of a truly representative and inclusive government, combating terrorism and drug trafficking, the central role of the UN, providing immediate humanitarian assistance for the people of and preserving the rights of women, children and other ethnic groups and minorities, he said. President Kovind arrived here on Friday as he began his three-day state visit to . This is the first-ever visit of the President of India to independent and comes just after the inauguration of new Turkmen President Berdimuhamedov. The Taliban seized power in on August 15, two weeks before the US' complete troop withdrawal on August 31 after a costly two-decade war. This forced Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who was backed by the US-led West, to flee the country to the UAE. The Taliban insurgents stormed across Afghanistan and captured all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the US and its allies melted away. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his February report, said the situation in Afghanistan remains precarious and uncertain nearly six months after the Taliban takeover, as the multiple political, socio-economic and humanitarian shocks reverberate across the war-ravaged country. The Taliban is showing efforts to present itself as a caretaker government. The movement, however, has yet to form governing structures that reflect the country's ethnic, political and geographic diversity and include women. Efforts are constrained by the lack of resources and capacity, as well as an ideology that clashes in many ways with international norms of governance, it said. The current Taliban regime in Kabul has not yet been recognised by the international community as they have failed to address global concerns regarding the formation of a truly representative and inclusive government in the war-torn country. The hardline Islamists have also been urged to preserve the rights of women, children and other ethnic groups and minorities in Afghanistan. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russian Foreign Minister said that he discussed with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar about actively developing the Russia-India-China trilateral mechanism in the interests of stabilising international relations and ensuring "equity in international affairs". "This is especially true given that all the three countries - Russia, India and China - are now members of the UN Security Council. So we have a lot of plans," he said while responding to a query here on Friday over Moscow looking at Beijing and New Delhi to make up for a likely dip in its energy exports. "We are close partners with both countries. The three of us participate in a number of international formats... There is our 'troika' - RIC (Russia, India, China)," he said while talking about Moscow proposing an RIC summit earlier this year. Lavrov left for Moscow on Friday after his two-day visit to India. In Delhi, he called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi and held discussions with Jaishankar over the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, crude offer and arms deal. Lavrov briefed the Prime Minister on the situation in Ukraine, including the ongoing peace negotiations. Modi reiterated his call for an early cessation of violence, and conveyed India's readiness to contribute in any way to the peace efforts. --IANS sk/ksk/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For the Chinese literati, the doctrine of moderation is a key influence in their lives and calligraphy an effective and artful means to express their emotions and thoughts. For the literati, the doctrine of moderation has often been regarded as a code of conduct, which many unconsciously integrated onto their brush tips, giving rise to harmony between art and heart in their works. Celebrated calligrapher Yan Zhenqing (AD 709-784) was one of them. The core of the doctrine of moderation lies in moderation. The doctrine advocates for finding the best possible solution without going to the extreme. To do so, one must be self-cultivated and understand the objective laws of nature and society. Be that as it may, it is not the same as making compromises or taking the middle way. Instead, it emphasizes "harmony without uniformity" and calls for mutual tolerance without simply "going along with one another". Moderation emphasizes merits of calmness, wisdom, honesty,kindness and intelligence. It also lauds persistence. Such positive and upbeat mindsets have encouraged the Chinese people to be indomitable, resolute, intolerable to evils and fearless against danger. Yan Zhenqing was a faithful practitioner of the doctrine of moderation both in his work and life. He grew up in a family that valued education and served in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) court. With his noble personality and determination to serve his country, he reversed the downward-tide and prevented the collapse of his court. Yan's self-cultivation of moderation trickled down into his calligraphy and art style. Prior to Yan, renowned calligrapher Wang Xizhi's style, which stressed gracefulness and a free and untrammeled form, dominated Chinese calligraphy for hundreds of years. Yan forged himself a new path - a monumental, dignified and powerful style marked by smoothness, stability and masculinity. In the words of Su Shi, the most celebrated scholar-poet of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Yan was the "sole hero who challenged this ancient tradition." Yan's calligraphy is reflective of his upright, brave and aboveboard life. Simplicity, sincerity, power and generosity run through his brushstrokes, which won him admiration of the distinguished officials, including emperors, as well as later generations. Moderation is also reflected in Yan's sophisticated brushwork in his use of ink and layout, or neutralization. Neutrality is understood as a high degree of unity of contradictions, a balance between yin and yang, and a harmonious integration of the subject and the object. In the context of calligraphy, it alludes to expressions that are mediatory and controlled, capturing the beauty of nature and personality in dots and lines. One such example is running script, in which characters can be big and small, dry and wet, in regular script and in cursive script, even in classic style. All characters in a piece of work are changeable but integrated with the unity of harmony. Eulogy for a Nephew (Ji zhi Jiming wen gao) is an example of such neutrality, a piece of work that Yan completed while mourning his nephew Jiming. Hit with emotional turmoil, Yan poured all of his grief and anger out into the work. Most of the characters are oblique, some facing left and others right. Many characters were scribbled and rewritten, making the work seem a little chaotic. Despite a pandemonium of emotions, his brush was still under control, and even the spacing of the characters handled moderately. In whole, the work is well-proportioned, with a rhythm rendered by the change of ink tones and size of characters. Its layout is reasonable, where empty spaces do not appear hollow and useless. At the moment of creation, Yan was not tied by rules of sophisticated calligraphy and let his emotions run free through his brush. Yan's eulogy is another masterpiece in the history of Chinese calligraphy after Preface to the Poems Collected from the Orchid Pavilion by Wang Xizhi in AD 353, which is often regarded as the first masterpiece of running script. Observing that India has shown its strength in the design, development and operation of in the five tonne category, Defence Minister on Saturday said in order to become a global leader there is a need to progress in the design of 10 tonne Indian multi-role helicopter. Further, aggression of any type has never been there in the history of India and in the last few years, the relation among peace, security and military power have deepened, he said. "When I am talking about making oneself strong, I don't mean establishing our dominance in the world. India has been such a country, if it has carried arms, then it is for protecting the 'shastras'. Shastra means knowledge. Shastra means our civilizational values.... shastra means truth, non-violence and peace." "Aggression of any type has never been there in the history of India. If you see the situation during the last few years, you will find that the relation among peace, security and military power have deepened. If the message of 'vasudhaiva kutumbakam' (the whole world is one family) has gone to the whole world, it has only gone from our motherland, India," he said in his address at a conclave organised here to commemorate the 60 years of Chetak helicopter's service to the nation. The Defence Minister said the indigenously designed and developed Advanced Light Helicopter DHRUV and its variants are examples of the country's strength. He described the Light Combat Helicopter as another example of the country's capability in light for combat operations. He stressed on the need to march forward in the design of the 10-tonne Indian multi-role helicopter. According to an estimate, there is demand for more than 1,000 civilian and an equal number of helicopters in the military sector in the country, Singh said, adding, this opportunity in the chopper market should be exploited. There is also a need to make efforts to strengthen the country's claim in the Rotary wing domain, he said. He reiterated the government's resolve of achieving 'Aatmanirbharta' (self-sufficiency) in defence production and preparedness, in view of the constantly changing global security scenario. External conditions have impacted on the serviceability of India's critical weapons and equipment and therefore, efforts for self-sufficiency continues to be the need of the hour. Singh said that by being strong, India does not mean to establish dominance in the world. India has always followed the path of truth, non-violence and peace and does not support aggression of any kind, he said. He also spoke about the efforts made to encourage domestic industry. "Free technology is being transferred to them by DRDO. FDI limit has also been increased," he said. Two positive indigenisation lists of defence items have been issued, while the third list will be out soon, he said. He pointed out the positive response from the services, research and development organisations and public and private sector industries. The MSMEs, start-ups, innovators and academia are together exploring new avenues of defence production, he said, exuding confidence that the unprecedented steps taken by the government would get unprecedented response. The Defence Minister said the conclave is a fitting tribute to those who have served the nation with hard work and dedication. Comparing 'Chetak', a horse of Rajput king Rana Pratap, he described the helicopter named after it as not just a machine, but a vibrant and dedicated entity which has been continuously engaged in the service of the nation for the last six decades, setting an example for others. Chetak played a key role in the 1971 Indo-Pak war and Lt Gen Niyazi (who signed the surrender document) and a Major General were brought as Prisoners of War to India in a Chetak helicopter, a senior official 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.) India and on Saturday unveiled a cross-border railway network and several other developmental initiatives even as Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba pitched for setting up of a bilateral mechanism to resolve the lingering boundary issue. After their wide-ranging talks, Prime Minister and Deuba virtually inaugurated the 35-km railway network from Bihar's Jaynagar to Kurtha in Nepal, launched a 90-km power transmission line and rolled out the RuPay payment card in . Signalling a major reset of ties that came under severe strain after the boundary row escalated in 2020, the two sides unveiled a vision document for cooperation in the power sector and inked four pacts providing for ramping up India's supply of petroleum products to and boosting ties in sectors such as clean energy and railways. In his media statement, Modi referred to the discussion on ensuring that the open borders between India and Nepal are not misused by undesirable elements. "We discussed that the open borders between India and Nepal are not misused by undesirable elements. We emphasised on deepening of cooperation between our defence and security authorities. I am confident that our talks today will be able to attain the objective of achieving the ambitious targets of the India-Nepal ties," he said. Deuba arrived in New Delhi on Friday in his first bilateral visit abroad after becoming prime minister for the fifth time in July 2021. In his remarks, Modi said India has been a firm partner in the journey of peace, progress and development of Nepal and will always remain so. "The friendship of India and Nepal, the relationships of our people, such an example is not seen anywhere else in the world. Our civilization, our culture, the threads of our exchanges; are connected since ancient times," Modi said in his media statement. In his comments to the media in presence of Modi, Deuba said the boundary issue was discussed in the talks between the two sides and he urged the Indian prime minister to resolve it through the establishment of a bilateral mechanism. Hours later at a media briefing, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said there was a general understanding that the issue needed to be addressed in a responsible manner through dialogue and its "politicisation" should be avoided. "The issue was briefly discussed. There was a general understanding that both sides needed to address this in a responsible manner through discussion and dialogue in the spirit of our close and friendly relations and politicisation of such issues needs to be avoided," Shringla said. Ties between the two countries came under severe strain after Kathmandu published a new political map in 2020 that showed the three Indian territories - Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh - as part of Nepal. The prime minister said he and Deuba also agreed to give priority to the initiatives on trade and cross border connectivity in all respects and that the joint vision statement on power corporation will prove to be a blueprint for future collaboration. "We also agreed on the subject of more participation by Indian companies in Nepal's hydropower development plans. It is a matter of happiness that Nepal is exporting its surplus power to India," Modi said. He said the introduction of the Rupay Card in Nepal will add a new chapter to the bilateral financial connectivity, adding other projects like Nepal Police Academy, integrated check post at Nepalganj and Ramayana Circuit will also bring the two countries closer. "We emphasized the importance of progressing at a fast pace in the Pancheshwar Project. This project will prove to be a game-changer for the development of the region," Modi said. The Jayanagar-Kurtha section, the first such broad-gauge passenger railway service between the two countries, was flagged off by the two prime ministers. The railway link has been built with grant assistance from India. On Twitter, Modi described the talks as "fruitful" and said that one of the key emerging pillars of India-Nepal cooperation is energy. The prime minister said Deuba has always played a key role in boosting the India-Nepal friendship. Separately, the Ministry of External Affairs said Modi and Deuba reviewed the full spectrum of the bilateral agenda covering political, economic, trade, energy, security and developmental issues. It said India's relationship with Nepal is one of the main pillars of its 'Neighbourhood First' policy. "The visit of the prime minister of Nepal to India will contribute in further cementing the traditional and age-old ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries," it said in a statement. "The expansive and productive talks between the two Prime Ministers provided high-level direction and gave shape to a robust agenda for bilateral cooperation in multiple sectors, particularly those related to energy and connectivity," it added. The MEA said both sides agreed to expedite progress in the implementation of the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project, beginning with the early finalisation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR). "They reviewed the progress in implementation of Indian projects in Nepal, including the cross-border rail-link projects connecting (a) Jayanagar-Kurtha-Bijalpur-Bardibas (b) Jogbani-Biratnagar (c) Raxaul-Kathmandu," it said. The MEA said Modi welcomed Nepal's decision to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA). (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.) Medical education regulator Medical Commission (NMC) has recommended that 'Maharshi Charak Shapath' should replace the Hippocratic Oath in a new curriculum for MBBS courses and students pursuing them in the country. According to new guidelines, "Modified 'Maharshi Charak Shapath' is recommended when a candidate is introduced to medical education." The guidelines also recommend a 10-day yoga "foundation course", beginning June 12 every year and culminating on the International Yoga Day on June 21. "Yoga training is recommended to be initiated during the foundation course,(one hour, preferably in the morning in orientation week). Yoga practices shall be for maximum one hour every day during the period of 10 days beginning from 12th June every year to be culminated on International Yoga Day, i.e. June 21, to be celebrated in all medical schools across the country," according to the revised guidelines. According to the guidelines, a robust continuous formative and internal assessment is required to ensure competencies and thereby a competent medical graduate. "If required, we can have two internal assessments and the third internal assessment can be calculated from various unitary and continuous tests taken throughout the year," it said. Interestingly, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya recently said in Parliament that 'Maharshi Charak Shapath' would be optional and not forced on medical students. Charaka Shapath or Charaka oath, a passage of text in Charaka Samhita which is the Sanskrit text on Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine), is a set of instructions by a teacher to prospective students of the science of medicine. The Hippocratic Oath, ethical code attributed to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, is a widely adopted guideline to conduct medical profession throughout the ages and still used in the graduation ceremonies of many medical schools. (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.) Citing the "historic" decision of the Centre to lift the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from "major parts" of Assam, and Manipur, the BJP on Saturday asserted that peace has returned to the Northeast region which has now become a part of the "mainstream". Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal Pradesh, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-pronged approach of development and dialogue with insurgent groups in dealing with various challenges in the region has paid dividends. A "colourful, beautiful and peaceful" Northeast awaits people from across the country, he said at a press conference while appealing for travel and investment in the region. The Congress had left the region "devastated", he alleged and added that Prime Minister Modi had the big heart the region needed. People of the region wanted the government to reach out to them, which has happened under him, the minister said. Modi's vision of lifting the completely from the region will also be realised, Rijiju said. The gives security forces sweeping powers in dealing with insurgents and has been criticised by civil rights groups over alleged excesses. "We used to hear that the Northeast has to be brought into the country's mainstream. I can say today that it is already in the country's mainstream," Rijiju said, stressing that the region is developing at a fast pace and will become an important economic hub of the country. The region has been given due attention since Modi became prime minister in 2014, he said, adding that no one could have thought that he will visit the region over 50 times in his tenure so far. Besides the prime minister, other ministers have been regularly visiting the region to help in its development, and the earlier sense of "alienation and step-motherly treatment" is now gone from the minds of people there, Rijiju said. Modi turned the "look east" policy into the "act east" policy with development works and peace initiatives going hand in hand, he said, adding that the region is now in a "transformational mode". The region has been allocated over Rs 76,000 crore in the recent budget, a hike of Rs 7500 crore, he said noting that the central government's flagship schemes have boosted road and mobile phone connectivity there. A "four-cornered attack of development" has ensured that no one loses out, he said. A safe, secure and developed Northeast "'is a very good news" for India, he said while pointing out the security challenges the region has traditionally posed. He noted that the was lifted from Tripura in 2015 and from most of Arunachal Pradesh as well, with the Centre signing peace accords with various insurgent groups to defuse the decades-old crisis. The government has also been working to settle all border disputes among different states in the region, he said and credited Home Minister Amit Shah for executing Modi's vision on the ground by constantly holding dialogues with chief ministers. BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia also lauded the Modi government for its work to restore peace and boost development in the Northeast and asserted that it has resolved major issues facing the region and the country. The AFSPA, under which a geographical location is declared as disturbed area to facilitate operations of the armed forces, will now be applicable fully in 31 districts and partially in 12 districts of four states in the Northeast - Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. These four states together comprise 90 districts. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, was completely withdrawn in Meghalaya in 2018, Tripura in 2015 and Mizoram in the 1980s. (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.) Naga Students' Federation (NSF) on Saturday condemned the firing incident in Arunachal Pradesh, where two civilians were "mistakenly" shot at by Army personnel, and sought strict punishment for the guilty besides complete removal of from all Naga-inhabited areas in the Northeast. The apex Naga students' body in Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, in a statement, said it "outrightly rejected the Centre's ploy to please certain sections of Northeast" by removing Armed Forces (Special Powers Act), 1958 from some pockets, while keeping it imposed in a majority of Naga-inhabited areas in the region. "Two Naga youths Nokphua Wangpan and Ramwang Wangsu were critically injured when 12 Para Special Forces fired upon without any warning while they were returning from the river after fishing early Saturday morning. "Such acts of the armed forces trampling upon the dignity, existence, freedom and happiness of the Naga people without any remorse under the protection of cannot be accepted by the Federation in particular and the Naga people in general," it said. The Army said that it was a case of "mistaken identity" as there was credible information about the movement of armed insurgents in the area in Tirap district of . NSF demanded that justice be delivered to the innocent civilians at the earliest and befitting punishment to the "trigger-happy" jawans. The federation said it would undertake a series of democratic agitations to press for their demands but did not announce a date for launching the stir. The Centre had on Thursday announced a reduction in the number of "disturbed areas" under the purview of the contentious law in Nagaland, Assam and Manipur with effect from April 1. "There is no denying that areas falling under 15 police stations in seven districts of will benefit from the Centre's policy but a major chunk of the Naga homeland spread across Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and remain classified as 'disturbed areas'," it said. It questioned the yardstick used to lift the Act from certain areas of the Northeast as "police stations within the Naga homeland, which have almost perfect law and order records, have been completely left out". "This step is more like rubbing salt on the wounds of Naga people who are still reeling under the shock of the Oting incident wherein 14 innocent Naga souls were gunned down by armed forces in a botched military operation in December last year," it added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba met and held delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Saturday. "Wide-ranging talks on our multifaceted partnership are on the agenda," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. This is Prime Minister Deuba's first bilateral visit abroad since assuming office for the fifth time in July last year. Deuba, who is accompanied by a high level delegation. is visiting India at the invitation of PM Modi. Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi informed that the wide-ranging talks between India and Nepal's multifaceted partnership are on the agenda during the meeting. "Working together to take India- relations to newer heights. The meeting between PM @narendramodi and PM @SherBDeuba of gets underway. Wide-ranging talks on our multifaceted partnership are on the agenda," Bagchi tweeted. Earlier in the day, the Nepal PM paid respects to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in New Delhi. Yesterday, Nepal Prime Minister met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla in the captial. Earlier, he met Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) President JP Nadda at the party headquarters in a courtesy meeting. "Had a courtesy meeting with Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba today. India and Nepal are not just neighbours but are very close to each other even from religious, cultural, linguistic and historic viewpoints," Nadda said in a tweet. The last Head of State/Head of Government-level visit from Nepal was in May 2019, when then PM K P Oli visited India for the swearing-in ceremony of PM and the Union Council of Ministers. Before that PM Modi had visited Nepal in August 2018 for the 4th BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu, which was preceded by a State Visit to Nepal in May 2018. PM Modi had extended a congratulatory message to Sher Bahadur Deuba soon after he won the Vote of Confidence in Nepal's Parliament. This was followed by a congratulatory telephonic conversation on 19 July 2021. The most recent meeting between PM Modi and Sher Bahadur Deuba took place on November 2, 2021, on the sidelines of COP 26 in Glasgow. Sher Bahadur Deuba is a veteran politician of the Nepali Congress with a political career spanning over seven decades. This is Deuba's fifth tenure as PM. His first term was from September 1995 to March 1997. He has visited India several times, both when in and out of power. This will be his fifth visit to India as PM, with the last visit being in August 2018. The previous three visits took place in 2004, 2002 and 1996. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) on Saturday became the fourth foreign country to operationalise the card with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba jointly launching the Indian electronic payment system in the Himalayan nation. The three other countries that have the card are Bhutan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. The card was launched by the two leaders after holding talks covering wide-ranging issues including cooperation in areas of trade, investment and energy. Deuba arrived in New Delhi on Friday in his first bilateral visit abroad after becoming prime minister for the fifth time in July 2021. "Introduction of card in will add a new chapter to our financial connectivity," Modi said in his media statement after the talks. The Ministry of External Affairs said the launch of the card in would open new vistas for cooperation in financial connectivity, and is expected to facilitate bilateral tourist flows as well as further strengthen people-to-people linkages. RuPay card scheme was launched in 2012 as part of the Reserve Bank of India's vision to have a domestic, open and multilateral system of payments. People familiar with the project said the Nepal SBI Bank (NSBL), a subsidiary of SBI and Nepal's largest international bank, worked on the initiative for over a year with support from Nepal's Central Bank. They said the launch of the card in Nepal will forge a new path to financial convenience and empowerment with the use of technology and innovation. It will not only enable ease of payment for RuPay car holders but also uplift Nepal's payment ecosystem capabilities, they said. After the Modi-Deuba talks, Nepal and India also inked a pact for the renewal of an MoU for the supply of petroleum products for a period of five years between Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Nepal Oil Corporation Ltd (NOC), the people cited above said. Both parties had signed an agreement on March 27, 2017, which expired on March 31. The renewed agreement will remain valid for a period of five years. The agreement is in the form of an umbrella pact enabling IOCL to supply petroleum products to NOC, including through the Motihari-Amlekhgunj pipeline which was commissioned in July 2019. Another agreement was signed for sharing of technical expertise between IOCL and NOC. The agreement is intended to assist NOC in acquiring technical knowledge and skill in petroleum products, and in the operation and maintenance of facilities required for the purpose. The people said IOCL will impart training and knowledge to NOC personnel in the fields of quality control, engineering, pipeline, IT, terminal/depot operation, infrastructure development and safety. (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.) Curfew was imposed in Karauli city of after communal tension broke out there following stone-pelting at a motorcycle rally passing through a Muslim-dominated area on Nav Samvatsar, the first day of the new year under the Hindu calendar on Saturday, officials said. Over 25 persons were injured in the stone-pelting, leading to communal clashes, necessitating the imposition of the curfew and deployment of the additional police force, they said. The curfew has been imposed in the city. An additional police force has also been deployed to maintain law and order, Karauli District Magistrate Rajendra Singh Shekhawat said. Terming the situation in the city as tense but under control, he said some incidents of arsons too took place at several places. Over 25 people suffered injuries. Of them, five to seven are under treatment. One injured person was referred to a Jaipur hospital in critical condition while the rest were discharged after primary treatment, the police control room said. It said a rally was being taken out and when it passed through a Muslim-dominated area, some miscreants pelted stones at it, leading to an eruption of in which a few two-wheelers and shops were torched. Police officers, including Bharatpur IGP Prashan Kumar Khamesra and Karauli SP Shailendra Singh rushed to the spot and an additional police force was deployed to control the situation, the PCR said. DGP ML Lather has also deployed ADG Sanjib Kumar, IG Bharat Lal Meena, Jaipur's Crime Branch DIG Rahul Prakash and DCP, Jaipur South, Mridul Kachawa in Karauli, it added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vice-President M. on Saturday said that some people are unable to digest India's growth. He said that while is being respected and recognised, some of the western media carry propaganda against it on small issues. Naidu was addressing Telugu new year Ugadi celebrations at Swarna Bharat Trust at Muchintal on the outskirts of Hyderabad. "The entire world is looking to . is being respected, recognised and being realised. Though some of the western media may carry propaganda against India on small issues but larger public life, the value systems, the traditions and heritage of India are being respected everywhere," he said. Some people, he remarked, were not able to digest India's growth. The media in some countries write something which they feel is in the interest of their country but some people in India use the same content and try to tarnish the image of the country. The Vice-President also expressed concern over the decline in the conduct of some members in Parliament and state Assemblies. He said the kind of language being used was bringing bad name to the entire system. Naidu, who is chairman of Rajya Sabha, said some incidents in Parliament and state legislatures were painful. He also found fault with the media for giving importance to such incidents. He said if the legislators speak well on issues it's not news for the media but if somebody creates commotion, uses bad language or resorts to personal attacks on others it becomes news. "Good behaviour, good conduct and good delivery is not a news," he said and advised media to realise its responsibility. Naidu stressed the need to speak in one's own mother tongue. He said everybody should speak in their mother tongue at home and in the midst of those who understand that language and if he is with other Indians, he should speak in Indian languages. "There is nothing wrong with learning foreign languages. You can learn any foreign language but you should speak in your mother tongue. This is our address and identity," he said. Naidu also underlined the need for following the culture and traditions in daily life, including wishing others and the food habits. --IANS ms/shb/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : People across both the Telugu states celebrated Ugadi marking a New Year beginning from the first day of traditional Chaitra month, with fervour and deity. Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan in a tweet extended greeting to Telugu people. "On this happy and auspicious occasion of Sri Subhakruthu nama "Ugadi" festival, the Telugu New Year Day, I extend my heartiest greetings to the people of and to the Telugu people living all over the world, he tweeted. Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan in a message said "On this happy and auspicious occasion of Ugadi, the Telugu New Year Day, I extend my warmest greetings to the people of Telangana and to the Telugu people across the World." Chief Ministers of Telangana and and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in separate messages have greeted the people on the occasion. KCR in a statement said the year of 'Shubhakrut,' which wraps up the auspiciousness in the name itself, will bring good fortune to the people in all spheres. He participated in Ugadi celebrations held at Pragati Bhavan, his official residence. Expressing happiness, he said with the blessings of God, Telangana was abuzz with plentiful water and green fields. Jagan Mohan Reddy, in a tweet said, he wishes everyone good health, longevity, health and happiness in this auspicious New Year. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) You are here: Business Beijing authorities have released a plan for energy development from 2021 to 2025, emphasizing replacing coal with clean energy. According to the plan, Beijing will strengthen the control of the amount and intensity of energy and carbon emissions and continue to promote clean energy use in rural areas. By 2025, the city will achieve a coal-free heat supply. Beijing will improve its natural gas supply capacity and form emergency reserves of about 1.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2025. By 2025, newly-added installed power generation capacity of renewable energy will reach about 2.1 million kW. An additional 45 million square meters will be heated by renewable energy. Located at approximately 40 degrees north latitude, the heat supply is a vital measure to ensure Beijing citizens survive the cold winter. The latest heating period lasted 137 days from 2021 to 2022 and ended last week. The city's coal consumption has been massively reduced from over 11.65 million tonnes in 2015 to 1.35 million tonnes in 2020, showed official data. The has dismissed a petition that sought 10 per cent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in general category candidates in Higher Judicial Service examination, 2020, saying that once the advertisement is out, it would not be just and proper for authorities to insert any new clause. Earlier notices were issued and the high court administration in its reply stated that the reservation of EWS "provided under Act No.10 of 2020" was not adopted by the high court while issuing the notification. The Public Services (Reservation for economically weaker sections) Act, 2020 (U.P. Act No. 10 of 2020) provides that at the stage of direct recruitment, 10 percent of vacancies shall be reserved in public services for persons belonging to the economically weaker sections. Petitioner Sandeep, who is a practicing lawyer at Meerut, had moved the court seeking a direction to the high court administration to issue an amended notification providing the 10 per cent reservation for EWS. Dismissing the petition, a bench comprising justices K J Thaker and Ajai Tyagi observed, "Once the advertisement is out, it would not be just and proper for the authorities to insert any new clause. The apex court has also held that change of any condition in the advertisement would be violative of constitutional mandate." Hence, we cannot direct the High Court by way of mandamus to provide reservation benefit to the Economically Weaker Sections category candidates for taking the examination this year. However, we request the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad to adopt the same, if not adopted." the court said in its order on March 25. "We are unable to accept the submissions of the petitioner. The advertisement issued by respondent no.2 (Registrar General) cannot be termed as illegal or arbitrary and against the mandate of the Constitution of India. It cannot be said that petitioner is discriminated," observed the court. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The has expressed concern over delay in execution of arbitral awards, calling it "a very sorry state of affairs". A bench of Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna made the observation while hearing a case in which the arbitral award passed in 1992 remained pending for execution despite passage of more than 30 years. The apex court said this case is a glaring example of frustrating the arbitration proceedings under the Arbitration Act. It noted that the award has been passed in the year 1992 and the execution petition is of the year 2003, which is still reported to be pending. "It is very unfortunate that even after a period of 30 years, the party in whose favour the award is passed is not in a position to enjoy the fruit of the litigation/award. Even the execution petition is also pending for more than 19 years. "This is a very sorry state of affairs that even the execution proceedings to execute the award passed under the Arbitration Act are pending for more than 20 years," the bench said. If the award, under the Arbitration Act, is not executed at the earliest, it will frustrate the purpose and object of the Arbitration Act as well as the Commercial Courts Act, it noted. "Even according to the new Commercial Courts Act, 2015, the commercial dispute is required to be decided and disposed of at the earliest and within the stipulated time provided under the Act, namely, one year. "There must be number of such proceedings pending in the courts under the jurisdiction of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad," the bench said. The top court directed the Registrar General of the Allahabad High Court to place on record execution petitions pending in the subordinate courts/executing courts in the entire state. "The aforesaid information in the form of a detailed report shall be placed before this court on or before the next date of hearing," it said. With regard to the case in question, the apex court directed the executing court to finally decide and dispose of the execution petition within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of the present order. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and Australia inked an economic cooperation and trade agreement (ECTA) on Saturday, under which Canberra will provide duty-free access in its market for over 95 per cent tariff lines, including textiles, leather, furniture, jewellery, machinery and select medical devices. The deal will take around four months to be implemented. This is the first trade agreement that India has signed with a developed economy after more than a decade. This agreement was signed at a time when India is already working with other developed countries such as the UK, Canada and the European Union to sign a free trade agreementan evident shift in Indias strategy. Australia is the 17th largest trading partner of India and India is Australias 9th largest trading partner in the current fiscal. Bilateral trade in goods and services for both the countries is expected to rise from the existing $ 27.5 billion to $ 45 billion in five years. To arrest a surge in imports and protect the domestic industry, both nations have already worked out a mechanism. The safeguard mechanism will be available for about 14 years from the date of completion of elimination or reduction in tariff. There will be a special review mechanism for compulsory review after 15 years for certain aspects of the agreement in a time-bound manner. The review, if requested, is compulsory and has to be completed in six months. Officials said that since Australian exports are more concentrated in raw materials and intermediates, many industries in India will get cheaper raw materials and make them competitive, in particular for sectors like steel, aluminum, garments among others. On the other hand, for the products of export interest of Australia, India is offering concessions mostly on raw materials and intermediates either in the form of tariff elimination, tariff reduction (TR) with or without a tariff-rate quota (TRQ). Indias offer includes immediate tariff elimination on 40 per cent of its tariff lines comprising 85 per cent of Australias exports in value terms to India and another 30.3 per cent of its tariff lines for elimination or reduction of tariffs in 3,5,7 and 10 years time period. Only a few agricultural products such as oranges, mandarins, almonds, pears and cotton among others have been allowed with limited quota. India has agreed to reduce duty on Australian wines. Tariffs on wine with a minimum import price of $5 per bottle will be reduced from 150 per cent to 100 per cent on the deal's implementation and subsequently to 50 per cent over 10 years. The duty on bottles with a minimum import price of $15 will be reduced from 150 per cent to 75 per cent, and subsequently to 25 per cent over 10 years. India has kept many sensitive products in the exclusion category (29.8% of tariff lines) without offering any concession. Some of these are Milk and other dairy products, chickpeas, walnut, pistachio nut, wheat, rice, bajra, apple, sunflowers seed oil, sugar, oil cake, gold, silver, platinum, jewellery, iron ore and most medical devices. This is a major gain for India in this Agreement. For the pharma segment, the pact would provide fast-track approvals and fast-track quality inspections of manufacturing facilities. In the services sector, benefits for India include post study work visa of two-four years for Indian students on reciprocal basis; and work and holiday visa arrangement for young professionals. Post study work visas will provide extended options for working in Australia to eligible Indian graduates, post graduates and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) specialists, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said. He also said that Australia has agreed to resolve the double taxation issue being faced by domestic IT companies in that market. Australia has also agreed to amend its domestic tax law to stop the taxation of offshore income of Indian firms providing technical services in Australia. It has been six years since the government launched the Smart City Mission, under which 100 cities were selected. The timeline to complete the programme was set to 2022, and was shifted to June 2023 last year. A Business Standard analysis shows that of the 100 cities, only 14 have completed over 50 per cent of the projects in terms of value. Furthermore, five of those belong to Uttar Pradesh (UP). The other five in UP have a completion rate of over 30 per cent. Varanasi had the highest completion rate of 87.1 per cent among all the cities. The city led the country with an 86.8 ... European governments and companies worked on a common approach on Friday to Russia's demand that they pay for its gas in roubles as the threat of an imminent supply halt eased. European capitals have been on alert for a disruption to gas imports as Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks retaliation over Western sanctions for the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. A crunch point appeared to be in the offing when Moscow issued a decree on Thursday requiring foreign buyers of Russian gas to open rouble accounts in state-run Gazprombank from Friday or else risk being cut off. But the Kremlin said on Friday it would not immediately turn off the taps to as payments on deliveries due after April 1 come in the second half of this month and May. That message, and signs would take a pragmatic approach, were a relief for . Gas prices, which had risen on fears of disruption, fell. "If things remained like this, all in all not a lot would change," Italy's Ecology Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani told state broadcaster RAI. With weeks left before bills are due, governments in Europe, which relies on Russia for more than a third of its gas, are talking to energy companies about how to pay them. "Working closely with Member States and operators. EU coordination today to establish a common approach on currency payments for gas contracts with Russia," European Commission energy division director general Ditte Juul Jorgenesen tweeted. The European Commission declined further comment. Analysts said the rouble payment plan, which cements Gazprom's position at the heart of Russian gas trading, was more about shielding the oil and gas company from future sanctions than depriving of fuel. Gazprombank has been spared from the harsh sanctions imposed on other Russian banks so European gas buyers could open an account with it and let the lender buy roubles on their behalf. It would have to remain unsanctioned for trade to continue. Although energy exports are Putin's most powerful lever against sweeping Western sanctions, his room for manoeuvre is also limited because Moscow does not have alternative for its gas, which is piped to Europe. "If Putin turns off the gas, it might only be for a relatively short period of time. He needs our money and cannot reroute all the natural gas," one European gas trader said. Germany meanwhile said it was examining Putin's decree. An economy ministry spokesperson said private contracts were valid and that the country, which depends on Russia for 40% of its gas needs, was paying in euros. Berlin has already activated an emergency plan that could lead to gas rationing if supplies drop too low. Gazprom said on Friday it was exiting its business in Germany, although it was not immediately clear how this would affect the supply of Russian gas into Europe's largest economy. PRICE PRESSURE Putin's decision to enforce rouble payments has boosted the Russian currency, which fell to historic lows at the start of the invasion, which Moscow calls a "special military operation". The rouble has since recovered much lost ground. European buyers are still prepared to buy gas under existing contracts while they seek clarity on Putin's demand, while Gazprom said on Friday it had started to notify clients of a requested switch of end-payment currency to roubles. Austria's OMV and Gazprom have had initial contact regarding paying for gas in roubles as demanded by Moscow, a spokesperson for OMV said on Friday, adding that the company is now waiting for written information. Denmark's Orsted, which has a take-or-pay contract with Gazprom running until 2030, said it had received a demand from Gazprom Export to pay for in roubles. "We have no intention of paying in roubles. We are in close dialogue with other energy companies and the authorities regarding a common European response to Gazprom Export," it said in a statement. Poland's dominant gas company PGNiG said it had been formally notified by Gazprom about changes to payment terms for . German utilities Uniper, RWE and VNG all declined to comment. Italian energy group Edison, which has a contract with Gazprom for 1 bcm of gas per year which expires at the end of this year, also did not comment. Italy's Eni said it had received a communication from Gazprom over switching its gas payment currency to roubles, and was analysing the matter. European gas prices have climbed as a result of uncertainty over Putin's plan, with rises of 7%-10% since his order, coming close to previous peaks. Relief that the taps would not be turned off any time soon prompted prices to turn negative. At 1512 GMT, the benchmark front-month contract for May delivery in the Dutch gas market was down 6.60 euros at 113 euros per megawatt hour (MWh). (Reporting by Marwa Rashad and Nina Chestney; Additional reporting by Kate Abnett in Brussels, Stephen Jewkes in Milan and Isla Bennie in Madrid; Alexander Smith; Editing by Carmel Crimmins, Jan Harvey and Grant McCool) (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 federal grand jury has heard testimony in recent months about Hunter Biden's income and payments he received while serving on the board of a Ukraine energy company, according to two people familiar with the probe. It remains unclear whether he might be charged. But the grand jury activity underscores that a federal investigation into President Joe Biden's son that began in 2018 remains active as prosecutors continue to examine foreign payments and other aspects of his finances. A lawyer for Hunter Biden did not return a phone message and email seeking comment on Friday. A Justice Department spokesman deferred a request for comment to the U.S. attorney's office in Delaware, which is handling the investigation. A spokesperson for the office did not return a phone message seeking comment. The people familiar with the investigation could not discuss details of the ongoing probe publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. No matter how the investigation resolves, it has already presented a political headache for the Biden administration, particularly if Republicans who have already seized on the probe to attack the president retake control of the House in midterm elections later this year. Republicans would then control congressional committees and shape the focus of any investigations. A White House that has sought to deflect questions about law enforcement matters to the Justice Department was asked this week whether it stood by the president's assertion in a 2020 debate that his son had not had unethical business dealings with Ukraine or China. White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said yes. The investigation could also force a delicate decision for a Justice Department that has sought to assert its independence and publicly stressed its willingness to let the facts and evidence, not political decisions, guide its investigative and charging decisions. Attorney General Merrick Garland has not shed any light publicly on the investigation. But the Justice Department did leave in place the top federal prosecutor in Delaware David Weiss, a Trump administration holdover presumably as a way to ensure continuity. Hunter Biden confirmed the existence of an investigation into his taxes in December 2020, one month after the presidential election. He said in a statement that he was confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional advisors. The Associated Press reported later that month that a subpoena served on the younger Biden sought information related to more than two dozen entities. One was Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company whose board he had joined when his father was vice president. That move sparked concerns about a potential conflict of interest given that elder Biden was deeply involved in U.S. policy toward Ukraine during the Obama administration. The breadth of the subpoena highlighted the wide-ranging scope of the investigation into Hunter Biden, though there is no indication that the probe includes any scrutiny of the president himself. Biden has said he did not discuss his son's business dealings with him and has denied having ever taken money from a foreign country. Witnesses in recent months have been questioned about payments Hunter Biden received while serving on the Burisma board, the people familiar with the probe said. Republicans tried making Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine a prominent issue during the 2020 presidential election. A year earlier, then-President Donald Trump tried pressuring his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to launch investigations into the Bidens at the same time Zelenskyy was seeking military aid from the U.S. Trump was later impeached by the House over the phone call but was acquitted by the Senate. (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 former Sri Lankan ambassador has pleaded guilty to diverting and attempting to embezzle USD 332,027 from the Sri Lankan government during its 2013 purchase of a new embassy building in D.C., the Department of Justice said. Jaliya Chitran Wickramasuriya, 61, who now lives in Arlington, Virginia, served as Sri Lankan ambassador to the US from 2008 to 2014. On Friday, he pleaded guilty in the US District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The charge carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and potential financial penalties, a media release said. According to court documents, from in or around late 2012 through November 2013, Wickramasuriya devised a scheme to defraud the government of during its 2013 purchase of a new embassy building in D.C. by inflating the price of the real estate transaction by USD 332,027 and, at closing, diverting those funds from the government to two companies which had no role in the real estate transaction. At and after the January 2013 closing, Wickramasuriya directed these payments. Later in 2013, he ultimately had an equal amount of funds redirected back to government accounts, leaving the Sri Lankan government with no loss, the Department of Justice 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.) Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director-General of the Vienna-based Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said he would head an assistance and support mission to Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant "as soon as possible" to help ensure the facility's safety. In a tweet, Grossi said that the mission "will be the first in a series of such nuclear safety and security missions to Ukraine", reports Xinhua news agency He also told a press conference in Vienna that the IAEA mission would be in Chernobyl "very, very soon". The IAEA chief has just returned from his recent visits to and Russia, during which he held discussions with officials on both sides about ensuring the security of the war-torn nation's nuclear facilities. The UN nuclear watchdog said on Thursday that Russian forces which had been in control of the Chernobyl plant were leaving the facility and had transferred control of the plant to Ukrainian personnel. At Friday's press conference, Grossi said he had not discussed with Russian officials why Russian forces left Chernobyl. Grossi said the IAEA was still unable to confirm reports that Russian forces were contaminated with radiation at the Chernobyl plant. He added that the general radiation level around the plant was "quite normal". "There was a relatively higher level of localized radiation because of the movement of heavy vehicles at the time of the occupation of the plant, and apparently this might have been the case again on the way out," he said. Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces had been in control of the plant since Moscow started its invasion on February 24. The Chernobyl plant, some 110 km north of the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, witnessed the worst nuclear accident in human history on April 26, 1986. --IANS ksk/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister on Saturday urged the youth of to stage "peaceful protests" against a "foreign conspiracy" allegedly hatched against his government but told them not to criticise the Army, a day ahead of the crucial vote on the no-confidence motion against him. Speaking at a live question and answer session, Khan said he had "more than one plan" for Sunday's vote on the no-confidence motion against him in the National Assembly. Terming it a "war for the future of the country, Khan said was standing at a decisive point. "There are two routes we can take. Do we want to take the way of destruction or a path of pride? There will be difficulties in this path but this is the path of our Prophet. This path is for our good. This path brought a revolution in the country," he said. The prime minister said the of Pakistan had reached a point where the people of the country had to take a call, the report said. A society that stands with honesty and justice takes a new life. But when a society becomes neutral, it begins supporting the bad, he said. "There's a conspiracy against the government right now and it has been proven that politicians are being bought like goats to topple the government," he said, noting that the conspiracy started abroad and some politicians in Pakistan were helping these people. "History never forgets those. And I want Pakistan's history to not forget these traitors either. It is your responsibility. Don't let them feel that you have forgotten," he said. "The official document says that if you remove Imran Khan, your relations with the US will get better, he said. The prime minister said he will take legal action against those who "betrayed the nation, the report said. "I met my lawyers today and we have a plan. We won't let them go free. All of them will be punished. We will decide by tonight the kind of legal action we want to take against them," he said. Addressing the youth of the country, Khan said: "You don't have to sit silently [because] if you stay quiet, you will be on the side of the bad. I want you to protest and speak up against this conspiracy not for me but for your future. "I want you to come out and protest today and tomorrow. Come out for peaceful protests," he said. When asked what he would say to those criticising the Army, the prime minister said there are two things that have kept the country united. First is the army of Pakistan. It's a strong and professional army. It is important for the country because a lot of countries are trying to harm Pakistan. Second is the PTI because it's a party that has kept the country connected, he said. "We need this army. It has sacrificed for us. I want you to not criticise the army," he added. Khan also rejected the claims that he was not getting along with the army. "I have no differences with the army. They took a decision and we respect it. The army decided to stay neutral and we respect it," he said. The prime minister claimed that the political crisis created against him was a result of him wanting to devise an independent foreign policy for Pakistan, which he said was previously attempted only once, the report said. "Except under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, our country has never had an independent foreign policy. And then too, Mir Jaffers such as Fazlur Rehman and Nawaz Sharif had got him killed by conspiring with the foreign powers," he said. Despite the Opposition seemingly having accumulated enough MNAs to topple his government, Khan remained buoyant, saying: "Don't worry at all. A captain always has a plan, and this time I have more than one plan... god willing we will win tomorrow. I will defeat them in the Assembly. "The nation will see tomorrow ... if they cast the vote tomorrow, they know they will be rejected by the public. You will see that we will win tomorrow," he added. The prime minister's remarks came at a crucial time when he is facing a no-confidence motion from the opposition parties. The resolution was tabled in the National Assembly last month and voting on it is expected to take place tomorrow. The resolution against the embattled premier was tabled by Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on March 28. Khan needs 172 votes in the lower house of 342 to foil the Opposition's bid to topple him. No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term in office. Also, no prime minister in Pakistan's history has ever been ousted through a no-confidence motion, and Khan is the third premier to face the challenge. (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.) Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinian militants in the occupied early on Saturday, an operation that fuelled persisting fears of a flare-up of violence between and the Palestinians in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Tensions have soared in recent days after Palestinian assailants killed 11 Israelis in separate attacks across the country. Israeli forces have stepped up security and launched arrest raids in the West Bank, killing two Palestinians during a gun battle on Thursday. Another Palestinian was killed on Thursday, after stabbing and wounding an Israeli on a bus in the . The Israeli police said the three militants were members of a cell that was involved in recent attacks against Israeli forces and were planning another attack that was thwarted during early Saturday's join operation with the military and intelligence. Live videos by witnesses on social media showed a crowed of Palestinian people inspecting the scene of the clashes near Jenin city after the Israeli troops withdrew. The street was covered with blood stains and the men chanted slogans calling for revenge. TV reported that the Israeli forces seized the bodies of the dead militants. Earlier, after a Palestinian was killed in Hebron city during clashes that broke out after Friday prayers. The Health Ministry said Ahmed al-Atrash, 29, was killed in Hebron on Friday. The Israeli military said its forces shot a Palestinian who threw a firebomb at them. Several hundred Jewish settlers live under heavy military protection in the heart of Hebron, a city of more than 200,000 Palestinians and home to a major holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims. The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said dozens of Palestinians were wounded in weekly demonstrations elsewhere in the West Bank, where protesters often throw rocks and firebombs at Israeli troops, who fire tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and sometimes live rounds. At the Al-Aqsa mosque in east Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, authorities said more than 30,000 people attended Friday prayers on the eve of Ramadan, which begins this weekend. There were no reports of protests or violence. The hilltop on which the mosque is located is the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount, and it has been a frequent flashpoint in the century-old conflict. Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders have held a flurry of talks in recent weeks, and has made a series of goodwill gestures, all aimed at calming tensions ahead of Ramadan. They hope to avoid a repeat of last year, when protests and clashes in Jerusalem during Ramadan ignited an 11-day Gaza war and Jewish-Arab violence in Israel's mixed cities. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) U.S. cancels ICBM test amid conflict in Ukraine Xinhua) 08:11, April 02, 2022 Photo taken on Feb. 19, 2020 shows the Pentagon seen from an airplane over Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) The U.S. Air Force said the reason for the decision was the same as when the Air Force announced the delay of the test on March 2, which was to avoid misinterpretation or miscommunication with Russia during Moscow's military operation in Ukraine. WASHINGTON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The United States has canceled a planned test-launch of its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in a bid to lower the nuclear tensions with Russia amid the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine, the U.S. Air Force told Xinhua on Friday. The U.S. Air Force's press desk confirmed the cancellation in a phone call with Xinhua, saying the reason for the decision was the same as when the Air Force announced the delay of the test on March 2, which was to avoid misinterpretation or miscommunication with Russia during Moscow's military operation in Ukraine. "The Department of the Air Force recently cancelled the routinely planned test flight of an LGM-30G Minuteman III missile scheduled for March 2022. The launch had been previously delayed due to an overabundance of caution to avoid misinterpretation or miscommunication during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and was cancelled for the same reason," Ann Stefanek, the spokesperson for the Air Force, later said in a statement sent to Xinhua via email. "Our next planned test flight is later this year. The Department is confident in the readiness of the strategic forces of the United States," Stefanek added. Russian President Vladimir Putin in February ordered his country's nuclear forces to be put on high alert, prompting Washington to call for de-escalation in what could otherwise be a potential nuclear crisis. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co, was named as rotating chairwoman of the Chinese tech heavyweight, as the company overhauls its corporate managing committee for future development. Meng, who made her first public appearance on Monday after returning to China from Canada last year, replaced Guo Ping as one of the three rotating chairpersons of the company, according to the company's website on Friday. As per Huawei, the rotating chairperson is the top leader of the company during her or his duty period, which rotates every six months. Meng, who is the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, maintains her role as CFO of Huawei. Sri Lanka's former president Maithripala Sirisena's Freedom Party has called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to form an all-party government to tide over the worst in the island nation and said that it may leave the alliance if its request was ignored. is currently experiencing its worst in history. With long lines for fuel, cooking gas, essentials in short supply and long hours of power cuts the public has been suffering for weeks. Party's general secretary and a state minister Dayasiri Jayasekera said that the Central Committee decided on Friday to urge for the formation of a government representing all parties in Parliament. The Freedom Party (SLFP) with 14 Members of Parliament is the largest group within the Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) ruling coalition. Sirisena is SLPP chair but he is not a minister. We have entrusted the party leaders to take a decision as to whether the SLFP would leave the government if the government ignored our request to form an all-party government, Jayasekera said. The SLPP coalition, an alliance of 11 parties, has been in trouble recently. Two of the 11 party leaders were sacked as Cabinet ministers while another Cabinet member has joined them in criticising the government's handling of the . On Thursday night, a large demonstration opposite the private residence of Rajapaksa led to mass scale arrests. They held placards calling Gota go home', blaming him for the hardships. In view of the protests, the President declared a nationwide public emergency with immediate effect from April 1. Rajapaksa has defended his government's actions, saying the foreign exchange crisis was not his making and the economic downturn was largely pandemic driven where the island's tourism revenue and inward remittances waning. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Sri Lankan government on Saturday imposed a 36-hour curfew as a nationwide public emergency has been enforced ahead of a planned anti-government rally over the worst in the island nation that has hit the common man badly. The island wide curfew has been imposed with effect from 6 pm Saturday to 6 am Monday (April 4), the information department said. President Gotabaya has given the directive under the Public Security Ordinance regulations, it said. The move came as the island nation braced for country-wide protests on Sunday against the government's poor handling of the ongoing where people currently endure long hours of power outages and scarcity of essentials. The imposition of curfew would prevent citizens from holding protests. President issued a special gazette notification late on Friday night, declaring a public emergency in with immediate effect from April 1. In the gazette, the President states: Whereas I am of the opinion that by reason of a public emergency in it is expedient to do so in the interests of public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community. Commenting on the emergency, independent think-tank Centre for Policy Alternatives said that regulations may impose restrictions on certain fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution one of them would be among others: the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, association, movement, occupation, religion, culture and language. Lawyers commented that the regulations gave the police sweeping powers to arrest anyone for unlawful assembly. The regulations must be approved in Parliament every 30 days from their imposition. The declaration came at the same time as the court ordered bail to a section of the protesters arrested for the demonstration opposite Rajapaksa's private residence on Thursday. Lawyer Nuwan Bopage, who was among around 500 lawyers gathered at the Colombo suburban Gangodawila magistrate's court to give free counsel, said that out of the 54 arrested, as many as 21 were given bail. Six were remanded until April 4. The rest of the 27 are in hospitals with severe assault injuries. This was a very significant ruling. The court asked the police to file evidence of each of their involvement in acts of violence. They could not do so, Bopage said. The government blamed the residence incidents on an extreme group connected to the Opposition political parties. The protesters said that participants had no political motivation and were only looking for solutions from the government for the hardships heaped on the public. Several people were injured and vehicles were set on fire as the agitation turned violent. Police fired tear gas and water cannons at the protesters after they pulled down a steel barricade placed near the president's residence. Following the incident, several people were arrested and a curfew briefly imposed in most parts of Colombo city. A statement issued by the presidential media division on Friday said an extremist group was behind the unrest near President Rajapaksa's residence in Mirihana. The police said that five policemen were injured, while a police bus, a jeep and two motorcycles were burnt as protesters turned violent. The demonstrators also caused damage to a police water cannon truck. A Sri Lankan man on Saturday alleged that his son, who is a social media activist, has been abducted by the police after a state of emergency amidst protests over the country's worst . Anurudda Bandara's father said his son was taken away by someone from the north Colombo police station of Modera on Friday night. According to the police, he was wanted to be questioned over his social media activities. is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis in history. With long lines for fuel, cooking gas, essentials in short supply and long hours of power cuts the public has been suffering for weeks. Meanwhile, a consignment of 40,000 metric tonnes of diesel from India reached Sri Lanka on Saturday, the fourth such assistance from New Delhi, to mitigate the spike in power cuts in the island nation, which is facing an unprecedented economic and energy crisis caused due to shortage of foreign exchange. Rajapaksa has defended his government's actions, saying the foreign exchange crisis was not his making and the economic downturn was largely pandemic driven where the island's tourism revenue and inward remittances waning. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Gotabaya ordered on Saturday that no one should visit public places without permission during a 36-hour curfew imposed by the government ahead of a planned anti-government rally over the worst in the island nation. issued a special gazette notification on Friday, declaring a public emergency in with effect from April 1. In another regulation following his action to impose a state of emergency which followed an order to impose a nationwide curfew, said no one should come out and visit public places during the curfew hours. I consider that it is necessary to maintain public order in the areas.direct that no person shall be on any public road, railway, public park, public recreation ground or other public ground or the seashore in such areas from 1800 hour of April 2, 2022, to 0600 hours of April 4, 2022, except under the authority of a written permit granted, he said. However, even after the curfew came into force at 6 pm on Saturday, peaceful protests continued well into the night. People were seen protesting in several Colombo suburbs despite the curfew order. In recent weeks, there has been mounting public anger against the government over its handling of the country's worst-ever . People were seen standing in long queues for fuel and cooking gas, besides facing long hours of power outages. The demands for Rajapaksa's resignation have been growing. A foreign exchange crunch in has led to a shortage of essential goods such as fuel and cooking gas. Power cuts last up to 13 hours a day. Sri Lanka is currently experiencing its worst in history. With long lines for fuel, cooking gas, essentials in short supply, and long hours of power cuts the people have been suffering for weeks. Rajapaksa has defended his government's actions, saying the foreign exchange crisis was not his making and the economic downturn was largely pandemic driven. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The on Friday welcomed the United Nations-mediated truce in Yemen, with President saying that the initiative is a long-awaited reprieve for the people of the country. I welcome the announcement today of a two-month truce in the conflict. This initiative is a long-awaited reprieve for the Yemeni people. It entails a halt to all military activities by any party inside and across its borders, the entry of fuel ships into Hudaydah port, and the renewal of commercial flights to and from Sana'a to agreed destinations, Biden said. These are important steps but they are not enough, he said. The ceasefire must be adhered to, and as I have said before, it is imperative that we end this war. After seven years of conflict, negotiators must undertake the hard and necessary work to reach political compromises that can bring about an enduring future of peace for all the people of Yemen, he noted. The US President also praised the leadership role of Saudi Arabia and Oman in bringing this initiative to fruition before the holy month of Ramadan. I am also grateful for the hard work of the Yemeni government and the confidence they have placed in UN-led mediation, he said. At the (UN) headquarters in New York, UN Secretary General Antnio Guterres commended Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis for agreeing on the two-month truce in Yemen, including cross-border attacks. I urge all parties to make the necessary arrangements to support the successful implementation of the truce, and to operationalise cooperation mechanisms without delay, he said. The parties accepted to halt all offensive military air, ground and maritime operations inside and across its borders. They also agreed for fuel ships to enter into Hudaydah ports and commercial flights to operate in and out of Sana'a airport to predetermined destinations in the region, he said. They further agreed to meet under the auspices of my Special Envoy to open roads in Taiz and other governorates in Yemen. The truce can be renewed beyond the two-month period with the consent of the parties, he added. This truce, which has the possibility of renewal, coincides with the start of the holy month of Ramadan. It opens the door to addressing Yemen's urgent humanitarian and economic needs, and creates a genuine opportunity to restart Yemen's political process. This truce must be a first step to ending Yemen's devastating war, said the Secretary General. Welcoming the truce announcement, US Secretary of State Tony Blinken said the United States, led by the efforts of Special Envoy Tim Lenderking, has been actively involved in diplomatic efforts with the parties and UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg to facilitate this important step. We will continue to work closely with the UN to support the truce, which, if fully implemented, would halt fighting and attacks for at least 60 days and facilitate the flow of goods and people, bringing much-needed relief to millions of Yemenis as they observe the holy month of Ramadan, he said. The calls on all the parties to adhere fully to the UN truce for the sake of the Yemeni people. More than seven years of fighting has brought great suffering and destruction across the country. Yemenis are demanding peace. It is time for the parties to listen to them and seize this decisive moment, Blinken said. With the UN truce in place, the parties should turn their efforts to securing a lasting ceasefire and participating in an inclusive political process led by UN Special Envoy Grundberg, which Special Envoy Lenderking will work closely with him to support, the top American diplomat 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.) Talks to stop the fighting in resumed Friday, as another desperate attempt to rescue civilians from the shattered and encircled city of Mariupol failed and accused the Ukrainians of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot on Russian soil. The governor of Russia's Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said a fiery cross-border raid by two helicopter gunships left two people wounded, though state oil company Rosneft denied anyone was hurt. Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, five weeks after began sending upwards of 150,000 of its own troops across Ukraine's border. The Russian claim could not immediately be verified, and denied responsibility. For some reason they say that we did it, but in fact this does not correspond with reality, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's national security council, said on Ukrainian television. has reported cross-border shelling from before, including an incident last week that killed a military chaplain, but not an incursion of its airspace. The Rosneft depot is about 35 kilometers (21 miles) from the Ukraine border. Meanwhile, continued withdrawing some of its troops from areas around Kyiv, three days after said it would reduce military activity near the Ukrainian capital and the northern city of Chernihiv to promote trust at the bargaining table. While Russian forces kept up their bombardment of those two zones, Ukrainian troops exploited the pullback on the ground by mounting counterattacks and retaking a number of towns and villages. Still, Ukraine and its allies warned that the Kremlin is not de-escalating but resupplying its troops and shifting them to the country's east for an intensified assault on the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region, which includes Mariupol. The latest negotiations, which took place by video, followed a meeting Tuesday in Turkey, where Ukraine reiterated its willingness to abandon a bid to join NATO and declare itself neutral Moscow's chief demand. In return, Ukraine proposed that its security be guaranteed by several other countries. The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said on social media that Moscow's positions on retaining control of the Crimean Peninsula seized from Ukraine in 2014 and expanding the territory in eastern Ukraine held by Russia-backed separatists are unchanged. The invasion has left thousands dead and driven more than 4 million refugees from Ukraine. On the outskirts of Kyiv, where Russian troops have withdrawn, damaged cars lined the streets of Irpin, a suburban area popular with young families, now in ruins. Emergency workers carried elderly people on stretchers over a wrecked bridge to safety. Three wooden crosses next to a residential building that was damaged in a shelling marked the graves of a mother and son and an unknown man. A resident who gave her name only as Lila said she helped hurriedly bury them on March 5, just before Russian troops moved in. They were hit with artillery and they were burned alive, she said. An Irpin resident who gave his name only as Andriy said the Russians packed up their equipment and left on Tuesday. The next day, they shelled the town for close to an hour before Ukrainian soldiers retook it. I don't think this is over, Andriy said. They will be back. To the south, the Committee for the Red Cross said it was unable to carry out an operation to bring civilians out of Mariupol by bus. It said a team had been on its way but had to turn back. City authorities said the Russians were blocking access to Mariupol. We do not see a real desire on the part of the Russians and their satellites to provide an opportunity for Mariupol residents to evacuate to territory controlled by Ukraine, Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, wrote on the Telegram messaging app. He said Russian forces are categorically not allowing any humanitarian cargo, even in small amounts, into the city. The strategic port city on the Sea of Azov has seen some of the worst suffering of the war, with weeks of heavy fighting and shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine. Around 100,000 people are believed left in the city, down from a prewar 430,000. We are running out of adjectives to describe the horrors that residents in Mariupol have suffered, Red Cross spokesperson Ewan Watson said. On Thursday, Russian forces blocked a 45-bus convoy attempting to evacuate people from Mariupol, and only around 600 people were able to leave in private cars, the Ukrainian government said. Russian forces also seized 14 tons of food and medical supplies bound for Mariupol, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. In other developments Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy's office said 86 Ukrainian service members were freed in the Zaporizhzhia region as part of a prisoner swap with Russia. The number of Russians released was not disclosed. Over the past week, the Kremlin, in a seeming shift in its war aims, said its main goal is gaining complete control of the Donbas. The Donbas is the industrial region of eastern Ukraine where Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014. The separatists have declared two areas independent republics. Mariupol's capture, in particular, would be a major prize for the Russians, giving them an unbroken land bridge to Crimea. Amid the Russian pullback on the ground and its continued bombardment, Ukraine's military said it had retaken 29 settlements in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions. Russian forces in the northeast also continued to shell Kharkiv, and in the southeast sought to seize the cities of Popasna and Rubizhne as well as Mariupol, the Ukrainian military 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.) Oil settled lower on Friday as members of the Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to join in the largest-ever U.S. release. Both Brent and U.S. crude benchmarks settled down around 13% in their biggest weekly falls in two years after U.S. President Joe Biden announced the release on Thursday. Brent crude futures were down 32 cents, or 0.3%, at $104.39 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.01, or 1%, at $99.27. Biden announced a release of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil for six months from May, which at 180 million barrels is the largest release ever from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Member countries of the Energy Agency did not agree Friday on volumes or the commitments of each country at their emergency meeting, said Hidechika Koizumi, director of the affairs division at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. He added that additional details could be known "within next week or so."[nL9N2K200I] OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, on Thursday stuck with plans for an increase of 432,000 bpd to their May output target despite Western pressure to add more. U.S. energy firms last week added oil and natural gas rigs for a second week in a row but growth in the rig count remains slow as drillers continue to return cash to shareholders from high crude prices rather than boost production. "The looming flood of U.S. barrels does not change the fact that the market will struggle to find enough supply in the coming months," PVM analyst Stephen Brennock said. "The U.S. release pales in comparison to expectations that 3 million bpd of Russian oil will be shut in as sanctions bite and buyers spurn purchases." In a bearish signal for demand, China's commercial hub of Shanghai ground to a halt on Friday after the government locked down most of the city's 26 million residents, aiming to stop the spread of COVID-19. JPMorgan said in a note it had kept its price forecasts unchanged at $114 a barrel for the second quarter and $101 a barrel in the second half of this year. "Crucially, we recognize that a release of oil inventories is not a persistent source of supply, and if stranded Russian barrels average more than 1 million bpd next year, this will leave 2023 in a deep deficit, rendering our $98 a barrel price forecast for the year too low," the bank said. (Additional reporting by Shadia Nasralla in London, Sonali Paul in Melbourne and Isabel Kua in Singapore; Editing by Jason Neely, Jan Harvey and Marguerita Choy) (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.) Blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for launching a savage war, on Saturday said he was studying a possible visit to Kyiv. Speaking after his arrival in Malta, the pope delivered his most pointed and personalised denunciation yet of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Francis did not cite Putin by name, but the reference was clear when he said that some potentate had unleashed the threat of nuclear war on the world in an infantile and destructive aggression under the guise of anachronist claims of nationalistic interests. We had thought that invasions of other countries, savage street fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past, Francis told Maltese officials and diplomats on the Mediterranean island nation at the start of his weekend visit. Francis has to date avoided referring to or Putin by name. However, Saturday's personalisation of the powerful figure responsible marked a new level of outrage for the pope. Once again, some potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interest, is provoking and fomenting conflicts, whereas ordinary people sense the need to build a future that will either be shared or not be at all, he said. The Vatican tends to not call out aggressors in hopes of keeping open options for dialogue. The Vatican, which in recent years has forged unprecedented new relations with the Putin-allied Russian Orthodox Church, had offered itself as a potential mediator but to date has been largely left on the diplomatic sidelines. Francis told reporters en route to Malta that a possible visit to Kyiv was on the table, but no dates had been set or trip confirmed. The mayor of the Ukrainian capital had invited Francis to come as a messenger of peace along with other religious figures. Francis also said that the war had pained his heart so much that he sometimes forgets about the pain in his knees. Francis has been suffering for months from a strained ligament in his right knee. The inflammation got so bad that the Vatican arranged for a tarmac elevator to get him onto and off the plane for Saturday's flight to Malta. The visit, originally scheduled for May 2020, was always supposed to focus on migration, given Malta's role at the heart of Europe's migration debate. Speaking with Malta's president by his side, Francis denounced the sordid agreements the European Union has made with Libya to turn back migrants and said Europe must show humanity in welcoming them. He called for the Mediterranean to be a theatre of solidarity, not the harbinger of a tragic shipwreck of civilisation. Francis was referring to the seven-year-old EU programme to train Libya's coast guard, which patrols the North African country's Mediterranean coast for migrant smuggling operations and brings the would-be refugees back to shore. The programme was adopted and strongly backed by Italy and other front-line Mediterranean countries to try to stem the flow of hundreds of thousands of desperate migrants who pay Libyan-based smugglers to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Human rights groups have condemned the EU-funded programme as a violation of the migrants' rights and documented gross abuses in the detention camps where returned migrants are then held. Just this past week, Germany said its military would no longer provide training to the Libyan coast guard given its unacceptable, and in some cases illegal, treatment of migrants. Francis has condemned the Libyan detention facilities as concentration camps, but he went further on Saturday in shaming the EU for its complicity in the abuses committed. Civilised countries cannot approve for their own interest sordid agreements with criminals who enslave other human beings, he said. Unfortunately, this is happening. Today, when those who cross the Mediterranean in search of salvation are met with fear and the narrative of invasion, and safeguarding one's own security at any price seems to be the primary goal, let us help one another not to view the migrant as a threat and not to yield to the temptation of raising drawbridges and erecting walls, he said. Other people are not a virus from which we need to be protected, but persons to be accepted, he said. Malta, the European Union's smallest country with a half-million people, has long been on the front lines of the flow of migrants and refugees across the Mediterranean. It has frequently called upon its bigger European neighbours to shoulder more of the burden receiving would-be refugees. Francis has frequently echoed that call, and linked it on Saturday to the welcome the Maltese once gave the Apostle Paul, who according to the biblical account was shipwrecked off Malta in around 60CE while en route to Rome and was shown unusual kindness by the islanders. (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.) Though Russia is the country that invaded its neighbour Ukraine, the Kremlin's version relentlessly warns social media users across Latin America that the US is the bigger problem. Never forget who is the real threat to the world, reads a headline, translated here from Spanish. The article, originally posted in late February on Twitter by RT en Espaol, is intended for an audience half a world away from the fighting in Kyiv and Mariupol. As that war rages, Russia is launching falsehoods into the feeds of Spanish-speaking social media users in nations that already have long records of distrusting the US The aim is to gain support in those countries for the Kremlin's war and stoke opposition against America's response. Though many of the claims have been discredited, they're spreading widely in Latin America and helping to make Kremlin-controlled outlets some of the top Spanish-language sources for information about the war. Russian outlet RT en Espaol is now the third most shared site on Twitter for Spanish-language information about Russia's invasion. RT's success should be concerning to anyone worried about the success of democracy, said Samuel Woolley, a University of Texas professor who researches disinformation. RT is geared toward authoritarian control and, depending on the context, nationalism and xenophobia. What we risk is Russia gaining control of an increasingly large market share of eyeballs. US-based tech companies have tried to rein in Russian outlets' ability to spread propaganda following the invasion, by banning apps linked to the outlets, demoting the content and labeling state-run media outlets. The European Union has banned RT and Russian state-owned Sputnik, Yet the content thrives on Spanish-language websites, message boards and social media pages. While Russia also creates propaganda in languages including English, Arabic, French and German, it's found particular success with Spanish-speaking users, according to recent research by Esteban Ponce de Leon, a Bogota, Colombia-based analyst with the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, a Washington think tank that receives funding from the US and other governments. Russia's discredited claims about Ukraine and the US include allegations that the invasion was necessary to confront neo-Nazis, or that the US has secretly backed biological warfare research in Ukraine. In fact, the US has long publicly provided funding for biological labs in Ukraine that research pathogens with the hope of curbing dangerous disease outbreaks. That type of disinformation can easily flow from Latin America into other countries including the US that have large Spanish-speaking communities. Sometimes it's passed between relatives who might be sharing the claims across continents with one another. It's another potential entry point for Russia, and a reminder of the sophistication of the Russians' efforts. 'There's different avenues where RT is actively engaging communities across Latin America and the United States, said Jacobo Licona, a researcher at the Democratic firm, Equis Labs. That's part of the reason RT has been so effective, they've been building this network or community ahead of time. As one of the world's most-spoken languages, Spanish is of obvious interest to any government or organisation intent on shaping global public opinion. But Russia's focus on the Spanish language goes further, reflecting the historic and strategic importance of Central and South America during the Cold War, said analyst Ponce de Leon of the Atlantic Council. For decades, the Soviet Union sought to exploit historic tensions between the US and Latin America by supporting communist factions and larger allies including Cuba. Russia has sought to portray the US as a colonizing empire, even as the has worked to strengthen its own ties to the hemisphere. RT's Spanish language service began in 2009, four years after its English language version. It has rapidly gained ground, and is now far more popular than its English counterpart. RT en Espaol has more than 16 million followers on its Facebook page, nearly triple the number of its English site. High profile names in Latin America have in some cases given RT a hand. Ex-Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa began hosting a weekly political talk show for RT in 2018, less than a year after he left office. Since then he's been convicted of corruption charges that forced him to flee Ecuador for Europe. Authorities in Ecuador have also accused him of trying to destabilize his successor's government. In March, RT en Espaol's Facebook page experienced a boost in interactions, generating roughly 75,000 likes, reactions and comments on its pages daily, according to an analysis by the Equis Institute, a Democratic research and polling firm. The bump in engagement continued even after tech company Meta said it was demoting Russian-state media pages across its platforms, which include Facebook and Instagram. On Twitter, RT and Sputnik get help from Russian diplomats and a network of other accounts that researchers say artificially boost the popularity of the posts. That has helped RT become the third-most shared site for Spanish-language information on the Ukraine war on Twitter, outperforming local news sources as well as outlets like the BBC and CNN. Ponce de Leon tracked thousands of accounts that posted or reposted content from RT and Sputnik on Twitter and found that 171 accounts were responsible for 11 per cent of the overall engagement with the posts. During one eight-day period in March, those accounts posted more than 200,000 times, or an average of 155 tweets per day for each account significantly more than a normal user. The suspect accounts helped spread the content to authentic users, Ponce de Leon said, in an effort to grow RT's already impressive audience in Latin America. Russia is seeking to maintain its popularity in Latin America, he said. RT and Sputnik already have a big audience in the region. Should we be concerned? The answer would be yes. (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 Ukrainian cities continue to be decimated under heavy bombardments and shelling, while speaking with the journalists said that a trip to Ukraine "is on the table." Replying to a question by the media if he was considering visiting Kyiv, replied after a long pause and said, "Yes, it is on the table," reported CNN News. The interaction with the media took place on board his plane to Malta on Saturday morning. He greeted more than 70 journalists on board saying, "it will be a nice trip." Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24 in response to calls from the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics for protection against intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation, which targets Ukrainian military infrastructure, aims to "demilitarize and denazify" Ukraine. Moscow has said it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. Western nations have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A prominent Ukrainian photojournalist who went missing last month in a combat zone near the capital has been found dead. Ukraine's Prosecutor General's office said in a statement Saturday that Maks Levin was killed with two gunshots, fired allegedly by the Russian military. Levin's body was found in the Huta Mezhyhirska village on Friday. Levin, 40, worked as a photojournalist and videographer for many Ukrainian and publications. Levin has been missing since March 13, when he contacted his friend from Vyshhorod near Kyiv to report on the fighting in the region. An investigation into his death has been launched. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China has held a national teleconference on strengthening workplace safety to implement the instructions made by President Xi Jinping after the China Eastern Airlines plane crash. Soon after the accident happened on March 21, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, ordered all-out search and rescue efforts and the proper handling of the aftermath, and dispatched senior officials to direct related work. Xi made an instruction about workplace safety on March 24, and on Thursday chaired a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to hear a report on handling the crash and make arrangements for the follow-up work. Noting that responsibilities were not fulfilled in some localities and sectors, Xi said Party committees and governments at all levels should put people and their lives first, stay on high alert, and never relax their vigilance in terms of workplace safety. Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said in an instruction that the country still faces a complex and tough workplace safety situation and stressed the need to learn lessons from recent safety accidents. Work should be done to strictly punish violations in key sectors including mining, hazardous chemicals, construction and transportation, Li said. The teleconference took place to implement Xi's instructions. Liu He, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Work Safety Committee of the State Council, made a speech at the conference. Wang Yong and Zhao Kezhi, both state councilors and deputy heads of the work safety committee, attended the meeting. The meeting outlined a raft of measures to improve workplace safety and prevent major accidents, including an immediate nationwide inspection and strengthened oversight and law enforcement. Concrete actions must be taken to prevent frequent accident occurrences as soon as possible, according to the meeting. The people of Pakistan, including political leaders, were surprised when Prime Minister praised his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi's foreign policy before a crowd of thousands of supporters, The News reported on Saturday. Khan praised Modi's foreign policy while addressing a public rally in Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. "I would like to praise our neighbouring country Hindustan for its foreign policy. India's foreign policy is free and independent, and its only aim is for the betterment of its own people." "It is amusing to note that Imran Khan, who, at one point of time, used to deride as Hitler and Nazi leader at forums, has now praised his foreign policy, at a time when his government is on the verge of collapse," The News said in its report. "Modi established friendly relations with countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Jordan, which were traditional friends of . Saudi Arabia has stopped giving loans to Pakistan, and UAE has stopped raising the Kashmir issue despite prodding from . "Most of the Islamic nations have now changed their attitude towards India and the situation has come to such a pass that even opposition leaders in have now started asking their Prime Minister not to give Modi's examples. These opposition leaders allege that the world is now laughing at Pakistan because of Imran Khan's incompetence," says the report. Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla reacted to Khan's remark by saying: "India has received across the board praise from different countries for its foreign policy, and our record speaks for itself. It would be wrong to say that only one leader has praised India's foreign policy." --IANS san/ksk/ (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.) Singapore's predominantly Chinese-led multi-racial society has become more open to the idea of electing top leaders who are non-Chinese, according to a survey conducted by Channel News Asia (CNA) and the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS). However, most respondents were very uncomfortable with the idea of a new citizen from any country taking on these roles. Less than 10 per cent said they would be comfortable with a new citizen as president or prime minister, CNA reported on Saturday. New citizens are migrants settling in manpower-short which invites professionals from around the world, especially to support its flourishing economy. In the second edition of the CNA-IPS survey on race relations, which was conducted last year, a bigger proportion of respondents said they could accept a Singaporean-Malay (69.6 per cent) or Singaporean-Indian (70.5 per cent) as the prime minister. Researchers said the figures are a significant increase from the previous study in 2016, where 60.8 per cent said they were comfortable with a Malay as prime minister and 64.3 per cent with an Indian as prime minister. Almost all respondents (96.8 per cent) were ready to accept a Singaporean-Chinese as prime minister, slightly higher than the 95.6 per cent in 2016. Researchers also found that respondents from the three major races -- Chinese, Malays and Indians -- showed the highest preference for someone of their own race as prime minister. Among Chinese respondents, virtually all said they were comfortable with a Singaporean-Chinese as prime minister (98.9 per cent), while 63.9 per cent said they would accept a Malay prime minister and 65.8 per cent an Indian one. Comparatively, 92.6 per cent of Malay respondents said they would accept a Singaporean-Malay prime minister, but 87.5 per cent would be comfortable with a Chinese one and 80.4 per cent with an Indian one. Among Indian respondents, 91.9 per cent would accept a Singaporean-Indian as prime minister, but 90.3 per cent would be comfortable with a Chinese one and 80.8 per cent with a Malay one, the survey stated. Meanwhile, for the role of president, the percentage of respondents who said they could accept a non-Chinese also rose. About 82.2 per cent said they were comfortable with a Singaporean-Malay as president a jump from 65.5 per cent in the previous study and 82 per cent could accept a Singaporean-Indian up from 70.6 per cent in 2016. In the 240-page report, researchers suggested that the larger rise could be a result of President Halimah Yacob, who is a Malay, dispelling perhaps earlier prejudices that a Malay was not suitable for the highest office of the land. A growing number of people think that racism remains an important problem even while the overwhelming majority believe everyone in can become rich or successful regardless of their race, according to the survey based on responses from more than 2,000 citizens and permanent residents aged 21 years and above, with a sample that was reflective of the population in terms of their age, race, gender and housing type. However, an additional 350 or so Malay and Indian respondents were polled so that their views were properly represented. More than half of the survey's respondents (56.2 per cent) felt that racism is an important problem, which was an increase from the previous CNA-IPS survey conducted in 2016 (46.3 per cent). Despite this, a large majority of people believe that meritocracy is not contingent on race, with more than 80 per cent of respondents agreeing that everyone can become rich or successful irrespective of what race they are, which was consistent with the findings from the 2016 survey. While most respondents (88.8 per cent) said it is important for political leaders to talk openly about racism, more than half (58.6 per cent) also felt that such public discourse could cause unnecessary tension. They may feel that political leaders taking the lead in such discussions could avert some of the potential tension, said the report. It noted that Chinese respondents (54.9 per cent) were slightly more likely to feel that ethnic minorities are getting overly sensitive in discussions on race, compared to Indian (42.7 per cent) and Malay respondents (47.8 per cent). The survey also found that respondents were evenly divided on whether there is majority privilege in Singapore, with 53.9 per cent feeling that being of the majority race is an advantage. This was comparable with findings from the 2016 survey, where 52.7 per cent felt this way. Those between the age of 12 and 35 years, especially Malay and Indian respondents, were generally more likely to feel that majority privilege exists. In terms of which cultures respondents felt were more privileged, most (70.2 per cent) said they did not believe that the majority race's culture was privileged. However, ethnic minorities were more likely to feel that the converse is true. Accommodating different cultural needs is also seen as compatible with a strong Singaporean identity, with 71.6 per cent feeling that doing so has not impinged on national identity. Virtually all respondents, 92 per cent, expect the level of national unity to increase or at least stay the same in the next five years, the report 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.) Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declared a state of in the country giving the security forces wide authority to arrest and detain suspects with immediate effect. Rajapaksa has issued the "Extraordinary Gazette" declaring a public after hundreds of protesters gathered in the capital and many of them tried to storm the President's residence to protest against the government for "poor management of economic policies, which has created mess in the country". The President said he believed there was a "public in Sri Lanka" that necessitated invoking the tough laws. "The Gazette has been issued considering the prevailing situation in the country and in the interests of public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community," said a statement. --IANS shs/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The UK's media watchdog has suspended the licence of Khalsa Television Limited to broadcast in the country after an investigation found its KTV channel breached broadcasting rules with Khalistani propaganda. The Office of Communications (Ofcom) announced its decision this week after serving a suspension notice to the company over a Prime Time' programme, broadcast on KTV on December 30 last year, for a breach of the Broadcasting Code with content likely to encourage or incite the commission of a crime or lead to disorder. The communications regulator said the 95-minute live discussion programme included material likely to incite violence. The presenter of the programme made a number of statements throughout the programme which, taken together, promoted violent action, including murder, as an acceptable and necessary form of action to further the Khalistani cause. This was a serious breach of our rules on incitement of crime and disorder, Ofcom said in a statement. Given the serious nature of this breach, and for the reasons set out in our suspension notice, we are today suspending Khalsa Television Limited's licence to broadcast in the with immediate effect, the statement from Thursday reads. Khalsa Television Limited now has 21 days in which to make representations to Ofcom. Following this process, it will decide whether to revoke Khalsa Television Limited's licence. KTV is a television channel broadcasting largely to the Sikh community in the under a licence held by Khalsa Television Limited. In February, the channel received Ofcom's "Preliminary View" notice and in representations objected to its translation and analysis of the programme. Ofcom said this failed to provide any substantive details of the objection and offered it another chance to respond last month. In its representations, the KTV reiterated that the programme in question did not contain an incitement or call to violent action in breach of Rule 3.1 and provided an example of what it said was Ofcom's misunderstanding of the words used by the presenter. Given the urgency and seriousness of the investigation and the time that the Licensee (KTV) had already been offered to provide its full written representations, Ofcom did not consider it appropriate to delay matters further. Ofcom noted that the Licensee would have a further opportunity to make written and oral representations should we decide to suspend its licence, the suspension notice reads. During the Suspension Period, the Licensee, KTV Ltd, must not broadcast the KTV service. Pursuant to section 13 of the 1990 Act, failure to comply with this Suspension Notice by broadcasting the KTV service during the Suspension Period would amount to a criminal offence, which is punishable by an unlimited fine, it notes. Ofcom has previously also taken similar action against the channel, including in February last year when it imposed a total fine of GBP 50,000 on the channel for broadcasting a music video and a discussion programme that was deemed an indirect call for British Sikhs to commit violence and also contained a terror reference. On its website, KTV describes itself as an exciting channel, airing a range of cultural, educational and entertaining programmes for audiences of all ages. It says it prides itself in being completely independent, impartial and honest. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declined to comment on whether he ordered an attack on a Russian fuel depot. In an interview with FOX News, Zelenskyy said he does not discuss any orders he issues as commander in chief. Earlier, the secretary of Ukraine's national security council denied allegations from Moscow that two Ukrainian helicopter gunships had struck the facility in the city of Belgorod north of the border at around dawn Friday. The regional governor in Belgorod said two workers at the depot were injured, but Russian media cited a statement from state oil company Rosneft that denied anyone was hurt. But if Moscow's claim is confirmed, it would be the war's first known attack in which Ukrainian aircraft penetrated Russian airspace. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The is adding 120 Russian and Belarusian entities to its trade blacklist for their support of the countries' armed forces amid the ongoing special operation in Ukraine, the US Commerce Department said on Friday. "In response to the Russian Federation's (Russia's) further invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Department of Commerce is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding 120 entities under 120 entries to the Entity List. These 120 entities have been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary to the national security interests or foreign policy of the and will be listed on the Entity List under the destinations of and Russia," the Commerce Department said in a notice in the Federal Register. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US has "clearly distanced" itself from Pakistan, former American military chief Mike Mullen said as the White House and the State Department publicly rejected claims of their involvement in Islamabads domestic politics, Dawn news reported. "It is difficult, difficult to say," said Admiral Mullen when asked to describe Washington's relations with . "I think we have clearly distanced ourselves from over the last decade and has more and more fallen under the umbrella of China," he told VOA Urdu Service in Washington. Admiral Mullen, who was chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 2007 to September 2011, was also named in the so-called Memogate controversy, which revolved around a memorandum, ostensibly seeking US support for preventing a feared military takeover in Pakistan that never happened. He noted that China was not only Islamabad's neighbour but it "has been supportive of Pakistan" as well. This closeness, he said, "suits China's global ambition" because Beijing would prefer to have a neighbour "closer to them and not close to the US". For these reasons, the US-Pakistan relationship "is going to be tense for quite some time", he added. Asked if he believed Pakistan helped the Taliban take over Kabul in August last year, Admiral Mullen said: "They did not do much to stop it for sure." He recalled that as the US army chief he had told a congressional hearing that Pakistani intelligence agencies were active in Afghanistan "and I still believe that connectivity is there. It sort of cuts both ways". The former US military chief reiterated a complaint that's often heard in Washington that Pakistan "played on both sides (the US and the Taliban)" in Afghanistan, Dawn reported. --IANS san/ksk/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US Defense Department says it is providing an additional USD 300 million in military equipment to Ukrainian forces defending the country from Russian troops. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement on Friday evening that the gear in the new package includes laser-guided rocket systems, unmanned aircraft, armoured vehicles, night vision devices and ammunition. Also included are medical supplies, field equipment and spare parts. Kirby said the new package represents the beginning of a contracting process to provide new capabilities to Ukraine, rather than delivering equipment drawn from US military stockpiles. The US has provided more than USD 1.6 billion in security assistance since Russia's invasion, Kirby 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.) For setting up 1000 MW capacity Hasdev Bango Pumped Storage Project JSW Energy announced that its subsidiary, JSW Neo Energy has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Chhattisgarh for setting up 1,000 MW capacity of Hydro Pumped Storage Project viz. Hasdev Bango Pumped Storage Project, in the State of Chhattisgarh. JSW Energy through its green growth vehicle JSW Neo Energy has been expeditiously securing key resources for Hydro PSPs in various resource rich states for projects with a targeted capacity totalling upto 10 GW. Earlier, in FY22, the Company had also signed a MoU with the Government of Maharashtra for 1,500 MW and a Letter of Intent with the Government of Rajasthan for 1,000 MW Hydro PSPs. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Appealing the people of Gujarat to give the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) a chance and accusing the ruling BJP of becoming arrogant, Delhi Chief Minister and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann on Saturday conducted a roadshow in Ahmedabad. Buoyed by their party's thumping victory in Punjab, the leaders promised to "end corruption" in Gujarat, prime minister Narendra Modi's home state, where Assembly elections are due by year-end. Kejriwal, who is the AAP's convener, and Mann set out on a two-km roadshow, dubbed as "Tiranga Gaurav Yatra." They stood atop a truck converted to look like a 'rath' (chariot), flanked by Gujarat leaders Isudan Gadhvi and Gopal Italia, virtually starting the party's poll campaign. Kejriwal, who along with Mann arrived in the city in the morning on a two-day visit to Ahmedabad, said he was not here to defeat the BJP or Congress, but wanted to make the state and its people emerge a winner and end corruption. "You gave them (the BJP) 25 years, now give us one chance. You gave a chance to the in Delhi and Punjab, now give us a chance in Gujarat, and together with 6.5 crore people (of the state), we will take the state forward," Kejriwal told a cheering crowd at the conclusion of the hour-long roadshow. "BJP has been ruling the state for over 25 years and yet it has not been able to end corruption. A period of 25 years is too long," he said. After being in power for over 25 years, the BJP has become "arrogant" and does not listen to the people, the Delhi chief minister said. "Give AAP a chance. If you do not like it, change it," he added. In Delhi, he has improved the condition of schools and hospitals, ended corruption and made electricity free and available for 24 hours, he said. Mann has ended corruption in Punjab within 10 days of becoming CM, ordered that private schools shall not raise fees, and announced a recruitment drive to fill up 25,000 vacant posts, Kejriwal said. "I don't know how to do . But I know how to end corruption. We ended corruption in Delhi, where now you do not have to pay bribes in government offices. In Punjab, Bhagwant Mann ended corruption in ten days," he said. Mann said the AAP is prepared to replicate in Gujarat what it achieved in Delhi and Punjab. "AAP has emerged from a revolution, and we do not tolerate corruption. Wherever there is corruption, people are picking up the 'jhadu' (broom, the party's election symbol)....this slush of corruption and arrogance will have to be removed," he said. The Punjab chief minister also referred to the recent cases of paper leak during exams for government recruitment in Gujarat, and said that the leakage is not limited to question papers alone. The roadshow started from Khodiyar Mataji temple at Nikol, where the two leaders sought the goddess' blessings. Before that, Kejriwal and Mann visited the Sabarmati Ashram and paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi. A large number of AAP workers and supporters thronged the road holding the tricolour in hands, and walked along with the 'rath', cheering loudly amid patriotic songs being played by music systems. The roadshow is seen as a show of strength of the AAP, which is looking to provide a fresh option in Gujarat which has seen a two-cornered contest between the BJP and Congress for the last many decades. (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 a setback to senior Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Muhammad Azam Khan, has taken possession of several waqf properties from him and handed them over to Rampur's royal family. Khan is currently lodged in Sitapur jail in over 100 cases pertaining to theft, criminal intimidation, fraud and encroachment. chairman Ali Zaidi told PTI on Saturday that after the formation of the SP government in the state in the year 2012, many waqf properties 'encroached' by the then Waqf Minister Azam Khan have been returned to the original owners after due investigation. He said this decision was taken in the last meeting of the board held on March 31. Zaidi said that during his tenure, Khan had illegally encroached on seven 'alal aulad' (succession-based) waqf properties of the royal family, including the fortified mosque and an 'imambara' the house or court of imam). Azam Khan did this by directing Wasim Rizvi, the then chairman of the Shia Waqf Board, and made an outsider Wasim Khan the caretaker of these properties. Once this was done, Azam Khan demolished the Shaukat Ali Bazar built on these properties in May 2013 despite a stay order by the court. He said after the reorganization of the in November last year, an inquiry was conducted into the complaints of illegal occupation of the Waqf properties of the royal family, on the basis of which Waseem Khan was removed and Haider Ali Khan alias Hamza Miyan, the grandson of Begum Noorbano of the royal family, was made the caretaker. Significantly, the rivalry between Azam Khan and the royal family of Rampur is quite old. The attitude of Azam Khan, who started his by giving the slogan 'Nawab vs Awam (king vs subjects)', was openly against the royal family of Rampur, said Saleem Hussain, a former aide of Azam Khan in Rampur. Khan, who has been in an important position in the Samajwadi Party government, has been aggressive against the royal family of Rampur, 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.) You are here: World Flash Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed cooperation on international issues and bilateral ties with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi on Wednesday. Putin noted that Russian-Turkish cooperation on the international arena has been successful, further pointing to efforts aimed at coordinating positions on Syria and Libya. He positively assessed the work of the Russian-Turkish center for monitoring the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, adding that it served to promote stability and reconciliation in the region. The Russian leader also emphasized the successful work of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline that continues to operate amid a turbulent situation in the European gas market. Both leaders said work on the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in the Turkish province of Mersin was being carried out according to plan. Erdogan noted progressive development with regard to military, trade, economic and political ties between the two countries and said peace in Syria is largely dependent on cooperation between Moscow and Ankara. You are here: World Flash Ukrainian and Russian forces on Friday exchanged prisoners under an agreement reached by the two countries' negotiating groups earlier this week, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office. "The exchange has just taken place. 86 Ukrainian servicemen, including 15 women, are now safe," Tymoshenko said on Telegram. The prisoner swap took place in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, Tymoshenko said, without giving the number of captives released by Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia held their latest round of face-to-face peace talks in Turkey's Istanbul on Tuesday. Ukraine and Russia conducted their first prisoner swap last week since the start of the conflict on Feb. 24, Ukrainian authorities said. Flash UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday welcomed the agreement by the parties to the conflict in Yemen on a two-month truce, which comes into effect on Saturday. Guterres said the truce opens the door to addressing Yemen's urgent humanitarian and economic needs, and creates an opportunity to restart Yemen's political process. "This truce must be the first step to ending Yemen's devastating war," said Guterres. UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg has just announced the breakthrough in Amman, Jordan. Grundberg said the parties have agreed to halt all offensive military air, ground and maritime operations inside Yemen and across its borders. They have also agreed for fuel ships to enter into Hodeidah ports and for commercial flights to operate in and out of Sanaa airport to pre-determined destinations in the region. Grundberg said the parties have further agreed to meet under his auspices to open roads in Taiz and other governorates in Yemen. The truce can be renewed beyond the two-month period with the consent of the parties, said Grundberg. Guterres commended the Yemeni government, the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis in Yemen for the agreement, and urged all parties to make the necessary arrangements to support the successful implementation of the truce. A halt to the fighting, coupled with the entry of fuel ships, and the easing of restrictions on the movement of people and goods in, out and within the country, will contribute to building trust and creating a conducive environment to resume negotiations for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, he said. Guterres urged the parties to cooperate "in good faith and without preconditions" with Grundberg in the latter's efforts to resume an inclusive and comprehensive Yemeni political process. "The ultimate aim must be a negotiated political settlement which addresses the legitimate concerns and aspirations of all Yemenis." For more than seven years, war has devastated the lives of millions of Yemeni women, children and men, and the war has fueled one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, brought state institutions to the verge of collapse, reversed human development by two decades, and threatened regional peace and security, said Guterres. "Today must be the start of a better future for the people of Yemen," he said. Guterres cautioned that such agreements are always fragile. "So now, we must take profit of the momentum in order to make sure that this truce is fully respected and that it is renewed and, with that renewal, that a true political process is launched in Yemen." He also expressed the hope that the truce agreement in Yemen will inspire other peace deals. "I think that this demonstrates that even when things look impossible, when there is the will to compromise, peace becomes possible.... And I hope that this agreement will inspire others, in Ukraine and other parts of the world, in order to make sure that we address the dramatic conflicts that are undermining the well-being of so many people around the world." UN Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths, who has been tasked by Guterres to pursue a humanitarian cease-fire in Ukraine, will be flying to Moscow on Sunday. And after that, he will be going to Kiev, said Guterres. The UN chief said both Russia and Ukraine have agreed to meet Griffiths to discuss a humanitarian cease-fire. Flash A fire broke out at an oil depot in the Russian city of Belgorod after two Ukrainian military helicopters attacked the fuel storage facility, Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod Region, said Friday. Hours later, spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Olexandr Motuzyanyk said he does not confirm or deny the information about Ukraine's involvement in the fire at the oil depot in Russia's Belgorod, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported. "I will neither confirm nor deny this information," Motuzyanyk told reporters at a media briefing in Kiev. Ukraine has been carrying out a defensive operation to repel "Russian armed aggression" on the territory of Ukraine, he said. "This does not mean that Ukraine should be responsible for all miscalculations, all catastrophes, and all the events taking place in Russia," Motuzyanyk added. The fire at the oil depot occurred "as a result of an airstrike carried out by two helicopters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which entered the Russian airspace at a low altitude," Gladkov wrote on his Telegram channel earlier on Friday. All emergency services are on the scene, he said, adding that civilians are not in danger. Gladkov said that two oil depot workers had been injured in the fire. Photo: The Canadian Press First-term Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, right, and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II meet with reporters before the pair turned in 30,000 nominating signatures to the state elections bureau to run for reelection on Thursday, March 17, 2022, in Lansing. Mich. (AP Photo/David Eggert) A prosecutor urged jurors Friday to convict four men in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, saying they were anti-government extremists filled with rage and intent on touching off a civil war in the final weeks of the polarizing 2020 general election. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler summed up the evidence on the 15th day of trial, tracing the group's secretly recorded words as well as testimony from agents, an extraordinary informant and two star witnesses who pleaded guilty. Defense attorneys, meanwhile, panned the government's case: One said the men were turned into "terrorists by rogue investigators, while another pleaded with jurors to put the brakes on the FBI. After listening to hours of closing arguments, the weary jury said its deliberations would start Monday. Kessler began his final remarks by saying there are boundaries when it comes to scorn for people in power. If you don't like your elected representatives, you can vote them out at the ballot box. That's what makes this country great," Kessler told the jury. What we can't do is kidnap them, kill them or blow them up. That's also what makes America great. Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta are charged with conspiracy to kidnap. Three of them also face charges related to weapons. The men were arrested in October 2020 amid talk of raising $4,000 for an explosive that could blow up a bridge and stymie police responding to a kidnapping, according to trial evidence. Fox twice traveled to northern Michigan to scout the area; one of those trips included Croft and undercover agents. Kessler said the group's motive was to spark the boogaloo, a reference to a U.S. civil war, by kidnapping Whitmer. That's what bound these defendants together. ... They were filled with rage, the prosecutor said. They were paranoid because they knew what they were doing was illegal and were afraid of getting caught. The four men deny any scheme to abduct Whitmer from her vacation home, though they clearly were livid with the government and with restrictions imposed by the governor during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ty Garbin, who pleaded guilty and testified against the men, said the goal was to get Whitmer before the election and create enough chaos to stop Joe Biden from winning the presidency. Kessler took the jury back to events in summer and fall 2020: a national meeting of militias in Ohio, training in Wisconsin and Michigan, and a September night excursion to see the governors property on Birch Lake and inspect the bridge. The men had constructed a crude shoot house in Luther, Michigan, to replicate Whitmers home and practiced going in and out with guns, according to evidence. The investigation began when Army veteran Dan Chappel joined a militia, the Wolverine Watchmen, to maintain his firearm skills. Chappel testified that he was alarmed when he started hearing talk about attacking police and agreed to become an FBI informant. Thank God for Dan Chappel. ... He went back at great personal risk, Kessler told the jury. But jurors got a different view from the defense. Fox's attorney, Christopher Gibbons, hammered away at Chappel, who was paid roughly $50,000 by the FBI, including expenses, and talked to Fox almost daily for months, recording their conversations. Gibbons said Fox was a hapless man living in the basement of a Grand Rapids-area vacuum shop, smoking marijuana whenever possible and totally incapable of leading the wild plot. The plan was utter nonsense. It wasn't real to Adam Fox. He was LARPing, Gibbons said, using an acronym for live action role playing. Adam Fox is usually impaired. Hes just playing his game. ... A person cannot accidentally enter into a conspiracy. He accused the government of radicalization. "Inviting citizens that they think are susceptible to a theater where they are given full senses of who and what they are, and somebody rattles the chains, somebody beats the drum and gets them all worked up," Gibbons said. That's unacceptable in America," he said. That's not how it works. They don't make terrorists so we can arrest them. Croft, a trucker from Bear, Delaware, vented on social media about hanging governors for treason, and he was repeatedly recorded talking about violence and explosives. Prosecutors noted that he made four trips by car to the Midwest. His attorney, however, called it crazy talk from a stoned pirate, referring to marijuana and Croft's three-cornered hat, not a plan to attack Whitmer. I am ashamed of the behavior of the leading law enforcement agency in the United States. ... This investigation was an embarrassment," Joshua Blanchard told the jury. Lawyers for Harris and Caserta emphasized that neither man went to Elk Rapids with Croft and Fox to surveil Whitmer's home during the training weekend in Luther. Julia Kelly said Garbin and Kaleb Franks, who both testified against the group, are liars, though they pleaded guilty and are facing prison. The defense used a big screen to complement closing remarks. Some jurors smiled when attorney Michael Hills showed a cartoon bobblehead dog to highlight that Caserta supposedly nodded in agreement to the kidnapping plan but wasn't recorded as saying he was in. Whitmer, a Democrat, rarely talks publicly about the plot, though she referred to surprises during her term that seemed like something out of fiction when she filed for reelection on March 17. She has blamed former President Donald Trump for fomenting anger over coronavirus restrictions and refusing to condemn right-wing extremists like those charged in the case. Whitmer has said Trump was complicit in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Photo: Contributed Sen. Napoleon Gomez Urrutia (right) with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Mexican media is abuzz about the citizenship of the mining union leader who lived 12 years in exile in the Lower Mainland before going home to become a senator. Napoleon Gomez Urrutia fled north in 2006 and became a Canadian in 2014. In February 2018, he was nominated to the senate and returned to Mexico for his August 2018 swearing-in. Senators in Mexico must be Mexican-born and have no other citizenship. According to a translation of a March 31 Reforma news agency story in El Diario, Gomez Urrutia did not carry out any kind of procedure in Canada to renounce the citizenship of that country. The story quoted Gomez Urrutias March 4, 2021, testimony to the 14th District Court on Administrative Matters: "I renounced any foreign nationality before the authorities that I consider to be competent, which in the case are the Mexican ones, not the Canadian ones [...] it was not necessary to carry out procedures in Canada. To renounce Canadian citizenship, a person must deal directly with Canadian officials. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada requires a $100 payment and completed application with proof one is or will become a citizen of a country other than Canada, will not live in Canada, be at least 18 years old and is not a security threat. The application form is available online and, for those not living in Canada or the U.S., must be submitted to a Canadian embassy, high commission or consulate. An email query to Gomez Urrutias office did not elicit a reply before deadline. Questions about Gomez Urrutias citizenship status erupted more than two years ago after he was photographed at Vancouver International Airport. Gomez Urrutia and his wife, Oralia Casso, flew first class on a Jan. 2, 2020, Aeromexico flight from Mexico City to Vancouver and presented dark blue-covered Canadian passports. Mexicos are dark green. Gomez Urrutia was head of the National Union of Mine, Metal, Steel and Allied Workers of the Mexican Republic, better known as Los Mineros, when he fled with his family to Vancouver in 2006. He blamed mining company Grupo Mexico and the Mexican government for industrial homicide after an explosion at a coal mine earlier that year in Coahuila killed 65 workers. He was charged for allegedly embezzling USD$55 million from a union trust fund that had been dissolved in 2005. Gomez denied the allegations. In 2014, a Mexican appeal court deemed the charges unconstitutional and cancelled an arrest warrant. Gomez Urrutia continued to run Los Mineros from afar and enjoyed the support of Unifor and the United Steelworkers. Elections BCs database shows he made seven donations to the BC NDP, from 2009 to 2017, totalling $2,680. Oxford-educated Gomez Urrutia succeeded his father as the unions leader in 2000, but never worked in a mine. In 2018, Gomez Urrutia triumphantly returned to Mexico when he was appointed a senator under that countrys mixed member proportional representation system after the election of new president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. At the time, Gomez Urrutia claimed he had renounced his Canadian citizenship. When he started his six-year term, Gomez said he wanted to reconstruct Mexico and fight corruption. Photo: Mike Wakefield, North Shore News The company originally contracted to build the North Shores massive new sewage plant has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Metro Vancouver, alleging its contract with the regional government was wrongfully terminated. In a lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court Thursday (March 31), Acciona is seeking more than $250 million for unpaid costs related to the project, as well as lost profits and lost opportunity as a result of diminished reputation caused by Metro ending its contract. In the 98-page document, Acciona alleges the design of the project was subject to numerous significant changes by Metro, and that it was not physically possible to build the project Metro wanted on the site selected. Metro delayed approving changes, Acciona alleges The company alleges it was Metros delay of or withholding of approvals on necessary changes that resulted in delays to the project. Serious soil conditions on the site that resulted in increased costs and delays also werent known until after the company signed the project agreement, the company alleges. Acciona was selected by Metro to design and build the new North Shore Wastewater Treatment plan serving North and West Vancouver in April 2017 for a contract price of just over $504 million. But the project soon ran into trouble, with Acciona concluding it wasnt possible to build the plant Metro had specified on the site it had selected without numerous and significant changes, according to the lawsuit. By 2020, the regional government and the company had agreed to changes and amended the price of the project to over $621 million, as well as setting a new target date for completion of September 2023. By mid-2021, however, it was clear it would still be impossible to meet those deadlines without further significant changes to the project, Acciona alleges. Metro, however, refused to agree to further changes, including those needed to address numerous conflicts and errors in Metros specifications, according to the lawsuit. The government interfered extensively with Accionas performance by consistently refusing to review and approve changes to the plants design in a timely way, according to the company. Metro will defend itself in court, says Dobrovolny In response to the lawsuit, Jerry Dobrovolny, Metro Vancouvers chief administrative officer, issued a statement saying the regional government will defend itself against Accionas claims, including the unfounded allegations of misconduct. Metro Vancouver is confident that its decision to terminate [the contract] was justified, Dobrovolny added. Metro Vancouver continued to act reasonably and uphold the terms of the contract, including making all payments due in a timely fashion. However, Acciona Wastewater Solutions LP missed key construction milestones, said Dobrovolny. Dobrovolny said it became apparent in 2021 that Acciona would be unable to meet its obligations under its contract with Metro Vancouver, including completing the design and construction of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant by the key dates they committed to in the contract. They also asked for a further increase in budget which would almost double the original contract price. Metro terminated the contract in January 2022, and Acciona finished withdrawing from the site on McKeen Avenue in the past month. In February, Metro Vancouver hired a new contractor, PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc., at a cost of $40 million, to develop a new plan to complete the project, including a revised project budget and schedule. That isnt expected to be completed until this fall. Numerous problems discovered after contract signed - Acciona In its lawsuit, Acciona has alleged there were numerous problems discovered after it signed the project agreement. Among those was a discovery of more severe risk of liquefaction of soils on the site, resulting in the need to double the amount of reinforcing steel for major structures. That meant, however, that all of the equipment required for the plant would no longer fit into the buildings on the site, the lawsuit alleges. Acciona stated in its lawsuit that Metro chose the former BC Rail site for the plant despite its space constraints. At just under three hectares, it is significantly smaller than sites usually selected for projects of a comparable scale, the company states in its lawsuit. Treatment plans changed from secondary to tertiary Metro also changed the technology going into the treatment plant partway through, from secondary to tertiary treatment, requiring more space. The company also discovered hazardous soils on the site, containing petroleum hydrocarbon and chloride ions that had not been disclosed, the lawsuit alleges. In a statement, Acciona stated that Metros own administration of the project was a major cause of most of the problems, and changing contractors mid-project will cost taxpayers more, and take longer to complete the project. The company added, Acciona had been forced to turn to the courts to recover the payments clearly owing to it, and to protect its interests. In reflecting on physician-assisted suicide, the first lesson for our lawmakers is that any killing motivated by a distorted sense of mercyno matter how many reasonable and honeyed words endorse itleads to killing that has nothing at all to do with the best interests of those killed. Archbishop of Philadelphia Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. CAP. See if this story sounds familiar: A happily married couple she is a pianist; he a rising scientist have their love suddenly tested by a decline in the wife's health. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, she falls victim to a steady loss of muscle control and paralysis. The desperate husband uses all his professional skills to save her. But ultimately he must watch her deteriorate in hideous pain. The wife worries that she will soon no longer be a person anymore just a lump of flesh and a torture for her husband. She begs her husband to kill her before that happens. And eventually, worn down, the reluctant husband releases his wife from her misery with poison. The husband is indicted for murder. But the understanding judge and jury soon agree that, given the circumstances, the husband is not a killer, and the law needs to be reformed. Meanwhile, in impassioned public comments, the husband attacks the proponents of outmoded beliefs and antiquated laws who inflict unnecessary anguish on the terminally ill, who suffer without hope and whose death would be deliverance for them. The story fits comfortably with today's medical headlines. It could easily be a 20/20 segment or a page from Jack Kevorkian's latest trial. But it comes from another era. Produced in 1941, it's the plot line of I Accuse, one of the Third Reich's most effective propaganda films. I Accuse was created for one reason only: to advance the Nazi campaign of euthanasia for the mentally and physically handicapped, antisocial elements, and the terminally ill. And it worked. It was a big box-office success. It's also the classic example of how compassion can be manipulated to justify mass killing first in the name of mercy, then in the name of cost and utility. Obviously, America in 1997 is not Germany in 1941. Americans have a practical sense of justice that favors the weak and the little guy. But if we want to keep it that way, we shouldn't assume that merely knowing about a past tragedy prevents us from repeating it. We need to learn from history. And in reflecting on physician-assisted suicide, the first lesson for our lawmakers is that any killing motivated by a distorted sense of mercy no matter how many reasonable and honeyed words endorse it leads to killing that has nothing at all to do with the best interests of those killed. Let's examine a few simple facts First, every one of us fears the image of a dying patient stripped of dignity and trapped in a suffering body. But today, no one needs to suffer excruciating pain in a terminal illness. Modern pain-suppression drugs can ensure the comfort of persons even in the final stages of dying. Hospice care, focused on ensuring a natural death with comfort and dignity, is increasingly available. It's true that some doctors underprescribe pain medication or seek to artificially prolong life beyond reasonable hope of recovery. But that is an issue of training. Patients have the right to decline extraordinary means of treatment. They also have a right to be free of mind-numbing pain. Both these goals can be accomplished without killing them. Second, terminally ill persons seeking doctor-assisted suicide usually struggle with depression, guilt, anger, and a loss of meaning. They need to be reassured that their lives and their suffering have purpose. They don't need to be helped toward the exit. We should also remember that in helping the terminally ill to kill themselves, we're colluding not only in their dehumanization, but our own. Moreover, the notion that suffering is always evil and should be avoided at all costs is a very peculiar idea. Six thousand years of Judeo-Christian wisdom show that suffering can be and often is redemptive, both for the person who suffers and for the family and friends of the one in need. In any case, it is very odd to try to eliminate suffering by killing those who suffer. Third, the Hippocratic Oath has very good reasons for binding physicians to do no harm. Doctors wield enormous power over their patients. And that power quickly corrupts the profession unless it is rigorously held in check. That is one of the reasons the American Medical Association has rightly, and so strongly, opposed physician-assisted suicide. The alternative is immensely dangerous. The doctors who killed their patients in Nazi Germany may be written off as the product of a special and terrible time. But what about the doctors in the Netherlands right now, today who admit to killing patients without their approval? Physician-assisted suicide among the Dutch has been quietly tolerated for some time. But no one was prepared for the number of Dutch doctors who have taken it beyond that, proactively dispatching the terminally ill without their knowledge. The point is: The logic behind doctor-assisted suicide naturally expands. Can anyone honestly argue that physician-assisted suicide will limit itself to voluntary candidates in an era of ruthless medical cost-efficiency? And do we really want a society where patients aren't sure they can trust their physicians? One final point: While the Supreme Court upheld state bans against physician-assisted suicide in Washington and New York earlier last summer, the debate is far from over. Missing from too much of today's discussion of doctor-assisted suicide is the presence of God. Yet God, in the view of the great majority of Americans, is the author of life and its only true owner. Life is God's gift, and he alone is its Lord. However wounded or attenuated it may seem, life is precious. Every life is sacred, from conception to natural death. We rarely understand life. We certainly don't own it. But if this sad century has taught us anything, it's that we have no right to dispose of it however good the alibi. Euthanasia in the Netherlands has gone from requiring terminal illness to no physical illness at all, from physical suffering to depression only, from conscious patients to unconscious, from those who can consent to those who cannot, and from being a measure of last resort to one of early intervention. [1] when two significant events occurred. A government commission reported that the ban on active euthanasia should remain, and a doctor, after admitting killing her sick mother who wanted to die, was found guilty, and given a suspended sentence. Evidence was tendered that she had only done what was already commonly, though unofficially, done by many doctors. The court announced several conditions which, in its view, would justify the active killing of a patient. In 1981 and 1983, two courts reached similar conclusions. A State Commission on Euthanasia decided in 1982, [2] that a doctor who terminates the life of a patient at the latters expressed and serious desire no longer should be punishable, providing that a number of conditions have been met, even though Article 293 of the Penal Code provided, as it still does, that taking the life of another person, even at that persons express and serious request, is a serious offence against human life, punishable by up to 12 years imprisonment. The guidelines when carrying out euthanasia were formally published by both the government and the Royal Dutch Medical Association (KNMG) in 1984 and in 1987. [3] They required that the request be voluntary, well-considered and durable, that there be unacceptable suffering and that a second doctor be consulted. For many years, all these provisions have been known to be often abused. For example, regarding a well-considered request, a study by van der Wal in 1990 [4] showed that the interval between the first request and euthanasia was no more than a day in 13% of cases, no more than a week in another 35% and had been as short as a few hours. Since 1984, the courts have created increasingly liberal grounds for exempting doctors from prosecution after euthanasia, accepting psychological distress as a reason and no longer requiring terminal illness. To justify what was admittedly an offence, the courts decided that it was lawful for a doctor, faced with the alternative of leaving the patient in pain or giving relief by killing, to take the compassionate option, by taking life. The doctor is said to be acting under a higher duty or force majeure. Many unsatisfactory court determinations followed. In 1985, a doctor was charged with being implicated in about 20 deaths in a nursing home, without the knowledge or consent of the victims. He was found guilty and sentenced to a year in prison but, following an outcry against the severity of the sentence, the verdict was overturned on a technicality. He was then awarded US$150,000 damages by a civil court. [5] In 1987, nurses killed three unconscious patients in an intensive care unit by injecting them with drugs. They admitted their guilt and were charged with murder, but discharged because of poor communication between the nurses and doctors over euthanasia policy. [6] Courts accepted that some common practices outside the law could now be used to justify their legal recognition. The objective criteria normally required by criminal law were replaced by conformity with changing medical standards, and by subjective criteria which could not be tested at law. Prominent among those is unbearable and hopeless suffering, a criterion that has been shown by Dutch lawyers to be incapable of any consistent interpretation. [7] The same reasons are invoked in the Netherlands as elsewhere to justify euthanasia, chiefly respect for self-determination, but only voluntary euthanasia is openly discussed. While some regard Dutch euthanasia as the flowering of patient autonomy, others regard it as the domination of patients by doctors who have gained unprecedented power over patients lives. Public opinion polls are also used to justify policy, though the same polls that gain 70% support for voluntary euthanasia in the community encounter 90% opposition, when conducted in nursing homes. [8] Official support for non-voluntary euthanasia is readily found. The State Commission on Euthanasia in 1987 recommended that non-voluntary euthanasia should not be an offence, if carried out in the context of careful medical practice, though that was not defined. In 1988, a KNMG working party condoned euthanasia for deformed infants, in some instances thinking it ought to be compulsory. In 1991, a KNMG committee condoned the killing of patients in persistent coma. [9] THE REMMELINK REPORT AND THE VAN DER MAAS SURVEY After years of uncertainty and argument, from within and without, about its euthanasia practices, the Dutch resolved in 1990 to set up a Commission, chaired by Attorney General Remmelink. It conducted an inquiry over a twelve month period and, in 1991, issued the Remmelink Report.9 The statistical Survey on which the Report was based was carried out by the Central Bureau of Statistics and published in English in 1992, under the name of Dr van der Maas. [10] Though the Commissioners were surprised at some of the findings, especially non-voluntary killing, they at once excused such practices in their Report, but the statistics cannot be denied. By adopting the narrow definition of euthanasia as active termination of life upon the patients request, the Dutch reported there were 2,300 instances of euthanasia in the year of the survey, or 1.8% of all deaths. When, however, to these are added instances of killing patients without request and intentionally shortening the lives of both conscious and unconscious patients, the figures are dramatically altered. They now become: 2,300 instances of euthanasia on request; 400 of assisted suicide; 1,000 of life-ending actions without specific request; 8,750 patients in whom life-sustaining treatment was withdrawn or withheld without request, partly with the purpose (4,750) or with the explicit purpose (4,000) of shortening life; 8,100 cases of morphine overdose partly with the purpose (6,750) or with the explicit purpose (1,350) of shortening life; 5,800 cases of withdrawing or withholding treatment on explicit request, partly with the purpose (4,292) or with the explicit purpose (1,508) of shortening life. [11] Thus, there were up to 23,350 instances of doctors intending, by act or omission, to shorten life, lifting the incidence of euthanasia to over 20% of all deaths in the year. Because of lack of precision in some of the above categories, it is not possible to be certain about the exact incidence of the intentional taking of life without consent, that is, of non-voluntary euthanasia, but there can be no doubt that it was substantial. Although the Report stated that the 1,000 instances of life-ending actions without request were carried out on incompetent patients in their death agony, on the doctors testimony at interview detailed in the Survey, 14% of those patients were competent and 11% were partly competent. According to the death certificate study, 36% of them were competent. [12] In the preamble to its Guidelines for Euthanasia in 1987, the KNMG had stated: if there is no request from the patient, then proceeding with the termination of his life is juridically a matter of murder or killing, and not of euthanasia. By their own Societys definition then, Dutch doctors were then carrying out medical murder, and have continued to do so. As the Report also noted, to these totals should be added unspecified numbers of handicapped babies, sick children, psychiatric patients and AIDS patients, whose lives were also terminated by doctors, but for whom there are no data. It is estimated that some 25% of deaths in AIDS patients in the Netherlands are now due to euthanasia. The guidelines for careful practice were found to be frequently disregarded. 27% of respondents admitted they had killed patients without any request, and 72% reported that after euthanasia, they falsified the death certificate to make it appear that death was due to natural causes. On none of those occasions, therefore, was there any information about what, if any, guidelines had been observed. It is reasonable to conclude that this was because guidelines had been ignored, in whole or in part. What has happened since 1991? It may have been expected that uncovering these facts would bring calls for radical reform of some of these practices, chiefly failure to report euthanasia, falsification of death certificates and widespread neglect of the guidelines, and for the total prohibition of life-taking without request. There ensued a period of official inactivity because some of the findings were so unexpected, and because euthanasia was well established and supported by the community. Euthanasia activists lobbied to have euthanasia formally legalised, without success. In particular, taking life without consent presented a semantic problem because it was not euthanasia according to the official definition. To meet this difficulty, the authorities abandoned their previous frankness of 1987 in favour of an innocuous-sounding acronym, LAWER, life-terminating acts without explicit request. [13] The topic could now be openly discussed as though it were morally, emotionally and socially neutral, and was soon to become a medical alternative acceptable to doctors and the community. In 1993, authors from the Department of Public Health at the Erasmus University could write: But is it not true that once one accepts euthanasia and assisted suicide, the principle of universalizability forces one to accept termination of life without explicit request, at least in some circumstances, as well? In our view, the answer to this question must be affirmative. [14] In February 1993, new regulations about medical reporting of euthanasia were issued, [15] but they have had little impact, either on reporting or on the practices themselves. The new rules required the reporting of both voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia (NVE) on the same form. This had the effect of confirming in many doctors the view that both were equally acceptable to the authorities. Indeed, in 1993 the Secretary of Health, referring to these practices, said For a physician, the considerations in these two cases are not essentially different; from the moral point of view the two actions are not of entirely different kind. [16] In 1995, the health authorities reviewed the effects of these 1993 changes in the reporting rules. [17] They said the changes were to encourage physicians to report and to promote adherence to them, but they did not say they would be enforced, so that reform would be achieved. The reporting rate, which had been a mere 18% in 1990, was found in 1995 to be only 41%, still less than half, indicating a continuing large pool of euthanasia practice about which nothing whatever is officially known, and about which little is intended to be done. For that review, a number of doctors who had not reported cases of euthanasia were interviewed with a guarantee of indemnity, to try to open a window on these hidden practices. 70 doctors had not reported their last case of NVE and 36% said they would never report such a case, whatever the law might require. Only 44% had required a written patient request, only 11% had consulted with a colleague and only 57% had provided a written report after voluntary euthanasia. The incidence of NVE among those who had reported their practices was .09%, while among those who had not reported it was 19%, a staggering difference of 200 times. Despite this, the authors concluded that substantial progress in the oversight of physician-assisted death has been achieved, and that there were no major differences between reported and unreported cases, in terms of...whether there was an explicit request.... Visiting Australia in 1996, the then Dutch Minister of Health said that some doctors did not report their cases because they were afraid of prosecution. [18] One may gauge their real level of concern when one reads, in the 1995 paper, of the fate of 20 doctors who were investigated for non-reporting 9 were acquitted, 2 were discharged, 3 were found guilty but not punished and 6 were given suspended sentences of one week to six months. None were prosecuted. Official moves are now being made to set up local committees of inquiry to receive reports of euthanasia, in order to exclude the law, and for automatic exemption from further oversight when the doctor reports having followed the guidelines. Of course, those who do not report their actions will also not be prosecuted, no matter what they have done. In an official review in 1996 of developments since the Remmelink Report, [19] it was concluded that euthanasia seems to have increased in incidence since 1990, and the ending of life without the patients explicit request seems to have decreased slightly. The latter is discussed with the cool statistical detachment that befits a practice about which the authors have no concerns, confirming that it has become just another option for doctors. In 1993, a Dutch court established a new milestone by extending toleration for euthanasia to suicidal patients who are not physically ill. A psychiatrist had assisted a woman to die, because she was depressed following the breakdown of her marriage and the loss of a son. He did not treat her depression because she refused treatment, and he did not consult other doctors. He was originally found guilty of murder, but this finding was overturned on appeal. [20] Because a sustained wish for death is almost always associated with profound psychological disturbance, it is now accepted that every person who requests euthanasia should be referred to a psychiatrist. Surprisingly, a survey of 552 psychiatrists in the Netherlands, published in 1997, revealed that only one third of them had ever been asked by another doctor to see a patient for that reason. [21] In 1995, two separate Dutch courts upheld the actions of doctors who had deliberately ended the lives of handicapped neonates with lethal injections, so providing the first legal endorsement of NVE. In one case, the judge said In the decision of active ending of life, Dr Kadjik had acted with scientific responsible insight and in accordance with the medical ethic and accepted norms and in consideration of due care resulting therefrom; he is entitled to an appeal of force majeure. [22] Euthanasia in the Netherlands has gone from requiring terminal illness to no physical illness at all, from physical suffering to depression only, from conscious patients to unconscious, from those who can consent to those who cannot, and from being a measure of last resort to one of early intervention. Although respect for patient autonomy is the main ethical argument in favour of euthanasia, power has passed almost exclusively into doctors hands. Patient autonomy has been subverted by the unprecedented rights given by the courts to doctors to decide the fate of patients. Euthanasia was widely developed in defiance of the statute law, though with apparent community approval, to be later rationalised by court determinations. This was followed by even more objectionable medical practices, again outside the official guidelines, with ethics and common law trying to catch up. Instead of principle being enunciated to inform both the law and ethical medical practice, principle has been taken captive by widespread abuse of them both. Two important messages emerge. First, in legalising euthanasia, one has to contend with what has been described as the tendency of a principle to expand itself to the limit of its logic, and second, attempting to make law in the absence of a full understanding of its consequences is highly dangerous. It has recently been announced (August 1999) that voluntary euthanasia will soon be legalised in the Netherlands. It is too soon to know what the structure of that law may be, but events there since 1973 give little hope to suppose that the law would pass scrutiny for safety, by the standards of British or Australian criminal law. The Dutch government issued its draft for such a law in 1998, and while the final bill as presented in parliament may differ from that early draft, it provides the best clue to the governments thinking. Here are the first four sections of the 1998 draft: A. The Penal Code Article 293 will read as follows: He who intentionally takes anothers life at his explicit and serious request, is to be punished with a prison term of, at the most, twelve years or a fine of the fifth category. He who intentionally incites another to suicide, is to be punished if the suicide follows, with a prison term of, at most, three years or a fine of the fourth category. He who intentionally assists another with suicide or offers him/her the means thereto if the suicide follows, is to be punished with a prison term of, at most, three years or a fine of the fourth category. The first and the third section do not apply if the termination of life, or the assisted suicide, or the offering of the means thereto is done at the patients explicit and repeated request on account of the hopeless emergency situation in which he finds himself, by a medical doctor who meets the requirements of carefulness and who informs the coroner accordingly as to what is proscribed in Article 7, Section. The wording of the fourth section is so loose that it changes nothing about the circumstances of Dutch euthanasia over the past twenty years, namely that Dutch doctors have gained virtually total control over the practice of euthanasia, when it will happen and to whom it will happen. The government will have caved in to the powerful medical lobby to confirm them in their position of dominance. The only change that MAY eventuate could be the incidence of honest reporting, but even the making of specific regulations about that in 1993 in the past brought little change for the better. ENDNOTES You are here: World Flash Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are continuing in an online format, the head of Russia's delegation at talks with Ukraine Vladimir Medinsky said Friday. "We are continuing negotiations in a videoconference format. Our positions on Crimea and Donbass remain unchanged," Medinsky wrote in a Telegram post. Also on Friday, Ukraine's government-run Ukrinform news agency confirmed that Ukraine and Russia have started the next round of peace talks via video, citing a member of the Ukrainian delegation Mykhailo Podolyak. On Thursday, another Ukrainian negotiator, David Arakhamia, said that at the fresh talks, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations will intensify efforts to work out an agreement needed for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia and Ukraine held their latest round of face-to-face peace talks in Turkey's Istanbul on Tuesday, which lasted for about three hours. Private Forensic Scientist Jay Jarvis testified Friday morning rejecting prosecutors claim that Jeremy Clark was shot from the drivers seat of a white Dodge Charger where Adrian Nixon was sitting. Instead, the defense witness, who mostly worked with firearms and residues, said there is no way that could be possible. There was no evidence of gunshot residue (GSR) or stippling on the victim, said Mr. Jarvis. If he was shot at a close range, there would be evidence of that. He said when he looked at the totality of the evidence, it does not support the driver being the shooter. Mr. Jarvis said the shooter had to have been outside the vehicle because GSR rarely travels more than four to five feet. For context, there were four gunshot shells found at the crime scene but five shots were fired according to the victims autopsy. The amount of particles (10) found in the car was an awful small amount for five shots, said Mr. Jarvis. I would expect a cloud of particles all over the car if the shot was fired from inside. Mr. Jarvis testified further on how the investigation should have been conducted. He said particles should have been labeled and shown where they were found. He also briefly mentioned that particles should have been stored separately. He concluded his testimony by saying the most likely scenario was that the shooter stood near the car hood on one of the sides. Prosecutor Cameron Williams asked about his pay on the case and who normally hires him in an apparent attempt to show possible biases. But when asked about a witness, who allegedly said the shot came from inside the vehicle, Mr. Jarvis said he trusts the evidence more than a witness statement. I dont put a lot of faith in witness statements because sometimes they get it wrong, said Mr. Jarvis. And obviously they were wrong because the evidence doesnt support what they said. Mr. Williams repeatedly put pressure on Mr. Jarvis to agree that there is a possibility that the driver could have shot the victim. Judge Don Poole even had to remind Mr. Williams a few times to stop arguing with the witness. But Mr. Jarvis stayed true to his professional opinion throughout cross examination. Ill reiterate it for you again, said Mr. Jarvis to Mr. Williams. There is absolutely no possibility, based on the evidence, that he was shot from the driver's seat and Im sorry that doesnt support your scenario. Mr. Williams later referred to his statement advising jurors to be careful of people who give absolutes. But following Mr Jarvis testimony, the defense rested their case and prosecutors kicked off closing arguments. They highlighted Nixons alleged actions immediately after the shooting. Evidence shows Nixon shot him and fled the scene, said Mr. Williams. He goes to the police 12 hours later because he knows they dont have evidence because he got rid of it. Mr. Williams said Nixon went missing for 12 hours to change clothes and clean himself up and his girlfriend cleaned the Dodge. Defense attorney Bill Speek, however, said its normal that Nixons girlfriend washed her car because she was leaving to go out of town for her birthday. He also said Nixon had a reason to flee the scene because he was in a dangerous situation. The white Dodge Challenger is not on trial here, said attorney Speek. The state makes the inference that Nixons girlfriend is the best cleaner that ever was, but the fact is that she just went to a three-hour car wash. Prosecutor Williams told jurors even smart people do dumb things, referring to Nixons education at Notre Dame private Catholic school. He encouraged the jury to look at the evidence both factual and circumstantial. Attorney Speek nonetheless, told jurors to remember that the government has the highest burden of proof while the defense just has to prove reasonable doubt. Never put the burden on the defendant of proving his innocence when its the governments job to prove the guilt, said the attorney. The prosecutors are running into testimony issues with witnesses and science issues with experts. Inference of guilt is not proof of guilt, so even if you do agree with the states theory, its not enough to convict someone of murder. The jury began deliberations Friday afternoon in the case in which Nixon is charged with first-degree murder. LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- The Covenant baseball team hit a season-high four home runs and starting pitcher Bryce Bollinger struck out a career-high eight as the Scots took game one of a three-game series over Brevard, 14-10, on Friday afternoon. Covenant (10-13, 2-5 USA South) scored 11 runs on 12 hits, including three homers, through the first three innings, as Bollinger retired the first 10 Brevard batters in order. Bollinger (5-1) only allowed three hits and three earned runs in his career-high seven innings pitched, as he would not allow Brevard a hit or a base runner until the fourth inning. Meanwhile, the Scots offense struck early and often against Brevard starter Matthew Scavotto. An RBI single from Kenny Mills and a wild pitch allowed Covenant to take a quick 2-0 lead in the first. An RBI single from Kenny Mills and a wild pitch allowed Covenant to take a quick 2-0 lead in the first. In the bottom of the second, Trevor Grapenthin and Zeke Gilbert both doubled, followed by a home run from Mills, adding four runs to the board for Covenant as the Scots took a 6-0 lead. The homer was Mills' fourth of the year. The hits kept coming for the Scots, as they would tack on another five runs in the third. During the rally, Covenant produced six hits, including doubles from Chase McBryar and Gilbert. Grapenthin and Ken Burke also both launched homers, scoring a total of four runs and helping the Scots widen the gap to 11-0. It was Grapenthin's second homer of the season, while Burke hit his third. The bats then began to come alive for Brevard (14-10, 3-4 USA South) in the top of the fourth when the Tornados recorded their first hits and runs of the day. Frankie Vasquez hit a three-run homer to bring the Tornados within 11-4. That was all Bollinger would allow, however, as the right-hander threw 112 pitches (66 strikes) in his seven innings of work. Covenant added two runs in the fifth on a Tyler Cox two-run double. In the eighth, Cox hit a no-doubt solo home run to left field, his third of the year, to cap the scoring for the Scots. The Scots produced 15 hits, including five doubles and four home runs. Gilbert, Grapenthin, Cox, McKaleb Harlemon, and Andrew Brock all tallied two hits apiece. Cox had three RBIs, while Grapenthin had two. Mills finished 3-of-5 with four RBIs. Gilbert extended his hitting streak to 14 games, while Mills ran his hit streak to 11. Vasquez was also 3-for-5 with four RBIs. Scavotto (3-3) received the loss after giving up nine hits and nine earned runs in two innings pitched. Covenant will finish up the conference series with Brevard tomorrow with a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann was critical after the Biden Administration announced it would end Title 42, Trump-era border protections. He said, Todays announcement from the Administration that it would terminate Title 42 is yet another overtly political action from the CDC, at the behest of the Biden Administration, as President Biden pursues his campaign promise to destroy all forms of border security and create an open southern border. Every day, communities across Tennessee and our nation are dealing with surging fentanyl overdoses, crime, and chaos because of President Bidens open border policies. This Administration has shown no regard for lawful immigration, the men and women of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) who are tasked with securing our border, or Americans nationwide who suffer because of open border policies. "The situation at the border will soon become out-of-control because of President Bidens wrong-headed policies, and it will be law-abiding legal immigrants and Americans who will pay the price. A 52-year-old Wisconsin man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for three bank robberies, including one in Chattanooga. He got three more years on a revocation for a prior bank robbery. Todd Templeton, of Stoughton, Wis., was sentenced on Friday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley. Templeton pleaded guilty to the charges on Nov. 3, 2021. Prosecutors said on Feb. 24, 2021, Templeton robbed the Associated Bank on King Street in Stoughton. He approached a teller, lifted his shirt to display a black handgun tucked into his waistband, and demanded money telling them Dont press any buttons. On Feb. 26, 2021, the Dane County Sheriffs Office responded to a residence in the town of Dunn after Templeton crashed a stolen snowmobile and was warming his hands on the gas grill of the complainants porch. He admitted to drinking alcohol and using cocaine and was admitted to the hospital due to cold exposure injuries on his hands and feet. On March 1, 2021, Templeton left the hospital against medical advice and stole a family members truck. On the morning of March 3, 2021, Templeton robbed the Associated Bank on Cottage Grove Road in Madison. He gave the teller a note stating that he was armed and demanded money. On March 11, 2021, Templeton robbed the SunTrust Bank on East Third Street in Chattanooga. He approached a banker, pulled a handgun from his waistband, and said I want you to empty the vault, this is a robbery. He was later apprehended by FBI task force agents in Cleveland, Tn. Templeton claimed that he used a BB gun, which he had discarded. At the time of these offenses, Templeton was on supervised release after serving approximately 11 years in federal prison for a 2007 bank robbery conviction. In that case Templeton entered a bank in Baraboo, approached a teller and said, Open the drawer and give me the money or youll be shot. Three days later, he entered a bank in Janesville, exposed a black handgun in his waistband, and demanded money. After his initial term of supervised release was revoked in 2020, he was released from federal prison on Jan. 27, 2021, and began a second term of federal supervision. At sentencing, Judge Conley said that these were very serious offenses and noted the effects on the victims, specifically threats against their lives and displaying a handgun even if it was a BB gun as Templeton claimed. Judge Conley said that statistics relating to lowered criminal risk with age did not apply to Templeton, and the specific evidence here was to the contrary: that Templeton has escalated his behavior and went right back to committing bank robberies when released from prison. Judge Conley stated that in between periods of serial incarceration, Templeton has been unsuccessful on community supervision with numerous violations including drug use, failure to follow rules, and absconding, therefore a significant period of incarceration was necessary to protect the public. In addition to imposing 10 years prison on the 2021 robberies, Judge Conley revoked Templetons supervised release in the 2007 case and sentenced him to an additional three years in prison, for a total of 13 years. Templeton was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term and pay restitution. The charges against Templeton were the result of investigations conducted by the Stoughton and Madison Police Departments, Chattanooga Police Department, Dane County Sheriffs Office, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The U.S. Attorneys Office in the Eastern District of Tennessee assisted in this case. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan. This case has been brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Departments program to reduce violent crime. The PSN approach emphasizes coordination between state and federal prosecutors and all levels of law enforcement to address gun crime, especially felons illegally possessing firearms and ammunition and violent and drug crimes that involve the use of firearms. A woman in an apartment on East Brainerd Road called police and said a bullet had traveled through a wall into her bedroom. Police observed the bedroom, collected the fragment of the bullet and investigated the room for the trajectory of the bullet. The bullet came through her closet wall and in through her bedroom wall. The woman was not injured from the incident and police told her they would speak with her neighbor to see if it came from next door. Police spoke with the man next door and asked if he had heard any firearms go off. He said yes and police told him they observed a bullet possibly coming from his apartment and asked if they could check the apartment for anything that would lead to believe the trajectory of the bullet came from inside his apartment and into the womans apartment. The man gave police verbal consent to search the apartment and he led police to his firearm. Police asked the man what had transpired and he said he was cleaning his firearm (9mm Smith & Wesson Shield) and it accidentally went off, which fired into the womans apartment. When police recovered the firearm, it was loaded with one in the chamber and a fully loaded mag. Neither the woman or her neighbor was harmed in this incident and the neighbor was apologetic. Police recovered the mans firearm and inserted it into Property for safekeeping. The woman did not want to press any charges against her neighbor. * * * Officers were dispatched to West 21st Street to a suspicious vehicle call. They spoke with the driver who said he had been parked in front of the hotel he is staying at with his female friend for about 15 minutes. He was in the process of dropping her off at her car. There were no apparent violations. * * * A woman on Holiday Hills Circle told police her mother has dementia and left their home through her bedroom window sometime after 1 a.m. Police found her mother in the parking lot of 6441 Bonny Oaks Dr. and brought her home. * * * A man was sleeping in the third-floor hallway of the Motel 6 at 2440 Williams St. He was run on info channel and came back with negative warrants. The front desk employee did not wish to press charges and the man was released. * * * A man on North Hickory Street called police and wanted information about the eviction process. * * * A man on Rogers Road said he was a tenant there and a man who was visiting his girlfriend got into an argument with him. He said he wanted the man to leave the property. Police asked the other man to leave and he did so without incident. * * * A man on Williams Street told police sometime after midnight, someone broke out the right front window of his 2006 Toyota Land Cruiser and stole numerous items. He said everything in his vehicle was tossed about. He will make a list of everything taken and call back once he has it prepared. * * * A man at Patten Towers at 1 East 11th St. told police he wanted to make a police report in reference to an acquaintance. The man said his acquaintance will make threatening comments towards him when he passes by the hallway or whenever he sees him. The man asked police to speak with the other man about the matter. Police responded to the apartment where the other man stays and spoke with him about the matter. He told police this has been an ongoing occurrence between them. He said the man always threatens to call police on him and says he will have him put in jail. Police asked both men to stay away from each other to prevent any further disorders. Both said they would stay away from each other. * * * A woman at the Baymont at 7017 Shallowford Road told police her 2017 Hyundai Sonata was parked to the left side of the motel. She said her trunk latch is broken so her trunk is tied down with a piece of rope which someone cut to gain entry. She said a witness who does not want to be involved told her it was a young white male about 5'11" with tattoos all over who got in her trunk and stole her property. She said the witness told her he walked to the Waffle House nearby and got in a car driven by someone else. She had no other information about the suspect. * * * A woman on Maromede Lane told police she had been several different places throughout the day. After she got home, she found that her vehicle had been damaged. There is damage to the left front fender, the left rear fender and taillight. She does not know who may have hit her vehicle, or where it was when it got hit. * * * A man on Tunnel Boulevard told police his vehicle had been stolen. He said it was parked on the curb and last saw the vehicle around 9 p.m. the previous night. The man said when he noticed it gone his neighbor told him when she got home at 5 a.m. the vehicle was not there. The man said there were no keys with the vehicle. Police entered the vehicle into NCIC. * * * A woman on Shallowford Road told police there was a man in her closet, which was not big enough to fit an average person. Police looked throughout the womans apartment and did not find anyone. Police said she was very frantic and was not making much sense. Police left the scene after the woman said a friend was going to come sit with her. A Criminal Court jury deliberated on Friday afternoon and deep into the night before finding Adrian Nixon not guilty of the murder of Jeremy "Blue" Clark. The panel was hung up on the misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment and was to return on Monday for more talks on that charge. Nixon has been in jail since his arrest shortly after the incident at J.J.'s Lounge in East Chattanooga on July 29, 2016. He was released from jail after the not-guilty murder verdict. The victim was shot five times, including in the head and through the heart. Nixon claimed that "Blue" had come up to his girlfriend's white Dodge Challenger when someone came up from behind and began shooting through the car he was driving. Nothing was brought out in the trial about any animosity between Nixon and Clark. Nixon said he shook Clark's hand inside the club and had no beef with him. He said it would have been "stupid" for him to drive up and carry out the shooting at the bar where many people knew him and the car he drove. A forensic scientist called by the defense said there would have been powder burns on the victim if the driver of the car had been the shooter. The medical examiner said it was unlikely the shooting could have happened the way Nixon said, and detective Taylor Walker told him during his voluntary interview that his account "doesn't make any sense." The detective said during the 12 hours between the shooting and the interview that Nixon got rid of the gun, cleaned up and had his girlfriend thoroughly wash the car. The defense said the girl washed the car because she was leaving on a trip. . There was only 14 seconds of video available inside the bar, but there was outside video showing the Challenger pull up and then, a short time later, people begin to scatter. "Blue" was also seen walking over toward the car.. The shooting scene was just outside the range of the camera facing that way.. The bar had an eight-camera system. Defense attorneys were Bill Speek and Jonathan Turner. Judge Don Poole is presiding over the case. A Bradley County deputy shot and killed a motorist at a traffic stop just before midnight on Friday. The Bradley County Sheriff's Office said, "At approximately 11:55 p.m., a Bradley County Sheriffs Office Deputy conducting a vehicle stop near Charleston, Tn. was involved in a shooting. "One occupant of the vehicle was shot during the incident by the Bradley County deputy and succumbed to their injuries at the location of the vehicle stop. "Sheriff Steve Lawson notified the District Attorney Generals Office of the Tenth Judicial District and requested that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation conduct an independent investigation of the incident per protocol. "Any additional questions related to this incident should be directed to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation until they have completed their review." The Rhea County Rural Fair kicked off its 15th season Friday night at an event to honor past president Harold Fisher restarted the fair in 2008 after several years that interest in the fair was lost. It originally was held in Spring City every year at the fairgrounds by the old Calloway School. Rhea County has now grown into an AA Fair. The Friday meeting coincided with what would have been Mr. Fisher's 74th birthday. Mr. Fisher restarted the fair in Evensville by the Rhea County High School after the county had bought a tract of land to place the new Rhea County Health Department on. The road leading into the grounds was named Harold Robbins Lane after Mr. Robbins who served as University of Tennessee Agriculture Extension Agent for the county since 1967. Fisher restarted the fair in Evensville by the Rhea County High School after the county had bought a tract of land to place the new Rhea County Health Department on. The road leading into the grounds was named Harold Robbins Lane after Mr. Robbins who served as University of Tennessee Agriculture Extension Agent for the county since 1967. Since 2008, Mr. Fisher with the help of several people including his daughter Brittany Dean, have grown the fair into what it is today. They also have a started a Drive through Light Show during December when cars can drive through and view all of the Christmas lights that have been set up. Not only can you drive through you can also get a wagon ride around. They also accepted donations of new toys for the annual Rhea County Sheriffs Department Toy Drive. Rhea County is a member of the Tennessee Association of Fairs. At the 2022 January conference which was the 100th annual convention, Rhea County placed first in Free Standing Fair Display, second in Tabletop Display, first in Creative Fair Idea (other than agriculture), second in Creative Fair Idea (agriculture) and Most Outstanding Entry for the Rhea County Fair Chicken Coop Display. These awards were chosen from the more than 50 regional and county fairs across the state of Tennessee. This trend has continued with the fair since 2010 when they won their first award for Most Improved Fair. 2012 saw the fair obtaining the AA division runner up only to top it in 2013 by winning the 2013 AA division Champion Fair. The fair garnered the Champion of Champions for all Divisions in 2017. In all, the Rhea County Fair has won 35 first place awards, 46 second place awards and 25 third place awards since 2008. They have also paid out $71,600 in prize money to the exhibitors at the local fair. Mr. Fishers daughter, Brittany Fisher Dean currently serves as secretary for the Fairs Executive Committee. She said, My dad was fond of saying How these things are accomplished is you have passion for whatever your are doing. Leave things better than we found them Everything we do, do it with our children and youth in mind. Vice President Billy Horton echoed the same sentiments saying, Were growing. We are showing this by expanding the Agricultural part of the fair and with all the new construction that we are doing. The Fair Association is currently working on a 24 x 60 addition to the existing concession stand to give it a full kitchen and storage space to use. Fair President Don Massengale said that they hoped to get the building finished by May 1, just in time for the May 7th Truck Pull. We have just got the trusses for the roof and hope to get them up as soon as we can. We have had some issues with getting building supplies, but we are moving right along, said Mr. Massengale. Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, exchanged on Saturday congratulatory messages to celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In his message, Xi pointed out that China and Azerbaijan are partners of traditional friendly cooperation. Over the past 30 years, Xi noted, China-Azerbaijan relations have maintained a sound and steady momentum of development, saying that their political mutual trust has been deepening, cooperation in various fields is moving forward with substantial progress, and their collaboration in global and regional affairs is growing increasingly close. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi said, the two nations have stood together and helped each other, a demonstration of their traditional friendship. Xi stressed that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Azerbaijan relations, saying that he is ready to work with President Aliyev to take the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to push for more accomplishments in bilateral ties and in cooperation in various areas for the benefit of both countries and their people. In his message, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan-China relations have continued to develop on the basis of mutual trust. The two sides have carried out high-level mutually beneficial cooperation in politics, economy and trade and other areas, and multilateral cooperation has also achieved fruitful results. He also said that the Azerbaijani side supports the Belt and Road Initiative, adding he believes that the traditional friendly Azerbaijan-China relations will continue to deepen and benefit the people in both countries. I write to show my support for Jim Exum as the next Circuit Court judge. I have litigated dozens of civil rights cases over the past two decades where I sought redress for citizens abused by government officials. During those years I have encountered defense counsel from many parts of Tennessee and Georgia. Among those attorneys who stand out at the top of their game is Jim Exum. I found Jim to be the epitome of an ethical and congenial opponent. While giving me fits in my prosecution of civil rights lawsuits, Jim acted and continues to act as a gentleman and a colleague. He is always well prepared, displays an impressive grasp of the law, has an excellent work ethic, and he knows how to respond to difficult litigants with Jobian patience. These are qualities necessary for anyone to hold the very important office of Judge. I am happy to know him as a worthy opponent and a fellow attorney, and I support him. I hope you will too. Robin Ruben Flores Attorney-at-Law * * * Well stated, attorney Flores. From a citizen perspective, I view Jim Exum as a person with community spirit in actions, not words. Exum is never seeking credit for his good deeds and work. There are a lot of candidates hyper inflating their credentials and experience, not Exum. Seems to me when you lay attorney credentials on the table, it is mostly equal. What separates judicial candidates for me is experience and their actions. Jim Exum is extraordinarily experienced and has shown he will take on the hard cases, and return calls for help. Exum has been a constant presence in the local courts, and has a spirit for justice. He has aspired to serve in a judgeship awaiting the longer judicial terms, and has earned the position. I mean that with all sincerity, Jim Exum has earned this judgeship opportunity. Lets give him the job. I believe that a tempered representative is the best for Lady Justice. It is so sweet seeing their young family on the go, lots of love there. Please vote for Jim Exum for Circuit Court Judge. April Eidson One of The Doors most famous classic rock songs is People Are Strange. The Doors Ray Manzarek recalled Jim Morrison saw something one time when he got up early in the morning. Subsequently, he wrote People Are Strange. The Doors | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Jim Morrison spent time at Andy Warhols Factory in New York City Manzarek was a member of The Doors. During an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Manzarek discussed a time Morrison spent a night with Andy Warhol at Warhols New York City studio, The Factory. I dont know if he even fell asleep or anything, Manzarek said. He got up about five oclock, five-thirty in the morning, looked around, everybodys passed out. Manzarek explained what happened next. [Morrison] heads outside the Factory, he added. Were staying midtown, hes downtown at Andy Warhols Factory, starts walking back. Andy Warhol | Jack Mitchell/Getty Images RELATED: Doors Keyboardist Ray Manzarek Said if Anyone Could Stage Their Own Death, It Would be Jim Morrison A New York City subway inspired Jim Morrison to write The Doors People Are Strange Manzarek said Morrison had a positive view of New York City. He said, You know, the sun was just starting to come up it was New York City and it was nice,' he recalled. It was late spring or something, maybe early fall. He said, New York is great its like empty, its deserted; theres nobody around.' Manzarek discussed what Morrison saw that morning. Little by little, out of the subways people started coming up there, coming up and up and up, he said. It was like creatures were crawling out from underground. By the time he got to midtown the city was packed. Manzarek explained People Are Strange is about the people coming out of the New York subway as Jim Morrison was walking back from Andy Warhols Factory to our hotel in midtown Manhattan. RELATED: Jim Morrison: How Much Was The Doors Legend Worth When He Died? How listeners reacted to The Doors People Are Strange in the United States and the United Kingdom In the United States, People Are Strange became a modest hit. The song peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. It stayed on the chart for nine weeks. People Are Strange appeared on the album Strange Days. Strange Days hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200, staying on the chart for 63 weeks. On the other hand, People Are Strange was not popular in the United Kingdom. According to The Official Charts Company, the song did not chart there. Strange Days did not chart there either. Regardless of how People Are Strange performed in the U.K., the song had an impact on pop culture. People Are Strange appears in trailers for the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Morbius starring Jared Leto. Stina Nordenstam, The Death South, and Echo & the Bunnymen each covered the track. People Are Strange is a classic track and it wouldnt be the same without a New York City subway. RELATED: The Office: 1 Cast Member Alludes to Doing Cocaine With The Doors Jim Morrison Meryl Streep is always willing to go as far as she feels is necessary for a role. However, sometimes her commitment even frightens the cast and crews around her. Perhaps this is one of the main reasons why shes frequently called one of the greatest actors to ever live. Streep once stepped up on the set of Out of Africa and fended off a lion when her stunt double got cold feet. Meryl Streep plays Karen in Out of Africa L-R: Robert Redford as Denys, Meryl Streep as Karen Blixen, and Klaus Maria Brandauer as Bror | Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images Out of Africa follows a dairy farmer named Karen Blixen (Streep). She travels to Africa to meet up with her husband, Bror (Klaus Maria Brandauer), who deceivingly spends all of their money on a coffee plantation. Karen discovers Brors unfaithful behavior but soon falls for a hunter named Denys (Robert Redford). Karen ultimately realizes that she actually prefers the simplistic lifestyle that Africa allows her compared to her upper-class background. However, not everything goes quite as perfectly as she hoped. Karen realizes that she will have to choose between her love and her personal growth that could provide her with a potentially better individual future. Meryl Streep fended off a lion with a whip when her stunt double was too scared Erin Carlsons Queen Meryl talks about Streeps experience filming Out of Africa. She had a major moment of courage that inspired her to take action for the shot. Streep took the place of her stunt double during the scene where she must fend off a lion raiding her campsite. Unfortunately, her stunt double just couldnt muster up the courage to go through with it. That girl was really scared, you know, and she had the sense to be scared, Meryl recalled. I didnt. I was out there with all I had. So, Meryl picked up the whip and was ready to do the scene. Streep continued: Well, that lion wouldnt do anything to get excited, so Sydney untied the lion while I was whipping itand didnt tell me because he wanted the shot. It was the last shot of the film before we got to go home. I could have killed him. Director Sydney Pollack denied letting the lion off the leash However, Pollack remembers the events happening a bit differently. He doesnt deny that she ultimately stepped up to complete the scene with the lion. However, he denied telling the trainer to let the lion off of its leash. Pollack blamed it on Streeps creative memory while filming Out of Africa. Queen Meryl explains that the director brought at least six trained lions and lionesses to work on the film. He also brought on a crew to keep on the ready with fire extinguishers in case things took a turn for the worse. However, Pollack wanted to contain a rogue lion and never harm it. Nevertheless, Streep ultimately earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in Out of Africa. That very same creativity is one of the many reasons why shes able to deliver such phenomenal performances that audiences cant stop buzzing about. RELATED: Meryl Streep Believes Her Cleavage In Her Padded Bra Helped Her Win an Oscar-Nominated Role The Bachelor stars Clayton Echard and Susie Evans are letting fans in on all the fun they had post-filming. And in an Instagram video montage, Susie revealed how the happy couple spent the last four months together. (L-R) Susie Evans and Clayton Echard | Craig Sjodin via Getty Images Susie Evans shares a sweet video of her with Clayton Echard after filming The Bachelor In a March 16 Instagram post, Susie revealed how she and Clayton spent the last few months. The video shows the couple kissing, dancing around the house in their pajamas, eating pizza, and cuddling in bed. After the Fantasy Suites, Susie broke things off with Clayton. But on Nick Vialls The Viall Files podcast, she revealed that she reached out to Clayton as soon as she got back from Iceland. I got my phone back, called my parents, and DMd Clayton in the airport, Susie recalled. The two reconnected and then spent hours talking every day. After a few weeks, Susie and Clayton knew they were meant to be together. On After the Final Rose, Clayton revealed that the two started dating. And he said that their time together after filming made their relationship even stronger. I spent the last four months with her, Clayton said on the March 15 episode. She just impresses me more and more every day. And she continues to give me reason after reason why following my heart was the best decision I could have ever made. And I could not be more in love with this woman. Susie reveals the things she and Clayton enjoy doing most as a couple Fans saw Susie and Clayton get to know each other on The Bachelor. All of their dates on the show were competitive, well planned, staged, filmed, and edited. But now that filming is over, the two are getting to enjoy time as a real couple. We have a lot of fun together, Susie told People. We do enjoy cooking, we cook a lot. And honestly, I feel like, in different ways, we both poke at each other the entire time, and just mess with each other, she added. I do think thats one thing people didnt see so much on the show. We just goof the whole time. Clayton's Lady in Red. If you missed last night's finale, Stream on Hulu! pic.twitter.com/t31toa5T4o The Bachelor (@BachelorABC) March 16, 2022 While the two are happy and in love, they arent talking about engagement plans just yet. We havent set a timeline for ourselves, Susie admitted. We havent talked about an engagement, but were having fun getting to know each other and enjoying this time. The Bachelor stars are moving to Susies hometown of Virginia Beach After The Bachelor, Clayton is moving to Susies hometown, Virginia Beach. When talking to US Weekly, Susie revealed that the couple is hoping to start building a life together there. My work is there, and I had a beautiful life before coming on the show and its just great that I get to make an addition to it, the reality star said. And Clayton before the show, he was ready to uproot and figure out [whats] next for him and hes totally on board to come to Virginia Beach. So, were gonna give it a shot. Theres never any guarantee in life, but with all that being said, I am incredibly happy to be with her, Clayton added. Im so excited to be able to just go get dinner, to go hiking, do all these things with her, travel. RELATED: The Bachelor: Jesse Palmer Says the On-Set Psychologist Is a Massive Priority Especially Now The Hulu series The Girl from Plainville follows the story of Michelle Carter, who was tried for involuntary manslaughter involving the death of Conrad Roy III. In the series, Detective Scott Gordon discovers the messed up texts between Carter and Roy. He digs deeper into their conversations, searching for a way to bring criminal charges against Carter. Was there a real Detective Gordon involved in investigating Roys death? Kelly AuCoin as Detective Scott Gordon in The Girl from Plainville | Steve Dietl/Hulu Episodes 1-3 of The Girl from Plainville are currently streaming on Hulu Hulu dropped the first three episodes of The Girl from Plainville on March 29. The show begins to tell the story of Michelle Carter and Conrad Roy III, who met on a Florida trip and exchanged phone numbers. Both Carter and Roy had mental health problems. Roy himself attempted suicide multiple times before his death. As the series continues, Detective Scott Gordon uncovers thousands of texts between Carter and Roy. In some of these texts, Carter encouraged Roy to commit suicide. Gordon pushes for involuntary manslaughter charges against Carter, but everyone involved knows that getting a conviction wont be an easy thing to do. Hey #Billions fans, come see what its like to see Dollar Bill from the other side of the law. First 3 episodes of The #GirlFromPlainville streaming now on @hulu @PlainvilleHulu pic.twitter.com/ibFCRiimcI Kelly AuCoin (@KellyAuCoin77) March 30, 2022 While at a fundraiser in Roys honor, Gordon learns from Carters friends that she told them Roy was missing days before his death. Roy was in fact in contact with Carter the whole time. Is Detective Scott Gordon a real person? Detective Scott Gordon was a real detective with the Fairhaven Police Department. He was also the lead detective investigating Roys death. According to NBC News, Gordon did look through Roys phone for clues, just like in The Girl from Plainville. The detective discovered that Roy deleted all of his texts, except for a string of messages with Michelle Carter. It was one of those things where you keep reading and it just keeps getting worse, he told NBC News. And thats what has kind of put everything in motion. According to The Cinemaholic, Gordon has had a long and successful career in law enforcement. Before joining the Fairhaven Police Department, he started working as a police officer in the town of Acushnet in 1999. In February of 2020, Gordon received a promotion to the rank of sergeant. Did Michelle Carter go to prison? The real Carter did in fact go to trial for her involvement in the death of Roy. According to Esquire, she was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and, after an appeals process, given a 15-month prison sentence. Carter was released early, after spending just under a year in prison. The Girl from Plainville will no doubt show this part of Carters story. The trailer for the series shows Carter in court. She can also be seen walking with her attorney, Joseph Cataldo, while the press flashes their cameras at her. So far in the first three episodes of the series, Carter has yet to be indicted, though many seem to notice that something strange is going on. RELATED: The Girl From Plainville: 5 Things to Know About the True Story That Inspired the Hulu Series Determining the molecular weight of polymers or plastics is one of your routines? Then this application notebook will be of great help to you. It gives you numerous application examples of how to analyze a large variety of polymers at ambient or high temperature using GPC/SEC. In this GPC application notebook, experts from Tosoh will vividly show you on 58 pages how to use gel permeation chromatography (GPC) to analyze typical plastics and polymers efficiently with as little solvent consumption as possible. GPC can determine several important parameters of plastics and polymers. These include the average molecular weights Mn, Mw and Mz as well as the most basic property of a polymer, its molecular weight distribution (MWD). These parameters are important because they affect many of the characteristic physical properties of polymers. Differences in these parameters can lead to significantly different polymer performance characteristics. The GPC application notebook shows you how to analyze various polymer classes efficiently, how to save solvents and increase sample throughput, which GPC columns are best suited for your applications and what to consider when performing high-temperature analysis of polymers. Download your free copy of the GPC application notebook now and expand your practical know-how of polymer analysis. The GPC application notebook shows you: How to analyze various polymer classes efficiently How to save solvents and increase your sample throughput Which GPC columns are best suited for your applications What to consider when performing high-temperature analysis of polymers Download your free copy of the GPC application notebook now and expand your practical know-how of polymer analysis. The Minnesota state flag is seen as displayed in the State Capitol building rotunda on Thursday, March 24, 2022, in St. Paul, Minn. Minnesota lawmakers are resurrecting an effort to redesign the state's flag and seal, which proponents say are indistinct compared with other U.S. states and feature imagery that is offensive to Native Americans. Pastor Artur Pawlowski released from solitary confinement after 51 days in prison for 'inciting mischief' A prominent Canadian pastor who has emerged as an outspoken critic of his governments response to the coronavirus pandemic has been released from prison after nearly two months in custody. Pastor Artur Pawlowski of Street Church and the Cave of Adallum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, was released from prison Wednesday after 51 days of being moved between a cell and solitary confinement. Pawlowski was arrested last month for allegedly inciting mischief by addressing a crowd of truckers gathered at the Canada-United States border to protest the mandate requiring truck drivers who transport goods between the two countries to either get the vaccine or quarantine for several days upon re-entry into the country. Critics of the Canadian government, including Rebel News Ezra Levant, described Pawlowskis arrest as an attempt to stop him from expressing himself politically to these truckers. Rebel News also created a website, SaveArtur.com, to raise money for the pastors legal bills. The gathering of truckers, known as the Freedom Convoy, became a target of immense criticism from both the Canadian government and the private sector. The crowdfunding platform GoFundMe pulled a fundraiser created to raise money to cover the cost of the truckers expenses, purportedly following multiple discussions with local law enforcement and police reports of violence and other unlawful activity. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defamed the truckers, who represented a wide swath of ethnicities and religions, as proponents of antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-black racism, homophobia, and transphobia. Officials in the Canadian capital of Ottawa seized fuel from truckers and those seeking to provide fuel for the truckers to stay warm inside their cabins amid freezing temperatures, citing a belief that access to fuel was enabling the truckers to persist in causing mischief. Rebel News reporter Adam Soos posted a video of Pawlowski leaving the Calgary Remand Centre on his Twitter account Wednesday. Pawlowski embraced his wife Marzena and son, Nathaniel, before Nathaniel Pawlowski drove his parents back home. Pawlowski, sitting in the passengers seat of the car, reached across his son to wave at the camera. Artur is out. Full story coming soon at https://t.co/kwmn3j9Pxo. pic.twitter.com/2fSe0wmhar Adam Soos ? (@ATSoos) March 30, 2022 Ahead of Pawlowskis release, Soos reported that all those gathered to greet Artur upon his release have been instructed to leave immediately under threat Artur would be arrested again should anyone speak with him before he leaves the Calgary Remand Centre grounds. Prior to officials at the Calgary Remand Centre demanding that the crowd disperse, an image captured by Soos showed a group of supporters, led by Pawlowskis wife and son, standing in line hoping to greet the pastor. All those gathered to great Artur upon his release have been instructed to leave immediately under threat that Artur would be arrested again should anyone speak with him before he leaves the Calgary Remand Centre grounds. Artur will head straight home.https://t.co/kwmn3j9Pxopic.twitter.com/eEKjrftjJQ Adam Soos ? (@ATSoos) March 30, 2022 Eagerly anticipating the release of pastor, father and husband Artur Pawlowski.https://t.co/kwmn3j9Pxopic.twitter.com/fjOQYUAZZe Adam Soos ? (@ATSoos) March 30, 2022 In an interview with Soos, Pawlowskis attorney Sarah Miller said that a judge agreed to release the pastor from custody on bail conditions that she characterized as quite strict. Miller explained that while this is not the full-blown celebratory type situation that we would hope for because he is under very strict conditions, she concluded that being under strict conditions at home with his family is a far better cry than spending time behind bars. The Calgary Herald reported that Pawlowskis bail conditions include a nightly curfew of 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., with exceptions that include Street Church services, and that he not attend any protests. Should Pawlowski violate the terms of his bail, his wife and son could be forced to pay $20,000 and $4,000, respectively. While Pawlowski was granted bail for his role in purportedly creating mischief stemming from his appearance at the border blockade, he was ordered to remain in prison for additional days on other charges. Specifically, the charges that kept Pawlowski in prison included allegations that he twice breached court orders to abide by COVID-19 public health measures and caused a disturbance at a Shoppers Drug Mart. Pawlowski had to put up a $25,000 cash deposit in order to secure his release, while his wife and son had to provide payments of $10,000 and $2,000, respectively. Miller told Rebel News that Pawlowski has quite a few criminal trials coming up, adding, hes facing up to $100,000 for attending a gathering in front of city hall. The news outlet also noted that the pastor spent much of his time behind bars in solitary confinement. Pawlowski first gained notoriety after documenting his tense exchanges with local law enforcement officials seeking to enforce coronavirus worship restrictions in videos that went viral. The videos, published last spring, featured the Polish immigrant to Canada likening the public health officials to Nazis and the Gestapo as they repeatedly entered the Cave of Adallum Church during Passover services and confronted him weeks later during a church service. In a previous interview with The Christian Post, Pawlowski accused the local government of abiding by a double standard regarding the enforcement of coronavirus worship restrictions because while they targeted his church for holding in-person worship services, the mosques were fully operational and no one harassed them, no one interfered with them. He also contended that government officials had developed a personal vendetta against him. Perry Stone under investigation by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, report claims Two years after being accused of sexual misconduct by several women, televangelist and Bible teacher Perry Stone is under investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, according to a report. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has a list of at least nine alleged victims and has interviewed at least five people, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The newspaper adds that a TBI spokesperson confirmed by email that the agency is investigating the Cleveland, Tennessee-based televangelist at the request of the district attorney general, Steve Crump, who has to decide if charges need to be pressed after the results of the investigation. Citing multiple sources connected to Stone and his Perry Stone Ministries, the newspaper claimed in an earlier report that the Federal Bureau of Investigation began looking into sexual misconduct claims against the minister last November. More than a dozen people connected or formerly connected to Stones ministry told the Chattanooga publication at the time that they were worried about what appeared to be a lack of accountability in the ministry. Claims of inappropriate conduct involving groping, unwanted kissing and showing women he was aroused were first made in 2020. Some expressed outrage that the board of directors at Voice of Evangelism, Stones international evangelistic outreach, did not involve law enforcement or fully investigate claims of misconduct against the televangelist. Stone has sought to explain that the victims misinterpreted his social behavior which he described as normal in Italian culture. I am not a perfect man, he said earlier, according to the newspaper. People have taken me hugging and kissing them on the cheek wrong. I quit that. Im Italian. My whole family holds hands, rubs backs. I didnt know you can look at somebody and say, Hey, how you doing? and they can take it wrong. He has also said that secular media cannot be trusted. Over 32 years I have been involved with television. ... Im involved with media, I know how media works, Stone said in a YouTube video, titled The Truth Behind Todays Media, last December. Its not always about whats true or not, its about the advertising dollars, he continued, explaining the relationship between the media and advertising and the need to make money. Information can be twisted by the god of this world so easily. So when youre dealing with a Christian system who wants to be honest ... secular individuals, it has been proven, they will give a false scenario and then you know, two, three years down the road come back and apologize for it and I dont want to go into collusions and all that, he said. During a special service last November, when he tried to explain why some people were no longer with his ministry, an unidentified woman interrupted his address to suggest it was because he is a nasty perv. Why dont you tell them the real reason why they left? Because you kept touching them, she said before she was removed by security. Russians know death unlike any other people The number of Russian combat deaths in Ukraine is striking, perhaps already exceeding the total dead in 10 years of war in Afghanistan from 1979-89. A NATO official has estimated that 7,000-15,000 Russians have been killed in Ukraine and that there are up to 40,000 casualties. This has prompted many observers to hope that this could signal the end of Russias assault. After all, why would Russians persist when theyre getting their tails kicked on the battlefield? Sorry, but heres the sad reality: The Russians always persist when theyre getting their tails kicked on the battlefield, whether by the Kaiser or Hitler or retreating from the Mujahedin. Its a way of life for them; or a way of death. They know death unlike any other people. The Russians always endure massive casualties, and yet their inept military commanders and malicious dictators never cease shoving them into the meat grinder, whether the trenches of World War I, their mass annihilation during World War II, or any other examples of vast fields of deaths that Russians have experienced for over a hundred years. In World War I, no country suffered like Russia. The total dead for all sides in WWI was roughly 10-20 million. Russia lost more than any other nation, a minimum of three million. For a sense of comparison, America lost about 117,000 men. Thats a drop in the bucket compared to Russias staggering losses. What was Russias reward for this colossal sacrifice? Thats where the story is even sadder. Though they were on the side of America and the allies, Czar Nicholas II abdicated the throne in March 1917, and his troops were pulled out by the Bolsheviks. Instead, Russians got Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin. Nice reward, eh? As for World War II, the numbers are off the charts. The total dead for all countries was 70-85 million, with the Soviet Union accounting for the largest portion of that, courtesy of Hitlers betrayal of Stalin and merciless rampage into the USSR. The standard accepted figure for the USSR is 27 million dead, though recent research suggests it may be far higher. By comparison, the United States and United Kingdom each lost about 400,000. So, combine U.S. and U.K. deaths, multiply them by 30, and then you begin approaching the number of Soviet deaths. Think about that. Could it get any worse for the Russian people? Oh, yes. Do not underestimate the killing capacity of humanitys most lethal ideology: communism. Alas, theres a unique set of gruesome categories for Russians, namely, the internal death unleashed by Marxism-Leninism: the 1917-21 Russian Civil War, the shocking numbers purged or starved or otherwise liquidated, and the very worst of them all, a quiet killer no one in the West talks about the unparalleled number of abortions. As for the civil war between the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks, historian W. Bruce Lincoln in his book, Red Victory: A History of the Russian Civil War, estimates that it destroyed seven million Russian men, women, and children. That slaughter followed all the fatalities of World War I. As for deaths under communism, no one knows the exact numbers, depending on which groups of corpses are factored in. The Black Book of Communism, the seminal work published by Harvard University Press, cited 20 million deaths, but many accounts of the Bolshevik butchers bill exceed 33 million. Lee Edwards, founder of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, citing the epic work on democide by the late political scientist R. J. Rummel, as well as the research of the likes of Robert Conquest, Alexander Solzhenitsyn and others, estimates that Soviet governments were responsible for the death of 61 million of their own from 1917-87. Alexander Yakovlev, who was one of Mikhail Gorbachevs chief reformers, and who in the 1990s was given the official task of counting the skulls, says Stalin alone annihilated 60 to 70 million people. He shared those numbers in his 2002 book, A Century of Violence in Soviet Russia, published by Yale University Press. Shocking, shocking, shocking. But brace yourself. Then theres abortion, for which the figures are beyond belief. Communists were hell-bent on abortion. In November 1920, the Bolsheviks made good on Vladimir Lenins June 1913 promise (printed in Pravda) for an unconditional annulment of all laws against abortions. In stunningly short order, abortions skyrocketed. Remarkably, by 1934 Moscow women were having three abortions for every live birth shocking ratios that American women, in the worst throes of Roe v. Wade, never approached. In the deadliest years after Roe, America saw annual abortions in the range of 1-2 million. Incredibly, by the 1970s, according to official Soviet Health Ministry statistics, the USSR was averaging 7-8 million abortions per year, eradicating whole future generations of children. Only recently, under Putin, who faced a projected population plunge from 140 million Russians in 2000 to 104 million by 2050 (according to World Health Organization projections), did Russia put restrictions on abortion. Putins restrictions were the first since Stalin outright banned abortion in 1936, alarmed that his country was aborting itself to death. Nikita Khrushchev lifted the ban in 1955, and the abortion mills ramped up again at full capacity. It is no exaggeration to say that hundreds of millions of children may have been snuffed out in the womb. There may have been close to 100 million abortions in the Soviet Union in the 1970s alone. Amid all of this blood, blood, blood, Ive actually left out quite a bit. I didnt even mention specific episodes of brutality such as Holodomor i.e., Stalins famine inflicted upon the people of Ukraine, which involved another 5-10 million deaths via starvation. Overall, this is a sickening picture. Russia is a culture of death. The Russian people have been through a hell unlike any other since 1914. No country compares to this level of violence. None. Do you hate the Russians? I once asked a native Pole, Jan Winiecki. He spoke at Grove City College in March 2000. Professor Winiecki laid out in a compelling lecture what the Soviet Union had done to Poland for 50 years, beginning with the Hitler-Stalin Pact that launched the mutual Nazi-Soviet invasions in September 1939 (hence launching World War II) and on through the collapse of communism in the fall of 1989. Ive never forgotten Winieckis answer: Oh, no! Not at all! I weep for the Russian people. Winiecki hastened to add: There is no other people in the world who have suffered as much death. I feel only pity for Russians. So should we. Their leaders often dont. Pope John Paul II, a Pole who witnessed a chunk of that death, said that every human being is unique, precious and unrepeatable, each made in the image of God with sanctity and dignity. Many a Russian despot has not shared that view. And the death could get much worse, especially if we add Russian losses not only in World Wars I and II but, yes, quite possibly a World War III. To that end, I fear that Russias current losses in Ukraine only make that prospect more likely. Im actually more concerned about Putins behavior under a scenario in which his troops seem destined for a crushing defeat. The more desperate, the worse Putin may react. Yes, I can easily see him using WMDs. Joe Biden suggested that Putin using WMDs (chemical weapons) might be the thing that would draw America in. The Russians always get their tails kicked on the battlefield. This is no surprise. The concern is always just how brutal their despots are willing to behave in response. With Putin, we shall see. Im not optimistic. This article first appeared in The American Spectator and The Institute for Faith & Freedom. US military forces cannot fight on 2 fronts The current war in Ukraine and Russias threatening actions toward NATO countries coupled with a rising China in Asia highlights a strategic pickle for the United States the need to be able to deter or potentially fight two major adversaries in two very different regions of the world at the same time with the military it has on hand. While the U.S. is unlikely to face two significant competitors at the same time, the possibility is not zero. The current situation in Ukraine, with Russian President Vladimir Putin launching missiles landing close to Poland, and Chinese President Xi Jinpings ideological commitments to bring Taiwan into China, provides an excellent opportunity for an opportunist nation to attempt a hostile act while the rest of the world is distracted. The U.S. is a global power with interests and responsibilities throughout the world. It must be capable of protecting Americans abroad, allies and the freedom to use international sea, air, space and cyberspace. This is no easy task and the U.S. military today is not positioned to take it on. It is too small and too old to fight on numerous fronts. Force drawdowns since the end of the Cold War and 20 years of fighting in the Middle East have left the U.S. military a shell of its former self. This should worry everyone especially because China and Russia spend a significant portion of their economic output on their defense budgets, with the purpose of challenging American military superiority. The Chinese government is rapidly expanding its military forces. Perhaps the most visible example of this is its ship-building program. At the end of 2020, the size of Chinas navy was approximately 360. Compare that to a U.S. Navy fleet of 297 ships. Chinas military forces must be modernized by 2035, according to Xi. By 2049, he claims, they should be a world-class military power capable of fighting and winning wars. Chinas breakthroughs in its hard-power capabilities are likely to lead to a significant shift in the global balance of military power. As for Russia, its military capabilities are on display on the world stage. The U.S. military has an overall advantage over the Russian military, but Russia has select advantages over the U.S. when it comes to certain capabilities. For example, the U.S. Army has approximately 6,000 tanks while Russia has around 12,000. Russian tactical nuclear capabilities outnumber the U.S. by 10-to-1. One cannot forget about the threat that Iran and North Korea also pose to U.S. national security, with their missile arsenals and nuclear programs. It is vital for the U.S. to be able to project strength globally to provide reassurance for its allies and deter its adversaries. While the quality of the U.S. military force is currently unrivaled, its size is at a historic low, and this limits its ability to respond to the multiple threats the country faces globally. It simply does not have enough forces. This is a concern, particularly when the U.S. needs to surge to a conflict without jeopardizing the posture of U.S. forces in another important region. For example, if the United States were to engage Russia in a direct confrontation, it will be forced to deploy military equipment and personnel from all over the world to the Eastern European front. By doing so, the U.S. would be forced to draw forces from other regions of the world, such as the West Pacific, where our presence is critical in deterring China. The Heritage Foundations annual assessment of U.S. military power, the 2022 Index of U.S. Military Strength, assesses that the U.S. military is only moderately capable of securing its vital national security interests, and would struggle greatly if called upon to deal with more than one competitor at a time. Low levels of capacity are particularly concerning because numbers really matter in war. The index estimates that a joint force capable of dealing with multiple fronts simultaneously would need to consist of: The Army having 50 brigade combat teams, compared to its current number of 31. The Navy having at least 400 ships, compared to the 297 vessels it currently has. Since President Ronald Reagans military buildup to deter the Soviets in what would be the final years of the Cold War, the overall trend in numbers has clearly been consistently toward a smaller force. Besides force size, some of the militarys equipment is extremely outdated, and many of its platforms entered service more than 30 years ago. The services, like the Army and Navy, are aging faster than they are modernizing. As a result, it will be easier for major competitors to reach technological parity with the U.S. military. To recap, the U.S. requires a force capable of managing two conflicts because it would provide enough forces to: 1. deter an opportunistic adversary from starting a conflict while the U.S. is engaged and 2. provide the U.S. with a sufficient number of forces to handle battle losses without requiring America to denude the rest of the world to focus on one conflict. The good news is that there appears to be bipartisan acknowledgment of the need to project power on two fronts. Its difficult. Its expensive. But it is also essential, and I believe that were entering a period where that is what will be demanded of the United States and this generation of Americans, said Kurt Campbell, the White House Indo-Pacific policy coordinator, about the U.S. remaining engaged in the Indo-Pacific in the midst of the crisis in Ukraine. But it remains to be seen whether Congress and the Biden administration address the need to field a military force sufficiently sized to address global threats and U.S. national interests. The defense budget must be sufficient to modernize and expand the force. It will take time for the military to reach the level of strength required to deter and potentially fight on multiple fronts. The problem will not be fixed overnight. Thats why its important for Congress to act quickly to adequately resource the U.S. military. Originally published at The Daily Signal. Matt Chandler says Christianity is only religion that handles suffering honestly: 'God's at work in the mess' Village Church Pastor Matt Chandler told his congregation that, for Christians, suffering is normal and stressed that only Christianity not the secular world or other religions handles suffering, trials and pain honestly. Christianity doesnt pretend that suffering is not real. It doesnt pretend that its fair. It doesnt pretend that its not really there. It doesnt do that. Nor does it pretend that it doesnt have meaning, the 47-year-old pastor said in a March 20 sermon titled What Well Face. The pastor told those gathered at the churchs Flower Mound, Texas, campus that Gods at work in the mess. He said God strengthens and refines and calls into Himself, and grants life with and empowers through not the good times, but through the difficult times that expose our idols, shows us as weak and makes us desperate for His presence. Chandler said suffering is not abnormal because humans have been experiencing trials throughout history. But amid this reality, Jesus is good, he said, citing 1 Peter 3:18-22. Jesus pathway of suffering is the path to glory. Its not a life of ease and comfort thats the path to glory. We see in the suffering of Jesus Christ that once and for all He broke the back of sin. Jesus Christ went to the cross, Chandler said, and absorbed Gods wrath toward all of humanitys sin. He hands to you His righteousness so that when God sees you, when the just Judge of the universe sees you, He sees the righteousness of Christ, which is why He delights in you and rejoices in you and celebrates you if you put your faith in His saving work, Chandler said. He doesnt come with new law. He doesnt come with a new set of rules, he added, referring to John 3:17, which says Jesus will return not to condemn but to save. Jesus has saved humans from sin and death, Chandler noted. I dont know where I would be if He didnt get me. ... I know what happens to us if God didnt intervene, the pastor elaborated. When he looks at his wife, his children, his relationship with his church congregants and how God has healed him, Chandler realizes God is good even amid suffering. Like King David, He lifted me out of the muck and mire, and He set my feet on a rock. Hes good. And Ive had brain cancer and a difficult marriage and all sorts of other issues and Hes good, Chandler said. For nothing else, but He saved me. He rescued me, opened my eyes, he continued. Earlier in his sermon, Chandler shared how Christians can exist and thrive as they face the kind of suffering resulting from living in a world that is hostile to their faith. We are a nuisance. We can kind of feel that, he posited. The predominant culture kind of sees us as a hurdle to get to the utopia that they have in view, our sexual ethic, our belief about marriage. ... If you guys would just get over your archaic backward, historically abusive trauma-causing nonsense, we could get to the utopia of where were trying to go. Chandler emphasized that Christians should submit to God's moral law to reveal His wisdom, beauty, and glory through suffering. On top of that, he said Christians should live a life of boldness. How are we to live? You live lives of beauty. Gods moral law matters. We pursue goodness. We live lives of beauty. We let the Word of God conform our lives into something that will be beautiful to those who will be saved and will be indicting and rage-causing for those who will not, Chandler said. The Explicit Gospel author warned parents that it is vital to not only point their children to Jesus as they go through trials, but its also essential to refrain from enabling their children as they face struggles. What service do we do to our children when we coddle their disappointments? he asked. Im not talking about comforting. Please comfort them. Life is brutal. Youre mom and dad. Youre meant to comfort them. But if you save them and treat them like candles, you are setting them up. If all were perpetually doing is saving them from disappointment, youre treating them like a candle. ... Thats on us to teach them fortitude; to let them own some of the pain that comes from dumb mistakes, to not constantly rescue, he stressed. Chandler told the congregation that they are stronger than they believe they are. You are not that candle easily extinguished in the wind, the pastor said. Youre a bonfire. The wind makes you stronger, makes you burn hotter, it makes you brighter. So dont always shield yourself from the wind. Your growth as a person, it happens not in comfort but at the edge of your growth, where it feels stressful and painful. And thats when youre growing as a person. Massachusetts city accused of stonewalling church's private school over religious beliefs Officials in a Massachusetts city have denied allegations that a local school committee rejected an application for the launch of a private Christian school due to the beliefs of the predominantly Hispanic church sponsoring the institution. Vida Real Church of Somerville, located around five miles from Boston, had asked local officials in 2021 to approve the creation of a private school for kindergarten to eighth grade, which would be known as Real Life Learning Center. A letter of complaint sent Wednesday to Superintendent Mary E. Skipper and Mayor Katjana Ballantyne alleges that the Somerville School Committee rejected the application by the church to create a private school because officials disliked the churchs beliefs. The letter was sent on behalf of the church by the conservative legal nonprofit First Liberty Institute and the Massachusetts Family Institute. Despite Vida Reals expressed desire to open RLLC as quickly as possible, the Committee has repeatedly stonewalled Vida Reals efforts to provide private, religious education for its community for over five months now, wrote Ryan Gardner of First Liberty and Andrew Beckwith of the Massachusetts Family Institute. Even more concerning, the Committee has expressed hostility towards Vida Reals religious beliefs, and multiple Committee members have stated that RLLCs desire to create a curriculum consistent with its religious beliefs is grounds for denying its private school application. According to the letter, the committee repeatedly asked for information about the proposed schools curriculum and allegedly mocked some of their beliefs during meetings. The complaint letter argued that the church satisfied all relevant criteria for obtaining Committee approval and that rejecting the application violated both state law and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Committee must grant RLLCs application so that RLLC can open in time for the Fall 2022 semester, the complaint states. If Vida Real does not receive approval for RLLC from the Committee by April 18, 2022, or if the Committee denies RLLCs application, Vida Real will pursue all available legal options. The Christian Post reached out to Somerville Public Schools for comment. A spokesperson emailed a statement from Superintendent Mary Skipper and School Committee Chair Andre Green. Skipper and Green disagree with the characterizations in that letter of the Committees communications with the RLLC to date and of the appropriateness and lawfulness of the Committees review of the RLLC application. The Committee has not yet reached a determination about the RLLC application, and all inquiries from the Committee have been for the purpose of evaluating whether RLLC meets the legal standards for approval, they stated. We note that if a private school is approved, the Committee does not engage in ongoing oversight or monitoring of that school; as such, the Committee considers a thorough review process, including a critical evaluation of whether an applicant has proposed and is capable of actually implementing a program that meets state requirements, to be essential to the Committees statutory obligations. Skipper and Green added that the school district does not discriminate on the basis of religion or any other protected class. They assured the committees review of the RLLC application has been and will continue to be fair, thorough, and consistent with the Committees legal authority. The Committee will complete its review of the RLLC application in a timely manner and issue a determination on the merits of the application, they concluded. However, Massachusetts Family Institute President Beckwith contends that its illegal and unconstitutional for city officials to question the religious beliefs of Vida Real. This is blatant religious discrimination, Beckwith contends. Its time for Somerville officials to stop treating Vida Real unfairly and allow it to pursue the opening of a school. The complaint letter argues that the school committee didnt promptly review materials sent in the application and took no action and did not communicate with Vida Real regarding its application for over a month. In November 2021, the committee told the church that the application was deficient and had to be resubmitted even though no formal process existed regarding such applications, the complaint adds. [T]he Committee never provided any guidance regarding the form in which the application should be submitted. Seeking to expeditiously cure the Committees stated issues with RLLCs application, Vida Real again submitted RLLCs application and related materials in November 2021, the letter reads. The letter accused the committee of taking no action for several weeks before inviting an official with the church to speak with committee members in early January 2022. After the official spoke with committee members, the letter claims that another month elapsed before the committee took additional action on the schools application. The complaint letter states that on Feb. 11, the committee contacted Vida Real and submitted 35 questions from its Educational Programs Subcommittee for Vida Real to respond to at a Feb. 28 meeting. These questions not only sought duplicative information that RLLC had already provided with its application but also inquired about information that is irrelevant to RLLCs application and is improper for governmental inquiry, including questions about RLLCs religious beliefs, the letter adds. Despite the improper and, in fact, illegal nature of many of these questions, Vida Real worked diligently to prepare responses for each of the Committees burdensome list of questions. At the Feb. 28 meeting, the letter claims that members of the subcommittee expressed hostility to Vida Reals religious beliefs. Subcommittee members are accused of questioning whether RLLC could adequately provide health education because of its decision to teach on matters of human sexuality in accordance with its religious beliefs. They also allegedly questioned whether the school should be allowed to teach creationism. Subcommittee members also allegedly voiced disapproval of the schools reliance on Christian authors for its curriculum. Additionally, the Subcommittee wrongfully accused Vida Real of submitting an incomplete application that did not include RLLCs handbook even though such materials had already been provided to the Committee multiple times, which the Committee negligently overlooked, the letter continues. The Subcommittee ended its meeting in the middle of deliberations without a final decision, which the Subcommittee informed Vida Real would result in an additional delay of a month before any further action would be taken on RLLCs application. Later that night, the letter reports that the subcommittee presented a report on the schools application in which it stated that RLLC does not meet the criteria and falls short in every subject, particularly science, social studies, and [social emotional learning]. The reports alleged reasons for the Subcommittees conclusion were riddled with factual errors, irrelevant considerations, and disparaging remarks regarding Vida Reals religious beliefs, the letter complains. According to the letter, the subcommittee took issue with there being no accommodations for students enrolled in special education or plans to address students not making academic progress. The committees report also claimed the application offered no details on assessments or how school staff would be supported. It also questioned how the application process will result in a diverse set of applicants and if the facilities are appropriate for younger students. The schools position on homosexuality and creationism make it difficult to see how a thorough science and health curriculum is possible, the subcommittees report stated, according to the complaint letter. The schools approach to student services and counseling appears to devalue evidence-based psychology and its emphasis on approaches rooted in the belief that mental illness is caused by sin and demons is unscientific and harmful. After the subcommittee presented the report, the committee voted unanimously to accept the Subcommittees report without any members raising any objections to the disparaging statements contained in the report regarding Vida Reals religious beliefs, the letter reads. In another meeting three weeks later, committee member Sara Dion was accused of making several comments expressing overt hostility against Vida Real based solely upon its religious beliefs and derided creationism as being factually incorrect. Dion had allegedly argued that denying RLLCs application was the morally right thing to do and that the committee should do what it could to prevent RLLC from opening. She even went as far as to state that spending money on costly litigation to prevent or delay RLLCs opening was well worth it, the complaint letter alleges. [Committee member] Sarah Phillips did not object to any of Ms. Dions comments and stated that her 'heart wants to deny [RLLCs] application as well despite her belief that such a denial would not hold up in court. Indeed, Ms. Phillips essentially conceded that the ACE curriculum proposed to be used by RLLC satisfied Massachusetts law because it is presently used by at least four private schools in Massachusetts. Despite this, Ms. Phillips proceeded to second and vote in favor of a motion by Ms. Dion to recommend that the Committee deny RLLCs application. The entire committee will consider the recommendation to deny RLLCs application in April. Wednesdays letter is not the first time that First Liberty Institute and the Massachusetts Family Institute have communicated with city officials in Somerville. In June 2020, during a time of widespread pandemic gathering restrictions, churches objected to then-Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatones order banning worship gatherings of more than 10 people despite state-level restrictions allowing in-door worship at 40% building capacity. The organization sent a letter to the city on behalf of churches that planned to hold worship services with safety protocols in place despite the mayors order. At the time, Jeremy Dys of First Liberty argued in a statement that the citys restrictions would prevent even Jesus and the twelve disciples from lawfully gathering in Somerville. Most Christian parents are worried about their kids' spiritual health: poll An overwhelming majority of American parents are concerned about their childrens spiritual well-being, with concerns highest among practicing Christians, according to a poll released by Barna. On Wednesday, Barna released the results of a survey that asked 513 parents of children younger than 18 about their level of concern regarding their childrens spiritual development and their childrens relationships with their peers. Conducted April 23 through May 5, 2021, the survey asked parents how concerned are you about your child/childrens spiritual development? A majority of respondents (73%) indicated that they were either somewhat or very concerned with their children's spiritual development. Conversely, only 27% of parents said they were not very or not at all concerned about their childrens spiritual development. The survey broke the respondents down into three categories: practicing Christian parents, Christian parents, and non-Christian parents. It classified Christians who have attended a worship service within the past month and strongly agree their faith is important to their life as practicing Christians. A majority of practicing Christian parents (51%) reported feeling very concerned about their childrens spiritual development, followed by 33% who were somewhat concerned, 9% who were not very concerned and 7% who were not at all concerned. Similarly, 80% of Christian parents were either very or somewhat concerned about their childrens spiritual development, while only 20% were either not very or not at all worried. Non-Christian parents had the lowest level of concern about their childrens spiritual health among the three groups, with 27% telling pollsters that they were very concerned about their childrens spiritual development and an additional 31% identifying themselves as somewhat concerned. The remainder of non-Christian parents were either not very (18%) or not at all (25%) concerned about their childrens spiritual development. Practicing Christians also had the highest level of concern about their children staying true to their faith among the three groups surveyed. A solid majority of practicing Christians (58%) asserted that they were very concerned about whether their children would stay true to their spiritual faith, while an additional 28% were somewhat concerned. The share of practicing Christian parents characterizing themselves as not very or not at all concerned was measured at 8% and 6%, respectively. A plurality of self-identified Christian parents (43%) reported feeling very concerned about their children staying true to their faith, followed by 33% who were somewhat concerned, 16% who were not very concerned and 8% who were not at all concerned. A plurality of non-Christian parents (32%) maintained that they were not at all concerned about their children abandoning their faith, followed by 29% who listed themselves as somewhat concerned, 26% very concerned and 13% not at all concerned. Among U.S. parents as a whole, 38% described themselves as very concerned about the possibility of their children abandoning the faith, while an additional 32% said they were somewhat concerned. The share of U.S. parents who were not very or not at all concerned about their children were each measured at 15%. The survey also asked parents about their level of concern surrounding their childrens ability to make meaningful relationships with other children. A plurality of U.S. parents (48%) said that they were very concerned about their childrens ability to form meaningful relationships with their peers and an additional 35% identified themselves as somewhat concerned. The remaining parents were either not very (11%) or not at all (5%) concerned about their childrens ability to form interpersonal relationships with others in their age group. Concerns about their childrens ability to develop relationships with their peers united all parents, regardless of their faith background. The share of parents who felt very concerned about their childrens ability to make friends was measured at 50% among practicing Christians, 43% among self-identified Christians and 54% among non-Christians. Those who were somewhat concerned about their children making friends included 35% of practicing Christian parents, 37% of Christian parents and 34% of non-Christian parents. Eleven percent of practicing Christians said they were not very concerned about their childrens social lives, along with 13% of self-identified Christians and 9% of non-Christian parents. Seven percent of self-identified Christians were not at all concerned about their childrens ability to make friends, as were 4% of practicing Christians and 3% of non-Christians. TikTok pastor declares Jesus isnt the only way to salvation Jesus isnt the only way to salvation, insists TikTok pastor Brandan Robertson, whos progressive preaching on the Chinese-owned and video-focused social networking service has reached millions. Aided by animated head movement and a fast-paced tone captured by webcam, Robertsons concise video messages clock in at under a minute. More than 187,000 accounts follow him on the TikTok platform; his individual videos total more than 4.4 million likes. Last June he was featured in Rolling Stones annual Hot List for his LGBT advocacy. Its a lot for a message that intentionally contains little. If God is infinite, eternal and indescribable and uncontainable, no religion can contain God. Indeed no words can contain God, Robertsons declares as someone whos always on a journey in a March 24 video. A graduate of Moody Bible Institute and onetime parishioner of the Anglican Church in North Americas Chicago-based Greenhouse church planting movement, Robertson illustrates a well-worn trajectory for evangelicals who squish on sexual ethics, ultimately jettisoning from their beliefs an orthodoxy that first became optional and now is proscribed. Much of Robertsons content originates from progressive Christian theologians active across the past century. Those messages were largely relegated to declining Mainline Protestant seminaries, their once-stately campuses sapped of evangelistic vigor by universalism and their missionary fervor diverted to a preoccupation with social activism. Writings of Progressive Christian theologians like Walter Brueggeman, Marcus Borg and John Shelby Spong have lost much of their following in recent decades, but Robertson, an ordained pastor with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and a graduate of the liberal United Methodist affiliated Iliff School of Theology saw an opening to repackage their scriptural interpretations into short, rapidly paced clips that lend themselves to browsing and sharing. Robertsons tutelage as a self-styled public theologian seems light years from evangelical Christianity: Jesus isnt the only way to salvation. Hell doesnt exist. He doesnt know what happened after the crucifixion. Robertson offers a reductionist message effectively whittled down to the golden rule: Christs command to Love your neighbor as yourself supersedes Gods call to personal holiness and Jesus repeated warnings about the reality of hell and the devil. I dont believe in hell, yet I choose to follow Jesus because I know it blesses my life and the world around me, Robertson shared March 15 in a TikTok video. In some cases, however, Robertsons message could only proceed out of an American evangelicalism centered upon individual relationship with God, one that ejects centuries of Christian life rooted in corporate worship and anchored to the Apostles, Nicene and Athanasian creeds. Asked by a viewer if he needs to go to church, believe a creed, or partake in a sacrament to be saved, Robertson replied in a March 17 video that the answer is very deep, the answer is no. Robertson also has his detractors, with which he invites disagreement and further online engagement. I dont know Brandan well at all. But years ago, he was insistent of his evangelical bona fides alongside his support for gay marriage. It always leads to whats below, tweeted Andrew T. Walker of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a fellow at the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). You cannot sever ethics and remain theologically orthodox. We think we can, but theyre packaged together. I dont know Brandan well at all. But years ago, he was insistent of his evangelical bona fides alongside his support for gay marriage. It always leads to whats below. You cannot sever ethics and remain theologically orthodox. We think we can, but theyre packaged together. https://t.co/6Kle1LQhgD Andrew T. Walker (@andrewtwalk) March 28, 2022 My IRD colleague Chelsen Vicari followed Robertsons evolution beginning in 2014. In 2015, she watched Robertson tout the Evangelical title as he advocated for same-sex marriage. Later, he defined himself as Christianish, and by 2018 was calling himself a gay Renegade Reverend rethinking sin as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Today Robertson claims the title Christian agnostic, and publicly affirms practices that significantly deviate from what the church has historically understood to be appropriate. Your relationships are holy, Robertson told those who are in an open or polyamorous relationship at his then-congregation of Missiongathering Christian Church, affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in San Diego, California in 2018. They are beautiful and they are welcomed and celebrated in this space. For most people, sex before marriage is a healthy expression of the gift of sexuality and is not sinful or morally wrong, Robertson later told Huffington Post the same year. Much of that may seem passe by now, Robertson tracing his path from, but no longer rooted in, historic Christianity. I dont know the absolute truth about the nature of reality or our universe, Robertson shared on a recent video. God is bigger than our boxes or ideas. Originally published at Juicy Ecumenism. Jeff Walton is Communications Manager for the Institute on Religion & Democracy and directs the Anglican program. He graduated in 2001 from Seattle Pacific University and is a member of Restoration Anglican Church in Arlington, VA. World Vision helps evacuees from war-torn Ukraine as hundreds take shelter in Romanian office building A Romanian office building has been converted into space to house 450 refugees a night as the Romanian Orthodox Church and an international humanitarian organization respond to the mass exodus of Ukrainians from their homes as Russian troops ravage the country. Edgar Sandoval, the CEO of World Vision, was recently in Romania to assess the organization's efforts to minister to Ukrainians who were forced to flee their homes amid Russia's invasion of their country and shared what he witnessed in an interview with The Christian Post. Despite the challenges that come with providing food, clothing and shelter for hundreds or even thousands of refugees, Sandoval praised the generosity of the Romanian community, recalling that during a visit to the Romanian city of Iasi, he saw this office building that had been completely refurbished into a shelter and everything inside the shelter had been provided by the community. He told CP that the shelter included everything from beds, mattresses, sheets, blankets, pillows [and] toys provided by the generosity of the community. That office space could host 450 refugees per night, but then they also need to continue to pay for the electricity as well as showers and this is where World Vision comes in, he said. Weve been partnering alongside them by providing the utilities, hygiene kits, laundry and shower facilities. The exodus of people continues to just increase and so this has become the fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II, Sandoval said of the challenges Europe is facing to help the millions of Ukrainians seeking refuge in neighboring countries. An estimated over 3 million people have already fled Ukraine to bordering countries, he added. I was at two border points, one with Moldova and one with Ukraine. And what I saw was just strings of people coming through, some of them walking, some of them with nothing but the clothes on their back, some with a suitcase. Sandoval said that one day at the border crossing in the town of Siret, 15,000 people came through. He lamented that the situation continues to get worse as the conflict increases. He contrasted the refugee crisis in Eastern Europe with those he had experienced in the past. In the current crisis, those fleeing Ukraine are in transit because they want their final destination to be in Western Europe. They stop in Romania on the way, he added, because its so cold and they need a place where they can safely stay for a couple of nights. They need food, they need showers [and] warm clothing," he said. "The vast majority of the people crossing are women and young children, and very young children at that. Sandoval discussed World Visions efforts to create child-friendly spaces that amount to a little daycare setting in a shelter where there are toys and activities where kids can be kids again as we try to mitigate any sort of psychosocial effects that the conflict may have on them. In his conversations with refugees, Sandoval has learned that many have friends and family in Western Europe, which explains why they see the region as their ultimate destination. He shared a conversation he'd had with a father who has a 16-year-old son with special needs. They were staying at the office building that had been converted into a shelter. The mans sister works as a maid in Italy, and she had come to Romania to help them find their way there. While Sandoval predicts that most Ukrainian refugees will move on to Western Europe after a stop in Romania, he's awaiting more clarity on how many refugees will actually stay in Romania. He spoke of a plan being developed to make sure that children can continue their education and obtain all the support services to the families who choose to remain in the Eastern European country. Sandoval said the Romanian Orthodox Church is one of World Visions partners on the ground working to provide information and [meet] the needs of these refugees. Specifically, the Romanian Orthodox Church is coordinating medical supply donations for Ukrainian hospitals. The World Vision CEO told CP that the demographic makeup of the refugees has changed over time. He suggested that the people who left Ukraine at the beginning of the Ukraine-Russia conflict had more means because they were leaving in their own cars. More recently, most refugees are coming with nothing but the clothes on their backs. World Vision has plans to expand its response to the Ukraine-Russia conflict into other Eastern European countries. We are in the process of evaluating partners in Moldova and also in Poland as we expect the longer this conflict continues, the more people well expect will want to find refuge and cross the border," Sandoval said. "So were evaluating what may be needed to support refugees in Moldova, to support them in Poland, and then well need to continue our operation and strengthen our operation in Romania. World Vision has raised over $8 million for the Ukraine crisis so far. Having seen the difference that the donations from the U.S. are making for the refugees, Sandoval asked American Christians to continue praying for this conflict and to donate because the needs are increasing and we want to be able to be there for the people of Ukraine at the time of their greatest need. home World Pastor, 3 others killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria: reports Suspected Fulani herdsmen shot to death four people, including a pastor and two women in two separate attacks in Benue State on Tuesday, according to Nigerian media reports. Pastor John Ajav of the Pentecostal network Deeper Life Church was killed in Waku village while he was on his way to a church program Tuesday morning, Vanguard reported. Additionally, three farmers were said to have been killed on the same day while they were working on their farms in the Nyiev Council Ward area. All the killings reportedly occurred in the Guma local government area. Confirming the attacks, Tivlumun Nyitse, the chief of staff to Benue Gov. Samuel Ortom, who is from the area where the incidents occurred, wrote on his Facebook page that it was a very sad day. We lost Pastor John Torbee Ajav this morning to some Fulani marauders who shot him on his way to Gbajimba to attend a religious function, he wrote, according to Vanguard and the daily newspaper The Punch. The late John was a pastor with the Deeper Life Bible Church, Umenger. May the Lord receive his soul with mercy. The Christian Post reached out to Deeper Life Christian Ministry for comment on Ajavs reported killing. A response is pending. The killings come as there has been an increase in attacks by suspected Fulani radicals against farming communities in Nigerias Middle Belt states in recent years that have reportedly led to thousands of deaths. The herdsmen involved in Tuesdays attack in Benue reportedly came from neighboring Nasarawa state. These terrorists have continued to attack and kill our people for no reason whatsoever, Caleb Abah, the Chairman of Guma local government area, was quoted as saying. On March 17, heavily armed Fulani herdsmen attacked Agunu Dutse village in Kachia County in Kaduna state shortly after midnight, abducting at least 46 Christians and their children, Morning Star News reported. In a separate attack two days later, more than 100 herdsmen and Islamist terrorists killed 32 civilians in Kagoro town in Kaura County. Weapons are being made available to militants in Nigeria by way of war-torn Libya. And in the countrys northeast region, the terrorist groups Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have killed thousands and displaced millions in recent years. The U.S.-based persecution watchdog group International Christian Concern warns that the Nigerian government continues to deny any religious motivation behind the attacks. The Nigerian government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, who comes from a Fulani background, attributes the violence in the Middle Belt states to decades-old farmer-herder clashes. However, Christian human rights advocates have accused the government of overlooking religious elements and not doing enough to protect Nigerian citizens. Last year, the U.S. State Department removed Nigeria from its list of countries of particular concern for tolerating or engaging in egregious violations of religious liberty after it was placed on the list in 2020 by the Trump administration. The removal of Nigeria from the list drew backlash from some human rights activists. Many have raised concerns about what they perceive as the governments inaction in holding terrorists accountable for the rising number of murders and kidnappings, which some groups warn have reached the level of genocide. ICC identified Nigeria as one of its 2021 Persecutors of the Year. Nigeria is one of the deadliest places on Earth for Christians, as 50,000 to 70,000 have been killed since 2000, the ICC Persecutor of the Year report states. Open Doors USA, which monitors persecution in over 60 countries, reported that at least 4,650 Christians were killed between Oct. 1, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2021. That is an increase from 3,530 the previous year. Additionally, more than 2,500 Christians were kidnapped, up from 990 a year earlier. Originally posted on The Christian Post. Shanghai starts 2nd phase of closed-off management against COVID-19 Xinhua) 08:17, April 02, 2022 A medical worker takes a swab sample from a woman for nucleic acid test in Changning District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. Shanghai has launched a nucleic acid testing campaign in areas west of the Huangpu River from Friday amid the second phase of the city's closed-off management. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) SHANGHAI, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. The megacity in east China on Monday began its two-phase enforcement of temporary closed-off management to track possible infections and curb the spread of the virus. Mass nucleic acid testing in areas including those on the east of the Huangpu River started Monday. Shanghai has also tightened its virus control measures and encouraged its residents not to leave the city unless necessary. From Saturday, people leaving the city will have to either show a negative nucleic acid test result within 48 hours together with a negative antigen testing result within 24 hours, or present a negative nucleic acid test within 24 hours. Shanghai reported 358 confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 4,144 asymptomatic carriers on Thursday, Wu Jinglei, director of the Shanghai municipal health commission, told a press conference on Friday. Community workers guide local residents to do nucleic acid test in Changning District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. Shanghai has launched a nucleic acid testing campaign in areas west of the Huangpu River from Friday amid the second phase of the city's closed-off management. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Community workers inform residents to come for nucleic acid test in Changning District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. Shanghai has launched a nucleic acid testing campaign in areas west of the Huangpu River from Friday amid the second phase of the city's closed-off management. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) A medical worker takes a swab sample from a woman for nucleic acid test in Putuo District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Chen Fei) Volunteers guide residents to do nucleic acid test in Putuo District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Chen Fei) A medical worker takes a swab sample from a little girl for nucleic acid test in Minhang District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Ren Long) Medical staff take swab samples from residents for nucleic acid test in Putuo District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Chen Fei) Aerial photo taken on the early morning of April 1, 2022 shows areas west of the Huangpu River in east China's Shanghai. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Photo by Yang Fan/Xinhua) A medical worker takes a swab sample from a boy for nucleic acid test in Songjiang District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Liu Ying) Residents queue to do nucleic acid test at a community in Hongkou District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Photo by Yang Fan/Xinhua) A staff member registers information of a resident to do nucleic acid test at a residential community in Minhang District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Ren Long) Medical staff take swab samples from residents for nucleic acid test at a residential community in Songjiang District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Liu Ying) A volunteer works at a nucleic acid testing site within a residential community in Songjiang District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Liu Ying) A medical worker takes a swab sample from a resident for nucleic acid test in Changning District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. Shanghai has launched a nucleic acid testing campaign in areas west of the Huangpu River from Friday amid the second phase of the city's closed-off management. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Community workers guide local residents to do nucleic acid test in Changning District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. Shanghai has launched a nucleic acid testing campaign in areas west of the Huangpu River from Friday amid the second phase of the city's closed-off management. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) A community worker helps local residents register information before nucleic acid test in Changning District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. Shanghai has launched a nucleic acid testing campaign in areas west of the Huangpu River from Friday amid the second phase of the city's closed-off management. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Community workers inform residents to come for nucleic acid test in Changning District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. Shanghai has launched a nucleic acid testing campaign in areas west of the Huangpu River from Friday amid the second phase of the city's closed-off management. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) A medical worker takes a swab sample from a woman for nucleic acid test in Changning District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. Shanghai has launched a nucleic acid testing campaign in areas west of the Huangpu River from Friday amid the second phase of the city's closed-off management. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) A medical worker takes a swab sample from a senior citizen for nucleic acid test in Changning District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. Shanghai has launched a nucleic acid testing campaign in areas west of the Huangpu River from Friday amid the second phase of the city's closed-off management. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) A medical worker takes a swab sample from a man for nucleic acid test in Changning District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. Shanghai has launched a nucleic acid testing campaign in areas west of the Huangpu River from Friday amid the second phase of the city's closed-off management. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) A community worker makes phone calls to arrange vegetables delivery at a residential community during night time in east China's Shanghai, March 31, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Community workers pack vegetables at a residential community during night time in east China's Shanghai, March 31, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Volunteers prepare for a nucleic acid testing campaign at a residential community during night time in east China's Shanghai, March 31, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) A medical worker prepares to do nucleic acid test in the night time at Minhang District of east China's Shanghai, March 31, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Liu Ying) A staff member delivers vegetables at a residential community during night time in east China's Shanghai, March 31, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Photo taken on March 31, 2022 shows a big screen displaying "I Love Shanghai" in Chinese at the Bund in east China's Shanghai. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Local residents come to a hospital to do nucleic acid test in the night time at Minhang District of east China's Shanghai, March 31, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Liu Ying) Staff process pepper at a vegetable warehouse in the early morning in east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Ding Ting) A nurse checks on the location of an ambulance online at Ruijin Hospital in east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Yuan Quan) Photo taken on March 31, 2022 shows the night view of the Bund in east China's Shanghai. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Chen Fei) A man rides a motorcycle is seen on Jiujiang Road during night time in east China's Shanghai, March 31, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Chen Fei) Staff process broccoli at a vegetable warehouse in the early morning in east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022. The second phase of closed-off management in Shanghai has come into force in areas west of the Huangpu River on Friday amid a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, according to local authorities. As scheduled, nucleic acid testing will be held from Friday to April 5 for around 16 million people, and 12 districts will be put under temporary closed-off management. (Xinhua/Ding Ting) (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) home World World Vision helps evacuees from war-torn Ukraine as hundreds take shelter in Romanian office building A Romanian office building has been converted into space to house 450 refugees a night as the Romanian Orthodox Church and an international humanitarian organization respond to the mass exodus of Ukrainians from their homes as Russian troops ravage the country. Edgar Sandoval, the CEO of World Vision, was recently in Romania to assess the organization's efforts to minister to Ukrainians who were forced to flee their homes amid Russia's invasion of their country and shared what he witnessed in an interview with The Christian Post. Despite the challenges that come with providing food, clothing and shelter for hundreds or even thousands of refugees, Sandoval praised the generosity of the Romanian community, recalling that during a visit to the Romanian city of Iasi, he saw this office building that had been completely refurbished into a shelter and everything inside the shelter had been provided by the community. He told CP that the shelter included everything from beds, mattresses, sheets, blankets, pillows [and] toys provided by the generosity of the community. That office space could host 450 refugees per night, but then they also need to continue to pay for the electricity as well as showers and this is where World Vision comes in, he said. Weve been partnering alongside them by providing the utilities, hygiene kits, laundry and shower facilities. The exodus of people continues to just increase and so this has become the fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II, Sandoval said of the challenges Europe is facing to help the millions of Ukrainians seeking refuge in neighboring countries. An estimated over 3 million people have already fled Ukraine to bordering countries, he added. I was at two border points, one with Moldova and one with Ukraine. And what I saw was just strings of people coming through, some of them walking, some of them with nothing but the clothes on their back, some with a suitcase. Sandoval said that one day at the border crossing in the town of Siret, 15,000 people came through. He lamented that the situation continues to get worse as the conflict increases. He contrasted the refugee crisis in Eastern Europe with those he had experienced in the past. In the current crisis, those fleeing Ukraine are in transit because they want their final destination to be in Western Europe. They stop in Romania on the way, he added, because its so cold and they need a place where they can safely stay for a couple of nights. They need food, they need showers [and] warm clothing," he said. "The vast majority of the people crossing are women and young children, and very young children at that. Sandoval discussed World Visions efforts to create child-friendly spaces that amount to a little daycare setting in a shelter where there are toys and activities where kids can be kids again as we try to mitigate any sort of psychosocial effects that the conflict may have on them. In his conversations with refugees, Sandoval has learned that many have friends and family in Western Europe, which explains why they see the region as their ultimate destination. He shared a conversation he'd had with a father who has a 16-year-old son with special needs. They were staying at the office building that had been converted into a shelter. The mans sister works as a maid in Italy, and she had come to Romania to help them find their way there. While Sandoval predicts that most Ukrainian refugees will move on to Western Europe after a stop in Romania, he's awaiting more clarity on how many refugees will actually stay in Romania. He spoke of a plan being developed to make sure that children can continue their education and obtain all the support services to the families who choose to remain in the Eastern European country. Sandoval said the Romanian Orthodox Church is one of World Visions partners on the ground working to provide information and [meet] the needs of these refugees. Specifically, the Romanian Orthodox Church is coordinating medical supply donations for Ukrainian hospitals. The World Vision CEO told CP that the demographic makeup of the refugees has changed over time. He suggested that the people who left Ukraine at the beginning of the Ukraine-Russia conflict had more means because they were leaving in their own cars. More recently, most refugees are coming with nothing but the clothes on their backs. World Vision has plans to expand its response to the Ukraine-Russia conflict into other Eastern European countries. We are in the process of evaluating partners in Moldova and also in Poland as we expect the longer this conflict continues, the more people well expect will want to find refuge and cross the border," Sandoval said. "So were evaluating what may be needed to support refugees in Moldova, to support them in Poland, and then well need to continue our operation and strengthen our operation in Romania. World Vision has raised over $8 million for the Ukraine crisis so far. Having seen the difference that the donations from the U.S. are making for the refugees, Sandoval asked American Christians to continue praying for this conflict and to donate because the needs are increasing and we want to be able to be there for the people of Ukraine at the time of their greatest need. Originally published on The Christian Post. A Tesla Model 3 crashed into the roof of an ambulance in California Wednesday morning, resulting in at least three people inside the vehicle being hospitalized. KGTV in San Diego reports that the crash took place at around 9:30 a.m. in the Kearny Mesa neighborhood of the city, just outside a Kaiser Permanente hospital. The driver inside the Model 3 was pulling into a parking spot, KGTV reported, but ran the accelerator by accident. Officials told KSWB in San Diego that the driver likely went forward instead of reversing into the spot, officials said. In doing so, the driver drove past the lot, through a metal fence on an embankment and crashed into the roof of the ambulance, which was parked, KSWB reported. Three people, all of whom were inside the car, were injured, said the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department on Twitter Wednesday. The two passengers were immediately transported to the hospital; the driver initially opted against it before being transported. All were told to stay inside the car until they could be rescued, KSWB said. Fortunately, no one outside of the car was injured, the department said. But the real challenge was extricating the Tesla from the ambulance without causing a fire, KGTV reported. Because of the location of the battery on the Tesla Model 3 just below the cars seats responders were worried that towing the vehicle regularly would have set the car on fire. The car was eventually lifted off the ambulance by the departments technical rescue crew. This article was first published on NerdWallet.com. Easy account sign-ups, no monthly fees and high savings rates? Neobanks such as Chime and Current offer these features while many traditional banks dont. Neobanks are financial tech companies that usually partner with banks to offer digital-only accounts. Theyve been around for a little over a decade only, but theyre gaining traction. About 1 in 3 Americans has a relationship with a neobank, according to a 2022 annual report by the banking advisory firm Javelin Strategy & Research. However, only 26% of neobank users open an account to replace their primary bank, and 90% of that same group use one of the 20 biggest banks as their primary bank, according to senior analyst Dylan Lerner. If youre considering a neobank as a primary or additional place to manage your money, learn about its limits and risks beforehand and answer these five questions. 1. Do you mind if its not a bank? Neobanks, by and large, are not banks themselves. And they dont need to be to protect your money. Most neobanks partner with licensed banks to offer deposit accounts insured through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. FDIC insurance guarantees that you receive your money back up to $250,000 if the bank or company goes bankrupt. Many neobanks also offer debit cards that belong to the Visa or Mastercard payment network. Both have robust protections in case someone makes an unauthorized charge on a card. Tip: Double-check the neobanks partner bank. A neobank discloses this on its website or mobile app. Then, verify that the bank is real by using the FDICs BankFind tool. In rare cases, a neobank is a licensed bank such as Varo Bank and Green Dots GO2bank though their mobile-focused account offerings are more like those of other neobanks than traditional banks. 2. Can you mostly bank on a mobile app? A mobile app is the core of a neobanks experience, where youd make transfers, pay bills, view transactions, receive direct deposits and more. A neobank with a checking account or the equivalent usually mails a debit card, but being branchless means that cash and check services are limited or not available. In offering an easy, affordable banking experience, you also have to expect that comes with some sacrifices [in] functionality," Lerner says. Neobanks usually lack some traditional bank services, such as wire transfers, cashiers checks and joint accounts. A neobank wont offer physical checkbooks but might deliver checks. However, neobanks mobile check deposit services, if available, might not accept checks above certain dollar amounts. Some providers will let you add cash to an account at various retailers such as CVS and Walgreens, but for a fee. And although many neobanks offer free access to a third-party ATM network for cash withdrawals, those ATMs can be hard to spot since they dont have a neobanks branding. Tip: See how a neobank handles cash, checks or other services you may need by checking its FAQs or contacting customer support. 3. What customer support channels does it have? A neobank may offer help through a phone line or live chat service, and if so, check the hours and days of operation. For nonurgent questions, try searching a neobanks FAQs or emailing. One of the biggest jumps from a traditional bank to a neobank is the lack of branches. About 83% of U.S. households spoke to a bank teller or other staff at a branch within a year, according to a 2019 FDIC survey. The pandemic accelerated a trend toward more people using digital banking, but a branch can give a personal touch when a complicated issue arises. Tip: Check Twitter as another place where companies may respond to customers. 4. How would this neobank improve your banking? As tech companies, neobanks want to provide a better experience for an existing product bank accounts, in this case. Some neobanks may have a central mission that appeals to a specific community, such as Black Americans or people with disabilities. And most neobanks build out features traditional banks dont normally have. "[The] fintech space with its ability to be more innovative and nimble has found some niches in the types of consumer needs that bigger institutions dont address, says Marisa Walster, vice president of financial services solutions at the Financial Health Network. Neobanks such as Chime and Varo have up to two-day early direct deposit, which can ease worries about cash flow for some people. And many dont charge overdraft fees if balances go negative. Big banks have begun dropping such fees, and at least one started offering early direct deposit, years after neobanks had them. But neobanks usually dont offer all the types of loans or accounts a bank does, and the companies may change over time. Fees can get added, and some neobanks even close. For example, the German-based neobank N26 shut down its U.S. operations after two years. Tip: Consider general pros and cons of neobanks compared with traditional banks. Learn more about how to choose where to bank. 5. What do customers say about the neobank? Look for patterns about the good and the bad in user reviews. Check the average ratings of the mobile apps in the iOS or Android store as well as various review websites. Are there delays to get a hold of someone? Does the app have glitches? Take in recent reviews as helpful data points within reason since you dont know how common some scenarios might be. Research into complaints to see if other consumers have had problems and how those were resolved, says Marisabel Torres, director of California policy at the Center for Responsible Lending. A helpful resource might be the Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus complaint database for the most popular neobanks or parent companies. Tip: Be on the lookout for how a neobank resolves fraud claims. Having easy sign-up processes can result in easier identity theft attempts, according to a 2019 report by the National Consumer Law Center. And ultimately, know what to do if a neobank closes your account. Neobanks have promise in making digital banking easier, but they cant offer everything. Disclaimers from Chime: Chime says: Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by, and debit card issued by, The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A.; Members FDIC. Cash withdrawal and third-party fees may apply. Early Access to direct deposit funds depends on payer. Spencer Tierney writes for NerdWallet. Email: spencer.tierney@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @SpencerNerd. The article 5 Things to Ask Before Opening an Account at a Neobank originally appeared on NerdWallet. Seven years ago, photographer Alison Narro found bluebonnet nirvana. Sent a pin drop on Google Maps by a friend, she was told that out in Horseshoe Bay, about 45 minutes from her home in Austin, was an endless field thick with the Texas' state flower. Because Central Texas was near the end of a drought in the Colorado River watershed, certain portions of the bed around Lake Travis were exposed. On some of those beds grew bluebonnets as far as the eye could see, Narro was told. So she called her friends Dave and Bonnie Mead, who told their two children to get dressed. It was time to grab the most outrageous bluebonnet pictures they could. A time-honored Texas tradition. As they pulled into Horseshoe Bay, though, they didn't see a single blooming flower. A woman in the area told them to turn a corner, and they'd find what they were looking for. "All we see is dead stuff," Narro responded. "Just go around the corner," the woman reiterated. Alison Narro As they wound around Horseshoe Bay, they came upon a rolling field of bluebonnets, ironically made possible only by nature's cruel trick. "It was mind-blowing," Narro says. "You see small patches of bluebonnets, and they're beautiful, but this was an entire field. We were in disbelief." Alison Narro Though the field is likely back underwater for now and fields like it are a rare find it is possible to find growths of bluebonnets other than the sparse strips on the side of the highway. Narro says that's the key to any good bluebonnet photoshoot: asking friends for hotspots, driving around, and being OK with striking out a few times. "You really have to do research to make that magic happen," she says. Alison Narro Because bluebonnets grow so low to the ground and are spread out on public lands, Narro says you have to get out of your comfort zone. Even locations that are normally good can have off years due to a bad season or changing climate. And some hyped-up bluebonnet locales are overrated. "People think St. Edwards is a great spot, but it's not. It's difficult to photograph." Narro says. "If you want that lush photo with your kids, surrounded by bluebonnets, you have to become a location scout." Margaret Isensee is an architecture and landscape photographer based in San Antonio. She agrees that research is key in capturing the best bluebonnet photos. Members of various photography groups to which she belongs will mention a patch nearby, or friends will tell her that there's a good grouping of bluebonnets near their church. Sometimes she and her husband just drive around the countryside searching for a good spot. "It is kind of hit or miss," she says. "There'll be a lot one area and then there might not be any in another area. You're going to have to have patience." Isensee also says that a lot of the best bluebonnet fields are on private land. Once, during the early days of the pandemic, she and her husband parked off the side of the road on the Willow City Loop, a scenic Hill Country Drive. Not thinking anything of it, they hopped out to get some good bluebonnet shots. "And then all of a sudden we hear this yelling: 'Hey, that's our property! Get off!" Her advice is to make sure there are no "no trespassing" signs before assuming that it's fine to trample over the land to get a picture. If you do find that your bluebonnet spot is on private land, she says, there are a few workarounds. "You can take pictures from the side of the road," she says. "Or even go up to a house, just knock on the door and say, 'Excuse me, do you mind if I take some pictures? Some people may say no, but I think people will be a little bit more OK if you announce who you are." In people's haste to hop out and take photos guerilla-style, by the side of the road, Isensee offers some further caution. "If you're in a park, stay on the path. If you don't, you may damage other plants and creatures," she says. "Another thing is to watch out for holes or other things buried in the grass. Look out for wild animals, like snakes, and thorny plants. It's probably good to wear long pants and good footwear to give you protection." Alison Narro Narro is still astounded by the abundant field of bluebonnets she came upon many years ago. But because she hit the jackpot in such a major way, she doesn't do many bluebonnet photo shoots anymore. "I don't do them because of that expectation," she says, of her 2015 set. "I'll probably never see anything like that again." WASHINGTON U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a moderate Democrat from Laredo, broke with his party to vote against a landmark marijuana legalization bill on Friday that passed in the House. Only one other Democrat voted against it. Cuellar, who is currently in a fierce runoff for his 10th term against progressive attorney Jessica Cisneros, has long infuriated progressive Democrats with his conservative positions on many social issues. The Laredo politician opposes abortion and was the lone Democrat to vote against federal abortion rights legislation last fall. Cuellars spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The bill named the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act removes marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances and eliminates criminal penalties for people who possess, manufacture and distribute the drug. It also prohibits the denial of federal benefits and protections to people with marijuana-related conduct or offenses. The bill would also establish a process to expunge from peoples records non-violent cannabis crimes. Many Democrats especially progressives have long argued those arrests disproportionately affect people of color and low-income communities. The 220-204 vote included all Texas representatives besides Cuellar voting along party lines. One other Democrat, U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, also voted against the bill. Three Republicans out of 209 voted with Democrats to pass the bill. The legislation has bleak odds to become law. It now heads to the evenly-divided Senate and would need significant Republican support to receive the 60 votes necessary to pass. A similar bill passed the Democratic-controlled House in Dec. 2020 but stalled in the upper chamber. Cuellar is headed into a late-May runoff election with Cisneros after he just missed the majority threshold necessary to win his March primary outright. Outside the Democratic primary, Republicans are on the offensive in South Texas and are hoping to flip several blue seats including Cuellars in the November election. "It is shameful that, in 2022, Henry Cuellar is still siding with Republicans to criminalize marijuana," Cisneros said in an emailed statement. "As an immigration attorney, I've seen firsthand how the War on Drugs and our criminal system disproportionately punishes Black and brown people in America. Ive seen how criminalization has led to torn families, deportations, and loss of jobs and housing." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who on Thursday spoke in support of the bill at her weekly press conference, said she still supports Cuellar during a visit to Austin in late March. The congressman is also embroiled in an ongoing FBI investigation after the agency raided his house in January. We cant wait to welcome you in person and online to the 2022 Texas Tribune Festival, our multiday celebration of big, bold ideas about politics, public policy and the days news all taking place just steps away from the Texas Capitol from Sept. 22-24. When tickets go on sale in May, Tribune members will save big. Donate to join or renew today. The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org. MECOSTA COUNTY Senator Joanne Emmons, who represented Mecosta County and the surrounding area in the Michigan Legislature for 16 years, died on Thursday. Emmons represented Mecosta County as part of the 23rd and 35th Senate District from 1991 to 2002, and as State Representative for the 99th District from 1987 to 1990. Senator Rick Outman, who represents the 33rd Senate District, which includes much of the same area Emmons represented, told the Pioneer that she was a good friend, a great mentor and a remarkable stateswoman. As I got to know her, we would talk a lot about politics and how you represent your people and what your priorities should be, Outman said. One thing I know about her is that the people of her district were always her number one priority in everything she did down there (in Lansing). In every decision she made, she definitely had a face in front of her mind of someone from her district and that it was relevant to them. In addition, he said, Emmons was always willing to help those who would follow in her footsteps. The reason she was so involved in helping those that followed her was because she knew how important it was to have good service to the area, he said. She took a vested interest in them because she had a stake in the claim. She wanted them to be represented well. Former Senator Judy Emmons no relation echoed those same sentiments saying Emmons was very much the stateswoman and was very valuable to her in her first election to the state House of Representatives. She went on to explain that it was her first campaign and things werent coming together as well as they could have, so Joannes husband John took some old signs from Joannes first campaign and repainted them with Judys name and spread them all around the district. It was remarkable that they would go to that much trouble, and it was quite a story back then, Judy Emmons said. People still confuse the two of us, but it has never bothered me and I never dispute it. It was no offense ever. In fact, it was quite an honor. She was just a great person to have in my corner and I tried to pattern my legislative career after her. Outman and Judy Emmons both agreed that knowing Joanne Emmons was of great benefit to their own work in the legislature. It was always fun to talk to her because she had such a vast knowledge of everything that happened before and that is important to someone like me in the day and age of term limits, Outman said. I dont always know why some laws were put in place, what the ramifications were or what the impetus for them was. She could walk me through that and tell me why things happened the way they did." Judy Emmons added, The thing about her is the invaluable history that she had of why certain legislation was passed and how it came to be, the deals that were made up to that point to get the votes. That is so valuable when you have term limits. The information she could share and the perspective she gave was really invaluable to us." Emmons' work on boards and committees In addition to her legislative career, Emmons served a numerous boards and committees including: Mecosta County Republican Committee; The 10th District Republican Executive Committee; Big Rapids Industrial Development Corporation; Michigan Township Board of Directors; Michigan Municipal Treasurer's Association Board; Central Michigan Mental Health Board; West Michigan Health Systems Mental Health Planning Commission; Area Agency on Aging Advisory Board; West Michigan Health Systems areawide review commission; and Lutheran Child and Family Services Board of Directors. See More Collapse "She was always good with advice and insight on the issues that were facing the townships and counties and she knew the people in local government," she continued. "She was the go-to person for any insights and her memory was fantastic. Longtime family friend, Pat Currie said the late Emmons was pioneer as a woman in Big Rapids, citing her work with the Big Rapids Township and St. Peters Church and School, as well as her overwhelming victory in the House and Senate elections. She was very much involved with the Big Rapids Township in making what it is today, Currie said. Then she ran for state representative and was the underdog and wound up winning with overwhelming support from Mecosta County. She was just a wonderful lady, and we were grateful and honored to be her friend, he added. She was very loyal to the Big Rapids community and has done so much for Mecosta County. Judy Emmons said, for her, the late Emmons' passing is a great personal loss, as well as a loss for Mecosta County and the entire area she served. "She was a great public servant in the very best sense of the word. It is a privilege to honor somebody who has had such a significant impact," she said. Outman added, She was a wonderful lady, and she is going to be missed by so many people in the community and certainly I am going to be one of them that misses her greatly. In a statement issued from his office, Congressman John Moolenaar said he was deeply saddened by the passing of Emmons and joined her family and friends in mourning the loss. "She was a dedicated public servant for almost three decades and our state is better off today because of her leadership and commitment to public service," Moolenaar said. "She provided outstanding assistance to her constituents, and she was a faithful steward of taxpayer dollars, while always fighting to defend the lives of the unborn." Emmons' accomplishments Emmons served as the Big Rapids Township treasurer for ten years, from 1976 to 1986, prior to running for state representative, and during her tenure in the Michigan Legislature, she was instrumental in procuring grant funding for the township in establishing the Big Rapids Township Industrial Park at Roben-Hood Airport, according to former Big Rapids Township clerk Vivian Smith. She was a good representative for a lot of years, Pat Currie said. She always had her ears to peoples voices and concerns. She was very well respected in Lansing and got a lot of things done that were important to the economics of Michigan. Upon leaving the Senate at the end of her term a resolution in her honor was adopted stating the Senator Joanne Emmons is bringing to close a distinguished chapter in her life of unselfish public service. The resolution recognized her for her outstanding leadership, hard work and commitment. She has devoted herself to community involvement throughout her life. She channeled her talents and energies through a host of positions in local government, numerous civic and community organizations and community boards. Her understanding of public policy and the intricacies of the legislative process propelled her to a leadership post as the Senate majority floor leader where she has been most effective, it went on to say. Emmons was born in Big Rapids and attended Mecosta High School, graduating in 1952. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics from Michigan State University and taught home economics at Mecosta High School from 1956 to 1958. She was active in St. Peters Lutheran Church, the Mecosta County Farm Bureau, the Mecosta County Right to Life and the Michigan Association of Extension Homemakers. I have known her (Joanne) my whole life. She did a tremendous job for us in Mecosta County and the rest of her district. Her heart was always here in Mecosta County, said longtime resident of Big Rapids and Emmons family friend, John Currie. SPRINGFIELD State Rep. Amy Elik, R-Fosterburg, has filed legislation to suspend a lawmakers pension if they are convicted or charged with corruption by federal investigators. Under current law, (former House Speaker Mike) Madigan will collect a taxpayer-paid pension until a guilty verdict is reached," she said. "This means Madigan could go on to collect his elected official pension for several years before its taken away. "Corrupt lawmakers should not receive a taxpayer-funded pension if they defrauded the taxpayers while serving themselves in state government," she said. "Suspending pension payments while awaiting the resolution of a case will send a strong message to corrupt politicians that if you break the law, the consequences will be costly. Since 2019, five lawmakers have been indicted for corruption while serving in the House or Senate. HB 5737 filed by Elik states any benefit or annuity payments to a lawmaker shall be suspended if the politician is indicted or charged by information with a felony and the board of the retirement system or pension fund determines that the felony relates to or arises out of or in connection with his or her service as a member or participant of the retirement system or pension fund. Current law requires the retirement system board to take action to remove a pension benefit paid to corrupt public officials upon a guilty verdict or plea. Eliks bill would remove a loophole that allows politicians to continue receiving their pension payments while awaiting the outcome of their case. This ensures that corrupt politicians wont be incentivized to delay their case in order to collect the taxpayer-funded pension. Former Illinois Governors Rod Blagojevich and George Ryan lost their taxpayer-funded pension following their corruption convictions, however, they received payments while awaiting their guilty verdict," Elik said. "My bill will take away the pension while awaiting the outcome of the case so that no perks are offered to a politician when they are found guilty in a court of law for corruption. Emily Holeva, 31, has reacquainted herself with the hometown she grew up in. After working in Louisiana, Mozambique and New York City, Holeva has realized there is a lot to love (and sometimes hate) in her hometown that has changed from what she knew. Holeva was born in Midland in 1991 and graduated from Midland High School in 2009. She graduated early from Texas Tech University with a political science degree. After college, she moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for two years to work for an oil and gas company, CB&I, in its legal department. I had a really good boss who said, I need you to go be something more, you cant just be an admin for the rest of your life, Holeva said. While at a work dinner in Houston she met the companys country manager for Mozambique. That meeting opened the door for her to work internationally. He joked with me and asked if I wanted to go work in Africa, she said. I said sure. Then two weeks later I got a letter that said I was accepted onto the government affairs team for our Mozambique project. There was a lot of culture shock, including the fact that Portuguese is the official language and it is a predominantly Muslim country, but she loved the differences. She worked with the government and local tribes, informing them about the project. Out of precaution due to the political climate -- not long after she arrived -- the company moved employees back to Houston in 2015. I studied abroad in Rome during college and I feel like leaving Midland to experience the world and other cultures is so important for our little bubble out here, she said. I love our bubble but sometimes we need to see what else is out there. Both those experiences (Mozambique and Rome) have been the biggest life lessons and learning curves for me personally. Not long after returning back to the US, Holeva got the chance to work on Hurricane Sandy relief project in New York City at the same company. She said the process of providing relief was interesting to witness. The company then went through an acquisition, and the department she worked in was dissolved. Everything was up in the air again so I decided to move back to Midland not planning on staying, she said. I thought I would come back for a month or two and figure out my next move then leave. She ended up staying in Midland and re-immersing herself into the community. I left before the boom of 2014 and so I left kind of in a bust, it was right after the housing crisis so Midland was smaller and slower, Holeva said. When I came back the town was booming, oil was good, people were prospering, there were new restaurants and stores. I was like what happened to my town? In a good way. Holeva added that Midland as a kid versus Midland as an adult is a weird line to dance across. When were kids, we think Midland is just a small town, the adults are weird and we want to get out, she said. Now, I think Midland has a lot to offer but it can be very siloed with what it offers so it's on the individual to figure out where they fit in and what they enjoy. It took some time for her to distinguish herself from the 18-year-old she used to be known as and from her parents Danny and Carla Holeva, who have always been very involved in the non-profit world of Midland. Danny has been the executive director of the Arts Council of Midland for 20 years, and Carla is currently the director of Development at American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas. I was very much my parents' child still because when you leave at 18 thats what everyone thinks you are the next time they see you even though I was 26 when I came back, she said. It is very hard for a 26-year-old to appreciate people asking if Im Dannys daughter when Im trying to make a name for myself. She said as soon as she stopped trying to differentiate herself from her parents she was able to be different. I felt like I was trying too hard to figure out how to be different, she said. A lot of the things Im passionate about go to the non-profit side, and when I was trying to find something different, I knew my dad was in the arts nonprofits and my mom was at Basin PBS at the time so I decided to go into health care nonprofits. She started working at her alma mater, Texas Tech University at the Health Sciences Center in Midland/Odessa as a marketing and communications manager. She stayed at that job for more than two years. She has now transitioned to the corporate banking world and works for Frost Bank as the Community Development officer. Midlands non-profit sector is large and expansive and there are many nonprofits to choose from when it comes to supporting a certain mission. She said becoming really picky helped her focus on which organizations and groups to put her energy towards. Holeva is more than just her job title too. She is on many committees and boards throughout Midland from the Sibley Nature Center marketing committee to the MISD Community Advisory Committee. She is currently involved as a commissioner for the city's Planning and Zoning Commission, board member for League of Women Voters of Midland, board member for United Way of Midland, board member for Midland Teen Court, on the MISD Community Advisory Committee, member of the Executive Women of Midland, graduate of Leadership Midland and is currently enrolled in Leadership Texas. Public education has been a big issue for her the last few years. Im a product of MISD and so its one of those issues where if I hear someone slam public education in Midland its hard for me to hear, she said. I fully support public education here. I think public schools should be beacons in communities. I think we should have the best teachers. I know it is more complicated than that, but the community needs to continue supporting our schools and educators, from our superintendent Dr. Ramsey to teachers and onto custodial workers. Holeva said she has a few mentors in the community who have positively affected her time here. She has known Karmen Bryant since she was 10-years-old and she has grown from someone she admires to a friend and a soul-sister in her personal and professional life. Karmen is a confidant I turn to for anything and someone I trust and aspire to be for her authenticity, community involvement, humor but most importantly her character," Holeva said. Former city councilwoman Sharla Hotchkiss has helped mentor Holeva on what her next step is, she said. I have known Sharla since I was a teenager and when I moved back, she helped me figure out how to tackle Midland as an adult, she added. Permian Basin Regional President for Frost Bank Wesley Bownds has also been a mentor to Holeva. Wesley Bownds' mentorship is a unique example of different generations coming together to solve community problems, she said. I also consider Wesley to be my friend and someone I turn to both professionally and personally when faced with a hurdle. I met Wesley when I moved back to Midland and hes been a breath of fresh air for me even though weve both been in the community forever. A lot of people think Midland has an identity issue, but Holeva thinks differently. I think Midlands identity is a mix of a hometown vibe and the good quirks that come from big city influence, she said. To come to Midland and appreciate it, people have to know they will experience big artist concerts while also being able to go to Grahams Pharmacy to eat and see your neighbors, people you go to church with and people you work with. She does think Midland sometimes has an authenticity crisis, she added. Midland is a mover and shaker, she said. A big business, a small business, what's the next type of place. I think sometimes we lose sight of being our true selves because instead we read rooms and try to socially climb instead of being ourselves, finding our pace and ultimately finding our spot and group that we need. She has witnessed a clash between the new guard and the old guard within Midland. The older generation and younger generation in Midland are kind of at odds with each other right now, Holeva said. There is this very traditional way of doing things which have worked but now that Midland has changed so much and there are groups like Midland AF that are stirring the pot and its a change but a good change. She hopes Midland will continue to open up the old ways to allow new expectations to come in and that the older generation can reach out to the younger generation to help us and merge with how things have been done. Midland is a great place for something new whether it's a restaurant, business or idea. Her advice to other millenials in Midland is to keep pushing buttons. Because I even find myself taking the easy road because its the way its always been, she said. Its refreshing to kind of ruffle the feathers. Just keep pushing buttons, keep asking for new things and forge your own path. The following are being sought on arrest warrants, according to various sheriffs departments. The addresses listed are the last known addresses provided by the warrants and may be outdated. Amanda J. Swartz, 33, of 216 W. Progress Ave., Ashland, is being sought on a warrant accusing her of failing to appear in court on a domestic battery charge. She is a white female standing 5 foot 4 and weighing 135 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. Dustin L. Chamberlain, 31, of 6130 McQueen Road, Franklin, is being sought on a warrant accusing him of failing to appear in court on a charge of driving while license is revoked. He is a white male standing 5 foot 7 and weighing 140 pounds. He has gray hair and blue eyes. Morgan County Jacksonville Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Abby R. Jouett, 25, of 145 White Hall-Hillview Road, White Hall, was booked into the Morgan County jail at 3:52 p.m. Thursday on charges of battery, domestic battery and criminal damage to property. Adam M. Besterfeldt, 43, of 370 W. Tanner St., Waverly, was arrested at 9:14 p.m. Thursday in the 200 block of East Morton Avenue on a Sangamon County warrant accusing him of violating probation. THEFTS, BURGLARIES Police are investigating a report that a man gave money to someone claiming to be a representative of the owner of a mobile home for rent but was not. About $270 worth of items were stolen from a building in the 1700 block of West Morton Avenue, according to a report filed at 12:18 p.m. Thursday. ACCIDENTS Jeffrey D. Welch, 44, of Pittsfield was cited on a charge of failing to yield after the car he was driving and one being driven by Kevin J. Williams, 41, of Jacksonville collided at 12:01 p.m. Friday at West Morton Avenue and Libby Lane. Claude D. Morris, 40, of Jacksonville was cited on charges of operating an uninsured vehicle and a violation of the Child Passenger Protection Act after the car he was driving went off the road in the 800 block of South East Street and hit an electrical utility pole about 6:20 p.m. Thursday. The driver told police he experienced mechanical issues. A boy was cited about 3:14 p.m. Thursday after being accused of creating a disturbance and hitting an aide in a classroom at Jacksonville Middle School, 664 Lincoln Ave. VANDALISM A car was damaged between noon and 12:30 p.m. Thursday while it was parked in the 800 block of Hoagland Boulevard. OTHER REPORTS A cart filled with stolen items was left in front of a business in the 1900 block of West Morton Avenue, according to a report filed at 1:09 p.m. Thursday. South Jacksonville Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS David J. Escalona, 43, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was booked into the Morgan County jail at 7:16 p.m. Thursday on a charge of resisting a peace officer and on a warrant accusing him of failing to appear in court on a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. Compiled by David C.L. Bauer This year marks the 75th anniversary of the most famous flying saucer event of all, the Roswell, New Mexico, incident of 1947. But a half-century before, alien spacecraft were reported across Illinois particularly in this area. This spring 125 years ago, central Illinois was riveted by a string of spaceship sightings, many of which remain unexplained. The incidents were part of a nationwide phenomenon, as flying craft were reported from the Midwest to the West Coast. Among the most noteworthy sightings in Illinois was an incident involving three men on a farm one mile north of Nilwood at 2:30 p.m. April 13, 1897. There, the Macoupin County Enquirer reported the landing of a cigar or boat-shaped object with oars running from the bottom and a picnic canopy on top. This odd-looking craft sat down in a field for 15-20 minutes, then flew off in a northerly direction. The ship was also spotted around 6 p.m. in nearby Green Ridge, two miles south of Girard. That sighting had an added twist, as the Enquirer wrote that a man stepped forth, apparently from the craft itself, and began to do some repairing on the strange machine for about 10 minutes. The work of this stranger seemed to do the trick, as the craft was then seen two hours later in Sherman, north of Springfield. At 8:45, the craft was spotted over Williamsville, still heading north. Apparently, the craft could fly with incredible speed, or there were more than one of them. Around 9 p.m., the ship was witnessed over Edwardsville, and also seen circling about St. Louis, over 100 miles south of the Springfield area, where it was sighted just minutes earlier. The craft, or one just like it, supposedly returned the next day. At 8:30 p.m. April 14, the ship was spotted by hundreds of people at White Hall, flying at a speed that was very great, probably 150 mph. It was the continuation of an area-wide trend. On the evening of April 10, all the police officers on duty, the firemen, and hundreds of citizens in Jacksonville were left in awe as the ship flew over the city. The following night in Springfield, the foreman of the Sangamon County Jail watched with another man for 30 minutes, witnessing a craft with a radiating light not unlike a locomotive headlight. In a separate incident in the capital city, a newspaper editor and other civic leaders viewed the craft from the top of the Odd Fellows hall, and were predisposed to the theory that it was a star of unusual brilliancy until the element of motion impressed itself upon their minds and a debate erupted on what they were seeing. Some responded jocularly to the craft, including a passenger train on the Wabash line near Quincy, which reportedly raced for 15 minutes with the alleged airship which had only two lights, one white, the other red. Similar reports came from Hillsboro, where the airship was seen in the western heavens by a number of respectable citizens. Other sightings in Illinois were received from Carlyle, Nashville, Moline, Rock Island, Lincoln, Mount Vernon and Elburn. No stranger to UFOs Certainly, Illinois is no stranger to UFO sightings. Since 1950, the Land of Lincoln ranks ninth in the highest number of sightings of unidentified flying objects, the most of any Midwestern state. There are plenty of believers in UFOs. In 2012, a National Geographic survey revealed that 36% of Americans believe in UFOs, with only 17% disputing such a notion. The rest a whopping 47% was undecided. The following year, a Huffington Post survey found that 48% of American adults were open to the idea that alien spacecraft are observing our planet, with 35% disagreeing. But believers and non-believers can agree on one thing. Some 80% of Americans think the U.S. government has concealed information on UFOs from the public. That belief is in light of the most famous UFO study of all time, Project Blue Book, a sweeping effort at Wright-Patterson Air Force Baase in Dayton, Ohio, between 1947 and 1969. The study recorded 12,618 reports of UFOs during that time, most of which were easily explained. A total of 701, however, are still listed as unidentified. In January 2015, some 136,000 pages of declassified records from Project Blue Book were placed online. That fueled the speculation, though a century before, thousands of Americans were looking to the skies, and wondering what they had just seen. Roswell's impact The alleged crash of an alien spacecraft near Roswell, New Mexico, on July 7, 1947, captured the imagination of conspiracy theorists and launched a phenomenon on UFOs, a term that was first coined in 1953. Reports of flying saucers and other spacecraft, however, are traced by some researchers to Biblical days. Though the 1897 wave made headlines, flight was not a new concept to humanity. The Wright Brothers' flight of 1903 was only six years away, and countless inventors had tried to launch aircraft with various power sources. Balloons had been in the public consciousness for decades, and had been used with some success in Civil War operations. In Germany, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin concocted a rigid airship in 1874 and by July 1900, his ideas had resulted in the first flight of the airships that bore his name and evolved into a global sensation, with the beloved Graf Zeppelin and the infamous Hindenburg. The 1897 wave was a national event. Sightings were reported in Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska, where at least 200 reports were received. In Kansas on March 28, around a thousand residents of Topeka reported a red light in the sky west of the city. Similar reports were received in the areas around the Kansas capital. Between April 13 and April 17, 38 sightings were reported across 23 counties in Texas, most notably in Aurora, where a UFO allegedly crashed into a windmill on April 17. There, an alien body was reportedly taken from the wreckage and buried in a local cemetery. The Aurora incident has become one of the most famous in UFO history and the subject of intense speculation, though many have dismissed the event as a hoax. UFOs were also seen over California, beginning with a slow-moving craft at an altitude of 1,000 feet over Sacramento in late 1896. Feeding news Not surprisingly, the sightings had filled newspapers for months, ranging from spectacular to skeptical. In central Illinois, the Macoupin County Enquirer was among the latter. The papers coverage of the Nilwood sighting was described under the headline That Elusive Air Ship which had spawned the query about town yesterday ... have you seen the airship? The Enquirer, though, declared that some syndicate is creating this excitement by sending up balloons shaped like ships with lights attached as part of a big publicity stunt. These imposters were secretly sent up from different points so in a month of so, the newspapers of the country will come out with glaring headlines: Air Ship Discovered! Startling Expose of a Mammoth Advertising Scheme of the Podunk Corn Cure Co. ... on the New Sensational Method. Then, claimed the Enquirer, the Podunk Corn salve will be sold in every large city and little hamlet. The following week, the Enquirer hammered the point home in a followup titled The Faithful Duped. This article told of a few young fellows relying on the credulity of the people [who] had sent up several toy balloons, causing the faithful who for many evenings had searched the heavens for a glimpse of the airship to have their dreams sadly shattered. Clearly, the Enquirer had washed its hands of the craze. But a report from Springfield offered a practical answer, even for the time. A local paper reported that, 3 miles west of the city, two men on April 14 watched in the heavens, a mysterious object with a large light that descended to land 200 feet from where they were standing. Their abject fear was abated by the appearance of a long bearded man who explained that his air ship reached [there] from Quincy in 30 minutes and kindly explained the several requisites necessary for a craft of this kind to take flight. He was joined inside the craft by another man and also the scientists wife. The craft had a frame of aluminum, covered with canvas and carried an ordinary locomotive headlight for night flying, since the pilot could be easily seen in day time, which accounts for his night travels. This explanation reflects an incident in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas on May 6, when two law enforcement officers trailed a bright light in the skies until, as one modern account reports, they were startled when a man with a beard approached, holding a lantern, and announced that he and two companions were traveling the country in an airship. It was also in line with the Green Ridge sighting, where the man had repaired the mysterious craft. In addition, the sightings in the Topeka area mentioned a huge headlight, possibly like the one in the Springfield report. Certainly, the airship seemed to be ahead of its time, as the Wrights only managed to stay up for 12 seconds and 120 feet in their initial try, six years later. Whatever became of the mad scientist of the airship is not known, but it seems the UFO wave of 1897 may have an earthly explanation. Or, maybe not. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. U.S. Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 When it comes to American politics, self-evident truths are very hard to come by these days. For instance, I was horrified at what I saw unfold on TV at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. It seemed to me to be a full-blown seditious riot with 5 deaths and scores of injuries (including at least 138 law enforcement officers!). Thus, you can imagine my surprise on Feb. 4, 2022 when the Republican National Committee, after having a year to reflect, declared that what I saw on Jan. 6 was ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse. Sadly, it is not only the Republicans who have stretched the boundaries of legitimate political discourse. President Joe Biden, who ran for office on the theme of bringing our country together, also engages in divisive rhetoric. On March 3, 2021, he accused Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbot and Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves of Neanderthal thinking because they had lifted COVID mask mandates! Like Biden, I did not agree with their decisions. However, this kind of negative characterization of duly elected public officials is unlikely to bridge the very wide cultural-political gap that now exists between Democrats and the millions of God-fearing Republicans who voted for these two governors. According to a 2018 Pew Research study, 90% of Americans believe in some kind of higher power, with 56% professing belief in God as described in the Bible and another 33% saying they believe in another type of higher power or spiritual force. It is amazing to me that a country with so many believers in God seems to elect leaders who distort self-evident truths or resort to negative characterizations so easily. As Americans, we need to pause and reflect on what our relationship to our higher power has to do with our tolerance for the apparent lack of self-restraint echoed in our elected leaders divisive statements. Beginning this weekend, more than 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide will begin a 29- or 30-day month of pausing and doing this type of reflection on a personal, individual level. According to the Quran (which Muslims believe to be the actual word of God in Arabic), God says: O ye who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was proscribed for those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint. (Quran 2:183, A Yusf Ali translation) So, as we Muslims enter 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting, extra prayers and extra good deeds, we call upon ourselves and other people of faith to let politicians know that our faith does matter when it comes to truth-telling and civil discourse from our governmental leadership. Jimmy E. Jones is executive vice president of The Islamic Seminary of America and Professor Emeritus at Manhattanville College. ZZ Top pulled into the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium Wednesday evening for a rocking performance. The band has been together for over five decades and sold over 30 million records across 15 studio albums. The loss of long-time bassist Dusty Hill in 2021 did not stop the band as his spot o Primeste notificari pe email Contractare si Achizitie Bunuri Anunturi de Angajare Granturi - Finantari Burse de studiu Stagii Profesionale Oportunitati de voluntariat Toate Articolele Australian Prime Minister Morrison revealed that he had declined to meet with the new Chinese Ambassador to Australia, H.E. Xiao Qian. In terms of formal diplomatic protocol, this is correct as it is not appropriate for the Head of State to meet with the Ambassador. It is appropriate for the Foreign Minister to meet with the Ambassador and this meeting did take place. However, both the Morrison government and experts were quick to caution that the meeting should not be regarded as a thaw in the relationship. From a broader perspective, the Prime Ministers reluctance to meet with or engage with the Ambassador is symptomatic of Australias unwillingness to help thaw the current sour Australia-China relations. The Australian Government proclaims that it is open to Minister-to-Minister conversations and meetings, but it constantly sets pre-conditions for those meetings to take place. These pre-conditions are based on an inaccurate interpretation of a 2020 event. By 2020, the Australia-China relations were already not smooth. Deputy Head of Mission, Wang Xining explained that an Embassy official was offered an opportunity to explain why our relationship is not in good shape, so she tried to enumerate certain points that your government and my government dont agree upon. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison attends a press conference in Canberra, Australia, Jun. 26, 2020. (Photo/Xinhua) This was an untitled background briefing paper, but when it was reported in the Australian media it was presented as if this was a formal list of 14 demands made by China as a condition for resuming official Australia-China relations. This was an entirely false conclusion, but this was consistently reported in the Australian media and promoted by Australian politicians. The issue was further exaggerated as an attack on Australian sovereignty. This inaccurate assessment of Chinas concerns has been a major barrier to the resumption of discussions between China and Australia. Australia demands that China withdraw these so-called 14 demands as a pre-condition to any new discussions. China does not see the need to do so because these were just an untitled briefing paper with no formal official status. This mischaracterisation is the primary cause of the stalemate in Australia-China relations. Ambassador Xiao Qian has attempted to reach out and help thaw the frosty relationship. Unfortunately, the Australian leadership has not been amenable to these approaches to thaw the relationship. The current Australian Government is facing an election in a few weeks, so they have an interest in promoting security issues as a way of winning the election. This means they are frightened of any suggestion that they are not standing up to China. The domestic political agenda cannot be discounted when assessing Australias desire to help normalise Australia-China relations. This strong man approach was further consolidated with the leaking of a proposed draft agreement between the Solomon Islands and China. The reaction from Australia was predictable because Australia always views the South-West Pacific as its Pacific Family. Australia does much work in the region, but a great deal of the work is seen as self-serving. As the Solomon Islands Prime Minister pointed out, Australian aid is usually implemented by Australian companies. Additionally, the neutrally independent Pacific Family does not appreciate the political pressure applied to them to reject Chinese proposals. A woman is seen near the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, Aug. 26, 2021. (Photo/Xinhua) Most recently, this has included pressure to stop vital undersea internet cables being supplied by Huawei, the Chinese tech giant, and the Australian interference in telecommunication services for the region. It has also included applying pressure to the Government of Papua New Guinea to approve the construction of a joint US-Australia naval base on Manus Island. A decade ago, Australia inflected deep cuts to aid to this Pacific Family, and despite recent boosts in assistance, the level of support is not the same as it was a decade ago. This, coupled with Australias rejection of genuine concerns over the impact of climate change, has left the region open to working with others who can assist. Australia has a smug opinion of its status in the Pacific Family, so the Solomon Islands announcement of cooperation with China came as a surprise. Bill Shorten from the opposition Labor Party described this as a major foreign policy blunder. Declining to meet the Chinese Ambassador and the reaction to the situation in the Solomon Islands are both part of an accelerating election campaign in Australia. These reactions also reflect an unwillingness to step back from Australias small-scale confrontation with China. Perhaps when the heat of the election campaign is over, a new government of Australia may adopt a more considered approach to the relationship. The article reflects the views of the author and not necessarily those of China Focus. BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Offshore construction of a wind farm is complicated. It is often described as a "moon landing" mission. That is even more so in the Mediterranean, one of the world's busiest waterways. Yet the Italians' determination coupled with Chinese expertise are starting to turn the Southern European nation's dream for clean electricity into reality. WIND OF COOPERATION A massive wind turbine installation vessel is on standby 24 hours a day off Taranto port in southern Italy, where engineers are about to witness the birth of the Mediterranean's first offshore wind farm. When fully operational, Beleolico could power 18,500 households. With Chinese expertise, the construction of the wind farm is nearing completion. It is ready to tell a story of how the tie-up of Chinese renewable technology and Europe's ambitious green targets can make a difference. And when the wind blows across turbine rotor blades off the Puglia coast -- the "heel" of Italy's boot -- the wind farm can generate zero-emissions electricity to power tens of thousands of local families. Italy is not the only European country that is working with China to generate power through wind. In a dense mountain forest in western Croatia, the country's largest wind farm, built by a Chinese company, has begun operation. It promotes greener, local growth and could persuade more environmentally-oriented young people to stay behind and develop their hometowns. That wind of renewable energy cooperation is impressively valuable and essential as the headwinds of protectionism and confrontation are swirling hard. That is why leaders of China and the European Union (EU) have stressed once again their shared commitment to promoting common development and jointly tackling such planetary challenges as climate change at their Friday's virtual gathering via video. SHARED GREEN FUTURE These wind farm cooperation projects are possible thanks mostly to the common pursuit by China and the EU in green development, a key component of "Xiconomics" put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping and guiding China's high-quality growth. Following Xi's economic thought, China has built the world's largest wind and solar power capacity, with an increase in new installation outpacing any other country in the world. In 2021, China sold more than 3.5 million new energy vehicles, ranking first globally for the seventh consecutive year. While China is delivering on its promise of carbon neutrality set for mid-century, the country is synergizing its development strategy with that of the EU to generate new driving forces in an already dynamic partnership. About 800 km away from Taranto port, China's Shanghai Electric Power Company Limited is using its expertise in wind, solar and hydrogen power on Malta's Gozo Island, which could become the EU's first carbon-neutral island. Horst Loechel, a professor at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, stressed the importance of green cooperation between China and the EU. This "template for cooperation" in green energy is of great significance for the world, said the professor. "We shall see more and more joint efforts in technology invention, adoption, and commercialization," said Xiong Yu, a professor at the Surrey Business School in Britain, while talking about the prospects of China-EU green cooperation. "The collaboration will be from strength to strength and can obviously impact the world," he said, adding that "it will greatly improve the trust and partnerships in many other areas between the two regions." PARTNERSHIP OF GLOBAL SIGNIFICANCE Eight years ago, during a visit to the EU headquarters in Brussels, President Xi proposed that the two sides foster a partnership for peace, growth, reform and civilization. During a meeting with President Charles Michel of the European Council and President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission via video link on Friday, Xi urged greater synergy between their development strategies and complementarity between China's new development philosophy and paradigm and the EU's trade policy for open strategic autonomy. The new development philosophy, featuring innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, was put forward by Xi in 2015 and has since piloted China's growth and strengthened its trade links with other countries. China-EU trade has no doubt reaped from such a vision. In 2021, bilateral trade between China and the EU was worth over 800 billion U.S. dollars, a new all-time high, up 33 percent from eight years ago. Two-way investment last year exceeded 270 billion U.S. dollars. The EU became China's second-largest trading partner last year. In the first two months of 2022, it overtook the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to grab the top spot, indicating the huge potential for the two-way trade. And across the Eurasian continent, freight trains transporting merchandise between China and Europe see constant growth, supporting global supply chains despite disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict. "China and the EU should act as two big markets promoting shared development and deepen economic globalization through open cooperation," Xi said, adding that China welcomes the EU's support for and participation in the Global Development Initiative that aims for balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth worldwide. "China and Europe are close trading partners," said Timo Vuori, director of International Trade and Trade Policy, the Confederation of Finnish Industries. It is vital for them to "continue to develop bilateral cooperation in trade, investments, and climate change. For example, there is potential for industrial digitalization and a green economy including sustainable manufacturing and renewable energy," Vuori said. For professor Xiong in Britain, China-EU ties are of global significance. "China and EU collaboration can greatly benefit each other and create unique value and opportunities for the whole human society." RIYADH, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry welcomed on Saturday a two-month truce in Yemen announced by the United Nations, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg announced on Friday the two-month truce, which will become effective at 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) on Saturday, through which all forms of military operations inside Yemen and on the Saudi-Yemeni borders shall be halted. In appreciation of the efforts exerted by the UN special envoy, the Saudi ministry said the truce comes in the context of a Saudi initiative, first announced in March 2021, to reach a comprehensive political solution to the Yemeni crisis. The Yemeni Houthi rebels have also expressed welcome to the UN-backed truce, which comes just days after the Houthis announced a unilateral three-day cease-fire with the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Under the truce, the warring sides have agreed to allow fuel ships to enter ports in the Hodeidah region and commercial flights to operate from the airport in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa for humanitarian purposes. The nationwide truce, which coincides with the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, is probably the first of its kind in the Yemeni civil war since late 2014. It is worth noting that the Yemeni peace talks, backed by the United Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council, started in Riyadh with a closed-door meeting on Tuesday and are expected to continue until April 7. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of Sanaa. The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed the country to the brink of starvation, according to the United Nations. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate FAIRFIELD A committee set to create a new district map is split on next steps with Republicans wanting to hold off and Democrats saying waiting will create confusion at the polls and cost the town thousands of dollars. A four-person committee from the Representative Town Meeting has mostly finished up drawing up the new districts, something the state requires after recently completing its own redistricting. Pamela Iacono and Karen McCormack, the Republicans on the committee, said they should wait to see what happens with the current charter review and whether those changes affect the number of districts that make up the RTM. This way, the map would not have to be redrawn again after possible charter changes are voted on in November. They also said it would allow people to keep the same polling location. The move prompted the Democratic Town Committee to issue a press release, calling the Republican members decision not to approve the new district lines a violation of the town charter and an affront to voting rights. The DTC claimed the lack of a new map would cause chaos at the polls, voter suppression, a lack of turnout and unnecessary additional costs. What (the Democrats) put out is patently false, said Iacono, who also served on the last redistricting committee. Its completely misleading. By not adopting a new redistricting map ahead of the August primaries, it absolutely does not cause voter suppression. New districts Connecticut recently completed its own redistricting for the state legislature following the 2020 census. It now requires municipalities to submit their redistricting maps by March 2023. In Fairfield, the map is first drawn up in an RTM committee, which is made up of two Democrats and two Republicans. If approved, it would go to the entire RTM for a vote. We, by law, do not have to turn in our redistricting map until March of 2023, Iacono said. Why would the state allow a March 2023 deadline if they thought it would cause voter suppression for the primaries? If left as is, Fairfield would have 17 voting districts in the upcoming August primary, something Democrats said would cause confusion. The 17 voting districts came about because Fairfield has both a town ordinance in place establishing voting districts and the states redistricting plan creates state legislative districts, said Matthew Waggner, Fairfields Democratic registrar of voters. Whenever a state legislative district crosses a locally approved voting district, a new district is created by operation of law, he said. About 25 percent of Fairfield residents have been moved to a new state rep district by the state redistricting plan. Waggner said he has recommended approving the new map and resolving the questions surrounding the RTM at a later date. He noted the committee voted at its first meeting to adopt a 10-district plan and have a legally valid plan that they developed collaboratively over several working meetings. Charter revision Iacono, who is also a member of the Charter Revision Commission, said the commission was discussing a nine-district RTM at the last meeting. Rather than waste everyones time she and McCormack went to the next redistricting meeting and said they wanted to take a pause as charter reform plays out. The Charter Revision Commission is bound to turn over its recommendations to the Board of Selectmen in May, Iacono said, noting the BOS then has the option of accepting the recommendations and putting them on Novembers ballot. The most important action to me is the one taken by the voters, she said. Why should I rush a 10-district map if I have an opportunity to hear from the voters about what number of districts they want? Karen Wackerman, one of the redistricting committees two Democrats, said the group always knew charter revision was taking place. She said a lot of time was spent on the map and it makes more sense to finish their work now considering voters will have to approve any changes to the charter. It could have been done by now, she said. It doesnt make logical sense to me to not finish the work we were doing when were so far along. I dont know if its voter suppression. I think thats not an unreasonable conclusion. Wackerman said she is fine with making a new map if the charter revision makes it necessary, adding it should not stop this draft from getting approved first. Upcoming elections Waggner said he and Republican Registrar of Voters Steve Elworthy are required to find a suitable polling place in each districts borders, and if none is available, provide for a polling place in a neighboring district. If everything remains, that could be 17 different sites. There will certainly be some changes for voters, he said, adding a number of these new districts have well established polling places in them. How many and which locations are something Mr. Elworthy and I will have to decide on soon. Waggner also said not approving the redistricting map will increase the cost associated with Augusts primary and Novembers general election because they will need more voting locations. This could cost about $60,000. He said the Board of Finance is considering cutting the extra funding he budgeted in for that possibility, and he has written them advising against doing so. Wackerman said not approving the map would result in two or three districts voting in one location. She claimed people would get confused and vote in the wrong place or leave. Theres no reason for it, she said. Iacono said the 17 districts just means there would be split districts, meaning there would be different lines for people who have the same polling location but are technically in different state assembly districts. She noted that already happened in the Fairfield Woods Middle School polling location. She said it remains to be seen if it will cost the town more money. Iacono pointed to the last time, when Fairfield ended up with 21 voting districts in 2012 after the state redistricted and elections were held. Right now, those voter lines are 17 districts, she said. Thats less than 21. How is that going to cause a problem? Iacono said it is disruptive to tell people their voting location has moved, and she and McCormack thought doing so twice would be something worth avoiding. She said they could save people trouble if they hold off on voting on the new map until after they see if it has to be adjusted for charter revision. The angriest voter is the one who shows up at a poll and finds out hes at the wrong place, she said. joshua.labella@hearstmediact.com After years of delay on a state retirement plan for businesses and nonprofits, Connecticut is finally bringing a program forward to benefit as many as 600,000 workers who lack access to employer-sponsored plans. Under a law passed in 2016, Connecticut employers will be required to offer a retirement plan if they have at least five employees earning $5,000 or more annually, whether through the private sector or the new MyCTSavings plan. Those failing to do so could face penalties, which the new Connecticut Retirement Security Authority has yet to establish. State Comptroller Natalie Braswell estimates as many as 30,000 businesses in Connecticut will have to add a retirement plan to comply with the law. There is no fee for employers. Those with 100 or more employees have until June 30 to sign up, while deadlines for smaller companies have not yet been set. Employers choosing MyCTSavings will see their workers enrolled automatically, with 3 percent of each paycheck set aside for savings in a Roth Individual Retirement Account, up to $6,000 annually or $7,000 for those 50 or older. Contributions are taxed at the time they are deducted, allowing retirees to withdraw savings in the future without any additional tax obligation. This makes it easy, this makes it simple, this makes it automatic its a payroll deduction, Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday during a press conference in Hartford. Over 30 years, with 5, 6 or 7 percent appreciation, that compounds youll have a pretty good nest egg to go alongside your Social Security. Workers can opt out at the time of enrollment or any point afterward, and can adjust their contributions to fit their budget and retirement outlook. Participants have the option of rolling accumulated savings into other retirement plans, including when they switch jobs or move elsewhere. To sign up for MyCTSavings, employers must provide bank account numbers and information on payroll processing firms handling paycheck administration for their workers. The Connecticut Retirement Security Authority has begun notifying employers by postal mail and email of the requirements. At the time of the original proposal in 2016, several employer groups opposed the legislation, including the Connecticut Business & Industry Association and a separate coalition of some 85 trade associations and chambers of commerce. The groups argued the private sector already had plenty of options for small businesses to add retirements plans. Advocates countered that thousands of those businesses choose not to establish plans, contributing to a retirement crisis for their workers that spills into the state budget as older citizens seek help for basic needs. Some will ask why is the state involved in this whats the public policy interest, said Rep. Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, majority leader in the Connecticut House of Representatives. We know that when people retire and dont have adequate savings to live out their life post-work, the state is going to bear a cost in that either in additional medical costs, or housing costs or social services. Despite the urgency, progress stalled for several years before Kevin Lembo pushed through MyCTSavings in his final stretch as state comptroller before stepping down in December for health reasons. Braswell, who was appointed as Lembos replacement, said federal law prevents the state from offering a 401(k) stock savings plan under the MyCTSavings umbrella. The Connecticut Retirement Security Board originally hired BNY Mellon to administer the program. In January, BNY Mellon sold off its Sumday retirement plan administration division to New York City-based Vestwell, which since its 2016 launch, has picked up administration of similar retirement savings plans in Maryland, Oregon and Washington. Braswell said BNY Mellon remains involved in the Connecticut plan. Under a pilot program last fall with a handful of Connecticut employers, 40 chose to remain enrolled in MyCTSavings, with a dozen opting out. It has been a very easy process not difficult at all, said Axel Collazo, assistant manager for Tollands Ace Transportation, which participated in the pilot. I have about seven or eight employees who are part of the program, and they are happy with the program. According to a Pew Trusts survey, many employees who opted out of the Illinois plan cited an inability to save for current expenses on their income. This program is going to have an impact on women more than anyone, said Nora Duncan, state director of AARP. Over one in four women age 65 and up rely solely on Social Security. For information, a MyCTSavings call center is operating weekdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and can be reached at 833-811-7435. Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman TEHRAN, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Saturday welcomed a UN initiative to suspend military operations for two months in Yemen, according to the ministry's website. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh expressed hope that the peace initiative can be a prelude to completely lifting the siege on the Yemeni people and the establishment of a permanent cease-fire to find a political solution to the crisis. "We hope that on the eve of (the Muslim) holy month of Ramadan, by prioritizing humanitarian issues and by continuing the cease-fire, we will see the improvement of humanitarian conditions and the full exchange of prisoners and detainees between the parties involved in the conflict," Khatibzadeh said in a statement. On Friday, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg announced a two-month truce in Yemen, which is scheduled to come into force on April 2. "The aim of this truce is to give Yemenis a necessary break from violence, relief from the humanitarian suffering, and most importantly hope that an end to this conflict is possible," the UN envoy said in a statement. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed the country to the brink of starvation, according to the United Nations. NEW MILFORD A group of residents is proposing a town-wide initiative involving organic regenerative farming called the Greenwave Movement. Regenerative farming, which has become a global movement, is a holistic land management practice that seeks to rehabilitate and enhance farms by focusing on soil health, water management and reduction of harmful chemicals. The goal of the movement is for all of New Milfords food to be locally grown, on local farms, as opposed to being imported. To put its plan into place, the Greenwave Movement, which is being spearheaded by residents Joe Quaranta, a farmer, Connecticut licensed arborist and forest practitioner; and Ashley Russo, a functional nutrition counselor, is proposing using $150,000 of the towns American Rescue Plan Act funds. We are looking to have a 100-mile circumference (of locally grown food) around the epicenter of New Milford, Quaranta said. He said residents should be consuming food that was grown within the past 24 to 48 hours. We dont want to be eating food that had a three- or four-week travel time, Quaranta said. All the nutritional value is gone by then. To implement its proposal, the Greenwave Movement is proposing the creation of a town committee to develop an application process to administer funding as well as educational programs based around healthy agricultural practices. In presenting their proposal, Russo and Quaranta pointed to the towns 2021-2031 Plan of Conservation and Development, which addresses the need to preserve and protect farmland. Funding breakdown As part of the the Greenwave Movements $150,000 funding request to the town, its proposing using $15,000 for agricultural education. Wed ultimately like to see (town-owned) Sullivan Farm opened up to the public so that we can give classes and provide hands-on educational opportunities for our residents, he said. We would use Sullivan Farm as a showcase to show our community how these practices work and what their benefits are. Additionally, the movement is proposing $105,000 be put toward farmer financial assistance. So, any type of farmer, if they see value in the education and the showcases that we have at the town farm, can apply to sequester some of those funds to implement these things on their farm, Quaranta said. Also, $30,000 would be put toward supplying locally grown, fresh healthy food for seniors and families in need through the towns voucher system. You can use this voucher at any one of our participating farms in New Milford so we can guarantee that our most vulnerable population has the same access that anyone else would have to this quality food, Quaranta said. Town Council member Alex Thomas said the Greenwave Movement initiative is of global importance. Food supplies and healthy water are not choices, but necessities, Thomas said. Joe's plan is a great start and proposes a committee to collect data and manage outcomes. Town Council member Hilary Ram, who was part of Sustainable CT for New Milford, said she also agrees a subcommittee that supports and advocates for farmers is needed in town. She added she would like to see Sullivan Farm be a big part of the movement. Certainly we want to be teaching our children the newest and best farming methods for health and longevity, she said. Jeremy Schultz, owner of Clatter Valley Farm in New Milford, told Hearst Connecticut Media he has some concerns with the initiative. He said he's wary of any regulations around farming practices that may come about as a result of this initiative. A lot of this stuff is not proven over time. And they're based on assumptions that industrial or commercial agriculture aren't changing, when in fact that's not true, said Schultz, a board member of the northeast region branch of the Certified Crop Advisers program. He said regenerative and sustainable are fluid terms. They're not tried and true, concrete practices, he said. He said if the initiative would mandate practices for people in the community, hes against it. I do not want to be told how to farm, he said. Regulation, in my opinion, can have a smothering effect on innovation. At the meeting, Town Council member Tom Esposito said the initiative, as well as using American Rescue Plan Act funds for it, should not be an immediate decision for the town. This is going to take some time to implement and research, and is not just going to be implemented if the $150,000 is approved, Esposito said. I just think this conversation of what's come up with this last bit of money for ARPA right now It's just not appropriate. Let's put together this committee, as many of us agreed in prior statements. And let's just move this thing forward and put Ashley on that committee so she can use her knowledge and try to influence it. Needs assessment The town will conduct a needs assessment for the initiative, in regard to the major needs for New Milford farmers, said New Milford Mayor Pete Bass at the most recent Town Council meeting. I think the key audiences that we need to be looking at as we begin to build out the needs assessment is our current farmers whether they be large-scale, multi-year experienced farmers or the small-scale, new-to-industry farmer. I think everybody needs a seat at the table, Bass said. Bass added the town also needs to hear from agricultural experts on this topic such as leaders from key agricultural land trust environmental organizations, and social service, nonprofit organizations related to food insecurity. He pointed to researching organizations such as the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, the Northwest Hills Council of Governments Regional Food Hub and the Northwest Connecticut Farming Association of Connecticut. The initiative is a very noble thing that we're looking to do, but itll require deeper conversation, Bass said. It's something that we need to really look at, he added. It's very complex. There's a lot of partners and I think that we can not only partner with but learn from, if we're going to go on this endeavor to really make this a world class type of thing. NEW HAVEN Federal investigators probing a $40 million embezzlement scheme at Yale School of Medicine discovered an administrator used thousands of orders to circumvent a $10,000 purchasing cap so she could buy electronics that she later sold, court documents show. Jamie Petrone, 42, of Naugatuck, appeared Monday in federal court where she admitted to wire fraud charges stemming from scheme, officials said. Petrone, who was director of finance and administration for the schools Department of Emergency Medicine, has accepted responsibility for her actions, her attorney, Frank Ricco, said. In announcing the guilty plea, federal authorities said the prestigious medical school lost more than $40 million in computers and electronics that Petrone used to purchase luxury cars, fund real estate improvements and pay for travel. Court documents show that an anonymous tip alerted Yale officials to the scheme. The person reported a suspiciously large amount of computers being ordered by Petrone, who was also seen loading some of the electronics into her personal car, according to court documents. While a full extent of the scheme was not highlighted in arrest documents, federal authorities used a series of laptop and tablet purchases to show how Petrone diverted those items to another business to make money, records show. Since 2018, Petrone drafted thousands of purchase orders, each less than $10,000, which was the amount at which additional management approvals wouldve been required, according to court records. The amount of the purchases is estimated by investigators to be in the tens of millions of dollars. Since January 2021, court records show, Petrone arranged for Yales purchase of about 8,000 iPads and Surface Pro tablets. Court records indicate that between May 27, 2021, and Aug. 19, 2021, Petrone ordered about $2.1 million in computer equipment on behalf of Yale. She placed an additional order on Aug. 24, 2021, for equipment that investigators said totaled $144,000. On May 26, 2021, Petrone asked her assistant to prepare documentation for an order of 100 Microsoft Surface Pro tablet computers, which she claimed were for a new study to be launched during Memorial Day weekend. Her assistant prepared 12 purchase orders for eight Surface Pros, totaling over $9,000, and one purchase order for four Surface Pros, totaling over $4,500, documents showed. Documents said that many of the devices Petrone purchased with Yale money were sold and shipped to a purported business in New York. Emails revealed transactions between Petrone and various entities that purchased the items, court documents showed. When investigators traced the tracking numbers on the packages, they determined they were shipped from Orange on June 3, 2021, and delivered to a Williston Park address in New York on June 4, 2021. In one of Petrones emails, she attached bank statements from a business located at her residential address in Naugatuck, documents showed. State records list the status of the business as dissolved due to failure to file annual reports. Bank statements from February through May of last year show hundreds of thousands of dollars in incoming wire transfers to Petrone from entities that purchased the computer equipment, according to the court documents. In early June 2021, documents showed, Petrone applied for a PayPal business loan and was asked to submit four months of bank statements. Courts records show Petrone sent bank statements to PayPal using her Yale email address, which law enforcement reviewed. Yale officials notified law enforcement on Aug. 25, 2021 after they received an anonymous tip about the apparent embezzlement scheme, documents showed. Court documents indicate the tip was received by word of mouth sometime over the last year. Its unclear when exactly Yale officials were alerted, but court documents indicated the university was not able to mount a concerted investigative effort until about July 1, 2021, for various reasons. Those reasons were not detailed in the court documents. Yale officials did not respond Tuesday to questions about the tip and the schools investigation. In a statement, Karen Peart, director of university media relations at Yale, said the school alerted authorities to evidence of suspected criminal behavior last year and fully cooperated throughout the investigation. Unrelated to the anonymous tip, court documents show, Petrone was questioned in June 2020 about a budget variance and a high volume of computer equipment purchases for her department. The documents do not state who questioned Petrone. During that inquiry, court records show, Petrone said her department was updating its equipment and was working with Yale New Haven Health on a new program. During the week of Aug. 16, 2021, Yale auditors inquired with a high-ranking Yale School of Medicine official, who court records indicate had no knowledge of the program Petrone referenced. Yale auditors reviewed purchase orders and Petrones school emails, among other things, and reported their findings to law enforcement, court documents show. Investigators said in court records that Petrone used the funds obtained through the scheme to pay for home improvements for her Connecticut residence and to buy about $25,000 in jewelry. On Aug. 31, 2021, law enforcement executed a federal seizure warrant on her account, seizing $560,421.14. Investigators also seized a 2014 Mercedes-Benz G550, a 2017 Land Rover/Range Rover, a 2015 Cadillac Escalade Premium, a 2020 Mercedes-Benz E450A, a 2015 Cadillac Escalade and a 2018 Dodge Charger, federal prosecutors said. Officials said three properties in Connecticut were also liquidated. Petrone, who is free on a $1 million bond, is scheduled to be sentenced June 29. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate KILLINGWORTH The developer who had the high bid to buy the Deer Lake Boy Scout camp said she has no problem with the Scouts extending their deadline to May 1 to consider a better offer. In fact, she hopes a higher offer does come in. Margaret Streicker, CEO of Fortitude Capital LLC, urged the state or a third party to step in and beat her $4.6 million offer to buy the 255-acre camp on Paper Mill Road. We mutually agreed that could be extended, Streicker said. Streicker is taking it slow regarding her plans for the property, she said, and currently is talking with groups concerned for the site. She noted she recently met with Killingworth First Selectman Nancy Gorski. Deer Lake is a very special place to lot of people and, as such, it deserves the time and consideration, and having the opportunity to hear from all of the various stakeholders in the community, Streicker said Thursday. So were certainly not rushing anything, she said. We intend to be slow and deliberate and make sure we do something that future generations will enjoy, she said. I have had the opportunity to speak with the first selectwoman of Killingworth two days ago and we had a wonderful conversation. And I have spoken to a number of other constituents in the community, Streicker said. To dispel concerns of parents of day campers, she said, Ive already agreed to lease the summer camp to Pathfinders for the next three summers. Streicker, who also sits on the board of directors of the Connecticut Yankee Council, said she had recused herself from all council meetings and any discussions about the matter, in order to avoid any conflict of interest. Conservationists, residents, local and state and federal officials have opposed the sale of the camp to a private developer, wanting to keep it as priceless green space. Streicker said the property appeals to her because Deer Lake is a wonderful opportunity to acquire a very large parcel of land, its picturesque, its bucolic, theres so many wonderful things about it. The bidding on the property has turned into a lengthy process with deadlines moved at the last minute in the past few months. The Boy Scouts have had three offers; the most recent bid was submitted hours before the March 31 deadline. A local Scouting organization, Pathfinders, made an offer of an undisclosed amount March 30. The Boy Scouts accepted Streickers bid in February and rejected the bid of $2.4 million from the Trust for Public Land. The council then extended the deadline to March 31 to accept a superior offer. With just hours left until the that deadline, state Attorney General William Tong interceded and the Boy Scouts of America agreed to postpone consideration of proposals until May 1, according to Tongs office. The attorney generals office is reviewing legal questions raised regarding the sale of the camp, according to the office. Streicker said she had no problems with the attorney generals announcement of the deadline extension. However, she added, I encourage the attorney general, Sen. (Richard) Blumenthal and Gov. (Ned) Lamont to put their money where their mouth is and actually raise the offer to the Boy Scouts, regarding their public statements on the sale of Deer Lake. I have no problems, but there is a commercial transaction here and they have been suggesting to the press that the Boy Scouts owe it to the community to sell it for far less than it is value and thats simply not so, Streicker said. Were entering a transaction and that is what it is, she said. And should the state come in and choose to buy the land within the time frame [of] the Boy Scouts again this has nothing to do with me, I dont control their time line should they come in and make a superior offer. Alls fair in love and war. By all means, please do, she said. And I would celebrate that, Streicker said. I look forward to that fantastic opportunity which in theory is a win for the Boy Scouts and a win for future generations from one perspective. There are many perspectives. Right now she is gathering information. Im in my fact-finding phase, she said. As someone who appreciates the difficult politics here as someone whos run for Connecticuts U.S. congressional seat, I can say that I am trying to understand what all the various positions are and trying to come up with a plan that is beneficial to all if possible. Understanding that theres still financial obligations. ... And I also recognize that other people werent stepping up in the right way, she said. Again, I look forward to Sen. Blumenthal putting his money where this mouth is to all of these various politicians who have stepped themselves into this conversation. Streicker advocates the state buy the parcel. The state, should they so choose, has the resources so they can spend it to make an appropriate investment in the future of land conservancy, said Streicker. Blumenthal, D-Conn., disagreed with Streicker comments regarding the sale. Politics have nothing to do with it its a matter of whats right or what people of Connecticut, particularly generations of young people who will have their own children and should have an opportunity to repeat those wonderful memories of camping, hiking, fishing all of the great stuff the Boy Scouts have championed, he said. Blumenthal said he would fight to unlock federal funds that will help preserve this land, this preserve, this unique, precious resource for generations of outdoors lovers to come. We have a profoundly significant opportunity to sustain this pristine resource for the community with the value that goes beyond its commercial price, Blumenthal said. ... So we will fight as long and hard as possible to make available federal funds from the department of Interior if were given the chance to do it, Blumenthal said. Streicker, a Republican, ran for the 3rd District U.S. House seat held by Democrat U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro in the last election did not rule out running for public office in Connecticut again. Streicker has residences in New York, and Milford. When asked whether she would consider running for the 3rd District seat again, she said anythings possible. When asked whether she would run for any other public office in Connecticut, she answered again that anything is possible. The Boy Scouts is selling Deer Like because of declining enrollment, Scout officials have said. The Boy Scouts of America declared bankruptcy in 2021 and in March this year have offered $2.7 billion to settle a claim with tens of thousands of sex abuse survivors, according to Reuters. The Connecticut Yankee Council paid a portion with a combination of land and cash from its endowment to fulfill its share of the national organizations settlement, according to Scouting officials. CAIRO, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Saturday called on France, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, to "provide economic and political support to Egypt" to deal with the repercussions of the Ukraine crisis, according to a statement of Egypt's Foreign Ministry. Sameh Shoukry made the remarks during a phone conversation with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, during which they discussed bilateral relations and economic cooperation amid the global impacts of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez said in the statement. The conversation came just days after French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire paid a visit to Cairo, during which he affirmed his country's full support for Egypt and its willingness to provide the Middle Eastern country with wheat supplies during the crisis. Egypt is the world's largest wheat importer and buys the majority of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine. Earlier on Saturday, Shoukry made a phone call to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, during which they discussed ways to boost bilateral ties and strengthen Egypt's economic resilience to the repercussions of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ANSONIA The Bella Vista housing complex is still undergoing construction, but developer Joseph Gega is already happy to show off the first finished apartments, which he expects to draw more people into the city. They have the ability to come live in our community with better amenities (and) better return on their money in Ansonia, Gega said. On a recent tour of the units, Gega walked around the empty apartments on the fourth floor, which are now nearly complete and fitted with new Frigidaire appliances still wrapped in plastic. Although the apartments were first proposed in 2013, the city signed over the various properties that make up the project to Gega and his team at Shaw Growth Ventures in 2020. Nearly 100 units will be available for rent once the project is finished in the fall. But Gega said hes aiming to start opening the apartments much sooner than that. There is 91 units in phase one. Well be opening in phase one probably by next week depends on fire department and zoning department on the certificate of occupancy, he said. Economic Development Director Sheila OMalley said the city is glad the new apartments are getting closer to completion. Were really thrilled about the market rate apartments going online. The whole idea is to bring people downtown to increase the downtown activity. New residents will mean a shift in the way downtown has been in the past, OMalley said. Gega said the second phase of the $10 million project will take some time due to required remediation work, and said he is working on obtaining a grant to help facilitate that. He said the apartments, which range from studios to two bedrooms, are going to be more affordable than nearby towns. But he noted the units will have various amenities from a lounge and coffee shop on the first floor to garbage pick up, a gym and a picnic deck. Rentals start at $1,300 a month. He said the units have been built using quality materials, including granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. Its market rate, but its affordable, said OMalley. Thats a distinction between the Shelton apartments that are being offered. Its working class, its middle class people who can live downtown, take the train to their job. So it was super exciting. Its the next step in a transformation that we believe is long overdue. The units have high ceilings with hanging light fixtures and exposed brick. The outlets by the kitchen counter tops come with USB outlets for electronic devices. Residents will also be provided with a key fob for opening doors for added security. Gega said security is important to him and to renters. Each unit has a state of the art security system thats very important to us. Any community we ever built (in) security is priority not because we build in a market where crime is an issue, but everybody deserves their privacy, he said. The addition of new units was received positively by David Morgan, CEO of TEAM, a nonprofit human services agency in the city. I think it is a wonderful addition to the menu of options for housing in Ansonia as we continue to see growth, Morgan said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BRIDGEPORT The new Newfield branch library was not supposed to open on the 100th anniversary of its predecessor, which, after years of being closed, was incorporated into the modern buildings design. That fortuitous timing, however, is the silver lining to a few years worth of delays. The original Newfield location along Central Avenue opened to serve the East End on April 22, 1922, according to new Branch Manager Nykia Eaddy. So, she noted this week during a tour, Well have our soft opening just 100 years shy. A formal celebration with dignitaries and speeches is planned for some time in June. But, aside from a few additional finishing touches, as of this Saturday the $7.6 million state-of-the-art site is operational. Built by Ashlar Construction, whose owner, Anthony Stewart, hails from the East End, the branch is nestled next to Stewarts also-delayed Honey Locust Square commercial development, where steel beams are finally going vertical. Combined the two long-promised projects are intended to inject new economic vitality into that end of the Stratford Avenue commercial corridor. But construction delays, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and cost escalations thoroughly disrupted a timeline that, according to Assistant City Librarian John Soltis, would have seen the new Newfield site operational just before the COVID-19 global health crisis struck Connecticut in early 2020. Stewart in an interview earlier this week said he has been eager for the public to have access to the beautiful building. He had been hoping to obtain a certificate of occupancy from City Hall this time last year, but, as previously reported, that process dragged on into late summer. Very excited about it, Stewart said about this weekends opening. I want the neighborhood to be part of it and see it because its just sitting there. What visitors will find is an attractive, welcoming hub for accessing books, technology and various programs, with high ceilings, numerous large windows, and a mixture of wood, tiled and carpeted floors. Besides the adult reading room, located in the renovated 4,000-square-foot original Newfield structure, there are spacious areas for children, teenagers and for use by community groups in the modern wings. What we wanted to have and accomplished is a first-rate, full service library, Soltis said. That is a major step up from what the East End had. After the aged Newfield building was shuttered, the neighborhood had to settle for a smaller library at 1230 Stratford Ave. in a shopping plaza that was eventually torn down for Honey Locust Square. It was a storefront that was better than nothing, but not by much, Soltis said. As work on Honey Locust Square began, that neighborhood library was moved to a temporary rented site at 1277 Stratford Ave., which was then prematurely closed in fall 2018 because of a leaky roof and other structural issues. Besides the incorporation of the first Newfield branch and the hiring of Stewart, the new building along Central Avenue celebrates the East End neighborhood and its history in other ways. Adorning one wall is another piece of East End history an original quilt from Gees Bend, Ala., which Eaddy said was made by Allie Pettway and donated to the library by her granddaughter, Tammie Pettway. The Pettways are a well-known local family. Many people who were from that area (Gees Bend) came to Bridgeport. The quilts have become world famous, Soltis said. A lot of Bridgeporters all over the city but also in this neighborhood have family down there. Eaddy also has strong ties to the East End. She was born in the northern section of Bridgeport but raised pretty much in the East End and West End. She also spent a portion of her 20 year career with the Bridgeport library system at Newfields 1230 Stratford Ave. branch site as an assistant. And, she noted, her mother worked in the original Newfield building. So Im extra proud at this moment, Eaddy said. The Newfield branch will be open Mondays and Tuesdays, 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., Wednesdays and Thursdays, noon until 8 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. BRIDGEPORT Three people were arrested after a large amount of drugs, guns and ammunition were seized by police conducting an undercover investigation on Wednesday. Shakeil Williams, 30, of Bridgeport, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to sell and operation of a drug factory. His bond was set at $100,000. Jonathan J. Bonaparte, 34, of Derby, was charged with eight counts of criminal possession of a firearm and ammunition, possession of narcotics, two counts of possession with intent to sell, illegal possession of an assault weapon, operation of a drug factory, eight counts of illegal possession of high-capacity magazines, unlawful storage of a loaded firearm, two counts of violating the Deadly Weapon Offender Registry, failure to change address with the Deadly Offender Registry and risk of injury to a minor. His bonds totaled $650,000. According to police, the Bridgeport Narcotics and Vice Division were conducting an undercover investigation in the central locality of Bridgeport on Wednesday. There they witnessed Williams and Bonaparte engaged in an activity consistent with the trafficking of street level narcotics. The two men then left in separate cars. Williams vehicle was stopped by police at the intersection of Wells Street and North Avenue where officers found he was in possession crack cocaine and heroin. After securing a search warrant for his residence, police found more crack cocaine, along with MDMA and crystal meth. Bonapartes vehicle was simultaneously stopped on Charles Street near the intersection of Madison Avenue. Police said he could not present proper paperwork to operate the vehicle, and noticed a bag of Fentanyl inside. Officers then searched him and found two boxes of ammunition, as well as additional narcotics including heroin, crack cocaine, and cocaine. Investigators then acquired a search warrant for Bonapartes residence in Derby. Bonaparte was already listed on Connecticuts Deadly Weapon Offender Registry. At his home officers found four handguns, one shotgun and one assault rifle, along with eight high-capacity magazines including one drum magazine. A arrest warrant was then acquired for Shomequa Allen, 28, who lived with Bonaparte and their two-year-old child. During their search of the residence, police said they found the many weapons and narcotics to be easily accessible for their young child. On Friday, Allen was charged with risk of injury to a minor, and her bond was set at $25,000. In total, police said the investigation led to the seizure of 32.6 grams of crack cocaine, 25.6 grams of cocaine, 26.31 grams of Fentanyl, two grams of crystal meth, 233 ecstasy pills, eight high-capacity magazines, four handguns, one shotgun and one assault rifle. UN chief welcomes Yemen truce agreement Xinhua) 08:33, April 02, 2022 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to reporters about the truce agreement in Yemen, at the UN Headquarters in New York, on April 1, 2022. Guterres on Friday welcomed the agreement by the parties to the conflict in Yemen on a two-month truce, which comes into effect on Saturday. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua) UNITED NATIONS, April 1 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday welcomed the agreement by the parties to the conflict in Yemen on a two-month truce, which comes into effect on Saturday. Guterres said the truce opens the door to addressing Yemen's urgent humanitarian and economic needs, and creates an opportunity to restart Yemen's political process. "This truce must be the first step to ending Yemen's devastating war," said Guterres. UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg has just announced the breakthrough in Amman, Jordan. Grundberg said the parties have agreed to halt all offensive military air, ground and maritime operations inside Yemen and across its borders. They have also agreed for fuel ships to enter into Hodeidah ports and for commercial flights to operate in and out of Sanaa airport to pre-determined destinations in the region. Grundberg said the parties have further agreed to meet under his auspices to open roads in Taiz and other governorates in Yemen. The truce can be renewed beyond the two-month period with the consent of the parties, said Grundberg. Guterres commended the Yemeni government, the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis in Yemen for the agreement, and urged all parties to make the necessary arrangements to support the successful implementation of the truce. A halt to the fighting, coupled with the entry of fuel ships, and the easing of restrictions on the movement of people and goods in, out and within the country, will contribute to building trust and creating a conducive environment to resume negotiations for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, he said. Guterres urged the parties to cooperate "in good faith and without preconditions" with Grundberg in the latter's efforts to resume an inclusive and comprehensive Yemeni political process. "The ultimate aim must be a negotiated political settlement which addresses the legitimate concerns and aspirations of all Yemenis." For more than seven years, war has devastated the lives of millions of Yemeni women, children and men, and the war has fueled one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, brought state institutions to the verge of collapse, reversed human development by two decades, and threatened regional peace and security, said Guterres. "Today must be the start of a better future for the people of Yemen," he said. Guterres cautioned that such agreements are always fragile. "So now, we must take profit of the momentum in order to make sure that this truce is fully respected and that it is renewed and, with that renewal, that a true political process is launched in Yemen." He also expressed the hope that the truce agreement in Yemen will inspire other peace deals. "I think that this demonstrates that even when things look impossible, when there is the will to compromise, peace becomes possible.... And I hope that this agreement will inspire others, in Ukraine and other parts of the world, in order to make sure that we address the dramatic conflicts that are undermining the well-being of so many people around the world." UN Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths, who has been tasked by Guterres to pursue a humanitarian cease-fire in Ukraine, will be flying to Moscow on Sunday. And after that, he will be going to Kiev, said Guterres. The UN chief said both Russia and Ukraine have agreed to meet Griffiths to discuss a humanitarian cease-fire. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to reporters about the truce agreement in Yemen, at the UN Headquarters in New York, on April 1, 2022. Guterres on Friday welcomed the agreement by the parties to the conflict in Yemen on a two-month truce, which comes into effect on Saturday. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua) (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) PHNOM PENH, April 2 (Xinhua) -- World Health Organization (WHO) representative to Cambodia Li Ailan said on Saturday that the COVID-19 pandemic in the country is not over yet, though the number of new infections has once again declined to two digits. The Southeast Asian nation registered 32 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, and all were confirmed to be the Omicron variant, with no new fatalities, the health ministry said, adding that to date, the country had recorded 135,714 cases with 131,940 recoveries and 3,054 deaths. "The pandemic is not over yet. The Omicron variant is still here with us in Cambodia," Li wrote on social media. "COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination remain one of the most effective tools to help us save lives, protect health, especially for the vulnerable, and keep Cambodia reopening safely and sustainably," she said. The Heath ministry's secretary of state and spokeswoman Or Vandine said Saturday that the COVAX Facility on Friday decided to increase its COVID-19 vaccine support to Cambodia from 20 percent to 30 percent of the kingdom's total population. Cambodia has administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines to 14.8 million people, or 92.5 percent of its 16 million population, she said. Most of the vaccines used in the country's inoculation drive are China's Sinovac and Sinopharm. With its high vaccination rates, Cambodia has fully resumed its socio-economic activities and reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers without quarantine since November last year. CANBERRA, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government reached an agreement on a trade agreement with India on Saturday. The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI ECTA) was hailed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison as a major economic boon. The deal will remove tariffs on 85 percent of Australian exports to India, rising to 91 percent within 10 years. India was Australia's seventh-largest trading partner in 2020, with two-way trade valued at 24.3 billion Australian dollars (18.2 billion U.S. dollars). The federal government previously said it plans for India to be a top-three trade market by 2035. Morrison said in a statement that the agreement would create "enormous trade diversification opportunities for Australian producers and service providers." However, major agricultural exports including dairy and beef were excluded from the interim agreement, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The media statement suggested that both countries continue to work towards a full Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement. Last week Keir Starmer was asked a simple question. 'Can a woman have a penis?' interviewer Nick Ferrari enquired on LBC radio. This is what followed. Starmer: 'Uh, Nick, I'm not uh I I don't think we can conduct this debate with you know' Ferrari: ' sorry, have I offended you?' Starmer: 'No, no, no, it's just no, no, I just' Ferrari: '... a woman can have a penis?' Starmer: 'I don't think that um discussing this issue in this way helps anyone in the long run.' Finally, Starmer retreated to the safety of the usual boilerplate: discussions on legal reform, a vague commitment to the protection of women, and an even vaguer condemnation of 'intolerance' by people unnamed. But by then the damage was done. Labour's leader is correct when he says the debate surrounding those men and women who wish to self-identify as a different gender must be conducted with respect and compassion. But it also needs to be conducted with honesty 'He's made a lot of the backbenchers angry,' one Labour MP told me. 'The women in the party aren't happy. He's not consulting with them on this. He's got all these young blokes from London in his office, advising him. And it's also rubbish politics. People in the Red Wall aren't going to buy this.' Actually, Starmer's stammering equivocation might be taken as a sign of progress. Last September he was willing to condemn unreservedly anyone who asserted only women can have a cervix. 'It shouldn't have been said,' he chided, in comments aimed at one of his own MPs, Rosie Duffield. Labour's leader is correct when he says the debate surrounding those men and women who wish to self-identify as a different gender must be conducted with respect and compassion. But it also needs to be conducted with honesty. Which means recognising Sir Keir doesn't really want a dignified debate over trans rights. What he really wants to do is brush the whole thing under the carpet and talk about the NHS and fuel bills instead. He can't. And one of the reasons he can't is Boris Johnson isn't going to let him. A fortnight ago, the Prime Minister went out of his way to tell the House of Commons he believed 'when it comes to distinguishing between a man and a woman, the basic facts of biology remain overwhelmingly important'. Last week, at a dinner with Tory MPs, he opened his speech by saying: 'Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Or, as Keir Starmer would put it, people who are assigned female or male at birth.' This crass attempt at humour rebounded hours later, when Conservative Jamie Wallis became the first MP to come out as transgender. But Boris's joke, which was widely reported and which he and his advisers knew would be widely reported revealed a clear strategy. The Tories believe trans rights is an area where Labour are dangerously exposed to public opinion. And with local elections only weeks away they intend to exploit it. In response, Starmer plans to do what his party always does when confronted with a difficult political issue. Deflect, obfuscate and when all else fails stick their heads in the sand and pray it goes away. The deflection, which he deployed last week, comes straight from Labour's long-discredited playbook on immigration and race. 'I do find that too many people retreat into or hold a position which is intolerant of others,' Starmer claimed. But that's offensive rubbish, and he knows it's offensive rubbish. Who are these bigots? The trans lobby's favourite hate-figure J. K. Rowling? Starmer's own backbenchers? Some of those most outspoken at the failure to confront the intellectual and moral inconsistencies at the heart of the trans debate are people who have spent their lives aligning themselves with the same progressive, liberal causes Sir Keir holds so dear. Is he seriously going to try to frame them as the rightful heirs of Nick Griffin and his BNP knuckle-draggers? I suspect even Starmer recognises that represents a deflection too far. Which is why he's started to embrace obfuscation. Over the past few days, Sir Keir has tentatively begun to talk about his commitment to 'safe spaces for women'. But when pressed on what this means in practice, the former barrister becomes mysteriously coy. Which represents something of a departure for a Labour leader. Over the past three decades his party has been in the vanguard of pressing for reserved and protected spaces for women. All women shortlists. Single-sex wards. Expansion of accommodation and support facilities for the victims of domestic and other violent abuse. Against that backdrop, platitudes about supporting safe spaces in principle are as cowardly as they are meaningless. What Starmer needs to explain clearly and unequivocally is who he believes should actually have access to these secure enclaves. And recognise that if biological men can utilise them, then they're no longer safe spaces at all. Again, I suspect he recognises the unsustainability of his position. Hence the attraction of the third approach outright denial. When challenged by Nick Ferrari, Starmer attempted to insinuate there was something prurient and superficial about the line of questioning. That the debate on trans rights was too important to be debased with questions relating to anatomy. But these aren't superficial questions. It's difficult to think of a more profound and fundamental issue than how we define a man, or how we define a woman. And the part that more than 200,000 years of human biology plays in that debate can't just be wished away because it no longer aligns with fashionable North London dinner-party opinion. For years, self-styled progressives have been haranguing us all with a consistent mantra. From Covid to global warming, they have appealed no, ordered every one of us to 'follow the science'. As the pandemic raged, Sir Keir demanded that Boris follow the science slavishly. Yet when it comes to the debate about trans rights, we are all suddenly told we are morally obliged to cast the science aside, and become biological flat-earthers. Starmer and his allies claim his stance is motivated by a defence of the basic rights of what he calls 'the most marginalised and abused of many, many communities'. But to do so is to superficialise the argument in precisely the way he condemns in others. However Sir Keir would like to frame it, the reality is the trans debate is not about a fight for rights, but a collision of rights. Which is why his evasion and sophistry simply will not stand. Yes, Boris and the Conservatives are going to try to exploit the issue for their own narrow political purposes. But that's because they think they are on the right side of the argument. And they're correct to think that. Out in the country, Keir Starmer's hesitancy and confusion are not shared. The vast majority of people are instinctively compassionate towards those who seek to self-identify. But they are also clear on the right of girls and women to participate freely and fairly in competitive sport. They are clear on a woman's right to secure changing rooms and other protected spaces. And they are very clear on the basics of human biology. Similar clarity is now required from the man who aspires to be their Prime Minister. Because he is trying to play politics too. Once again, Starmer is attempting to work the angles presenting one facade to the more radical elements within his party and movement, while attempting to show a different face to the public. That won't wash any more. Sir Keir has to level with people, not least people in the trans community. He needs to be clear that the only moral and politically sustainable position is one in which the rights of those who wish to self-identify are protected and guaranteed, so long as they don't undermine the rights of others. Where they do, there will have to be a process of give and take on both sides. And that means there will be some areas where the trans community will need to extend the same respect, tolerance and understanding it asks for itself. Can a woman have a penis? No. And it's time for Labour's leader to say so. A few weeks ago, the accounting team at the hotel group I run told me about a curious instruction they had received from the Government. From this month, and for an entire year and perhaps longer, every payslip issued was to include a special message. Officials explained that they wanted to ensure our staff understood that an increase in National Insurance contributions paid by workers and companies was helping to fund public services. My accounting team was told the message should read: 1.25% uplift in NICs funds NHS, health & social care. Officials explained that they wanted to ensure our staff understood that an increase in National Insurance contributions paid by workers and companies was helping to fund public services, writes Sir Rocco Forte (pictured) They had been left under the clear impression by HMRC that this was some sort of legal requirement. I couldnt believe my ears. Were we operating in Britain or Communist China? It is outrageous that the Government should be telling employers to act as its propaganda merchants over what so many see as an unjustifiable tax rise. I told the team that such a message would be added to my companys payslips over my dead body. We certainly will not be complying, and I hope other employers will join us in boycotting it. The Institute of Directors says its an effort to justify a deeply unpopular and regressive tax on jobs. Sir Edward Troup, who used to run HMRC, has even questioned whether the demand is within the taxmans legal powers. Fundamentally, the National Insurance rise that comes into effect on Wednesday is the wrong move if we want to expand the economy, and represents yet another depressing attack on business. For both companies and their staff, it is not a 1.25 per cent uplift as the Government wants employers to describe it. Yes, the headline rate will increase from 13.8 per cent to 15.05 per cent of someones salary for the employer, and from 12 per cent to 13.25 per cent for the employee. But actually that means the amount being paid to HMRC in pounds and pence will increase by more than ten per cent. In other words, the taxman is asking employers to help disguise a hefty tax raid as a trifling increase to our bills. This is at a time when employers are trying to recover from the devastation of Covid, and as families face a cost of living crunch. The measures announced in the Spring Statement will shield some lower earners from the worst effects of the National Insurance rise. But they went nowhere near far enough and have reversed only a sixth of the tax rises Mr Sunak has implemented in his tenure According to a recent poll, 89 per cent of employers said they did not want the Government to increase National Insurance rates this month. Only seven per cent were happy for Chancellor Rishi Sunak to go ahead. Many senior Tories, including Cabinet Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg and the chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, Mel Stride, have called for the rise to be scrapped. Whats more, everyone knows the tax rise will not solve the problems in social care, as Ministers have claimed, but will instead go into the bottomless pit of an unreformed National Health Service. It is a completely anti- Conservative policy and counter to the idea of the low-tax, small-state approach we would expect from a Tory Government. Indeed, Mr Sunak has managed to raise taxes more in two years than Gordon Brown did in ten. The measures announced in the Spring Statement will shield some lower earners from the worst effects of the National Insurance rise. But they went nowhere near far enough and have reversed only a sixth of the tax rises Mr Sunak has implemented in his tenure. Take the plan to raise the headline corporation tax rate from 19 to 25 per cent from 2023. This is undoing all the good work done by the previous Conservative Chancellor George Osborne, who cut corporation tax at every Budget. The capital gains tax haul, meanwhile, has jumped 35 per cent from 10.8 billion to a record 14.6 billion in the past year following a rise in tax on entrepreneurs selling businesses. Last year, Mr Sunak also froze the thresholds on income tax, dragging more people into the higher-rate tax net, and froze the lifetime allowance on pension saving. Meanwhile, the retail trade has been devastated by a move to axe VAT rebates on purchases made in this country by foreign tourists, many of whom are now flocking to Paris. Overall, the tax burden on British people and businesses will rise to 36.3 per cent of our total economic output by 2027. Thats the highest rate since the 1940s and compares with 33 per cent in 2020 when Mr Sunak became Chancellor. This is all at a time of great danger for the economy. Families are facing a cost-of-living crisis, and the big rises in oil and gas prices have in the past tended to trigger stagflation when prices soar and economic output collapses at the same time. What we need is lower taxation as part of a concerted strategy to stimulate growth. As someone who has supported the Government, I find its attitude to business bewildering. Alongside Mr Sunak, for instance, we have Michael Gove attacking the housebuilding industry as a cartel, when draconian planning laws are the real impediment to solving the lack of affordable homes. Slowly but surely, the Government is abandoning its support of free enterprise in favour of what are essentially Socialist policies. If Ministers do not change tack soon, the Conservative Party will haemorrhage votes to rivals on the Right just as it did over Brexit. Incredibly, polls undertaken since the Spring Statement suggest people are now more likely to trust Labour to manage tax and public spending than the Tories. It is not the right time to change Prime Ministers, as some have suggested, but the Government needs a fundamental rethink over its direction. What irks me as a longtime Conservative voter, and as a supporter of the Prime Ministers leadership campaign, is the Governments un-Conservative behaviour. The curtailment of our civil liberties and damage to business we saw in the pandemic was just the start. I struggle to articulate a single Conservative policy being followed by this Government. It was elected to deliver Brexit, which did not mean just cutting ties with Europe but rather seizing the opportunities of our new position. Instead of reducing regulation it is increasing it; instead of reducing taxes it has raised them. Ministers are imposing a huge burden on the taxpayer in the shape of energy levies in a mad rush to go green without taking into account the overall cost and our energy security. With its environmental zealotry, the Government is becoming ever more intrusive as it dictates everything from how we heat our homes to what cars we drive. Its time would be better spent on reforming the NHS, which has managed to cope with Covid but that is no thanks to its leadership. The people on the front line, the doctors and nurses and ambulance drivers are the heroes. I compare them to the troops in the trenches in the First World War, sent over the top by incompetent generals to be slaughtered. DURING all this, the system has failed millions of patients waiting for routine care. Waiting lists in England have soared from 4.4 million to 5.8 million. The levels of health spending are consuming ever vaster quantities of national resources as the NHS continues to ask for more taxpayer money, which it is inevitably given. Yet nothing changes. It is these issues not lockdown parties in Downing Street which will cause me and millions of others to seek someone else to vote for the next time a local or national election beckons. To win back our trust, its time for the Conservative Party to be Conservative again. Ignorant, arrogant, complacent, timid and most of all greedy. The charge sheet against countries and people that for 30 years ignored abundant warnings about Russias dangerous designs on its neighbours is damning. And history will surely judge harshly those who ignored the monstrous threat that Putin poses to our democracy. The guilty men coined to describe those who indulged Nazi Germany in the 1930s range from hard-Left activists such as George Galloway to patriotic types like Nigel Farage with a nostalgic fondness for no-nonsense strongmen. Lenin would have called both lots useful idiots. A swathe of our professional elite is in the dock too: for years they enjoyed lucrative life on the caviar express, a gravy train run by thugs and gangsters. And many others are guilty for apathy and naivety. History will surely judge harshly those who ignored the monstrous threat that Putin poses to our democracy Vladimir Putins onslaught on neighbouring Ukraine came as a shock a bewildering upheaval in the largely peaceful world we took for granted in Europe. But to claim surprise is to admit inattention. Again and again we have ignored stark warnings about the dangers facing us, our allies, and our values. We naively took our freedom and security for granted. Instead of heeding the messages, we belittled the messengers. The price of complacency for us is uncertainty, high prices for food and fuel, and the cost of greater defence spending. Ukrainians are paying for it too with their lives. Why didnt we listen? One reason was that we knew so little of the countries that emerged from the Soviet empires collapse in 1989-91. Ignorance begets arrogance. Our priority was to keep the good guys in power first Mikhail Gorbachev, then Boris Yeltsin. We broke our rules, allowing blatant election-rigging and wild profiteering, all to keep out hardliners. Our indulgent, meddling approach to Russia was both wrong and dangerous. For it was clear even in the 1990s that evil was afoot. The collapse of the Communist system masked the survival of an imperialist approach with far deeper roots, going back to the Tsarist empire. Modern Russia despises neighbouring countries. Their sovereignty is constrained, their independence an aberration. Putins war in Ukraine rests on the mistaken belief that it is a Western puppet state run by drug-addled Nazis. In 1994, Estonias President Lennart Meri, himself a childhood survivor of deportation to Siberia, gave a blistering, prescient warning at a conference in Hamburg. He lambasted Russias bullying approach to its neighbours and the Wests naivety and cynicism. The leader of the Russian delegation stood up and walked out in protest. His name was Vladimir Putin. Nobody knew then that five years later he would be Russias leader. That should have been a wake-up call. A former KGB man running Russia should be as alarming as an ex-Gestapo officer running Germany. Putins ascent to power came amid mass murder. Apartment-block bombings in which more than 300 innocent Russians died created a climate of panic. Putins popularity, based on a ruthless response to supposed terrorist atrocities, rocketed. But the bombings were staged by the authorities. Those who tried to investigate them died. I was a foreign correspondent in Moscow in those years. It was clear that Putin was a monstrous thug surrounded by crooks. His rule spelled repression at home and aggression abroad. But I came under huge pressure from the hurrah chorus foreign bankers, lawyers, and accountants minting money in Russia. They did not want hostile news stories to spoil their party. In my 2008 book, The New Cold War, I highlighted the poisoning of the fugitive Russian official Alexander Litvinenko in the heart of London (the use of polonium, a potent radioactive substance, endangered hundreds more). I described Russias 2007 cyber-attack on Estonia, a stalwart British ally. I listed the many uses of energy as a weapon. I outlined the danger of the Putin regimes manipulative use of history, and its bullying approach to neighbouring countries. Indeed, I warned of a looming war in Georgia which took place barely four months after the book appeared. My central message was that Russias embrace of globalisation had increased its ability to threaten us. Trade and investment have geopolitical effects. They can be used to exert influence and buy power. If only we had diversified away from Russian gas then, we would not be in such a pickle. Instead we hugely increased our dependency. The book was a best-seller, translated into 20 languages. My friends in Eastern Europe were thrilled: finally, an influential Western voice was echoing their concerns. But the reaction from so-called experts in London, Washington and other Western capitals was derisive. Scaremongering, said a colleague. Incoherent, said another. How could a country as weak as Russia possibly pose a threat to the far bigger and richer countries of Nato and the European Union? In vain I tried to explain that Putins great asset is willpower. He is willing to accept pain, tell lies and take risks. We are not. He relishes confrontation. We shun it. The longer we dither, the worse the outcome. And so it has proved. Already the Hitlerian destruction of Ukraine is under way. And worse is to come. Natos credibility is hanging by a thread. If Putin wins, our security is shattered. If he loses, he will escalate, quite conceivably using nuclear blackmail. I take no pride or joy in my vindication. I am glad that the depravity of Putin and his henchmen is logged in historys hall of infamy. I hope that future generations may learn the lesson of appeasement. But our education has come at an appallingly high price. In recent weeks I have received touching private apologies from former critics, acknowledging their errors. Nigel Farage, to his credit, says publicly that he was wrong to admire Putin. But the real moral reckoning is still to come. On the Left, the self-proclaimed champions of the underdog should see Putin as the true face of the imperialism they profess to loathe. They should stop nit-picking about Ukraines tiny far Right. They should shed the lazy moral equivalence that justifies Putins aggression by blaming Nato and EU enlargement. Surely they should see that Putins aggression explains why countries of the former Soviet empire have been so desperate to join Western organisations? Inside, they enjoy a measure of safety. Outside, they are prey to the wolves. Old-fashioned conservatives should drop their lazy isolationism, dismissing conflicts on the European continent as great-power friction of no interest to us in Britain. Countries like Germany, whose irresponsible, sanctimonious pacifism masked unparalleled greed over Russian business, must bear a huge share of the blame. For its part, the Tory party should look with horror at its dependence on donations that stem ultimately from fortunes made in Russia. That money, and the grotesquely glitzy socialising that it lubricates, is toxic in its origins and its effects. So too should figures like George Osborne and Peter Mandelson for accepting hospitality on Oleg Deripaskas yacht. That this Russian tycoons robust business practices earned him a visa ban from the United States did not trouble these pillars of our establishment. Our pinstriped classes should be disgraced for their role as enablers, allowing some of the worst people in the world to launder reputations and riches through our financial and legal system. The libel lawyers who have so vindictively and ruthlessly tried to silence brave investigative journalists and campaigners should hang their heads in disgrace. Those besuited traitors should be donating to Ukrainian humanitarian and military fundraisers every penny made from serving the Russian elites 30-year looting spree. Ukrainians, outgunned, hungry and alone, are fighting and dying for freedom theirs and ours. I have diagnosed a new syndrome: cockapoo overload. Is it just me, or has the number of these dinky bundles of fluff romping around increased dramatically? No doubt many of my social circle (where cockapoos are now ubiquitous) suspect I have a hard-bitten prejudice against dogs. But they are completely wrong. I am very fond of dogs. Not all dogs but then I don't love all humans. There are some dogs that strike me as unattractive, demanding and frankly bad-mannered, but most are adorable. I totally understand the appeal of their companionship, constancy and unquestioning devotion. In many respects, they are like the children you wish you had: much less trouble and much more reliable. Yet suddenly everybody has a dog, and not only a dog but a dog that runs their life. I have diagnosed a new syndrome: cockapoo overload. Is it just me, or has the number of these dinky bundles of fluff romping around increased dramatically? (stock image) The other day I was amazed to see that even John Pawson, the superstar minimalist architect who does not allow a cushion or visible plug socket in his house, cuddling up to a messy puppy on his austere sofa. But we don't own one and that makes us a rare species. Not having a dog in these times reminds me of my early 30s, when I hadn't yet had a child. When I visited friends, they would start apologising for the noise and chaos of their children in a way that was both unnecessary and patronising. They clearly felt sorry for me not being in the same position. Now it's the same with dogs. Except that it's worse, because whereas people used to attempt to get their children to behave, now they merely smile indulgently and explain that their dog is clawing at my leg because 'he's excited to meet you'. That's as may be, and I will no doubt make such a discovery, since I do plan on getting a dog one day when I'm ready to hand over control of life, trudge round a muddy park first thing in the morning and spend a fortune on doggy daycare. But that's not quite yet (stock image) Then follows an elaborate explanation of the newly discovered appeal of dog ownership. As two relatively new dog owners told me the other day: 'When you get a dog, you are going to realise how much of your life has been wasted not having one.' That's as may be, and I will no doubt make such a discovery, since I do plan on getting a dog one day when I'm ready to hand over control of life, trudge round a muddy park first thing in the morning and spend a fortune on doggy daycare. But that's not quite yet. A new hairstyle has hit my specs appeal One of the unintended consequences of changing your hairstyle is the problem of your specs no longer suiting you. For someone who has an awful lot of spectacles reading glasses, short-distance glasses, prescription and non-prescription sunglasses the cost of replacing them all would be similar to shelling out for a short holiday. So I won't be doing that. But I've been surprised by the drastic effect that a fringe and a few inches lopped off has had. My beloved aviator-style glasses, which have stood me in good stead for decades, suddenly look most peculiar, while oversized sunnies make me a dead ringer for Ant in the Ant And Bee books of my childhood. Anyone who remembers them will know it's not a good look. Now it's ALWAYS brown in town Last week, I gave a talk at a conference for business owners. The subject was: Should You Dress For Success? I shared the odd thing I've picked up over the years, but I learnt something too. I had expected that in the crowd there would be fewer men wearing suits than a few years ago, and I was right. Last week, I gave a talk at a conference for business owners. The subject was: Should You Dress For Success? (stock image) The formal business suit was scarcer than a hummingbird in Trafalgar Square. But I hadn't caught up with the brown shoe thing. When did brown shoes become so popular? I still remember the old adage 'never trust a man in brown shoes', and though that's nonsense, most men wore black shoes at work. When I shared this with the driver ferrying me back to town, he said that he never wore brown shoes and always wore a suit and not so long ago would wear a chauffeur's cap as well. How times change. Slow death of the useful high street Our high street is on the turn. During various lockdowns it was a fantastic resource, with so much we needed available a few yards away, including a bookshop, a dry cleaner, a post office and an optician, along with food stores and a chemist. Now costs are soaring and many of the shops that sold something useful are being priced out and replaced by stores nobody needs. The dry cleaner is close to my heart, but they tell me the cost of hangers has risen 250 per cent due to supply chain issues from China, and their rent has been doubled. The shift from formal work clothes has damaged business and they think they will have to close. Please, please don't let them be replaced by another estate agent. Our high street is on the turn. During various lockdowns it was a fantastic resource, with so much we needed available a few yards away, including a bookshop, a dry cleaner, a post office and an optician, along with food stores and a chemist (stock image) We will miss these kings of fine dining Many of my most memorable meals over the past few decades have been in establishments run by Jeremy King and Chris Corbin, who have just lost the battle for ownership of their restaurants to Thailand's Minor Hotels Group. It scarcely bears thinking about. Corbin & King's Le Caprice was an essential 1980s hangout. The Ivy under their ownership was the go-to for the theatrical great and good. They had to sell both. Undeterred, the pair opened The Wolseley in Piccadilly and turned it into one of the great London dining spots of recent years. Many of my most memorable meals over the past few decades have been in establishments run by Jeremy King (left) and Chris Corbin (right), who have just lost the battle for ownership of their restaurants to Thailand's Minor Hotels Group They also ran brasseries like our local Soutine, where the staff pour me extra-large glasses of house white and serve the most delicious tarte tatin. Birthdays, celebrations, business meetings Jeremy and Chris always delivered. If they are no longer in control, I fear their much loved restaurants will change for the worse. Great restaurateurs are individuals, not chains, and none has been greater than this pair. A young mum has revealed her devastation over losing her soulmate who tragically drowned in front of her and their baby daughter after going for 'one last paddle' in a surfing competition. Jamie Civil, 35, died after competing on Aramoana Beach near Dunedin in New Zealand on March 26. He was regarded as one of the country's top wave riders. Tragedy struck when he entered the surf for an extra session after competing in the event, while his partner Courtney Morgan and their six-month-old daughter Lenni watched on. Courtney Morgan has been left devastated over the death of her partner Jamie Civil, 35, after a surfing competition in New Zealand's south. Jamie is pictured holding their daughter, Lenni Courtney said by the time lifeguards and doctors got to Jamie, he couldn't be saved The semi-professional surfer was regarded as one of New Zealand's best and was know for his love of huge waves Jamie was held underwater by the big surf, and by the time lifeguards and doctors got to him he couldn't be saved. Courtney has been posting pictures of the family on Instagram in memory of the times they shared following his death. She told FEMAIL Jamie's death has been a 'heavy load'. 'He was so special to us and his beauty should be shared, especially for our darling daughter,' she said. Courtney also revealed the proud dad couldn't wait to get Lenni on a surfboard. In one post, Courtney shared a picture of the trio on the beach and described their love as 'perfect'. 'I love you so much and I know you love us too, you made sure we knew it everyday,' she wrote. 'I was the happiest I've ever experienced in my life, with you and you were the same, we were perfect. The ultimate love. I will always love you, my darling heart.' Jamie, pictured with Lenni, has been described as having incredible talent while also remaining humble Jamie, Courtney and Lenni loved their beach lifestyle In another she said 'everything always made sense' when she was with Jamie. The waves were 'huge' on the day he died but the surfer was known for braving dangerous conditions and would often go in when no-one else dared. 'These were the conditions he lived for, was talented and experienced with and thrived in, making the tragedy so much harder for people to process,' a spokesperson for the local surfing community said. Other surfers have posted their own tributes to the 'legend' barrel-rider. 'I ran into Jamie a few times on my trips down south and was always blown away by his freakish tube riding skills and humble attitude,' one surfer said. While another thanked the 'legend' for all of his help over the years, labelling him 'one of the greats'. Courtney said 'everything always made sense' when she was with Jamie 'Last time I saw you were so happy surrounded by your beautiful family, could see you were embracing dad life and loving every minute,' another friend said. The community of Dunedin is reeling from the loss but also working to get behind Courtney and her daughter. Jamie was the sole wage-earner in the home which means Courtney will need to head back to work earlier than expected. New mum Courtney now needs to go back to work sooner than expected after Jamie's death A Give A Little page has been set up to take away the financial burden of paying for funeral expenses and to give the new mum some breathing room. The money will be used to help fund her modest living expenses until Courtney can get a job to provide for their young daughter. The Christmas of 2015 was supposed to be an exciting time for Lucy Sharp who was to enjoy one last stress-free holiday before starting high school. But on December 21 the 13-year-old student's world was shaken as she was diagnosed with life-threatening blood cancer Hodgkin's lymphoma. Lucy Sharp, from Auckland, New Zealand, told FEMAIL the only telltale symptom she experienced was a lump on the left side of her neck - which doctors initially thought was caused by a potential infection from a cat scratch. When recalling the diagnosis, Lucy, now 19, said: 'It was such a blur and I don't think I realised what was happening at the time.' While the cancer was caught early and treatment began two days after the prognosis, the ambitious teenager relapsed one year later in March 2017. Scroll down for video Lucy Sharp (pictured) was diagnosed with life-threatening hodgkin's lymphoma on December 21, 2015 at the age of 13 Lucy, from Auckland, New Zealand, told Daily Mail Australia the only telltale symptom she experienced was a lump on the left side of her neck which was the size of a $1 coin Recalling when she received the life-changing news, Lucy said: 'It was a normal day, we had gone into the hospital to get the results from my biopsy. 'I was with my mum and younger brother; I remember sitting in the hallway when this random doctor rushed into the room and then calls us in quickly. When the physician delivered the news that Lucy had cancer, it shocked the whole family. 'My mum burst into tears but I didn't understand the situation and what it meant for me,' she said. When the physician delivered the news that Lucy had cancer, it shocked the whole family. 'My mum burst into tears but I didn't understand the situation and what it meant for me,' she said The sinister lump on her neck was the size of a $1 coin and she didn't experience any pain when it was touched A biopsy determined the lump to be cancerous and a 'port' was inserted into the side of Lucy's ribcage for treatment the following day. The sinister lump on her neck was the size of a $1 coin and she didn't experience any pain when it was touched. On December 23 Lucy had her first round of chemotherapy which continued for two months until February 2016. 'I was really lucky the treatment got rid of the cancer quickly, but then I relapsed a year later,' she said. The first round of treatments Lucy experienced mild symptoms that didn't effect her health significantly, but the second time the side effects were far more severe. 'I lost my hair, I felt nauseous all the time and didn't have much energy; I'd have chemo then feel sick for two days,' she said. A biopsy determined the lump to be cancerous and a 'port' was inserted into the side of Lucy's ribcage for treatment. On December 23 Lucy had her first round of chemotherapy Based on statistics and medical research, the cause of the cancer is unknown and is rare in children but common among teenagers aged 15 or older. Lucy also doesn't have any family history of cancer. After she relapsed in 2017 she would often need to take days off of school to go to chemotherapy. Lucy said one of the 'hardest aspects' of living with cancer as a teenager was losing her hair and coping with how others treated her. 'I went to an all girls high school so I often heard rumours spread about me,' she said. 'The cancer itself never really effected my mental health in the moment, or even a year later, it was only a year or two ago from now that I started to comprehend what I went through.' Lucy said one of the 'hardest aspects' of living with cancer as a teenager was losing her hair and coping with how others treated her What is Hodgkin's Lymphoma? Hodgkin lymphoma is a rare form of cancer that starts in a type of white blood cells called lymphocytes. The disease begins in a lymph node, usually in the neck, then spreads through the lymphatic system from one group of lymph nodes to another. Hodgkin lymphoma represents roughly 0.5 percent of all cancers diagnosed in Australia. About 11 percent of all lymphomas are types of Hodgkin lymphoma, while the remainder are non-Hodgkin. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma may arise in lymph nodes anywhere in the body, whereas Hodgkin lymphoma typically begins in the upper body, such as the neck, chest or armpits. Hodgkin lymphoma is often diagnosed at an early stage and is therefore considered one of the most treatable cancers. Approximately 600 people in Australia are diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma every year, most commonly younger people aged 15 29 and older people over the age of 65. It is more common in men than women. Source: Lymphoma Australia Advertisement Lucy's doctor 'instantly knew' the cancer was back after glancing at her neck during a routine checkup. 'The doctor knew I had relapsed after I walked in the door, my neck just must've looked a bit different that day,' she said. Lucy had six surgeries in total and the second time round experienced a sense of deja vu. To get her through not but two grueling cancer treatments, Lucy often relied on a pair of bright pink socks covered in elephants to brighten her day. 'After treatment or surgery, I'd look down at my feet and smile seeing the socks,' she said. The socks ultimately acted as a distraction from the medical proceedings and brought a smile to her face. To get her through not but two gruelling cancer treatments, Lucy often relied on a pair of bright pink socks covered in elephants to brighten her day. Now celebrating her fifth year cancer-free, Lucy continues to support other patients through her not-for-profit organisation Socks For Smiles. Every year for Christmas the organisation sell fun socks to sick kids and with all proceeds going towards those in need. The small gesture will likely make a huge impact to teenagers currently battling similar diseases as Lucy once did. For more information on Hodgkin's lymphoma and other types of blood cancer, please visit Lymphoma Australia or the Australian Cancer Council. A woman who lived nearly a decade with a 'cool streak' under her thumbnail has revealed that the brown stripe turned out to be a rare form of cancer. Maria Sylvia, 25, from Virginia, first saw the mark when she was 16 years old and was led to believe it was a mole under her nail bed. Nine years later, she was diagnosed with subungual melanoma, a type of skin cancer that occurs under the nails. She shared her shocking story in a now-viral TikTok that has been viewed more than 19 million times in just two weeks. 'Me: Having this for 10 years, thinking it was a cool streak in my nail,' she captioned a picture of her thumb in the clip. 'It's cancer.' Scroll down for video Maria Sylvia, 25, from Virginia, revealed in an now-viral TikTok video that the 'cool streak' she had under her thumbnail for nearly a decade was cancer Sylvia was diagnosed with subungual melanoma, a rare type of skin cancer that occurs under the nails Sylvia shared a photo from December 2012, when she first noticed the streak, pointing out that it was fainter and she didn't think much of it Tens of thousands of viewers commented on her post, prompting her to share a series of follow-ups detailing her biopsy and diagnosis. Sylvia shared a photo from December 2012, when she first noticed the streak, pointing out that it was fainter and she didn't think much of it. She believes it got darker over the course of a year, though she admitted she doesn't really remember because it was so long ago. 'I had seen doctors. I was in and out of doctors' [offices] all the time. I was an athlete, so I was getting physicals every year,' she said. 'No one really noticed it until one time a doctor did notice it. 'This was probably circa 2014, and they were like, "Oh, that's odd, but you don't really fit the demographics, so if it just grows any bigger go and see a doctor." So, of course, by then, I am pretty sure that it already grew to its fullest extent.' Sylvia credited a friend with pushing her to get a biopsy done, saying she found out in late January that she had subungual melanoma Surgeons removed Sylvia's entire nail bed and the top of her thumb down to the bone and tendon on March 11, two months after her diagnosis Sylvia's test results showed that the cancer did not spread, and she considers herself lucky that she got it checked out when she did After it was confirmed that she didn't need to have her thumb amputated or require any further treatment, she had a skin graft on March 25 Sylvia noted that she 'didn't really have any issue' with the mark under her nail, which contributed to her delayed diagnosis. 'I didn't have any pain with it, so I just figured it was a mole because that's what they told me, that it was most likely a mole in my nailbed,' she said. Sylvia credited a friend with pushing her to get a biopsy done, saying she found out in late January that she had subungual melanoma. Only 0.07% to 3.5% of melanoma cases are subungual melanoma, according to WebMD. They are most often found in the thumb and the big toe, though they can be seen in other toes and fingers. Subungual melanoma can spread to other parts of the body and cause death. Sylvia shared photos of her thumb after her surgery and skin graft on Twitter Sylvia's skin graft was taken from her elbow during her most recent surgery Sylvia's arm was wrapped to ensure her thumb didn't move while it was healing Sylvia is still considered 'high risk' for skin cancer and will need checkups every three months for the next two years and then every six months for the remaining three years The oncologist who diagnosed Sylvia's subungual melanoma told her it was at stage 0, or in situ, meaning it had not grown deeper than the top layer of the skin. 'I was informed that this cancer can stay in situ (also known as stage 0) for 10-13 years before hitting stage 1,' she told Newsweek. 'I felt relief that I got it looked at when I did, but I knew there was more to come for getting rid of this cancer.' WHAT IS SUBUNGUAL MELANOMA? Subungual melanoma is a rare type of skin cancer that occurs in the skin under the nails. They are seen in only 0.07% to 3.5% melanoma cases in the world. In 75% to 90% of reported cases, they are found in the thumb and the big toe. However, they can be seen in other toes and fingers. The exact cause is unknown, but this type of melanoma differs from others because it doesn't have any connection to sun exposure. Subungual melanomas typically look like a brown-black discoloration in the nail bed. The discoloration can form a thin line or streak, or it can be irregularly shaped. Subungual melanoma can be painful and can be spread to other parts of the body and cause death. Source: WebMD Advertisement On March 11, surgeons at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, removed Sylvia's entire nail bed and the top of her thumb down to the bone and tendon. She shared photos of her thumb four days after the surgery on Twitter. Sylvia's test results showed that the cancer did not spread. She didn't need to have her thumb amputated or require any further treatment. However, she explained she is 'now deemed at high risk for having skin cancer' and will have to see her oncologist and dermatologist every three months for the next two years and then every six months for the remaining three years. On March 25, she received a skin graft, which she also shared photos of on Twitter. Sylvia's viral TikTok video caused panic for some viewers who had similar marks under their nails. While she noted that they were likely moles, she encouraged everyone to get checked out to be on the safe side. 'I think some people are afraid to confront the possibility of having cancer and facing their mortality,' she told Newsweek. 'The biggest thing I have urged is to put your mind at ease and follow through with seeing someone. 'If this is caught early, it is very curable, and having a wonky thumb for a month or two is better than not having one at all.' She added that she is 'very grateful' to her friend who had urged her to get a biopsy after reading an article with pictures of subungual melanoma cases. 'The best thing from this video going viral is that hopefully others will do the same if they observe a nail streak on someone they encounter,' she said. Princes Charles and William won't allow Prince Andrew to be involved in The Firm's future events, a royal expert has claimed. The Duke of York, 62, took centre stage at Prince Philip's memorial this week escorting the Queen to the front row of Westminster Abbey leaving the royal family 'dismayed'. It had been expected that the Dean of Westminster would take the Queen to her seat, with Andrew behind. But the shamed royal instead walked her right in front of live cameras. The prince has been forced to step back from public life over his association with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Earlier this month he paid millions to Virginia Giuffre, who had accused him of rape. He has consistently denied her allegations. Princes Charles and William won't allow Prince Andrew to be involved in The Firm's future events, a royal expert has claimed. The Duke of York, 62, took centre stage at Prince Philip's memorial this week escorting the Queen to the front row of Westminster Abbey leaving the royal family ' dismayed '. Insiders have claimed he'll use the opportunity as a springboard to support his mother at a Platinum Jubilee service at St Paul's Cathedral in June and is not bothered if 'public opinion is against him', However, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams has now suggested there is 'no way' William and Charles will accept Andrew's part in the celebrations. He told the Mirror: 'In terms of royal events, I don't expect we will see Prince Andrew appear in the near future - if ever again. 'He won't play any kind of a role in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, of that I think we can be quite sure. 'Prince Charles and William will be totally apposed to it, it's a non-starter.' Earlier this week the Daily Mail revealed that senior royals had 'reluctantly' accepted Andrew would travel with the Queen to London because they live so close to each other. However, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams has now suggested there is 'no way' William and Charles will accept Andrew's part in the celebrations (pictured together) But they had hoped 'common sense' would prevail and that Andrew would not seek to play a prominent role in his first public appearance since he struck the out-of-court settlement with Epstein victim Mrs Giuffre, 38. A family source said that senior royals including Prince Charles and the Duke of Cambridge were 'dismayed' by events and that Andrew's decision to put himself 'front and centre' of the service had caused 'consternation', However, experts have also suggested walk with Andrew was the Queen's way of signalling it's 'ok' and that Her Majesty is 'very clearly stating that he has a role at family occasions'. Vanity Fair royal editor Katie Nichol said the Queen 'deliberately chose to have Andrew play such a prominent role' to show the public 'she still makes decisions'. Buckingham Palace told bankers a mysterious 750,000 gift to Prince Andrew was for his daughter Princess Beatrice's wedding. Pictured: Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi at their wedding 'This was the Queen's way of showing two things; one, that the buck stops with her, and she makes the decisions, and secondly that she believes he's innocent. She made the point very, very clearly. 'But Charles and William were very aware of the perspective, of the optics of this 'Unfortunately, this picture [of Prince Andrew escorting the Queen] has overtaken what should have been a memorial to a great man.' The reports come as Prince Andrew has become embroiled in another scandal as Buckingham Palace told bankers a mysterious 750,000 gift to The Duke was for his daughter Princess Beatrice's wedding. The Daily Mail has obtained details of an astonishing phone call to his private secretary at the time deepening the riddle over the money. The Duchess of York and Princess Eugenie have also been named in the High Court as having received large amounts of cash. The extraordinary case involves an alleged fraudster who set up a scheme described in legal documents as 'apparent money laundering'. The Mail revealed yesterday how 77-year-old Turkish millionairess Nebahat Isbilen claims to have been scammed out of her fortune by businessman Selman Turk. She is suing him in the High Court over 40million she says is missing. She claims 1.1million of her money ended up with Andrew. He has repaid 750,000 but has not explained why it was paid into his account at royal bank Coutts in November 2019 in the first place Mrs Isbilen alleges she was tricked into giving the duke the money by Mr Turk, who she says falsely told her the payment was because Andrew had helped her obtain a passport. Now the Mail can reveal that the duke's former private secretary Amanda Thirsk gave the wedding explanation for the payment. Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in a private ceremony in Windsor in July 2020. A civil servant has revealed how he managed to travel more than 1,200 miles from London on a train in just 24 hours. Jo Kibble, who works for Ealing Council, wanted to see what the furthest point he could get from St Pancras in 24 hours, ending up in the southern Italian station of Bovo Marina. Six months ago the travel enthusiast did the same challenge instead by bus and ended up 260 miles from his London starting point in Morecambe, Lancashire - with much more impressive results the second time. Taking to Twitter he shared the step-by-step of his journey, with the 24-hours starting as soon as the first train departed London. He left St Pancras at 7.01am on Wednesday and arrived at Bova Marina - the southern most station in Italy - at 8am the next day. As Italy is an hour ahead of the UK - the total journey time was 23 hours and 59 minutes. Jo Kibble, who works for Ealing Council, wanted to see what the furthest point he could get from St Pancras (pictured) in 24 hours, ending up in the southern Italian station of Bovo Marina. He left St Pancras at 7.01am on Wednesday and arrived at Bova Marina - the southern most station in Italy - at 8am the next day. As Italy is an hour ahead of the UK - the total journey time was 23 hours and 59 minutes Jo, who describes himself as 'a timetables nerd' said he studied and researched the options for going east or south through Europe before planning the trip. He explained: 'Six months ago, I set out to find out how far I could get in 24 hours by bus from London #bus24. Today - the obvious sequel: #train24. What is the furthest point I can get from St Pancras in 24 hours? I think I know on paper, but there's some tight connections ahead 'Same ground rules as before: I'm finding the furthest station, as the crow flies, you can get to in 24 hours not necessarily the longest journey. With rail timetables in post-Covid flux, the answer could be different next week. And yes, obviously Turtle is coming along,' he added referring to his toy turtle. The first leg of his journey was 07.01 from St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord. Once there, he walked to Gare d'Est, where he got on the train to Strasbourg on the French-German border. 'The eastern high speed line out of Paris can probably claim to be Europe's fastest railway, as the world train speed record was set along here in 2007 (575km/h). We're going a bit more sedately through the Champagne region today,' he explained in a series of tweets. Taking to Twitter, Jo shared the step-by-step of his journey, with the 24-hours starting as soon as the first train departs. Above he shoed the final train times - although his last train was 5 minutes late With just 10 minutes to change trains, he then travelled from Strasbourg to Basel, in northwestern Switzerland. 'Strasbourg, bang on time. It was a tight connection, so this is exactly what I needed. Except of course the onward train is 10 minutes late. Could do with that not growing too much,' Jo added. Once in Basel, Jo said that he loved 'the station hall' 'with its big landscape paintings of the Alpine joys it is a gateway to' but added there was 'not much time to pause and enjoy today'. From Basel, he went to Zurich, also in Switzerland, where he changed trains again and travelled to Milan in northern Italy. 'These lovely new trains are called 'Giruno', which means 'buzzard' in Switzerland's fourth language, Romansch. We are a remarkable 22 carriages long, though we will dump half at the border,' he explained as he bordered the train in Basel. Once in Milan, he added: 'To be clear, St Pancras is a great station. Grand Central is a great station. Milano Centrale is The Great Station. Of no clear architectural style, and politically dubious, but it is a temple to travel'. He left St Pancras at 7.01am on Wednesday and arrived at Bova Marina - the southern most station in Italy - at 8am the next day. As Italy is an hour ahead of the UK - the total journey time was 23 hours and 59 minutes. He is pictured in Italy From Milan he travelled to Rome, arriving at 10.40pm, nearly 16 hours after he first set off. In Rome, he hopped on the sleeper train to Villa San Giovanni in Calabria. Despite admitting he 'hadnt expected much in the way of facilities on this train' he was served a 'little breakfast in bed, including a very decent espresso', as he speed along the Tyrrhenian coastline. In Villa San Giovanni, he could have travelled to Sicily on Europe's last remaining train-ferry but instead opted to keep travelling through mainland Italy. 'This is the point where I am going to disappoint a lot of people in my timeline. Despite appearances, I am not staying on the train to use Europes last train ferry, but getting off at the last mainland stop, Villa San Giovanni, to go further on this side of the straits,' he added. The total cost of the journey - before food and drink - was 330, including an Interrail pass 'Put simply, when you are up against the clock, being shunted on and off a ferry and sailing slowly across the Straits of Messina is inefficient time use. My 24hrs would be more than up by the time we got to the other side'. From Villa San Giovanni he travelled to Reggio di Calabria before a quick change to Bova Marina, in Calabria, 1220miles from St Pancras. 'Did it! 6 minutes late, 45 seconds to spare. Bova Marina, in Calabria, 1964.6km from St Pancras, 23hrs,59min,15sec. I think that is the furthest you can make it,' he said. 'It would be hard to find a more Italian scene than the forecourt of Bova Marina station. Fountain, tabacchi, pasticceria/bar, pink church with illuminated Madonna, some random old men hanging around chatting. I love it. Now - to the sea,' he wrote. Adding a philanthropic edge to the journey, he pledged to donate 20p per kilometre travelled to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) in support of people living in Ukraine which came to a total of 393 - which he rounded up to an even 400. Speaking to the Independent about his journey, Jo explained: 'I have been starved of international travel for two years, and Europe is opening up again. Last year I sated my wanderlust by seeing how far I could get by bus from London in 24 hours, so the trains seemed an obvious follow up,' 'I also noticed it was the 50th birthday of the Interrail pass, which I have many happy memories of using in my youth, so it was fun to get one again.' 'I had to do a lot of spreadsheets, timetable wrangling and map measuring to come up with the eventual answer. And some back-up plans if the trains played up!' In total, he travelled through nine different European trains and five different countries UK, France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. The total cost of the journey - before food and drink - was 330, including an Interrail pass, Thee Queen Mother 'would have approved of Kate Middleton' because she is 'the real deal,' a royal expert has claimed. Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond says The Duchess of Cambridge, 40, is 'shaping up to be to be the perfect future Queen'. Speaking to OK! Jennie explained how The Queen Mother, who died aged 101 in 2002, would have approved of her great-grandson's wife as she is 'gracious, elegant, committed and dutiful'. She explained: 'Everyone who spoke to the Queen Mother would say that she gave you the time of day. I say the same about Kate. Thee Queen Mother 'would have approved of Kate Middleton' because she is 'the real deal,' a royal expert has claimed. Kate is pictured in the Bahamas in March Jennie Bond explained how The Queen Mother (pictured in 1990), who died aged 101 in 2002, would have approved of her great-grandson's wife as she is 'gracious, elegant, committed and dutiful'. 'She gives the impression of being fully engaged and committed to any conversation or engagement, and the Queen Mother was notorious for that. She was so notorious for it, in fact, that she was late for everything!' Jennie added that Kate and William are similar and that they 'connect with young people in a way that's vital for the success and future of the crown' and have 'nailed monarchy cool'. Jennie's comments come as The Duchess of Cambridge was praised as 'confident' yet 'assertive' during her recent Caribbean tour with Prince William, with experts saying as she 'emerged as a future Queen' with as 'much talent for firm, calm leadership as the current one'. William and Kate's charm offensive mark the Queen 's Platinum Jubilee has been beset with controversy and helped reignite for republican calls in Jamaica for complete independence from Britain. The Duchess of Cambridge was 'confident' yet 'assertive' during her Caribbean tour, as she 'emerged as a future Queen' with as 'much talent for firm, calm leadership as the current one', a body language expert has claimed However throughout the tour, body language expert Judi James said the mother-of-three had appeared as a Queen-in-waiting. Judi explained: 'William and Kate's professional and emotional double-act has probably never looked stronger than it does on this tour and it is a testament to both of them that Kate's signals of power and signs of leadership have been revealed openly and with what looks like a welcome response from her husband.' Speaking to FEMAIL, the expert explained how the Duchess has taken the lead on the international trip, proving herself to be 'much more than a mere consort' to the Duke, 39. Judi explained Kate was delightful in her interactions with children on the tour showing herself as a Queen in waiting Judi explained: 'It would be hard to over-emphasise the version of Kate we have been seeing during this royal tour and how vital her impact is going to be on the dynamic of the Firm in the future. 'The 'Waitey Katie' tag has taken a long time to shrug off, as have the suggestions that Kate is bland and rather passive. 'Kate has been a slow mover in terms of royal profile and positioning, adopting a cautious, 'steady as she goes' approach to her role, avoiding change and drama, rather than rocking the royal boat but the body language of both Kate and William on this tour appears to show how they both finally recognise that she can now be launched as her fun, daring, extrovert and even seriously flirtatious self. 'Like everything about Kate, the signs have been relatively subtle but here's what we are now being informed via non-verbal signals about the woman who will one day be Queen.' Advertisement She swapped Royalty for riches but Autumn Phillips has, until now, kept her romance with a wealthy property tycoon out of the spotlight. Our exclusive pictures are the first to show the former wife of Peter Phillips, the Queen's eldest grandchild, with her new love Donal Mulryan, an Irish construction company boss who boasts that he has been behind more than 5 billion of property schemes. The couple, who have been dating since last year, were photographed with Savannah, 11, and Isla, 10, her two daughters with Peter, on a Mother's Day outing to the Cirencester horse trials. Autumn appeared elegant yet casual in a smart green jacket, black skinny jeans and brown checked flat cap for the outing, while Donal wrapped up in a brown puffer jacket. Beneath the jacket he appeared to be smartly dressed in a blue shirt with chino trousers. Autumn's eldest daughter Savannah was comfortable in a black puffer jacket, leggings and a cool red cap, while Isla opted for ripped jeans, a silver cap and a fluorescent pink hoodie. Our exclusive pictures are the first to show Autumn, the former wife of Peter Phillips (the Queen's eldest grandchild), with her new love Donal Mulryan, an Irish construction company boss. The couple, who have been dating since last year, were photographed with Isla and Savannah, her two daughters with Peter, on a Mother's Day outing to the Cirencester horse trials. Also pictured, right, is Mia, one of Zara Tindall's children The couple watched the girls' aunt, Zara, compete on her gelding Class Affair. In his 30-year career, 52-year-old London-based property magnate Donal (above with Autumn) has built 6 million sq ft of hotel, residential and commercial property in the UK Autumn (above with Donal) continues to live on Princess Anne's Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire five minutes from Cirencester Park which hosted the horse trials so she can co-parent 11-year-old Savannah and ten-year-old Isla with Peter During the event, the foursome watched the girls' aunt, Zara Tindall, compete on her gelding Class Affair. They were joined by Zara's husband Mike and his three children, Mia, Lena and Lucas, who played happily while their mother competed. 'It looked like a happy family day out,' said an onlooker. 'Autumn and Donal were very relaxed about being seen together and totally focused on enjoying a couple of hours watching the horses and letting the children enjoy themselves.' The former wife of Peter Phillips , the Queen 's eldest grandchild, was snapped for the first time with her new love Donal Mulryan, an Irish construction company boss who boasts that he has been behind more than 5 billion of property schemes, on a Mother's Day outing to the Cirencester horse trials The couple, who have been dating since last year, were photographed with Savannah, 11, and Isla, 10, her two daughters with Peter, with the images, as well as Autumn's niece Mia Tindall, eight (pictured) Autumn appeared in high spirits during the outing with Donal, and could be seen sharing a laugh with her boyfriend and daughters while watching Zara compete. Meanwhile she playfully tugged on Donal's hair, while he appeared to be enjoying a bottle of beer. Autumn and Philip's children also appeared relaxed and familial with Donal - with Isla riding his shoulders during the event and resting her phone atop his head. Body language expert Judi James gave insight, saying: 'Donals relationship intentions look clear from his body language here. As he pays Autumn flattering and rather intense eye-attention to illustrate what looks like his attraction and affection for her he also suggest hes more than filling the role of relaxed step-dad to her daughters, wearing one on his shoulders while the other smiles happily beside him. 'The trio look so comfortable and bonded here that it almost looks as though it is Donal who is the dad introducing his girls to their future step-mum. The way Autumns younger daughter sits resting her phone on Donals head as her legs dangle over his torso suggests this kind of fun behaviour is the norm between them and the way Donal wraps his arms around her feet and clasps his hands comfortably across his belly while gazing at Autumn shows he is more than used to playing with Autumns daughters while still showing Autumn some warm attention. In step-parent terms it looks like a perfect display, with Donal actually taking care of the children here while still only having eyes for their mother. Autumn and Philip's children also appeared relaxed and familial with Donal - with Isla apparently chatting to her mother's boyfriend alongside her cousin Lena Tindall (right) During the outing, Donal could be seen chatting with Autumn's former brother-in-law Mike Tindall and his daughter Lena (pictured) Mike's youngest daughter Lena could be seen pushing her father's cap down into his face, while he looked after one-year-old Lucas in a pram The body language expert revealed how Autumn appeared a 'little less relaxed' about her PDAs with Donal, with 'her hat brim pulled over her eyes' (pictured) Pointing to Autumn's hand clasped to her torso, the body language expert said the royal appeared 'less relaxed' with her boyfriend (pictured) The body language expert said the images revealed how Donal, Autumn and her girls looked like 'a relaxed and happily bonded family unit' (left, the couple with Mia and Savannah, and right, Autumn with her niece Mia) The couple, who are believed to have known each other for 15 years, walked along side-by-side holding hands during the outing 'With her hat brim pulled over her eyes and her rather tight hand clasp in front of her own torso, Autumn looks a little less relaxed about the PDA with Donal. She does of course look smitten, smiling happily and bending her knees to lean back in a way of reacting that presumably flatters his as he speaks to her, but her response to his intense gaze is to look away as she laughs. 'There is a very active signal of her affection later though, when we can see her reaching up to playfully and tenderly touch his hair in a more intimate tie-sign gesture. 'The key message from these poses though is that Donal, Autumn and her girls look like a relaxed and happily bonded family unit. Autumns body language with Peter Philips has looked totally amicable in public too, suggesting that, along with both Autumn and Peters low-drama and discreet displays, this might be an as amicable-looking divorce and re-partnering as Peters mother Anne managed with her ex Mark Philips.' Mulryan is close friends with Prince Albert of Monaco, having lived in the principality with his socialite wife Louise before they split several years ago. In his 30-year career, the 52-year-old London-based property magnate has built 6 million sq ft of hotel, residential and commercial property in the UK. Princess Anne's son Peter, 44, and Montreal-born Autumn, 43, announced in February 2020 that they were planning to divorce after 12 years of marriage Autumn continues to live on Princess Anne's Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire five minutes from Cirencester Park which hosted the horse trials so she can co-parent 11-year-old Savannah and ten-year-old Isla with Peter He has known Autumn for more than 15 years, and their relationship was first reported last July. A close friend of Autumn confirmed the relationship last year, saying: Autumn and Donal have been friends for more than 15 years. They are both single people. Donal has been separated from his wife for two years and is in the process of divorce. Donal, who has worked in the property industry for 25 years, also set up West Properties - which focuses on high-end development projects - in 2002 and real estate investment firm Rockwell in 2015. The friends said: Donal can certainly treat her like a princess.' Montreal-born Autumn Kelly was a management consultant when she met Phillips at the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix. Mulryan, who boasts that he has been behind more than 5 billion of property schemes, is close friends with Prince Albert of Monaco, having lived in the principality with his socialite wife Louise before they split several years ago (pictured: Donal and Louise) At the time, he was working for the Williams Formula 1 team. She is said not to have known until six weeks later, when she saw him on television, that he was the Queens grandson. She then moved to Britain and married Phillips in 2008 in a ceremony at St Georges Chapel, Windsor, that caused controversy because the couple sold the photographic rights to Hello! magazine for a reported 500,000. However, they began living apart after their estrangement in 2019. However Princess Anne's son Peter, 44, and Montreal-born Autumn, 43, announced in February 2020 that they were planning to divorce after 12 years of marriage. The split was formally settled last June. Autumn continues to live on Princess Anne's Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire five minutes from Cirencester Park which hosted the horse trials so she can co-parent 11-year-old Savannah and ten-year-old Isla with Peter. The breakdown of Autumn and Peter's marriage was considered as particularly painful for the Queen, who enjoys a close relationship with her grandson's wife. The Queen's grandson reportedly introduced his new partner to the Queen following a shooting party which was held at Windsor in January Last year a spokesman for Mr Phillips confirmed Ms Wallace had accompanied him to the joint christening of Zara and Mike Tindall's son Last year an unnamed friend of the couple told the Sun: 'Autumn is a favourite of the Queen and I'm sure Her Majesty will be very upset by this as well. It's the last thing she needs after all her recent troubles and you get the feeling that the Royal Family is falling apart a little bit.' Peter has enjoyed a decidedly more low-key life than his cousins Prince William and Prince Harry that started with his mother Princess Anne's decision not to give him and his younger sister Zara, now married to Mike Tindall, any royal titles. In March last year, it was reported that Peter had driven to Aberdeenshire from Gloucestershire to see mother-of-two Lindsay Wallace, 40, a close friend of his sister Zara who knows them both from their 40,000-a-year boarding school. Furious locals called the police when Peter appeared at Wallace's 475,000 home in the village of St Cyrus near Montrose. Lindsay has also separated from her spouse, but it is not known when the pair started seeing each other. The royal said the trip to Scotland was made as a marketing consultant for company XF Medical, set up last June to provide rapid Covid tests and antibody tests for businesses. Peter has denied they are a couple. Peter is reportedly 'besotted' with Lindsay, who he has known for 'quite some time' having been three years above her at private boarding school. Peter, who has enjoyed a decidedly more low-key life than his cousins Prince William and Prince Harry, was joined by his daughters Savannah and Isla at Prince Philip's memorial last week It is understood Ms Wallace and Mr Phillips grew close after spending time together following the breakdown of both of their marriages. The couple appear to be serious - with a spokesman for Mr Phillips confirming last year Ms Wallace had accompanied him to the joint christening of Zara and Mike Tindall's son, Lucas, and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's son in August. And in January, it was reported Peter had introduced his girlfriend to his grandmother. The father-of-two reportedly introduced his new partner Lindsay to Her Majesty following a shooting party which was held at Windsor. A source told The Sun: 'It was a very warm meeting and the Queen was clearly delighted to meet someone who makes Peter so happy.' They added: 'It may still be early days but Peter wanted his grandmother to see he was happy. 'It is a clear sign that Lindsay has now been firmly welcomed into The Firm and a major first step if they were to ever choose to get married.' A row has broken out over new laws designed to provide people with Downs syndrome better access to healthcare, housing and education. Campaigners including parents of children with the condition have criticised the legislation, which was approved on Friday, branding it discriminatory. The parliamentary Bill, spearheaded by Tory MP Dr Liam Fox, received its final reading in the House of Lords and will now go forward for Royal Assent to become The Down Syndrome Act. It will essentially ringfence the 47,000 people in the UK with Downs as a group that warrants special provisions, distinct from other learning disabilities. Harry Cartmill, right, from Birmingham has Down's syndrome. His mother Ramandeep Kaur, not pictured, said he is concerned the new law will provide advantages for his son that will not be available for his son's friend Joey Unwin, 25, pictured left, who has a different set of learning difficulties Yet in a strongly worded statement issued to The Mail on Sunday, campaigner Rosa Monckton, whose daughter has Downs syndrome, warns that a Bill just for people with Downs syndrome, which excludes everyone else with a learning disability, is another form of discrimination. She adds: This is precisely why when I started the charity, Team Domenica, which is named after my daughter, I was clear that it should be for all young adults with learning disabilities, not just those with Downs syndrome. Former International Trade Secretary Dr Fox defended the Bill, saying: Its there to ensure that people with Downs syndrome get what they are entitled to, because for too many that doesnt happen. The authors of the Bill say that people with Downs face specific challenges. These include increased risk from respiratory infections such as Covid, congenital heart problems which affect about half of all children born with the condition and a greater risk of early death than people with other learning disabilities. But critics argue that any change to the law should protect the rights of all people with learning disabilities, not just those with Downs. Carol Boys, chief executive of the Downs Syndrome Association, said: We are concerned about creating hierarchies of people with learning disabilities. We would have liked to see the Bill widened to include other people with learning disabilities. They also question whether it will provide effective support. Dr Liam Fox, pictured, has steered The Down's Syndrome bill through parliament. It is currently waiting for Royal assent. Some disability campaigners have said the ring fencing of people with Down's syndrome discriminates against others who have different learning disabilities Mrs Monckton says: I dont doubt it has good intentions, but the Bill consists merely of guidance, telling statutory bodies to have due regard of what steps they should take. There is no guarantee of provision. Legislation already exists providing for the needs of all those with learning disabilities, but councils all too frequently fail to meet those statutory requirements. That is the real problem which needs addressing. Other parents of children with learning disabilities echoed her fears. Ramandeep Kaur, 47, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, whose teenage son Harry has Downs, says: I worry that Harry is now going to be put on a pedestal. His friend Joey has several learning disabilities, but doesnt have Downs syndrome. It would be incredibly unfair if Harry suddenly got preferential treatment. Joeys father Stephen Unwin, 62, from London, agrees: I know families with children with Downs syndrome and we are all worried this Bill will create a double standard in how people with learning disabilities are cared for. Joey, 25, is unable to talk and sufferers from epilepsy, which became more severe in his teenage years when his father battled with his local authorities to provide a place at a special secondary school. Joey now lives in a home with dedicated care workers, but evidence still has to be provided to a review board every year to make sure he keeps his place. Although Stephen says his sons needs are met for the time being, he worries that this might not be the case if his condition were to deteriorate. He recalls just how difficult it was to move Joey into special accommodation when his epilepsy became a serious problem, saying: I had to shock the local authority into action by telling them, if you dont put him somewhere with round-the-clock care, he might suffer a seizure when theres no one around to help, and hell die. Stephen fears that offering special support to people with Downs syndrome will shrink the Governments budget for other learning disabilities, potentially putting his sons health at risk. Much like Joey, Harrys biggest problem is difficulty speaking, and he has been seeing a speech therapist his entire life. The 14-year-old also goes to a school for children with special needs. While Harry currently receives the care he requires, this is thanks to constant vigilance from Ramandeep. The bill passed the House of Lords on Friday and is now awaiting Royal assent A couple of years ago, the local authority reduced Harrys access to speech therapy from weekly to just once a month, and his mother had to explain that without more support, his speech simply wouldnt develop. Despite this, she feels her son should not get preferential treatment over his friends with other learning disabilities. She says: Although Harry doesnt know about the Bill, I think he would be really upset if he realised that he was getting support that his friends who dont have Downs syndrome arent getting. He sees no difference between himself and his friends. However, Dr Fox believes that rather than excluding people with other learning disabilities, the new law will open the door to all people with learning difficulties receiving the support they are entitled to. He adds: I hope [the Bill] will provide a mechanism by which we can scrutinise services and how theyre delivered... and improve the lot of everybody. During its time in the Commons, the Bill received cross-party support and has been backed by 90 disability organisations across the country, including one of the largest, Mencap. People with Downs syndrome are all individuals, but they have such specific health and learning needs and its vital that these are recognised, said Rachael Ross, from Hinton Daubney, near Portsmouth, whose son Max, 17, has the disability. She and her husband Ken are part of the National Down Syndrome Policy Group, authors of the Bill. It makes the point that the life expectancy of people with Downs has improved dramatically over the past 50 years, increasing from 13 years in the 1960s to 58 today. This means many outlive their parents and are therefore reliant on public authorities to support them in the absence of family members. The legislation will now be open to public consultation to hammer out the details. Dr Fox says: Provision is patchy. In some parts of the country medical care will be better than in others. In that sense, its about ensuring everybody is levelled up and gets the best. Sleep paralysis could be far more common than previously thought. The condition in which sufferers are conscious but unable to move or speak as they fall asleep and wake up ranked third, behind insomnia and sleep apnoea, among Google searches for help with sleep problems compiled from 60 countries. It had been thought that only eight per cent of the UK population were affected. Experts believe it can be caused by irregular sleep and stress. Last year, a number of British sleep experts warned that the pandemic was triggering a rise in those suffering with the condition. A number of British sleep experts warned that the pandemic was triggering a rise in those suffering insomnia Kidney patients lack home care Almost half of cancer patients dont access vital support services such as psychological therapy and free taxis to hospital appointments, because they dont know about them, a survey has found. To help remedy this the Richard Dimbleby Cancer Fund, who carried out the survey, has provuides a free, simple to use, online directory of cancer support services, at cancercaremap.org. Fund chairman Jonathan Dimbleby said: After cancer treatment, you almost always need support. NHS doctors will use artificial intelligence to spot the early signs of bowel cancer in a UK trial. More than 2,000 people will undergo a colonoscopy in the trial at nine hospitals, where a camera inserted in the bowel helps doctors to spot pre-cancerous tissue called polyps. But these images will then undergo further scrutiny from the sophisticated computer program to check what may have been missed. Early studies have shown that the technology, designed by medical device-maker Medtronic, misses far fewer polyps than the human eye. Finding polyps is crucial to preventing the spread of bowel cancer, which kills more than 16,000 Britons a year. NHS doctors will use artificial intelligence to spot the early signs of bowel cancer in a UK trial Thousands of Britons with kidney failure are being denied the chance to have lifesaving treatment at home, according to a report. About 68,000 people suffer kidney failure, which leaves the body unable to remove waste products from blood. They rely on dialysis, either in hospital or at home, which is a device that cleans the blood, taking about fours hours a time, three times a week. In some parts of the UK just one patient in 25 is offered dialysis at home, compared with a third of patients in other areas, according to NHS data. The locations were not revealed. Patient advocate Maddy Warren, who co-wrote the report for medical company Quanta Dialysis, says: Relying on hospital dialysis can prevent people from getting a job, seeing family and enjoying life. Sarah-Jane Kirkaldy never expected the treatment for her illness would be worse than the disease itself or that a simple test could have saved her from its life-threatening side effects. The 47-year-old IT manager from Wokingham was diagnosed with the painful bowel condition Crohns disease in 2007, and struggled to find any relief with standard medication. Then, in 2009, her gastroenterologist suggested a daily dose of the immune-suppressing drug azathioprine to control inflammation in her guts. A couple of weeks after I started taking it I was in my car, on the motorway, and started to feel drunk, says Sarah-Jane. I felt dreadful, as if I was really spaced out and bleary-eyed. I knew something wasnt right, but put it down to being tired. The simple test, which involves taking either a blood sample or a swab from the mouth, tells doctors if the drug will work and whether the patient will develop side effects, based on their genes Roughly one million prescriptions for azathioprine are written every year, but in about one in ten patients it causes a potentially fatal side effect when the drug kills off the bodys infection-fighting white blood cells and blood pressure falls dangerously low, known as septic shock. The next day, Sarah-Jane had a call from her GP and was told to stop taking the pills. She says: The blood tests Id been having since starting treatment showed my white blood cell count had plummeted and I was in desperate need of a blood transfusion. She was admitted to the Royal Berkshire Hospital, where she stayed for two weeks and received three blood transfusions. Two weeks after she was discharged, Sarah-Jane woke one morning to find her skin covered in dark dots. She says: I had rapid heart palpitations, a rocketing temperature and the spaced-out feeling was back again. I called the doctor, who ordered me to go straight to A&E. She had developed pneumonia and sepsis the early stage of sceptic shock where patches of skin look blue and bruised and her white blood cells had dropped to dangerously low levels. She adds: My mother gasped in horror when she saw a flash of my skin through the hospital gown I was purple all over. Sarah-Jane spent two days in intensive care and a further two weeks on a ward until transfusions eventually stabilised her condition. Last year Sarah-Jane took part in a trial that confirmed she was vulnerable to terrible side effects from azathioprine. Dr Tariq Ahmad, a consultant gastroenterologist at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, enrolled her in a study aiming to spot genetic vulnerability to side effects from drugs. He explained there was a fault in my DNA that meant my body couldnt process the drug, says Sarah-Jane. If a test [to find the fault] was available to everyone before theyre given the drug, it would be fantastic. Now experts are calling for exactly this. In a report published by the British Pharmacological Society and the Royal College of Physicians, doctors from 26 medical specialities called for DNA tests to be available to every patient before they take a high-risk drug. Scientists can examine a patient's DNA to see if they are likely to suffer an adverse reaction to common treatments The simple test, which involves taking either a blood sample or a swab from the mouth, tells doctors if the drug will work and whether the patient will develop side effects, based on their genes. Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, NHS chair of pharmacogenetics at the University of Liverpool and co-author of the report, told The Mail on Sunday that the results could be analysed in 20 minutes at a cost of just 140 per patient. Research shows that there are 40 genes that are most crucial in determining how people react to drugs, says Prof Pirmohamed. One test allows us to spot the telltale problems with these genes. A staggering one million people in England are admitted to hospital each year due to adverse drug reactions, according to experts at the University of Liverpool. But genetic tests to determine risk are available only in specific circumstances. Since 2020, NHS cancer patients prescribed the chemotherapy drug capecitabine have been offered a test for a genetic variation found in up to eight per cent of people which stops the liver being able to expel excess amounts of the drug. Patients with HIV who are prescribed the antiretroviral drug abacavir are also screened for a gene that puts them at risk of potentially fatal allergic reaction. But between 40 and 50 of the most commonly taken medicines, from antibiotics to antidepressants, can have disastrous consequences for someone with a particular genetic make-up, says the report. The problem can lie with enzymes in the liver that process a medication before it gets to work in the body. Specific genes carry instructions for making these enzymes. But genetic variations mean that some people make too much of the enzyme, others too little. The result it that some people use up too much of a drug, while others cannot process it at all. Experts say many of these people have potentially risky variations in genes CYP2D6 and CYP2C19, which govern the way the body handles many common medications. Toxic effects of the painkiller codeine have been linked to CYP2D6 with those with a mutation processing an unusually large amount of the drug, leading to side effects such as dangerously shallow breathing. Problems with blood-thinning drug clopidogrel are linked to mutations of CYP2D6 and CYP2C19. The medication is given to heart-attack patients, but studies estimate as many as one in five may have the genetic fault that means it has little to no effect. It is suggested that a test to spot the mutation could prevent roughly 100,000 strokes each year. Patients with mutations in another gene, called mt-RNR1, who are given the antibiotic gentamicin to treat bacterial infections, for example, can suffer liver damage, hearing loss and balance problems. Routine screening for the genetic fault could avert about 180 cases of deafness every year in the UK alone, according to a report in the British Medical Journal. Experts say DNA tests may also help patients with genetic resistance to painkillers and those with anxiety and depression half of whom fail to respond to antidepressants. Prof Pirmohamed believes his goal genetic tests for every patient may become a reality soon. He says: Theres a Bill making its way through the US Congress that is likely to make it law for doctors to offer these tests. We are usually five to ten years behind the US when it comes to implementing technology like this. Why not be proactive for a change, and do it before everyone else? Gordon Ramsay's Future Food Stars BBC 1, Thursday Rating: Open House: The Great British Sex Experiment Channel 4, Friday Rating: Gordon Ramsays latest reality competition show, Gordon Ramsays Future Food Stars, opens with him jumping from a helicopter into the sea and swimming to the Cornwall beach where the 12 contestants have gathered. If anyone knows why, theyre not saying. My only hope is that the BBC doesnt insist all cookery shows now begin like this, as Id fear for Mary Berry, I truly would. The basic concept here is not dissimilar to The Apprentice, as it is exactly The Apprentice with added stag-do elements. Gordon Ramsay's (above, with contestants) new reality show is not dissimilar to The Apprentice with added stag-do elements The contestants are all food entrepreneurs vegan bakers, chutney-makers, that kind of thing and, as Ramsay explains, while dripping all over the place, at the end of the series he will be investing 150,000 OF MY OWN MONEY in one of them. So lets get cooking. No, lets not. Hold up. Put down that frying pan. Desist with that knife. Untie that apron. Lets see them all jump off a cliff into the sea first. There is, at least, an explanation here. Its: I want to see what you are really made of. And: If Im going to take a leap of faith in you, then you have to do the same for me, literally. The cliff is high, the rocks are jagged beneath, and personally? If someone is going to sell me a taco, for example, Id need to be totally sure theyve got this. Wouldnt you? The contestants were then divided into three teams, and each had to run a food shack on Newquay beach. The winners, they were told, would be the ones who made the most profit and, at the end, one person would be going home. (In my minds eye I can see Alan Sugar bristling with fury. This is my show!) There are, of course, squabbles. Someone throws a tantrum about mushrooms. Taco dressing ends up all over the floor. Ramsay chastises one team for not having tasted their dish, which may be more of a prerequisite for decent cooking than jumping from a high cliff, but I dont know. Actually, the biggest take-away from this opening episode was that you can now charge 8 for a toastie. And to think Ive been giving them away in this house for as long as anyone can remember. Im not sure Ill get away with 8, but maybe 5? The contestants then gather at one of Ramsays restaurants, where he grills them and the winners are revealed. It is The Apprentice, but I preferred it to The Apprentice as the contestants arent yet crazed. No one has yet said Everything I touch turns to sold or has vowed to give 120 per cent. Theyre actually people you might know. Meanwhile, Ive no idea what next weeks challenge will involve, but if it doesnt include a parachute jump I will be sorely disappointed. Would you buy noodles from anyone who hadnt parachute-jumped? Thought not. Open House: The Great Sex Experiment is couched as science, although its not like the science we did at school. If it had been, we might have shown more interest. This experiment wants to find out if its possible to open up your relationship without harming it, and whether we can thrive without monogamy. There is no mention of the periodic table. There isnt a Bunsen burner in sight. Instead, its a matter of threesomes and group sex. Because its that kind of science. First up in Open House: The Great Sex Experiment were Mady and Nathan (above), sweethearts from Wales who wanted to include another woman in their relationship The deal is that couples travel to a retreat where the other guests are sexually liberated singles who they can invite to spend the night with them. (But only in the interests of science.) There is also a relationship expert on hand, Dr Lori Beth, who says things like Jealousy is a very common emotion, which is strange, as Id never heard of it. She also introduces games involving whipped cream, so Im guessing shes more fun to be around than your own doctor. (Although I cant say for sure, obviously.) First up were Mady and Nathan, sweethearts from Wales who wanted to include another woman in their relationship. If they had a reason beyond fulfilling a sexual fantasy, I did not pick up on it. I was minded to ask if theyd missed lunch. That can do it. Whenever I feel like a threesome, its usually that. Their first night with Precious was not wholly successful. I felt like a spare part, sulked Nathan the next day. The second night, with Grace, was better. Its all filmed. Its dark, but you can see. And hear. But its educative, remember. And science, albeit of the kind that seems to involve a ton of alcohol. Next were Danielle and John, married for 16 years and with four children. No one said: Dont do this to your kids, just go home. They were after an orgy sorry, I think they were testing boundaries or something but Dr Lori Beth said that because they had trust issues, theyd just have to kiss other people first, scientifically. I dont know what other experts were to hand but I hope there was one to help them look people in the eye now the show is going out. Otherwise, how is that done? How? A Vaughan Williams Anthology Naxos, out Friday Rating: This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams. He was a slow starter he was almost 30 before his first totally memorable piece emerged: the enchanting song Linden Lea, to words by the Dorset poet William Barnes. He had endless hang-ups about technical stuff, especially his ability to orchestrate, and destroyed much of his early music. It wasnt until 1908 and a trip to Paris to study with Ravel, plus constant attention from his friend Gustav Holst, that he got the self-confidence necessary to produce some extraordinary masterpieces. Ralph Vaughan Williams (above) was a slow starter he was almost 30 before his first totally memorable piece emerged But even that took time. A Sea Symphony was begun in 1903 but not completed until 1909. The stunningly beautiful Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis was first performed in 1910, but he was still fiddling around with it nine years later. So, too, The Lark Ascending from 1914 to 1920. All of these are to be found in this excellent set. In later life he lived to be 85, composing to the very end he became prolific. Perhaps too much so. Listening to the more than 30 pieces in this anthology reminds me of what was said about Beethoven: consistency of achievement is the hallmark of mediocrity. Thomas Beecham, a great admirer of the Tallis Variations, once cruelly observed what a shame it was that Vaughan Williams didnt see fit to include a theme by Tallis in all his music. Listening to some of this stuff, its hard not to sympathise. But there are also things here worthy of more attention than they get. For instance, his early Norfolk Rhapsody No 1, Toward The Unknown Region for chorus and orchestra, and his string quartets and quintet. These recordings, set down between 1993 and 2015, all sound good, and there isnt a dud performance among them. If you agree with me that 2022 is the year to dig deeper into Vaughan Williams, warts and all, this anthology is a fine way to do it. Ed Sheeran Royal Albert Hall, London Touring until July 1 Rating: Father John Misty Chloe And The Next 20th Century Out Friday Rating: The Albert Hall is not the only famous London stage to welcome Ed Sheeran lately. Hes also been in the High Court, defending his 2017 hit Shape Of You against allegations of plagiarism. The case has been quite an eye-opener. Weve discovered that Shape Of You makes 5 million a year, and Sheeran considers it a failure if a song takes more than two hours to write. So, 25 million for two hours graft? Do put your son in the studio, Mrs Worthington. With a stadium tour about to start, Sheeran could have skipped this benefit for Teenage Cancer Trust. Top marks for altruism, then but not, alas, for artistry. Rather than bring the band that will be on the tour, Ed Sheeran (above) performs alone with his acoustic guitar, laying down basic looped beats Rather than bring the band that will be on the tour, he performs alone with his acoustic guitar, laying down basic looped beats. Once this was refreshing; now it feels as if the loops have been with us for about ten years. A slick video just leaves the music looking amateurish. Only his latest hits, Bad Habits and Shivers, are Sheeran at his effortless best. Father John Misty (Josh Tillman) is back with his fifth album and its an instant classic. He gives the great tradition of bittersweet pop a twist, setting tart contemporary lyrics to the sound of a more innocent age the 1940s. Father John Misty (Josh Tillman, above) gives the great tradition of bittersweet pop a twist in his latest album: Chloe And The Next 20th Century The sweeping strings, swinging horns and swooning melodies make you want to head straight for the nearest supper club and say Play Misty for me. In the magical Kiss Me (I Loved You), Tillman has written his masterpiece. A Life Of Picasso Vol IV: The Minotaur Years John Richardson Jonathan Cape 35 Rating: Anyone planning on writing a very long book in late middle age is embarking on a race against time. John Richardson started work on his Life Of Pablo Picasso in 1980, when he was 56. The first volume which ended with Picasso aged 25 was finally published in 1991, when Richardson himself was 67. Volume II appeared in 1996, and Volume III in 2007. By now, the total number of pages was 1,500, but Picasso had only reached his 50th birthday. Richardson, on the other hand, was 83. Picasso (above) was always manically competitive, so I (Craig Brown) imagine he would be delighted to have given his biographer the slip By 2016, Richardson was employing three assistants to help him with writing and research, but this was a race he could never win. He died, at the grand old age of 95, in 2019. Three years on, the volume he was working on has at last appeared. Half the length of the others, it comes to an end in 1943, a full 30 years before Picassos death. Picasso was always manically competitive, so I imagine he would be delighted to have given his biographer the slip, particularly as Richardson unwittingly portrays him as a monster of cruelty who delighted in the suffering of the many women he conquered, not least his mistress, Dora Maar, best known as the model for his Weeping Woman. Picassos art tended to thrive on the dark side, is his conclusion to what is now his final volume. John Richardson portrays Picasso as a monster of cruelty who delighted in the suffering of women, including mistress Dora Maar, the model for his Weeping Woman (above) He had destroyed Dora, beaten her to bits and cut her up in paint. He would tell Francoise [Gilot, another lover] that he had never loved Dora. He had sacrificed her on the altar of his art. Her tears and suffering had galvanised his work. In the previous volume, The Triumphant Years, Picasso married a Russian dancer called Olga, even though his tough old mother had tried to warn her off with the words: I dont believe any woman would be happy with my son hes available for himself but for no one else. Nearly ten years into their marriage, Picasso a habitual user of brothels began an affair with a pretty 17-year-old called Marie-Therese, who was a willing initiate into his S&M world. The women in his life were expected to read the Marquis de Sade, noted Richardson. Picasso painted many portraits of Marie-Therese but generally as a guitar, or a jug, or a fruit dish, in order to conceal their affair from his wife. In the previous volume, Picasso married a Russian dancer called Olga Khokhlova (above, with Picasso in 1917), even though his tough old mother had tried to warn her off This latest volume begins with Picasso the most celebrated painter in the world and poor Olga a wreck. Picassos extramarital affair(s) and his violence contributed to Olgas physical and mental debacle, writes Richardson. Debacle is an odd word to use in this context and reveals something of Richardsons lackadaisical attitude to the sufferings of Picassos women. He writes of Picassos loathing of Olga, a loathing represented in painting after painting, often as a hideously toothy horse being savaged by a charging bull, its innards sprawled across the canvas. Richardson calls one of these pictures a masterpiece of marital hatred. There are moments when he appears willing to connive in Picassos sadism. Did Richardson himself harbour what he might have called a tendresse for Picasso? Picassos next mistress, Dora Maar (above) first excited his attention by picking up a knife and stabbing the gaps between her fingers When writing about the paintings, he manages to see male organs everywhere. A nose is penile, a stretch of a womans neck monstrously erectile, a Roman helmet irresistibly phallic, and even a scoop of ice cream testicular. Picasso finally left Olga in the creepiest way possible. After taking her out for a romantic night at the opera, he undressed her and made love to her. The next morning she was awakened by her maid: there was a gentleman waiting in the salon who wished to speak to her. You go, Olga said to her husband, since she wasnt dressed. Certainly not, he replied, its you he wants to see. 'Ten minutes later, Olga returned from the salon looking very pale, clutching a document the visitor had given her: a summons to appear in court in order to respond to a divorce suit her husband was bringing against her. Picasso wandered off, singing Pagliacci at the top of his voice. Picassos next mistress though it was never an exclusive position was the ill-fated Dora Maar, who first excited his attention by picking up a knife and stabbing the gaps between her fingers. Every now and then she would miss by a fraction, so her hand was soon covered with blood. Picasso, we hear, was fascinated by what Richardson calls this kinky ploy. Such a clear sign of masochism aroused Picasso, though he soon tired of her depressive personality, and the more he tired of it, the more depressed she grew. Yet he kept on painting her. One painting is described by Richardson as a scary woman caged in claustrophobic space, looking as if an electric chair were about to be switched on. Picasso was more at ease with Marie-Therese. Richardson compares his many portraits of the two women, the one so spiky, so complex, so dark; the other so serene, so loving so peaceful. The book is gloriously produced, with, in this case, paintings of the two contrasting women printed opposite each other. Richardson is regularly proclaimed as one of the greatest of all biographers but, for all his expertise, I find his prose random and bitty, and his viewpoint at one and the same time too Olympian and too catty. However, his meticulous, almost day-by-day chronicling of the artists frenetic life does serve to convey his ferocious energy. The reproductions in the book are testament to Picassos uncontained genius. Richardson was a friend of Picasso and never passes up an opportunity to promote the fact. I was present when begins a typical sentence. Years later, Dora told me that begins another. Sometimes these openings give way to reminiscences that are peculiarly irrelevant. For instance, in 1937, Picasso spends weekends at a house owned by his art dealer, Ambroise Vollard. I can vouch for the charm of Vollards house, Richardson chips in. One summer in the 1950s his heirs lent it to Douglas Cooper and myself for a week or two. It was old but not ancient, and comfortably furnished. There was no longer any trace left of Picasso or Marie-Therese or anyone else Richardsons entire Life Of Picasso is a curious blend of art criticism and gossip: an innocent-seeming picture of jugs and a bottle prompts him to talk of orgies and who fancied who. Even Picassos most monumental canvas, Guernica, an outcry against the Nazi bombing of that Spanish town is, he insists, pervaded with Picassos own problems and preoccupations. He then recalls that Dora told me that she had been the inspiration for the woman on fire as well as the long-legged woman in the foreground. True or not, chit-chat like this diminishes the impact of the work, reducing an outcry against an atrocity to a centre-spread from Hello! magazine. Nonetheless, every page carries an entertaining story or a fascinating gobbet of artistic gossip. For instance, we hear that in the summer of 1937, Picasso bought a pet monkey, which he named Beretzof. He spent so much time teaching him tricks that Dora grew jealous. Things changed when, one day, Beretzof bit Picassos finger. Someone then told Picasso that King Alexander of Greece had died from a monkey bite back in 1920. Loyal to neither man nor beast, Picasso lost no time in returning Beretzof to the pet shop. Cruise operator Carnival faces a backlash from shareholders over its chief executive's bumper pay deal despite the company receiving Government support and laying off staff. Investors in the world's largest cruise company which owns lines including Princess Cruises, Seabourn and P&O Cruises are preparing to vote against its pay policy at its annual meeting on Friday. It is likely to be among the first in a wave of shareholder rebellions as Britain emerges from the pandemic. Carnival's chief executive Arnold Donald was given a package that could pay out as much as $15million (11.4million) including a $6million bonus, according to the annual report. Troubled waters: Carnival's chief executive Arnold Donald was given a package that could pay out as much as $15million (11.4million) including a $6million bonus One fund manager said she was uncomfortable with the pay arrangements after the company took 25million in Government-backed Covid loans in June 2020 and furloughed staff. Other bosses facing scrutiny over pay last night include: Alison Brittain, chief executive at Premier Inn owner Whitbread, who is set to be handed a bonus of more than 700,000 deferred from last year. The company received 370million from the taxpayer during the pandemic; Barclays' outgoing finance chief Tushar Morzaria who is facing calls for his bonus to be clawed back after an 'error' that cost the bank 450million; Sebastien de Montessus, boss at Endeavour Mining, who was awarded $10million in financial assistance as the company moved to its new London HQ. Carnival was badly affected after cruises ground to a halt in 2020. It also came under the spotlight when 3,500 passengers were stuck on its Grand Princess liner due to Covid. The company plunged into a $10.2billion loss in the year 2020. That shrank to $9.5billion last year. One of Carnival's biggest shareholders told The Mail on Sunday that she would vote against the pay plan. She added: 'I wouldn't be surprised if they got a high vote against them. They have laid off employees, they've taken money from Government and they've not paid dividends.' Institutional Shareholder Services, one of the biggest advisers to large pension funds, said it had 'material concerns' with Donald's pay package. Carnival said: 'Our required filingsdo not represent what our CEO actually received in any given year since we operate in a pay for performance model where most of his CEO pay is at risk.' However, a company filing last month suggests he earned at least $11million. Whitbread's Alison Brittain has come under fire for her deferred 729,000 bonus, which was delayed last year amid uproar from shareholders, politicians and activists. She defied calls to scrap the bonus entirely, despite huge losses and taxpayer support. Her company has claimed around 370million from taxpayers in furlough cash and business rates relief none of which has been paid back. She is in line to receive the bonus in the coming weeks on top of her 895,000 salary. She may also receive a separate bonus based on the most recent year's performance. Whitbread said the bonus is 'subject to board approval' this month and it is 'too early to comment'. Luke Hildyard, of the High Pay Centre, said: 'It's truly staggering that the Whitbread board sees nothing wrong with taking hundreds of millions of pounds of public money with one hand and then doling out a multi-million pound pay package to an already extraordinarily wealthy CEO with the other.' It comes as the FTSE 100 group kicked off a search for Brittain's replacement. It has held talks with candidates who could replace her as soon as next year. Elsewhere, Tushar Morzaria at Barclays is facing calls for his bonus to be stripped. The bank revealed last week it had exceeded its limit on selling certain investment banking products in the US. The blunder cost it 450million and forced the lender to defer a 1billion share buyback. A longstanding shareholder told the MoS that Morzaria should have his bonus clawed back. Barclays declined to comment. FTSE100 gold miner Endeavour Mining almost doubled the pay packet of its boss last year to keep him in post. President and chief executive Sebastien de Montessus whose takings for 2021 hit 17.3million was granted a $10million 'one-off award' when the firm relocated from Toronto to London. It said this was to prevent him being 'financially disadvantaged' by the relocation. Additional reporting by Calum Muirhead City grandee Allan Leighton has weighed into a row over the 'toxic' culture at Scottish beer company BrewDog. The brewer, which is considering a 1billion stock market flotation, is trying to mend fences with employees after it was accused last year of creating a 'rotten culture of fear'. But in the latest twist, Leighton, the chairman, has launched an extraordinary tirade against a Berlin-based human resources consultancy Hand & Heart that had offered to help mediate with disgruntled staff. Fury: Chairman Allan Leighton accused the agency of fuelling the fire In a letter seen by The Mail on Sunday, he accused the consultancy of making the problem worse and criticised a request by the firm for payment. Leighton said BrewDog would not be engaging the company to run a proposed 'reconciliation' programme and accused it of 'amplifying' criticism on social media. The latest stand-off threatens to derail attempts to repair relations with staff. The original complaints against the company emerged in a letter last summer from 60 former employees calling themselves Punks with Purpose. Earlier this year, co-founder James Watt threatened to take legal action against the BBC over a documentary which he said included personal attacks on his character. The company commissioned an independent review into its management culture. It committed itself to leadership training, gave staff a pay rise and introduced a whistleblowing hotline. Earlier this year, Watt told The Mail on Sunday the accusations against him had triggered a 'period of reflection on my leadership'. Leighton, who is also chairman of the Co-op and an ex-boss of Asda, said in a memo to staff that BrewDog's people director, Karen Bates, had spent a 'considerable amount of time' speaking to Hand & Heart's managing director Kate Bailey. He said the board took its proposal to help 'very seriously'. Even though it had not been formally hired, the consultancy launched an 'affected worker registration platform' online in conjunction with the Punks with Purpose group, where staff were invited to air complaints. But in a letter sent to Bailey last week, Leighton lambasted Hand & Heart, accusing it of fanning the flames. 'The unavoidable impression is that of H&H charging the company to extinguish a fire it is fuelling itself,' he wrote. He added: 'We believe it is impossible for you to be a neutral mediator in a sensitive private setting.' Leighton said: The BrewDog Affected Workers Registration Platform states that H&H is receiving zero-point-zero-cents for its work. It adds that the platform has zero connection to our for-profit activities as a company. We find it hard to reconcile these statements with your proposal made to our people director that H&H be paid a ballpark fee of 100k. 'Indeed, this appears entirely contradictory. We are concerned that you have encouraged people onto the platform under the false impression that you have zero financial interest in the administration of the reconciliation program. A source said 'Bailey has presented herself as a woke warrior but seeking financial gain from this feels hypocritical'. Stand-off: Kate Bailey of H&H described Leighton's letter as 'offensive' Bailey replied in a letter to Leighton that Hand & Heart acted 'in good faith' and added that his missive was 'filled with unfounded accusationsand frankly, is unbecoming of a leader of your stature and position in the business community'. She also described Leighton's letter as 'offensive, uninformed and inconsistent'. 'I do not work to 'save BrewDog', I work for the justice of those your workplace has impacted,' she said. 'I have a duty to respond when public accusations arise, especially the ones relating to the chief executive of late. If you're looking for fuel and fire start there.' Bailey said she would continue to gather submissions and support those affected. Last month, The Guardian newspaper reported that Watt had hired private investigators to obtain information about people who he believed were taking part in a smear campaign against him. BrewDog has enjoyed a rapid rise as the popularity of craft beer has exploded in Britain. A flotation has also long been promised for the 200,000 'equity punks' brought on board through crowdfunding rounds since the brand's launch in 2007. Watt and his co-founder Martin Dickie led a series of eye-catching stunts which helped burnish its image as an upstart rival to mainstream beer brands. These included dropping stuffed 'taxidermy cat bombs' on the City in a protest against corporate fat cat greed, and Watt and Dickie dressing up as red light district sex workers for a crowdfunding advert. Nikolay Storonsky, the founder of cash-transfer app Revolut, approached a senior Bank of England official in a rare move last week amid his company's drive to become a bank. Storonsky, 37, is understood to have attended an event led by Sam Woods, deputy governor of the Bank, and City Minister John Glen, who dialled in virtually. Revolut has yet to receive a UK banking licence partly owing to a backlog of applications at the Bank despite applying for one early last year. Drive: Revolut has yet to receive a UK banking licence partly owing to a backlog of applications at the Bank despite applying for one early last year Storonsky was making noises as far back as 2017 about applying for one, which the Bank would be responsible for granting. Two sources said Storonsky was seen talking to Woods, who is the most after governor Andrew Bailey. They suggested this reflected his ambition to secure a licence. Revolut said: 'He spoke to various attendees.' The app works with large high street banks to hold customer deposits, but a licence would allow Revolut to hold customer cash on its own balance sheet, with protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in case it collapses. Senior leaders of Britain's upstart lenders were also at the meeting to discuss how the Bank could foster their growth. Revolut fetched a valuation of $33 billion (25.2billion) after a fundraising last year, making it the most expensive tech firm in the UK. It has amassed more than 18million customers. P&O Ferries' reputation has been dealt another blow after English Heritage put its ties with the company on hold. The British charity, which issues the famous blue plaques, told The Mail on Sunday that it was 'pausing and reviewing' its association. It has already removed details of the relationship from its website. P&O is the largest operator of ferries from Dover to Calais. But criminal and civil investigations have been launched into the company following its controversial decision to make nearly 800 employees redundant during a pre-recorded Zoom call. On hold: English Heritage has collaborated with P&O since 2018 as part of a rewards scheme for its members The company's chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite admitted to a joint hearing of the Commons' Business and Transport Committees that his firm failed to consult with trade unions before it ditched workers. English Heritage has collaborated with P&O since 2018 as part of a rewards scheme for its members. An English Heritage spokesman said: 'P&O is a Members' Reward Partner meaning English Heritage members could enjoy offers and discounts with the company but given the recent developments, we are pausing and reviewing this partnership.' The charity, which cares for more than 400 historic sites across the country, has also removed any reference to the partnership from its website. A webpage that is now missing described P&O Ferries as the 'perfect choice for a leisurely journey', and also cited the company's accreditation with Visit Britain, the brand name of the tourist board of Great Britain. In a letter sent on Friday to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, the Insolvency Service said it would take 'prompt and appropriate action' where the law had not been upheld. Kwarteng tweeted last week that he and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps would 'continue to follow this matter closely as the investigations progress'. The Trades Union Congress general secretary Frances O'Grady said the investigation must not 'shy away from serious sanctions and big financial penalties'. 'P&O must not be allowed to get away with its scandalous and unlawful treatment of staff. Firms who behave like corporate gangsters deserve far more than a slap on the wrist,' she said. P&O Ferries was contacted for comment. You would think that a rising share price could only be good news for a company and its shareholders. But not always. In some cases shares can get so costly that it is difficult for new investors to buy in. If you wanted to buy a single share in investing guru Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway, for example, you would have to fork out $500,000 (380,000) more than the average cost of a house if you bought one of the original A class shares. Even its cheaper B class shares cost more than $350 each. To counter the problem of rocketing prices, companies sometimes carry out a share split, which means slicing each share into smaller bite-size pieces. Divided: California-based giants Google and Amazon are doing a share split In a five for one share split, for example, every shareholder would receive five shares for every one they already hold. The value of their total holding would not change. So, for example, if an original share was worth 100, each of the five new shares would be worth 20. Amazon is planning a 20-for-1 share split in June. The cost of one share is currently $3,260. At this price, the new shares would cost $163. Google's parent company, Alphabet, is carrying out a similar share split in July. The cost of one share is currently $2,781. At this price, the new shares would cost $139. In the UK, investment trust Temple Bar is planning a five-for-one share split next month. Shares are currently trading at 11.60 so at this rate the new shares would cost around 2.32. What does it mean for existing investors? A share split cannot take place until it has been approved by shareholders. Even then, it can take some weeks or even months to get the go-ahead. Investors who hold shares on an online platform will not notice any difference as the value of their holdings should not change. However, anyone who holds shares directly may wonder what is going on. Jason Hollands, managing director at wealth manager Bestinvest, says: 'Investors who hold paper share certificates will receive new ones in the post and might wonder what is going on if they haven't followed the news.' Annabel Brodie-Smith, communications director at the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), says that there may be a small disruption in the availability of information while the split takes place. 'It can take data providers up to 24 hours or so to process a share split,' she says. 'There is a lot of data to get right and it can take some time.' How do shareholders benefit from the split? New investors may find that a lower price makes buying shares more affordable. But a share split can also be good news for existing shareholders. Many investors like to grow their wealth by reinvesting dividends they receive from their holdings to buy new shares. However, this is out of the question when the share price is particularly high. Joe Bauernfreund is manager of investment trust AVI Global Trust which carried out a share split in January. 2 He says: 'When investors choose to reinvest their dividends, if the unit price is high then a portion may be left not reinvested as it is not enough to buy a whole share.' James Carthew, head of investment companies at financial information group QuotedData, adds that one of the trusts he holds in his own investment portfolio Personal Assets has a high share price (just below 504). It means he does not reinvest his dividends. He adds: 'Investors might reasonably want to tick a box to say 'please reinvest my dividends' but with the share price that high it just doesn't work. I take my dividend as cash and invest it in other shares Personal Assets loses out as a result.' Does a split mean it's a good time to buy? Opinion is divided on whether a company splitting shares is a signal to buy or sell. Some believe that a share split can push up the value of a company because it broadens its appeal to a greater number of investors who were previously priced out. Investment trust Pantheon International split its shares in November last year when they reached 30. Helen Steers, senior manager, says: 'Investors should think of it as a mechanism through which the directors were able to try to broaden the appeal of the trust.' Pantheon shares are now trading at 3.21 after a ten-for-one stock split. However, other investment experts warn that investors should proceed with caution as a decision to split shares tends to come once they have already risen sharply in value. 'The danger is that share prices tend to get bloated after long upward runs, so stock splits can sometimes be a signal of a stock market top,' says Russ Mould, investment director at wealth manager AJ Bell. As always, your decision to buy should be based on your happiness with the company's strategy and financial strength or underlying investments and expertise if it is an investment trust. The unit price of an individual share should not be a signal to buy or sell. A high share price doesn't equal quality As Mould infers, a high share price can be a sign that a company has become successful. However, QuotedData's Carthew believes it should be taken with a pinch of salt. 'Prices, especially in the US, can become a bit ridiculous, especially when a company has been popular for a long time,' he says. 'Some see a high share price as a badge of honour. Berkshire Hathaway has created an overly complex share structure that penalises small investors just to maintain the vanity of having a high share price.' Carthew adds that share prices in the UK tend to be more restrained, usually in the range of about 50p to 20. 'When share prices get too big, companies tend to subdivide their shares, and when they get too small, they often consolidate them,' he says. Other ways to buy expensive shares Buying into a fund or investment trust allows you to own a small holding in companies with high share prices without forking out for a whole share. Your money is pooled with thousands of other investors to buy a portfolio of tens, hundreds or even thousands of holdings. Some share-dealing platforms now allow you to buy fractions of shares. They are more popular in the US, where high share prices are more common. However, a few, such as Freetrade and Trading 212, have entered the UK market. If you buy fractional shares, you should be able to sell them again on the same platform. You will also be entitled to a corresponding share of dividends. Not all providers that allow trading in fractional shares let you hold them in a full range of tax-efficient wrappers. For example, trading 212 does not offer a self-invested personal pension. In the wake of catastrophic flooding in northern New South Wales the conventional wisdom remains that permanently moving whole towns to a safer location is just too hard. But at least four regularly waterlogged Australian towns have been shifted to higher ground after being subjected to repeated flooding, one as recently as in the past decade. While relocating a city such as Lismore with its population of more than 28,000 might seem impractical, smaller towns have been successfully rebuilt since the middle of the 19th century. Moving Lismore would be astronomically expensive - even if done in stages as some have suggested - and require political will and community support which does not seem to be strong. Catastrophic flooding in northern New South Wales has led to the usual claims it is too hard to move whole towns permanently out of a river's rising reach. The Northern Rivers city of Lismore is pictured underwater on March 31 While relocating a city such as Lismore with its population of more than 28,000 might seem impractical, smaller towns have been successfully rebuilt since the middle of the 19th century. Lismore residents are pictured walking through flood water Many residents of the largest urban centre in the Northern Rivers region would understandably not want to leave a place they might have have called home for generations. But smaller communities routinely subject to flooding could more easily reap rewards in relocating out of a rising river's reaches to start again with less upheaval. Such a move was made by most of the citizens of Grantham in south-east Queensland after the disastrous deluge of 2011 which left 14 people dead. Bega on the south coast of NSW was moved to higher ground after flooding in 1851 and Gundagai in the state's Riverina district was shifted after a flood claimed about a third of its population the following year. In 1916 the central Queensland mining town of Clermont was moved to a a new site when flash flooding took more than 60 lives without warning. Gundagai in the New South Wales Riverina district was shifted after the Murrumbidgee River broke its banks in 1852 and a raging torrent swept through the town, An estimated 89 people from a population of 250 died Bega on the south coast of NSW was moved to higher ground after flooding in 1851 in which 17 people drowned. Floods in 1857 and 1860 damaged crops and killed cattle but did not reach the new township Australians have been building on flood-prone land since European settlement, often against government recommendations and the advice of indigenous inhabitants. The Bega Valley, on what is now called the Sapphire Coast, was settled in the 1830s by beef and dairy farmers. The town of Bega was laid out beside the Brogo River, a mile above the junction of that waterway and the Bega River, in January 1851. On May 14 that year gale force winds accompanied by driving rain flooded the town. Settlers clung to rooftops and houses began collapsing within hours. It is estimated up to 9m of water filled the streets and 17 people died. More would have been killed if it were not for local Aboriginal men rescuing residents in bark canoes. There were two more floods the following year and although no lives were lost, water stayed on the flats and new lagoons were formed. The town was then relocated to higher ground south of the Bega River. Floods in 1857 and 1860 damaged crops and killed cattle but did not reach the new township. Clermont in central Queensland was hit by flash flooding in 1916 which killed at least 64 of the mining town's population of 1,500. The settlement was moved after waters away more than 50 buildings, as well as the railway line Most of the citizens of Grantham in south-east Queensland moved to higher ground after the disastrous deluge of 2011 which left 14 people dead in or near the town. There are now 110 new houses on the higher site (above), while more than 50 remain on lower ground Gundagai was gazetted in 1838 on the right bank of Murrumbidgee River flood plain, despite warnings from the Wiradjuri people who had camped and hunted there for 50,000 years. The area was good cattle grazing country and Gundagai became a major service centre, attracting travellers with the the only crossing of the Murrumbidgee between Sydney and Melbourne. The town faced several floods including a major event in 1844 after which citizens petitioned the government for help but were told the 'big one' was behind them. On June 24, 1852 the Murrumbidgee broke its banks after weeks of heavy rain and a raging torrent swept through the town. As houses were swept away by floodwaters residents sought safety in treetops and an estimated 89 of the town's population of 250 drowned. Angry survivors of Gundagai's 1852 flood blamed government planners for being so short-sighted. A land exchange offer allowed residents to move to the slopes of Mount Parnassus out of the river's reach, where the town remains today Again, it was Aboriginal rescuers who saved at least 40 settlers from drowning. Bodies were being discovered weeks after the water receded and the Gundagai flood remains one of Australia's deadliest natural disasters in terms of loss of life. Just three buildings were left standing and angry survivors blamed NSW government planners who had allowed the town to be built for being so short-sighted. A land exchange offer allowed Gundagai's residents to move to the slopes of Mount Parnassus out of the river's reach, where the town still stands today. Another town to be built in the wrong place was Clermont, which began as a gold mining camp between the Sandy and Wolfgang Creeks, about 400km west of Rockhampton. On December 27, 1916 a cyclone in the Whitsunday Passage began dumping torrential rain on Clermont, Sapphire and Peak Downs. From 5pm the next day until 8 o'clock the following morning more than 50mm fell on Clermont and a 'wall of water' 4.5m high swept through the main street of the town. After the deadliest flooding in Queensland's recorded history Clermont was abandoned for higher ground. Buildings including the Commercial Hotel were put on log rollers and moved by steam tractor engine to a new town site further south The flash flooding killed at least 64 of Clermont's population of 1,500 and washed away more than 50 buildings, as well as the railway line. After the deadliest flooding in Queensland's recorded history Clermont was abandoned for higher ground. Buildings including the Commercial Hotel were put on log rollers and moved by steam tractor engine to a new town site further south. Australians have built on flood plains for more than 200 years Australians have been building on flood plains - and ignoring government requests not to - since the earliest days of white settlement. In 1810, New South Wales governor Lachlan Macquarie proclaimed five towns north-west of Sydney after serious flooding on the Hawkesbury-Nepean River system the previous year. Despite the establishment of Richmond, Castlereagh, Pitt Town, Wilberforce and Windsor, farmers continued to build on lower ground. Macquarie wrote to secretary of state for the colonies Earl Bathurst in 1817 complaining the recalcitrant settlers would not follow his directions. 'It is impossible not to feel extremely displeased and Indignant at their Infatuated Obstinacy in persisting to Continue to reside with their Families, Flocks, Herds, and Grain on those Spots Subject to the Floods and from whence they have often had their prosperity swept away ' Macquarie wrote. 'And what makes their Obstinacy and Indolence in this respect still more Inexcusable is, that None of them would have to Carry their Crops above two Miles at the furthest, and in general not more than one Mile to their respective Places of Residence in the Townships 'They are deaf to All my Remonstrances, and I fear they never will be prevailed on to remove from their favourite Spots and miserable Cottages on the Banks of these Rivers. 'As a last Effort, however, I Consider the recent awful Visitation of the Floods in February a fit Season for once more admonishing them, whilst Smarting under their late Losses and Calamities but I shall at least have the Consolation to reflect that I have done My Utmost to save these deluded people from Ruin and Poverty.' Parts of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley have been severely flooded this year. Advertisement Residents who lost their homes were given land grants with the stipulation they must rebuild within 12 months. The high cost of materials due to World War I meant many of them forfeited. A century later, many of the 600 or so people who live in Grantham, 100km west of Brisbane, were making their own migration to higher ground. On January 10, 2011 flash flooding hit the Lockyer Valley as 40 to 50mm of rain fell in 30 minutes and 8m wave of water hit Grantham in what was called an inland tsunami. Flash flooding hit the Lockyer Valley on January 10, 2011 as 40 to 50mm of rain fell in 30 minutes and an 8m wave of water hit Grantham in what was called an inland tsunami. Police divers are pictured at Grantham on January 21 Twenty-one people were killed in the valley: 14 in Grantham, two each in Postmans Ridge, Spring Bluff and Murphys Creek and one in Helidon. Nearly every home on the lower ground at Grantham was damaged, 130 severely, and 29 were completely destroyed. The day after the flooding Steve Jones, then mayor of Lockyer Valley Regional Council, proposed shifting the town. In what became known as the Grantham land swap residents were able to secure a similarly sized property to their own on 378 hectares of higher grazing land bought by the council. The voluntary relocation plan proved immediately popular and by the end of the year the first participants had moved into their new homes. The move, which cost $30million, was fast-tracked by the Queensland government agreeing to remove the usual development application process. Nearly every home on the lower ground at Grantham was damaged in the 2011 flood and 29 were completely destroyed. The day after the flooding the mayor of Lockyer Valley Regional Council proposed shifting the town. A home is pictured in Grantham There are now 110 new houses on the higher site, while more than 50 remain on lower ground. None of the homes in the new estate went underwater in this year's deluge. The ongoing floods in northern NSW have raised the question of whether it would be possible to move larger flood-prone towns. Lismore lies on Wilsons River where it meets Leycester Creek, downstream of the Northern Rivers catchment - and when it pours, it can quickly bring disaster. The danger from floods is so high, it is virtually impossible to get insurance in the town. Quotes start at $18,000 a year for a small town centre shop - and that does not include contents. When Lismore was settled in the 1840s its fertile flood plains seemed ideal for growing food and the river convenient for transporting agricultural products and timber. Growing road and rail networks meant Lismore no longer needed to serve as an inland port and the river turned from asset to liability. Lismore lies on Wilsons River where it meets Leycester Creek, downstream of the Northern Rivers catchment - and when it pours, it can quickly bring disaster. Heavy rain forced the evacuation of residents in late March, weeks after record flooding The city was smashed by February's record-breaking deluge, just five years after a 'one-in-a-100-year' flood, and exhausted locals have admitted they are finally close to defeat. Entire homes, shops and businesses in Lismore were completely submerged. Many were destroyed, while some simply floated away. The latest catastrophe followed floods in 1989, 1974 and 1954. A levee installed after 1999 held back rising waters in the early 2000s - but nothing could stop the damage done by recent rains. With the big wets coming ever faster, higher and more furiously, many are questioning if it's even wise to rebuild. Urban planning expert Professor Paul Burton told Daily Mail Australia: 'Knowing what we know now, if we were starting from scratch, would we build a large town here? 'Answer? Probably not.' Lismore was smashed by February's record-breaking deluge, just five years after a 'one-in-a-100-year' flood, and exhausted locals have admitted they are finally close to defeat. Lismore is pictured on March 30 Experts warn Lismore's predicament is only going to get worse in years to come, throwing the very viability of the town's future into question. Climate scientist Professor Will Steffen warned nothing could stop global temperatures rising by 1.6C by 2050, regardless of any emission reduction programs. 'That means we'll be having considerably heavier rainfalls and more flooding,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'Whenever you get the local conditions for rain, it's going to come down heavier.' Professor Steffen said the economic cost of continually rebuilding on a flood plain no longer made sense and the money should be invested in more permanent solutions. 'It's a very difficult thing because people are used to living where they've been living for a long time,' he said. 'But honestly, the situation is going to be really, really difficult - I'd say almost impossible - to keep living on these flood plains.' 'It's going to be costly to relocate populations and townships away from flood plains - but not doing so is going to be even costlier.' Experts warn Lismore's predicament is only going to get worse in years to come, throwing the very viability of the town's future into question. A car is pictured submerged in flood water in Lismore on March 30 Planning expert Professor Burton warned moving a population from one area to another could create new problems elsewhere. 'We sometimes think Australia is a massive place - surely you can go and live anywhere?' Professor Burton said. 'There's plenty of land, but it isn't necessarily well suited to Western living. 'You can move from a flood plain to the top of a hill - but now you're in a bushfire area. Or you can move to a field - but that's agricultural land. 'Or you can clear some forest - but that's vital ecological land and wipes out koala populations. 'Alternatively you can go to the other side of the Great Dividing Range - but then you're 10 hours away from the nearest major city with no economy to support it. 'It's very tricky. But it has to start with a ban on new developments on flood plains.' Professor Burton said the cost of trying to relocate Lismore and its population was inconceivably huge, but more could be done to at least mitigate the worst impact of future floods. 'But you can't protect the whole city and town and you can't move the whole town. It's a real conundrum. It's just not easy. 'And ultimately it's a treacherous land - Mother Nature will always get you.' An Oscar-winning producer has slammed Will Smith and Chris Rock for robbing his film, and documentary category as a whole, of its moment to shine last Sunday night at the Academy Awards. 'I think what Will did was selfish,' Summer of Soul producer Joseph Patel wrote Wednesday in a since-deleted Twitter thread, claiming Smith slapping Rock 'robbed the category of its moment.' 'It robbed the other excellent and amazing films of their moment to be acknowledged in what was a STRONG year for docs,' Patel claimed. 'And it robbed Summer of Soul and our team of our moment. Of a loud, enthusiastic cheer for a celebrated film.' Patel also accused Rock of being an 'absolute f*****g d**k' for allegedly making a racially insensitive remark when he announced Summer of Soul had won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. When Rock announced the award, he reportedly said the winner was 'Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and four white guys,' ignoring Patel's south Asian heritage. 'I'm angry,' Patel wrote. 'Angry at Will Smith. Angry at Chris Rock. Angry for me. Angry for Ahmir. Angry for my fellow filmmakers.' Summer of Soul producer Joseph Patel (left) has slammed Will Smith and Chris Rock for robbing his film of its moment to shine last Sunday night at the Academy Awards. Patel is pictured with fellow Summer of Soul contributors (L-R) Ahmir Thompson, David Dinerstein and Robert Fyvolent Patel claimed he didn't initially hear Rock's remark as he was 'still trying to make sense' of the on-stage attack, but was informed of it after he received his Oscar. 'What I didn't hear in that moment walking to stage but was told of afterwards is what Chris Rock said when reading our name from the winner's card The winner is ''Summer of Soul Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson and 4 white guys.'' WHAT IN THE ACTUAL F**K?????' he tweeted. 'The reason that makes me SO SO VERY ANGRY is because I was so proud to be one of a handful of South Asians to have ever won an Oscar in the history of the award.' 'So with my family and friends watching, Chris Rock lumped me in as 1 of '4 white guys. (Nevermind the disrespect to @d2films and @fyvo for not even saying their names, and the inaccuracy of us being 3 producers not 4),' Patel added, referencing the two other South Asian men who won Oscars last Sunday. In a since-deleted Twitter thread, Patel said the pair 'robbed Summer of Soul' of its moment and also accused Rock of being an 'absolute f*****g d**k' for reportedly saying the winner of the documentary category was 'Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson and four white guys' Patel said he decided to delete his tweet thread because it had become 'unproductive' The producer claims he recorded the ceremony on his DVR, but when he got home to New York, he 'didn't have the stomach to watch it.' 'I probably never will,' Patel added. 'Thank you, Chris You absolute f*****g d**k.' Despite his frustrations, Patel did applaud Thompson for handling the seemingly uncomfortable encounter with 'grace and giving a speech from the heart.' He also detailed that he made the decision to delete his tweet thread after it went viral because it had become 'unproductive.' 'We reached the unproductive portion of the viral Twitter thread so I've deleted it,' Patel wrote. 'I said what I needed to say and feel at peace with it.' He added: 'Some of y'all are weirdos.' Despite his frustrations, Patel did applaud Thompson for handling the seemingly uncomfortable encounter with 'grace and giving a speech from the heart'. The Summer of Soul team is seen accepting its Oscar for best documentary feature While neither Rock nor Smith have publicly acknowledged Patel's rant, the King Richard actor did issue an apology to all winners of the 94th Academy Awards when he announced his resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences on Friday. Smith is pictured slapping Rock during last Sunday's Oscars While neither Rock nor Smith have publicly acknowledged Patel's rant, the King Richard actor did issue an apology to all winners of the 94th Academy Awards when he announced his resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences on Friday night. Smith, in a statement first obtained by Variety on Friday, called his actions during the ceremony 'shocking, painful and inexcusable,' adding that he would accept any additional consequences issued by the Academy's Board of Governors. 'The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home,' Smith stated. 'I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken.' Smith was presented with his first Academy Award after the onstage attack The actor also acknowledged that slapping Rock during the ceremony caused other award winners to be overshadowed. 'I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film,' Smith said. He also shared how 'change takes time' and he is now 'committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.' Smith's resignation came two days after the Academy met to initiate disciplinary proceedings against him for violations of the group's standards of conduct. The Academy announced Friday it has accepted Smith's 'immediate resignation' and will 'continue to move forward' with its disciplinary hearings. As they settle into Sydney life, Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch have added a famous $30million classic yacht to their fleet as they await arrival of their secretive $175million superyacht. The billionaire family's new 59.7 metre luxury Royal Huisman sloop, described as 'one of the most iconic sailing superyachts afloat' is believed to be worth 100million (A$175million) and include 'a beach club'. The identity of the owners of the ultra-rich 'Project 404' - also dubbed MM597 after its naval architect Malcolm McKeon - has been a closely guarded secret but recently the Murdochs were revealed as the carbon-fibre superyacht's buyers. As they settle into Sydney life, Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch have added a famous $30million classic yacht to their fleet as they await arrival of their secretive $175million superyacht (the couple are pictured at the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscara Party) Having bought a $38million 'boathouse' at Point Piper, the Murdochs are expanding their fleet of luxury vessels. Their newest addition is the rebuilt 42metre 1954 motor yacht 'Istros' The luxury performance yacht will be 'one of the most iconic sailing superyachts afloat' when launched this year, McKeon said of the boat being completed in Vollenhove, The Netherlands. It is likely to be moored in Sydney, where the family have moved and recently purchased a $38million 'boat shed' at Wunulla Road, Point Piper. While no photo of the completed vessel has been shared publicly, it is believed to resemble the Perni Navi superyacht the Seahawk. The yacht's interiors have been designed by exclusive French design studio Liagre, which fits out homes and boats for the world's ultra-rich families. While no photo of the Murdoch's top-secret carbon-fibre sloop, worth an estimated $175million, has been shared publicly, it is believed to resemble the Perni Navi superyacht the Seahawk (pictured above) The billionaire family's new 59.7-metre luxury Royal Huisman sloop, described as 'one of the most iconic sailing superyachts afloat', will include room for 12 guests and 10 staff, will have an al fresco dining area, a wet bar and multiple entertaining areas Until their new cutting edge superyacht arrives, the billionaire couple have added the rebuilt 42-metre 1954 classic Istros to their fleet It has room for 12 guests and 10 staff, will have an al fresco dining area, a wet bar and multiple entertaining areas. But that's not all. According to Royal Huisman, the 'unique and truly inspiring yacht' will house 'an expansive, lavish beach club', which is a luxury open-air pool and seating. Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of Fox Corporation, co-chair of News Corp and executive chairman of Nova, is believed to be worth $3.82billion. Last week he was guest speaker at the launch of Centre for the Australian Way of Life last week. In the speech, hosted by the Institute of Public Affairs, he slammed the ABC and claimed Australian identity is under siege as 'media elites' discredit the nation's inherent sense of fairness. His model and TV presenter wife Sarah is believed to be worth more than $100million. The couple relocated to Sydney in 2021, living at their Bellevue Hill compound, Le Manoir. It was believed they would host a delayed 90th birthday celebration for family mogul Rupert this year, although the News Corp chairman and CEO has now turned 91. Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch now own properties in Sydney, Los Angeles and Colorado, as well as a $90million Gulfstream G650 private jet. He uses the private jet to regularly fly between the US and Australia for work. Rupert Murdoch (centre) is pictured with his son Lachlan (right) and daughter-in-law Sarah in Sun Valley, Idaho, USA Lachlan Murdoch arrives in Sydney in March 2022 after returning from the US on his Gulf Stream private jet (pictured). Lachlan and Sarah are proud parents to sons Kalan Alexander, 17, Aidan Patrick, 15, and daughter Aerin Elisabeth, 11 Rupert Murdoch (left) is pictured speaking with his eldest son Lachlan in Sun Valley, Idaho, USA in 2018 They also own a fleet of yachts including the Sarissa, which they paid $30million for but is now believed to be available for charter. Lachlan Murdoch is an enthusiastic sailor, having raced his 24-metre sail yacht Swan 82, Ipixuna at Hamilton Island in early 2021, and even entered the Sydney to Hobart back in 1997. Last year the couple paid $38million for a boat shed at Point Piper. The Murdoch's three children - sons Kalan Alexander, 17, Aidan Patrick, 15, and daughter Aerin Elisabeth, 11, attend a Sydney private school. It is believed Kalan could be learning to drive in a family Tesla after one was seen leaving Le Manoir with L plates, Nine newspapers reported. A report last year claimed the family moved after the US political climate shifted with Joe Biden assuming power. The pro-Republican family's children apparently experienced 'a rough' time, Nine newspapers reported. Until their new cutting edge superyacht arrives, the billionaire couple have added the rebuilt 42-metre 1954 classic Istros, once once by the Pappadakis shipping dynasty, to their fleet. The motor yacht, which also cost them $30million, is considered an iconic vessel. It won the grand prize for the best restored vessel at the Monaco Yacht Club Prada Classic Yacht Show in 2001. But it fell into disrepair and was little more than a rusting hulk when it was rescued from a Maltese port in 2015, salvaged and rebuilt. The interiors were redesigned in 'chic Scandinavian style by Van Geest Design', the Robb Report said. The Australian Federal Police have seized 416 kilograms of cocaine worth over $166 million in one of Australia's biggest cocaine busts. Police have revealed details of how they arrested four Filipino crew members after they allegedly threw the drugs overboard from a Cyprus-registered cargo carrier, Kypros Bravery, in 'deep waters' off the Yorke Peninsula on March 15. The AFP said the joint investigation found the cocaine off the peninsula on March 21 and that the enormous shipment was destined for all Australian major cities. The bust is the largest in South Australian history. Cyprus-registered cargo carrier, Kypros Bravery (pictured) is now free to continue operations after police completed investigations aboard the vessel Police estimate the value of the drugs seized (pictured) to have a street value of more than $166 million, with the accused importers facing life imprisonment 'While the alleged cocaine importation is the largest ever detected by law enforcement in South Australia, it is most certain the drugs would have been trafficked to other Australian states,' AFP Assistant Commissioner Peter Harvey said. The sailors, aged between 29 and 44, face charges of importing a border-controlled drug with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Alleged smugglers Ian Gelan Dizon, Alcris Dente Mabini, Mark Torrenueva Enriquez and Angelito Devalaque Balansag did not apply for bail and are set to front court again in April. Police arrested four Filipino men who they allege were responsible for importing the massive quantity of cocaine into the country (Pictured: an arrest of one crew member) Police say that the drugs the men allegedly were smuggling into the country were most likely destined to be distributed all over the country (Pictured: police arrest a crew member) The joint team of AFP, Border Force, South Australia Police, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, and Department of Home Affairs worked around the clock for four days to find the illegal cargo as part of an operation codenamed Lithgow. The search included extensive land, marine and air patrols. Assistant Commissioner Harvey said the use of cocaine in Australia - one of the highest per capita - leads to 'transnational serious organised criminals' targeting the country. The vessel was docked at Port Adelaide (pictured) when police searched and investigated it after international intelligence had suggested that the cargo ship was suspicious 'We also know drug trafficking can lead to drug wars in our streets, and often law-abiding citizens can be the collateral damage to that violence. 'Illicit drug trafficking can also bankroll other abhorrent crimes, such as human trafficking and sexual servitude.' International Intelligence had alerted Australian police to the suspicious cargo ship before it entered Australian waters and authorities were monitoring its behaviour off the coastline. The police are yet to know the exact weight or purity of the drugs (pictured) but will conduct further testing to find out On the same day of the alleged drug drop-off, the coast guard rescued a small boat that ran out of fuel near Kangaroo Island. On March 17, police searched the container ship in Port Adelaide before locating the shipment on the 18th. The police questioned all 20 members of the crew before laying charges on the four Filipino men. Police allowed the cargo vessel to continue with its work, deciding they had no further need for the ship in their investigations. The size of the drug haul is so large it is nearly equivalent to half of all the cocaine seized across Australia last year. Further testing will be done to find the exact weight and purity of the drug haul but police expect its value to be upwards of $166 million, saying that in the hands of illegal drug syndicates the street value could become a lot higher. 'There is a perception by some in the community that cocaine is a safe drug. Let me be clear it is not and just as importantly, the transnational serious organised criminals who target Australia are also undermining our national security, economy and social security system.' Assistant Commissioner Harvey said. A pregnant woman who was placed into an induced coma after a caravan fire has awoken to find out she has given birth and that her partner died trying to save her. Tomeka Willis, 20, has been in intensive care since her caravan home caught on fire and exploded in Logan Central, southeast Queensland, on March 21. Her partner Blake Whell, 22, shielded Ms Willis from the inferno before suffering burns to 95 per cent of his body and later dying in hospital. Ms Willis was placed into an induced coma before she delivered a baby boy during an emergency C section at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. Ms Willis's mother Christine revealed the first heartbreaking question she was asked by her daughter after she awoke from her coma. A pregnant woman who was put into an induced coma after a caravan fire has awoken to find out she has given birth and that her partner died trying to save her (pictured, Tomeka Willis) Ms Willis was placed into an induced coma before she gave birth to a baby boy during an emergency C section at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital Her partner Blake Whell, 22, shielded Ms Willis from the inferno before suffering burns to 95 per cent of his body and later dying in hospital 'She went "Mum, where's Blakey?" and she said "I know there was an explosion",' she told 9 News. 'I explained to her, "Yes baby, you were in a bad fire but you've got a beautiful baby boy that's ready to meet his mummy" and she cried at the photos I had.' Mr Whell was farewelled by devastated family and friends at his funeral on Friday. The 22-year-old's father Lloyd Bickell described his son as a 'stand-up boy'. 'He'd take the shirt off his back to help anyone,' he said. 'I feel like we will remember, through the kids, through Tomeka.' Mr Whell was hailed a 'hero' after the 22-year-old threw his body across his partner to protect her and their unborn child from the flames. It is understood the blaze was ignited by an E-Scooter prompting Mr Bickell to previously warn scooter owners to be careful. It is understood the blaze was ignited by an E-Scooter prompting Blake Whell's father Lloyd Bickell to previously warn scooter owners to be careful The Queensland Ambulance Service sent multiple crews to the Wilbur Street address following the blaze 'Any of you people out there that've got E-Scooters, you be careful with these batteries and these chargers,' Mr Bickell said. 'I've just lost my son Beware of these scooters, they're dangerous, Please, I beg ya's (sic). It's all I have to say, be careful of these E-Scooters.' The Queensland Ambulance Service sent multiple crews to the Wilbur Street address following the blaze. The service's medical director Dr Steven Rashford said the couple required 'significant' resuscitation at the scene. Neighbours who witnessed the fire said it took just minutes for the caravan to go up in flames, while others recalled hearing screams for help. A D.C.-based meteorologist called his kids in the middle of a live broadcast to warn them about an incoming tornado that was headed straight toward their Maryland home. NBC Washington's Doug Kammerer was tracking the storm so closely on Thursday that when he realized its path was headed straight for his Chevy Chase home, he pulled out his phone and gave his kids a call right then and there. 'As a matter of fact, I'm tracking this so closely now, this is going to go right over my house,' he says as he moves half off-screen to zoom in to get a street view of the storm's path. As the dad-of-two moves back into frame, he holds his phone up to his ear and says : 'Kent, you there, buddy? Hey man, I want you to get down in the basement. We got a tornado warning. I want to make sure you and Cally get downstairs as soon as you can.' Scroll down for video NBC Washington's meteorologist Doug Kammerer (pictured) was doing a live broadcast when he was released an incoming tornado was heading straight toward his Maryland home On live TV, he pulled out his phone and called his son Kent to tell him to get him and his sister Cally in the basement for '10 to 15 minutes' #Working4You When a tornado warning sounded last night, Storm Team4 Chief Meteorologist @dougkammerer was working to keep you informed and safe just like his own family. https://t.co/1iV3XQHB0q pic.twitter.com/xZZrDOWCC6 NBC4 Washington (@nbcwashington) April 1, 2022 When Kent replies: 'Right now?' Kammerer tells him to take himself and his sister to the basement and to 'get in the bedroom down there and just wait 10 to 15 minutes.' 'Do it now. Thanks, buddy,' he says before pivoting back to his live broadcast, joking that he had to 'warn my kids, because I know what my kids are doing right now, they're probably online gaming, and they're not seeing this.' Kent and Cally's mother wasn't home at the time, and Kammerer said his 'heart sank' when he realized the danger they were in. 'I had to make the call on live TV. I have never done anything like that before,' he wrote on his Facebook page. 'Kids were home alone and I knew they were not watching me on TV!' he wrote on Twitter. '[When I zoomed in I] saw that it was going very close to my house and I knew I had to warn my kids.' He later said they were safe, but it was a 'scary moment' for him. It's unclear how old his his son and daughter are. 'I was freaking out inside a bit,' Kammerer (pictured with his children in 2021) said. 'I had to make the call on live TV. I have never done anything like that before. Kids were home alone and I knew they were not watching me on TV!' The dad-of-two was praised by his employer for working to keep '[the audience] informed and safe just like his own family' The weatherman called his son Kent (pictured in 2021) and later said his kids were safe Kammerer was reported from DC while his kids (pictured in 2020) were home alone 'I was freaking out inside a bit,' he wrote. NBC Washington posted the video on its Twitter, joking that the meteorologist 'was working to keep you informed and safe just like his own family.' The weatherman informed his followers that the tornado did touch down in Fairfax County and two gas stations were damaged, but no injuries were reported. Prince George's and Montgomery were also placed under a warning until 9 p.m. on Thursday. Experts believe the storm may have formed off an Arkansas storm, according to NBC 4. Nearly 40 years ago, I was in Beijing when China discovered its first case of Aids. As soon as the authorities realised that the victim, an Argentinian-American man, was suffering from this new disease, they locked him in his hotel room. Food was left outside his door. The used dishes and cutlery were immediately destroyed. When he left, all the furnishings, carpets, curtains, everything was taken away and burned. The Chinese do not do things by halves. Quarantine, for example, means quarantine. A friend returning to Shanghai with his wife and infant recently took the risk that if they or their child contracted Covid during their three weeks' quarantine, they would be parted from the one-year-old for the duration. Fortunately, none of them fell ill. Lockdown means lockdown. Recently, the city of Xi'an, with a population of 13 million, was incarcerated for a month after Covid infections soared. Officials arranged food drop-offs, not always adequately. A pregnant woman lost her baby because she did not have a Covid pass and was refused entry to hospital. And testing means testing. When one visitor to Shanghai's Disneyland tested positive, all the other 34,000 visitors that day were held and tested. Lockdown means lockdown. Recently, the city of Xi'an, with a population of 13 million, was incarcerated for a month after Covid infections soared 'Zero tolerance' is part of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) DNA, whether that is towards dissent, divergence or disease. This is because 'the Party leads everything', as General Secretary and President Xi Jinping likes to say. But just as all good things come from the Party, so, if you are in charge of everything, all bad things are your responsibility, too. The Party was rattled when a novel coronavirus later named SARS-CoV-2 emerged in Wuhan in late 2019 and early 2020. That December, ophthalmologist Li Wenliang at Central Hospital of Wuhan had, in what he'd intended to be a private message, warned colleagues about a mysterious new infection that resembled severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. He encouraged them to protect themselves. Days later, he was summoned to the city's Public Security Bureau in Wuhan to sign a statement accusing him of making false claims that disturbed the public order. In February, by which time no one in China was in any doubt about the seriousness of the epidemic, 34-year-old Dr Wenliang contracted the infection from a patient and died. The death of a man who had tried to alert people to Covid triggered outrage in China The death of a man who had tried to alert people to Covid triggered outrage in China. A potential crisis threatened the authorities' reputation for competent governance, particularly because its warning and coping systems, set up after a similar virus scare in 2003, did not function properly to head off the new threat. This really mattered. Here in Britain, we might question ministers' competence in dealing with Covid. We can even vote them out at the next election. But in China, the CCP cannot be held accountable for failure. Indeed, its boast of a superior political system President Xi is forever condemning Western democracy as inferior means that failure is not an option, since it might lead the people to question the whole model of government. The Party swung into action to retrieve its bad start. Unhappy and dissenting voices were censored or silenced. Its extensive control and surveillance systems were increased. High-tech electronic tracing, monitoring apps on mobiles, CCTV and the 'grid system' a network of street-level neighbourhood committees and informers which cuts city areas into small controllable chunks went into overdrive. Draconian it may have been and still remains but it worked. However massaged Chinese statistics for Covid cases and deaths are, even if they are ten times worse than declared (149,000 cases and 4,638 deaths), given a population 20 times ours, they compare extraordinarily well with UK figures of 21.2 million cases and 165,570 deaths Draconian it may have been and still remains but it worked. However massaged Chinese statistics for Covid cases and deaths are, even if they are ten times worse than declared (149,000 cases and 4,638 deaths), given a population 20 times ours, they compare extraordinarily well with UK figures of 21.2 million cases and 165,570 deaths. Then there was the propaganda blitz. The Global Times, the Party's tabloid, talked of doctors who were CCP members 'volunteering to go to the frontline in the battle against the disease in Wuhan'. 'The first step those [CCP] members had made gave the rest of us the strength and confidence to follow their steps,' said the director of a Wuhan intensive care unit. The global press was agog with the story of how two 1,000-bed hospitals were constructed in ten days as it happens, that was a day longer than it took us in the UK to set up the first Nightingale hospital, with 4,000 beds. Perhaps we need a central propaganda department. While this propaganda campaign probably did more than anything to rouse opposition to China in Western countries, it served its purpose well: the CCP's target was primarily its own people, to convince them of its rightness to rule This was followed by an overseas propaganda campaign of breathtaking arrogance. With no hint of apology for the gift of Covid to the world on the contrary, with assertions that the origin of the virus may have been an American laboratory leak and later outbreaks may have come from frozen seafood imports or even virus carried on international mail the CCP lauded its gifts (often sales) of PPE and vaccines to the foreigners. Their incompetence in dealing with Covid was contrasted with China's effectiveness. This underlined the excellent governance system of the CCP compared with Western wallowing. While this propaganda campaign probably did more than anything to rouse opposition to China in Western countries, it served its purpose well: the CCP's target was primarily its own people, to convince them of its rightness to rule. So China watched and crowed as Europe and the U.S. suffered during the first year of the pandemic. But how different things look now as the West with high levels of vaccinated and boosted populations emerges from the crisis. Because for all the reputation of the Party for long-term planning, it has not worked out how to deal with the long-term implications of Covid. New and more infectious variants notably Omicron are gaining a hold and, as the country enters the third year of the pandemic, restrictions and lockdowns remain a fact of life New and more infectious variants notably Omicron are gaining a hold and, as the country enters the third year of the pandemic, restrictions and lockdowns remain a fact of life. Shanghai, China's most populous city, with 26 million people, is the latest to be locked down again as a two-stage plan to isolate everyone who is infected and start mass testing is implemented. It is not without cost. China's economy is already in trouble. A Hong Kong professor has calculated that at a minimum the cost of lockdowns is $46 billion (35 billion) a month, or 3.1 percent of GDP, in lost economic output, and the impact could double if more cities tighten restrictions. People are also beginning to get restive after so long under restrictions, with protests spreading rapidly. It is difficult to see how China can open up its borders in the present circumstances. What, then, has gone wrong? China's first mistake was born of sheer arrogance. Despite having secured an agreement with the U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and the German biotechnology company BioNTech in early 2020 for testing, approving, and producing their mRNA vaccines in China, the authorities chose to rely on much less effective home-grown vaccines. They hoped to develop their own mRNA vaccine in good time. That hasn't happened yet. The second big mistake China made has been its slowness in putting even those less effective vaccines into the arms of the elderly and vulnerable The second big mistake China made has been its slowness in putting even those less effective vaccines into the arms of the elderly and vulnerable. According to the National Health Commission, there are 264 million people aged 60 and above. Nearly 20 per cent have not been fully vaccinated. For 80-year-olds among the most vulnerable groups that figure rises to 50 per cent, while 80 per cent have not had boosters, so any immunity is waning. And it is not as though the CCP lacks the ability to coerce when it wants to. The combined result of less effective vaccines, a poor roll-out and successful lockdowns has been a lack of herd immunity in China. This is an immense hurdle to the nation opening up again. What has happened in Hong Kong is a worrying portend. Despite its restrictions on movement, it has had 1.16 million cases and 7,945 deaths. Its vaccination rates, mainly using Chinese vaccines (yet another example of the Hong Kong government kowtowing to Beijing), have been lower than on the mainland almost 40 per cent of the over-80s have been vaccinated. Health care is a sensitive issue in any country. As one Chinese commentator has said: 'China is not prepared for large scale deaths from diseases. We are not psychologically, socially or economically prepared' Like many Chinese cities, it has many elderly and is densely populated; unlike Chinese cities, its health system is relatively robust, yet still it has had difficulty in coping with reports of hospitals overflowing and body bags piling up. For mainland China, the epidemiologist who led the initial efforts to contain Covid in Wuhan estimates that 12-15 million people a week could contract Covid if Omicron spreads as it has in other countries. This tsunami would overwhelm a still rudimentary health care system, which is anyway beyond the 600 million Chinese who earn less than 100 a month. China has half the number of intensive care unit beds per capita compared with the UK, and only a tenth of the U.S. Health care is a sensitive issue in any country. As one Chinese commentator has said: 'China is not prepared for large scale deaths from diseases. We are not psychologically, socially or economically prepared.' If the Party cannot help its citizens in sickness, what are ordinary Chinese to conclude about the health of the political system? The CCP is petrified of protests turning into a Tiananmen type unrest. This is the dilemma for the Party. Social stability is the number one, number two and number three priority. But the current Covid policy is unsustainable. It threatens to magnify an economic malaise, which could lead to significant unemployment. And that, given a lack of a proper social security net, could lead to protest and instability. For the moment, at least, there is little that will change until after the 20th Party Congress in the autumn, when Xi Jinping is almost certain to be confirmed for a third term in his Party, military and state posts For the moment, at least, there is little that will change until after the 20th Party Congress in the autumn, when Xi Jinping is almost certain to be confirmed for a third term in his Party, military and state posts. In the meantime, the challenge will be to hold off the assault of Omicron using current tactics and suppress any unrest rigorously. Behind the scenes, the pressure will be on China's scientists to produce an effective rMNA vaccine, which will be jabbed into the arms of the vulnerable, with no truck given to anti-vaxxers. That might just allow a gradual opening up as long as the health service can cope. And, of course, the propaganda department will be working overtime. Having claimed loudly and frequently, as the Party's paper, the People's Daily, did in March, that its response to Covid showed clearly 'the comparison between rule in China and chaos in the West', it will have its work cut out explaining how it is that life in democratic countries has returned to normal, while Covid restrictions still stalk China. Inevitably, the main propaganda message will be that it is all the foreigners' fault. Recently, the chief expert of China's Centre for Disease Control claimed that 'although [Omicron] was discovered in southern Africa, countries such as the U.S. and the UK are the 'amplifiers' in spreading the virus'. Even if the CCP can get through to next year with its Covid policy intact, the likelihood is that it will require increasing repression to make it through. That, too, will chip away at its legitimacy True, but who originated the virus and allowed it to spread globally by denying its existence and permitting international travel from Wuhan, while clamping down on movement within China? Let alone by preventing a proper investigation into the origins of Covid in a city which happened to be home to the world centre of research into coronaviruses? Will the policy of delay, wait for an effective vaccine, slow opening and a propaganda blitz work? That depends as much on the mood of the virus as on the CCP. The risk is it might turn nasty and overwhelm the lockdown, tracing and testing strategy. That would be a severe blow to the Party's self-proclaimed omnipotence and omnicompetence. Even if the CCP can get through to next year with its Covid policy intact, the likelihood is that it will require increasing repression to make it through. That, too, will chip away at its legitimacy. Of one thing we can be sure, President Xi Jinping won't be throwing any parties for his staff in Zhongnanhai, the CCP equivalent of Downing Street. Nor will the Chinese police be issuing any fixed penalty notices. Xi is not a party animal, at least not in the sense which we might understand. The Chinese like to talk of black swans and grey rhinos, in translation that describes unexpected and unlikely events. But Covid is proving to be worse, a large elephant trampling on the CCP's plans. This is not what Xi Jinping wanted for the year when he intends to equal or surpass Mao in power and prestige. He must encourage the elephant to move on. But it may have other ideas. Labour MP Rosie Duffield last night threw her weight behind a major campaign to urge the public to grill local election candidates on their definition of the word woman. Women's rights groups have banded together to call on voters to question politicians over their views on the contentious topics of sex and gender identity. Now Miss Duffield, who has been accused of transphobia over her views including that transgender women should not be able to access single-sex spaces such as domestic violence refuges and prisons, welcomed the campaign, which uses the slogan 'Respect my Sex if you want my X'. She said women will not stand back 'as our words to describe ourselves and our bodies are erased'. The MP, who has previously said only women have a cervix, added: 'I think this group of women speak for many when they say that a clear biological definition of the sexes is important, partly in order to maintain vital single sex services. Labour MP Rosie Duffield is backing a sex-based rights campaign, saying local election candidates should be grilled about how they define a woman - as the trans debate in the Labour Party intensifies They draw a distinct line between gender and biological sex and all political parties and their candidates need to listen to voters who expect to be represented. 'Women vote, campaign, door-knock and donate and we will not simply stand back as our words to describe ourselves and our bodies are erased. 'Trans people deserve respect and rights which can happen alongside the respect that women have fought so hard to get over the decades.' Her comments come after a number of senior Labour figures including leader Sir Keir Starmer struggled when asked questions such as 'how do you define a woman?' and 'does a woman have a penis?' The political campaign, launched in yesterday's Daily Mail, says prospective councillors must reveal their stance on transgender issues before ballots are cast. It is being led by Maya Forstater, who co-founded the group Sex Matters and is a tax expert whose lengthy employment tribunal battle led to a landmark ruling last year that 'gender-critical' beliefs are protected by equality law and which also led to Harry Potter author JK Rowling becoming embroiled in the divisive online debate over transgender rights. Writing in yesterday's Mail, Miss Forstater said the growing campaign to protect sex-based rights 'represents the most significant women's movement since the Suffragettes'. And yesterday she tweeted: 'Women are angry about the erasure of sex. Local election candidates will need to have answers to their questions.' Campaigning alongside her are Heather Binning of the Women's Rights Network and Caroline Ffiske of Women Uniting. Soon the hashtag #RespectMySex was trending on Twitter, meaning that thousands of people were commenting on the issue. One woman wrote: 'Well done. This sort of organised political movement has been desperately needed. Fantastic breakthrough.' Another, who identifed herself as a psychologist, praised the campaign, saying: 'Brilliant!! And quite right!' Women's rights groups have banded together to call on voters to question politicians over their views on the contentious topics of sex and gender identity, using the slogan, 'Respect my Sex if you want my X'. Pictured (left to right): Caroline Ffiske of Women Uniting, Heather Binning (Women's Rights Network) and Mayra Forstater (Sex Matters) A third woman commented: 'Women have the right to be treated as full citizens. We need single sex spaces.' A further social media opinion, by Joanne Finkel, read: 'Women have fought hard for the vote, for women's rights to single sex places in work places, hospitals, prisons and sports. 'We must continue to do. Sadly too many in politics can't define 'woman' if there's votes in it they will.' Stonewall suffered a blow yesterday as the United Nations rejected the organisation's call to cut ties with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the equalities watchdog, over its stance on trans issues. The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions rejected the charity's complaint that the EHRC had taken a 'determinedly anti-trans stance' after it recommended that the conversion therapy ban not be extended to trans people. Few academic institutions in Britain embody the values of liberal Britain critics might use the word wokeish more than Oxford University, and Lady Margaret Hall college in particular. More than anything, LMH, as it is known, has always championed the rights of women. It was the first Oxford college, after all, to admit women when it opened back in 1879, and it remained an all-female place of learning for 100 years. Alumni include Malala Yousafzai who narrowly avoided death after being shot by the Taliban for speaking out to defend the right of girls to attend school in Afghanistan celebrated her graduation from the college last autumn. Emma Watson, the Harry Potter actress, is an associate fellow and has donated books on the themes of equality, empowerment and feminism to the library. And, until the end of the 2021 academic year, Alan Rusbridger, former editor of The Guardian, a journalist and newspaper which supposedly epitomised those aspirations, was the high-profile principal. How disturbingly ironic, then, that Lady Margaret Hall should be embroiled in a scandal that challenges the very principles it stands for. Until the end of the 2021 academic year, Alan Rusbridger was the high-profile principal The allegation, in short, is that the college silenced a female undergraduate who claimed she was raped by another student in her university room. The fact that this is said to have happened during Rusbridgers watch, someone who claims to have fought tirelessly for Press freedom, is the subplot to this breaking scandal. Both he and the college categorically deny the claims and, it has to be acknowledged, that there is at least one aspect of the students testimony, which we will come to shortly, that gives cause for concern. Nevertheless, the story, splashed across the front page of The Times yesterday, and spread across two inside pages, could not be more damaging or embarrassing. The student told how her alleged attacker, with whom she was in a relationship, entered her college bedroom while she was asleep. He had been to a college dinner, she said, and was drunk. Moments later he began kissing her, according to her account, before pinning her arms down and raping her. Violent and frightening is how she described her ordeal at the hands of her boyfriend, who was left with scratches on his face and arms which he claimed, when asked about the injuries by a friend, were the result of rough sex. It took six months before the victim found the strength to inform the authorities at Lady Margaret Hall. What she says followed, however, is perhaps the most explosive part of the story: she claimed she was warned in writing not to reveal anything about the alleged rape and was required to sign a gagging order. Breaches of the secrecy conditions, she said, such as publishing material in the Press would result in expulsion from Lady Margaret Hall. An internal inquiry eventually went ahead, carried out by the college dean, which concluded seven months later that it could not uphold her complaint. Nor was the man she accused of assaulting her who was briefly suspended from the college charged with any offence after being reported to the police. This week, though, the case reached a dramatic denouement. The girls personal injury claim against the college for negligence, breach of contract, discrimination, harassment and victimisation, was settled out of court, with Lady Margaret Hall agreeing to pay the young woman damages and cover her legal costs. Even though the college did not admit liability, it would be difficult to imagine a less desirable outcome for Lady Margaret Hall. It has emerged that the alleged attacker had previously been reported to the college authorities by a different student when she claimed he barged into her bedroom and behaved in a sexually threatening manner. He was from a gilded background, it would seem. This is alluded to in a message from the vice principal to Rusbridger, before the decision was made to suspend him, albeit temporarily, which warned that despite all his heritage it could be very damaging to us not to exclude him from [college] accommodation; and she expressed concern that his conduct had left a number of people at risk. Even though the college did not admit liability, it would be difficult to imagine a less desirable outcome for Lady Margaret Hall college (above) The repercussions of the night the student said she was raped and her subsequent battle with the college overshadowed the young womans undergraduate years. There are no words to describe what Lady Margaret Hall has done to me, nor will it ever be something that Id get over, as I have been told to do by multiple members of staff who tried to silence me and undermine me, the girl is quoted in the newspaper. The date of the alleged rape is not known, but the events in question occurred when Alan Rusbridger was principal between 2015 and 2021. His tenure was lauded in Cherwell, Oxford Universitys student newspaper, when news of his impending departure was announced just under 18 months ago. The former newspaper editor had helped transform LMH into an outward-facing college, it said. I am very proud of the work we have done, Rusbridger admitted. So do the gagging allegations which have now surfaced undermine his legacy? Rusbridger, for his part, has dismissed the coverage as one-sided and insists staff and tutors went to great efforts to support and protect the student at the centre of the controversy. The Crown Prosecution Service, remember, decided not to take her case to trial. The reason was that the girl stayed in touch with her attacker after the incident, and even sent him affectionate texts. She did so, she says, out of fear. This was a domestic violence situation, she explained. There are texts messages where I say I love him, but I sent them because I was afraid. I was afraid of what he might do, so I was always trying to stop him being angry with me. Nevertheless, in the eyes of the CPS, the affectionate text messages she sent in the aftermath of the incident undermined their chance of achieving a conviction. Yet the very fact that the backdrop to all this is Oxford University is as surprising as it is shocking. Only last year, the university attracted headlines over the news that it was considering making woke scores part of the criteria when recruiting academics. A consultation document from the universitys race equality taskforce stated the importance of embedding EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion) into all recruitment, and recommended that commitment to EDI should be essential criteria for all applicants. Indeed, Oxford is considered to be in the vanguard of so-called woke revolution and, along with Cambridge, was placed in the red category for instances of no-platforming and cancel culture in a report by think-tank Civitas. Rusbridger, rightly or wrongly, has been singled out for criticism by the female student. She accused him of mishandling the case by trying desperately to convince her not to complain because of the negative impact it would have on the alleged assailants studies, and because an inquiry would be a time- consuming and costly exercise for the college. Rusbridger offers an alternative explanation: that he queried what she hoped to achieve from another prolonged investigation [even though one did take place] after the police had already thoroughly investigated the case. At one point, the former newspaper editor offered the student a spare room in the principals house as a safe place for her to stay. But she claimed it was really awkward. He was the person who was going to decide what the college was going to do, and I was left feeling that I should be indebted to him. Rusbridger, however, says she sent a heartfelt note of thanks and a gift to him and his wife for taking her in. Physical measures were also put in place, he said, to protect her; she was given a bodyguard on one occasion as well as a panic alarm. The college drew up a written no contact agreement between her and the male student, ostensibly outlining precautionary safety arrangements. But the document also stipulated that she must not make any information about the allegations, the police investigation or Lady Margaret Hall safeguarding arrangements available to any form of public media. The young womans lawyers said this amounted to a blanket gagging clause. It was the equivalent of a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA, which have been routinely used to ensure the cover up of sexual harassment claims in the wake of the 2019 Sir Philip Green Scandal. The former Topshop billionaire was accused of employing NDAs himself to stop former employees who had accused him of sexual harassment and racism of going to the press. Again, Rusbridger, 68, denies this. It is not true to say there was a blanket gagging order issued against the female student, he said in a statement yesterday. While the police investigation was still active, she had posted under her own name to a Facebook group of 2,500 people the claim that she had been raped by her partner. He was clearly identifiable. The student was advised of the obvious risks involved in this posting: she apologised and volunteered to delete all her social media accounts. She swiftly acknowledged the support of the College over this incident which I really, really do appreciate so much. After this, LMH asked both parties to refrain from public comment while the case was active . . . both parties signed without comment or protest. So two very different versions of what happened. In the wake of the furore, Lady Margaret Hall announced a radical overhaul of the way it handles sexual misconduct allegations, and said that it would become the first Oxford College to sign a government-backed pledge for universities not to use non- disclosure agreements to silence students. At the same time, the colleges new principal, Christine Gerrard, said she recognised there is scope for improvement. All of which comes too late for the young woman who made the allegations and says that she remains terrified by her ordeal. Proposals to look again at fracking are set to be put on the back burner even though the UK's only shale gas wells have been given a year-long reprieve. Boris Johnson is under pressure to use fracking to bring down energy prices, but last night sources said the process is unlikely to feature in the Government's energy security strategy. More onshore wind could be included despite opposition from Tory MPs. Fracking involves injecting liquid at high pressure into rocks to force open cracks and extract oil or gas, but it has been blamed for earth tremors. A Whitehall source said: 'Until compelling scientific evidence states that fracking can be done safely, the moratorium will remain in place.' Boris Johnson is under pressure to use fracking to bring down energy prices, but last night sources said the process is unlikely to feature in the Government's energy security strategy. Cuadrilla had been told to plug its two wells in Lancashire by the end of June, but on Thursday the North Sea Transition Authority gave the fracking firm another year to evaluate options for the sites. The energy security strategy is set to be published next week after repeated delays over Treasury concerns about the cost of new nuclear power plants. The strategy is expected to include a target to increase the share of electricity from nuclear from 15 to 25 per cent by 2050. Sources said plans to expand onshore wind had not been ruled out. Ministers have been told they risk a backlash from MPs with rural constituencies, but Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, has proposed doubling onshore wind by 2030. This week the Prime Minister said that offshore wind has 'massive potential', but made no mention of onshore turbines. Passengers who paid hundreds of pounds extra to fly business class with British Airways had an unwelcome surprise this week when they were squeezed together in their seats just like those in economy. It comes as the airline scrambles to get customers off the ground after more than 900 flights were cancelled or delayed following an IT glitch on Wednesday. A selling point of BA's Club Europe short-haul business class cabin is the middle seat being kept free to guarantee more space. Passengers who paid hundreds of pounds extra to fly business class with British Airways had an unwelcome surprise this week when they were squeezed together in their seats just like those in economy (stock image) But passengers reportedly received a 'flatly worded' email minutes before boarding informing them the middle seat would be filled. It is unclear whether customers will receive compensation. A BA spokesman said they 'temporarily increased' numbers in the Club Europe cabin during the disruption, adding: 'Not doing this would have stopped some travellers getting to where they needed to be.' The airline last night said business class flights were now 'back to normal'. Bierton was warned he faced a whole-life term when sentenced on June 10 Lawrence Bierton, 61, faces a possible whole life jail term after murdering a pensioner while out on licence from his sentence to killing two other elderly women in 1995 A convicted double killer serving a life sentence was allowed out on licence - only to murder a third pensioner the following year. Lawrence Bierton, 61, yesterday pleaded guilty to murdering his neighbour, Pauline Quinn, in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, on November 9, 2021. Ms Quinn, a 73-year-old grandmother, died of a fractured skull that resulted from 'a number of blows' with a 'degree of force', Nottingham Crown Court heard. Bierton was arrested 30 miles away from their street the next morning. It was heard that he had been driving Pauline's car. Bierton, of Rayton Spur, Worksop, was jailed for life in May 1996 but was released from prison on 11 May 2020. He was previously found guilty of killing sisters Aileen Dudhill, 79, and Elsie Gregory, 72, at their home in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on June 25, 1995. No further details of Mrs Quinn's murder were heard in court today, but are likely to be outlined when Bierton is sentenced on June 10. Bierton, appearing via video link from HMP Manchester, pleaded guilty to Mrs Quinn's murder and the theft of her car keys. Judge Gregory Dickinson QC, the Recorder of Nottingham, asked a probation officer on the link: 'Am I correct to assume he was living at the address either with direction or permission of those responsible for supervising his life licence?' The probation officer said she understood probation were aware of his address. Pauline Quinn, a 73-year-old grandmother, died of a fractured skull in November last year, Nottingham Crown Court heard The judge asked for a report to explain how it was Bierton came to be living next door to Mrs Quinn. Judge Dickinson said: 'It seems highly likely or inevitable the sentencing judge will want to know more about it'. Another report, from an offender management unit, was requested to deal more generally with Bierton's performance and compliance with the conditions of his parole licence. The judge said an inquest would look at other wider issues. No further details of Mrs Quinn's murder were heard in court today, but are likely to be outlined when Bierton is sentenced on June 10. Pictured: Nottingham Crown Court After the guilty plea, Detective Inspector Steve Wragg, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: 'Pauline's tragic death devastated her family and shocked her friends and neighbours in their community. 'Our thoughts and deepest condolences remain with them and I hope today's guilty pleas bring some degree of closure for them. 'I am pleased Bierton decided to plead guilty which has spared Pauline's family having to go through the emotional ordeal of a trial.' In a previous statement, Mrs Quinn's family said: 'The whole family is totally in shock. Pauline was so full of joy and we just can't believe what has happened.' A former friend of the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann's disappearance is '100% certain' he abucted the three-year-old girl in 2007. Christian Post, 54, believes Christian Brueckner snatched Madeleine during one of his burgling 'night crawls' while she slept in the Portuguese resort Praia da Luz. Post, a musician and IT expert, claimed Brueckner, 45, would boast to him about stealing from holiday flats and amassing a haul of around 100 passports. It was only when Post became aware of Brueckner's conviction for child sex offences that he became convinced he took Madeleine. Brueckner is currently serving a seven-year jail sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman. Post told The Mirror from his home in Cambodia: 'Now I know about his paedophile past, his rapist past. I'm 100% certain it was him. I think he found [Madeleine] by chance and just took her on the spur of the moment. A former friend of the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann's disappearance is '100% certain' he abucted the three-year-old girl in 2007. Christian Post, 54, believes Christian Brueckner (pictured) snatched Madeleine during one of his burgling 'night crawls' while she slept in the Portuguese resort Praia da Luz 'I think once you are a paedophile, there is a switch in your brain that cannot be turned off. 'If he saw a little girl asleep, alone in her apartment, he would definitely have taken her.' Brueckner was twice extradited from Portugal for sex crimes against children but detectives investigating the three-year-old Briton's disappearance never considered he could be involved. The serial sex attacker was first sent back to Germany in 1999 after he had spent four years on the run in the Algarve and served a two-year sentence in youth custody for sexually abusing a child. It was only when Post became aware of Brueckner's conviction for child sex offences that he became convinced he took Madeleine Post said he regrets not tipping off police about Brueckner's burglary crimes but insisted he is willing to try to help bring him to justice. Madeleine disappeared from an apartment building (above) where she was staying with her family He was sent back to Germany a second time in 2017 to serve a 15-month prison sentence for sexually abusing a child and possession of child pornography. Post added that he regrets not tipping off police about Brueckner's burglary crimes - but insisted he is willing to try to help bring him to justice. The revelation comes as Scotland Yard is set to wind up its investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, according to reports. The Sun claimed last month 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 Brueckner, who was named two years ago by German police as the prime suspect for Madeleine's abduction. He has denied any involvement in the disappearance of the youngster. 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. 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. 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' German prosecutors remain convinced he was responsible for the youngster's disappearance but despite an intensive investigation have not brought any charges. 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. 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 also 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. 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. Advertisement A British-made Starstreak missile is understood to have shot down a Russian helicopter in the weapon's first use in Ukraine - as the country's president Volodymyr Zelensky says the 'occupiers are withdrawing' from the West. The Starstreak system is a laser-guided missile that travels at more than three times the speed of sound to take down low-flying enemy jets and attack helicopters. Britain is supplying and training Ukrainian troops in the use of the high-velocity anti-air missiles as well as providing body armour, helmets and combat boots. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly insisted the UK will provide further defensive support to Ukraine, including a new package of 6,000 more missiles. And footage now shows a Russian Mi-28N helicopter being shot out of the sky in the Luhansk region and cut in two as its tail is struck by the portable missile. The video released on Friday shows the Starstreak missile in action during its first week of use in the war, a source at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) told The Times. Meanwhile, Zelensky alleged Russian troops were retreating from Ukraine's northern region. He said: 'The occupiers are withdrawing forces in the north of our country. The withdrawal is slow but noticeable.' The United States will also work with allies to transfer Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine to bolster its defenses in the Donbas region, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing a US official. The transfers, requested by Zelensky, would begin soon, the unnamed official said. The official declined to tell the paper how many tanks would be sent or from which countries they would come. And UK defence sources revealed last night that Kremlin forces have run out of vital weapons and cannot now replenish their stocks. The MoD also gave a further update saying a fire has destroyed several oil tanks at a depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, which is close to the Ukrainian border. Zelensky has declined to comment on whether he ordered an attack on the Russian fuel depot. In an interview with FOX News, he said he does not discuss any orders he issues as commander in chief. On Thursday, explosions were reported at an ammunition depot in the surrounding area of the city. The department added: 'The probable loss of fuel and ammunition supplies from these depots will likely add additional short-term strain to Russia's already stretched logistic chains. 'Supplies to Russian forces encircling Kharkiv (60km from Belgorod) may be particularly affected.' The comments came as the president's forces drove Russia out of dozens of towns around Kyiv and the north in one of the most extraordinary days since the start of the invasion. A British-made anti-aircraft missile shot down a Russian helicopter in the weapon's first use in Ukraine, said experts The Starstreak system is a laser-guided missile that travels at more than three times the speed of sound to take down low-flying enemy jets and attack helicopters A Ukrainian soldier is seen among the ruins of a burned vehicle in Irpin, Ukraine, on Friday. It came as Ukrainian soldiers regained control in the region that is one of the conflict areas where the most intense battles have taken place A Ukrainian soldier poses for photos next to a destroyed Russian helicopter bearing the letter 'Z', the Russian invasion symbol, in the Mala Rohan village which has been recaptured by the Ukrainian army near Kharkiv, northeast Ukraine What are Starstreak missiles? The Starstreak high-velocity surface-to-air missile is designed to defend against conventional air threats like fixed wing fighter planes and helicopters. It is made in Belfast by the company Thales Air Defence. The missile has a range of more than 7km and carries a three dart payload. The Starstreak system is a shoulder-mounted missile that travels at more than three times the speed of sound to take down low-flying enemy aircraft It uses a laser beam guidance system which the manufacturer says is 'immune to all known countermeasures'. The weapon can be launched from lightweight land, sea or air platforms and can be unleashed as soon as a target is detected - there is no wait for 'lock on'. It accelerates to a speed of more than Mach 3 - approximately 2,300mph - in a 'fraction of a second'. Once hitting full speed it releases its three 'hittiles' which are then guided to the target. It is a man-portable air-defence system - known by the MANPADS acronym. The missiles are similar to the US-made Stinger which is already being used by Ukrainian forces. Advertisement Defence Secretary Ben Wallace previously said the Starstreak system a shoulder-mounted missile that travels at more than three times the speed of sound to take down low-flying enemy jets was ready to be used imminently. Mr Wallace said the first Ukrainian troops had been trained and were now deployed with Starstreak, adding that the UK was 'doing more than pretty much anyone else' to help the war-torn country. 'One of the biggest challenges is that the more you go up in sophistication of weapons systems, the more training you require to use them, which is why the real focus of effort has to be helping the Ukrainians either refurbish or locate Russian or Soviet equipment that is already in their inventory,' he told the Mail on Sunday. 'Just providing British tanks wouldn't really work.' The weapon seen in the video shared on Friday is by short-range missiles company Thales. It can be shot from a shoulder or stand and has a range of more than four miles. The missile detaches into three darts mid-air, which are guided to the target by a laser operator on the ground. The use of lasers rather than being attracted to infrared energy means flares cannot counteract the three-pronged missile. Britain has already sent thousands of anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, although Nato nations have continued to rebuff pleas from Zelensky for tanks and fighter aircraft. Mr Wallace told Sky News earlier this week: 'There will be more lethal aid going into Ukraine as a result of today. 'Ukraine needs longer-range artillery and that's because of what the Russian army has been doing, which is now digging in and starting to pound these cities with artillery. 'The best counter to that is other long-range artillery, so [Ukraine will] be looking for and getting more long-range artillery, ammunition predominantly. 'They are also looking for armoured vehicles of some types not tanks necessarily, but certainly protective vehicles, and more anti-air [weapons]. All of this will be forthcoming as a result of this conference.' More than 30 settlements have been reclaimed with Vladimir Putin's forces retreating up to 25 miles in places. But officials urged caution, saying the movement is part of Russia's 'tactics' to encircle Ukrainian troops in Donbas and split the country in two. Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said: 'Russian units are not withdrawing but repositioning.' Among the towns back under Ukrainian control last night were Hostomel, where Moscow had hoped to gain the airport to ease taking control of Kyiv, Chernihiv in the north, and Chernobyl, where Putin's forces were heading across the border to Belarus. Britain is supplying and training Ukrainian troops in the use of the high-velocity anti-air missiles as well as providing body armour, helmets and combat boots An aerial picture shows burned Russian armoured vehicles in the outskirts of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, on Friday Burned Russian armoured vehicles are seen on the outskirts of Kyiv. Since the conflict began in late February, Russia has lost an estimated 143 planes, 131 helicopters, 625 tanks and 316 artillery pieces Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alleged Russian troops were retreating from Ukraine's northern region. He said: 'The occupiers are withdrawing forces in the north of our country. The withdrawal is slow but noticeable' The weapon seen in the video shared on Friday is by short-range missiles company Thales. It can be shot from a shoulder or stand and has a range of more than four miles. The missile system is pictured above Starstreak surface-to-air missiles are designed to defend against conventional air threats like fixed wing fighter planes and helicopters Since the conflict began in late February, Russia has lost an estimated 143 planes, 131 helicopters, 625 tanks and 316 artillery pieces. Russia has also fired at least 1,100 missiles, raising questions about how long it can maintain such an expenditure rate. Early on Saturday, Zelensky warned his people that retreating Russian forces were creating 'a complete disaster' outside the capital as they leave mines across 'the whole territory,' including around homes and corpses. He issued the warning as the humanitarian crisis in the encircled city of Mariupol deepened, with Russian forces blocking evacuation operations for the second day in a row. Meanwhile, the Kremlin accused the Ukrainians of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot on Russian soil. Ukraine denied responsibility for the fiery blast, but if Moscow's claim is confirmed, it would be the war's first known attack in which Ukrainian aircraft penetrated Russian airspace. 'Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, five weeks after Moscow began sending upwards of 150,000 of its own troops across Ukraine's border. Russia continued withdrawing some of its ground forces from areas around Kyiv after saying earlier this week it would reduce military activity near the Ukrainian capital and the northern city of Chernihiv. 'They are mining the whole territory. They are mining homes, mining equipment, even the bodies of people who were killed,' Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation. 'There are a lot of trip wires, a lot of other dangers.' The weapon can be launched from lightweight land, sea or air platforms and can be unleashed as soon as a target is detected - there is no wait for 'lock on' Britain has been supplying Ukraine with light anti-tank weapons known as NLAWs. The UK has now donated 3,615 of the weapons. A Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces member is pictured today holding an NLAW in the outskirts of Kyiv The Government had initially supplied Ukraine with 2,000 NLAWs but that number has continued to grow. An NLAW anti-tank missile is pictured being fired during a training exercise involving UK forces Defence Secretary Ben Wallace previously said the Starstreak system a shoulder-mounted missile that travels at more than three times the speed of sound to take down low-flying enemy jets was ready to be used imminently Europe has just a MONTH of gas supplies left before Putin's threat to turn off gas bites Europe has just a month of gas supplies left before Vladimir Putin's threat to turn off the pipelines if foreign buyers refuse to pay in roubles will start to bite. European leaders can continue paying in euros or dollars for another month because payments for gas delivered to Europe in April is not due until the end of the month on some contracts and on others, not until early May. The rouble soared back to its pre-war level last night, trading at 82.75 to the dollar, as it continues to recover after falling to historic lows when the West applied sanctions after President Putin sent his army into Ukraine on February 24 The revelation comes as the rouble soared back to its pre-war level last night, trading at 82.75 roubles to the dollar, following the Russian President's latest attempt to 'blackmail' states reliant on Moscow's energy in what has been seen as a bid to shore up the currency. Russia has been hit by sweeping sanctions on its economy and trade since the start of Putin's war in Ukraine, pushing the rouble to historic lows, but measures by EU governments have not targeted oil and gas contracts with Moscow because many member states are heavily reliant on the Kremlin's supplies. Europe is heavily reliant on Russia for its energy needs, with around 40% of its gas coming from the country. If Moscow decides to turn off the taps it could trigger supply shortages, factory closures and crippling energy costs across the region. Europe's continued purchase of oil and gas, which costs the EU around 266million a day, severely undermines Western sanctions on Russia as the purchases hand Moscow a wodge of foreign money with which the Kremlin can bolster the economy and currency, as well as fund the faltering war next door. But Putin's latest demands of gas payments in roubles are an attempt to force the West to evade their own sanctions on the Russian economy as buyers have to convert foreign currency into roubles, which are only available through the sanctioned central bank. European companies and governments yesterday remained adamant they would continue to settle their contracts in euros or dollars and rejected the demands as a breach of existing agreements. Advertisement Ukraine's military said it had retaken 29 settlements in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions. Still, Ukraine and its allies warned that the Kremlin is not de-escalating to promote trust at the bargaining table, as it claimed, but instead resupplying and shifting its troops to the country's east. Those movements appear to be preparation for an intensified assault on the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region in the country's east, which includes Mariupol. Zelensky warned of difficult battles ahead as Russia redeploys troops. 'We are preparing for an even more active defense,' he said. He did not say anything about the latest round of talks, which took place Friday by video. At a round of talks earlier in the week, Ukraine said it would be willing to abandon a bid to join NATO and declare itself neutral - Moscow's chief demand - in return for security guarantees from several other countries. The invasion has left thousands dead and driven more than 4 million refugees from Ukraine. Mariupol, the shattered and besieged southern port city, has seen some of the worst suffering of the war. Its capture would be a major prize for Russian President Vladimir Putin, giving his country an unbroken land bridge to Crimea, seized from Ukraine in 2014. On Friday, the International Committee for the Red Cross said it was unable to carry out an operation to bring civilians out of Mariupol by bus. City authorities said the Russians were blocking access to the city. 'We do not see a real desire on the part of the Russians and their satellites to provide an opportunity for Mariupol residents to evacuate to territory controlled by Ukraine,' Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol's mayor, wrote on the Telegram messaging app. He said Russian forces 'are categorically not allowing any humanitarian cargo, even in small amounts, into the city.' Around 100,000 people are believed to remain in the city, down from a prewar 430,000. Weeks of Russian bombardment and street fighting have caused severe shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine. 'We are running out of adjectives to describe the horrors that residents in Mariupol have suffered,' Red Cross spokesperson Ewan Watson said. On Thursday, Russian forces blocked a 45-bus convoy attempting to evacuate people from Mariupol and seized 14 tons of food and medical supplies bound for the city, Ukrainian authorities said. Zelensky said more than 3,000 people were able to leave Mariupol on Friday. He said he discussed the humanitarian disaster with French President Emmanuel Macron by telephone and with the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, during her visit to Kyiv. 'Europe doesn't have the right to be silent about what is happening in our Mariupol,' Zelensky said. 'The whole world should respond to this humanitarian catastrophe.' Elsewhere, at least three Russian ballistic missiles were fired late Friday at the Odesa region on the Black Sea, regional leader Maksim Marchenko said. The Ukrainian military said the Iskander missiles did not hit the critical infrastructure they targeted. Odesa is Ukraine's largest port and the headquarters of its navy. As for the fuel depot explosion, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said two Ukrainian helicopter gunships flew in extremely low and attacked the civilian oil storage facility on the outskirts of the city of Belgorod, about 25 kilometers (16 miles) from the Ukraine border. A destroyed military truck is seen on an empty street in the town of Makariv, in the Kyiv region, on Friday as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues Local residents walk past buildings damaged by shelling in the town of Makariv, in the Kyiv region of Ukraine, on April 1 A residential house destroyed by shelling is seen in the town of Makariv, Ukraine. Zelensky warned of difficult battles ahead as Russia redeploys troops. 'We are preparing for an even more active defense,' he said A dog walks along an empty street as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues. Ukraine's military said it had retaken 29 settlements in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions Flowers left on a damaged Ukrainian BMP-2 armoured personal carrier are seen in the town of Makariv, Ukraine, on Friday The regional governor said two workers at the depot were wounded, but the Rosneft state oil company denied anyone was hurt. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's national security council, said on Ukrainian television: 'For some reason they say that we did it, but in fact this does not correspond with reality.' Later, in an interview with Fox, Zelensky refused to say whether Ukraine was behind the attack. On the outskirts of Kyiv, where Russian troops have withdrawn, damaged cars lined the streets of Irpin, a suburban area popular with young families, now in ruins. Emergency workers carried elderly people on stretchers over a wrecked bridge to safety. Three wooden crosses next to a residential building that was damaged in a shelling marked the graves of a mother and son and an unknown man. A resident who gave her name only as Lila said she helped hurriedly bury them on March 5, just before Russian troops moved in. 'They were hit with artillery and they were burned alive,' she said. An Irpin resident who gave his name only as Andriy said the Russians packed up their equipment and left on Tuesday. The next day, they shelled the town for close to an hour before Ukrainian soldiers retook it. 'I don't think this is over,' Andriy said. 'They will be back.' Russia's war effort stalls as the Red Army can't get replacement weapons or spares for their crippled convoys... because they're all made in Ukraine By Mark Nicol and Andy Jehring for the Daily Mail Russia's war effort is grinding to a halt because much of the military hardware they need is made in Ukraine, it emerged last night. Kremlin forces have run out of vital weapons and cannot now replenish their stocks, UK defence sources revealed. The revelations came as President Volodymyr Zelensky's forces drove Russia out of dozens of towns around Kyiv and the north in one of the most extraordinary days since the start of the invasion. More than 30 settlements were reclaimed with Vladimir Putin's forces retreating up to 25 miles in places. But officials urged caution, saying the movement is part of Russia's 'tactics' to encircle Ukrainian troops in Donbas and split the country in two. Russia's war effort is grinding to a halt because much of the military hardware they need is made in Ukraine, it emerged as defence sources said the Kremlin could not replenish its stocks The Daily Mail can reveal that Ukraine had previously supplied Russia with cruise missiles, helicopter engine parts and fighter jet components. It also produced the fire control systems used by Russian tanks (one seen here at the bottom of a river) Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said: 'Russian units are not withdrawing but repositioning.' Among the towns back under Ukrainian control last night were Hostomel, where Moscow had hoped to gain the airport to ease taking control of Kyiv, Chernihiv in the north, and Chernobyl, where Putin's forces were heading across the border to Belarus. The Daily Mail can reveal that Ukraine had previously supplied Russia with cruise missiles, helicopter engine parts and fighter jet components. It also produced the fire control systems used by Russian tanks. Now, when these systems fail, they cannot be replaced. Russia is unable to source these items or alternatives from other countries due to international sanctions. The revelations came as President Volodymyr Zelensky's forces drove Russia out of dozens of towns around Kyiv and the north in one of the most extraordinary days since the start of the invasion Pictured: Ukrainian servicemen ride on an armoured transporter driving through a Russian position overran by Ukrainian forces outside Kyiv Starving soldiers reduced to 'eating stray dogs' Starving Russian soldiers have been eating stray dogs abandoned by their fleeing Ukrainian owners, it has been reported. The grim claim allegedly from a telephone call intercepted by Ukraine's security services is a sign of how stretched and harried the invaders' supply lines are. According to a transcript released by the Ukrainian agents, a Russian soldier was asked: 'Are you eating OK at least?' He is said to have replied: 'Not too bad. We had alabai [a Central Asian sheepdog] yesterday. We wanted some meat.' Armies should be provided with long-life ration packs, which do not need to be chilled, and typically contain boil-in-the-bag ready meals. But the Ukrainians' attacks on convoys into the country appear to be cutting off supplies, reducing the Russian army to desperate measures as they live off the land. Other reportedly intercepted calls from Putin's soldiers have revealed not only shortages of food, but also of ammunition and fuel. Russian troops are said to have been raiding supermarkets for food and alcohol, as well as looting homes for supplies. Hotelier Tetiana Schevchenko, 47, told The Times that Russian and Chechen fighters in Trostyanets, in eastern Ukraine, had been taking whatever they wanted from properties, and killing civilians who get in their way. In Odessa, on the Black Sea coast, two vets are said to be still in the city and working relentlessly to help the pets left behind. Some of the strays across the country have even supposedly been keeping alive by feeding on the corpses of dead Russians. Advertisement Since the conflict began in late February, Russia has lost an estimated 143 planes, 131 helicopters, 625 tanks and 316 artillery pieces. Russia has also fired at least 1,100 missiles, raising questions about how long it can maintain such an expenditure rate. Given Russia's reliance on Ukraine for military components, UK defence sources say Russia's war effort is in serious trouble. Last night a source said: 'Serious amounts of components for Russian weapons systems were made there [Ukraine]. That won't be happening any more. 'Russia cannot manufacture this equipment itself or import it, so it won't be getting any of these materials any time soon. The hardware expended in Ukraine came from historic stockpiles, developed when there was greater cooperation between Russia and Ukraine. 'The integration of their industrial complexes meant a severing of relations would jeopardise Russia's ability to sustain military operations. Now they're running out.' In the Soviet Union era, Ukraine produced 30 per cent of the Union's weaponry and military equipment. Weapons sales continued after the Cold War. In 2012 Ukraine was the world's fourth largest arms exporter and the Commonwealth of Independent States as the Soviet Union became was among its biggest customers. But after Russia invaded Crimea in 2014 and began the conflict in the Donbas region aided with Ukrainian equipment Kyiv drastically reduced supplies to its neighbour. Ukraine's revenues from arms exports plummeted from 1billion in 2012 to 100million in 2020.According to UK sources, Russia faces drastic shortages of 'helicopter, ship, fighter jet and cruise missile parts'. Its cruise missiles were manufactured in Ukraine's second biggest city Kharkiv, which has been bombarded by Russian artillery and aircraft. The state-run instrument-making plant at Izyum also made essential components for Russia's T-72 range of tanks. The war is also expected to curtail Russia's nuclear programme as half of the components for its ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles were sourced in Ukraine. UK intelligence reports have also indicated Russia's generals have pushed back against Kremlin attempts to deploy thousands more troops to Ukraine, rejecting them as 'not fit for purpose'. On the ground, a Ukrainian solider in Hostomel said of the Russians: 'They left like cowardly rabbits, almost without a fight. I think soon we will totally kick them out beyond the border.' The nearby town of Bucha was also reportedly liberated, leaving Russia's plans to encircle Kyiv in tatters following Ukraine's victory at Irpin earlier in the week. A Ukrainian official said: 'The enemy has exhausted its offensive potential and needs to replenish itself and regroup.' And the nuclear plant at Chernobyl was back in the hands of Ukrainians for the first time since the start of the invasion last night. Russian troops reportedly started to fall ill after digging trenches in the highly toxic zones forcing them to evacuate. Around 700 armoured vehicles around Kyiv have also headed towards Belarus. But Ukrainian officials warned there are still 'significant forces around Kyiv' which could 'still cause some damage'. They added that there is a 'high probability' that the retreating forces will be redeployed to the eastern Donbas region. A US defence official said: 'We continue to believe that this is a repositioning. We certainly haven't seen any indications that any of these troops are going back home, or that they're being taken away from the fight forever.' In an awkward moment Prime Minister Scott Morrison struggled to pronounce the name of anew Liberal candidate for a crucial seat at the next election. During a press conference in Tasmania on Saturday at which Mr Morrison talked about the new India-Australia trade deal, he stumbled over the name of Maria Kovacic, his pick as the Liberal candidate for the Federal seat of Parramatta at the next election. Ms Kovacic has been chosen to go head to head with Labor's pick, economist Dr Andrew Charlton. Asked by a reporter if he was pleased with the pre-selections his party had made, Mr Morrison responded that he 'particularly pleased' with Parramatta candidate 'Maria Vaca-m-Maria-m...' Mr Morrison then appeared to disguise the mispronunciation with a cough before apologising and making a successful attempt at saying her name. The Prime Minister said his candidate for Parramatta was the perfect opponent for Dr Charlton who was 'dropped-in' to the seat to run for the Labor party. 'She is from Western Sydney, about Western Sydney, she has always been for Western Sydney and I think she provides a contrast to Anthony Albanese for the captain's pick from the eastern suburbs of Sydney,' Mr Morrison said. 'Our pick is a very strong, effective woman with small business experience [and] with a background in community sport.' Scott Morrison was speaking about the new trade deal with India when he was asked about NSW pre-selections for the Liberal Party in a press conference outside Nutrien Ag Solutions in Western Junction, Tasmania (pictured) Maria Kovacic (pictured) will run as the Liberal candidate in Parramatta and is a local to the area Labor Party candidate Dr Charlton is an Oxford University graduate and high-profile economist who lives in Sydney's eastern suburbs in what some have called a 'tone deaf' selection for the people of Parramatta. The pre-selection issue was a sideline to the subject of the press conference as the prime minister talked up the benefits of the fresh Australia-India trade deal. He told reporters that the Indian economy is one of the biggest 'doors' in the world that has now been opened to Australians. 'There are many countries who want to do more business with India. But it's actually Australia that has been able to secure the agreement that we've been able to reach,' Mr Morrison said. Pictured: Scott Morrison inspects a wool sample during a tour of Nutrien Ag Solutions before his press conference Anthony Albanese's 'captain's pick' for Parramatta is Oxford-educated economist, Dr Andrew Charlton (pictured right) 'This agreement is an agreement that ensures that whether you're producing wool or whether you're producing crayfish or mining resource, critical minerals and rare earths. Whether you're growing berries or avocados or cherries or beans, producing alumina. 'All of this is part of the important trade agreement that we've been able to reach with India,' Mr Morrison said. The trade deal with India will be signed today by trade ministers of both countries and witnessed by both Mr Morrison and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The deal will axe tariffs in India on multiple Australian exports and allow more Indian nationals to achieve working holiday visas. The trade deal will come as a relief to Australia's wine industry who will welcome a heavily reduced tariff on their products and Australian lobster farmers who will face no tariffs following decreased export demand amidst trade tensions with China last year. An 81-year-old mother is suing her son and daughter-in-law for more than half-a-million dollars after accusing them of using her money to build a home. Gold Coast woman Thea Uthmann is demanding her son Ferdinand, 57, and his wife Kellie, 54, pay her $623,676.01 in damages, interest and legal costs. Mrs Uthmann has filed a statement of claim to Southport District Court alleging the pair withdrew money from her bank account without her permission. The elderly mother was placed into a nursing home in May 2018 and was unable to manage her finances online as she was computer illiterate. An 81-year-old mother is suing her son and daughter-in-law for more than half-a-million dollars after accusing them of using her money to build a home (pictured, Thea Uthmann) Gold Coast woman Thea Uthmann is demanding her son Ferdinand, 57, and his wife Kellie, 54, pay her $623,676.01 in damages, interest and legal costs The claim states Ferdinand was put in charge of his mother's bills and that he was provided with her PIN and account number details, Courier Mail reported. Mrs Uthmann said she was asked for money so the couple could build their home and she agreed to lend them between $300,000 and $350,000 in February 2019. Mrs Uthmann claims she asked her son whether it was necessary to draw up a contract before it was dismissed by her son. 'Come on Mum, I'm your son, trust me,' Ferdinand said, according to the statement of claim. 'We will build a house and sell it before it is completed so that whoever buys it can pick out their own fixtures and fittings and design the house themselves. 'It will only take a short time to build and we will pay you back, plus some, after we sell it.' Mrs Uthmann has filed a statement of claim to Southport District Court alleging the pair withdrew money from her bank account without her permission Mrs Uthmann said she was asked for money so the couple could build their home and she agreed to lend them between $300,000 and $350,000 in February 2019. Pictured: Kellie Uthmann Mrs Uthmann claims the pair withdrew a further $135,487.06 from her bank account 'without consent or knowledge' between February 2019 and October 2021. Another $55,900 was also allegedly withdrawn from her bank and superannuation accounts. Mrs Uthmann said her son and his partner have failed to return the $541,387.06 within a 'reasonable' time. She claims the property has also not been sold - which Ferdinand allegedly promised at the start. Ferdinand and Kellie have not yet filed a defence to the claim. A British mother trying to rescue the woman who was the surrogate for her baby has lambasted farcical pet rules that blocked her efforts. Heather and Mark Easton travelled to Ukraine in January to pick up their daughter Sophie after suffering eight years of fertility heartbreak. They returned a fortnight before the invasion and have since been trying to help surrogate Vita Lysenko, 35, her husband Andrii Shemshur, 62, their son Nazar, three, and family dog Musy find safety in the UK. Heather Easton (pictured), 32, from Rugby, Warwickshire, who coordinated the rescue of the Ukrainian woman who was the surrogate for her baby, has lambasted farcical UK pet rules that blocked her efforts. Vita Lysenko, 35, from Ukraine, finally crossed from Calais to Dover by ferry yesterday with her husband Andrii Shemshur, 62, their son Nazar, three, and family dog Musy UK told the family they could not travel with the dog without a licence, specialist transport and a space in a UK quarantine kennel. Pictured: Nazar, three, and family dog Musy Ex-nanny Mrs Easton, 32, found a sponsor who offered the Ukrainian family an apartment near her home in Rugby, Warwickshire. The refugees travelled to Calais and their visas were approved after Mrs Easton spent hours each day on the phone to the authorities. But UK authorities told the family they could not travel with the dog without a licence, specialist transport and a space in a UK quarantine kennel. Mrs Easton said they were all exhausted due to the nightmare rules. The refugees were finally able to take a ferry to Dover yesterday. HGV driver Mr Easton, 39, had flown to Paris to help the family collect their visa and drove with them to Calais to get the ferry to Dover. Mrs Easton has started a JustGiving page to raise money for Miss Lysenko and her family to help them settle in the UK. Vice President Kamala Harris avoided answering whether or not she agrees with President Joe Biden's call last weekend for a Russian regime change, giving a two-minute non-answer Friday on MSNBC. Harris, 57, dodged answering host Joy Reid's question about if the VP 'agreed' with Biden that 'Vladimir Putin should no longer be the leader of Russia.' Biden, 79, made an off-the-cuff remark in Warsaw, Poland, appearing to call for a regime change in Moscow, saying last Saturday: 'For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power.' Biden later said the shocking comments were his personal opinion and not a policy change. The unscripted remark, which the White House scrambled to walk back as the Kremlin expressed fury, came at the end of an otherwise resolute and fiery speech rallying the free world to unite in opposition to autocracy and support Ukraine. Now, the VP finds herself in the hot seat about what she thinks, telling Reid Friday: 'Listen, I think you frame the point quite accurately and well, which is Americas policy has been and will continue to be focused on the real issue at hand.' She said the humanitarian and security assistance were the 'needs of the Ukrainian people' and that Putin would face a consequence for the invasion. 'There are serious consequences for Vladimir Putin and Russian aggression as it relates to Ukraine,' she continued. The VP avoided giving a straight answer on her personal opinion of Putin's continued leadership in Russia, but instead focused on the 'impacts' the Biden administration has made toward Russia, including imposing sanctions. 'Which is why our policy from the beginning has been about ensuring that there are going to be real costs exacted against Russia in the form of severe sanctions, which are having a real impact and immediate impact, not to mention the longer term impact, which is about saying there is going to be consequence and accountability when you commit the kinds of atrocities that he is committing,' she went on, avoiding answering the question - although she eventually told Reid: 'We are not into regime change and that is not our policy.' Scroll down for video Harris, 57, dodged answering MSNBC host Joy Reid's question about the VP if she 'agreed' with Biden that 'Vladimir Putin should no longer be the leader of Russia.' She avoided giving her real opinion it, instead she highlighted her recent travels around Europe and how the US is helping Ukraine in the war MSNBC's Joy Reid (pictured) tried to evoke a response from Harris but the VP kept it professional, stating: 'We are not into regime change and that is not our policy. Period.' She continued to babble about her recent European travels, as well as Biden - whom she called an 'extraordinary leader' - and how she's been to France and Poland and more, to discuss the war with world leaders. 'I will tell you in sitting down with prime ministers and presidents, often the first thing they would say to me is thank you to the United States and this administration for bringing us together,' Harris said. She went on to talk about how the U.S. built the 'coalition for reinvigorating the relationship between the United States and its NATO allies' and its 'relationship and importance of the relationship to the EU' to Ukraine. 'Which is ultimately about one of the most important principles were fighting for, the importance of sovereignty territorial integrity,' Harris said. Reid didn't push the VP for a solid answer right away, but later circled back, asking once again: 'So no luck on getting you to weigh in on whether he should remain?' 'Listen, let me be very clear, let me be very clear," Harris replied. 'We are not into regime change and that is not our policy. Period.' Biden, 79, made an off-the-cuff remark in Warsaw, Poland, appearing to call for regime change in Moscow, stating last week: 'For God's sake this man cannot remain in power.' Biden later said the shocking comments was his personal opinion and not a policy change The two women also discussed sanctions and the longevity of them. When asked if the administration would impose such sanctions on Russia as long as Putin is in power, Harris refused to 'speculate about the future,' but said the sanctions are 'intact.' 'We will continue to upgrade them and make them so - more severe as appropriate. And as far as we are concerned, everything is on the table in that regard because we are seeing extreme atrocities. 'We are seeing maternity hospitals being bombed. We are seeing a location that was so clearly designated as being a shelter, a place of safety for children. We are seeing millions of people being displaced, potentially permanently, in a war that was instigated, unprovoked, unjustified, against a whole population of people.' France's President Emmanuel Macron, a close U.S. ally who has also spoken frequently with Putin since the invasion, warned the West last month not to 'escalate in words or actions' - or risk hampering vital humanitarian efforts, including hopes of evacuating the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol. His warning against an escalation in the conflict came during an interview with broadcaster France 3, in which the French leader said he is focused on trying to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, and a diplomatic end to the war. 'I wouldn't use this type of wording because I continue to hold discussions with President Putin,' Macron said on Sunday. 'We want to stop the war that Russia has launched in Ukraine without escalation - that's the objective.' Richard Haass, the Council on Foreign Relations president, also spoke out about his concerns after the president's off-the-cuff comment, saying that Biden had 'just expanded US war aims, calling for regime change.' Harris did say that humanitarian and security assistance were the 'needs of the Ukrainian people' and that Putin would face a consequence for the invasion Harris also refused to 'speculate about the future,' but said the sanction are 'intact' but wouldn't say if they would remain intact as long as Putin was in power 'However desirable it may be, it is not within our power to accomplish-plus runs risk it will increase Putin's inclination to see this as a fight to the finish, raising odds he will reject compromise, escalate, or both,' wrote Haass. 'Our interests are to end the war on terms Ukraine can accept & to discourage Russian escalation. Today's call for regime change is inconsistent with these ends,' he added. Haass went on to tell Politico that a senior Biden official, possibly even Secretary of State Antony Blinken, needs to reach out to their Russian counterpart immediately and explain that Biden's comment doesn't reflect U.S. policy. 'The fact that it was so off-script in some ways makes it worse,' because it could be read as Biden's genuine belief as opposed to his scripted words, Haass said. Biden's remark could also diminish Putin's interest in compromise and increase his temptation to escalate in Ukraine, 'because if he believes he has everything to lose then he'll believe he has nothing to lose,' Haass said. Scott Morrison has again been sensationally accused of using a political rival's Lebanese background against him when he first entered local government in 2007. Two statutory declarations, signed in 2016, claim the Prime Minister suggested to fellow party members at the time it would be 'risky' to consider rival Liberal candidate Michael Towke for the seat of Cook, in Sydney's south. He allegedly pointed to the infamous Cronulla riots from two years earlier and didn't feel Mr Towke would be elected by locals in the Shire due to his ethnicity as well as incorrect rumours swirling at the time that his opponent was Muslim. The statements follow accusations by Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells in the Senate on Tuesday that Mr Morrison was 'not fit to be prime minister' based on the alleged historical racial comments. When quizzed about the allegations on Saturday, Mr Morrison denied suggestions on three occasions that he had 'warned' voters in 2007 about Mr Towke's ethnic background or that he was a practicing Muslim. He then added 'you'll have to ask them' when asked where the accusations originated from. Scott Morrison has been accused of using a political rival's Lebanese background against him when he first ran for political office in 2007 Michael Towke signed a statutory declaration in 2016 claiming Mr Morrison was 'adamant that a candidate of Lebanese heritage could not hold the seat of Cook' - especially after the Cronulla riots from 2005 In one of the statutory declarations, party member Scott Chapman - a friend of Mr Towke - states Mr Morrison outlined his rival's ethnicity. 'Scott Morrison told me that, if Michael Towke were to be pre-selected, there would be a 'swing against the Liberal Party in Cook' because of Mr Towke's Lebanese background,' Mr Chapman said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Mr Towke penned the second declaration and claims Mr Morrison was 'adamant that a candidate of Lebanese heritage could not hold the seat of Cook, especially after the Cronulla riots'. Mr Morrison's spokesperson dismissed the bombshell allegations, labelling them 'baseless and false...and (they) reflect poorly on those spreading such lies with such malicious intent.' Senator Fierravanti-Wells this week described Mr Morrison as 'ruthless' and a 'bully' in an extraordinary Senate attack in Canberra given she is an elected member of the prime minister's party. Her attack was dismissed by many politicians due to her friendship with Mr Towke and the fact she will leave the upper house in June after losing her place on the Senate ticket to stay in parliament. Labor leader Anthony Albanese claimed the racial allegations pointed at Mr Morrison reflect his poor character. 'These reports join other reports from within the Prime Minister's own party,' the Opposition Leader said in a press conference on Saturday. 'Be it former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, his current Deputy Barnaby Joyce, comments that have been made by (former NSW premier) Gladys Berejiklian, or the comments this week from Concetta Fierravanti-Wells...there is a theme which comes through about the Prime Minister's character. Labor leader Anthony Albanese claimed the racial allegations pointed at Mr Morrison reflect on his character 'People can look at those comments and make their own judgements. 'There are bad relationships wherever Scott Morrison has been. He doesn't have lasting friendships and lasting loyalties.' Mr Albanese also said that in 2007 Mr Morrison only received eight votes in the Cook Liberal Party pre-selection ballot, and that it was obvious locals felt 'the other candidates would be better to represent their local community.' One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson and Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie continued the pile-on this week, describing the PM as 'unpleasant' and a 'bully'. A New York City columnist who created the notorious 'Sh***y Media Men' list detailing allegations of sexual assault, harassment and misconduct could still go to trial for defamation after a judge declined to resolve the case in her favor. Moira Donegan, 32, who created the widely circulated list in 2017 at the height of the #MeToo movement, was sued by New Orleans-based journalist Stephen Elliott after the Google spreadsheet accused him of rape, sexual harassment and 'coercion.' Elliott's lawsuit claimed the allegations are 'false' and 'unsubstantiated.' Donegan's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, sought immunity for her client under a controversial law protecting social media users who host or republish information from being held legally responsible for what others do or say online. U.S. District Court Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall on Thursday, in an order obtained by DailyMail.com, declined the request, arguing that Donegan's testimony and 'vague' recollections about the document did not 'rule out the possibility' that she encouraged others to make posts that broke the law. DeArcy Hall's ruling leaves the possibility that Donegan could stand trial for defamation, but the case could still be resolved by the judge on 'other grounds.' More than 70 men were named on the 'Sh***y Media Men' spreadsheet before it was taken offline. Elliott, who is seeking $1.5 million in damages, appears to be the only alleged victim to sue the Brooklyn-based writer. Moira Donegan, who created the notorious 'Sh***y Media Men' list, could still go to trial for defamation after a judge declined to resolve the case in her favor Elliott filed his suit against Donegan in 2017, accusing her and at least 30 other unnamed co-defendants of knowingly publishing false allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against him. His complaint alleged both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress as a result of him being included on the list. He claimed the publication caused him to 'became extremely depressed' and that he 'enrolled in therapy while actively contemplating suicide.' The journalist also claimed his professional life suffered, as well as his personal life, alleging he was met with isolation from 'employers, colleagues, business associates, friends and family members' after he was accused of 'being a rapist,' among other things. In addition to the financial compensation, Elliott wants a court order requiring the defendants to 'issue a written retraction to each and every person to whom they originally published the false and defamatory statements.' Kaplan had attempted to block Elliott's suit based on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which states: 'No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.' Donegan, in an affidavit, alleged she did not 'solicit or encourage anyone to add false statements or false misconduct allegations' to the spreadsheet. Her lawyer also argued that Donegan couldn't have encouraged any of falsehoods against Elliott because she did not know him. New Orleans-based journalist Stephen Elliott sued Donegan for defamation after he was named on her list. Donegan's attorney sought immunity for the columnist under a controversial law protecting social media users that host or republish from being held legally responsible for what others do or say online However, the judge ultimately decided that Donegan - whose Twitter bio says she is currently a gender and politics columnist at The Guardian U.S. - hadn't provided enough evidence to prove she is entitled to use the Communications Decency Act to block the suit. 'Unfortunately, Defendant offers no authority for this proposition and the court has found none,' DeArcy Hall wrote in the 17-page order. She cited Donegan's testimony and 'vague recollections' of the events surrounding the list as evidence for her ruling. 'Rather than providing facts regarding her communications with respect to the Spreadsheet, Defendant's testimony simply highlights that she does not recall what she said or wrote to others regarding the Spreadsheet,' DeArcy Hall wrote. In a 17-page order obtained by DailyMail.com, the judge argued Donegan's testimony and 'vague' recollections about the document did not 'rule out the possibility' that she encouraged others to make posts that broke the law The judge also argued that Donegan hadn't provided enough evidence to prove she is entitled to use the Communications Decency Act to block the suit 'Defendant's inability to recall the contents of her communications leaves open the possibility that Defendant did specifically encourage the posting of unlawful content.' One of Elliott's attorneys, Andrew Miltenberg, issued a statement to DailyMail.com Friday night, reading: 'Allowing this lawsuit to move forward is critical for due process and the Constitutional right for the accused to face their accusers, particularly at a time in the MeToo era when online, anonymous accusations are being made with impunity, destroying reputations and careers. 'Judge DeArcy Halls decision today shows that Section 230 is not an acceptable defense for being the ring-leader of broad-based online character assassinations. Moreover, the fact that Ms. Donegan deleted her "Sh***y Media Men" spreadsheet and the majority of her related communications - the primary evidence in this case - is revealing.' Another one of Elliott's lawyers, Nick Lewis, told Politico that DeArcy Hall's ruling as 'both a significant win for Mr. Elliott in his unflinching quest to obtain the truth and restore his reputation as well as a crucial check on the improper expansion of Section 230 to protect a co-conspirator's encouragement of an anonymous online sniping, without proof or consequence.' The attorney also reportedly claimed that granting Donegan immunity from the case based on the act would go 'well beyond the protection originally contemplated by the Act's champions in 1996.' Counsel for Donegan did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment. Elliott's attorney said Friday the judge's ruling is 'both a significant win for Mr. Elliott (pictured in Feb. 2012) in his unflinching quest to obtain the truth and restore his reputation as well as a crucial check on the improper expansion of Section 230 to protect a co-conspirator's encouragement of an anonymous online sniping, without proof or consequence' Elliott's name was added to the 'Sh***y Media Men' list as entry number 13 at first, on about October 11, 2017, he alleged, along with calling him a 'freelance writer/novelist.' His name was later moved to position 12, he claimed, 'as other individuals' entries were removed by the Defendants' Elliott's name was added to the 'Sh***y Media Men' list as entry number 13 at first, on about October 11, 2017, he alleged, along with calling him a 'freelance writer/novelist.' His name was later moved to position 12, he claimed, 'as other individuals' entries were removed by the Defendants.' The list alleged he was the perpetrator of 'rape accusations, sexual harassment [sic], coercion, unsolicited invitations to his apartment, a dude who snuck into Binders???' and it was noted that 'Multiple women allege misconduct' against him. The top of the list stated 'Men accused of physical sexual violence by multiple women are highlighted in red,' and Elliott's name was written in red. Elliott alleged that not only were the claims against him contained on the list false, but they were added by people who knew them to be false. 'The List contained false information and unsubstantiated allegations, including untrue statements alleging Plaintiff engaged in criminal sexual conduct, namely rape accusations, sexual harassment, coercion and unsolicited invitations to his apartment,' the complaint states. 'The inflammatory false statements published in the List were abusive, vulgar, intentionally misleading as well as damning to the Plaintiff's reputation and good name. The List was sent to numerous members of the parties' shared profession, the media industry to intentionally harm Plaintiff s reputation and further cause harm to Plaintiff's career.' Bruce Willis and his wife have sold $65 million in real estate over the last four years, as the beloved actor sought to simplify his life amid his deteriorating health. Willis, 67, has been diagnosed with the degenerative brain condition aphasia, his family announced on Wednesday, and is drawing the curtain on his legendary Hollywood career that spans 44 years. Supported by his wife of 13 years - Victoria's Secret model Emma Heming, 43 - Willis will now spend most of his time at their $9.8 million home in Brentwood Park, Los Angeles. It is unclear when Willis was first diagnosed with the condition, which affects speech and comprehension. Yet since 2018, the much-loved actor - worth an estimated $250 million - has been dramatically downsizing his real estate portfolio. Bruce Willis, pictured with his wife Emma Heming, in 2018 - the year they began their massive downsizing. Since then, the couple have sold $65 million-worth of property Willis is pictured with his daughter Scout, 30, in an image she posted to Instagram on Friday Willis and Heming sold this Manhattan apartment, with views of Central Park, in one week. The six-bedroom property fetched its $18 million asking price in January 2018 Willis's real estate broker said, at the time of the Manhattan sale, that it was 'time to scale back' $18 million Manhattan penthouse In January 2018, Willis put on the market his Manhattan penthouse, which was sold within a week for $18 million. 'It's time to scale back,' said their broker at the time, Ann Cutbill Lenane of Douglas Elliman. The six-bedroom, 6,000-square-foot co-op at 271 Central Park West, which they bought in 2015 for $17 million, boasted 150 feet of Central Park frontage. Split over two floors, it was previously owned by Wesley Edens, part-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. The upper level had an expansive kitchen and dining area, while the lower level holds five large bedrooms including the master suite. The main bedroom features two walk-in closets, a dressing room with built-in vanity and a spa-like en-suite bathroom. The duplex was sold to financier Jeffrey Alan Keswin. $5 million Idaho estate Later that year, in October, Willis then sold his Idaho estate, near the historic, celebrity favorite ski resort of Sun Valley. Willis sold his 20-acre lakefront ranch near Hailey, Idaho, for $5 million in October 2018 The actor is pictured filming Paradise City, his last film. The movie reunited Willis with John Travolta for the first time since Pulp Fiction in 1994 Sun Valley has attracted the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable and Ernest Hemingway - who liked the area so much he bought a house there in Ketchum. Current homeowners include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Clint Eastwood, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Hanks and Justin Timberlake. Willis, born in Germany but who grew up in New Jersey, has a long history in Idaho. The actor and his ex-wife Demi Moore moved to the town of Hailey in 1988 to raise their family away from the Hollywood spotlight. In 1994, Willis started buying up properties on Hailey's main street under the corporation name IxNay Investment Trust. In addition to his own home, the actor bought vacant lots, a pizza spot, a bar, a movie theater and a second house for Moore to display her extensive doll collection. Moore, who was married to Willis from 1987 to 1998, still owns a house in the area. She and Willis rode out the pandemic in the house with their daughters Rumer, 33; Scout, 30; and Tallulah, 28 - plus Heming and their two young daughters, Mabel, 10, and Evelyn, 7. Willis is pictured in 2008 with Heming (left), his daughter Tallulah (now 28), and ex-wife Demi Moore. Moore and Willis raised their three daughters in Idaho Willis's 20-acre lakefront ranch near Hailey was initially put up for sale in 2011 for $15 million, and then relisted in 2016 for the same price. It finally sold in October 2018 for $5 million - which was still the single biggest residential sale ever in the Hailey area. The 8,400-square-foot home was fully rebuilt by Willis in 2003, and currently features six bedrooms, a guest house and a gym. Willis also added several streams and ponds to the property, along with a heated pool that features waterslides, waterfall features and a rope swing. $27 million Turks and Caicos retreat A year later, in August 2019, Willis decided to part with his beloved Caribbean retreat in Turks and Caicos, where he and Heming married in 2009. The 13,500-square-foot property was on the COMO Parrot Cay resort, and Willis' neighbors included Donna Karan and Keith Richards. The property sold for $27 million - just short of the $27.5 million price tag on the island's most expensive piece of property, a nearby home known as Oliver's Cove that sold in 2016. Willis bought the 7.37 waterfront acres in 2000, and completed the Asian-inspired compound in 2004. Willis and Heming's former compound in Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos. The pair married there in 2009, and sold it in 2019 for $27 million Parrot Cay is home to famous faces such as Keith Richards and Donna Karan The swimming pool at Parrot Cay, in Turks and Caicos It consists of a five-bedroom main house, a yoga pavilion and two guest casitas with three bedrooms each. The couple renewed their vows at the house shortly before putting it on the market. 'For the past 20 years, we've made so many beautiful memories on the island,' they said in a statement at the time to Architectural Digest. 'We fell in love and married there, enjoyed two babymoons on the Cay, and it was on our beach that we renewed our vows.' In October 2021, they sold their last remaining parcel of land on Parrot Cay - an empty plot that went for $6 million. $7.66 million Westchester County mansion The final property to go in the epic sell-off was Willis's mansion in Westchester County, north of New York City. Willis sold the Westchester mansion in December 2019 for $7.66 million An aerial view of the Westchester property, in an area known as Bedford Corners The 9,000-square-foot mansion in Bedford, near Mount Kisco, was sold for $7.66 million in December 2019. Sitting on 22 acres, it overlooked the Croton Reservoir; neighbors included Martha Stewart, Ralph Lauren and Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas. Willis and Heming bought the property for $12 million in 2014, and had been splitting time between Westchester and their Manhattan apartment. Investigators have begun looking into a meeting between the CEO of Activision Blizzard and the step-son of a billionaire just days before the man, his father and another wealthy associate made millions off shares when the company was bought out by Microsoft for $68.7 billion. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Activision CEO Bobby Kotick and Alexander von Furstenberg violated insider-trading laws when they met for breakfast in January ahead of Furstenberg's decision to buy shares of the company with his father, IAC Chairman Barry Diller, and fellow media mogul David Geffen, the Wall Street Journal reported. The three men bought shares at $40 each on January 14, days before Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for $95 a share - netting the three men $59 million in profit. Diller refuted the allegations, telling the WSJ that he and his associates knew nothing about the impending deal with Microsoft. 'We had zero knowledge of that transaction and it belies credulity to think that if we did we would have proceeded,' Diller said. 'It's equally unlikely to believe Mr. Kotick, a sophisticated professional, in a social breakfast with Mr. von Furstenberg and his wife would have told them of the pending transaction.' Federal investigators are looking into a meeting Activision CEO Bobby Kotick (pictured) had with Alexander von Furstenberg days before Furstenberg decided to buy up stocks von Furstenberg (left) purchased the stocks along with his father, IAC Chairman Barry Diller (right) and fellow media mogul David Geffen at $40 a share on January 14 Geffen (above), Furstenberg and Diller profited $59 million after Microsoft aquired Blizzard Activision days later for $68.7 billion Diller has served on the board of Coca-Cola with Kotick, whom he described as a 'long time friend.' Diller already has a net worth of $4.5 billion, while Geffen is worth about $10.3 billion and von Furstenburg is worth about $10.1 million. A spokesperson for Activision said that Kotick was simply enjoying a social brunch with his friends on the day he met with Furstenberg. 'He, of course, didnt share any information with them regarding a possible transaction with Microsoft,' the spokesperson said in a statement. Furstenberg and Geffen did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment. The three men are also under investigations for alleged insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC is also conducting a separate investigation on Kotick and other Activision heads on how they handled workplace misconduct allegations that plagued the company during its final year before being bought by Microsoft. Diller (pictured) has served on the board of Coca-Cola with Activision Chief Executive Bobby Kotick, whom he described as a 'long time friend.' He refutes that he had any inside knowledge on Microsoft's impeding purchase of Activision Blizzard when he made his purchase In September, the federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a probe into the company and two months later, Kotick, accused of mishandling the harassment complaints, had signaled he would consider stepping down if he failed to quickly fix the company culture. He has led the company for more than three decades. The video game giant announced earlier this year that it had fired 37 employees and disciplined more than 40 others since July 2021 as it deals with allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct. Last July, California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued the Fortune 500 company over what it called a 'frat boy' culture. The agency says women make up just 20 percent of the workforce and get less money, fewer promotions, are fired more often and suffer from 'constant sexual harassment.' 'Male employees proudly come into work hungover, play video games for long periods of time during work while delegating their responsibilities to female employees, engage in banter about their sexual encounters, talk openly about female bodies, and joke about rape,' the lawsuit states. The suit names Blizzard President J. Allen Brack, who stepped down in August, and longtime World of Warcraft developer Alex Afrasiabi, who quietly left the company last year. The video game giant has been under the SEC's gaze for nearly a year following bombshell reports of the company's toxic workplace environment with hundreds of allegations of harassment and discrimination It alleges that Afrasiabi had a so-called 'Cosby Suite' at a hotel during corporate events. 'During a company event (an annual convention called Blizz Con [sic]) Afrasiabi would hit on female employees, telling him [sic] he wanted to marry them, attempting to kiss them, and putting his arms around them,' the complaint reads. 'This was in plain view of other male employees, including supervisors, who had to intervene and pull him off female employees. Afrasiabi was so known to engage in harassment of females that his suite was nicknamed the ''Crosby Suite'' [sic] after alleged rapist Bill Crosby [sic].' Activision Blizzard had agreed to pay $18 million to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to settle a sexual harassment investigation. Over the past year, the company has received about 700 reports of employee concerns over sexual assault or harassment or other misconduct, in some cases separate reports about the same incident, the WSJ reported. Nearly 20 percent of Activision Blizzard's 9,500 employees have signed a petition calling for Kotick to resign. An antiviral drug available in Australia can eliminate 'actively infectious' Covid-19 from the body after as little as two days of treatment and may be effective against all variants. All participants taking 800mg a day of Molnupiravir capsules (sold under the brand name Lagevrio) in a European research trial showed no sign of the virus on day three of 'starting' treatment. Prior to treatment the patients had all tested positive in PCR tests. So far it is available for limited use in Australia. An antiviral drug available in Australia can eliminate Covid-19 from the body after as little as two days of treatment and may be effective against all variants All participants taking 800mg a day of Molnupiravir capsules (sold under the brand name Lagevrio) in a European research trial showed no sign of the virus on day three of 'starting' treatment The positive news comes as Omicron BA.2 cases surge in Australia, with 20,389 recorded in New South Wales, 9,149 in Victoria and 9,435 in Queensland on Saturday. New infections have continued to climb since mid-February and new daily cases averaged over 56,000 across Australia in the last week of March. 'Results demonstrated that on day three of treatment, infectious SARS-CoV-2 was detected in zero of 92 of participants with infectious virus at baseline who received molnupiravir, compared with 21.8 per cent of participants who received placebo,' the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases reported on April 1. The study was conducted by scientists employed by the drug's manufacturer, Merck & Co, including Dr Julie Strizki. The company announced in January that Molnupiravir was effective against Omicron BA.2 in lab trials, not long after there was concern unrelated antiviral drugs were not effective against the now-dominant strain. Merck said Molnupiravir showed 'broad activity' against coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 and its variants of concern. The drug's effectiveness is noted as being reliant on the patient taking it within five days of symptoms showing. According to Australia's Therapeutic Good Administration (TGA), Molnupiravir is marketed under the product name Lagevrio, in 200mg capsules, by Merck Sharp & Dohme (Australia). Molnupiravir is not designed for patients with severe Covid, such as those on ventilation for the illness According to PBS consumer information the recommended dosage is four capsules every 12 hours for five days. Side effects are considered 'minor and temporary' but can include 'diarrhoea, nausea, and dizziness'. It was approved on January 20 and added to Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) on March 1 - but only for people aged over 65, or over 50 for Aboriginal or Torres Strait islander people. The drug was approved on A PBS listing for Lagevrio meaning eligible patients can access this medicine from their local community pharmacy on a prescription from their doctor. Vaccines remain 'the best protection' against COVID, according to government information in most cases. An Instagram famous bikie has been booted out of his motorcycle club over claims he was associating with a police witness. Melbourne-based bikie Toby Mitchell was kicked out of the Mongols following a unanimous vote on Friday night. An insider claimed Mitchell had angered senior Mongol figures including alleged club president Nick 'The Knife' Forbes. Mitchell was voted out over accusations he was 'running with dogs' that included a police witness in the manslaughter case against club member Lachlan Floyd. Melbourne-based bikie Toby Mitchell was kicked out of the Mongols following a unanimous vote on Friday night An insider claimed Mitchell had angered senior Mongol figures including alleged club president Nick 'The Knife' Forbes Floyd was jailed for six-and-a-half years over the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend's partner Stuart Townsend in February 2016. 'Mitchell was booted last night for running with dogs even after being repeatedly warned,' a senior Mongols insider was reported as saying in the Courier Mail. 'There was a 100 per cent vote against him, even from people who are loyal to him. 'He thought he was bigger than the club but we don't tolerate bad behaviour and he's gone bad. Mitchell has more than 300,000 followers on Instagram and he regularly updates his social media account with photos of gym workouts, luxury cars and encounters with celebrities including boxer Anthony Mundine and AFL legend Sam Newman. Mitchell has never been far from the headlines since being shot multiple times back in 2011. It was just a month from Christmas when Mitchell was shot six times outside a Brunswick gym while sergeant-at-arms for the Bandidos bikie gang. He spent weeks in intensive care, underwent 30 operations and lost a kidney, gall bladder and most of his liver. He was shot again in 2013 in another attempt on his life. Mitchell has more than 300,000 followers on Instagram and he regularly updates his social media account with photos of gym workouts, luxury cars and encounters with celebrities including boxer Anthony Mundine and AFL legend Sam Newman (pictured, Tammy Hembrow) Toby Mitchell in 2018 (pictured) after a previous trip to Melbourne County Court In 2017, Mitchell was arrested over a Christmas brawl which saw him deck a drunk who was silly enough to disrespect his female companion. Mitchell again received bail just before Christmas. The bikie found himself behind bars after an embarrassing video emerged showing him being knocked-out by a homeless man in October 2020. The video showed a 'street kid' dressed like a 'lumberjack' knock Mitchell on his behind after the bikie had enjoyed a boozy night out with mates. Mitchell had picked a fight with the homeless man for no apparent reason before trying to punch on with the stranger. The incident had seen Mitchell released on bail just before Christmas, but he was forbidden from mingling with other Mongols and confined to his swanky quarters between 8pm and 6am over the Christmas period. Mitchell had reportedly angered senior Mongol figures including alleged club president Nick 'The Knife' Forbes (pictured) A former National Guardsman who worked security at a private Jewish academy in Ohio was arrested for allegedly making terrorist threats about shooting students and parents. Thomas Develin, 24, who worked as a security guard at the Columbus Torah Academy, a private Jewish K-12 school, was accused on Friday of making disturbing comments about wanting to harm students on the Discord group messaging app with other National Guard members, ABC 6 reported. In court, police shared a photo Develin allegedly sent to the group on March 11 of him holding a handgun while commenting: 'I'm at a Jewish school and about to make it everyone's problem.' In a separate post, he allegedly wrote, 'The playground is about to turn into a self-defense situation' and that he wanted to 'shoot parents coming to pick up their children.' Police arrested Develin on Wednesday, and he is being held on a $1 million bond at Franklin County Jail with a hearing set for April 8. Prosecutors said Develin was fired and has been suspended from the National Guard. Scroll down for video Thomas Develin, 24, a former member of the National Guard and security officer for the private Columbus Torah Academy was arrested on Wednesday and charged with making terrorist threats against the families he was supposed to protect Prosecutors said Develin (appearing in court on Friday) sent disturbing messages to fellow National Guard members about how he wanted to shoot the Jewish students and their parents Develin was fired from the school and suspended from the National Guard. Prosecutors said a member of Develin's chat who died in the fall had his account accessed by his mother, who discovered the chatroom and alerted police about the messages Develin had allegedly made similar disparaging comments about people of color, women and law enforcement officials, ABC reported. Prosecutors said the National Guard was made aware of some of the comments the Develin was making on Discord and instructed the members to shut down the chat. Develin and the other National Guard members immediately created another chatroom on Telegram chatroom app, prosecutors said. Columbus Police were made aware of everything Develin was saying when the mother of one of the members, who died last fall, discovered the chatroom. Joel Marcovitch, president of the local JewishColumbus organization, thanked the woman for alerting police and ensuring the student's safety. 'Her actions actually helped us in what could have been a horrendous incident,' he said. The National Guard and the Columbus Torah Academy did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment. Columbus Police, who provided additional security detail at the school this week, said the incident was still under investigation. Develin is being held on a $1 million bond at Franklin County Jail with a hearing set for April 8 Joel Marcovitch, president of the local JewishColumbus organization, thanked the woman who alerted police about Develin as it helped ensure the student's safety. JewishColumbus, an organization that advocates for the local Jewish community, said Develin's posts were 'an act of anti-Semitism' targeting the Jewish families he was suppose to protect. 'For far too long Jews have been mentally and physically intimidated in spaces online, at schools, universities and in our community,' the group said in a statement. 'Virulent anti-Semitic rhetoric breeds extremism and has no place in our community.' The Anti-Defamation League echoed that this incident was yet another example of the historic violence facing Jewish communities. 'For millennia, Jews have been threatened, intimidated, and persecuted,' the organization said in a statement. 'This is yet another sobering reminder that antisemitism left unchecked breeds extremism and violence. 'Antisemitism has no place in Columbus, Ohio, or anywhere. We will continue to work tirelessly to stamp out antisemitism whenever, and wherever we see it.' Earlier this year, a man held four people hostage at a Texas synagogue for several hours in a bid to try and free a known terrorist and anti-Semite in custody. In 2018, the U.S. Jewish community saw its worst day of violence in recent years after Robert Bowers entered the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and shot and killed 11 people and injured seven others. A lawyer for controversial animal-rights activist Natasha Peterson told a court a protest in which she smeared herself in fake blood while wearing nothing but her underwear at a luxury retailer was 'not offensive'. The notorious vegan does not deny she, her boyfriend Jack Briggs, and fellow activist Arkadiusz Swiebodzinski staged the protest but rejected accusations the stunt was offensive as she appeared in court on disorderly conduct charges. The three had staged the protest at the Raine Square Louis Vuitton store in Perth on August 21 last year. Prosecutors argued in court that the words and tone Ms Peterson used during the protest, as well as her decision to enter the store in nothing but her underwear, would 'seriously offend the beliefs and practices of most people' and amounted to disorderly conduct. Vegan and animals rights activist Tash Peterson is known for her wild public protests Tash Peterson (pictured with partner Jack Higgs) says it's time to stop viewing non human animals as less superior to us and more as equals to humans The defence argued that the prosecution's definition of 'offensive' was outdated, Perth Now reported. Outside the court the activist told reporters the potential fine 'doesn't concern (her) at all.' 'I'm just using my bodily freedom to raise awareness for those who have no bodily autonomy, those who are subjected to rape, enslavement, torture, abuse and murder in the meat, dairy and egg industries as well as the leather, wool, fur and basically every animal exploitation industry that exists.' she said. Tash Peterson (pictured) staged the protest at the Raine Square Louis Vuitton store in Perth on August 21 last year Not a stranger to nudity at previous topless protests and her OnlyFans account, Ms Peterson agreed with a reporter that the issue of gender equality definitely 'ties into' the trial. Ms Peterson's lawyer argued that had a man pulled the same shirtless stunt it would not be treated the same. The trio face fines of up to $6,000 each if they're found guilty of disorderly conduct. Ms Peterson arrived at the luxury store to protest animal products in fashion with a sign that read: 'If you're not vegan, you're an animal abuser' on one side (pictured) The outspoken and controversial activist smeared her torso in fake blood before entering the store Ms Peterson's previous stunts include ripping her nipple coverings off after a police officer confronted her about taking her top off while exiting court with 'dairy is rape' scrawled across her torso. That court appearance had been for appearing at the Boatshed Markets in Perth in 2020 while naked from the waist up with her body painted in a black and white cow hide pattern with a sign reading: 'They raped me and stole my babies so you can have my meat'. Magistrate Michelle Harries has reserved her decision in the current proceeding. A Georgia mother who was stopped from reading an excerpt from a book at a school board meeting because it was 'inappropriate' has expressed her frustration at the 'irony' of the book being available in libraries. Michelle Brown attended a Cherokee County School Board meeting on March 17, demanding answers about the inclusion of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi in the schools' libraries. 'These administrators need to be making sure that they are creating a safe environment for all children,' she told Fox News on Friday, noting that children are subjected to 'a silent trauma' after reading the material. Brown said 'the school board is deemed a machine' that has 'power over administrators, teachers and parents in the community.' She claimed the board intimidates parents into silence. Brown - who is not the parent of a high school student in the district - said other parents were 'afraid' to speak up, and said she found her silencing 'ironic.' 'If I gave a child one of these books, I'd go to jail,' she told Laura Ingraham. 'But they can get it in our school libraries. And it's not OK.' On March 17, after explaining the complicated bureaucratic process for having a book removed from shelves, Brown began reading from the award-winning novel in a bid to illustrate why it should be banned from the 42,000-student district. 'Excited now, he pushed into her as she squeezed her eyes as tightly as she could,' she read. 'Her tongue circled her lips. He pushed harder, his breath heavy and labored. She scratched his back and he cried out. She bit his ear and pulled his hair.' She added: 'There's lot more to it. It's Fifty Shades of Grey in CCSD [Cherokee County School District].' Michelle Brown, a mother from Georgia, on Friday night told why she read a segment of a library book to a school board meeting on March 17 Ingraham said that Brown had been 'cancelled' for reading the explicit scene in the book at the school board meeting Brown told Ingraham that she was being labelled a 'book banner.' She said she was simply calling for a book list, with 'books that are deemed appropriate to be in schools in the first place.' She told Ingraham she was surprised that the debate about appropriate books was being had in her deeply red constituency. Brown read an excerpt of Homegoing, an award-winning novel by 33-year-old author Yaa Gyasi that describes how the lives of two sisters dovetailed during the transatlantic slave trade 'I'm in Cherokee County, Georgia. We are one of the top Republican counties in the state,' she said. 'Slowly but surely, I began seeing some of the things that were in the curriculum.' She said it was 'becoming alarming.' Brown told Fox other parents did not want to speak up, saying: 'All of them were kind of afraid. 'They didn't want to go up against [the school board]. 'So I thought, 'Well, I'll do it, I've done it before.' 'So that's when I started emailing them and then got up to speak. I had no idea that they were going to react that way.' Brown added that 'this is not about book-banning.' She said that instead it was a question of ensuring 'obscene' material does not end up in the hands of children. Published in 2016, Homegoing tells the tale of two African half-sisters born in the mid-18th century who grow up to have vastly different lives as a consequence of the slave trade. As Brown read the segment of the book - which is not being used in classroom instruction - board member Patsy Jordan cut her off. 'Excuse me, excuse me, we have children at home. It's live streaming, and it's really not appropriate for you to read that,' Jordan said. 'Don't you find the irony in that?' Brown shouted, at one point smacking the lectern. 'You're exactly saying exactly what I'm telling you! You're giving it to our children! 'I would never give this to my children!' Michelle Brown was stopped from reading an excerpt of a book at a school board meeting in Cherokee County, Georgia last week because it's 'inappropriate' 'Excuse me, excuse me, we have children's at home. It's live streaming, and it's really not appropriate for you to read that,' said board member Patsy Jordan, bottom right CSSD told DailyMail.com that Brown only has elementary school-aged children in the district, which is located about an hour north of Atlanta. Another board member chimes in: 'I think we have gotten the gist of your information that you wanted to share with us this evening.' 'So you're cutting me off?' Brown asks at the March 17 meeting. 'So you have the last 30 seconds - our attorney has said 'Out of order,'' the board member replies. 'I suggest that nobody submits any more books,' Brown adds. 'It's not our job, it's your job to be getting these books. All this happened under your watch. 'Maybe if you spent more time reading these books instead of calculating the statistical demographics of those submitting the books, you wouldn't be grooming our children. Homegoing was written by Ghanaian-American novelist Yaa Gyasi, 33. Above, Gyasi receives the PEN/Hemingway Award for Homegoing at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston on April 2, 2017 CCSD says Brown, who stormed off to applause, does not have any high school-aged children in the district 'You're saying that we're embarrassing you? Well, you're embarrassing us and our kids. 'It's not OK! You are supposed to be giving them a safe space in school. These books? If I can't email them to you, if I can't say them, they shouldn't be in the school!' What is Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi about? Homegoing was published in 2016 by Penguin Random House. The 320-page novel was written by Ghanaian-American novelist Yaa Gyasi, 33. It tells the tale of two half-sisters born in mid-18th century Ghana who grow up to have incredibly different lives. Effia marries a British governor of Cape Coast Castle and lives in luxury, while her sister Esi is captured during a raid on her village and held in a dungeon under Effia before she is put on a slave ship. The book follows the lives of the sisters' descendants as it charts how the legacy of slavery affects them in the present. The novel won the John Leonard Award by the National Book Critics Circle in 2016. Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates selected it for the National Book Foundation's '5 under 25' award that same year. It was also chosen as one of Oprah Winfrey's 'Best Books of the Year. Writing for the New York Times, Isabel Wilkerson described the book as 'hypnotic' and called Gyasi a 'stirringly gifted young writer.' Vulture said: 'Rich. . . . Fascinating. . . . Each chapter is tightly plotted, and there are suspenseful, even spectacular climaxes.' Sources: Penguin Random House, Amazon, Goodreads Advertisement Brown walked away to applause from the audience. Homegoing was written by Ghanaian-American novelist Yaa Gyasi, 33, and published in 2016. It tells the tale of two half-sisters born in Ghana in the mid-18th century who grow up to have incredibly different lives. Effia marries a British governor of Cape Coast Castle and lives in luxury, while her sister Esi is captured during a raid on her village and held in a dungeon under Effia before she is put on a slave ship. The book then follows the lives of the two sisters' descendants as it charts how the legacy of slavery affects them in the present. A description on Goodreads, where the book has 4.47 stars, states: 'Extraordinary for its exquisite language, its implacable sorrow, its soaring beauty, and for its monumental portrait of the forces that shape families and nations, Homegoing heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.' The novel won the John Leonard Award by the National Book Critics Circle in 2016. The prize is given to the best debut book in any genre. Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates selected it for the National Book Foundation's '5 under 25' award that same year. Writing for the New York Times, Isabel Wilkerson described the book as 'hypnotic' and called Gyasi a 'stirringly gifted young writer.' During the meeting, Brown said the wait time for the district to review a book stretches out until November. She also added that, as part of the removal process, anyone in the district's review committee can object to the book's removal, meaning that it stays on the shelves. She claimed the instructions told parents to 'get over the shock' of students reading profanity, including the word 'see you next Tuesday.' Brown said that an appeals committee for book removals includes a student who said Homegoing must stay in the libraries because it's in her AP class's reading list. But CCSD says the removal process does not include a student. The College Board does, however, suggest that students read Homegoing in order to pass its AP English exams. Brown spoke after a woman who identified herself as the parent of two children at CCSD. The woman spoke about her concerns about a 'recent increase in challenged books' in the district. Brown said: 'If anyone in this room gave one of these books that she's talking about to a child, you would go to prison, why are you then putting them in our libraries?' Homegoing is not being used for classroom instruction and is currently available in the media centers of four high schools, a Cherokee County School District spokeswoman told DailyMail.com. The spokeswoman said that parents can restrict their children from checking out books. 'Additionally, the speaker who is not a parent of CCSD high school students, previously had been repeatedly advised that she could file a challenge to potentially remove the book from CCSD high school media centers, but she has not filed such a challenge,' the spokeswoman said. Homegoing is the latest book to have come under fire from conservative parents and school officials who are increasingly concerned about what their children are allowed to read in schools. Earlier this year, a Tennessee school board voted unanimously to remove a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about Holocaust survivors from its eighth-grade curriculum, citing a drawing of a nude woman, eight swear words and its 'not wise or healthy' content. The McMinn County school board in Tennessee voted 10-0 to remove 'Maus' by Art Spiegelman from the eighth grade curriculum over eight swear words and nudity The graphic novel by Art Spiegelman (above) is inspired by the story of Art's parents Board member Tony Allman (left) suggested the book should at least be censored. 'Why does the educational system promote this kind of stuff, it is not wise or healthy,' he said The McMinn County Board of Education voted 10-0 to remove 'Maus' by Art Spiegelman from the curriculum on January 10, despite educators arguing that the graphic novel is an 'anchor text' in eighth-grade English language arts instruction and the centerpiece of a months-long study of the Holocaust. Published in 1991, Maus is inspired by the story of Spiegelman's parents, Vladek and Anja, who survived the Holocaust after being shipped to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. The graphic novel depicts Nazis as cats and Jewish people as mice. The board heard from instructional supervisors and other school officials who defended the use of the book in class but were unanimously overruled. 'I went to school here 13 years. I learned math, English, reading and history. I never had a book with a naked picture in it, never had one with foul language. ... So, this idea that we have to have this kind of material in the class in order to teach history, I don't buy it,' said board member Mike Cochran. Spiegelman, 73, called the ban 'Orwellian' in an interview with CNBC, saying that he learned about it a day before Holocaust Remembrance Day. The family of a father of 14 who died in a pub brawl say they forgive the man who threw the fatal punch as he walked free from court after the judge ruled he acted in self-defence. Luke Jay Kenworthy, was killed after a blow to the head caused him to fall to the ground unconscious at the Sundowner Hotel Motel in Caboolture in November 2020. Last week, Joel Michael James Smith, was found not guilty of unlawful striking causing death after a rare legal decision found he acted in self-defence when Mr Kenworthy had earlier threatened to 'end him' during a verbal spat. Kyra Keelan-Kenworthy said she forgave the man who took her father Luke's life during a pub fight (pictured together) Live-streaming the four-day trial from her home in New Zealand, Mr Kenworthy's eldest daughter Kyra said she won't hold a grudge against the man who took her father's life. 'We forgive Joel, we have no hate in our hearts towards Joel. This is what dad would have wanted,' Kyra said in a victim impact statement provided to The Courier-Mail. 'Dad's death is hard to accept but I believe forgiveness is the answer.' She said she hoped to read her victim impact statement to Mr Smith so he would know what an amazing father Mr Kenworthy was. Mr Kenworthy (pictured) died after Joel Michael James Smith punched the father of 14 at a Caboolture pub in November 2020 'He taught us how to do everything outdoors like fishing and camping and hunting,' she said. 'That was dad's legacy to us. He taught us how to build a treehouse and survive. But my youngest siblings don't get that, that's what they missed out on. 'And knowing all those things my younger brothers and sisters will go without, I'd say to (Mr Smith), to please make the most of this second chance you've been given I forgive you.' It is only the second time a jury has found somebody not guilty of unlawful striking causing death since the offence was introduced to QLD's Criminal Code in 2014. The charge can carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Last week Mr Smith was found not guilty of unlawful striking causing death - an offence which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment (pictured, Luke Kenworthy) Mr Kenworthy, was killed after a fatal punch caused him to fall to the ground unconscious at the Sundowner Hotel Motel in Caboolture in November 2020 (pictured, The Sundown Hotel Motel) Last week, Barrister Douglas Wilson argued Mr Smith had acted in self-defence and only delivered the fatal punch after repeated attempts to walk away. He said Mr Kenworthy was upset about something before he made the remark to Mr Smith claiming he would 'end him', a reference which was understood to mean ending Mr Smith's life. Witness accounts from patrons at the pub on the night of the incident said Mr Kenworthy spat on Mr Smith and followed him as tried to exit the venue. CCTV footage also captured the moment Mr Smith delivered the fatal blow to Mr Kenworthy, who fell backwards and hit his head on the concrete. Mr Smith's solicitor, Kristie Horne told told the court, at that point her client 'sadly was left with no other choice but to defend himself' when he threw the fatal punch. 'Unfortunately, subsequently he was unable to be revived,' she said. Four men have been charged after more than $250,000 worth of drugs were seized by heavily armed officers in a series of daring raids that also uncovered large sums of cash and a major haul of luxury clothes, watches, handbags and jewellery. NSW Police said more than $50,000 in cash was discovered at various properties in Sydney's south-west on Friday as part of Strike Force Turquoise. The clandestine investigation was established to investigate the large-scale supply of methylamphetamine plaguing the area. Search warrants were carried out across homes in Guildford, Milperra, Bass Hill and Merrylands. Four men have been charged (one pictured) after more than $250,000 worth of drugs were seized by heavily armed officers in a series of daring raids About $42,000 was seized at a home in Milperra and a further $10,000 was discovered at an address in Guildford At an address in Milperra, police found $42,000 in cash, cannabis, luxury clothing, jewellery, watches and handbags. A man, 31, was arrested and taken to Bankstown Police Station to face a raft of charges, including the commercial supply of a prohibited drug, two counts of possessing a prohibited drug and knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime. Police at a home in Guildford found $10,000 in cash, methylamphetamine, cannabis and numerous electronic items which forensic investigators are now examining. A 19-year-old man was also taken to Bankstown Police Station where he was charged with multiple serious offences, including the commercial supply of a prohibited drug. When police kicked down the door of a residence in Bass Hill, they discovered cocaine, Oxycodone and cannabis as well as prescription medication, vials of steroids and cash. A man, 23, was arrested at the scene and taken to Granville Police Station where he was also charged with multiple drug offences. All three men were refused bail. A large amount of methylamphetamine (ice) was located at homes in Guildford and Merrylands Three of the men were refused bail (one pictured), with the quartet to all appear before the courts Meanwhile, at an address in Merrylands, officers found methylamphetamine, the hallucinogenic drug LSD and stacks of cash. A 40-year-old man was arrested and charged at Granville Police Station with two counts of possess a prohibited drug. He was granted conditional bail and will appear at Fairfield Local Court on April 19. Advertisement Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned Russia for 'booby-trapping' corpses and abandoned homes as they retreat from the north of Ukraine - a day after scores of executed civilians were found along a highway out of Kiev. The Ukrainian President warned his people that retreating Russian forces were creating 'a complete disaster' outside the capital by leaving mines across 'the whole territory', even around homes and dead bodies. He issued the warning as the humanitarian crisis in the encircled city of Mariupol deepened and the Kremlin accused the Ukrainians of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot on Russian soil. Ukraine denied responsibility for the fiery blast, but if Moscow's claim is confirmed, it would be the war's first known attack in which Ukrainian aircraft penetrated Russian airspace. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: 'Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks.' Russia continued withdrawing some of its ground forces from areas around Kyiv after saying earlier this week it would reduce military activity near the Ukrainian capital and the northern city of Chernihiv. Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation: 'They are mining the whole territory. They are mining homes, mining equipment, even the bodies of people who were killed. 'There are a lot of trip wires, a lot of other dangers.' His comments follow the bodies of at least thirteen dead civilians being discovered yesterday on the same stretch of road where Russian soldiers were caught on video executing a young couple in aerial drone footage that shocked the world at the start of March. And as Western journalists accompany advancing Ukrainian troops near Kyiv, they are uncovering more evidence of war crimes carried out by Putin's soldiers - with the mayor of one city claiming 300 civilians were killed in the last month. Pictures from Irpin on Friday showed soldiers and volunteers carrying body bags down a ruined stretch of road. About a dozen bodies were zipped up in black plastic body bags, lined up on the concrete and loaded into vans. Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured in video address) warned his people that retreating Russian forces were creating 'a complete disaster' outside the capital by leaving mines across 'the whole territory', even around homes and dead bodies Ukrainian rescue workers are pictured carrying an injured woman in Irpin close to the capital of Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 1 Ukrainian soldiers collect bodies of civilians killed by the Russian forces at the destroyed bridge in Irpin close to Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, March 31, 2022 The bodies of civilians killed by Russian shelling are gathered to be transferred to a mortuary in Irpin, Ukraine, on March 31 Some experts believe the Mariupol's fall is imminent after Russian forces reached its centre this week, while feared Chechen soldiers have been seen prowling its streets. (Pictured: Pro-Russian armoured vehicle moves through Mariupol on Friday) A man walks past a burnt armored personnel carrier near buildings destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 1 A view shows the building of a theatre destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 1 Zelensky urged residents to wait to resume their normal lives until they are assured that the mines have been cleared and the danger of shelling has passed. While the Russians kept up their bombardment around Kyiv and Chernihiv, Ukrainian troops exploited the pullback on the ground by mounting counterattacks and retaking a number of towns and villages. Still, Ukraine and its allies warned that the Kremlin is not de-escalating to promote trust at the bargaining table, as it claimed, but instead resupplying and shifting its troops to the country's east. Those movements appear to be preparation for an intensified assault on the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region in the country's east, which includes Mariupol. Mr Zelensky warned of difficult battles ahead as the Russians redeploy troops. 'We are preparing for an even more active defence,' he said. The comedian turned war time leader added that more than 3,000 people escaped the besieged south-eastern city of Mariupol in a convoy of buses and private cars on Friday, while the Red Cross is preparing a fresh evacuation effort for today. Some experts believe the city's fall is imminent after Russian forces reached its centre this week, while feared Chechen soldiers have been seen prowling its streets. While Zelensky said the east remains 'extremely difficult', his troops have enjoyed successes elsewhere, mostly in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, where it has taken back at least 30 towns in recent days, including Irpin and the Hostomel air base on the outskirts of the capital yesterday. It also regained control of the heavily contaminated Chernobyl nuclear site on Friday morning. Zelensky said: 'The occupiers are withdrawing forces in the north of our country. The withdrawal is slow but noticeable. Somewhere they are expelled with battles. Somewhere they leave positions on their own.' He added: 'We are moving forward. Moving carefully. And everyone who returns to this area must also be very careful. Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers carry a body of a civilian killed by the Russian forces over the destroyed bridge in Irpin close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 31, 2022 A couple walk past the bodies of civilians killed by Russian shelling before they are transferred to a mortuary, after bodies were collected from different locations, amid Russia's invasion on Ukraine, in Irpin, Ukraine March 31, 2022 Bodies of civilians killed by Russian shelling are seen inside a car after they were collected from different locations, amid Russia's invasion on Ukraine, in Irpin on March 31 Maksim and his wife (pictured together) were killed in an attack on March 7. Their six-year-old son survived and a friend's mother - who was also in the car when it came under fire from a Russian tank unit - was injured. The Russian soldiers later let them go 'It is still impossible to return to normal life as it was. Even in the areas we return after the fighting. You will have to wait. Wait for our land to be cleared. Wait until you can be assured that new shelling is impossible. 'In the east of our country, the situation remains extremely difficult. The Russian militaries are being accumulated in Donbas, in the Kharkiv direction. 'They are preparing for new powerful blows. We are preparing for even more active defense.' Mariupol has faced weeks of ferocious Russian shelling, with at least 5,000 residents killed, according to local authorities, and the estimated 160,000 who remain face shortages of food, water and electricity. 'We have managed to rescue 6,266 people, including 3,071 people from Mariupol,' Zelensky said. He did not say anything about the latest round of talks, which took place on Friday by video. At a round of talks earlier in the week, Ukraine said it would be willing to abandon a bid to join Nato and declare itself neutral - Moscow's chief demand - in return for security guarantees from several other countries. Giving details of Friday's evacuation efforts along humanitarian corridors, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 42 buses carrying Mariupol residents had departed from the city of Berdiansk, 70 kilometres (44 miles) southwest, while another 12 had left Melitopol with local residents on board. Two women hug as a convoy of 30 buses carrying evacuees from Mariupol and Melitopol arrive at the registration center in Zaporizhzhia, on April 1, 2022 Children asleep are seen through a bus window as a convoy of 30 buses carry evacuees from Mariupol and Melitopol on Friday A woman looks through a bus window as a convoy of 30 buses carrying evacuees from Mariupol and Melitopol arrive at the registration center in Zaporizhzhia on Friday Passengers show their passports as a convoy of 30 buses carrying evacuees from Mariupol and Melitopol arrive at the registration center in Zaporizhzhia, on April 1, 2022 A convoy of 30 buses carrying evacuees from Mariupol and Melitopol arrive at the registration center in Zaporizhzhia on Friday. Children are seen through a bus window as a convoy of 30 buses carrying evacuees from Mariupol and Melitopol arrive at the registration center in Zaporizhzhia Zelensky reported Friday that more than 6,000 people had been evacuated from besieged cities in Ukraine (Pictured: Passengers disembark as a convoy of 30 buses carrying evacuees from Mariupol and Melitopol arrive at the registration center in Zaporizhzhia, on April 1, 2022) Woman becomes emotional while being evacuated through Zaporizhzhya Dozens of buses carrying Mariupol residents who had escaped the devastated city arrived Friday in Zaporizhzhia, about 200 kilometres to the northwest. (Pictured: Man and woman and their beloved pet dog arrive in Zaporizhzhia) Families hug as they arrive to safety in Zaporizhzhia after being evacuated from the frontlines Elderly woman smiles after being evacuated from the besieged city of Mariupol by the Red Cross Woman sheds a tear after arriving in Zaporizhzhya, one of thousands to be evacuated from Berdyansk, Mariupol and other besieged cities 'That's more than 2,500 people. More than 300 private cars follow the buses. All of them are now heading to the city of Zaporizhzhia,' she said on Telegram, adding more evacuations of Mariupol were planned for Saturday. Dozens of buses carrying Mariupol residents who had escaped the devastated city arrived Friday in Zaporizhzhia, about 200 kilometres to the northwest. The buses carried people who had been able to flee Mariupol to Russian-occupied Berdiansk. 'We were crying when we reached this area. We were crying when we saw soldiers at the checkpoint with Ukrainian crests on their arms,' said Olena, who carried her young daughter in her arms. 'My house was destroyed. I saw it in photos. Our city doesn't exist anymore.' The International Committee of the Red Cross said its team headed to Mariupol to conduct an evacuation effort was forced to turn back Friday after 'arrangements and conditions made it impossible to proceed', as it vowed to try again Saturday. It comes after it was revealed that Chechen soldiers have been prowling the shelled-out streets of Mariupol engaging in fierce firefights as they try to take the besieged city. Chechen soldiers have been prowling the shelled-out streets of Mariupol engaging in fierce firefights as they try to take the besieged city. Propaganda channels have previously pumped out pictures and videos of the notorious fighters in conquered territories to boost Russian morale Among the Chechen fighters pictured in Mariupol was the regiment commander Zamid Chalaev (above, on Thursday), who is accused of human rights violations Some Chechen soldiers are fighting alongside the Russian military, which waged two wars against Chechnya a Muslim republic in southern Russia between 1994 and 2000 'I do not discuss orders': Zelensky refuses to comment on alleged Ukrainian strike on fuel depot in Russia As day broke in Belgorod, the oil facility was ablaze, with the fire allegedly sparked by Ukrainian missiles During an interview with Fox News on Friday, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky responded to Russian accusations that Ukraine mounted a helicopter attack on a fuel depot inside Russian territory. He said: 'I'm sorry I do not discuss any of my orders as commander in chief, the leader of this state. 'There are things which I only share with military armed forces of Ukraine and when they talk with me. 'You need to understand that on that territory that you mentioned they were placing their shooting systems and were firing missiles themselves.' Russia's defence ministry had said two Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopters were responsible for an attack Friday morning on a fuel depot in the city of Belgorod, western Russia, but added the facility did not supply fuel to the military. In its statement, the ministry said the two helicopters attacked after crossing the border at an extremely low altitude Yet Ukraine's top security official denied the accusations. There were initial fears it was a false flag after claims Russia would try to justify an escalation of conflict or an excuse to walk out of peace talks by staging an attack within its own territory. There have been fears that Russia would stage a false flag attack on itself to justify an escalation of the war or to back out of peace talks Ukraine said yesterday it was not responsible for the daring blitz in what was the first air strike to target Russian soil since WWII. The helicopters reportedly fired S-8 rockets at a Roseneft depot, the area's regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Several nearby businesses were also reportedly hit. Speaking on national television, Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said: 'For some reason they say that we did it, but according to our information this does not correspond to reality.' Advertisement The feared troops, armed with machine guns and rocket launchers, have been used as a PR tool in Putin's war, and photos of them in the city suggest the dictator believes he is on the verge of taking it. Propaganda channels have previously pumped out pictures and videos of the notorious fighters in conquered territories to boost Russian morale. Some Chechen soldiers are fighting alongside the Russian military, which waged two wars against Chechnya a Muslim republic in southern Russia between 1994 and 2000. Among the Chechen fighters pictured in Mariupol was the regiment commander Zamid Chalaev, who is accused of human rights violations. Thanks to fierce Ukrainian resistance, Mariupol has held out for over a month despite Russia's brutal bombardment. But Russia finally entered the city centre this week and some observers believe its fall is imminent. It comes as the invading forces were accused of looting 14 tons of humanitarian aid destined for the southern port and a convoy of 45 buses bringing medical supplies was allegedly blocked from entering on Thursday night. Ukrainian soldiers on Friday liberated the suburban town of Irpin and the Hostomel air base on the outskirts of Kyiv while also regaining control of the heavily contaminated Chernobyl nuclear site early on Friday morning. The exchange of control happened amid growing indications the Kremlin is using talk of de-escalation in Ukraine as cover to regroup, resupply its forces and redeploy them for a stepped-up offensive in the eastern part of the country. The Russian military in the northeast continued to block and shell Chernihiv and Kharkiv on Friday and Ukraine's general staff said its forces were bracing for an all-out assault in the country's east. In the southeast of the country the Russians are trying to seize the cities of Popasna, Rubizhne and Mariupol in order to expand the territory of separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, according to the Ukrainian military. Russian troops left the heavily contaminated Chernobyl nuclear site early on Friday morning after returning control to the Ukrainians, authorities said. Ukraine's state power company, Energoatom, said the pullout at Chernobyl came after soldiers received 'significant doses' of radiation from digging trenches in the forest in the exclusion zone around the closed plant. But there was no independent confirmation of that. Announcing the exchange on Friday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the Russians behaved irresponsibly at the site during the more than four weeks that they controlled it, preventing staff at the plant from performing their full duties and digging trenches in contaminated areas. Kuleba told a news conference in Warsaw that the Russian government had exposed its soldiers to radiation, endangering their health. Russia said during negotiations on Tuesday that it would scale down operations in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions. Fighting has continued in both regions and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said Russian forces are not withdrawing but regrouping. 'We are observing the movement of joint (Russian) vehicle columns of various quantities,' the Kyiv region's governor, Oleksandr Pavlyuk, wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Pavlyuk said some of the troops were heading towards the border with Belarus, a Russian ally. He said Russian forces had left the village of Hostomel, which is next to an important airport, but were digging in at the town of Bucha. Moscow's men have suffered heavy losses in the five week war and NATO estimates between 7,000 and 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the fighting. Ukraine claims as many as 17,000 have been killed. Putin this week ordered 134,500 more conscripts aged 18 to 27 to join his army as part of the annual spring military draft, which runs from April 1 to July 15. Poor weather and a shortage of cross-channel ferry services are being blamed for huge queues at the border and gridlocked roads around Kent today. Three-hour waits are being reported after the Port of Dover's capacity was reduced, owing to fewer services being offered by DFDS, Irish Ferries and P&O Ferries in the wake of the redundancy debacle. Drivers have been stuck in hours of queues before being able to board their boats, while other lorries were forced to wait in up to eight miles of queues overnight. It comes as day two of Operation Brock caused fresh headaches for both holidaymakers and hauliers as the M20 in Kent was closed to hold lorries heading towards the coast. Kent Police implemented the traffic management plan to stack HGVs heading to the continent after eight-mile long tailbacks were reported on the motorway overnight. Some lorries were made to wait for up to eight hours, while sources described the situation as 'a mess' to ITV. Last month, P&O Ferries admitted to breaking the law in the manner in which it terminated 800 members of staff to hire cheaper agency workers, a move that has caused a major backlash from politicians and workers. A gridlocked Port of Dover on Friday night as traffic chaos caused by Operation Brock entered its second day Eight-mile long tailbacks were reported on the M20 and surrounding roads overnight The M20 eastbound between J8 and J9 remains shut to non-freight traffic on Saturday. Pictured: The traffic chaos for holidaymakers continued overnight Day two of Operation Brock caused fresh headaches for both holidaymakers and hauliers as the M20 in Kent was closed to hold lorries heading towards the coast. Pictured: Lorries queuing on the M20 on Saturday morning Three-hour waits are being reported after the Port of Dover's capacity was reduced, owing to fewer services being offered by DFDS, Irish Ferries and P&O Ferries in the wake of the redundancy debacle The M20 eastbound remains shut to non-freight traffic this morning, causing gridlocked roads for surrounding villages, and creating havoc for families hoping to get away for the Easter break A shortage of ferries was exacerbated after a DFDS ferry struck a berth in Dunkirk amid strong winds last night, leading to that service being removed for repairs. The M20 eastbound between J8 and J9 remains shut to non-freight traffic, causing gridlocked roads for surrounding villages, and creating havoc for families hoping to get away for the Easter break. Meanwhile, the A20, one of the main access roads for the Port of Dover, remains closed east-bound owing to the huge queues of lorries attempting to cross the Channel. The traffic chaos, which saw some cars stuck for up to three hours, prompted motorists to seek alternative routes towards the ferry terminal causing further delays in towns across Kent which have spilled over into Saturday. Motorists heading to the coast were warned they can expect delays well in excess of an hour, while it was reported that some hauliers waited for up to eight hours. Many schools across the country have broken up for the Easter holidays this afternoon, prompting the mass exodus. However, other children will be expected in their classrooms early next week. Non-freight vehicles are being diverted along the A20, but eastbound traffic on that carriageway is then being diverted again to the A259, onto the A260. Closures were first implemented last night as part of Operation Brock to allow lorries heading for the channel crossing to be 'stacked' on the motorway, in theory allowing them smoother access to the Kent coast. A Department for Transport spokesman said: 'We are aware of queues at Dover, and the Kent Resilience Forum and local partners are working to minimise any disruption by deploying temporary traffic-management measures as standard.' Last night, the A20 Roundhill Tunnel was closed coastbound between the junction 13 of the M20 and the A260 near Folkstone. This is part of Operation Tap which controls traffic approaching Dover Port. The M20 in Kent, pictured, saw lorries stuck in Operation Brock for more than six hours. Meanwhile, motorists heading to Dover are also facing significant delays of more than an hour with five-mile tailbacks resulting from the chaos The AA is reporting that the M20s closure is impacting traffic flows across Kent as motorists try and find a route towards the ferry terminal The AA has warned the closure of the M20 is having knock-on effects across the county Kent Police were forced to implement Operation Brock, closing the M20 to park lorries to limit the numbers allowed to approach Dover National Highways last night stated: 'There are currently 5.5 miles of congestion on approach to J8 causing delays of 60 mins above normal travel time. 'If this closure impacts on your planned route, please allow extra journey time. Plan ahead, you may wish to re-route or even delay your journey.' The Port of Dover warned passengers about long delays approaching the ferry terminal. Furious motorists took to Twitter to vent their frustration at the Operation Brock chaos According to a spokesperson: 'The main approach roads to the Port are currently very busy. 'We are working with operators to get people on their way as swiftly as possible, but are asking passengers to please allow extra time for their journey. 'Local traffic is advised to use alternative routes where possible.' The ongoing dispute involving P&O Ferries has dramatically reduced the capacity of the port. DFDS has also announced it will run a reduced service between Dover and Calais due to poor weather conditions and a 'technical problem'. The mother of a woman whose body was found in a remote bush grave three years after a drug deal went wrong, has broken her silence after finally being able to lay her daughter to rest. Allecha Boyd, 27, was shot multiple times on a dirt track by her drug dealer while on her way to buy meth just outside the small town of Coolamon, near Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, in 2017. Ms Boyd had gotten into an argument with a woman who had accused her of a break and enter at her home, before Samuel Shephard shot her four times with a pistol. Allecha Boyd, 27, (pictured) was shot multiple times on a dirt track by her drug dealer and buried in a bush grave in 2017 Ms Boyd's body was hidden in the Lester State Forest for three years (site pictured) Shephard and his friend Anthony Hagan, then 19, later drove her body 12km and buried her in the Lester State Forest, where it remained undiscovered for three years. Her grief-stricken mother Leah Freeman is now finally ready to speak out about the anguish she still faces over her daughter's brutal murder. 'Nobody had the right to take my daughter. I go to her grave and I cry. It will never be okay,' Ms Freeman told The Daily Telegraph. She said she was finally able to give her daughter a proper burial back home in Melbourne after starting a GoFundMe. Her grief-stricken mother Leah Freeman (pictured) has since opened up about the tragedy for the first time 'I needed a GoFundMe page to bury my daughter because all justice gave us was $8,000 to bury Allecha's remains,' Ms Freeman said. '$8000 isn't enough to dig the hole. Through that page people I will never know helped me bury my daughter to give her the dignity I couldn't afford to give her. 'If I could give back to every person on that page I would. I could not have done it without them.' Ms Freeman said her daughter had moved from Melbourne to Central NSW to pursue her dreams of becoming a chef but had gotten 'into some trouble' and made some bad choices. She said all Ms Boyd wanted to do was come back home, but she never got the chance to. Ms Boyd's remains were found three years after her murder when Shephard and Hagan assisted police on walk-throughs of the scene. Ms Freeman said her daughter (pictured) had moved from Melbourne to Central NSW to pursue her dreams of becoming a chef but had gotten 'into some trouble' and made some bad choices In February 2020, Shephard was convicted of killing Ms Boyd and was sentenced to 27 years in prison. Hagan was convicted as an accessory to murder and was released from prison last week after returning to jail for breaching the terms of his parole. Police caught the pair after tapping Shephard's phone in relation to his drug connections. Shephard's ex-partner Tracy Lee King left a series of incriminating voicemails that eventually lead police to Ms Boyd's killer. 'Where's Allecha Boyd you f**king dog c**t in the state forest?' one message said. 'Sam John Shephard killed her,' she wrote in another text. Ms King was sentenced to 15 months as an accessory to murder. Russia has today announced it will end co-operation on the International Space Station until Western-led sanctions over its Ukraine invasion are lifted. The head of the country's space agency said it will no longer work with its partners, including NASA and the European Space Agency, on the groundbreaking orbiting laboratory. The chief of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, revealed the move on Twitter and said he will submit a timetable for completion of current projects to the Kremlin. It follows weeks of threats, delays and cancelled projects from Roscosmos since a wave of sanctions were introduced against oligarchs linked to warring Russian President Vladimir Putin. Most astronauts aboard the ISS currently return to Earth aboard Russian Soyuz flights, but Elon Musk's SpaceX Crew Dragon also now transports crew to the space station and has made four visits so far since its inaugural voyage in 2020. The current crew is made up of three Americans (Kayla Barron, Thomas Marshburn, Raja Chari) three Russians (Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, Sergey Korsakov) and one German (Matthias Maurer). Rogozin previously said 'who would save the ISS?' if Russia were to withdraw from the project. It prompted US billionaire Elon Musk to reply: 'SpaceX' - the name of his private space company. When a Twitter user asked the Tesla founder if this meant SpaceX would keep the ISS from falling onto Earth, Musk simply replied: 'Yes.' The ISS, a symbol of post-Cold War detente, is split into two halves, with life support coming from the US half, and propulsion, stopping it falling to Earth, coming from Russia's side. Rogozin previously said their responsibilities on the ISS could fall to the US or Europe if it pulled out, but the US said it would be 'very difficult' to operate the satellite on its own. Russia and the US had been able to bury their differences this week when NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth alongside two Russian counterparts. It came just days after three Russian cosmonauts arrived at the ISS wearing yellow and blue flight suits, which some people saw as a show of support for Ukraine and a humiliation for Putin's regime. In a Twitter thread today, Rogozin said: 'Sanctions from the US, Canada, the European Union and Japan are aimed at blocking financial, economic and production activities of our high-tech enterprises. Three Russian cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station wearing yellow and blue flight suits in late March, which some people claimed resemble the Ukrainian national colours The head of the country's space agency said it will no longer work with NASA or the European Space Agency on the orbiting laboratory. (Pictured: International Space Station) The current crew of the International Space Station, three Russians pictured bottom row, right, while top row and left, Americans and German Matthias Maurer Dmitry Rogozin (pictured) said Russia will no longer work with its partners, including NASA and the European Space Agency, on the orbiting ISS The chief of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, revealed the move on Twitter (pictured) and said he will submit a timetable for completion of current projects to the Kremlin 'The purpose of the sanctions is to kill the Russian economy, plunge our people into despair and hunger, and bring our country to its knees. It is clear that they will not be able to do this, but the intentions are clear. 'That is why I believe that the restoration of normal relations between partners in the International Space Station and other joint projects is possible only with the complete and unconditional lifting of illegal sanctions. 'Specific proposals of Roscosmos on the timing of the completion of cooperation within the framework of he ISS with the space agencies of the United States, Canada, the European Union and Japan will be reported to the leadership of our country in the near future.' The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest single structure ever put into space by humans. It has been continuously occupied by a multi-national crew, mostly from the US and Russia, since November 2000. It is not owned by one single nation and is a 'co-operative programme' between Europe, the United States, Russia, Canada and Japan, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). Rogozin said in a Twitter thread that he had written to each of the participating ISS countries' space agencies in regards to their respective governments' sanctions against Russia. He shared their responses, including that of the European Space Agency, which said it would pass on the matter to all member states to discuss. 'By this time, the ISS could have died its own death,' Rogozin said. Elon Musk, left, previously said his company SpaceX would rescue the International Space Station, right, if Russia attempted to drop it from orbit after threats by Vladimir Putin's space chief 'Nevertheless, the position of our partners is clear: the sanctions will not be lifted. 'At the same time, fearing the destruction of cooperation on the ISS, where the role of Russia is of fundamental importance to ensure the viability and safety of the station, Western partners make it clear that in reality, sanctions in terms of work in the interests of the ISS will not work. I consider this state of affairs unacceptable.' Russia had already withdrawn cooperation with Germany on a space telescope - which it temporarily switched off - and experiments on the ISS. Roscosmos also pulled out of a Soyuz sharing agreement with the European Space Agency launch partner Arianespace in French Guiana. It has also threatened to withhold U.S.-built, UK-owned OneWeb satellites without a guarantee they won't be used for military purposes. OneWeb later cancelled its planned launch on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur cosmodrome. However Russia and the US were able to work together this week when NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth following a four-hour journey from the ISS alongside two Russian comonauts. A livestream shows the Soyuz MS-19 space capsule landing back to Earth with the trio on board NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei (pictured) returned to Earth March 30 following a four-hour journey from the International Space Station (ISS) alongside two Russian cosmonauts NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei (left) and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov (centre) and Pyotr Dubrov (right) returned to Earth in the Soyuz MS-19 crew ship The trio undocked from the ISS on board a Russian Soyuz capsule and landed on the steppe of Kazakhstan Despite ongoing tensions with Russia, NASA claimed that the trio were 'working professionally together without tension'. Vande Hei and Russia's Pyotr Dubrov spent a total of 359 days on the orbiting observatory after blasting off to space on April 5 last year. The pair, along with cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, undocked from the ISS on board a Russian Soyuz capsule at 03:21 EDT (08:21 BST) on March 30, and landed on the steppe of Kazakhstan at 07:28 EDT (12:28 BST). The landing zone lies roughly 250 miles (400 km) to the northeast of Russia's space launch facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 'The crew is feeling good after landing, according to rescuers,' Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin wrote on Telegram messenger. The joint US-Russian return flight from ISS was closely watched for signs that escalating tensions between Moscow and Washington over the Russian invasion of Ukraine have spilled over into longtime cooperation in space between the two former Cold War adversaries. It comes after three Russian cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station in late March wearing flight suits in the national colours of Ukraine - which many viewed as an act of defiance. The three spacemen flew to the international space station in yellow and blue suits on board the Soyuz MS21 space craft from Kazakhstan. Russia is building its own space station Russia announced in 2020 that it could withdraw from the International Space Station as early as 2025 and launch its own facility. Dmitry Rogozin, chief of the Russian space agency said work has already begun on the first module of a new station. A top Kremlin official warned that 'disaster' was looming for the ISS, putting the lives of crew members at risk due to its age - by 2025 is will be 27 years old and was originally designed to last between 15 and 30 years, according to NASA. Russia has shared images and video of the first module that will make up a core part of its new hi-tech orbital base, which is expected to include a tourist hotel. NASA has since confirmed plans to de-orbit the ISS in 2031, switching to using commercial stations instead. Advertisement The men were the first new arrivals on the space station since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine in February. Video of one of the cosmonauts taken as the capsule prepared to dock with the space station showed him wearing a blue flight suit. It was unclear what, if any, message the yellow uniforms they changed into were intended to send. Oleg Artemyev was asked about the yellow flight suits when the newly arrived cosmonauts were able to talk to family back on Earth. He said every crew chooses its own flight suits, so that they are not all the same. '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 that's why we had to wear yellow,' he said. NASA said at the beginning of March that it was exploring ways to keep the ISS in orbit without Russian help, including using commercial cargo vehicles from SpaceX and Northrup Grumman. Elon Musk's SpaceX already delivers supplies to the ISS. On December 31 it launched a new two-stage Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida for a cargo resupply mission to the station. The Falcon rocket carried a Dragon capsule loaded with more than 6,500 pounds supplies, scientific experiments and Christmas gifts for the seven astronauts who were part of Expedition 66. Several minutes after launch, the first-stage booster landed upright on an ocean platform, six years to the day that Elon Musk's company accomplished its first booster touchdown in 2015. The Dragon capsule docked at the ISS and remained there for about a month. Packed inside the capsule were Christmas presents from the astronauts' families, as well as smoked fish and turkey, green beans and fruitcake for a holiday feast. Elon Musk's SpaceX already delivers supplies to the ISS. On December 31 it launched a new two-stage Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center (pictured) in Cape Canaveral, Florida for a cargo resupply mission to the station While the US side of the ISS supplies power and life support, Russia is responsible for propulsion and keeping the station in its orbit, over 250 miles above the planet. It does this by using docked Progress spacecraft to periodically give the station a boost to maintain its altitude, and stop it falling back to the Earth. Rogozin first raised the prospect of pulling out of the partnership in February in response to US sanctions, warning that without the Progress spacecraft, the 400 ton structure would fall back to Earth without any indication of where it might land. Kathy Lueders, who heads the agency's human spaceflight program, said in March that it would be 'very difficult' to operate the ISS without Russia. 'It would be very difficult for us to be operating on our own -- ISS is an international partnership that was created...with joint dependencies,' she said. 'As a team, we are looking at where we may have operational flexibilities, but... it would be a sad day for international operations if we can't continue to peacefully operate in space,' she concluded. A symbol of post Cold War detente, the ISS has been continuously habited for more than 21 years and has weathered past geopolitical storms, notably Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014, with space excluded from sanctions at the time. China have been accused of launching a flurry of cyber attacks on Ukraine's military and nuclear infrastructure days before Russia's invasion - indicating initial support for Putin's war. Intelligence memos from the SBU, Ukraine's spy agency, claim that more than 600 websites belonging to Ukraine's ministry of defence were attacked by the Chinese government, according to The Times. Despite the Chinese government's lukewarm public reaction to the invasion of Ukraine, the move indicates prior knowledge of the invasion plans on the part of Xi Jinping's government before troops entered on February 24. The cyber attacks indicates prior knowledge of the invasion plans on the part of Xi Jinping's government before Russian troops entered Ukraine on February 24 The SBU said they had identified the source of the attack because the tools and methods used were consistent with the common tactics of the cyber warfare wing of the Chinese armed forces. Speaking to the Times, the SBU said that border defence, banking and railway infrastructure was targeted with a computer network exploitation (CNE) intended to gather information about Ukrainian weaknesses. The SBU said there was an 'increase in activity against our country's networks in mid-February' from both Russian and Chinese hackers which peaked on February 23. The agency added: 'Intrusions that are of particular concern include the CNE campaigns directed at the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate, and the Ukrainian Investigation Website focused on Hazardous Waste. 'This particular CNE attack by the Chinese cyberprogram included the launch of thousands of exploits with attempts pointed to at least 20 distinct vulnerabilities.' US intelligence sources confirmed that the Ukrainian sources were accurate to the Times but British sources would only confirm they were investigating the attack. The attacks contradict President Xi's denial that China had prior knowledge of the invasion plans and had asked Vladimir Putin to delay the war until the end of the Beijing Winter Olympics. At a meeting at the start of the Beijing Olympics, Xi and Putin signed a declaration of friendship - adding that there were 'no limits' on the scope of cooperation between the two dictatorships. Tom Hegel, a threat researcher at US-based cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, told the Times: 'It sounds like [the Chinese] didn't care that they were seen they had an objective to get in and get what they needed as quickly as possible. 'It's abnormal for a CNE-type effort, it stresses the importance of what they knew was coming.' Beijing has been careful to not outright support or condemn the invasion, fearing potential sanctions from the West if they are seen to be supporting the invasion of Ukraine. Steve Tsang, director of the Soas China Institute, told the Times: 'The number of people China has engaged in cyberoperations is enormous. A lot of them are part of the People's Liberation Army, which is part of the [Chinese Communist] party. 'We all believe that they have a cyberforce that attacks states. 'They have been more engaged in getting information rather than shutting people down. President Volodymyr Zelensky's government were provided with cyber defence support from US private contractors between October and January 'If they're working in Ukraine they're working in support of Russians. The implications of this would be they are potentially subjected to sanctions.' Sam Cranny-Evans, an intelligence and surveillance expert at the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank, said: 'The attacks suggest a certain level of collusion between Russia and China, which may prompt revised assessments of the nature of the relations between Russia and China, and the willingness of the two nations to support each other in military operations. 'It may also raise questions about what other support Beijing will provide Russia's operation in Ukraine, and the potential for this to prolong the conflict. 'At the capability level, it is interesting that the Russian security apparatus involved Chinese actors in this operation; they are typically quite capable and committed considerable resources to the intelligence operation in Ukraine in the lead-up to the conflict. The FSB for instance, had a staff of 200 personnel focused on gathering human intelligence in Ukraine, which included cyberattacks to gather information on the population.' As invasion fears mounted in October 2021, the US sent private contracts to bolster the Ukrainian cyber defences, a move which has led to successful defences of the country's digital infrastructure since the war began. Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, principal threat researcher at SentinelOne, told the Times: 'Credit to the Ukrainian government, I don't know what they've done with [their] computer emergency response team, but they are killing it. 'It's very plausible that the US government is helping or that they have other companies on the ground no one we know has owned up to that yet. There's something going on there.' Just hours before the drastic new cost-of-living bills came into place for Britons, Prime Minister Boris Johnson hosted a luxurious champagne and canapes do and joked about Partygate, a report has claimed. On Thursday night, Johnson and fellow Cabinet ministers went to Claridge's in London's Mayfair to 'schmooze' Tory donors, ahead of the life-changing rise in costs for bills and council tax for the people of the UK. The next day saw millions of ordinary Britons face an assault on their budgets because council tax, car tax, national insurance, water bills and the cost of broadband, phones and TV are all going up in April. Households are suffering a huge hit on living standards as the price of gas and electricity soars by 54 per cent this morning, as regulator Ofgem raises the price cap for an average home to 1,971 from 1,277. Experts predict it will be around 2,700-a-year from October. All the while Mr Johnson was wooing wealthy backers, with his aim to get cash for the Conservative's marginal seats funds. He also was said to have 'laughed off' the ongoing Partygate investigations by the Metropolitan Police, telling guests: 'I can assure you that you won't be sent any questionnaires for attending this event.' PM Johnson (pictured walking into Claridge's on Thursday) also was said to have 'laughed off' the ongoing Partygate investigations by the Metropolitan Police, telling guests: 'I can assure you that you won't be sent any questionnaires for attending this event' Boris, pictured walking into Claridge's Hotel, joined the remaining 150 guests at the five-star hotel, ate 'fancy canapes' and drank champagne for two hours on Thursday 31 March According to The Sun, Cabinet ministers and MPs, including Home Secretary Priti Patel were also in attendance as Parliament broke up for Easter. They joined the remaining 150 guests at the five-star hotel, ate 'fancy canapes' and drank champagne for two hours on Thursday 31 March. The Prime Minister was not seen to have joined in on the boozing. The timing of the event, as well as jokes of Partygate when Downing Street officials have been issued with the first set of 50 fines, comes on the eve of a huge hit to people's wallets. Downing Street officials who attended a boozy leaving do while indoor events were banned due to Covid have begun receiving 50 fines over the lockdown-busting party. The first fixed penalty noticed from police probing the Partygate saga arrived via email to those found to have broken the law. They relate to a party in June 2020, understood to be a leaving do for an aide, Hannah Young, who was leaving Downing Street for a Government role in the US. Cabinet ministers and MPs, including Home Secretary Priti Patel, pictured, were also in attendance as Parliament broke up for Easter The timing of the event, as well as jokes of Partygate when Downing Street officials have been issued with the first set of 50 fines, comes on the eve of a huge hit to people's wallets (Home Secretary Priti Patel pictured attending the Tory donor evening at Claridge's on Thursday) Also named as 'Bleak Friday', April 1 saw all 66million Britons face an assault on their budgets because council tax, car tax, national insurance, water bills and the cost of broadband, phones and TV are all going up in April. Food prices are also spiking and a pint of beer is up at least 20p. Social housing rents are up 20-a-month and from today people face paying 1 to 3 for a lateral flow test. There are reports that some people have taken to lighting barbecues and open fires in homes to avoid using gas or electric heating, which could cause deadly blazes and fatal carbon monoxide poisoning. Labour claims the extra annual cost to Britons will be 2,620, piling even more pressure on Rishi Sunak to step in to help. On Thursday night, Johnson and fellow Cabinet ministers went to Claridge's (pictured) in London's Mayfair to 'schmooze' Tory donors, ahead of the life-changing rise in costs for bills and council tax for the people of the UK Energy companies insist that they can do nothing to reduce increasing costs for customers with one boss admitting today that the only answer is for consumers to use less energy. Utilita founder and boss Bill Bullen that Chancellor Rishi Sunak will be forced to find billions to pay energy bills for Britain's poorest households. He said: 'There is one thing that everyone can do and that is to think about their energy consumption and change their behaviour. And if you can afford to invest in your home then do that as well. 'Energy price rises are going to hit everybody. It's going to cause everybody to make difficult decisions but some consumers are in a far worse position and this will be worse for them.' Two former Labour staffers who made complaints of sexual harassment about a senior official resigned without pay after refusing to sign gagging orders that go against the party's own policies. Laura Murray and Georgie Robertson say they were asked to sign confidentiality agreements after reporting a senior official for alleged 'inappropriate' and 'possessive' behaviour, reports the BBC. Before formally quitting the party, they were offered a settlement agreement with a confidentiality clause by Labour's lawyers, which would have prevented the pair from speaking about the harassment case and any future legal claims against the party or official. Ms Robertson said she 'refused to be silenced' by the confidentiality clause included in the deal, while Ms Murray described the fallout from the situation as 'hellish'. The party official, who was temporarily suspended in the wake of the allegations, has strongly denied both women's claims. Their lawyer, Mark Stephens, warned the non-disclosure agreements were against recommendations from the Equality and Human Rights Commission and would have violated Labour's own policies. Former Labour staffers Laura Murray (left) and Georgie Robertson say they were asked to sign confidentiality agreements after reporting a senior official for alleged 'inappropriate' and 'possessive' behaviour The pair were offered a settlement agreement, that came with a confidentiality clause by Labour's lawyers. Pictured: Sir Keir appearing with Labour councillors in Colchester, Essex Ardent Jeremy Corbyn supporters Ms Murray and Ms Robertson both joined the party under his leadership. Ms Murray was stakeholder manager in Mr Corbyn's office when he was Labour leader, and went on to be the party's head of complaints, before going into teaching. After graduating from the School of Oriental and African Studies, Ms Robertson was elected co-president of the students union and was part of the Corbyn-supporting wing of the Labour Party - even writing an article for Labour List with the headline 'Why Jeremy Corbyn is the right choice for women. At the time of the alleged harassment, several top Labour MPs, including Corbyn and Diane Abbott had publicly spoken out on non-disclosure agreements. Corbyn himself had said in a 2018 press release that he would 'commit the next Labour government to legislating to prevent making any contractual clauses (NDAs) which stop disclosure of future discrimination, harassment or victimisation'. Ms Murray, then the party's head of complaints, and Ms Robertson, a Labour press officer, submitted an initial complaint and formal grievances about the 'inappropriate behaviour' of a senior official in March 2020. Ms Murray claimed the 'overbearing and possessive' man had tried to pressure her to join him for drinks, messaged her throughout the night and made inappropriate comments regarding her personal life and attractiveness. She said: 'It was really, really obsessive levels of communication. Because I was more junior, I didn't really know how to protect myself'. Meanwhile, Ms Robertson alleged the official asked her to join him for drinks after a private event and had sought her out while she worked late. 'After rebuffing his advances, he then started to spread false rumours that I was sleeping with a married man at work,' she told the BBC. Ms Murray, then the party's head of complaints, claimed the 'overbearing and possessive' official had tried to pressure her to join him for drinks, messaged her throughout the night and made inappropriate comments regarding her personal life and attractiveness At the time they submitted formal grievances, Sir Keir Starmer had taken over the Labour leadership, and the pair insist the party failed to properly investigate their complaints The official was formally suspended by the party, but was reinstated after the women said they felt 'pressured' to withdraw their official complaints. With their futures up in the air, the pair submitted formal grievances as they attempted to leave the party for good. At the time Sir Keir Starmer had taken over the Labour leadership, and the pair insist the party failed to properly investigate their complaints. Labour were accused of never subsequently raising the formal grievances with the official in question, who has always denied the allegations against him. 'It felt like a slap in the face and just being completely thrown under the bus', Ms Robertson added. MailOnline has contacted Labour for comment. Ms Murray and Ms Robertson quit after rejecting Labour's settlement offer, that came with a 'broad confidentiality clause' attached, reports the BBC. Any signed settlement agreement would have seen them made to compensate Labour for all costs related to the party's then-leaked anti-Semitism report. They have denied being behind the leak. Both Ms Murray and Ms Robertson have recently been named as potential sources of the leaked report, which they worked on under Jeremy Corbyn's instruction. The pair have both since quit politics, with Ms Murray choosing to pursue a career as a history teacher, and councillor Ms Robertson saying she will not seek re-election. Tommy Robinson has claimed he is being deported from Mexico for 'national security reasons' after he says he was arrested while on an Easter getaway with his family. Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has shared footage of him allegedly being arrested at Cancun Airport while on a half term holiday with his three children. In clips shared to Telegram the 39-year-old films an interaction between himself and a man purported to be an immigration officer, while also showing off the 'holding cell' he is said to be held in. 'I have been arrested, separated from my kids and now I'm being deported as a matter of national security', he explains. In an interaction with Cancun Airport staff, Robinson is told the information about his arrest is 'confidential' but has come directly from the capital, Mexico City. After saying he is a journalist and pleading his case, he adds: 'I've never broken a law here. All I do at home is talk about Islam'. Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has shared footage of him allegedly being arrested at Cancun Airport while on a half term holiday with his three children In an interaction with Cancun Airport staff, Robinson is told the information about his arrest is 'confidential' but has come directly from the capital, Mexico City Robinson, who claims he was separated from his three children, is reportedly being held in Cancun Airport (pictured) Robinson, who tells his 157,000 followers he has travelled to Mexico three times and never committed a crime, questions the charges he is allegedly being deported on. 'I've never caused a problem, landed for what is clearly a family holiday, and I've been arrested, detained and separated from my kids. Several reports suggest Robinson will be sent back to England on Saturday, while he himself has said that his children's mother is having to fly out to collect the kids. MailOnline has approached Robinson for comment. It's not the first time the EDL co-founder has run into issues while abroad. In 2020, it was widely reported that he had fled to Spain following an arson attack on his wife Jenna Vowles' home. Robinson said they had got places at local schools for his three children but was still 'in the process' of finding a permanent place for them to live. He added: 'I need my family to be away because they are not safe basically.' But in a stunning u-turn, he later announced he would not be permanently moving to Spain because England 'is my home'. While he claims he has never committed a crime in Mexico, the far-right campaigner has faced prior convictions for violence, fraud and stalking in the UK. In November 2013, Robinson pleaded guilty to fraud and was jailed for 18 months. He also has convictions for stalking, assault, using someone elses passport, using threatening behaviour, and contempt of court. Robinson, who tells his 157,000 followers he has travelled to Mexico three times and never committed a crime, questions the charges he is allegedly being deported on. Pictured outside Westminster Magistrates' Court in August, 2021 Robinson is currently being pursued by creditors for an estimated 2million after he was ordered to compensate a Syrian schoolboy he wrongly accused of attacking a girl. He declared bankruptcy during a High Court libel battle brought against him last year by teenage refugee Jamal Hijazi. However, anti-racism campaigners have accused the convicted fraudster of hiding millions to avoid paying the teenager. Campaign group Hope Not Hate allege that Robinson has access to assets worth up to about 3million through property acquisitions, investments, donations and book sales. Hope Not Hates chief executive Nick Lowles said: Jamal Hijazi is a victim of Tommy Robinsons vitriol, and it is important that Robinson is held to account. It is wholly unjust that while his victims life has been turned upside down, Tommy Robinson carries on his life as before. Tommy Robinson has to understand that there are real consequences to his hate. It is time to make him pay up and ensure that his victims get proper justice. Russia has been accused of blaming its own missile failure near a fuel depot on Ukraine by Western sources. Conflict Intelligence Team, an open source investigative journalism blog based in Ukraine, says that local media in Belgorod, Russia, has been reporting that craters in the area were caused by Ukrainian missiles. The photos of the craters were geolocated by the group and verified to be near the west Russian city and had come from the north-east, which indicates it came from Russian territory. Local media in Belgorod, Russia, has been reporting that craters in the area were caused by Ukrainian missiles Conflict Intelligence Team claim that the craters of that size were more likely caused by misfiring Russian cruise missiles fired from the north-east of Belgorod - which is Russian territory The photos of the craters were geolocated by the group and verified to be near the west Russian city and had come from the north-east, which indicates it came from Russian territory The collective identified the crater as more likely to have come from a Russian 9M728 cruise missile from a Russian Iskander-M launcher The size of the crater implied that the damage to the terrain had come from cruise missiles - a weapon which Ukraine has not used in the conflict thus far. The collective identified the crater as more likely to have come from a Russian 9M728 cruise missile from a Russian Iskander-M launcher. However, this is unconfirmed with Russia unlikely to have fired a nuclear capable ballistic missile on its own soil. The group concluded that the most likely scenario was the crater was caused by the latest military equipment failure from Russian forces which was then opportunistically used to blame Ukraine. The latest claims come after the first reported attack by Ukraine on Russian soil as two helicopters were filmed attacking the Roseneft fuel depot, also in Belgorod. Regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said two of Ukraine's military helicopters flew 25 miles undetected past the Russian border at low altitude to Belgorod yesterday where they fired S-8 rockets at a Roseneft depot, causing a huge fireball to break out. Two people were injured in the Belgorod facility blaze, the Russian governor said, but they were expected to survive The oil facility is only 25 miles from the border with Ukraine, and was ablaze on Friday morning Firefighters try to tackle the huge blaze at the oil depot this morning as plumes of black smoke billow from the site But some have theorised that this could be a false-flag attack in order to justify escalation of the conflict or a Russian withdrawal from peace talks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: 'Of course, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of negotiations.' Ukraine foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said: 'I can neither confirm nor reject the claim that Ukraine was involved in this simply because I do not possess all the military information.' Gladkov, who was appointed by Vladimir Putin in 2020. said the air strike, which would be the first on Russian soil since WWII, injured two workers and parts of the city have been evacuated. Photos on social media appeared to show the oil facility in Belgorod ablaze in the early hours of Friday Video shared on social media appeared to show the attack happening at 5.43am local time, followed by helicopters flying away from the blaze, although analysts have noted Russia uses the same time of helicopters as Ukraine. Ukraine's government is yet to confirm the incident but if true, it would be the second time Ukraine has ventured past the border since the invasion following the alleged long-range missile attack on Millerovo airbase last month, in the latest humiliation for Putin in his flailing campaign. But last week, an exiled Russian politician claimed the Kremlin is plotting a wave of attacks on its own cities in a false flag operation led by the FSB that it will blame on Ukraine to justify a general mobilisation of troops. Ilya Ponomarev, 46, said the Russian security service is preparing to target its own chemical and weapons factories in attacks that could see civilians die. A 600kg bullock had to be hoisted out of a swimming pool he fell into after the young bovine escaped a local field on a farm in Devon. The very cold bovine needed three crews from Paignton, Torquay and Exmouth fire stations to hoist it from deep water in the Paignton area of South Devon. It is now 'safe and well' after being pulled from the pool using a harness while a vet waited in the wings to keep an eye on the wellbeing of the animal and offer their advice. A young bullock ended up stuck in a pool in Paignton, South Devon, after escaping from a farm Three fire crews and a vet were called to help hoist the bullock from a nearby swimming pool The bullock was up to his neck in the dark waters, but remained calm while firefighters executed the late night rescue mission in the dark. Rob Cude, group manager at Devon and Somerset fire service said: 'The plan of action was to feed webbing strops under the (bullock) after getting him in the corner of the pool, then bring in a telehandler and lift him out supported comfortably. 'Whilst this was ongoing, a local farmer positioned a cattle trailer ready for him to move straight into. 'The operation went very smoothly, (bullock) lifted, moved to the trailer, and was then held in the harness for a few minutes until he could support himself again. A pool in Paignton, South Devon, had to be partially drained after the bovine fell in 'By this time, he had been in the pool for three to fours hours and was very cold, with obviously numb legs.' Mr Cude said the animal coped well in the water, which was partially drained. He added: 'He did spend quite some time with his nose just below the surface blowing bubbles, which he seemed to enjoy. Crews from Paignton, Torquay and Exmouth fire stations were called to hoist the bullock out 'When they started pumping out the water, he seemed to swim along the pool and investigate the pump. 'All (were) relieved to see him safe and well. A really good outcome for one very cold young bullock.' After the bullock was released from the harnessed he was transported in a cattle trailer to a local farm to relax after his quick dip. Bullocks can grow to be as heavy as 1,000kg and are usually aggressive in nature, which is why it was a shock to the fire crews handling the calm bovine. An EasyJet flight that departed from London Gatwick has been forced into an emergency landing mid-flight today. Flight U28569, bound for Barcelona, departed the London terminal around 30 minutes later than expected before being forced into a mid-air divert in France. It then descended rapidly before safely landing at Charles de Gaulle airport at around 11am GMT. Live data tracking from FlightRadar24 showed the moment the plane started to rapidly descend above Loches, Northern France. An EasyJet spokesman told MailOnline: 'We can confirm that flight EJU8569 from London Gatwick to Barcelona today diverted to Paris due to a passenger on board requiring urgent medical assistance. 'The passenger was met by medical services on arrival and the flight will continue to Barcelona. 'The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew is always our highest priority. We would like to thank our passengers for their understanding.' An EasyJet flight that departed from London Gatwick has been forced into an emergency landing at Charles de Gaulle airport, Paris while mid-flight on Saturday An 'ashamed' Jet2 passenger who was thrown off a flight for screaming at cabin crew and allegedly slapping passengers has written an apology letter to the airline after she was banned for life. Catherine Bush went viral last week when footage emerged of her 'aggressive and dangerous' outburst on a flight from Manchester to Antalya, Turkey. The plane was forced to land in Vienna, Austria, where Ms Bush, of Cleckheaton, west Yorkshire, was met by police before later being handed a 5,000 fine by Jet2. In a letter to the airline, which she shared online, Ms Bush said she was taken to a psychiatric ward after attempting to take her own life. She said there will 'never be an excuse' for her behaviour, adding that she was 'embarrassed' by the incident. She wrote: 'When I was removed from the aircraft and released by the Austrian authorities I sadly tried to commit suicide and was stopped by Austrian police who then took me to a psychiatric ward in Vienna. Catherine Bush (pictured) went viral last week when footage emerged of her 'aggressive and dangerous' outburst on a flight from Manchester to Antalya, Turkey The row was said to have been sparked by the noise of children crying and people allegedly looking at Ms Bush funny an hour and a half after leaving Manchester The plane was forced to land in Vienna, Austria, where Ms Bush (pictured during outburst), of Cleckheaton, west Yorkshire, was met by police before later being handed a 5,000 fine by Jet2 'I was strapped down to the bed by my arms and legs and given strong sedatives because I was so hysterical, and a danger to myself and others. 'I was there just over a day before I was allowed out of my restraints. 'The psychiatric nurse told me I had, had a psychotic episode. 'I have experienced psychosis before due to my mental health and it was very scary and confusing for me.' Ms Bush made it clear that she was not making excuses for her behaviour. She added: 'There will never be an excuse to justify what happened and I wholeheartedly hold my hands up and take full responsibility for my actions. 'I know it is no excuse, but I do suffer with severe mental health issues, I have anxiety, depression and a personality disorder. 'I would like to reiterate that this will never justify my actions on board that aircraft but I felt I had to let you know how difficult it is for me to do the most simple of tasks, things ordinary people take for granted. 'I am again feeling suicidal and overwhelmed by the whole situation. Jet2.com fined Catherine Bush, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, 5,000 after she yelled at cabin crew and allegedly slapped passengers 'I am so embarrassed and ashamed with myself it's becoming too much to bear but at least I'm in good hands with some friends here, who are making me feel a bit better about the whole situation. 'Again I apologise from the bottom of my heart that I caused so many people distress.' MailOnline has contacted Jet2 for comment. Shocking footage showed Ms Bush grow unruly around halfway through the flight. She squared up to staff and witnesses claimed she slapped other customers, forcing the plane to be diverted via Vienna so she could be kicked off. A source told MailOnline Ms Bush had been on her way to get 20 zirconium veneers costing 3,000. The friend said: 'I was with Catherine in the pub at the weekend. She told me she was excited about going to Turkey. 'She said that she had scraped together 3,000 from her savings for cosmetic surgery on her teeth. She was going to have them whitened.' Ms Bush squared up to staff and witnesses claimed she slapped other customers, forcing the plane to be diverted via Vienna so she could be kicked off Managing Director of Jet2.com Phil Ward said: 'Ms Bush displayed a continued pattern of appalling behaviour on the flight and she must now face up to the consequences of her actions. 'We have always made it abundantly clear that, as a family friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to such behaviour and that we will vigorously pursue any costs incurred as a result of such an incident. 'Although such incidents are very rare, it is unacceptable that our customers and crew should have to experience it. 'We would like to apologise to anyone who had to experience this behaviour and we would like to commend our highly-trained crew for their exceptional handling of this difficult situation.' Jet2.com said it would fully support any investigation. The row was said to have been sparked by the noise of children crying and people allegedly looking at Ms Bush funny an hour and a half after leaving Manchester. She is believed to have walked to the front of the plane to confront other passengers before launching a verbal attack on the cabin crew. Witness Samantha Fearon, from Littleborough, Greater Manchester, said Ms Bush then tried to get off the plane mid-flight. She told Yorkshire Live: 'She was ragging at the door, saying 'get me off this f***ing plane - let me off now'. It was just so shocking.' Ms Feardon said she was worried and feared for her own life when the passenger took such drastic action. She added: 'My first thought was why did I pick the seat at the front - I am going to go out of the door first. That did worry me.' Another passenger said Ms Bush became disruptive 'about an hour and 20 minutes' into the flight. She told the MeN: 'There was lots of noise. Then she came to the front of the plane. She was really angry towards Jet2 staff and wouldn't calm down. 'Her voice was getting louder and more aggressive - she was shouting in people's faces. 'People were saying she was kicking off at the airport before she even got on the plane. Then some people said it was over babies crying on the flight. 'A customer said something and she slapped him in the face. Then a man got up to try and calm the situation before taking her to the back of the plane.' The flight had to be diverted to the Austrian capital so the woman could be removed, arriving at 11.40am. As the plane landed, the woman was said to have slapped another passenger as she was getting off. Jet2 sent a text message to passengers onboard the flight just before 12pm, apologising for the incident. (stock image) A witness said: 'This is the first time we have had to land because of someone on a flight. 'Jet2 staff handled the whole situation very well. Nobody could help the out-of-control woman once she slapped the passenger.' Jet2 sent a text message to passengers onboard the flight just before 12pm, apologising for the incident. It said: 'Hello, we are sorry that due to the disruptive behaviour of a fellow passenger, your flight has been diverted to Vienna.' The message added: 'We are working on a situation to get you on your way as soon as possible.' The flight left Vienna at 1pm before arriving at Antalya just after 3pm - an hour and 15 minutes later than scheduled. Jet2 said: 'We can confirm that flight LS895 from Manchester to Antalya diverted to Vienna earlier today so that a disruptive passenger could be offloaded. 'As a family friendly airline, we take a zero tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour.' For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116 123 or go to www.samaritans.org. GPs will be paid for prescribing hormone therapy and providing annual health checks to transgender patients. In the first programme of its kind for the UK, family doctors in Sussex will be given 178 every year, for every adult which they prescribe cross-sex hormone therapy. They can also claim another 91 each year for providing a transgender, non-binary or intersex patient with an annual health check. The new scheme was launched yesterday and aims to lower the currently-high rates of long-term physical and mental health problems for these patients, who have notably low levels of satisfaction with care provided by the NHS. After referrals to gender identity clinics rose by a staggering 240 per cent, the dedicated health centres now have wait lists that are years-long. But for people who were referred to the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust in north west London in December 2017, the clinic is now offering first appointments. The scheme is set to run for three years across Brighton and Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex initially, with participating GPs required to take up two-and-a-half hours of online training. Campaigners for trans rights are said to have welcomed the programme. GPs in the UK will be paid 178 for prescribing cross-sex hormone therapy and 91 for providing annual health checks to transgender patients, in the first programme of its kind for the country (file photo) However, according to The Times, the Sussex-based scheme is 'not designed to promote the initiation of hormonal treatment in general practice', but rather provide 'interim support' to patients on the waiting list and 'improve access' to hormone therapy. Concerns are that although GPs can provide medicines to transgender patients, they could be given without the appropriate psychological support. This could add pressure to family doctors who would already be undertaking extra training to prescribe hormones for people who are transitioning. GPs will also have to keep an eye on patients who are taking treatments to ensure it is being done so safely, including carrying out blood tests. Transgender women will get hormones to help with the feminisation process, such as oestrogen, and transgender men given testosterone to boost masculinisation. Trans woman and advocate Debbie Hayton, who transitioned in 2012, spoke of her uncertainty in the level of psychological support with the new scheme, describing it as 'desperate measures for desperate times'. The new scheme was launched yesterday and aims to lower the currently-high rates of long-term physical and mental health problems for these patients, who have notably low levels of satisfaction with care provided by the NHS (file photo) The 54-year-old woman argued that the GP programme would end up leading more patients to start taking cross-sex hormones even if it is 'not the intended outcome'. She told The Times: 'When I transitioned I had an hour with a therapist every week for months. That's what I needed to understand myself. 'An annual review is a pale shadow of that.' Surgeries who are participating in the scheme are required to make a register of anyone who is considered transgender, non-binary or intersex. A spokeswoman for Sussex Commissioners said: 'Transgender, non-binary and intersex (TNBI) people experience significant health inequalities something we are committed to tackling.' Sasha Misra, associate director of communications and campaigns at Stonewall, told MailOnline: Trans healthcare in the UK is under resourced and oversubscribed. 'Trans people face waiting times of up to four years to access vital healthcare services at specialist Gender Identity Clinics, while those who are referred today will likely have even longer waits. When trying to access care in community settings, many trans people report that local GPs lack the knowledge and confidence needed to support trans people's basic needs, and tend to refer to specialist services for simple matters. 'With enough capacity and training, schemes like this could ensure trans people can access the specialist care they need in their local community and without the lengthy wait. A Sydney father of three and financial executive is the fifth victim to be identified in Victoria's horror Mount Disappointment helicopter crash. Nicholas Vasudeva, co-founder and managing director of First AG Capital, was one of five people who perished in the chopper crash north-east of Melbourne on Thursday morning. The financial solutions company released a statement on Saturday afternoon and expressed condolences to Mr Vasudeva's wife and three children. Nicholas Vasudeva (pictured), co-founder and managing director of First AG Captial, has been identified as the fifth victim of a horror helicopter crash on Victoria's Mount Disappointment 'Nicholas was an inspiring individual, with a storied career in both Australia and the United Kingdom at a number of Law Firms and Financial Institutions,' the statement reads. 'He was a true gentleman with a great sense of humour who was well loved by all his colleagues, associates and family and will be missed dearly. 'Our most heartfelt condolences to his wife, and three children, extended family and friends as well as the families of the four people who lost their lives.' Ian Perry and his colleague and CEO Linda Woodford (pictured) were on the chopper along with helicopter pilot Dean Neal, 32, and Radford's Abattoir chairman Paul Troja, 73 Mr Vasudeva was also a director of the not-for-profit Integrated Specialist Healthcare Education and Research Foundation. The financial executive from Bellevue Hill in Sydneys east was travelling by helicopter with colleagues for a routine property inspection. AXIchain finance consultant Ian Perry and his colleague and CEO Linda Woodford, 50, were also onboard the chopper along with helicopter pilot Dean Neal, 32, and Radford's Abattoir chairman Paul Troja, 73. Dean Neal, 32, had four passengers on board, including Radford's Abattoir chairman Paul Troja, in his care AXIchain released a statement labelling Mr Perry as a 'respected member' of the agricultural industry and Ms Woodford as a driven 'visionary'. The company issued the statement shortly before it emerged Ms Woodford had made a haunting Facebook post about the helicopter before the doomed flight. 'Linda was a driven visionary and an eternal optimist and will be deeply missed by all that knew her,' AXIchain said on Friday. Ms Woodford's last Facebook post had the chilling message with a wink emoji: 'The transport to work today ... a little different 'Ian was a respected member of the agricultural industry and a committed family man and will be sorely missed by all that knew him. Mr Perry was described on the AXIchain website as a 'passionate' finance consultant who had a 'deep understanding' of the agriculture industry. 'Ian's aim is to work towards embedding new technologies in traditional finance products to improve the customer experience,' the website read. His previous roles included Head of Agribusiness, ANZ Corporate & Institutional Banking and Executive General Manager Financial Services for Ruralco Holdings and Nutrien. Ms Woodford had made one final Facebook post before boarding the helicopter with Mr Perry and the other passengers. 'The transport to work today ... a little different,' she wrote with a wink emoji. Ms Woodford had been the Melbourne-based chief executive of agriculture trading firm AXIchain since 2018 and for the past decade had also been the director of Kaizen Consulting, a blockchain technology company. In another twist, her family was already dealing with the loss of her sister-in-law shortly before this tragedy in rugged bushland during a trip to inspect land. Paul Troja (pictured), the chairman of Radford's Abattoir in Warragul, was killed when the helicopter he was riding in crashed at Mt Disappointment on Thursday A blue tarpaulin is set up over wreckage found in the Mount Disappointment bushland following the helicopter crash on Thursday Her friend Martin Gibson posted a tribute to her, alongside the haunting social media post put up shortly before the crash. 'Yesterday my lovely friend of 25 years Linda Woodford posted pics of her taking a helicopter to work from downtown Melbourne,' he said. 'It was yet another proud moment for me, having watched her build a fantastic, innovative and world-leading blockchain company. 'Her success came after relentless work and picking herself up after many failures. 'Sadly her flight ended in a crash into Mount Disappointment in Victoria, and it claimed the lives of all five people on board, including Linda's.' Mr Gibson remembered her as a 'beautiful, fun-loving and genuinely compassionate soul'. Her friend Martin Gibson posted a tribute to Linda Woodford (pictured), alongside the haunting social media post put up shortly before the crash Mr Gibson remembered his friend as a 'beautiful, fun-loving and genuinely compassionate soul' 'Such a loss, and such a shame for this to happen just as all her hard work was really paying off, and as her family are still dealing with the loss of her sister-in-law, whose children she had treated like her own,' he said. 'She packed a lot into her half century, and she'll leave a big hole in so many people's lives, including mine.' Another friend Miriam van Heusden, the founder of the Maralytics marketing group, said she was 'devastated beyond words'. 'We lost someone that was truly amazing yesterday, Linda Woodford, lifetime best friend of my sister and founder of Axichain, died in the horror helicopter crash in regional Victoria,' she said on Facebook. Ms Woodford's company AXIchain had developed technology to buy, sell and keep track of livestock. Her brother Dougal told Nine News the family had 'never felt emotional pain like this'. Mr Neal was a 'conscientious, professional pilot [who] always put the safety and wellbeing of his passengers in the highest of his priorities', his devastated family said in a statement on Friday afternoon The pilot involved in a devastating helicopter crash has been remembered as 'remarkable' and 'highly respected'. Dean Neal, 32, had four passengers on board. His father Rodney Neal read out a statement on Friday afternoon describing his son as a 'conscientious, professional pilot [who] always put the safety and wellbeing of his passengers in the highest of his priorities'. 'Our broken hearts go to the family's and friends of those who were flying with him,' he said. 'Your unspeakable loss is understood by us all. We know Dean would have done anything in his power to deliver his passengers safely to their destination.' Mr Neal was working for Microflite Helicopter Services, a family-owned business based in Victoria that offers private flights and premium tours Mr Neal was working for Microflite Helicopter Services, a family-owned business based in Victoria that offers private flights and premium tours. Microflite executive general manager Rod Higgins said in a statement the pilot was 'highly respected'. 'The service had been travelling as part of a two-aircraft charter when it lost communication with the second aircraft just after 8am,' he said. He flew everywhere from Uluru in the Northern Territory to Hamilton Island in Queensland and has been a qualified pilot since 2016. Mr Neal was trained to provide specialist bushfire support from the skies and patrolled beaches on behalf of Surf Life Saving Victoria. He also flew news crews covering some of the nation's biggest stories. Paul Troja, the chairman of Radfords Abattoir in Warragul, was also killed when the helicopter crashed. Mr Neal was trained to provide specialist bushfire support from the skies and patrolled beaches on behalf of Surf Life Saving Victoria Mr Neal flew everywhere from Uluru in the Northern Territory to Hamilton Island in Queensland and has been a qualified pilot since 2016 The 73-year-old Albert Park man was well known within the agricultural industry. Radfords is a family owned business operating out of the West Gippsland region. Avlaw Aviation consulting managing director Ron Bartsch said it was still too soon to determine the actual cause of the crash. Mr Bartsch said the helicopter flight operator Microflite had a near perfect safety record and there was only one possible explanation for the crash. 'The aircraft is a very common type of aircraft,' he told Channel Nine's Today on Friday. 'Six passenger aircraft, very reliable. Avlaw Aviation consulting managing director Ron Bartsch said it was still too soon to determine the actual cause of the crash at Mount Disappointment on Thursday A pilot and their four passengers died after the aircraft crashed near the popular picnic grounds at Blair's Hut 'The company indeed has a very good safety record and is very well managed with new aircraft. 'Really at this stage, without speculating, weather is probably the main consideration at this stage.' Mount Disappointment recorded a high of 21C and winds of up to 36km/h. Controlled forestry burns were being carried out in the area while there was also low cloud coverage throughout the day. Mr Bartsch warned 'it may be some time' before investigators determined the exact cause of the crash. Mr Bartsch warned 'it may be some time' before investigators determined the exact cause of the crash (pictured, a tree split in half near the crash site) 'Unlike larger air transport aircraft, these aircrafts are not always fitted with black boxes, flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder,' he said. 'I know the Australian Transport Safety Bureau is on the scene. Normally they will hand down a preliminary report in six to seven weeks.' The helicopter was one of two that left the Melbourne City Helipad on Thursday morning, flying in convoy over Mount Disappointment. Ambulance Victoria received a report of an incident at 9.35am that morning. A police helicopter and air ambulance were sent to search for the missing chopper but the terrain hampered their efforts until 11.45am on Thursday when the wreckage was finally located. A police helicopter, five Country Fire Authority vehicles and paramedics, including the air ambulance, were dispatched to the area on Thursday Mr Higgins said the incident was reported to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority as per industry protocols. 'We will work with the relevant authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation into this incident,' he said. The helicopter had picked up the meat farmers from Melbourne City Helipad before reportedly heading north to purchase cattle. The second helicopter returned to Morrabbin Airport safely with all onboard accounted for and uninjured. Smoke (pictured) from controlled forestry burns in the area and low cloud cover hampered initial search efforts on Thursday Five Country Fire Authority vehicles, police and paramedics, including the air ambulance, were on scene at the crash site of the downed helicopter on Thursday. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is also investigating and has sent a team from its Canberra and Melbourne offices with expertise in helicopter operations and maintenance, and aerospace engineering, to the site. The experts will inspect the wreckage and site surrounds before retrieving any relevant components to take them to Canberra for further examination. The ATSB will also analyse any recorded data and conduct interviews with those who have knowledge of the flight. A preliminary report from the watchdog is expected in about six to eight weeks. Dame Cressida Dick has confirmed the date she will finally step down from the Metropolitan Police after a string of recent scandals forced her to quit. The Mayor's Office for Police and Crime has agreed that Dame Cressida's last day in post will be Sunday April 10. Dame Cressida announced her resignation in February after Mr Khan's aides indicated that he had no confidence in her ability to shake-up her force after a series of scandals, including murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens. The embattled Police Commissioner, 61, will step down for good later this month and be succeeded by Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House, who is expected to take over the Partygate probe into events in Westminster during lockdown. Priti Patel confirmed Sir Stephen, Police Scotland's former Chief Constable, will lead the force during its most torrid time in recent memory until a successor is appointed in the summer. Sir Stephen had his own career mired in controversy after it was claimed he was effectively forced out of Police Scotland after a botched investigation into a car crash saw a woman left inside the debris of her vehicle for three days before being found alive - despite a member of the public alerting the police. Police Scotland was eventually fined 100,000 for health and safety failures over the fatal crash in September. They also paid 1 million compensation to Ms Bells family. Further criticism came his way in the wake of Police Scotland's policy on firearms and their officers use of stop and search. In the past, Sir Stephen has reserved strong words for Extinction Rebellion's eco warrior protestors, telling MPs their tactics were 'a flipping nuisance'. The embattled Police Commissioner (left) will step down for good on April 10 and be succeeded by Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House (right) Sir Stephen had his own career mired in controversy after it was claimed he was effectively forced out of Police Scotland after a botched investigation into a car crash saw a woman left inside the debris of her vehicle for three days before being found alive Further criticism came his way in the wake of Police Scotland's policy on firearms and their officers use of stop and search. In the past, he has reserved strong words for Extinction Rebellion's eco warrior protestors, telling MPs their tactics were 'a flipping nuisance' Sir Steve House: Who is the Met's new top cop? Dame Cressida Dick will be succeeded by Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House, who is expected to take over the Partygate probe into events in Westminster during lockdown. Sir Stephen, Police Scotland's former Chief Constable, had his own career mired in controversy after it was claimed he was effectively kicked out of the force after a botched investigation into a car crash saw a woman left inside her vehicle for three days before being found alive. Sir Stephen House Lamara Bell and John Yuill lay in their car for three days despite a member of the public calling Police Scotland's non-emergency line to report a damaged vehicle. Miss Bell was still alive when emergency services finally arrived, but later died in hospital. Police Scotland was eventually fined 100,000 for health and safety failures over the fatal crash last September. He stood down and retired in 2015 following the incident, but it was later claimed he was effectively sacked by Nicola Sturgeon over the incident, her former aide Noel Dolan wrote in a bombshell book last year. Sir Stephen has also faced criticism from Lib Dem MP and former police officer Wendy Chamberlain, who told the Evening Standard he was a 'completely unsuitable' candidate to lead the Met. 'After so many scandals, the Met desperately needs strong new leadership to rebuild public trust. 'Putting it in the hands of someone who left his own trail of scandals in Police Scotland is not the way to do that.' Advertisement Home Secretary Priti Patel has since promised a review will be carried out by the Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Tom Winsor into the handling of the police chief's resignation. London's Mayor Sadiq Khan will also work with the Home Secretary to appoint a new commissioner 'to address the deep cultural issues facing the Met Police Service', his office added. A spokesman for Mr Khan said: 'The mayor thanks Dame Cressida Dick for her decades of public service. 'The mayor has been clear that candidates for the next commissioner must have a plan to restore the trust and confidence of Londoners.' Miss Patel insisted Sir Stephen will provide 'stability and continuity' for the Met. Before joining the force, Dame Cressida's successor, Sir Stephen House, had a career with Police Scotland that was dogged by controversy after the force was heavily criticised over the deaths of two people in a car crash on the M9 motorway. Lamara Bell and John Yuill lay in their car for three days despite a member of the public calling Police Scotland's non-emergency line to report a damaged vehicle. Miss Bell was still alive when emergency services finally arrived, but later died in hospital. He stood down and retired in 2015 following the incident, but it was later claimed he was effectively sacked by Nicola Sturgeon over the incident, her former aide Noel Dolan wrote in a bombshell book last year. Sir Stephen has also faced criticism from Lib Dem MP and former police officer Wendy Chamberlain, who told the Evening Standard he was 'completely unsuitable' to lead the Met. She explained: 'After so many scandals, the Met desperately needs strong new leadership to rebuild public trust. 'Putting it in the hands of someone who left his own trail of scandals in Police Scotland is not the way to do that.' A spokesperson for Sir Stephen declined to respond to Ms Chamberlain's letter. Dame Cressida will take unused annual leave after April 10, with her last day of employment being Sunday April 24. It comes after it was claimed City Hall launched an abortive bid to gag Dame Cressida and slash her rumoured 500,000 payoff. Sadiq Khan's aides are said to have wanted her to sign a confidentiality clause after her dramatic early resignation. Couple John Yuill, 28, and Lamara Bell, 25, died after a crash on the M9 near Stirling. Ms Bell was found '100% conscious' three days after the collision was reported to officers, who failed to investigate Priti Patel (pictured earlier this month) confirmed Sir Stephen House will cover the role until a successor is appointed in the summer Sadiq Khan (pictured), who announced he had lost confidence in the Met commissioner last month, reportedly vetoed the decision to try and make Cressida Dick sign a confidentiality clause String of disasters at the Met under Dame Cressida's watch April 2017: Appointed as first female Metropolitan Police commissioner. April 2019: Extinction Rebellion protesters bring London to a standstill over several days with the Met powerless to prevent the chaos. September 2019: Her role in setting up of a probe into alleged VIP child sex abuse and murder based on testimony from Carl Beech (right) is revealed but she declines to answer questions. 2020: Official report into Operation Midland said Met was more interested in covering up mistakes than learning from them. February 2021: Lady Brittan condemns the culture of 'cover up and flick away' in the Met. The same month a freedom of information request reveals an extraordinary spin campaign to ensure Dame Cressida was not 'pulled into' the scandal. March: Criticised for Met handling of a vigil for Sarah Everard, where officers arrested four attendees. Details would later emerge about how Wayne Couzens (right), used his warrant card to trick her. In the first six months of the year, London was on course for its worst year for teenage deaths 30 with knives being responsible for 19 out of the 22 killed so far. The youngest was 14-year-old Fares Matou, cut down with a Samurai sword. Dame Cressida had told LBC radio in May her top priority was tackling violent crime. June: A 20million report into the Daniel Morgan murder brands the Met 'institutionally corrupt' and accuses her of trying to block the inquiry. Dame Cressida rejects its findings. Mr Morgan is pictured below. July: Police watchdog reveals three Met officers being probed over alleged racism and dishonesty. The same month the Yard boss is at the centre of another storm after it emerged she was secretly referred to the police watchdog over comments she made about the stop and search of Team GB sprinter Bianca Williams. Also in July she finds herself under fire over her woeful security operation at the Euro 2020 final at Wembley where fans without tickets stormed the stadium and others used stolen steward vests and ID lanyards to gain access. August Dame Cressida facing a potential misconduct probe over her open support for Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Horne who could stand trial over alleged data breaches. December: Two police officers who took pictures of the bodies of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman (right) were jailed for two years and nine months each. Pc Deniz Jaffer and Pc Jamie Lewis were assigned to guard the scene overnight after Ms Henry, 46, and Ms Smallman, 27, were found dead in bushes in Fryent Country Park, Wembley, north-west London. Instead, they breached the cordon to take photographs of the bodies, which were then shared with colleagues and members of the public on WhatsApp. December: Dame Cressida apologises to the family of a victim of serial killer Stephen Port (right). Officers missed several chances to catch him after he murdered Anthony Walgate in 2014. Dame Cressida - who was not commissioner at the time of the murder - told Mr Walgate's mother: 'I am sorry, both personally and on behalf of The Met had police listened to what you said, things would have turned out a lot differently'.' January 2022: She faces a barrage of fresh criticism for seeking to 'muzzle' Sue Gray's Partygate report by asking her to make only 'minimal' references to parties the Met were investigating. February 2022: Details of messages exchanged by officers at Charing Cross Police Station, which included multiple references to rape, violence against women, racist and homophobic abuse, are unveiled in a watchdog report. Advertisement Home Secretary Priti Patel confirmed during the week that the circumstances of Dame Cressidas resignation will be reviewed by the outgoing chief inspector of constabulary Sir Tom Winsor. The Home Office said the review, to begin on April 1 and expected to finish by the summer, will aim to established why she stepped down, consider whether due process was followed and include recommendations to strengthen future accountability and due process checks. Dame Cressida quit last month after an avalanche of scandals, including the Sarah Everard murder, Daniel Morgan's death and Carl Beech's VIP child sex abuse claims. It followed the London mayor saying he was not happy with her response to offensive messages by a group of officers based at Charing Cross police station. It is not clear who will take over from her, but anti-terror chief Neil Basu, ex-Merseyside chief Andy Cooke and Northern Ireland's Simon Byrne are in the running. Whoever does is likely to take on the Partygate inquiry, which has seen mandarins across Westminster being interviewed by police. Britain's top civil servant Simon Case was probed over the alleged lockdown-breaking parties in Whitehall, it was reported last week. In a written statement to the Commons on Monday, Ms Patel confirmed Sir Stephen would temporarily take over as head of the force until the next commissioner is in. She said: 'Dame Cressida Dick will conclude her tenure as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service in April. 'She deserves our profound gratitude for her decades of public service and leadership in policing, as well as our best wishes for the future. 'Dame Cressida has shown exceptional dedication to fighting crime in London and beyond throughout her time as Commissioner, as the first woman to hold the role of Commissioner. 'The circumstances in which the outgoing MPS Commissioner is leaving her role warrant a closer look at the legislation which governs the suspension and removal of the Commissioner. 'I am pleased to announce that Sir Tom Winsor will be undertaking a formal review into the circumstances and implications of Dame Cressida's departure.' The Home Office said the review, to begin on April 1 and expected to finish by the summer, will aim to establish and assess the full facts, timeline of events and circumstances which resulted in the stepping aside of Dame Cressida. It will also consider whether due process was followed and include recommendations on how accountability and due process may be strengthened. Dame Cressida quit after Mr Khan was furious at her handling of racist, misogynist and homophobic messages shared by a group of officers based at Charing Cross. Her resignation, hours after she said in a media interview she had no intention of quitting, was greeted with dismay by many officers but critics were chuffed. Deputy commissioner Sir Stephen wrote to Ms Patel calling for a review of Dame Cressida's treatment by Mr Khan, saying due process had not been followed. Ms Patel's written statement added: 'The Metropolitan Police Service faces major challenges and needs to demonstrate sustained improvements in order to regain public trust in London and nationally. 'It is vital that we get the right person for the biggest leadership role in policing in this country. 'I will shortly launch the process to recruit a new Commissioner and anticipate that it will conclude in the summer. 'I will then make my formal recommendation to Her Majesty the Queen. My recommendation will pay regard to the views of the mayor of London, as occupant of the mayor's office for policing and crime. 'In the immediate term following Dame Cressida's departure, legislation enables the deputy commissioner, Sir Steve House, to exercise temporarily the powers and duties of the Commissioner. 'Sir Steve and the mayor of London must drive improvement even before the next Commissioner is in place to ensure that the Metropolitan Police Service restores trust and takes every necessary action to keep the public safe.' Last night it was claimed Mr Khan overruled the idea of gagging Dame Cressida. But there has also been an 'acrimonious' row over the size of her payout. The terms of her departure have yet to be finalised with claims about the latest wrangling in The Times. Despite Mr Khan arguing Dame Cressida was not legally entitled to compensation of 500,000 because she had not signed an extension to her contract, she is said to have held firm and is expected to get a large sum. A City Hall source said an agreement is expected to be reached in due course, which will allow the Home Office to begin the process to recruit a successor. A spokesman said: 'Public trust in the Met Police is at the lowest level on record, following a series of devastating scandals including the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer and the overt racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia and discrimination exposed at Charing Cross Police Station and the appalling strip search of a Black schoolchild where the Child Safeguarding review found that race was a factor. 'It was against this backdrop that the Mayor lost confidence in the ability of the current Met Commissioner to lead the deep-rooted change needed. 'The Mayor will now work with the Home Secretary to appoint a new Commissioner who understands the depths of the problems faced by the force and has a plan to restore the trust and confidence of Londoners.' Another private jet with links to Russian oligarchs has been grounded in the UK as moves to sanction Vladimir Putin's supporters continue with the West putting Moscow under mounting economic pressure. The Department for Transport said it has issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) to prevent the aircraft from taking off from London Luton Airport. The British transport minister has meanwhile claimed that he won't tolerate those who have profited from Vladimir Putin's support carry on without consequence. Grants Shapps (pictured) has claimed that he won't tolerate those who have profited from Vladimir Putin's support carry on without consequence. The DfT said it would not be commenting on the aircraft's ownership while it investigates as Mr Shapps made his remarks In a tweet Grants Shapps today said: 'We 'won't stand by and watch those who've made millions through (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's patronage live their lives in peace as innocent blood is shed.' The aircraft will remain at the airport while officials investigate further whether it falls under the recent sanctions legislation banning all aircraft connected with Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine. The DfT said it would not be commenting on the aircraft's ownership while it investigates. The Department for Transport said it has issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) to prevent the aircraft from taking off from London Luton Airport (pictured) The department has already detained one private helicopter belonging to HeliCo Group LLC and two private jets. The two jets belong to Eugene Shvidler, a sanctioned billionaire business associate of Roman Abramovich. Earlier this week Britain put new legal powers in place which prohibits maintenance on aircraft and ships belonging to specific sanctioned oligarchs or their businesses. Mr Shapps said the 'legislation adds new routes at our disposal to deprive oligarchs' access to their luxury toys'. MailOnline has reached out to London Luton Airport for more information. It comes after the grounding of a private jet with possible links to Russia on March 19. In that incident, the Cessna aircraft was blocked from taking off from London Biggin Hill Airport while it was investigated to see whether it fell foul of sanctions banning all Russian-linked aircraft. On March 8, a private jet suspected of being linked to a Russian oligarch was impounded at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire hours before it was due to fly to Dubai. The aircraft was detained on the orders of Mr Shapps to enable an investigation into its connection with billionaire oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler, a friend of Roman Abramovich. A Government source said Mr Shvidler, who was later added to the UK's sanctions list, was 'free to continue his journey by other means' after the plane was impounded. Mr Shapps announced on March 8 that he was making it a criminal offence for planes owned, operated or chartered by Russians, including private jets, to enter UK airspace following Mr Putin's invasion of Ukraine. A 38 million superyacht was also detained in London this week. UK officials boarded Phi - owned by a Russian businessman - in Canary Wharf, east London, on Tuesday. The vessel was the first to be detained in the UK under sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine. Mr Shapps told the PA news agency at the time that the boat was in London for a 'refit' but 'won't be going anywhere'. He said: 'It's just another indication that we will not stand by whilst Putin's cronies are allowed to sail around the world in these kinds of yachts and people in Ukraine are suffering. 'When you see what he's doing to Ukraine, when you see what he's doing to people's lives, it can't be right to have a yacht like this here in London, able to just sail away, and that is why we've impounded it and denied its ability to go anywhere right now.' Chinese authorities are forcing children as young as three months old into quarantine centres away from their parents as part of their endless Zero Covid strategy. Esther Zhao brought her daughter, two, to hospital with a fever on March 26 and they both tested positive for Covid three days later. Doctors attempted to take Zhao's child away to a quarantine centre alone and threatened Zhao when she didn't comply - saying that the girl would be kept in the Covid-ravaged hospital if she didn't comply. After her daughter was taken to Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre, Zhao has only had one piece of information from doctors about her daughter despite pleas from her and her husband. After her daughter was taken to Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre, Zhao has only had one piece of information from doctors about her daughter despite pleas from her and her husband Zhao told Reuters: 'There have been no photos at all... I'm so anxious, I have no idea what situation my daughter is in. 'The doctor said Shanghai rules is that children must be sent to designated points, adults to quarantine centres and you're not allowed to accompany the children.' She also said that pictures of crying children circulated on the Weibo social media platform purporting to be in the hospital had made her anxious and worried. In one video, a groaning toddler crawls out of a room with four child-sized beds pushed against the wall. While a few adults can be seen in the videos, they are outnumbered by the number of children. By Saturday, the original post had been deleted from Weibo, but thousands of people continued to comment and repost the images. 'This is horrific,' said one. 'How could the government come up with such a plan?,' said another. In some cases children as young as three months old are being separated from their breastfeeding mothers, according to posts in a quarantine hospital WeChat group shared with Reuters. In one room described in a post, there are eight children without an adult. In another case, more than 20 children from a Shanghai kindergarten aged 5 to 6 were sent to a quarantine centre without their parents, a source familiar with the situation said. Since Shanghai's latest outbreak began about a month ago, authorities have locked down its 26 million people in a two-stage process that began on Monday. While the number of cases in Shanghai is small by global standards, Chinese authorities have vowed to stick with 'dynamic clearance', aiming to test for, trace and centrally quarantine all positive cases. The U.S., French and Italian foreign consulates have warned their citizens in Shanghai that family separations could happen as Chinese authorities executed COVID curbs, according to notices seen by Reuters. As Shanghai, China's most populous city and main financial hub, battles its largest ever COVID outbreak, stories like Zhao's and videos of the separated children are angering residents A Shanghai health official said last week that hospitals that were treating COVID-positive children maintained online communications with their parents, according to the government's official WeChat account. As Shanghai, China's most populous city and main financial hub, battles its largest ever COVID outbreak, stories like Zhao's and videos of the separated children are angering residents and raising questions about the costs of Beijing's 'dynamic clearance' policy to fight the spread of the disease. Shanghai on Saturday reported 6,051 locally transmitted asymptomatic COVID-19 cases and 260 symptomatic cases for April 1, versus 4,144 asymptomatic cases and 358 symptomatic ones on the previous day. Mainland China reported 2,129 new cases, up from 1,827. The killer father who carried out one of the most shocking domestic violence crimes in Australian history may have had an alternate plan on the morning he burned his family to death, an inquest has heard. Rowan Baxter, 42, murdered Hannah Clarke and her children Aaliyah, six, Laianah, four, and Trey, three, as they set off for school at Camp Hill, in Brisbane's south, on February 19, 2020. He doused the inside of the vehicle with petrol and then set it alight before fatally stabbing himself on a suburban street in front of horrified residents. Jacoba Brasch, the counsel assisting the coroner, told the inquest into their deaths that Baxter's movements prior to the sickening quadruple murder suicide, suggest his 'plan A' was a meticulous kidnapping and murder plot but things went awry when Ms Clarke fought back. She believed he may have planned to kidnap the family, distract the children with chocolate while he murdered their mother, before trying to start a new life with his kids as their 'primary carer'. Rowan Baxter was seen on CCTV footage shopping for a fuel can, plastic zip ties and a container of surface cleaner, in vision shown to the inquest Hannah Clarke and her children Aaliyah, six, Laianah, four, and Trey, three (pictured together), were killed by Rowan Baxter, 42, in a car as they set off for school at Camp Hill, in Brisbane's south, on February 19, 2020 The day before, the personal trainer called a men's counseling service falsely claiming he was being tormented by his estranged wife who took out a restraining order and wouldn't let him see their kids. One day earlier he was seen on CCTV shopping at a Bunnings store for a fuel can, plastic zip ties and a container of surface cleaner. The footage, played at the inquest, shows Baxter in a singlet and shorts looking at different jerry cans before deciding on a 5L green plastic container which he then went and filled. On the morning of the murders he also purchased a full tank of fuel and bought children's chocolates. '[He] bought three Kinder Surprises. Three children's chocolates. Three children here,' Dr Brasch said, according to The Courier Mail. 'Filling up the car in the morning not an act of someone who is just going to drive close by and do what he did. 'Perhaps his 'plan A' was to take Hannah and the children, drive them somewhere because we've filled the car up use the zip ties to restrain Hannah, burn her. And give the children Kinder Surprises and we'd be happy families.' Dr Brasch said filling up the car in the morning was not an act of someone who is just going to drive close by and do what he did. Pictured: Baxter filling up his vehicle the day of the murders The morning of the murders Baxter bought his children (pictured) Kinder Surprise Chocolates Dr Brasch said in Baxter's twisted plot, he'd become the 'primary career' and be in total control of the children. In another sign this might have been his evil plot all along, on January 26, Baxter began typing on his phone, what the counsellor called a 'death note' 'I'm sorry Hannah,' he wrote. 'I'm finishing your game. I don't want to play any more.' 'And I have told the kids that you loved them and they will miss you, I'm sure.' Baxter was lying in wait for Ms Clarke to step outside of her parents' home when he ambushed her and their children with a knife and ordered her to 'just drive'. Baxter was lying in wait for Ms Clarke to step outside of her parents' home when he ambushed her and their children (pictured together) with a knife and ordered her to 'just drive' She travelled a short distance before pulling the car over and screaming for help to a man washing his car in his driveway. 'It was perhaps when Baxter saw Hannah's strength, saw that she would not yield to yet another command, that he moved to Plan B,' Dr Brasch said. 'To commit the ultimate act in power and control. 'To obliterate the very physical presence and manifestations of his estranged wife and his own children.' He remarked that the brave mother died while fighting to save them. If you or anyone you know is suffering from domestic violence call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Lifeline 13 11 14. Hanna Clarke died while desperately trying to save her kids (pictured together), Dr Brasch told the inquest A defiant Volodymyr Zelensky says that Ukraine will never concede any other territory and his people will not accept anything less than the defeat of Russia. In a new interview with Fox News' Bret Baier the Ukrainian president explained what a true victory for his war-torn country would look like. 'A victory of truth means a victory for Ukraine and Ukrainians,' Zelensky told the Special Report host. 'The question is when it will end. That is a deep question. It's a painful question. Besides victory, the Ukrainian people will not accept any outcome.' When Baier asked if Zelensky was willing to cede Ukrainian territory to Russia to secure a peace deal, Zelensky held firm. A defiant Volodymyr Zelensky says that Ukraine will never concede any other territory and his people will not accept anything less than the defeat of Russia The bodies of civilians killed by Russian shelling are gathered to be transferred to a mortuary in Irpin, Ukraine, on March 31 Ukrainian soldiers collect bodies of civilians killed by the Russian forces at the destroyed bridge in Irpin close to Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, March 31, 2022 'We do not trade our territory,' Zelensky told Baier. 'The question of territorial integrity and sovereignty is out of discussion.' Over a month into the invasion Zelensky reiterated his desire for Ukraine to join NATO. 'It's hard for us to talk about NATO because NATO doesn't want to admit us,' Zelensky said. 'I think it's a mistake because if we join NATO, we make NATO much stronger. We are not a weak state. We are not proposing to make us stronger at the expense of NATOWe are an addition, we are the locomotive. I think we are one of the important components of the European continent.' Zelensky added that he has indicated to President Biden that he would like for the United States to be included in a security agreement that would provide long-term support for Ukraine in case Russia plans to invade the country again in the future and that Biden is 'considering this proposition.' Zelensky told Baier he believes Biden is rooting for Ukraine to win the conflict. 'I have faith that President Biden, like any true American citizen, believes and wants the truth to win,' Zelensky said. 'And the truth is on the side of Ukraine. I believe they want the values that make our nations closer to win.' When talking about aide, Zelensky said he does not was bullet-proof vests and special helmets, but heavy weaponry to fight back. 'Just give us missiles, give us airplanes, you cannot give us F18 or F-19 or whatever you have, give us old Soviet planes,' Zelensky said. 'That's all. Give them into my hands. Give me something to defend my county with.' Zelensky also warned that Putin will never be satisfied no matter what the West gives him. 'The more you give them the more their appetite grows,' Zelensky said, adding that Putin will set his sights in Europe beyond Ukraine 'unless he is stopped' now. His interview comes as Russian forces have seized 14 tons of supplies destined for the besieged city of Mariupol, where thousands of desperate Ukrainians are dangerously low on food, water and other vital supplies. Few humanitarian buses have managed to get people out of the city, but many have escaped in their cars or even on foot often under fire. The Ukrainian government said only 631 people were able to get out of the city in private cars in the last day. Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers carry a body of a civilian killed by the Russian forces over the destroyed bridge in Irpin close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 31, 2022 Vladimir Galinkov packs his belongings to evacuate his damaged apartment after the building was hit by pieces of a destroyed Russian missile The ceiling of an apartment is completely collapsed in the tower block which was hit by the remains of a Russian missile shot down over Kyiv The city has been the scene of some of the worst suffering of the war. Kyiv has said that at least 5,000 people have been killed in the city, but that number could be as high as 20,000, according to one Ukrainian official. Tens of thousands have managed to get out in the past few weeks by way of humanitarian corridors, reducing the population from a pre-war 430,000 to an estimated 100,000 by last week, but other relief efforts have been thwarted by continued Russian attacks. In a recent address the Ukrainian president warned that 'there will be battles ahead' as he claimed Russian withdrawals from the north and center of Ukraine are being used as a cover for troops to regroup and step up attacks in the south east. 'We know their intentions,' he added. 'We know that they are moving away from those areas where we hit them in order to focus on other, very important ones where it may be difficult for us.' Zelenksy also warned his people that retreating Russian forces were creating 'a complete disaster' outside the capital by leaving mines across 'the whole territory', even around homes and dead bodies. He issued the warning as the humanitarian crisis in the encircled city of Mariupol deepened and the Kremlin accused the Ukrainians of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot on Russian soil. Ukraine denied responsibility for the fiery blast, but if Moscow's claim is confirmed, it would be the war's first known attack in which Ukrainian aircraft penetrated Russian airspace. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: 'Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks.' Russia continued withdrawing some of its ground forces from areas around Kyiv after saying earlier this week it would reduce military activity near the Ukrainian capital and the northern city of Chernihiv. Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation: 'They are mining the whole territory. They are mining homes, mining equipment, even the bodies of people who were killed. 'There are a lot of trip wires, a lot of other dangers.' His comments follow the bodies of at least thirteen dead civilians being discovered yesterday on the same stretch of road where Russian soldiers were caught on video executing a young couple in aerial drone footage that shocked the world at the start of March. And as Western journalists accompany advancing Ukrainian troops near Kyiv, they are uncovering more evidence of war crimes carried out by Putin's soldiers - with the mayor of one city claiming 300 civilians were killed in the last month. Pictures from Irpin on Friday showed soldiers and volunteers carrying body bags down a ruined stretch of road. About a dozen bodies were zipped up in black plastic body bags, lined up on the concrete and loaded into vans. Ukraine denied responsibility for the fiery blast, but if Moscow's claim is confirmed, it would be the war's first known attack in which Ukrainian aircraft penetrated Russian airspace. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: 'Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks.' Russia continued withdrawing some of its ground forces from areas around Kyiv after saying earlier this week it would reduce military activity near the Ukrainian capital and the northern city of Chernihiv. Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation: 'They are mining the whole territory. They are mining homes, mining equipment, even the bodies of people who were killed. 'There are a lot of trip wires, a lot of other dangers.' His comments follow the bodies of at least thirteen dead civilians being discovered yesterday on the same stretch of road where Russian soldiers were caught on video executing a young couple in aerial drone footage that shocked the world at the start of March. And as Western journalists accompany advancing Ukrainian troops near Kyiv, they are uncovering more evidence of war crimes carried out by Putin's soldiers - with the mayor of one city claiming 300 civilians were killed in the last month. Pictures from Irpin on Friday showed soldiers and volunteers carrying body bags down a ruined stretch of road. About a dozen bodies were zipped up in black plastic body bags, lined up on the concrete and loaded into vans. The family of a high school track star who was sucker-punched during a race say they had wanted to press charges against his attacker but deputies had threatened to arrest their son if they'd done so. Now, the family is considering filing a civil lawsuit against the other student and the track invitation event that hosted the race, their attorney says. Shocking video of the attack during the Tohopekaliga Tiger Invitational in Kissimmee last Saturday captured the incident as a pack of runners coming down the track in the 1,600-meter race when a teen comes up from behind and punches the athlete in the lead in the back of the head. The runner goes down and stays on the ground as the rest of the team run past. His family's attorney, Nathan Carter, revealed the teen suffered a concussion following the attack. There was allegedly an altercation before the attack, where the victim had told the attacker to move out of his way. When he refused, during an earlier lap, the victim had pushed him, according to TMZ. At the time, Osceola County Sheriff's Office claimed that the victim, who has not been identified, had not wanted to press charges, but his family have disputed that claim, with their attorney telling the outlet that their son would have been arrested for battery had they filed criminal charges. 'The family has read reports that the OCSD claims [my client] refused to press charges,' Carter said in a statement. 'This is false.' The family of a high school track star who was sucker-punched during a race say they had wanted to press charges against his attacker but deputies had threatened to arrest their son if they'd done so. The unnamed high school runner, pictured above in a white top and red shorts, right before he was punched in the head during the 1,600m race 'The family of the victim did want to press charges for this vicious attack and assault caught on video and witnessed by hundreds of people. The OCSD deputy told the family that if [my client] pressed charges then he would also be arrested for battery.' 'Only because of this threat did the family choose not to press charges.' Now, Carter states the family is 'exploring civil remedies against all those responsible.' 'If this event hired proper officials to help run this track meet, they could have prevented this,' Carter added. The runner in black can be seen chasing down the lead runner in read and white and sucker punching him, knocking the runner off balance sending him to the floor The athlete who threw the punch had earlier got in the way of the lead runner and was told to move out of the way, but instead he decided to exact revenge 'They could have prevented the CC athlete from standing on the track during the first turn. Or they could have moved the CC athlete after the first lap incident. Or they could have moved the CC athlete before the second lap incident. Or they could have stopped the CC athlete before he chased [my client] down and sucker-punched him.' 'They had many opportunities to prevent this and failed to do so.' Video of the event showed the stunned response of spectators after the punch was thrown. 'Are you f***ing kidding me?!' one person could be heard saying repeatedly while others simply screamed in horror. The Tohopekaliga Tiger Invitational in Kissimmee invites athletes from 27 schools to compete Event organizers have not yet commented on the incident. The runner responsible for attacking the other teen can be seen pushing him out of the way after sucker punching the runner the face, knocking him over The runner was left in a heap on the ground at the side of the track, although he did manage to complete the race The incident happened on Saturday at Tohopekaliga Tiger Invitational in Kissimmee, Florida A rare holiday brochure for the Titanic has surfaced 111 years after it was originally produced. The century old flyer, which dubbed the infamous liner as 'the epitome of security', has surfaced weeks before the 110th anniversary of the tragedy. It was published a year before the 52,000 tonne linker sank in the North Atlantic Ocean, resulting in the loss of 1,522 lives, on her maiden voyage. The brochure is being sold by a private collector who uncovered it in Northern Ireland several years ago on April 23 and is expected to sell for 6,000. A brochure advertising the Titanic and The Olympic has surfaced 111 years after production The 'immaculate' brochure, which includes 50 pictures, is being auctioned off on April 23 The immaculate booklet boasted the ship reached levels of 'prestige and beauty' never seen before and stated both Titanic and her sister ship Olympic were the perfect example of comfort, elegance and security. Producers of the brochure - which was aimed at the more wealthy people of that generation -even compared the doomed ship to Noah's Ark in terms of its importance and the role of the ship in man's development. It bright red flyer, which had a big white start for 'white star line', painted a picture of prestigious settings on the ship, including picturing the famous grand staircase, which feature in the 1997 blockbuster starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. An image of the famous grand staircase - shown in the 1997 blockbuster film - is in the booklet The brochure said the Titanic and The Olympic had high levels of 'prestige and beauty' Pictured inside the 5ins by 8ins booklet are images of facilities, dining rooms and Turkish baths It described how the lights from the handsome chandelier above it would reflect upon the glittering jewels of women in brilliant evening frocks. The brochure went into detail about the first class accommodation on board and had around 50 pictures of facilities, including dining rooms and Turkish baths. Only a handful of copies are in existence today, despite hundreds being printed and distributed in 1911 - making it extremely rare when one comes into the public domain. Andrew Aldridge, of auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son, who are auctioning the item, said: 'There are no more than a handful of these in existence. 'It is more of a promotional brochure that was aimed at wealthy prospective passengers. 'The Titanic wasnt due to set sail for another year and so the owners hadnt formulated the prices at that time, which is why they arent in there. 'The brochure was just about how this ship was the biggest and best ship on the planet at that time. The White Star line, who produced the booklet with 50 images, claimed the boats would 'enhance their reputation' Most brochures at the time ran between 16 or 32 pages, while this one had 72 mainly illustrated pages 'Other brochures at the time ran to 16 or 32 pages but this one was by far the largest with 72 pages. It was profusely illustrated.' The 5ins by 8ins brochures were printed by owners White Star Line in May 1911 to coincide with the Titanic's launch from the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast - where The Olympic was launched 18 months before - and claimed the two vessels were the 'most important maritime development of the time' and were 'without a peer in the ocean'. It read: 'Everything on board has been brilliantly conceived and admirably carried out... 1,522 people died after the Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean and sank In reference to the staircase, it read: 'A great dome of iron and glass throws a flood of light down the stairway, and on the landing beneath a great carved panel gives its note of richness to the otherwise plain and massive construction of the wall. 'Saloon passengers will foregather for that important moment upon an ocean-going ship - lheure ou lon dine - to regale each other with their days experiences in the racquet court, the gymnasium, the card-room or the Turkish bath. 'It is safe to predict that the Olympic and Titanic will enhance the great reputation of the (White Star) Line.' But on the contrary, the White Star Lines reputation was destroyed after the sinking and many passengers and crew died. Had the disaster happened today the company would have been charged with corporate manslaughter, given that the ship was speeding through an ice-field at the time it sunk. The brochure was printed by Liverpool Printing and Stationery Co Ltd. Advertisement British holidaymakers have been met with chaos today as airports and ferry services struggle to cope with an influx of families looking to get away for the Easter half term break. Fed-up passengers reported hours-long queues at Manchester Airport while gridlocked traffic en route to Dover port stretched for miles, with scores of tourists missing their ferries to Calais. The situation was worsened by families flocking to Kent in search of a sunny staycation. Severe delays were also reported at Heathrow Airport on Saturday, with some passengers left waiting for over an hour on air bridges. Arrivals also continued to face delays, with one complaining of waiting up to an hour to disembark their aircraft. It comes as industry leaders today warned the travel misery would likely last until at least the summer. The delays have been blamed on crippling staff shortages, with tens of thousands of staff needed to fill the void - with 12,000 needed at Heathrow alone. Some 400 new staff are being sworn in at Manchester Airport this month after travellers were forced to queue for hours at check-in and baggage reclaim on Friday. British holidaymakers have been met with chaos today at transport hubs such as Manchester Airport (pictured) and the Port of Dover as people set off on the first day of the Easter break Gridlocked traffic en route to Dover port (pictured) stretched for miles, with scores of tourists missing their ferries to Calais Severe delays were also reported at Heathrow Airport on Saturday (pictured), with some passengers left waiting for over an hour on air bridges Manchester Airport has struggled to cope after seeing passenger numbers explode, with figures for February showing a huge year-on-year increase, from 70,000 passengers to more than two million. (Pictured: Chaotic scenes at security on Friday) Video footage shared online also showed incredibly long queues at security, with bunched up passengers struggling to put their items into trays. Similar issues were reported today. Fuming holidaymakers branded the transport hub 'the worst in Europe' for failing to prepare for the spike in travel following the easing of Covid restrictions. One fed-up passenger fumed: '@manairport you are an absolute disgrace! It was dangerous today, people will get hurt if you do not improve things.' Others reported queuing for four hours to get through check-in and security, with several missing flights, while one added: 'Manchester Airport is a disgrace, dangerous and a shambles.' Images shared online showed suitcases piling up and falling off the conveyer belt, with some becoming visibly damaged. Hours-long queues have been reported at Manchester Airport (pictured) Fuming holidaymakers branded Manchester Airport 'the worst in Europe' for failing to prepare for the spike in travel following the easing of Covid restrictions One suitcase was damaged amid the chaos at Manchester's baggage reclaime Suitcases are strewn across the floor after a conveyer belt at Manchester Airport became overwhelmed on Friday The airport has struggled to cope after seeing passenger numbers explode, with figures for February showing a huge year-on-year increase, from 70,000 passengers to more than two million. Manchester Airport is partly owned by the Labour run City Council. Following a meeting with airport bosses, councillor Pat Karney - who previously warned that the travel hub's reputation was 'nosediving' - said they had come up with a six-point plan to fix the issues. He also said the airport needed to 'level with the public' after being told of problems he had not been aware of, adding: 'To be brutally honest, we're going to have delays and queues over Easter'. Bosses have already been forced to apologise for agonising waits in recent weeks, with staff shortages and sickness due to Covid being blamed for placing operations 'under extreme pressure.' 'Disgrace': Fuming holidaymakers take to social media to blast chaotic scenes at Manchester Airport on Friday and Saturday Cllr Karney said airport management had 'totally underestimated the recovery time of the airport', adding that such disruption is likely to last until the summer. 'Two million people went through the airport in February [and] in the previous year, it was 70,000, so you had to plan ahead,' he said. 'They should have seen all this. They should have known the recovery was going to be very quick.' He added: 'I don't think their planning has been really up to scratch. There's been a failure of management.' MailOnline has contacted Manchester City Council for comment. Karen Dee, Chief Executive of the UK's Airport Operations Association, told BBC Breakfast: 'At the start of the year we were under travel restrictions that meant there were virtually no passengers, and what airports have had to do is really scale up in a very short space of time. 'The industry as a whole is scaling up and we are doing this as fast as we can.' She said the industry needed to recruit 'tens of thousands' of staff as it scales-up after Britain's Covid-19 restrictions on travel were removed. However she warned: 'We do think there will be queues in peak times over the Easter period.' London's Heathrow airport alone needed another 12,000 staff, she said. 'We've started this process some time ago, but actually with those scale of numbers, particularly in a tight labour market, it is going to take us some time unfortunately,' she added. She told those planning to fly: 'Check with the airline you are flying with because they will not want people arriving before they are permitted to check-in. 'Make sure you're looking at the types of documents that you need because that will speed through your check-in too. Heathrow said it was aware of delay today as passengers branded it a 'shambles' and claimed they waited for over an hour on air bridges. Arrivals also faced delays. 'When you're approaching security, think, 'Do I have liquids?', 'Do I have a laptop?' - all of those things that we've actually forgotten about because we haven't travelled for so much time.' It comes as lorries and motorists are also facing long delays to board ferries at the Port of Dover. Cross-channel ferry capacity between Dover and the French port of Calais has been disrupted after P&O Ferries services were suspended following its sacking of 800 workers last month. The company is yet to be given clearance to resume sailings using cheaper agency staff. Poor weather overnight has made the situation worse, as have tourists travelling to Kent for an Easter getaway. Nick Gale, a teacher taking his family to Calais for a trip to Amsterdam, told Sky News they had been stuck for 'over two hours' and missed their ferry. 'No communication at all from port staff. Policeman said it was basically the perfect storm, less ferries... plus bad weather and (the) P&O issue,' he said. One woman waiting in the traffic jam said: 'It's taken about an hour to move half a mile, if that and we've missed our ferry crossing now, so we're just deliberating whether it's worth going home or sitting it out.' 'We are aware of queues at Dover, and the Kent Resilience Forum and local partners are working to minimise any disruption by deploying temporary traffic management measures,' the Department for Transport said in a statement. 'This has been caused by a number of factors, including severe weather in the Channel.' Newly revealed transcripts have shed light on controversial child pornography sentences handed down by Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson during her time as a US district judge. At issue are eight child porn cases that Jackson oversaw as a DC district judge between 2013 and 2021, which Senate Republicans seized on in recent hearings to paint the nominee as soft on sex offenders. The transcripts, described by the New York Post in a report on Saturday, show that Jackson disregarded prosecutors' sentencing recommendations even in some cases involving sickening abuse images of 'infants and toddlers' and in one case apologized to the defendant for handing down prison time. Jackson in recent hearings said that she had overseen at least 14 cases involving sex offenses against children, and Democrats accuse the GOP of cherry-picking cases to falsely portray President Joe Biden's nominee as soft on pedophiles. Newly revealed transcripts have shed light on controversial child pornography sentences handed down by Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson CHILD PORN CASES IN WHICH JACKSON SENTENCED OFFENDERS TO LESS PRISON TIME THAN PROSECUTORS RECOMMENDED DEFENDANT CASE NUMBER SENTENCING GUIDELINE PROSECUTOR RECOMMENDATION PROBATION RECOMMENDATION JACKSON'S SENTENCE Wesley Hawkins 13-cr-244 97-121 months 24 months 18 months 3 months Andre Hammond 14-cr-00184 94-120 months 108 months 120 months 94 months Daniel Savage 15-cr-95 37-46 months 49 months 36 months 37 months Neil Stewart 16-cr-67 97-121 months 97 months 42 months 57 months Christopher Michael Downs 18-cr-391 70-87 months 70 months 60 months 60 months Jeremy Sears 19-cr-21 97-121 months 108 months 120 months 71 months Ryan Cooper 19-cr-382 151-188 months 72 months 60 months 60 months Adam Chazin 21-cr-076 78-97 months 78-97 months 28 months 28 months The most infamous of the eight cases in question involves the 2013 sentencing of Wesley Hawkins, who was 18 when he was busted posting videos to YouTube of boys as young as 11 being raped by adult men. Jackson, citing his young age, sentenced Hawkins to just three months in prison, as opposed to the 24 months recommended by prosecutors. 'I am not persuaded that two years in prison is necessary,' she said at the time, according to the new transcripts, citing Hawkins' 'future potential'. 'This is a truly difficult situation,' she told Hawkins, according to the transcript. 'I appreciate that your family is in the audience. I feel so sorry for them and for you and for the anguish that this has caused all of you.' Explaining her lenient sentence for Hawkins, Jackson explained that the more than 600 images of child sexual abuse 'don't signal an especially heinous or egregious child pornography offense.' At recent hearings, Jackson explained that she believes sentencing guidelines in child pornography cases are outdated, because they derive from a time before the internet, when offenders would have to receive each image of child sexual abuse through the mail. Jackson said the structure of the sentencing guideline is 'not doing the work of differentiating who is a more serious offender in the way that it used to.' Jackson, citing his young age, sentenced Wesley Hawkins (left) to just three months in prison, while handing Neil Stewart (right) a sentence of 57 months In another controversial case, Jackson in 2020 sentenced Christopher Michael Downs to 60 months in prison after he was busted distributing images and videos of infants being sexually abused, and boasting of molesting his 13-year-old cousin. Daniel Jason Savage was sentenced to 60 months after prosecutors recommended 72 Prosecutors had asked for 70 months in prison, but the court's probation office had recommended 60 months. Transcripts show that Jackson herself admitted that the felon was at 'risk of reoffending'. However, she declined to enhance his prison time based on the amount of porn he distributed, arguing such enhancements were 'outdated' and 'substantially flawed.' Downs is scheduled for release in December after getting credit for time served prior to his trial. In another case, Jackson in April 2021 sentenced child porn peddler Ryan Manning Cooper to 60 months in prison, less than the 72 months sought by prosecutors but in line with the 60-month recommendation of the probation office. Though prosecutors described Cooper's crimes as on the more egregious or extreme spectrum' of child porn, Jackson disputed that they were 'especially egregious.' Jackson in April 2021 sentenced child porn peddler Ryan Manning Cooper to 60 months in prison, less than the 72 months sought by prosecutors Among the 600 images that prosecutors say Cooper traded with other pedophiles were explicit images depicting bondage of infants and toddlers, and a pre-pubescent boy being raped by an adult male. 'I'm really reluctant to get into the nature of the porn,' Jackson said in court, the transcripts show. 'I don't find persuasive the government's arguments concerning why they think that this is a particularly egregious child pornography offense, which means I struggled to find a good reason to impose a sentence that is more severe in this case.' Jackson's confirmation to the Supreme Court seems assured, with all 50 Senate Democrats backing her nomination, and Republican Susan Collins of Maine also saying she will vote to confirm. Democrats need just 50 votes to secure the confirmation, with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaker in the evenly divided Senate. Lucas Cane was sentenced to 60 months in prison after being busted with 6,500 images of child sexual abuse. Probation officers had recommended 84 months The transcripts were not released to the Senate Judiciary Committee ahead of Jackson's recent confirmation hearings, leading to furious Republican criticism that the White House 'intentionally' engaged in a 'cover up'. Republican Judiciary member Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina tweeted: 'The Senate should be provided all relevant information before voting on this nomination.' 'When we first highlighted her record on child porn cases, the White House leaked information to their friends in the media and Democrats on the Judiciary Committee,' GOP Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri told Fox. 'They hid it from the public despite knowing Judge Jackson gives lenient sentences to criminals. The White House is still refusing to be transparent about Judge Jackson's record.' Graham and Hawley are two Republican members who were most harsh on Jackson, specifically regarding her sentencing history of child porn offenders. In visibly emotional testimony during the hearings, Jackson defended her sentencing record and furiously denied criticism that she was soft on child porn offenders. 'As a mother and a judge who has had to deal with these cases, I was thinking that nothing could be further from the truth,' Jackson replied. 'These are some of the most difficult cases that a judge has to deal with because we're talking about pictures of sex abuse of children, we're talking about graphic descriptions that judges have to read and consider when they decide how to sentence in these cases,' she continued in an impassioned defense of her judicial record. 'These people are looking at 20, 30, 40 years of supervision,' she said of offenders. 'They can't use their computers in a normal way for decades. I am imposing all of those constraints because I understand how significant, how damaging, how horrible this crime is.' 'I impose a significant sentence,' Jackson assured, but said she is limited as a judge by what Congress has decided judges can do with cases. She also blamed Congress for limiting what she can do in the sentencing of these cases as a judge. 'There's a statute that tells judges what they're supposed to do,' she detailed. 'Congress has decided what it is that a judge has to do when this and any other cases when they sentence.' 'And that statute doesn't say 'look only at the guidelines and stop' the statute doesn't say 'impose the highest possible penalty for this sickening and egregious crime.' The statute says, calculate the guidelines, but also look at various aspects of this offense and impose a sentence that is 'sufficient but not greater than necessary to promote the purposes of punishment.' Civil service open to those with disabilities By HUANG ZHILING in Chengdu (China Daily) 08:35, April 02, 2022 In a sign of progress toward better inclusivity and diversity in the civil sector, 23 people with disabilities recently took part in the civil service examination in the city of Meishan in Sichuan province. A special exam room was set up in a local high school organized to facilitate the needs of the examinees. One of those taking the test was Xiao Yun, a university student from Tianjin. The 23-year-old chose to sit the exam after reading an online recruitment notice for a job involved in education and employment for people with disabilities in Qingshen county. After preparing for the examination for half a month, the big day arrived and Xiao, who has a congenital defect in his right hand, was surprised with the steps taken to ensure those with disabilities could sit the test in comfort. Leading to the examination room were barrier-free pathways including ramps for wheelchair access, and next to the examination room were barrier-free toilets. In addition to the two invigilators in the exam room, there were extra wheelchairs should they be needed. Two female staff members from the Meishan Disabled Persons' Association greeted each examinee as they entered and were on hand if any assistance was required. Also taking the exam was Xiao Liu, a visually impaired man from Hunan province. To accommodate his disability, Xiao Liu was provided with a front-row seat in the exam room. Another examinee whose waist had been injured and is unable to sit for long spells was permitted to stand up during the examination. In order not to adversely affect the other examinees, he was able to take the exam at the back of the room. Saturday's examination marked the first time that Sichuan had tried to recruit public servants with disabilities through the civil service examination, regardless of the examinee's gender, university major and work experience. With a university diploma, any person with a disability was eligible for the examination, said Xiao Honglin, an official in the department of organization with the Meishan city committee of the Communist Party of China. Xiao Honglin said more job vacancies would be provided exclusively for people with disabilities in the civil sector. The moves are aimed at promoting care for the people with disabilities within the community, he said. Jiang Lin contributed to this story. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) More than 204 people across 17 cities in Russia have today been arrested following demonstrations against the country's actions in Ukraine. Most appear to be detained in the capital Moscow, with around 79 arrests, and Saint Petersburg, with some 73 arrests, according to OVD Info, which monitors political persecution. Detentions follow scenes of unrest across the country as one journalist covering the rallies has reportedly been arrested and is not allowed to see a lawyer. Most appear to be detained in the capital Moscow, with around 78 arrests, and Saint Petersburg (pictured), with some 71 arrests, according to OVD Info In Moscow, a woman on social media was pictured smiling at approaching police officers as she held up a sign saying 'peace around the world'. Another man walking around with a 'No War' sign was taken by police as four officers had to hold the man, his hands twisted behind his back, for laying on the ground as they attempted to take him away. In a video he could be heard saying: 'What are you doing? This isn't right.' A photo on Telegram shows a park bench near St Isaac's Square in St Petersburg with the words 'Putin=killer' scribbled onto it. More than 198 people across 15 cities in Russia have today been arrested following demonstrations against the country's actions in Ukraine In Moscow, a woman on social media was pictured smiling at approaching police officers as she held up a sign saying 'peace around the world' Detentions follow scenes of unrest across the country as one journalist covering the rallies has reportedly been arrested and is not allowed to see a lawyer Activist Lina Barabash, of St Petersburg's pro-democracy group Vesna (meaning 'spring'), who reportedly chained herself to a fence with a banner, was arrested for discrediting the armed forces and swearing in a public place, according to claims on social media. Reports online also suggest that police are not allowing protesters, gathered at a bridge, to get to St Petersburg's Legislative Assembly. A journalist was also reportedly arrested for reporting on the rallies in St Petersburg, Avtozak Live reports. In a Telegram post, the outlet said: 'A lawyer is not allowed to see @avtozaklive correspondent Angelina Trofimenko. 'Today she was detained when she was covering a rally in St Petersburg.' Arrests have also reportedly been made in Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Kirov, Permian and Krasnodar amongst others. It comes as footage appeared to show Russian forces using what seem to be stun grenades on protesters in Enerhodar an occupied town in south Ukraine. Video shows demonstrators running away explosions in a square, with smoke visible. Russian troops violently dispersed civilians singing the national anthem during a pro-Ukraine rally in an occupied town today, local authorities said. Sharing a video of what appeared to be multiple stun grenades landing in the square, the local administration wrote: 'The occupiers are dispersing the protesters with explosions' Some participants were also bundled into detention vans by the soldiers, according to the administration, after gathering in the centre of Enerhodar, around the vicinity of the Sovremennik cultural centre. Sharing a video of what appeared to be multiple stun grenades landing in a square before letting off bangs and white smoke, it wrote in a Telegram post: 'The occupiers are dispersing the protesters with explosions.' It also accused Russian forces of shelling another part of the town on Saturday and said as a result four people had been wounded and were being treated in hospital. A mother who died during childbirth was not properly warned by the NHS about the risks of natural delivery, an inquest has heard. Lucy Howell, 32, passed away after suffering complications during the birth of her second child, Pippa at Royal Hampshire County Hospital in March 2021. The mother-of-two had previously given birth to her eldest daughter Rosie via a caesarean section, which required special surgery to repair. But her family have now claimed Ms Howell was given 'conflicting' advice about the risks of a natural delivery and are demanding answers from Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The coroner who is investigating Ms Howell's case has also criticised the trust, and said it is yet to provide a 'candid' explanation over the circumstances of her death. It is hoped a full inquest will establish whether she would have survived if she had chosen an alternative mode of birth - such as a C-section. The hearing came during the same week that a damning maternity report found more than 200 babies and nine mothers died after failings at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust. The Ockenden report found mothers were blamed for their babies' deaths, that infants' deaths were often not investigated and grieving parents were not listened to. Lucy Howell, 32, (pictured) passed away after suffering complications during the birth of her second child, Pippa at Royal Hampshire County Hospital in March 2021 Her family have now claimed Ms Howell was given 'conflicting' advice about the risks of a natural delivery and are demanding answers from Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust The pre-inquest review was told Mrs Howell, of Bishop's Waltham, Hants, went into labour in March 2021 and was admitted to Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester to be induced. Tragically Ms Howell suffered a ruptured uterus during delivery and, while her daughter survived after being born in her stomach, she passed away on March 12. Her family were told that the post-mortem gave the cause of death as a uterine rupture and amniotic fluid embolism. An investigation was then launched by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Minister reveals she was told she wasn't going to have a C-section A minister has revealed she was told not to have a C-section, despite enduring a 'very difficult' labour with her first child. International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan was asked today how she felt about yesterday's report which found some 201 babies and nine mothers could have survived at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust if they had got better care. She told Times Radio that with her first birth she was 'basically told I wasn't going to have a Caesarean section'. Ms Trevelyan, who has two children, said the inquiry, which found several mothers were made to have natural births when they could have been offered a C-section, 'reminded me that there has been for a long time a culture which says natural birth: good; Caesarean: bad'. 'And actually this report has highlighted that in too many cases difficult births can end in the most appalling tragedy, and honestly it makes me feel sick thinking that those situations have occurred,' she said. International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan (pictured earlier this month) has said she, like many of the women in the Ockenden was advised having a C-section Advertisement The hearing was told that following the birth of her first daughter in 2017 Mrs Howell had to have surgery to repair scarring. Her family believe this may have made her vulnerable to having a natural delivery and have questioned the advice she was given ahead of the birth of Pippa. Winchester Coroner's Court heard it is disputed whether Mrs Howell was given sufficient information to make an informed decision on whether she should have given birth naturally having had a C-section previously. Vanessa Cashman, the family's lawyer, told the pre-inquest review: 'She was given conflicting advice - if it can be called that.' Area Coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp told the hearing she felt the statements supplied by the Trust so far did not provide a full explanation of what happened. Mrs Rhodes-Kemp said: 'For the family, the Trust have to show they have learnt from what happened. 'But they can only learn from it if there has been an open and candid explanation of what happened. The statements I have seen do not reflect that at the moment. 'The statements do not reflect learning and full understanding into exactly what's happened.' Mrs Rhodes-Kemp said she now has questions about Mrs Howell's antenatal care, her labour and whether Mrs Howell was given sufficient information to make an informed decision. 'The advice given is not huge to women who've had a caesarean,' she said. 'This was a rare situation. There are issues regarding the management of the labour. 'The starting point is: should there have been a labour and who said what to whom. The second issue is: was the labour managed appropriately given the risk? 'I don't think anyone could have done anything regarding resuscitation. But I'm keen to understand how we got to this point, whether it could have been avoided. 'I think there are issues regarding the labour and whether this could all have been avoided had she not had a vaginal birth.' The hearing came during the same week that a damning maternity report found more than 200 babies and nine mothers died after failings at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust (above) Mrs Howell's widower Matthew - who is bringing up their two daughters alone - said: 'The shock and pain of Lucy's death has been unimaginable. 'She was a devoted mother and a wonderful person who is sorely missed every day by so many people. 'Lucy's family and I have many questions about the circumstances surrounding Lucy's death. We hope that the inquest will help provide us with answers to those questions.' Clinical negligence lawyer Emma Beeson, of law firm Penningtons, who is representing the Howell family said: 'This marks an important moment in time for assessing maternity services in this country. 'Mrs Howell's family have raised a number of concerns in respect of the management of Mrs Howell's pregnancy and her labour and it is clear that these have been taken very seriously by the Coroner who is conducting a thorough investigation into this matter.' The full inquest will be held later this year. A fundraiser for a memorial at Winnall Moors nature reserve in Winchester - where Mrs Howell enjoyed taking her daughter - raised more than 10,000, well above the target of 3,000. Mrs Howell worked at consultancy agency Soils Limited as an Health and Safety Coordinator and Geo-Environmental Engineer after joining as a graduate in 2011. Russian troops violently dispersed civilians singing the national anthem during a pro-Ukraine rally in an occupied town on Saturday, said local authorities. Some participants were also bundled into detention vans by the soldiers, according to the administration, after gathering in the centre of Enerhodar, around the vicinity of the Sovremennik cultural centre. Sharing a video of what appeared to be multiple stun grenades landing in a square before letting off bangs and white smoke, it wrote in a Telegram post: 'The occupiers are dispersing the protesters with explosions.' It also accused Russian forces of shelling another part of the town on Saturday and said as a result four people had been wounded and were being treated in hospital. And separately, within Russia, 176 people were detained today in protests against Moscow's military operation in Ukraine, a non-governmental organisation said. Sharing a video of what appeared to be multiple stun grenades landing in the square in Enerhodar before letting off bangs and white smoke, the local administration wrote: 'The occupiers are dispersing the protesters with explosions' Moscow denies targeting civilians and describes its invasion of Ukraine as a 'special military operation.' Ukraine and the West say it is an unprovoked war of aggression. Residents of some towns and villages seized by Russian troops since they invaded on February 24 have staged regular rallies against the occupation. The footage came on the same day a series of blasts tore through the region nearby the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Both the town and the plant, which generates over a fifth of Ukraine's electricity, have been under Russian control since March 4, according to Interfax Ukraine. Enerhodar lies on the Dnipro river in southern Ukraine and is home to workers of the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest. Meanwhile, OVD-Info, which monitors arrests during protests, said police had detained at least 176 people during demonstrations in 14 cities in Russia. Police in Moscow reportedly escorted away people sitting on park benches or just standing around without explaining the reasons for the detention. One of the detained women held a bouquet of white tulips, while another several times exclaimed 'No to war in Ukraine!' as she was being taken away. Residents of some towns and villages seized by Russian troops since they invaded on February 24 have staged regular rallies against the occupation Moscow denies targeting civilians and describes its invasion of Ukraine as a 'special military operation.' Ukraine and the West say it is an unprovoked war of aggression A national sit-in on Saturday against what Moscow calls its 'military operation' in Ukraine was announced on social media by activists in around 30 Russian cities. The organisers said in a statement they wanted to protest 'the collapse of (Russia's) economy', against Russian President Vladimir Putin and to demand freedom for jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. 'Russia deserves peace, democracy and prosperity,' they said. In Russia's second city, Saint Petersburg, multiple arrests were made near the city's Legislative Assembly where around 40 people gathered, although it was unclear how many were there to protest. Separately, within Russia, 176 people were detained today in protests against Moscow's military operation in Ukraine, a non-governmental organisation said. Pictured: people being detained by police in Zaryadye Sergei Gorelov, 30, said he came to 'take a look and show support if necessary', He added: 'Nobody will come, all the active ones were detained at previous protests.' And 50-year-old Galina Sedova said: 'I just came to stand around, to somehow express my protest to everything that is happening. It's scary to protest actively.' Protesters risk fines and possible prison sentences by taking to the streets. OVD-Info says that over 15,000 people have been detained at rallies across the country to protest Russian military action in Ukraine, which was launched on February 24. A prominent Ukrainian photojournalist who went missing last month in a combat zone near his country's capital has been found dead. Maksym 'Maks' Levin, 40, was killed by two bullets allegedly fired by the Russian military on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine's prosecutor general's office said in a statement on Saturday. Mr Levin's body was found in the Huta-Mezhyhirska village on Friday, according to the news website LB.ua where he worked. There had been heavy shelling in that area. Ukrainian photojournalist Maksym 'Maks' Levin (above) who went missing last month in a combat zone near his country's capital has been found dead Levin was killed by two bullets allegedly fired by the Russian military on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine's prosecutor general's office said in a statement on Saturday. Above is one of the last photos snapped by Levin, who was a long-time contributor to Reuters. It shows a residential building destroyed by shelling in the settlement of Borodyanka in the Kyiv region on March 3 The body of Levin was found in the Huta-Mezhyhirska village on Friday, according to the news website LB.ua where he worked. Above is another of his photos, taken on March 10 - showing members of the Ukrainian forces preparing food near Demydiv, Ukraine Levin had been missing since March 13, when he contacted his friend from Vyshhorod near Kyiv to report on the fighting in the region. In this photo he took on March 10, locals from the village Chervone, occupied by Russian troops, evacuate to an area controlled by Ukrainian forces The photographer and documentary maker - who leaves behind his wife and four sons - worked for many Ukrainian and international publications. He had been missing since March 13, when he contacted his friend from Vyshhorod near Kyiv to report on the fighting in the region. Levin had contributed to Reuters' coverage of the country since 2013. John Pullman, Reuters' global managing editor for visuals, said: 'We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Maksim Levin, a long-time contributor to Reuters, in Ukraine.' 'Maks has provided compelling photos and video from Ukraine to Reuters since 2013. 'His death is a huge loss to the world of journalism. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.' An investigation into Levin's death has been launched. Levin had contributed to Reuters' coverage of the country since 2013. John Pullman, Reuters' global managing editor for visuals, said: 'We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Maksim Levin, a long-time contributor to Reuters, in Ukraine' The news comes as at least three Russian ballistic missiles were fired late Friday at the Odesa region on the Black Sea, regional leader Maksim Marchenko said. The Ukrainian military said the Iskander missiles did not hit the critical infrastructure they targeted in Odesa, Ukraine's largest port and the headquarters of its navy. Ukraine's state nuclear agency reported a series of blasts Saturday that injured four people in Enerhodar, a city in southeastern Ukraine that has been under Russian control since early March along with the nearby Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Ukrainian officials also reported that the death toll from a Russian rocket strike Tuesday on a government building in Mykolaiv, a port city east of Odesa, had risen to 33, with a further 34 people wounded. The confirmed death toll has risen steadily as the search and rescue operation continues. As the war dragged on, the U.S. Defense Department said Friday night it is providing an additional $300 million in arms to Ukrainian forces, including laser-guided rocket systems, unmanned aircraft, armored vehicles, night vision devices and ammunition. An investigation into Levin's death has been launched. In this photograph he snapped on March 10, a Ukrainian soldier hides from a helicopter airstrike near Demydiv Also included are medical supplies, field equipment and spare parts. There was no immediate word Saturday on the latest round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, which took place Friday by video. During a round of talks earlier in the week, Ukraine said it would be willing to abandon a bid to join NATO and declare itself neutral - Moscow's chief demand - in return for security guarantees from several other countries. On Friday, the Kremlin accused Ukraine of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot on Russian soil. Ukraine denied responsibility for the fiery blast at the civilian oil storage facility on the outskirts of the city of Belgorod, about 25 kilometers (16 miles) from the Ukraine border. If Moscow's claim is confirmed, it would be the war's first known attack in which Ukrainian aircraft penetrated Russian airspace. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's national security council, said on Ukrainian television: 'For some reason they say that we did it, but in fact this does not correspond with reality.' Later, in an interview with American TV channel Fox News, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to say whether Ukraine was behind the attack. The former UN chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte has called for an international arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin. She said the Russian President was a 'war criminal' owing to his actions in Ukraine. Ms Del Ponte was in charge of prosecutions of war crime tribunals for the UN in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. 'Putin is a war criminal,' she told the Swiss newspaper Le Temps in an interview published on Saturday. The former UN chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte (pictured) has called for an international arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin because she said he was a 'war criminal' Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council via teleconference call at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on April 1 She said she was particularly shocked by the use of mass graves in Russia's war on Ukraine, which recalls the worst of the wars in the former Yugoslavia. 'I hoped never to see mass graves again,' she told the newspaper Blick. 'These dead people have loved ones who don't even know what's become of them. That is unacceptable.' Other war crimes she identified in Ukraine include attacks on civilians, the destruction of civilian buildings and even the demolishing of entire villages. She said the investigation in Ukraine would be easier than that in Yugoslavia because the country itself had requested an international probe. The current International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, visited Ukraine last month. An aerial picture shows burned Russian armoured vehicles in the outskirts of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, on Friday Columns of Russian armoured vehicles have been reduced to rubble as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's troops continue to repel Russian forces, and in some instances recapture roads and settlements near to Kyiv Ukrainian policemen check the wreckage of Russian tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APC) in Dmytrivka village, west of Kyiv, on April 2 Ukrainian servicemen walk next to destroyed Russian tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APC) in Dmytrivka Burned Russian armoured vehicles are seen on the outskirts of Kyiv. Since the conflict began in late February, Russia has lost an estimated 143 planes, 131 helicopters, 625 tanks and 316 artillery pieces As Ukrainian units advance, they're met with burned-out tanks and heavily-armoured personnel transport vehicles that line the roads once populated by commuters that would have been heading in or out of the capital. If the ICC finds proof of war crimes, she said 'you must go up the chain of command until you reach those who took the decisions.' She said it would be possible to bring even Mr Putin to account. 'You mustn't let go, continue to investigation. When the investigation into Slobodan Milosevic began, he was still president of Serbia. Who would have thought then that he would one day be judged? Nobody,' she told Blick. Ms Del Ponte said investigations should be carried out into possible war crimes committed by both sides, pointing also to reports about the alleged torture of some Russian prisoners of war by Ukrainian forces. It comes as once-bustling highways on the outskirts of Kyiv have become a graveyard for scores of Vladimir Putin's tanks as the Ukrainians continue their successful counterattacks around the capital. Columns of Russian armoured vehicles have been reduced to rubble as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's troops continue to repel Russian forces, and in some instances recapture roads and settlements near to Kyiv. As Ukrainian units advance, they're met with burned-out tanks and heavily-armoured personnel transport vehicles that line the roads once populated by commuters that would have been heading in or out of the capital. Despite successful counter attacks, the country still faces no reprieve from more than five weeks of war or that the more than 4 million refugees who have fled Ukraine will return soon. Pictured: A destroyed Russian personnel transport A Ukrainian soldier inspects a damaged Russian tank depicting the 'V' sign as their armed forces continue to share photographs of heavy Russian losses Pictured: Destroyed Russian machinery in the village of Dmitrivka, near Kyiv on Saturday afternoon A damaged BMP-2 armoured personal carrier is pictured in Bucha, a town of 28,000 on the outskirts of Kyiv A Ukrainian policeman inspects destroyed Russian heavy vehicles after Zelenskyy's forces regained control of the village of Dmitrivka near Kyiv on Saturday As Ukrainian units advance, they're met with burned-out armoured tanks and troop transport vehicles that line the roads once populated by commuters heading in or out of the capital. Pictured: Destroyed Russian tanks outside Kyiv Local residents in the village of Dmitrivka, near Kyiv, emerge from their homes and begin clearing away the burned remains of Russian tanks after a string of successful Ukrainian counterattacks Pictured: Dozens of burned out Russian armoured vehicles line the roads out of Kyiv A damaged APS is pictured in the recaptured by the Ukrainian army Nova Basan village of Kyiv in Ukraine on Friday A Ukrainian soldier is seen among the ruins of a burned vehicle in Irpin, Ukraine, on Friday. It came as Ukrainian soldiers regained control in the region that is one of the conflict areas where the most intense battles have taken place Burned-out tanks and heavily-armoured personnel transport vehicles that line the roads once populated by commuters UK defence sources revealed last night that Kremlin forces have run out of vital weapons and cannot now replenish their stocks President Zelensky warned Moscow's retreating forces are leaving behind 'catastrophic' situations by mining the areas outside their homes, abandoning their ruined equipment and the 'bodies of those killed' But far more grisly finds are being discovered in the villages and towns in Kyiv's urban sprawl. After recapturing Bucha from the Russian forces, Ukrainian troops found the bodies of 20 men in civilian clothes on a single street. In what could be further evidence of Russian war crimes, eyewitnesses said one of the corpses had his hands tied, with the dead bodies strewn all over residential roads in the suburban town that was once home to 28,000 people. President Zelensky warned Moscow's retreating forces are leaving behind 'catastrophic' situations by mining the areas outside their homes, abandoning their ruined equipment and the 'bodies of those killed'. Despite successful Ukrainian counter attacks, the country still faces no reprieve from more than five weeks of war or that the more than 4 million refugees who have fled Ukraine will return soon. Zelenskyy said he expects departed towns to endure missile strikes and rocket strikes from afar and for the battle in the east to be intense. 'It's still not possible to return to normal life, as it used to be, even at the territories that we are taking back after the fighting,' the president told his nation in a nightly video message. 'We need wait until our land is de-mined, wait till we are able to assure you that there won't be new shelling.' The Duke of York said he returned from the Falklands War 'a changed man' in a piece of writing posted to his ex-wife's Instagram account - before it was hurriedly taken down. Prince Andrew, who reached a reported 12million out-of-court settlement in a civil sexual assault case a few weeks ago, wrote more than 700 words about his experience in the Falklands. The Queen's son flew missions as a Sea King helicopter pilot during the conflict. Andrew's reflection appeared in three posts which were removed after about two hours on the Instagram account of Sarah, Duchess of York. Beneath the last post, it said it was 'written by HRH The Duke of York' before the 'HRH' was deleted. The Queen stripped Andrew of his honorary military roles in January and he gave up his HRH style in a dramatic fallout from his civil sex case. The Duke of York said he returned from the Falklands War 'a changed man' in a piece of writing posted to his ex-wife's Instagram account - before it was hurriedly taken down Andrew's reflection appeared in three posts on the Instagram account of his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and were signed off 'HRH The Duke of York'. The post was then apparently changed to remove the HRH before being deleted Prince Andrew returns from the Falklands War on September 17, 1982, on board HMS Invincible at Portsmouth Harbour, where he was met by the Queen and Prince Philip with Princess Anne At the time, a royal source said Andrew, who was born a HRH, will not use it in any official capacity. Virginia Giuffre was suing Andrew for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was 17 and trafficked by convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. In the first Instagram post, Sarah wrote: 'I asked Andrew this morning for his reflections on the anniversary of his sailing from Portsmouth to the Falkland Islands 40 years ago.' Andrew's account begins: 'As I sit here at my desk on this cold crisp spring morning thinking back to April 1982 I've tried to think what was going through my mind as we sailed out of Portsmouth lining the flight deck of HMS INVINCIBLE.' Prince Andrew, who reached a reported 12million out-of-court settlement in a civil sexual assault case a few weeks ago, wrote more than 700 words about his experience in the Falklands. The Queen's son flew missions as a Sea King helicopter pilot during the conflict Andrew's reflection appeared in three posts which were removed after about two hours on the Instagram account of Sarah, Duchess of York The 62-year-old concluded: 'So whilst I think back to a day when a young man went to war, full of bravado, I returned a changed man. 'I put away childish things and false bravado and returned a man full in the knowledge of human frailty and suffering. 'My reflection makes me think even harder and pray even more fervently for those in conflict today, for those family's (sic) torn apart by the horrors they have witnessed. 'And, i'm (sic) afraid to say, that the historical perspective my short war has taught me is this war is failure to keep peace; war is failure of human judgement; war is failure to recognise we need to seek permission to understand another persons perspective or reality, whether or not we agree or disagree with that perspective or reality.' The Queen stripped Andrew of his honorary military roles in January and he gave up his HRH style in a dramatic fallout from his civil sex case Andrew had been forced to step back from public life over his association with late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, but made a surprising centre-stage appearance with the Queen at a memorial service for Prince Philip this week Andrew also recalled being shot at, writing: 'I was flying and saw a chaff shell fired from one of our ships that passed not that far in front of us. 'For a moment it was on a steady bearing before it began to cross to our left. 'The terror that that was going to be that, just for a moment, has had a lasting and permanent effect on me.' Andrew has spoken about being shot at before in his infamous Newsnight interview, given to defend himself against Ms Guiffre's accusations and to explain his friendship with the late Epstein. It was the shamed royal's first social media post since he paid a reported 12million settlement to Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre to end a highly-damaging civil sexual assault case in New York Addressing a claim he was sweating heavily during an alleged night out with Ms Guiffre, Andrew told Emily Maitlis in 2019: 'I didn't sweat at the time because I had suffered what I would describe as an overdose of adrenaline in the Falklands War when I was shot at and I simply it was almost impossible for me to sweat.' Andrew was the first member of the royal family to have an official Twitter account under his own name, though that account was deleted in January. His reflections on Sarah's Instagram account came on the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War. On April 2 1982, Argentine forces invaded the islands, which had been in British hands since the 19th century, sparking the sending of a Royal Navy task force south to recapture them. The resulting naval and land campaign led to the recapture of the islands on June 14 at the cost of 255 British lives. About 650 Argentines died. The daughter of an Islamic State beheading victim is going to Syria to find his remains and hold a memorial. Bethany Haines, 24, the daughter of British aid worker and IS beheading victim David Haines, is set to travel to Syria in search of his body. It follows a mysterious phone call from someone who claimed to know where her father's body is, The Mirror reported. Mother-of-one Bethany, from Perthshire, Scotland, was just a schoolgirl when infamous terrorist Jihadi John, later identified as Mohammed Emwazi, murdered her father in 2014. Bethany Haines, 24, (pictured) the daughter of British aid worker and IS beheading victim David Haines, is set to travel to Syria in search of his body David Haines (pictured) was captured and beheaded in 2014 after being held by a four-man terrorist group of Britons dubbed 'The Beatles' John Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born British citizen known as Jihadi John during an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant propaganda video. Emwazi was killed in an American drone strike in November 2015 Emwazi was filmed beheading Haines in a killing that shocked the world. The following year the evil murderer was himself killed in a drone strike. Bethany previously said she wanted her father's murderers 'hung from a tree'. Since his killing almost a decade ago, Bethany has worked hard to find her father's body so she can repatriate him 'so me and my son can properly say goodbye'. Bethany was in Virginia this week when a U.S. federal judge finally heard the case against El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, who is standing trial over the deaths of Americans James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig. Bethany Haines was present in Virginia this week when a U.S. federal judge heard the case against El Shafee Elsheikh, who is standing trial over the deaths of Americans James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig David Haines (pictured) was a British aid worker kidnapped and beheaded by the ISIS 'Beatles' cell when he was just 44, in 2014 Pictured: Bethany Haines when she was a child with father David Haines Mother-of-one Bethany, from Perthshire, Scotland, was just a schoolgirl when infamous terrorist Jihadi John, later identified as Mohammed Emwazi, murdered her father in 2014. Pictured: Bethany Haines with father David Haines Alexanda Amon Kotey, left, and El Shafee Elsheikh, who were allegedly among four British jihadis who made up a brutal Islamic State cell dubbed 'The Beatles,' speak during an interview with The Associated Press at a security center in Syria in 2021 Elsheikh (pictured in a court room sketch on April 1) and The Beatles so-called because they were all from the UK are said to have captured 26 hostages between 2012 and 2015 in Syria While Elsheikh has not been charged in America over Mr Haines' death due to America lacking jurisdiction, he is believed to have participated in the kidnapping, torture and beheading of 27 British, American and other foreign hostages in Syria. Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, the daughter of Mr Haines - the former RAF engineer and aid worker who was 44 he was captured by ISIS in 2013 and beheaded the following year - said that she never thought Elsheikh would be caught, let alone stand trial. 'That we have got to this point feels like a miracle,' she told the newspaper before travelling to Virginia from her home in Perthshire. The 24-year-old has prepared a victim impact statement which she plans to read in court. Giving the Telegraph a preview, she said it would say that Elsheikh's alleged killings had nothing to do with his religion. 'No matter what you say, this was not about religion, you brutally murdered good and innocent people, and now you have to live with that for the rest of your life,' Ms Haines plans to tell him, she said. Ms Haines says that as much as she wants to see Elsheikh see justice, she is also hoping that he will finally reveal the location of her father's body. Her letter will implore him to give up the location not for her, but for her son. 'Don't do it for me, do it for my son, who can finally say goodbye to his grandad,' she told the newspaper, reading from her draft. While Elsheikh (pictured) has not been charged in America over Mr Haines' death due to America lacking jurisdiction, he is believed to have participated in the kidnapping, torture and beheading of 27 British, American and other foreign hostages in Syria Elsheikh was one of the members of the 'ISIS Beatles' - four British born men who went to Syria to fight for the terrorist group. When being interrogated by the United States, Elsheikh said that Mohammed Emwazi, known as the infamous 'Jihadi John', buried the body of James Foley, but burned that of Steven Sotloff because the ground was too dry. It is expected that Elsheikh will spend 15 years in a U.S. prison before being extradited to the UK to serve the rest of his jail term. Over the course of the trial - that will likely last a whole month - 60 witnesses will give evidence. They are made up of foreign intelligence, other alleged victims and Yazidi sex slaves, the Sunday Telegraph reported. The trial will be the first - and likely the last time a senior member of ISIS stands trial in the West. Others were either killed in Syria or tried in the Middle East. Advertisement French President Emmanuel Macron held his first big rally on Saturday in his race for re-election, promising the French more 'progress' and 'solidarity' over the next five years, but his campaign has hit a speed bump. It's been dubbed 'the McKinsey Affair,' named after an American consulting company hired to advise the French government on its Covid vaccination campaign and other policies. A new French Senate report questions the government's use of private consultants and accuses McKinsey of tax dodging. The issue is energizing Macron's rivals and dogging him at campaign stops ahead of France's April 10 first-round presidential vote. French President Emmanuel Macron held his first big rally on Saturday in his race for re-election, promising the French more 'progress' and 'solidarity' over the next five years, but his campaign has hit a speed bump. It's been dubbed 'the McKinsey Affair,' named after an American consulting company hired to advise the French government on its Covid vaccination campaign and other policies Macron supporters at the rally in Paris. It comes as a new French Senate report questions the government's use of private consultants and accuses McKinsey of tax dodging. The issue is energizing Macron's rivals and dogging him at campaign stops ahead of France's April 10 first-round presidential vote Macron, a centrist who has been in the forefront of diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine, has a comfortable lead in polls so far over far-right leader Marine Le Pen and other challengers The president told a crowd of about 30,000 at a stadium that usually hosts rugby matches: 'We are here to make possible a project of progress, of independence, for the future, for our France' Macron, a centrist who has been in the forefront of diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine, has a comfortable lead in polls so far over far-right leader Marine Le Pen and other challengers. 'We are here to make possible a project of progress, of independence, for the future, for our France,' Macron told a crowd of about 30,000 at a stadium that usually hosts rugby matches. 'I see difficulties to make ends meet, situations of insecurity ... and so much more to accomplish to turn back extremism.' Speaking to those who see 'all their salary go into gasoline, bills, rent' as the war in Ukraine is driving up food and energy prices, Macron promised to let companies give a tax-free bonus to employees of up to 6,000 euros (5.050) as soon as this summer. He also promised to raise the minimum pension to 1,100 euros (925) a month for those who have worked full time - up from about 700 euros now. The retirement age will need to be progressively raised from 62 to 65 to finance the plan, he said. Supporters welcomed him, chanting 'Macron, president!' 'One, two, five more years!' and waving the French tricolor flag. Speaking to those who see 'all their salary go into gasoline, bills, rent' as the war in Ukraine is driving up food and energy prices, Macron promised to let companies give a tax-free bonus to employees of up to 6,000 euros (5.050) as soon as this summer Supporters welcomed him, chanting 'Macron, president!' 'One, two, five more years!' and waving the French tricolor flag The French President's wife Brigitte Macron (centre) listens to her husband at the rally in Paris on Saturday Macron also promised to raise the minimum pension to 1,100 euros (925) a month for those who have worked full time - up from about 700 euros now. The retirement age will need to be progressively raised from 62 to 65 to finance the plan, he said But for those trying to unseat Macron, the word 'McKinsey' is becoming a rallying cry. Critics describe the French government's 1 billion euros spent on consulting firms like McKinsey last year as privatization and Americanization of French politics and are demanding more transparency. The French Senate, where opposition conservatives hold a majority, published a report last month investigating the government's use of private consulting firms. The report found that state spending on such contracts has doubled in the past three years despite mixed results, and warned they could pose conflicts of interest. Dozens of private companies are involved in the consulting, including giants like Ireland-based multinational Accenture and French group Capgemini. Most damningly, the report says McKinsey hasn't paid corporate profit taxes in France since at least 2011, but instead used a system of 'tax optimization' through its Delaware-based parent company. McKinsey issued a statement saying it 'respects French tax rules that apply to it' and defending its work in France. Macron supporters at the event. France is pushing for quick implementation in the 27-nation European Union of the minimum corporate tax of 15%, on which more than 130 countries agreed last October Macron sings the national anthem at the rally. He said: 'I see difficulties to make ends meet, situations of insecurity ... and so much more to accomplish to turn back extremism' French President and liberal party La Republique en Marche (LREM) candidate for re-election Emmanuel Macron greets supporters during his first campaign meeting at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre on Saturday McKinsey notably advised the French government on its Covid vaccination campaign, which got off to a halting start but eventually became among the world's most comprehensive. Outside consultants have also advised Macron's government on housing reform, asylum policy and other measures. The Senate report found that such firms earn smaller revenues in France than in Britain or Germany, and noted that spending on outside consultants was higher under conservative former President Nicolas Sarkozy than under Macron. Budget Minister Olivier Dussopt said the state money spent on consultants was about 0.3% of what the government spent on public servants' salaries last year and that McKinsey earned only a tiny fraction of it. He accused campaign rivals of inflating the affair to boost their own ratings. The affair is hurting Macron nonetheless. Fans of Macron show their support. Critics describe the French government's 1 billion euros spent on consulting firms like McKinsey last year as privatization and Americanization of French politics and are demanding more transparency A former investment banker once accused of being 'president of the rich,' Macron saw his ratings surge when his government spent massively to protect workers and businesses early in the pandemic, vowing to do 'whatever it takes' to cushion the blow. But his rivals say the McKinsey affair rekindles concerns that Macron and his government are beholden to private interests and out of touch with ordinary voters. Everywhere Macron goes now, he's asked about it. 'The last few days, I heard a lot speaking about tax evasion, an American company,' Macron said at Saturday's rally. 'I want to remind those who show outrage that they used them (consulting firms)' in local government as well. He also pointed to his government's fight to make sure corporations pay their fair share of taxes. 'The minimum tax in Europe, we fought for it, we did it,' he said. France is pushing for quick implementation in the 27-nation European Union of the minimum corporate tax of 15%, on which more than 130 countries agreed last October. Marine Le Pen narrows the gap between her and Emmanuel Macron with two weeks to go until the French election By WALTER FINCH for MailOnline French President Emmanuel Macron's support has seen a tumble just a week before the election as Marine Le Pen surges in the polls. In the wake of his shrinking lead, Prime Minister Jean Castex went on the attack, warning voters the new 'centrist' image of perennial far-right challenger Le Pen is a 'sham' and that she 'hasn't changed'. Castex told reporters: 'She makes people believe that she has changed. She makes people believe that she has become more flexible, more centrist almost. But it's a sham, she hasn't changed.' 'The election of Marine Le Pen would be a catastrophe for this country'. Recent polling, which had previously put Macron well ahead, suggests he would now win by just 53 per cent to 47 per cent against Le Pen in a second round presidential run-off. Macron had enjoyed a mid-March high of 14 point lead over Le Pen in first round polling, but now it is down to just eight points. Marine Le Pen campaigning on the Haguenau market yesterday. Her support has seen a bounce in recent weeks in a blow for current French President Emmanuel Macron President Emmanuel Macron visiting Dijon at the Maison-Phare for an exchange with associative actors. Macron is still the favourite to win a second term in the French elections this April Le Pen and her National Rally party - formerly the National Front - have moved away from their usual agenda of anti-immigration and anti-EU this election. Instead she has focused on the cost of living crisis and policies such as cutting fuel taxes, and voters have responded. But Castex was dismissive of her new policy shift. 'We are in a serious crisis. It is not easy to govern a country like France.' He added: 'Her programme has changed a lot, because the idea is to attract people, but basically the values that we know in the National Rally, in the Le Pen family, are the same.' Macron delivers a speech during a campaign visit in Fouras, western France, on March 31, 2022. He had enjoyed a mid-March high of 14 point lead over Le Pen in first round polling, but now it is down to just eight points Emmanuel Macron's estimated margin of victory over Marine Le Pen (pictured) is narrowing sharply as the election approaches, polls published this week suggest But with a little over a week to go until the first round elections on April 10, it is looking like it will be Le Pen to face off against Macron in the second round once again, in a re-run of the 2017 elections which Macron won with 66 per cent of the vote to 34 per cent. The French elections are dividied into two rounds, with only the top two candidates advancing to a second round runoff. The nearest other contender is the hard-Left Jean-Luc Melenchon, who trails her by up to seven per cent. The Telegraph report that one survey published by Le Monde this week said the number of people seeing Ms Le Pen as a threat has dropped two points since January, to 51 per cent. Half of all people surveyed said they would not vote for her under any circumstances, but that was fewer than those who refused to back Mr Melenchon and fellow far-right candidate Eric Zemmour, who was seen as Le Pen's likeliest rival. Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine has dealt a blow to the far-right cause across Europe, which is seen to be ideologically aligned with the Russian dictator, and boosted Macron because of his handling of the diplomatic crisis caused by the war. Macron can rest easy to some extent, as Le Pen will still face an uphill battle to unseat him if she does make it to the second round, as the current president is polled to take over fifty percent of the vote. An emergency air-and-sea rescue operation was underway in the English Channel tonight after a plane with two people on board crashed after taking off in the UK. The Piper PA-28 was in a group of aircraft which was heading to the northern France resort of Le Touquet on Saturday morning. 'It crashed into British waters for an unknown reason,' said a spokesman for the French emergency services. 'British Coastguard launched an operation supported by French aircraft and boats including the Abeille-Languedoc (Languedoc Bee) tug, which has been chartered by the French Navy.' The missing plane took off from Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield, near Stratford-upon-Avon, on Saturday morning, said a spokesman for the Maritime Prefecture in France. The Piper PA-28 was in a group of aircraft which was heading to the northern France resort of Le Touquet on Saturday morning (file image, Piper PA-28) He spoke as the wide-ranging search was suspended overnight Saturday, as rescuers said it would resume at first light on Sunday. 'The plane was travelling from Wellesbourne to Le Touquet, with two people on board, before it disappeared off radars,' said the Prefecture spokesman. Publicly available flight records showed that a privately owned Piper PA-28R-200 Cherokee Arrow II, registration number EGVA left Wellesbourne at 7.56am on Saturday and appeared to go off radar over the Channel at 09.02am. It has been due to land at Le Touquet, France, but failed to arrive. The single engine plane is 46 years old it was built in 1976 and has four seats. Another investigating source in France said the two people on board were British nationals. As well as the Abeille Languedoc, the major search involved a French Navy Falcon 50 jet and a Dauphin helicopter. Ships in the Channel were also alerted to the disappearance, but by nightfall there was no sign of the plane, or any debris. 'The search continued all afternoon, without being able to locate any debris or aircraft wreckage,' said the Prefecture spokesman. He added: 'At the beginning of Saturday evening, without additional elements and the probable sector of disappearance having been fully investigated, the searches were suspended. 'They will resume tomorrow morning with a flight by the Dauphin helicopter'. By 8.30pm in France, there was no sign of the occupants of the plane, who have not been identified publicly. Those travelling in small planes such as the Piper PA-28 are usually equipped with lifejackets and a life raft. While the plane may have sunk in the Channel, rescuers are accordingly hoping to find the pilot and passenger on the surface. The PA-28 is a two or four-seat aircraft built by the U.S. firm, Piper, as a trainer, air taxi, or for personal transport. It has been in production since 1960 and various models have been involved in a number of high-profile accidents in that time. In August 1972, Prince William of Gloucester, the Queen's cousin, was killed along with his co-pilot in a Piper Cherokee Arrow after crashing on take-off from Halfpenny Green, near Wolverhampton, during an air race. 'Reckless' lack of anti-fraud measures meant Bounce Back Loan Scheme and Eat Out To Help Out were taken advantage of by criminal organisations Fraudsters might have stolen as much as 37billion of Covid money from the public purse, experts say. The staggering sum, based on an analysis by academics from the University of Oxford, is vastly higher than previous estimates, and more than double the 16billion presented as a possibility to the Public Accounts Committee earlier this year. In a damning review of the latest evidence from several public bodies, the report says criminal organisations who were 'fraud ready' before the pandemic took advantage of the 'reckless' lack of anti-fraud measures to siphon huge amounts from Government initiatives such as the Bounce Back Loan Scheme and Eat Out To Help Out. Around 374 such schemes were introduced by various Government departments during 2020 and 2021 to support individuals and businesses hit hard by Covid measures, as well as to further research and support vaccine development. The National Audit Office's Covid cost tracker estimates that they have cost 370billion to implement. Analysis by University of Oxford academics found that huge amounts of money put into Covid support schemes were siphoned from Government initiatives such as the Bounce Back Loan Scheme and Eat Out To Help Out. Pictured: Rishi Sunak places an 'Eat Out to Help Out' sticker in the window of a business But the Oxford team's review, which was given to The Mail on Sunday ahead of being published Saturday, concludes 'at least ten per cent' of the cash equivalent to 37billion, or one third of the total NHS annual budget - is likely to have been lost to fraud. 'When the decision to put into place severe and unprecedented restrictions was taken, governmental support for those worst affected was a sensible and humane act, regardless of the sums involved,' the review read. 'However, because of the size of the programmes and the speed with which they were put in place, anti-fraud checks should have been part of the programmes. However, in several instances, they were not. 'If we add the lack of pandemic preparation, the government's appetite for hasty risk-taking fed by flawed predictions of modellers and general media frenzy, together with the fragmentation of anti-fraud activities, all these factors created a greenhouse effect for criminals to fleece the public purse.' John O'Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, last night condemned the scale of the fraud highlighted by the review. 'Abuse of the Covid schemes will appal hard-working taxpayers, who will ultimately have to foot the bill,' he said. 'Support had to be deployed quickly without reams of red tape tying things up, but the scale of the abuse will shock those who played by the rules while worrying about their jobs and families. 'Ministers should protect taxpayers with more stringent measures to fine and prosecute the fraudsters that fiddled the system.' The detailed analysis, which focused on the largest of the government schemes, was carried out by Dr Tom Jefferson and Professor Carl Heneghan, from the CEBM. They have helped produce a series of reports which exposed Government failings during the pandemic. They had previously investigated discrepancies in the way PCR tests were carried out and how Covid deaths were recorded. Last month, respected epidemiologist Prof Heneghan, director of the CEBM, found himself at the centre of a censorship storm when he was briefly banned from Twitter after the Covid deaths report, highlighted in The Mail on Sunday, was wrongly flagged as 'fake news'. Their most recent report investigates publicly available information from Parliamentary committees, FOI responses and documents from the National Audit Office to estimate the full extent of fraud during the pandemic. It finds the losses are 'between 8.5 per cent and 38.8 per cent' of the total, depending on the specific programme. Lord Agnew of Oulton, former Treasury minister in charge of counter-fraud, quit over the Government's 'lamentable' handling of Covid business loan fraud The Eat Out To Help Out Scheme, for example, introduced in August 2020 in a bid to encourage people back into restaurants following the first lockdown, cost 849million. Diners eating on certain days were given a 50 per cent discount up to 10 which was refunded to restaurants by HMRC. But around 8.5 per cent of the claims by restaurants which amounts to 72million - are estimated to be fraudulent. This means one in 12 meals provided were 'ghost meals' which were never served, the review says. One cafe owner in mid-Wales described how there was 'no official form to fill in' and establishments were just told to 'keep a tally'. 'I've kept all my pieces of paper where I jotted things down along with my till receipts just in case, but no-one's asked for them,' she said. 'I was just paid back the money two days after submitting an iPhone picture of some words on a blank sheet of paper. HMRC denied banks access to data that could have prevented BILLIONS of pounds lost to Covid loans fraud, Barclays chief tells MPs HMRC denied banks access to data that could have prevented billions of pounds lost to Covid loans fraud, a Barclays chief told MPs today. Hannah Bernard said her bank had asked government officials for up-to-date figures on the turnover of borrowers before handing out bounceback loans in 2020, but had been told it was not available. It meant that, instead, the bank had to ask the business what its turnover was, and hope it told the truth. During the rollout of the scheme, the amount a business could borrow was based on turnover. Ms Bernard, who is the head of business banking at Barclays, told the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee today: 'The scheme necessitated a lot of self-attestation, particularly the businesses' turnover. 'Ideally we would have wanted an HMRC data feed so we could have checked the turnover they were stating. 'We made the suggestion, it wasn't available, so we had to go with the self-attestation.' She later added that of the 7.5% of loans that the Government estimates might have been taken out fraudulently, a vast majority would have been due to self-attestation of turnover. Barclays' data currently shows around 1.5% of fraud in the scheme, but Ms Bernard said this could rise. 'I can see my way through to the 7.5%, but most of that, 90% of that, will be due to self-attestation,' she said. Ms Bernard said it is possible that many of the businesses which inflated their turnover will still pay back their loans and the taxpayer will not lose out. It was unclear from Ms Bernard's answer whether HMRC had the data at the time. According to a National Audit Office report, the British Business Bank, which ran the scheme on behalf of the Government, identified turnover misstatement as the top fraud risk in October 2020. Ms Bernard's comments came at a meeting where HSBC revealed it had taken it months longer than other banks to make sure that it was not giving bounceback loans to companies which had borrowed from one of its rivals. The bank said it had not put in place a full duplicate check on all applicants until December 8. The British Business Bank had put what the National Audit Office called a 'straightforward' way of checking for duplicates in June, already too late to prevent many duplicate applications. Other banks said it had taken them a matter of weeks to implement the duplicate checks. Advertisement 'Most people are good. But the door was open to fraud.' The Bounce Back Loan Scheme, which cost 47billion and has distributed Government-backed loans of up to 50,000 to small and medium-sized businesses affected by the pandemic, is also facing significant losses due to fraud. Around 100,000 applications were made on the day the scheme opened in May 2020. A Public Accounts Committee hearing in January learned some businesses had erroneously received two grants from separate schemes, while others fraudulently obtained cash payments. The true scale of any criminal activity is yet to be established, but officials from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy told MPs losses which includes companies not being able to pay back loans - could reach 37 per cent of the total. Around 7.5 per cent, or 3.5billion, could be fraud, according to Permanent Secretary Sarah Munby. But not all of this was due to the need for applications to be processed quickly, the review notes. Lord Agnew of Oulton, former Treasury minister in charge of counter-fraud, quit over the Government's 'lamentable' handling of Covid business loan fraud. He told the Treasury Committee last month that fraud checks in relation to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme were 'just a "Dad's Army" operation as they were lending money to companies that did not even exist before Covid-19 broke out, because of a total naivety in the system and not putting in proper checks'. He added: 'The only thing I can say to you is that the average age of a Treasury official is 29 and the turnover of staff in there is somewhere between 20 per cent and 25 per cent a year. They are very bright in a standard way they went to a good university and got a good degree but they have no life experience.' The Oxford team analysed Companies' House data to see whether there was an increase in the number of new companies incorporated during the pandemic. It found 768,777 new companies were set up in 2020, a 13.32 per cent increase on the previous year. This is also well above what might be expected given the modest increases of around four per cent during previous years, the review found, which it described as 'unexplained'. Dr Jefferson said: 'Obviously we have no idea whether these companies were set up simply to benefit from these schemes. 'But it costs 12 to file a new company with Companies House. All you need is a frontman at an address in the UK and anyone, anywhere in the world, might have benefited from these payouts.' The broad conclusion of the review is that criminality may have stripped up to 10 per cent of the financial aid funds, based on an estimate made to MPs by one of the country's most senior civil servants, Permanent Secretary to the Treasury Sir Tom Scholar. HMRC's Taxpayer Protection Task Force is forecast to recover around 1billion by the end of March 2023. But the total lost could well exceed 37billion. The NAO Covid cost tracker has not been updated since September 2021, so the expenditure and fraud is likely to rise, according to Dr Jefferson. 'I'm not sure we'll ever know how much has been lost,' he said. 'The faults in the system were there before the first lockdown, and as far as we know have still not been addressed. An amount of fraud is simply built-in, a fact of life.' A HM Treasury spokesperson said: 'Fraud is totally unacceptable, and we're taking action on multiple fronts to crack down on anyone who has sought to exploit our schemes and bring them to justice. 'Last year we stopped or recovered nearly 2.2 billion in potential fraud from the Bounce Back Loan Scheme and 743m of over-claimed furlough grants. 'We've also invested over 100m in a Taxpayer Protection Taskforce made up of nearly 1,300 staff which is expected to recover an additional 1 billion of taxpayers money.' Investigators have started digging in fields where they believe the remains of a woman kidnapped and held to ransom 53 years ago could be buried. Murder detectives have been searching a farm in Hertfordshire, where one of Muriel McKay's abductors has confessed to burying her body. Mrs McKay, 55, was the victim of a bungled abduction by Nizamodeen Hosein and his older brother Arthur Hosein in 1969 after they mistook her for the wife of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. The brothers forced their way into the McKay home in Wimbledon, south London on December 29 and bundled her into a car and took her to a Hertfordshire farm where they lived. They then demanded 1million for the return of Mrs McKay, who was married to Mr Murdoch's deputy Alick, pretending to be mafia. She was never seen alive again and her body was not found. Investigators have started digging in fields where they believe the remains of a woman kidnapped and held to ransom 53 years ago could be buried Muriel McKay was kidnapped from her Wimbledon home on December 29, 1969 after she was mistaken for Anna Murdoch, the 25-year-old wife of media tycoon Rupert, and later died. She was never seen alive again and her body was not found One of her abductors Nizamodeen Hosein, now 75, revealed that Mrs McKay was buried on the 11-acre Hertfordshire farm where she was held. The admission was made to a lawyer representing Mrs McKays family Following trial in 1970, the brothers were sentenced to life imprisonment in one of Britains first convictions for murder without a body. In December, Hosein, now 75, revealed that Mrs McKay was buried on the 11-acre Hertfordshire farm where she was held. The admission was made to a lawyer representing Mrs McKays family. Since February, officers have been carrying out visits to the farm near Royston, and now work has begun in an effort to find answers. Pictures show police forensic tents over being set up on the farm and detectives moving away wheelbarrows of soil that has been dug up. Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell said: 'We are very grateful to the landowners for allowing us to carry out this work and have been keeping Muriel's family fully informed. Since February, officers have been carrying out visits to the farm near Royston, and now work has begun in an effort to find answers. Pictures show police forensic tents over being set up on the farm and detectives moving away wheelbarrows of soil that has been dug up Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell said: 'We are very grateful to the landowners for allowing us to carry out this work and have been keeping Muriel's family fully informed' 'While two men were previously convicted of murder, the family have lived for more than 50 years without knowing where Muriel's remains lie. 'At this stage we don't know how long the dig will take or what we will find but it would be an enormous relief and sense of closure for everyone if Muriel's remains were discovered.' The killer, who has denied involvement in the kidnap, also insisted that no violence was used against her. He told her family that she collapsed and died while watching a TV news report with him about her kidnapping. The confession was made after he was tracked down in Trinidad by documentary makers covering the story last year. Mrs McKays daughter Dianne, 81, told The Times: Were pleased the police are taking it seriously. We have worked hard for the last few months to get this far and we just want to get on with it. Nizamodeen and Arthur Hosein thought they were abducting Rupert Murdoch's then wife Anna Murdoch, pictured here in 1988 Muriel McKay's family (pictured in January 1970) are pressuring the police to excavate the farmhouse where she is thought to been buried in a bid to find her remains Nizmodeen Hosein protested he had not killed McKay, maintaining instead that she had collapsed and later died from a heart attack while sitting downstairs in the farmhouse (pictured) Its very frustrating because weve talked about nothing else, and now Nizam told us where he buried my mother and now we have to stop and wait. Its very difficult. We are aware there are certain protocols which must be followed, for example obtaining a search warrant to search the area she is buried, but all we really wish is to move on and achieve the closure that we have been seeking for the past 52 years. A spokeswoman for the Met told MailOnline: The Met were contacted in December 2021 by the family of Muriel McKay regarding information they had obtained in relation to her murder. Officers from the Mets Specialist Crime Command have met with the family and are in the process of reviewing all the material. According to The Times, detectives travelled today to the National Archives in Kew to retrieve the original case files. However, the farms present owner has refused to co-operate with requests from the family to allow them on to the farm so that the location pinpointed by Hosein can be scanned using a ground-penetrating radar. Depending on the evidence, the Met Police may decide to launch a search for Mrs McKay's remains. Nizmodeen said: 'At the farmhouse there's a wooden gate, there's a few wooden gates, it has barn beside, barn beside, and ten foot forward, ten foot this side [left], the body's somewhere around there' Nizamodeen (right) and Arthur Hosein (left) were convicted of her murder though police never recovered McKay's body The pair claimed they were innocent but Arthurs fingerprints were found on the ransom notes and a notebook filled with the same paper that Muriel's letters were written on were discovered at the site. Nizmodeen told Matthew Gayle, a British barrister in Trinidad hired by the family, that he wanted closure before he died and so would reveal the location of McKay's body. He said: At the farmhouse there's a wooden gate, there's a few wooden gates, it has barn beside, barn beside, and ten foot forward, ten foot this side [left], the body's somewhere around there. Next to the barbed wire fence, about three foot [from the fence]. Mrs McKay was kidnapped after the brothers tailed a chauffeured Rolls-Royce belonging to Murdoch that was on loan to her husband Alick McKay. She was abducted in the brotherss Volvo and taken to Rooks Farm, where they lived with Arthurs wife and children, who were on holiday at the time. Newspaper executive Mr McKay returned home to find the telephone ripped off the wall, the contents of his wife's handbag strewn over the hall. He later received a call from a man demanding 1million equivalent to 20million today if Mrs McKay was to be returned alive, sparking the UKs first high-profile, kidnap-for-ransom case. Over the 40-day ordeal the brothers, who claimed to be a mafia group called M3, sent three letters and made 18 further calls demanding the money. They also sent Mrs McKays husband five letters allegedly written by Muriel, including one in which she said she was cold and blindfolded, as proof of life. Two attempts by police to deliver fake notes to the kidnappers failed but the second try led officers to Rook's Farm, where Mrs McKay was taken by the brothers. Nizmodeen told the lawyer he was the only person who buried Mrs McKay, refusing to implicate his brother Arthur who was also convicted for her murder. Nizmodeen (above), 75, has now revealed the site where McKay was buried to a lawyer representing her family He also protested he had not killed Mrs McKay, maintaining instead that she had collapsed and later died from a heart attack while sitting downstairs in the farmhouse. This will forever haunt me for the rest of my days, Nizmodeen said, adding he had fed fried rice to Mrs McKay after kidnapping her. His brother Arthur died in prison in 2009. Nizmodeen also agreed to talk to Mrs McKays sister Dianne, 81, in a video call. She said: I was dreading speaking with him. At first I wrote him a letter and I couldn't do it, I felt physically ill. Since then I've got more into it and eventually I was able to front him up on a Zoom call. He told me he wanted closure before he met his maker. I felt utter relief when he said she's buried at the farm. I've just thought about it so much over the years. For years I had terrible dreams of them throwing my mother in the sea. We haven't had a good Christmas since it happened. To me it's a horrible time, it's the anniversary of it happening and New Year I find particularly upsetting. We always went abroad at Christmas so we could avoid the issue Dianne added: It's always there in the back of your mind somewhere. It makes you more anxious I lock the doors and moved abroad to somewhere in the middle of nowhere, I retreated to a very isolated place. You didn't know whether to cry, or to accept, it was a very confusing emotion. You cannot grieve, you cannot accept, because there was no body... When he told us those details, he said where it was, how to get there, how many steps, it was quite a lot of detail and I thought, My God, he's telling the truth, he can't be making this up. Advertisement Prince William will focus on 'five or six core charity subjects' when he becomes Prince of Wales, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Under a blueprint setting out what Palace aides are describing as 'The Cambridge Way', William will adopt an approach closer to that pursued by his grandfather, Prince Philip, rather than that of his father. With an over-arching mantra of 'urgency plus optimism equals action', William will eschew what a source described as 'hand-wringing over life's problems' and instead concentrate on 'hope and solutions'. Prince William will focus on 'five or six core charity subjects' when he becomes Prince of Wales, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. William and Kate's long-term strategywill include deploying the increasingly assured and popular Duchess of Cambridge on more solo overseas trips. (Above, the couple in the Bahamas on their recent Caribbean tour) Citing his role last year as co-presenter of a five-part Earthshot TV documentary with Sir David Attenborough, an insider added that William also wanted to utilise his media training and TV experience to be more 'credible' with the wider public The Queen's advancing years and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's recent troubled tour of the Caribbean has resulted in a redoubling of efforts to finalise William and Kate's long-term strategy, which will include: Prioritising core issues including mental health, the environment and children's early years, and focusing on 'hope and solutions' in the style adopted by former US President Barack Obama when running for the White House; Harnessing his media training to make more TV appearances so that he is seen as 'credible and comfortable' by the public; Deploying the increasingly assured and popular Duchess of Cambridge on more solo overseas trips; Reducing stage-managed events in favour of more meet-and-greets so the couple can 'get under the skin' of issues; Cutting the number of charities with which the Prince of Wales is usually associated, but playing a greater role with those he retains. While the reinvention of the role of the Prince of Wales will inevitably spark suggestions of an implied attack on Prince Charles, a source close to William insisted: 'This approach isn't a criticism of what has come before but just an acknowledgment of a desire for change. 'It's about hope and optimism for the future. What is driving the Duke and Duchess in everything they do is urgency plus optimism equals action. 'Many of the causes adopted by the Duke and Duchess, whether it's Earthshot [the annual prize awarded by the Royal Foundation for contributions to environmentalism] or the early years work, also touches on every other aspect of society so it's not that they're excluding other good causes by having a focus.' That is not to say, however, that no friction exists between father and son. The Mail on Sunday understands that William has no plans to take on The Prince's Trust, the charity founded by Charles in 1976 to support vulnerable young people, but will instead concentrate on the Royal Foundation, created by William and his brother Harry in 2009 and now the vehicle for the Cambridges' campaigning work. (Above, Charles gives a speech during the Prince's Trust Awards Trophy Ceremony last October) Charles was irked that last month's eight-day Caribbean tour, which included visits to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas, clashed with his long-planned trip to Ireland. (Above, William and Kate in Jamaica on March 22) Charles was irked that last month's eight-day Caribbean tour, which included visits to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas, clashed with his long-planned trip to Ireland. 'Ireland is one of the most important relationships so there was a little consternation over the timing to say the least,' said an insider close to Charles. 'There is not usually a clash of diaries in this way.' As feared by Charles's team, the Cambridges did eclipse the Prince of Wales in terms of media coverage although far from all of it positive but a source close to William played down the spat, saying: 'The Prince of Wales always goes away to Ireland around this time of year, so there didn't seem to be a problem.' The Mail on Sunday understands that William has no plans to take on The Prince's Trust, the charity founded by Charles in 1976 to support vulnerable young people, but will instead concentrate on the Royal Foundation, created by William and his brother Harry in 2009 and now the vehicle for the Cambridges' campaigning work. The charity focuses on the environment, including the Earthshot Prize, conservation, early years, emergency responders and mental health, including reducing stigma. The Cambridges hold regular meetings with Lord Hague, the former Foreign Secretary, who was appointed Chair of the Royal Foundation's Board of Trustees in 2020.William has also made clear his intention to slash by half the estimated 140 staff employed by his father when he becomes Prince of Wales. Some friction: Prince Charles and William at an Earthshot event last year. Charles was irked that last month's eight-day Caribbean tour, which included visits to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas, clashed with his long-planned trip to Ireland The Cambridges hold regular meetings with Lord Hague, the former Foreign Secretary, who was appointed Chair of the Royal Foundation's Board of Trustees in 2020. William has also made clear his intention to slash by half the estimated 140 staff employed by his father when he becomes Prince of Wales. (Charles, above, in Tipperary, Ireland in March) The Duke, who has his own dedicated office entirely separate from that of Prince Charles, will inherit about 22 million a year from the Duchy of Cornwall when he succeeds his father. The funds are used to subsidise the Prince of Wales's official and charitable activities as well as to pay for any children, but William will be free to use any savings as he sees fit, including ploughing money into the Royal Foundation. Drawing parallels with the Duke of Edinburgh, the source said that The Cambridge Way blueprint was being devised in 'much the same way' as the Duke of Edinburgh's approach. Prince Philip had supported a wide range of charities yet maintained a particular interest in the military, the environment and technology. Explaining William's determination to adopt the hands-on approach that endeared his late mother Princess Diana to the nation, the source added: 'The Duke doesn't like stage-managed events. 'When he talks in a speech he wants it to be more natural and credible, an event where he is interacting and reacting to people rather than an event designed around him about what he wants to say. 'He doesn't just want to do round-table talks without properly getting to grips with the issues. 'There will also be new ways in which to interact with people and become credible and comfortable in five or six core subjects.' While William's team consider the creation of the blueprint for the Cambridges' future to be both sensible and necessary, some allies of Charles fear it could tarnish his achievements as Prince of Wales, particularly on the environment and supporting young people Citing his role last year as co-presenter of a five-part Earthshot TV documentary with Sir David Attenborough, the insider added that William also wanted to utilise his media training and TV experience to be more 'credible' with the wider public. William's growing confidence was illustrated last weekend with his intervention at the end of the Caribbean tour, which was beset by public-relations errors and protests about British colonialism. As the MoS revealed, the impetus for his acknowledgement that he might not succeed the Queen as head of the Commonwealth 'came from KP' Kensington Palace rather than from Charles, although the Queen was told about his statement. One insider described it as the Duke's 'coming of age'. While William's team consider the creation of the blueprint for the Cambridges' future to be both sensible and necessary, some allies of Charles fear it could tarnish his achievements as Prince of Wales, particularly on the environment and supporting young people. 'It's not particularly fair to the Prince of Wales and all the work he has put in,' said one. What would the Queen Mother have said? Nothing. That's why she was so popular, writes PATRICK JEPHSON By PATRICK JEPHSON for the Mail On Sunday Last week marked the 20th anniversary of the death of the Queen Mother. From her celestial Royal box at an eternal Epsom Derby, it's tempting to wonder what Her Majesty might make of the Royal headlines of the past fortnight. A veteran of overseas tours from an era when the Royal Yacht Britannia was considered essential kit for making the right impression, she might raise an eyebrow at the furore generated by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's use of a humble vintage Land Rover to review a parade in Jamaica. She would surely have found the dignified proceedings in Westminster Abbey where the life of her famously brisk son-in-law was celebrated on Tuesday more familiar territory. Last week marked the 20th anniversary of the death of the Queen Mother. From her celestial Royal box at an eternal Epsom Derby, it's tempting to wonder what Her Majesty might make of the Royal headlines of the past fortnight And she would have joined in the universal admiration for her elder daughter's visible fortitude in just being there. What the Queen Mother might make of great-nephew Harry's decamping to California or grandson Andrew's settlement of a sexual assault case is best not imagined. Four big Royal stories, each symbolising an aspect of the momentous period of change through which the Monarchy is now passing. How it comes through the change is critically important. It may even decide if the House of Windsor will continue to supply heads of state to any country in the Commonwealth, ours included. The Cambridges' Jubilee tour of three Caribbean realms seems to have hit several painful nerves. It could be studied by future courtiers as an example of how trouble on tour never arrives when or how you expect it. What the Queen Mother might make of great-nephew Harry's decamping to California or grandson Andrew's settlement of a sexual assault case is best not imagined A veteran of overseas tours from an era when the Royal Yacht Britannia was considered essential kit for making the right impression, she might raise an eyebrow at the furore generated by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's use of a humble vintage Land Rover to review a parade in Jamaica (above) But even as the flak starts flying, the golden rule must stay the same: don't make a bad situation worse, especially by answering questions you haven't been asked. A tour that should have been remembered for mutual goodwill now looks destined to be remembered for very different reasons. In a climate of post-colonial reassessment, it could prove a catalyst for uncomfortable changes in Royal relations with the Commonwealth. Royal tours to Commonwealth countries always require special care, and that counts extra when the tour, as in this case, includes realms countries that while fully independent retain the Queen as a largely ceremonial head of state. Having overseen a score of Royal tours for William's mother, I have experienced for myself the pressure-cooker atmosphere that can build in a small team, working hard in stressful circumstances in unfamiliar surroundings. I learned the hard way that time for reflection which the Prince says he has had on tour should usually be left until at least a day after the flight home. When a PR emergency breaks out an innocent chain-link fence picture suddenly turns inflammatory the travelling media naturally switch from sedately following the planned list of press opportunities to full investigative mode. Tensions rocket and Royal smiles become heroically fixed. The pressure on tour managers to Do Something becomes intense. It can lead even seasoned Palace tourists to ignore cautious instincts. 'Never feed a media fire' is old advice that still holds good. Was it forgotten this time? Left alone, the tour might easily have slipped down the news agenda before re-emerging as part of a calm process of Royal reflection and evolution. When a PR emergency breaks out an innocent chain-link fence picture suddenly turns inflammatory the travelling media naturally switch from sedately following the planned list of press opportunities to full investigative mode. Tensions rocket and Royal smiles become heroically fixed Of course there are lessons to be learned from this tour. It's a process best done in private, with measured consultation and a realistic understanding of likely public concern. Instead, the aftermath has been dominated by Prince William's surprise statement referring to the future of the Commonwealth, written before he left the Bahamas. This helped fuel a largely ill-informed post-mortem on What Went Wrong. Kensington Palace 'sources' have been helpfully trying to explain what the Prince really meant, so prolonging the agony. All of which rather confirms President Reagan's wise words: 'If you're explaining, you're losing.' In truth, Prince William's statement is a bit of a head scratcher. The sincerity is tangible but the tone is neither assured nor reassuring. We're told that the greatest living expert on the Commonwealth, the Queen, was not consulted but informed, by WhatsApp, after the statement was issued. If true, that's an opportunity missed. She of all people knows the danger of knee-jerk reactions to bad headlines. A chance to show the Royal machine functioning smoothly under pressure was lost. Instead, critics at home and in the Caribbean and beyond, were offered (and gleefully seized) an opportunity to add acrimony to an already unfortunate series of events. Post-tour Palace damage control has veered into dangerous territory, especially by encouraging speculation about what kind of Monarchy we can expect not one, but two reigns hence. Prince William's words have been interpreted variously as ripping up the Royal rule book, guessing Commonwealth leadership policy in the 2060s and rejecting of the time-honoured mantra of 'never complain, never explain'. In its place the Prince is said to favour 'healthy debate'. Take a step back and what's at risk here is a shared understanding of what the Monarchy should do and how it should do it. Just look at the breadth of discord ignited by the tour, reflecting divisions by age, background, race, political affiliation and more. This does not bode well for healthy debate, nor does Prince William's interpretation of Royal service: 'For us, that's not telling people what to do. It is about serving and supporting them in whatever way they think best' Royal service, at its best, is an inspirational combination of duty, sacrifice and consistent hard work. Look at the Queen's lifetime of service. Too often, though, it has become a code word for the pursuit of personal agendas. William has only to look at his uncle, younger brother and even at times his father to see how the concept of Royal 'duty' has been degraded. Not by bad luck, or an unfair press or even an old Land Rover, but by plain bad judgment. So what would the Queen Mother say, hopefully between sips of heavenly gin and Dubonnet? Probably nothing at all, at least in public. Which may help explain why she is remembered as one of the most widely loved and admired Royal figures of all time. Patrick Jephson was equerry and private secretary to HRH The Princess of Wales 1988-96. Last week marked the 20th anniversary of the death of the Queen Mother. From her celestial Royal box at an eternal Epsom Derby, it's tempting to wonder what Her Majesty might make of the Royal headlines of the past fortnight. A veteran of overseas tours from an era when the Royal Yacht Britannia was considered essential kit for making the right impression, she might raise an eyebrow at the furore generated by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's use of a humble vintage Land Rover to review a parade in Jamaica. She would surely have found the dignified proceedings in Westminster Abbey where the life of her famously brisk son-in-law was celebrated on Tuesday more familiar territory. Last week marked the 20th anniversary of the death of the Queen Mother. From her celestial Royal box at an eternal Epsom Derby, it's tempting to wonder what Her Majesty might make of the Royal headlines of the past fortnight And she would have joined in the universal admiration for her elder daughter's visible fortitude in just being there. What the Queen Mother might make of great-grandson Harry's decamping to California or grandson Andrew's settlement of a sexual assault case is best not imagined. Four big Royal stories, each symbolising an aspect of the momentous period of change through which the Monarchy is now passing. How it comes through the change is critically important. It may even decide if the House of Windsor will continue to supply heads of state to any country in the Commonwealth, ours included. The Cambridges' Jubilee tour of three Caribbean realms seems to have hit several painful nerves. It could be studied by future courtiers as an example of how trouble on tour never arrives when or how you expect it. What the Queen Mother might make of great-grandson Harry's decamping to California or grandson Andrew's settlement of a sexual assault case is best not imagined A veteran of overseas tours from an era when the Royal Yacht Britannia was considered essential kit for making the right impression, she might raise an eyebrow at the furore generated by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's use of a humble vintage Land Rover to review a parade in Jamaica (above) But even as the flak starts flying, the golden rule must stay the same: don't make a bad situation worse, especially by answering questions you haven't been asked. A tour that should have been remembered for mutual goodwill now looks destined to be remembered for very different reasons. In a climate of post-colonial reassessment, it could prove a catalyst for uncomfortable changes in Royal relations with the Commonwealth. Royal tours to Commonwealth countries always require special care, and that counts extra when the tour, as in this case, includes realms countries that while fully independent retain the Queen as a largely ceremonial head of state. Having overseen a score of Royal tours for William's mother, I have experienced for myself the pressure-cooker atmosphere that can build in a small team, working hard in stressful circumstances in unfamiliar surroundings. I learned the hard way that time for reflection which the Prince says he has had on tour should usually be left until at least a day after the flight home. When a PR emergency breaks out an innocent chain-link fence picture suddenly turns inflammatory the travelling media naturally switch from sedately following the planned list of press opportunities to full investigative mode. Tensions rocket and Royal smiles become heroically fixed. The pressure on tour managers to Do Something becomes intense. It can lead even seasoned Palace tourists to ignore cautious instincts. 'Never feed a media fire' is old advice that still holds good. Was it forgotten this time? Left alone, the tour might easily have slipped down the news agenda before re-emerging as part of a calm process of Royal reflection and evolution. When a PR emergency breaks out an innocent chain-link fence picture suddenly turns inflammatory the travelling media naturally switch from sedately following the planned list of press opportunities to full investigative mode. Tensions rocket and Royal smiles become heroically fixed Of course there are lessons to be learned from this tour. It's a process best done in private, with measured consultation and a realistic understanding of likely public concern. Instead, the aftermath has been dominated by Prince William's surprise statement referring to the future of the Commonwealth, written before he left the Bahamas. This helped fuel a largely ill-informed post-mortem on What Went Wrong. Kensington Palace 'sources' have been helpfully trying to explain what the Prince really meant, so prolonging the agony. All of which rather confirms President Reagan's wise words: 'If you're explaining, you're losing.' In truth, Prince William's statement is a bit of a head scratcher. The sincerity is tangible but the tone is neither assured nor reassuring. We're told that the greatest living expert on the Commonwealth, the Queen, was not consulted but informed, by WhatsApp, after the statement was issued. If true, that's an opportunity missed. She of all people knows the danger of knee-jerk reactions to bad headlines. A chance to show the Royal machine functioning smoothly under pressure was lost. Instead, critics at home and in the Caribbean and beyond, were offered (and gleefully seized) an opportunity to add acrimony to an already unfortunate series of events. Post-tour Palace damage control has veered into dangerous territory, especially by encouraging speculation about what kind of Monarchy we can expect not one, but two reigns hence. Prince William's words have been interpreted variously as ripping up the Royal rule book, guessing Commonwealth leadership policy in the 2060s and rejecting of the time-honoured mantra of 'never complain, never explain'. In its place the Prince is said to favour 'healthy debate'. Take a step back and what's at risk here is a shared understanding of what the Monarchy should do and how it should do it. Just look at the breadth of discord ignited by the tour, reflecting divisions by age, background, race, political affiliation and more. This does not bode well for healthy debate, nor does Prince William's interpretation of Royal service: 'For us, that's not telling people what to do. It is about serving and supporting them in whatever way they think best' Royal service, at its best, is an inspirational combination of duty, sacrifice and consistent hard work. Look at the Queen's lifetime of service. Too often, though, it has become a code word for the pursuit of personal agendas. William has only to look at his uncle, younger brother and even at times his father to see how the concept of Royal 'duty' has been degraded. Not by bad luck, or an unfair press or even an old Land Rover, but by plain bad judgment. So what would the Queen Mother say, hopefully between sips of heavenly gin and Dubonnet? Probably nothing at all, at least in public. Which may help explain why she is remembered as one of the most widely loved and admired Royal figures of all time. Patrick Jephson was equerry and private secretary to HRH The Princess of Wales 1988-96. In the first extract from his compelling new book in yesterday's Daily Mail, Norman Scott told the horrifying story of how, aged just 21, vulnerable and mentally unstable, he was raped by the Liberal MP Jeremy Thorpe after appealing to him for help. Today, in the second extract, he explains how, in the belief that the powerful politician would help him recover his lost National Insurance cards, he reluctantly agreed to continue having sex with him. It was a decision that would have nightmarish consequences In 1974, my life became like the plot of a dystopian thriller. Alarming things had started to happen, inexplicable events that had me rushing to my doctor for tranquillisers. I was living in a remote bungalow on Exmoor. First, someone telephoned the local social security office, pretending to be the Conservative MP Michael Heseltine, to ask where I lived. Fortunately, the officer who took the call suspected it was from an impostor. It was: when the real Michael Heseltine was contacted, he denied all knowledge of it. Then, for no apparent reason, helicopters started circling above the bungalow. This went on for some time until, one day, I saw a helicopter land nearby. I watched as two burly men one wearing a rally jacket and the other a shiny mohair suit came walking across the fields to the bungalow. By then, I was so rattled that I'd drawn the curtains and crouched against the front door. Norman Scott explains how in the belief that the powerful politician Jeremy Thorpe would help him recover his lost National Insurance cards, he reluctantly agreed to continue having sex with him They thumped on it, shouting my name. After that, they moved off towards the stables before returning to pound on the door again. Eventually they gave up and left. Another time, as I was driving down a lane in my Morris 1100, the brakes failed. Luckily, I was able to come to a halt in a hedge. When the local garage investigated, they discovered the brake cables had been cut. At best, someone was trying to hurt me. At worst, he wanted me dead. Terrified, I decided to leave Exmoor and move in with some friends, Janet and Chris, in Barnstaple. In my spare time, I'd go for walks with Janet's dog Rinka, a Great Dane. Her gentle nature and huge size comforted me. A few months later, however, I was on my own, walking back from a pub, when I heard a man shout my name. Suddenly another man appeared and the next thing I knew, they were beating me up. They broke my teeth and I was so badly battered that I had to be taken to hospital. I had no doubt who was behind all these threatening events. Jeremy Thorpe, the much esteemed leader of the Liberal Party, was sending me a spine-chilling message: shut up, or else As I recounted in the Daily Mail yesterday, I'd gone to Jeremy for help in 1961 after a suicide attempt landed me in a psychiatric hospital. I'd met him just a few months before that, when he came to visit my employer, a three-day eventer called Van. I was just 21, and he was 11 years older. The total extent of our conversation had been for less than a minute, while I was grooming a horse. Bizarrely, Jeremy had given me his card and asked me to call if I ran into problems. Delusional from the prescription drugs I was taking at the time, I'd eventually gone to find Jeremy at the House of Commons. He'd then taken me back to his mother's flat and brutally raped me. Importantly, however, he'd offered to look after me and promised to get my National Insurance cards back from Van without which I couldn't legally take a job. Why didn't I run away? I loathed the sex, not least because I'd only ever had girlfriends. But I was mentally vulnerable, I had no money, no work and nowhere to go. 'I want to keep you safe. I'll see you this evening,' said Jeremy, the day after he raped me. That night, he took me to the Reform Club. The place was full of elderly and middle-aged men, all with an aura of authority. I had a strong sense that they were looking down their noses at me. When we'd finished our meal, Lord Reith, the dour former director-general of the BBC, came over to join us for a glass of port. He and Jeremy began talking about some Treasury matter, about which I knew nothing. I sat quietly, looking around the room, until Lord Reith said: 'Our young friend doesn't seem very interested. Perhaps he should give his opinion.' Jeremy jumped in quickly: 'Oh, this is my ward. He lives in the country and wouldn't have any opinion.' This was the first time he described me, dismissively, as his ward a lie he repeated many times. Back at my small rented room in Chelsea, I didn't even think of resisting him; sex, it seemed, was something I'd have to endure in return for his friendship and help. That evening set the pattern for our encounters. When Jeremy finished work, he'd drive to my building and toot the horn on his car. I'd throw down the keys, he'd let himself in and then have sex with me. Jeremy Thorpe, Liberal Party leader, and his bride - formerly Caroline Allpass - after their wedding at Lambeth Palace, London I never initiated it and he never asked if I minded. He was undoubtedly fond of me and, at a time when gay sex was still illegal, I was clearly a safer option than casual pick-ups. He also knew that, in me, he'd found someone so damaged, so wretchedly in need of affection, that I'd put up with his abuse. At times, he'd seem caring and I could almost convince myself I loved him, as long as I blocked out the sex. Sitting in the gallery at the Commons, I'd feel proud to be the friend of such a charismatic MP. Only much later did I understand that Jeremy was a Jekyll and Hyde character. I was on the receiving end of affection and manipulation, of rare tenderness and frequent abuse a very unhealthy combination. Weeks turned into months. I helped with constituency work, door-to-door canvassing and delivering leaflets for the Liberal Party. I assumed Jeremy would be paying the all-important 'stamp' on my National Insurance cards but whenever I asked for them back, he'd just say the matter was in hand. Later, he helped find me a job as a groom with a rich family in Somerset, where he'd visit as often as he could. During one encounter, something in me just snapped. I demanded my cards back my employer had been asking for them and said I wanted to finish with him. 'I don't want this any more,' I said. 'I can't bear it.' Jeremy's face turned to stone. 'I've got the Home Secretary and the Director of Public Prosecutions on my side,' he said, a cold saturnine smile on his face. 'You can't hurt me.' Although I wasn't sure what he meant, I felt terribly shaken. My job came to an end. I found another one, at a local riding stable, but without my cards I couldn't continue to work there. Slowly, I spiralled down into clinical depression, at one point trying to slash my wrists. Why did I return to Jeremy? It was the cursed cards again I'd called him about them yet again, and he invited me to town for dinner. As I was too weak to fight off his advances, our sexual relationship resumed. Hugh Grant playing Jeremy Thorpe in BBC One's A Very English Scandal Jeremy Thorpe The only difference now was that I often stayed in Jeremy's flat near Whitehall, to which he'd bring men usually sailors back for the night. His appetite for risk-taking was immense. Whenever he asked me to make up a threesome with some hulking sailor, I'd leave the flat. One evening, it was raining so I asked to borrow Jeremy's overcoat, then headed out for a walk. Later, as I was strolling back through the rain, a car began following me. I heard the window winding down, then Jeremy's voice trying to entice me into the car. Not satisfied with his pick-up, he'd gone out in search of another and hadn't recognised me in his overcoat. The weeks dragged by. I find it hard to believe what I did next, but I was out of my mind. I was a young, broken person, highly medicated and miserable. In my wild, irrational state, I could see only one way out of this awful mess: I must kill Jeremy and then do away with myself. In my deluded state, I rang a friend to tell her what I was going to do and she called the police. I was taken to Canon Row police station, where I told the officers all about Jeremy. The police, probably concluding I was completely mad, kept saying I had no evidence so I showed them a bundle of letters from him, including one where he called me 'Bunnies' and another in which he called me 'my angel' and said all he wanted was to share a farm in Devon with me. After reading these, the officers' manner changed; they were finally taking me seriously. But all they said was that I was free to go. I later discovered that they passed the matter up to MI5, but absolutely nothing was done. By 1965, I was living in Ireland, jobless again and in a bad mental state, yet Jeremy was still blocking all my attempts to get my cards back. In despair, I wrote to his mother, Ursula, who was a justice of the peace. 'For a long time, I believe, it was to ensure I stayed with him. Then after we broke up, they provided a ploy to lure me back. And after that, I think he just kept them out of spite. Perhaps his inherent meanness also played a part. He just didn't want to pay up,' writes Mr Scott (above) In the letter, I was frank about my sexual relationship with her son, which I was convinced she was already aware of and asked for her help with retrieving my cards. I was utterly fixated on them, because I wanted to return to England and get a job. Yes, I could have claimed I'd lost them and got new ones but I would have lost all my accrued benefits including entitlements to a pension and unemployment pay. So why did Jeremy hold on to them? For a long time, I believe, it was to ensure I stayed with him. Then after we broke up, they provided a ploy to lure me back. And after that, I think he just kept them out of spite. Perhaps his inherent meanness also played a part. He just didn't want to pay up. I heard nothing back from Ursula, and my mental health continued to deteriorate. Then, one day, a man called Peter Bessell asked me to have breakfast with him at a Dublin hotel. I'd never met him, though his name was vaguely familiar. Mr Bessell had reddish hair and a deeply lined face. He told me how appalling it was for me to have written to Mrs Thorpe. As a result, he said, the Home Secretary had issued an extradition order to bring me back. It was only when Mr Bessell mentioned he was a Liberal MP that I realised he must be part of some cover-up, instigated by Jeremy. Needless to say, there was no extradition order. Jeremy Thorpe is pictured. Norman Scott writes: 'Jeremy had married a girl called Caroline Allpass, which came as a surprise. He'd once told me that having sex with a woman was like making love to a cold rice pudding' A few days later, Mr Bessell contacted me again. He was doing what he could about my cards, he said, and in the meantime would pay me a retainer equivalent to the unemployment benefit I could have claimed with fully stamped cards. And he kept his word: every week, I received 5 (80 now) in cash in an envelope, along with a note on House of Commons paper: 'Here is your retainer for this week.' Over the next few years, during which Jeremy became leader of the Liberal Party in 1967, my life took a new turn. After doing some test shots for photographers, I'd become a male model (paid in cash) in Swinging Sixties London. I did test-shots wearing Michael Fish's iconic designs, and worked on shoots for various designers and clients including the Irish Wool Secretariat, Guinness, and a wonderful clothes shop called Quincy Jones in Mayfair. I went to glamorous parties, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull. I also had lovers of both sexes and in 1969, when my then girlfriend, Sue Myers, was pregnant, I got married. Meanwhile, Jeremy had married a girl called Caroline Allpass, which came as a surprise. He'd once told me that having sex with a woman was like making love to a cold rice pudding. As modelling jobs were too sporadic to support a family, I asked Mr Bessell once more to get my cards back from Jeremy. As usual, he said he was trying to sort things out. Feeling desperate, I called Jeremy's wife, Caroline. Shocked when I explained who I was, she told me there was nothing she could do and abruptly hung up. Almost 50 years on, the trial of politician Jeremy Thorpe for the attempted murder of Norman Scott remains shocking how the suave leader of the Liberal Party sexually abused and raped a much younger, mentally ill man who he subsequently, it was alleged, tried to have murdered. (Above, Mr Scott in the 1970s) I wonder now if that phone call suddenly made Jeremy see me in a different light: not simply as an inconvenience but as a threat to his marriage, his social standing and burgeoning political career. Indeed, that three-minute call may well have triggered his desire to get rid of me once and for all. Much as I adored my new son Benjamin, my marriage didn't even last a year. I became severely depressed again at which point Mr Bessell stepped in to offer me a world cruise, plus a holiday in Florida. Suspecting something fishy was going on, I declined. In 1971, still hoping to get my cards back, I ended up going to the House of Commons to meet the MP David Steel who later took over as leader of the Liberals. When I told him about my relationship with Jeremy and subsequent dealings with Mr Bessell, he said: 'I just don't believe you. I don't believe this could have happened.' I produced the letters Bessell had sent with the retainers. 'Did I make this up?' I asked, handing them to Steel. I have never seen anyone turn so pale. Even his hair seemed about to go white. Presumably he'd recognised the risk that the truth posed to Jeremy and, by extension, the Liberals. I was invited to a meeting two days later at the House of Lords, where we were joined by Lord Byers, a Liberal peer. After I'd once again told my story, Lord Byers's response was to call me a common blackmailer and suggest I needed medical treatment. I was enraged. Lord Byers had been one of the dignitaries Jeremy and I dined with at the Reform Club, years before, who'd accepted Jeremy's lies about me being his ward. But there was nothing I could do. In the end, I moved to North Devon, working intermittently with horses. It was then that I became subject to a sinister series of events. After the episode with the men from the helicopter, I went to see the local GP, Dr Ron Gleadle. I told him all about Jeremy and he readily upped my already high dosages of tranquillisers and sleeping pills. A few weeks later, on a February evening, Dr Gleadle knocked on the door. His voice was agitated. 'The documents,' he said. 'Where is the file with all your notes from Mr Bessell and the correspondence from Mr Thorpe? There's someone who'll pay really good money.' 'Is this a good idea?' I stammered, completely taken aback. 'It's a very good idea.' Gleadle spoke forcefully. 'How much money do you want? At the moment, I think the sky's the limit.' I was muddle-headed from my pills and could barely speak, let alone ask for any money. But he kept demanding the letters so, as he'd been kind to me in the past, I handed them over. Then I fell into a drugged sleep. I woke up with a muzzy head and gradually recalled what had happened. Without the letters, I realised, I had no proof that my story about the cards was true. I rushed to the health centre and barged into Dr Gleadle's office, demanding my letters back. 'Too late,' he replied, showing me paying-in slips for 2,500 (more than 32,000 today) into my bank account. Not knowing what else to do, I spent the money. I bought a small green Morris 1100 and drinks for everyone at the local pub. It was soon after this that someone cut my brake cables. After all the money had gone, my situation declined rapidly. I lost a job at a Barnstaple menswear shop when it closed, and hating to be a burden to my friends ended up homeless for six weeks. Jeremy was now at the peak of his career and had remarried, following the death of his wife in a car accident. His second wife, Marion, was a concert pianist who'd previously been married to the Earl of Harewood, a cousin of the Queen. To my dismay, I discovered that the Thorpes had a thatched cottage just five miles away, in the village of Cobbaton. By the summer of 1975, I'd found a haven at the Market Inn in Barnstaple, where I helped out at the bar. I also found a new GP, who was horrified by the amount of drugs Dr Gleadle had prescribed for me. (Partly through his efforts, Gleadle was later struck off.) Then I started receiving odd phone calls. One was from a man calling himself Ian Wright. 'I work for Pensiero Fashions in London. Can you get your a**e up here?' he said. 'We want you for two weeks' modelling at 400 a week.' It was years since I'd been on the books of a modelling agency; I said I'd think about it and call back. But when I rang the number he'd given, it was for a phone box at an Underground station. And when I checked the directory for Pensiero Fashions, there was no company of that name. Another caller told the pub landlady he wanted to buy a camera from me. She hung up on him. A few weeks later, I was accosted by two police officers, who insisted on taking me down to the local station. They started by asking me about the payment I'd received from Dr Gleadle. Did I still have copies of the letters he'd taken, they wanted to know. Then one of them said: 'We need your documents or there's somebody not a million miles from Cobbaton who won't be sleeping easy in his bed tonight. If you don't co-operate, I have the power to lock you away and you won't see the light of day for 14 years.' I was bundled into a police car and driven back to the inn so they could pick up any remaining letters. Then, as a final insult, the police flung me into a cell marked Females. Shortly after this, a man with tousled grey hair came to the cell with another officer. 'You've been a very naughty boy, saying these things about a decent man,' he said. 'You're lying about Jeremy Thorpe, aren't you, you nasty little so-and-so?' I gave a nervous laugh and exclaimed: 'I most certainly am not lying!' Exploding with anger, the man whacked my head against the wall, twice, then walked out. My head throbbed with pain for the rest of the night. The next day, I was released and my letters were copied and returned to me. Before I left, one of the officers took me aside to warn me that I didn't realise what danger I was in. Even my solicitor, whom I'd summoned to help me, was concerned. He'd been told by the police that they feared I'd be badly hurt if I stayed in the locality and he advised me to leave the country altogether. I was now seriously frightened jumpy and constantly looking over my shoulder. But never in my wildest dreams could I have predicted what would happened next Adapted extract from An Accidental Icon: How I Dodged A Bullet, Spoke Truth To Power And Lived To Tell The Tale, by Norman Scott, published by Hodder & Stoughton on April 7 at 22. Norman Scott 2022. To order a copy for 19.80, visit mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937 by April 16. UK p&p free on orders over 20. A London-based socialite has made the astonishing claim that her husband, the former son-in-law of Vladimir Putin, has stolen their newborn daughter and is hiding her in Moscow. Zhanna Volkova, a Russian celebrity married to the country's 'youngest billionaire' Kirill Shamalov, says she has been prevented from meeting the baby, born via a surrogate in October. Ms Volkova claims an associate of her now-estranged husband has warned her off attempting to see the child. Shamalov, whose marriage to Putin's youngest daughter Katerina Tikhonova ended in 2013, is thought to remain close to the president. Ms Volkova and Shamalov married in 2018 and started trying for a child. After several failed rounds of IVF, they hired a surrogate through a Moscow-based agency. A London-based socialite has made the astonishing claim that her husband, the former son-in-law of Vladimir Putin, has stolen their newborn daughter and is hiding her in Moscow. Zhanna Volkova (pictured) , a Russian celebrity married to the country's 'youngest billionaire' Kirill Shamalov, says she has been prevented from meeting the baby, born via a surrogate in October. With the pregnancy approaching its final stages, the relationship with Shamalov (left) broke down and Ms Volkova left for London. She claims she was then cut out of the surrogacy. With the pregnancy approaching its final stages, the relationship with Shamalov broke down and Ms Volkova left for London. She claims she was then cut out of the surrogacy. The Moscow agency later informed her they no longer had contact with the surrogate carrying her child. 'I was stuck in London with Covid,' she said. 'As soon as I could, I flew to Moscow.' She went to the vast home they shared on the outskirts of the city. 'I waited for him for three days,' she said. Eventually he came home. 'He told me he has a new girlfriend but he did not want a divorce. He wanted to hurt me.' Ms Volkova, 44, says Shamalov's lawyers demanded she sign away her rights to see the baby. She refused. She says she was afraid and took the first flight out of Moscow. 'I heard he named her Anna, though we had agreed on Elizabeth after the Queen. Russian police don't want to know so I'm opening the case here in London.' Ms Volkova has been told Shamalov is in a relationship with fashion designer Anastasia Zadorina, daughter of a top FSB general. Last week Ms Zadorina was in Dubai at Shamalov's 40th birthday party. Shamalov, whose marriage to Putin's youngest daughter Katerina Tikhonova ended in 2013, is thought to remain close to the president Ms Volkova now lives in London with her twin sister and a teenage son from a previous marriage. She is divorcing Shamalov and has a prenuptial agreement worth 45million. She has only a 3D scan of her child. 'I live with this small picture. I want her to know she has a mother who didn't run away from her. He can keep the 45million. I just want to see her.' Shamalov did not respond to requests for comment. Four years ago I smashed my children's iPads. It had been such beautiful weather in Devon and I'd told the boys, then aged nine and 11, to get their wetsuits so we could head to the beach. But, glued to their screens, they'd ignored me. When I tried again, 20 minutes later, they were still on those flaming devices, and again, another 20 minutes later, they were still on them. So I grabbed one and knocked it against a coffee table, thinking how much I hated them. The screen went 'pop'. Oh God, I thought, I can't smash one and not the other. So that's what I did. There were terrible tears. 'Mum, how could you have done this?' they wailed. It was, without doubt, one of my worst parenting moments. By the age of six, one third of children in the UK own a mobile. It's 90 per cent by the time they hit 11, and by 15 almost every teenager has one, according to figures released by media regulator Ofcom last week. (Picture posed by models) But what ensued was one of those summers from heaven. We hung out together, spending days on the beach, playing chess and Monopoly in the evenings. I can't believe it happened, but it did. So when figures were released by media regulator Ofcom last week revealing the extent to which even very young children have mobile phones of their own, it hit a nerve. The report is truly disturbing. By the age of six, it said, one third of children in the UK own a mobile. It's 90 per cent by the time they hit 11, and by 15 almost every teenager has one. The BBC's economics editor, Faisal Islam, described the statistics as 'incredible' in a social media post, adding: 'Would be interested to know what it's like for those who hold out against it.' Well, as a parent who refused to cave in to my kids' demands for phones until my eldest turned 13, I can tell him it's very hard. I have huge sympathy for every parent waging a war against smartphones. I think the idea of giving one of these things to a child (and, personally, I think ten is the very minimum age) is preposterous. In a nutshell, we're handing our children over to Big Tech. Children are exposed not just to harmful content, such as pornography, but to social pressures of the kind that were unimaginable when we were young. For parents, meanwhile, there is of course the temptation to track their child's every move, adding to what becomes a burgeoning climate of fear (also unimaginable for those of us whose childhoods were more free-range). Kirstie Allsopp (above): I have huge sympathy for every parent waging a war against smartphones. I think the idea of giving one of these things to a child (and, personally, I think ten is the very minimum age) is preposterous There's huge pressure, too, to cave in to the demands of a hormonal pre-teen. In my house, it started when my eldest, Bay, was 11. 'When am I getting a smartphone?' he'd demand. Later, as I held firm, it became: 'Everyone in my class has one except me!' That was close to being true. By the time he was in Year 8 there were only three children without a phone, and he was one of them. Then I discussed the issue with another mother who also has boys, slightly older than mine. Her advice was to hold out until they were 13, and just about to go to senior school. They could then have a mobile phone in order to store all their old friends' numbers. It would help them to stay in touch. So that's what I did. My second son, Oscar, then 11, got one at the same time. (Bay said, charitably, this was fair enough.) But there are strict rules attached. The boys know those phones belong to me and that they use them with my permission. It's a privilege. Mobile phones will tell you where your children are, not who they're with or what they're doing. It's a completely false sense of security. (File image) They have to be handed over in the evenings and left to charge in the kitchen. The phones aren't allowed in their bedrooms with the door closed. We have phone-free days. I know their access codes and can pick them up at any point and look at what they've been doing. I don't invade their privacy but I know I can if they start to worry me. And, importantly, they know I can. That, for me, is essential. I'm always amazed at the number of parents who don't police their use, or check on who their children are talking to. Instead, parents use it to their advantage they suppose by harnessing the smartphone technology to track their children. But what has made us think that sleuthing after our own children is a good idea? When we were children, my brother and I would take a honey sandwich and a bottle filled with orange squash and disappear on our bicycles all day. It would never have occurred to my mother to need to know where we were at every moment. Of course, times have changed. But what is the greater danger something hypothetical happening to your child outside the home, or the well-established risks to children from having constant access to the internet, Big Tech firms and screen time? Mobile phones will tell you where your children are, not who they're with or what they're doing. It's a completely false sense of security. The greater danger to my children comes from spending too much time inside, scrolling on their phones. There's that constant sense of FOMO fear of missing out that comes with being updated all the time about what their friends are up to without them. There are always people on better holidays, with better clothes. They're exposed to filters on social media channels that alter the way they think they're supposed to look. Then there are the algorithms. In my case, I'm bombarded with emotional overload. I'm constantly offered videos of fathers returning home from the Army or deaf babies hearing for the first time. I get pictures of what the Duchess of Cambridge is wearing and chopped salad recipes, because that's what I'm interested in and tend to share with others. For kids, if a sexist joke or silly stereotype makes them laugh and they share it, they'll be sent 20 more poor-taste memes. It reinforces and refines what they can see, and therefore what they believe. I do my best. I don't let my children have notifications or alerts switched on, so their phones don't ring or rattle every single time a new message arrives on social media sites such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. And the phones aren't wholly bad. The boys get a lot of news on them, which means they're well-informed on current affairs. Smartphones allow them access to a world of films and music, and it's a genuine pleasure watching their enthusiasm as they discover new things. But today, when I ask them whether I was right to wait before handing out the mobiles, they agree wholeheartedly. We talk about the dangers we all face online and they understand why the boundaries are there. My children know that I trust them but also that I'll look after them. And that's why it's worth holding out for a while, however much they complain. The Federal Election Commission's investigation into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's campaign found that it and her former chief of staff did not 'properly' disclose about $1 million in expenses - but a bipartisan panel voted to give them a pass, according to filings. The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), a conservative watchdog group, had alleged in 2019 that Ocasio-Cortez's former chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, funneled more than $1 million in contributions to Democrats through two PACs he controlled during her run for Congress in 2018. While the FEC found that Chakrabarti did, in fact, fail to 'properly disclose the purpose of the disbursements' made to the Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats PACs, a panel of three Democrats and three Republicans decided to dismiss the NLPC's complaint, according to filings made public this week. The investigation ultimately found that any cash transfers from the two PACs that appeared to violate the $5,000 contribution limit to federal candidates, including one made to Ocasio-Cortez, were not accepted and returned. According to the FEC's investigation, Ocasio-Cortez's campaign received a $5,650 contribution in 2018, but the campaign, like others who received excessive gifts, refunded the cash. The details of the FEC's decision, however, come more than 30 days after it closed the matter on February 27, in what the NLPC claimed was an effort to avoid a legal challenge by the group, which had filed its charges against the FEC last month. The Federal Election Commission's investigation into U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (pictured) campaign found it and her former chief of staff did not 'properly' disclose about $1 million in expenses during her run for Congress in 2018 Ocasio-Cortez's former chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti (left), was accused of funneling more than $1 million in contributions to Democrats to two PACs he controlled The FEC investigation detailed the monetary contributions Chakrabarti made through his LLC. It dismissed the complaints as they found any improper gifts were returned Paul Kamenar, NLPC counsel, slammed the FEC for its decision, telling the New York Post: 'The FEC has gone after a whole host of people whose violations are dwarfed by the scale of this scheme. It appears to be not prosecutorial discretion, but prosecutorial favoritism.' NLPC Chair Peter Flaherty said he received a letter from the FEC in February stating that the agency had dismissed the group's complaint and closed the case. The watchdog group filed a lawsuit against the FEC last Friday for its dismissal of the case and for failing to provide a proper explanation within 30 days of reaching its decision. Normally a suit would be filed after the details of the case were disclosed, allowing only a 30-day window for the decision to be challenged, but because the FEC waited for more than a month to disclose the details, the FEC filed their suit last week. 'It was highly irregular for the FEC to release its statement of reasons after the deadline for us to file suit,' Tom Anderson, director of the NLPC's Government Integrity Project, told the Post. Ocasio-Cortez has repeatedly denied any allegations of violating campaign finance laws. Chakrabarti now works as president of New Consensus, a think tank based in Silicon Valley. He helped found both the Brand New Congress PAC and Justice Democrats, with the goal of bringing new and progressive members like Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described Democratic socialist, to Congress. After starting Brand New Congress, he formed a Delaware-based LLC, Brand New Campaign LLC. Shifting the funds avoided detailed disclosure requirements of itemized expenses. Chakrabarti (right), a tech millionaire, worked as a leader in Ocasio-Cortez's campaign and served as her chief of staff in 2019 Among those who received disbursements from Brand New Congress LLC in 2018 were Democratic congressional candidates Adrienne Bell, of Texas; Anthony Clark, of Illinois; Chardo Richardson, of Florida; Ryan Stone, of Texas; U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, of Missouri; Hector Morales, of Texas; Michael Hepburn, of Florida; Houston City Councilwoman Letitia Plummer, of Texas; Paula Swearengin, of West Virginia; Paul Perry, of Pennsylvania; Robert Ryerse, of Arkansas, and Sarah Smith, of Washington, according to the filings. Ocasio-Cortez's office and Chakrabarti did not immediately return DailyMail.com's request for comment. One person has been hospitalized and six others suffered minor injuries in a multi-car crash on the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday afternoon. Police say the crash occurred just before 3 p.m. and shut down all eastbound lanes for hours as crews worked to clear the scene of debris. Authorities also told DailyMail.com a 30-year-old male was taken to Bellevue Hospital with critical injuries and six others were treated at the scene for more minor injuries. The victim at the hospital is expected to survive, police said. On Twitter, the New York Police Department warned drivers to steer clear of the area and take alternative routes, as traffic remained at a standstill for hours. Police told DailyMail.com that the scene was still not cleared by 5:30 p.m. Photos obtained by DailyMail.com of the aftermath show at least three vehicles suffering from varying degrees of damage - including one black sedan that was completely overturned. New York City police officers were on the scene of the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday afternoon to assess the damage from a multi-vehicle crash At least three cars were involved in the crash, resulting in one person being taken to the local hospital while six others were treated on the scene for more minor injuries Photos obtained by DailyMail.com show a black SUV with its passenger side and roof smashed in in the aftermath of the crash Another vehicle was completely overturned on the eastbound lanes of the bridge The black sedan's trunk was open, with its drivers' side window smashed and its back bumper strewn across the eastbound lanes Another black sedan suffered major damage to its rear end, with the rearview window completely gone and the front window shattered Police are now investigating the cause of the crash, which remained uncleared through Saturday evening The car's trunk appeared to be smashed in, with its driver's side window broken and an airbag deployed. Debris, including the car's back bumper, were strewn across the eastbound lanes of the bridge - which sees about 116,000 vehicles crossing it each day, according to the New York Department of Transportation. Just a few feet away, a black SUV could be seen with its passenger side door completely smashed in, and broken windows. The top of the car also seemed to be dented inward. Another photo obtained by DailyMail.com seemed to show a third black sedan with its rear end completely smashed inward, leaving the rearview window broken and its back bumper falling off as the front window was shattered. It remains unclear what had transpired in the moments leading up to the crash, which is currently under investigation by the NYPD. Eastbound traffic was in a standstill for hours following the crash Saturday night The Ukrainian teacher who was blinded in a Russian missile attack has had her sight partially restored after an intricate three-hour operation. Olena Kurylo was told she might never be able to see again following the assault on her home in the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, just hours into the invasion. But after The Mail on Sunday helped her escape the besieged city, skilled surgeons last week managed to restore a significant portion of her vision. 'I felt a joy that I haven't felt since the war started,' the 52-year-old said after hearing the remarkable results of the operation. 'All I could think at that moment was that I would be able to live a normal life and be useful.' Olena Kurylo leaves hospital with her daughter Katya after her successful eye surgery in Katowice, Poland Medics had told her she risked losing her right eye and potentially even her life without the surgery. Astonishingly, after a gruelling three-and-a-half-hour operation, doctors restored almost a third of her eye's sight, and hope it may improve further. Harrowing photographs showing Olena with her injured eye bandaged and her face bloodied were beamed around the world last month. She was injured when a missile exploded outside her home, sending shards of glass from shattered windows into her face. Mail on Sunday reporters helped her flee to the Polish city of Katowice, where she could get the vital medical attention. She braved the surgery at the Medical University of Silesia on Tuesday with only local anaesthetic. 'As the surgeon was taking glass from under my eyelid, I heard the pieces drop into the metal plate below, she said. 'I wanted to cry but I am Ukrainian and I am strong in spirit. Throughout the surgery, I kept thinking that I have become a symbol of hope for many people, so I have no right to be weak and that gave me strength.' Olena Kurylo sits on her bed in a ward of the Ophthalmology Clinic at the University Clinical Centre Katowice as she awaits her surgery to save her right eye after it was severely injured during Russian shelling on her home in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine The operation involved replacing the natural lens in her eye with an artificial one, draining fluid that had built up behind her eye, pinning down her detached retina and filling the eye with silicone oil. Few patients recover any of their sight following the procedure, but Olena said: 'Even before they pumped in the oil, I started to see shapes and the hands of the surgeon. I started to cry with happiness and said, 'I can see.' ' It wasn't until the following day that consultant Dr Michal Bogocz confirmed that some of her sight had been permanently restored. 'This is pretty amazing,' he told her. 'No one expected that you would see 30 per cent. The surgeon's work is a masterpiece.' Olena now faces weeks of recovery and eventually a second operation to remove the silicone. 'I believe I will get most of my vision back,' she said. 'I will be forever grateful to everyone who has helped me.' After being discharged from hospital clutching her daughter Katya's hand, she broke news of the successful surgery to her husband Mykola, 54, who is still hiding near Kharkiv After being discharged from hospital clutching her daughter Katya's hand, she broke news of the successful surgery to her husband Mykola, 54, who is still hiding near Kharkiv. 'It's hard for me to know that he is in danger and that I am here,' said Olena, who is half-Russian. 'And it's hard for him that he can't be by my side. But I want to show people that you shouldn't give up. 'Putin can destroy material things, but he can't destroy our spirit.' Olena added: 'As soon as I am better I will try and be useful for Ukraine maybe by volunteering and perhaps helping people get back to the life they had before the bombings.' Last week a portrait of Olena, drawn by the American artist Zhenya Gershamn, was sold for $100,000 at Heritage Auctions one of the biggest auction houses in the world. All of the money will be used to help Ukraine. Additional reporting: Svetlana Skarbo Sir Keir Starmer has been plunged into a political row over a treasonous Labour frontbencher who said he would be quite happy if Russian hackers knocked out Britains nuclear deterrent. In footage obtained by The Mail on Sunday, Fabian Hamilton, who serves as Sir Keirs Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament, tells a political rally that Russian hackers can already hack into the software controlling Trident, our independent nuclear deterrent, adding: Id be quite happy about that. Last night, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace condemned Mr Hamilton, 66, for siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who put his nuclear forces on special combat readiness shortly after invading Ukraine in February. Labour shadow peace and disarmament minister Fabian Hamilton said he would be 'happy' if Vladimir Putin's Russian hackers infiltrated Trident the UK's independent nuclear deterrent Hamilton made the incendiary comments during the 2019 Labour party conference in Brighton Mr Wallace said Sir Keir should sack Mr Hamilton, adding: It is one thing to disagree with the UKs possession of nuclear weapons, but to take the side of a man who has deployed chemical weapons and who is responsible for bombing civilians in Ukraine is treasonous. He added that it was a test of leadership for Sir Keir, who faced criticism last year for failing to sack Angela Rayner when she called Tory voters scum. Starmer took no action when his deputy leader called Tory voters scum, Mr Wallace said. Keir Starmer (pictured yesterday) was urged to sack Mr Hamilton for the 'treasonous' remarks Trident missiles (pictured in a 1999 launch) make up the UK's independent nuclear deterrent Mr Hamilton has also been criticised for hosting an antisemitic Jordanian MP in Parliament Will he do nothing when one of his own Shadow Ministers backs Britains enemies? A spokesman for Mr Hamilton described Mr Wallaces demands as ludicrous, adding: Labours historic commitment to our nuclear deterrent is steadfast. Vladimir Putins illegal and unprovoked war in Ukraine cannot be allowed to turn nuclear. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN UKRAINE As Ukrainian forces retook the entire region around Kyiv, the countrys president Volodymyr Zelensky accused retreating Russian troops of rigging corpses with explosive booby traps. The mayor of Bucha, a commuter town outside Kyiv, said 280 bodies had been found in mass graves, adding: All these people were shot, killed, in the back of the head. There was cautious optimism about the prospect of face-to-face peace talks in Turkey between Mr Zelensky and Putin. Officials at Luton Airport seized a Gulfstream jet linked to the leader of the infamous Wagner mercenary group deployed to Ukraine by Putin as it was preparing to leave Britain. Russias ambassador to the UK threatened to target British weapons as they are shipped to Ukraine after footage emerged of a UK-made Starstreak missile shooting down a Russian helicopter. Amid horrifying tales of Russian brutality in the occupied city of Kherson, Putins forces violently dispersed a pro-Ukraine rally in Enerhodar, another southern Ukrainian town and the location of a large nuclear power plant. The Red Cross today hopes to launch another bid to evacuate some of the 170,000 people trapped in the besieged coastal city of Mariupol, where supplies of food, water and medicines are desperately low. Olena Kurylo, a Ukrainian teacher who was blinded in a Russian missile attack, has had her sight partially restored after The Mail on Sunday arranged for her to have surgery in Poland Advertisement Mr Hamilton, who made his remarks at a CND rally in September 2019 when he was both a Shadow Defence Minister and Shadow Foreign Office Minister under Jeremy Corbyns leadership, was quoting a former senior Labour colleague who was in Tony Blairs Cabinet, who had said nuclear weapons were utterly useless because Russian hackers can already hack into the software systems that control these weapons. Now, I dont know enough about this to know whether thats true or not, Mr Hamilton said. But imagine for a minute that it is true. Not that they could actually set the weapons off, but that they could render them entirely useless. 'Well, Id be quite happy about that, he said, before being careful to add: As long as we could do the same to theirs. Mr Wallace said: He is bordering on encouraging criminal activity a dangerous man who is putting ideology above our public safety and playing with fire. Starmer should sack him. In his speech, Mr Hamilton also argued that there was never a better time for Britain to give up its nuclear weapons. On the day Russia invaded Ukraine Putin gave a warning which was widely interpreted as a threat to use nuclear weapons. He said: No matter who tries to stand in our way or all the more so create threats for our country and our people, they must know that Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history. Mr Hamiltons appointment in 2016 was ridiculed by the Tories, with one MP saying: Its a complete absurdity to appoint a Minister for Peace. 'What are they going to do, go around and be nice to people? That is not the way the world works. We face a pretty unprecedented time of international tension. Its simply peacenik Corbyn posturing and putting the nations defence at risk. The Trident leak is not the first time Mr Hamilton has been involved in controversy. In 2019, he welcomed Yahya Al-Saud into the Palace of Westminster. Al-Saud is a Jordanian MP who has made virulently antisemitic comments and was notorious for praising terrorism in Palestine. And in 2009, Mr Hamilton was at the centre of an expenses furore after The Mail on Sunday revealed he had spent more than 14,000 of taxpayers money on 13 computers in just four years. Trapped in Ukraine and with her vital supply of insulin almost exhausted, diabetic seven-year-old Weronica was in danger of falling seriously ill. Thankfully, help was at hand from the Red Cross, whose work is partly funded by donations from generous Mail on Sunday readers. Red Cross medics in Poland arranged for emergency vials of insulin to be delivered to Weronica, who was 170 miles away in the town of Dubno, and for a prescription that will provide her with a two-month supply of the drug. 'She is so happy. She is so grateful for the help,' said family friend Tatiana, 39, who appealed for assistance when she arrived at Przemysl train station in Poland, having left Weronica and her distraught mother behind in Dubno. It took Tatiana two days to reach Poland, travelling by car, foot and train. She arrived at the border with two of her sons and her husband, a priest, who returned to Dubno with the insulin. Red Cross medics in Poland arranged for emergency vials of insulin to be delivered to Weronica (pictured), who was 170 miles away in the town of Dubno, and for a prescription that will provide her with a two-month supply of the drug 'My own children are safe now, so I must do all I can to help Weronica,' Tatiana said. 'My husband has taken the medications back to Ukraine. As a priest, he feels it is his duty to stand by the people of Ukraine.' The record-breaking Mail Force Appeal has given the Red Cross 500,000 to support its efforts to get food, water, medicine and other essentials to those affected by the conflict. Readers have inundated the appeal with more than 70,000 cheques and a flood of online donations since it was launched five weeks ago. The total raised has reached a staggering 10.4 million. The appeal was kick-started with a 500,000 donation from The Mail on Sunday and Daily Mail parent company, DMGT, at the personal request of chairman Lord Rothermere and his wife Lady Rothermere. Like many of the four million refugees who have fled Ukraine, Tatiana described the terror of missile strikes. 'We saw our neighbourhood bombarded. We were terrified. Especially the children. They saw missiles dropping from the sky. 'We knew we had to go straight to the basement, but the children just froze. As soon as there was an opportunity to leave, we packed what we could carry and we ran.' Mother-of-three Grazyna arrived at Przemysl with her 18-year-old son Marian on the same day as Tatiana. Marian is a student at the Krakow University of Technology in Poland but was trapped in Ukraine because he was visiting his mother when the fighting started. He was twice refused permission to leave the country but was finally allowed to flee with Grazyna after Ukrainian authorities announced that those studying abroad could return to their studies. 'I have never been so happy,' Grazyna said. 'I have two older daughters already studying in Poland so I know as soon as my son joins them they will be safe.' Mail Force aid to help homesick children By Scarlet Howes for the Mail on Sunday Ukrainian women who fled Putin's invasion are being trained to work as teachers in Polish schools so that they can help child refugees thanks to Mail Force. Olha Borodavka, 32, escaped from the north-west of her homeland a month ago with her seven-year-old daughter and ten-year-old son and is now teaching six-year-olds at a school in the Polish city of Lublin. Speaking to The Mail on Sunday yesterday, she said: 'On my first day a little boy came over to me and asked me if I was from Ukraine. When I said yes he started crying. I told him it was my mission to help him. The children wait for me every morning with a cuddle.' Olha was hired as a teacher as part of a project involving Care International, which has received a 500,000 donation from Mail Force. She is one of 50 refugees who have found jobs in Lublin's schools. 'I am grateful to be accepted into the homes and lives of the Polish, but I need independence,' she added. 'This job has at least given me that and I am so grateful as otherwise I would have nothing.' Care is working with its partner the Polish Centre for International Aid (PCPM) and various city councils. The women work six hours a day, five days a week and are paid the equivalent of 29 per day Care is working with its partner the Polish Centre for International Aid (PCPM) and various city councils. The women work six hours a day, five days a week and are paid the equivalent of 29 per day. A spokeswoman for the charity last night hailed the generosity of readers of The Mail on Sunday and Daily Mail, who have helped raise more than 10 million for Mail Force. 'Thanks to the generosity of Mail on Sunday and Daily Mail readers, Care has partnered PCPM and municipalities like Lublin to hire refugee Ukrainian teachers in Polish schools,' she said. 'This not only gives the teachers a much needed income, but also helps Ukrainian children, who are often vulnerable and in some cases traumatised, to better integrate into school with Polish children.' Tatiana Krasilnyk, 48, from Chernihiv, a town in northern Ukraine, fled the fighting in a truck with 26 other people. 'I was with three other families all teachers during my journey,' she said. 'I am the only one who has a job. I am crying with gratitude.' Natalia Pradko, 35, also from northern Ukraine, said her new job as a teacher was helping her 'get back a sense of normality'. She added: 'It's such a great opportunity for me but also for the children. They have someone to talk to in their native language about their emotions and feelings and us teachers can help them with understanding those thoughts.' Another refugee teacher, Olha Snihur, 42, agreed that it is crucial that Ukrainian children who have fled to Poland are able to speak to others about their experiences. 'They want to speak and communicate with Polish children, but they can't and they are afraid. I can help them with that, which means the world to me. We aren't just teachers, we are a bit of home.' Jacob Rees-Mogg is at the centre of a Government row over plans to make tech giants such as Google and Facebook pay newspapers and other media outlets for using their stories amid claims the Cabinet Minister had been framed for delaying the legislation. The Digital Competition Bill has been drafted to give legal powers to a new Digital Markets Unit (DMU), which is intended to ensure that social media companies pay fairly for news publishers content and dont stifle all competition in digital advertising. The Bill was due to be introduced in the Queens Speech in May and debated in the subsequent parliamentary session, but senior Government sources say it is now unlikely to be passed into law until late 2023. Jacob Rees-Mogg is at the centre of a Government row over plans to make tech giants such as Google and Facebook pay newspapers and other media outlets for using their stories amid claims the Cabinet Minister had been framed for delaying the legislation The sources claimed it was being blocked by Mr Rees-Mogg, the Brexit Opportunities Minister, on the grounds that it was poorly drafted and because he objected on principle to over-regulation. The delay means planned EU regulation to prevent large companies abusing their market power in Europe is likely to become law before the UKs version. However, the claim was denied last night by allies of Mr Rees-Mogg, who said he was in favour of the Bill but was being framed by Government figures who wanted to give priority to legislation paving the way for the privatisation of Channel 4. One ally said: No 10 told Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries that there wasnt enough legislative time for both measures. When he was still Leader of the House, Jacob queried whether the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport could deal with its various legislation from a time-table point of view, but he has no objection to this Bill at all. Because they know the delay will be unpopular with the media, they are trying to frame Jacob for it. Mr Rees-Mogg himself said: I am not responsible for the legislative programme as I am no longer leader of the House. I am not involved with this Bill. The Bill was due to be introduced in the Queens Speech in May and debated in the subsequent parliamentary session, but senior Government sources say it is now unlikely to be passed into law until late 2023 The Digital Competition plans are modelled on a system that has been introduced in Australia under which the platforms are encouraged to negotiate payment deals with news organisations. If the negotiations fail, an independent arbitrator sets a fair price. Ms Dorries said in February that she was looking to introduce Australia plus plus and Australia with bolts on, because regulating so-called Big Tech would help Britains media organisations survive in an era in which most consumers have grown used to getting their news for free online. She added that she had seen the pervasiveness of Big Tech when she was a Health Minister and I see what its doing to our democracy and our press from this department. Ms Dorries has told her officials that the DMU should be given robust powers to drive fair terms between publishers and platforms by introducing a binding arbitration, and be explicitly granted new powers to act swiftly and effectively where the regulator finds that a platform has not offered fair and reasonable remuneration for its use of publisher content. The DMU is also likely to be tasked with investigating the algorithms used by search engines such as Google, which many news organisations believe are manipulated to direct search enquiries disproportionately towards Left-leaning news organisations and filter how people read and access news to the detriment of quality, paid-for journalism. The Digital Markets Unit is also being given powers to levy large fines on online companies to prevent customers or companies from being treated unfairly and to make tech firms give smaller rivals access to their vast troves of data. Google and Facebook took about four-fifths of the 14 billion spent on digital advertising in the United Kingdom in 2019, while national and local newspapers took less than four per cent. Facebook argues that it already helps to support UK publishers by paying tens of millions of pounds to national and local outlets to be part of Facebook News, and as part of the Community News Project, which funds 80 trainee reporters in newsrooms across the country. Princess Beatrice has complained to friends she was blindsided by revelations that an alleged Turkish fraudster provided a 750,000 'wedding gift' ahead of her marriage. The 33-year-old had no idea that anyone outside her family had sought to contribute to the cost of her wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in July 2020 before lurid reports making the allegation appeared last week. A friend of the Princess last night insisted: 'She knew nothing about this, poor thing.' The wedding took place at the Royal Chapel in Windsor during the pandemic and, in order to meet Covid-19 rules, was attended by only 20 people. Documents from a complex fraud case last week revealed that the mysterious 750,000 gift was transferred to the Coutts bank account of Beatrice's father, Prince Andrew, at the request of a Turkish businessman called Selman Turk. Documents from a complex fraud case last week revealed that the mysterious 750,000 gift was transferred to the Coutts bank account of Beatrice's father, Prince Andrew, at the request of a Turkish businessman called Selman Turk Beatrice has confided in friends that she is upset at her name is being linked to a fraud case and has no idea who Mr Turk is. The purpose of the 750,000 'wedding gift' payment remains unclear The papers say that, in addition, Beatrice's sister Eugenie was paid 25,000 at the behest of Mr Turk and that her mother, Sarah Ferguson, received payments of at least 225,000 from him for work that she had carried out for a US firm called Pegasus Group Holdings. Prince Andrew received a separate sum of 350,000 from Mr Turk, the papers state. Mr Turk, an ex-Goldman Sachs banker, is being sued by Nebahat Evyap Isbilen, a millionairess who fled Turkey for Britain after her MP husband was jailed. Mrs Isbilen, 77, claims Mr Turk stole 40 million from her. Of that sum, she alleges about 1.1 million went to Andrew and his family. The papers say that, in addition, Beatrice's sister Eugenie was paid 25,000 at the behest of Mr Turk and that her mother, Sarah Ferguson, received payments of at least 225,000 from him for work that she had carried out for a US firm called Pegasus Group Holdings There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the Prince or his family and they are not central to the case, which is at an early stage. Beatrice has confided in friends that she is upset at her name is being linked to a fraud case and has no idea who Mr Turk is. The purpose of the 750,000 'wedding gift' payment remains unclear. The marriage service was small and there was no large party of the kind that her younger sister had enjoyed after she married Jack Brooksbank in October 2018. In court papers, Mrs Isbilen alleges she was tricked by Mr Turk into paying Andrew because he had helped her obtain a passport to leave Turkey and enter Britain. There is no suggestion the Prince offered such assistance and he repaid the money transferred to his Coutts account to Mrs Isbilen in November 2019. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the Prince or his family and they are not central to the case, which is at an early stage In court papers, Mrs Isbilen alleges she was tricked by Mr Turk (pictured) into paying Andrew because he had helped her obtain a passport to leave Turkey and enter Britain The Daily Mail revealed yesterday that Mrs Isbilen's bank telephoned the Prince's office before the transfer was made to ask what the money was for. According to a transcript, Andrew's then private secretary, Amanda Thirsk, said: 'It's a gift for the wedding, a wedding gift.' Mrs Thirsk said this weekend that she could not remember the conversation, adding: 'As a person of integrity, I would not be involved in anything improper.' The Prince has so far declined to comment due to the court proceedings, but it has been pointed out that Mr Turk attended an event at Buckingham Palace for Pitch@Palace, the Duke's Dragons' Den-style mentoring network, nine days before the transfer of the 750,000. Mr Turk, 35, who won an award at the event, has strongly denied Mrs Isbilen's allegations. The Mail on Sunday has uncovered that police are still using the drones Ukraine's Vice PM called for DJI to switch off devices being used by Russian military to guide missiles Was sanctioned by US over human rights abuses and deemed a security threat Police forces are using drones made by a Chinese firm accused of supplying the machines to guide Russian missiles, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. DJI Technology, also known as Shenzen DJI Science and Technologies, provides drones to police forces across Britain. The firm, which has been sanctioned in the US over human rights abuses and assessed as a national security threat, has been accused of supplying drones to Russia to guide missiles at Ukrainian targets including civilians. Ukrainian vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote a letter to DJI calling for the company to use its capability to switch off devices being used in Ukraine by the Russian military. Police forces are using drones made by a Chinese firm accused of supplying the machines to guide Russian missiles DJI Technology, which provides drones to police forces across Britain, has been sanctioned in the US over human rights abuses and assessed as a national security threat Now The Mail on Sunday has uncovered that police are still using the drones despite the US Treasury stating in December that DJI, first sanctioned in 2020, was complicit in human rights abuses because it 'has provided drones to the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau, which are used to surveil Uyghurs in Xinjiang'. Separately, the US Department of Defense has deemed the firm's drones a national security threat, citing fears that China could access data collected by the devices. They are used for frontline policing, including monitoring major public events, protests, roads policing and pursuing suspects. Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, of the China Research Group, said: 'First DJI drones callously allows its technology to aid and abet the genocide of the Uyghur people in China, now it has blood in its hands once again as its drones are killing innocent Ukrainians. 'Be in no doubt that DJI fully endorses the Russian invasion and slaughter of innocents: this week it refused to deactivate or divert drones murdering our Ukrainian friends. 'We urgently need to get a grip on biometric surveillance technologies in this country, and I expect the police to launch an immediate review of surveillance procurement policies to rip out those complicit in slavery and human rights abuses.' Ukrainian vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote a letter to DJI calling for the company to use its capability to switch off devices being used in Ukraine by the Russian military Fraser Sampson, the Government's independent Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner for England and Wales, expressed concern, adding that forces must take into account 'human rights and security considerations' when 'choosing surveillance partners.' Forces using DJI drones include the Metropolitan Police, Nottinghamshire, Kent, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Police Scotland, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, West Midlands and West Yorkshire, among others. In 2020 Derbyshire Police sparked controversy after it tasked drones to monitor dog walkers in the Peak District during the first covid-19 lockdown. A survey last year for UK Drone Watch found 60 per cent of people were worried about the effects of drone use on privacy and civil liberties. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) said: 'While procurement remains a matter for each Chief Constable, the security of the drones has been looked at by the service and it is, of course, very important to us. 'We continue to evolve our approach to operational drone use and will always consider security as part of any deployment. 'This is an ongoing process, involving law enforcement and intelligence partners, including the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure. 'Police take all possible steps to protect and keep secure the data obtained by using drones.' A DJI spokeswoman said it was not possible to simply switch off products bought by the Russian military 'as all of these products can be operated without internet connection' and that it 'deplore[s] any use of our products that might cause people harm.' Online pornography is as dangerous to youngsters as handing them a weapon, the Childrens Commissioner has warned. Dame Rachel de Souza said the nation will one day reflect with horror at the ease with which children can currently access extreme sexual images on the internet. Well look back in 20 years and be absolutely stunned that our children were exposed to so much harm online, she said. I wouldnt leave a weapon laying around in the offline world and yet were doing something equally as dangerous in the online world. Dame Rachel de Souza said the nation will one day reflect with horror at the ease with which children can currently access extreme sexual images on the internet Im seeing eight-year-olds and nine-year-olds a massive percentage of underage children on these websites and social media... If parents actually knew what their children were seeing they would be really worried. With almost half of children exposed to inappropriate content on social media and free-to-use websites, Dame Rachel is urging the Government to crack down on porn purveyors. Laws planned as part of the forthcoming Online Safety Bill will require porn websites to verify the age of users, but critics say its not enough. The former headmistress, who has called for tech bosses to face personal fines and even prison if they break such rules, recalled harrowing stories on online abuse. I was so concerned that I got a group of 16 to 21-year-olds and brought them to the Department for Education and asked them about their experiences of online harms, she told The Mail on Sunday. There was one girl who talked to me about her first kiss with a boyfriend and how he put his arms around her neck and tried to choke her. It was her first kiss. He had been watching porn and thought that was what you do. With almost half of children exposed to inappropriate content on social media and free-to-use websites, Dame Rachel is urging the Government to crack down on porn purveyors. A stock image is used above Another young girl described being harassed for naked selfies up to ten times a night. The difference is that when I was at school something might happen... but we could go home and it was over, whereas it is 24/7 now, said Dame Rachel, a mother-of-one who was appointed Childrens Commissioner a year ago. In a wide-ranging interview ahead of the launch of her Cabinet Office-commissioned review into family life in England, she warned that a perceived wokification of schools over issues such as lessons about the British empire should not stymie debate. Its really important that we ensure children are taught really well and know when we are looking at an argument and showing both sides of an argument, she said. We must say, This is a contentious issue and there are two sides to this. We need to be making it really clear if we are teaching something as a fact or a truth... or if there is something where we are having a debate about it and were looking at the two sides. She added: I am very supportive of some of the moves weve made in the curriculum in the last ten years, but we also have to be really careful about I dont want to say indoctrination but we must avoid that at all costs. The daughter of a Scunthorpe steelworker father and Hungarian refugee mother, Dame Rachel, 54, worked in schools for 30 years, carving out a reputation as a traditionalist who insisted on discipline. She banned mobile phones in classrooms and famously deployed teachers to drag children out of bed to attend classes. She is determined to act on the estimated 100,000 ghost children who have vanished from the education system since the start of the pandemic, and is working with the Government to introduce a unique identifier number for each child to help track missing youngsters. Reflecting on her childhood, Dame Rachel said there were times when she and her siblings would rely on free school meals and didnt know where dinner was coming from. She added, however, that what her parents lacked financially, they made up for in love a quality that she believes passionately is the bedrock of family life. When children talk to me about family, thats what theyre talking about, she said. Theyre talking about love and that is what it is all about. I think it somehow inoculates children from some of the harms they face. Dame Rachel whose grandfather was a Ukrainian journalist expelled from his homeland during the Soviet era will this week visit sick children evacuated from Ukraine to Britain. Any child that comes into this country, Ive got an interest in, she said. French President Emmanuel Macron's support has seen a tumble just a week before the election as Marine Le Pen surges in the polls. In the wake of his shrinking lead, Prime Minister Jean Castex went on the attack, warning voters the new 'centrist' image of perennial far-right challenger Le Pen is a 'sham' and that she 'hasn't changed'. Castex told reporters: 'She makes people believe that she has changed. She makes people believe that she has become more flexible, more centrist almost. But it's a sham, she hasn't changed.' 'The election of Marine Le Pen would be a catastrophe for this country'. Recent polling, which had previously put Macron well ahead, suggests he would now win by just 53 per cent to 47 per cent against Le Pen in a second round presidential run-off. Macron had enjoyed a mid-March high of 14 point lead over Le Pen in first round polling, but now it is down to just eight points. Marine Le Pen campaigning on the Haguenau market yesterday. Her support has seen a bounce in recent weeks in a blow for current French President Emmanuel Macron President Emmanuel Macron visiting Dijon at the Maison-Phare for an exchange with associative actors. Macron is still the favourite to win a second term in the French elections this April Le Pen and her National Rally party - formerly the National Front - have moved away from their usual agenda of anti-immigration and anti-EU this election. Instead she has focused on the cost of living crisis and policies such as cutting fuel taxes, and voters have responded. But Castex was dismissive of her new policy shift. 'We are in a serious crisis. It is not easy to govern a country like France.' He added: 'Her programme has changed a lot, because the idea is to attract people, but basically the values that we know in the National Rally, in the Le Pen family, are the same.' Macron delivers a speech during a campaign visit in Fouras, western France, on March 31, 2022. He had enjoyed a mid-March high of 14 point lead over Le Pen in first round polling, but now it is down to just eight points Emmanuel Macron's estimated margin of victory over Marine Le Pen (pictured) is narrowing sharply as the election approaches, polls published this week suggest But with a little over a week to go until the first round elections on April 10, it is looking like it will be Le Pen to face off against Macron in the second round once again, in a re-run of the 2017 elections which Macron won with 66 per cent of the vote to 34 per cent. The French elections are dividied into two rounds, with only the top two candidates advancing to a second round runoff. The nearest other contender is the hard-Left Jean-Luc Melenchon, who trails her by up to seven per cent. The Telegraph report that one survey published by Le Monde this week said the number of people seeing Ms Le Pen as a threat has dropped two points since January, to 51 per cent. Half of all people surveyed said they would not vote for her under any circumstances, but that was fewer than those who refused to back Mr Melenchon and fellow far-right candidate Eric Zemmour, who was seen as Le Pen's likeliest rival. Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine has dealt a blow to the far-right cause across Europe, which is seen to be ideologically aligned with the Russian dictator, and boosted Macron because of his handling of the diplomatic crisis caused by the war. Macron can rest easy to some extent, as Le Pen will still face an uphill battle to unseat him if she does make it to the second round, as the current president is polled to take over fifty percent of the vote. A Ukrainian drone captured what appears to be yet another ambush as a column of Russian armour is decimated, this time outside Kyiv. Numerous tanks can be seen blowing up under a Ukrainian assault on the outskirts of Dmytrivka. A follow up video filmed by a person on the ground driving through the aftermath showed wreckages of what are thought to be BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles and T-72 main battle tanks. The Ukrainians struck as Russian forces beat a retreat from Kyiv and the north of Ukraine, with the Kremlin saying earlier this week it would reduce military activity near the Ukrainian capital and the northern city of Chernihiv. A UAV captures the moment a tank is hit and destroyed near the Kyiv suburb of Dmytrivka A drone captures wreckages of what are thought to be BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles and T-72 main battle tanks The Ukrainians struck as Russian forces beat a retreat from Kyiv and the north of Ukraine More than 30 settlements have been reclaimed with Vladimir Putin's forces retreating up to 25 miles in places. But officials urged caution, saying the movement is part of Russia's 'tactics' to encircle Ukrainian troops in Donbas and split the country in two. Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said: 'Russian units are not withdrawing but repositioning.' Among the towns back under Ukrainian control last night were Hostomel, where Moscow had hoped to gain the airport to ease taking control of Kyiv, Chernihiv in the north, and Chernobyl, where Putin's forces were heading across the border to Belarus. Another tank explodes in an enormous fireball as Russian forces are ambushed while they withdraw from the Kyiv surroundings Footage captures the general devasation of the region around Dmytrivka as the battle rages A local person captured the aftermath of the destruction as they drove through the shattered tank wreckages Early on Saturday, Zelensky warned his people that retreating Russian forces were creating 'a complete disaster' outside the capital as they leave mines across 'the whole territory,' including around homes and corpses. Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation: 'They are mining the whole territory. They are mining homes, mining equipment, even the bodies of people who were killed. 'There are a lot of trip wires, a lot of other dangers.' He issued the warning as the humanitarian crisis in the encircled city of Mariupol deepened, with Russian forces blocking evacuation operations for the second day in a row. Meanwhile, the Kremlin accused the Ukrainians of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot on Russian soil. The MoD also gave an update saying a fire destroyed several oil tanks at a depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, which is close to the Ukrainian border. Zelensky has declined to comment on whether he ordered an attack on the Russian fuel depot. In an interview with FOX News, he said he does not discuss any orders he issues as commander in chief. On Thursday, explosions were reported at an ammunition depot in the surrounding area of the city. The department added: 'The probable loss of fuel and ammunition supplies from these depots will likely add additional short-term strain to Russia's already stretched logistic chains. 'Supplies to Russian forces encircling Kharkiv (60km from Belgorod) may be particularly affected.' The comments came as the president's forces drove Russia out of dozens of towns around Kyiv and the north in one of the most extraordinary days since the start of the invasion. The Red Cross is preparing a renewed effort to help evacuate starving civilians from besieged Mariupol today, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced. The plans come after attempts to get people out of the city on Friday failed when they were 'forced to turn around', citing continual Russian bombardment. Ukrainian Presidenial Advisor Oleksiy Arestovych was hopeful about the fresh Mariupol convoy. 'I think that today or maybe tomorrow we will hear good news regarding the evacuation of the inhabitants of Mariupol,' he said. The Friday evacuation attempt was intended to use 54 buses to bring 3,000 people to relative safety until they encountered Russian forces. They were due to deliver essential supplies to families who have been hiding in basements for weeks under relentless bombing with no access to running water, power or fresh food. But Russian forces are alleged to have ignored the ceasefire and continued shelling. A woman holds a child inside an evacuee bus as people flee from Mariupol Ukraine April 1, 2022. People walking along evacuee buses at a collecting point in Zaporizhzhia after fleeing Mariupol and Melitopol Russian artillery has been pounding the city round the clock, which has been encircled and cut off for five weeks, turning it into a heartbreaking husk. Conditions have been described as 'medieval' for the estimated 160,000 civilians still trapped inside the city. They have been reduced to melting snow for water and burning furniture for warmth, and cooking stray animals they can catch in the streets on the fire. People who have managed to get out of Mariupol and through Russian lines to reach the city of Zaporizhzhia described their journey as an ordeal during which Russian soldiers repeatedly stopped them to check for the presence of Ukrainian fighters. Refugees wait inside an evacuation bus having managed to escape the besieged city of Mariupol People stare out of the window of an evacuation bus. Refugees have mainly been evacuated to Zaporizhzhia The evacuation efforts coincide with reports that Russian forces are regrouping for fresh attacks in southeast Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russian forces are massing in the Donbas region north of Mariupol, for a push north towards Kharkiv, a city already battered by Russian shelling. Zelensky said the situation in the east was 'extremely difficult'. The port city of Mariupol, with a pre-war population of 450,000, is a key strategic target for Vladimir Putin. An estimated 140,000 people managed to flee before the Russian siege began in February. It is feared 5,000 civilians have been killed and thousands more 'abducted' to Russian cities. Its capture would allow Russian forces to establish a land bridge between Russia and Crimea, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Previous evacuation efforts have been unsuccessful, with Ukraine accusing Russia of refusing to respect the humanitarian corridors by firing upon civilians as they attempt to flee. Having failed to capture the strategic city through conventional military means, Russian strategy appears to now be to reduce it to ashes and starve the inhabitants into surrender, a strategy that served Putin well in Syria. For this reason it is considered unlikely that Russia would ever truly allow a proper evacuation of the city, as it would lessen the leverage of their siege tactic strategy. People wait inside a cargo truck after a dangerous and difficult journey from Mariupol and Melitopol The International Committee of the Red Cross has organised the evacuation convoys out of Mariupol Furthermore, the notorious Azov regiment is based in Mariupol defending the city. The Azov regiment is a far-right paramilitary group that was incorporated into the National Guard of Ukraine. Russia accuses them of being neo-Nazis and thus one of the main justifications for their invasion to 'de-Nazify' Ukraine. Russia has failed to capture a major city since launching its invasion on February 24. Harry Kane has equalled Sergio Aguero's record of winning seven Premier League Player of the Month awards after the Tottenham talisman picked up the gong for March. Kane looks back to his very best for Spurs, which saw him bag four goals and two assists in four Premier League matches last month as Antonio Conte's men picked up three wins out of four. His efforts for Spurs saw him pick up the Player of the Month award on Friday for a seventh time, taking him level with Man City icon Aguero. No player in Premier League history has won it more. Harry Kane has been named as the Premier League's Player of the Month for March Kane scored four goals and bagged two assists in four Premier League games last month Kane has won the Premier League Player of the Month award on seven different occasions Back in top form Harry Kane is your @easportsfifa Player of the Month for a SEVENTH time - no #PL player has ever won more #PLAwards | @HKane pic.twitter.com/77KPOsCX25 Premier League (@premierleague) April 1, 2022 HARRY KANE IN SEVENTH HEAVEN The 28-year-old has now equalled Sergio Aguero's record for Player of the Month awards. Here are the seven times he stood out among the rest: January 2015 February 2015 March 2016 February 2017 September 2017 December 2017 March 2022 Advertisement Kane kicked off the month of March with a superb brace in the 5-0 rout of Everton before going on to score again in the 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford. Four days after that, the England captain would get his fourth goal of the month in a comfortable 2-0 win over Brighton before bagging two assists in Spurs' 3-1 win over rivals West Ham before the international break. Kane's impressive form has helped Spurs get back into the fight for a top-four finish, with the north London outfit now just three points behind arch-rivals Arsenal who are currently fourth. It is the first time Kane has won the award since December 2017, with that calendar year proving to be his month fruitful, given how he won the award on three differ occasions. He also won back-to-back Player of the Month awards in 2015 for the months of January and February, before going on to claim another in March 2016. While Kane got a goal in the 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford, the Spurs striker was trumped on the night by a scintillating performance from Cristiano Ronaldo. The Manchester United star scored a hat-trick against Spurs to take all three points but it was his first strike from long-range that earned him the Goal of the Month for March. Kane will be looking to continue his brilliant form now that he's back from international duty, with the club's academy graduate expected to lead the line when they face Newcastle on Sunday. Advertisement Sunday afternoon at Cala Sa Nau and the two-person band (guitarist and percussionist) are tuning up while the beautiful people hunker down along the narrow sandy beach and on rocks that frame the jagged cove. But not beautiful in the look-at-my-Instagram sort of way. More of a sangria method of relaxation on the sabbath. We make our presence felt because we are eight adults and four children under three. I feel sorry for the Spanish couple reading next to where we plant ourselves just as I felt sorry for those in rows 26 and 29 on the flight from Gatwick (we were in rows 27 and 28). Secluded: The beach at Cala Sa Nau, where Mark and his family spend a Sunday afternoon during their visit to the 'refreshingly unglamorous' south-east of Majorca But, somehow, the children feel the vibe at Cala Sa Nau and respond admirably. It is the first experience of the seaside for some of them and the first encounter for me of the quiet and, it must be said, refreshingly unglamorous south-east of Majorca, the largest and most varied of the Balearic islands. About an hour away is the busy capital, Palma imperative to visit if only for sight of the magnificent cathedral with its modernist interiors designed by Antoni Gaudi. But, here in our nearest village, SHorta, the main activity of the day is waiters laying the tables in the square at the two restaurants serving almost exactly the same food. Its towards the end of September (Majorca rightly wants to be known as an all-year destination) and we dont hear another British voice. Instead, there are lots of Germans and in general they are so surly that we find this strangely uplifting. According to Mark, the Majorcan capital of Palma is 'imperative to visit if only for sight of the magnificent cathedral (pictured centre-left) with its modernist interiors designed by Antoni Gaudi' Together: Mark (centre) and his family on holiday We are staying at a Vintage Travel villa called Sa Marina. Its not luxurious (one evening we find the charming owner underneath the sink fixing the tap, and the wifi wouldnt suit anyone attempting to work on holiday) but it sleeps 12 and all rooms have their own bathrooms. Best of all is the outdoor space: large pool, ping-pong table, a swing, attractive lawns, long table on the veranda for meals, doing jigsaw puzzles or arguing over plans for the day. On a map, I count more than 40 coves within as many miles on this stretch of coast. My idea is to visit as many as possible but soon realise that two of the best are almost on our doorstep: the aforementioned Cala Sa Nau and my undisputed favourite, Cala Mitjana. You can drive to Cala Sa Nau and park but, as with many coves in the Balearics, Cala Mitjana is reached only by boat or on foot, the latter via a path that becomes narrower and rockier the closer you get, the sea offering tantalising glimpses of itself through pine and Cypress trees. The beach is tiny but overlooking it, up on the hill, is a huge house belonging to a Frenchman who lives in Milan or so we are told. We become fascinated by it and press on up a ridge to get a better view. We are rewarded famously, not just of the monsieurs luxurious lair but of the Mediterranean in rumbustious mood, with Algeria somewhere out there in the distance. Catering for a group such as ours means almost daily visits to the Eroski supermarket in Cala dOr. My wife admires the fruit section, which seems to change every day depending on whats available, while Im pleasantly taken with the wine or, rather, the prices for thoroughly decent bottles of local Rioja. Above is Cala Mitjana, Mark's 'undisputed favourite' of the 40 coves that are nestled along the coast TRAVEL FACTS Seven nights villa only at Villa Sa Marina with Vintage Travel from 1,606 (vintagetravel.co.uk; 01954 261431). London Gatwick to Palma returns from 42 (easyjet.com). Vintage Travel can arrange for Hire A Chef Mallorca (hireachefmallorca.com) or a local family cook to cater for all or part of a stay. Car hire from Palma Airport via roig.com. Advertisement One evening, we push the culinary boat out and invite Sergio Rifugio from Hire A Chef Majorca to provide a slap-up paella dinner with all the trimmings, including tapas starters, chocolate brownie with ice cream dessert and, crucially, a helping hand in the form of Maria, who serves us at the table and does the washing up. Whats more, Sergio brings along his own huge circular gas burner and cooks the mixed paella in front of us a base of vegetables, then mussels, prawns, calamari, cuttlefish, pork and chicken, before folding in the rice. Ive made the mistake of ordering paella in restaurants in the UK. Nothing has ever tasted like this one. We send Sergio and Maria off with rousing applause. Next morning, the sun comes over all coy, so some of our group, including two toddlers, head inland to the former Sant Salvador monastery dating to 1348. It was built high on a hill on the orders of King Peter IV of Aragon as a place of pilgrimage when a plague raged across Majorca and many islanders perished. Later, the little chapel could not cope with the huge number of pilgrims visiting and it was replaced in 1715. With a statue of the Virgin Mary from the 13th century and a high altar from the 15th, it is extraordinarily sumptuous. The toddlers look up at the massive silver candelabras on either side of the altar open-mouthed. The good old Church of England always hopes to attract the young by trying to be more secular, introducing guitars and such-like but nothing works better than ratcheting up the mystery. At our last supper we all agree that weve developed a strong affection for our villa and for this lesser-known part of Majorca. We havent ventured too far and wide and the littlest ones wont remember a thing. But their parents and grandparents certainly will. Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson are set to reunite onscreen in the forthcoming comedy-thriller The Kill Room. The news about the performers, aged 51 and 73, respectively, was originally revealed by The Hollywood Reporter on Friday. The pair previously costarred in the highly influential 1994 crime comedy feature Pulp Fiction, and they recently reunited with their castmate, John Travolta, at last Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony. Back at it: Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson are set to reunite onscreen in the forthcoming comedy-thriller feature The Kill Room. It was also noted that the two would return to their darkly comedic roots; they are seen at the 94th Academy Awards The Kill Room will be centered on a hitman and his boss - with the latter being played by Jackson - who come into contact with an art dealer, played by Thurman. The three then become involved in a money-laundering scheme that inadvertently turns the assassin into an overnight sensation. The hired gun is then forced to pit the benefits and connections of the art world against the seedy criminal underworld. Director Nicol Paone gave a statement to the media outlet to express his excitement about being able to work with the Pulp Fiction stars. First flick: The pair previously costarred in the highly influential 1994 crime comedy feature Pulp Fiction; Thurman pictured in Pulp Fiction (1994) Reunion: They recently reunited with their castmate, John Travolta, at last Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony; Travolta and Jackson pictured in Pulp Fiction (1994) 'Getting to make The Kill Room an already incredible script with Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson is beyond my wildest dreams,' he said. The filmmaker also noted that the pair had impressive chemistry and that he was grateful for their involvement. 'Every moment they're onscreen, they are both enviable and eye-catching. I am eternally grateful to both of them for saying yes, and I am thrilled to bring this to life,' he said. Producers Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman also spoke to the media outlet to show their enthusiasm for the forthcoming project. 'The combination of Uma and Sam for this project is a dream come true,' they stated. Front and center: Thurman and Jackson appeared with Travolta to present the Best Actor award at the 94th Academy Awards The pair went on to note that the project was in good hands with Paone as its director. 'We are certain that Nicol is going to deliver a special film, and one that strikes the perfect balance between dark humor and edge-of-your-seat thrills,' they said. Thurman and Jackson appeared with Travolta to present the Best Actor award at the 94th Academy Awards, which took place this past Sunday. During the presentation, the Snakes on a Plane made several jokes about Pulp Fiction's legacy while the actress and her former castmate danced on stage. At one point, the three looked into a glowing briefcase, which was the main point of contention in the 1994 movie. Jackson went on to pull an envelope containing the name of the award's winner, who turned out to be Will Smith. Carpool Karaoke is finally returning after a two year hiatus. Late Late Show host James Corden took to Twitter on Friday to reveal that his popular singalong sketch was returning on April 6 after being put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting social distancing restrictions. In a clip teasing the recurring segments return, the TV presenter revealed his first guest as singing superstar Nicki Minaj as the duo sang along to the rapper's 2014 hit 'Anaconda' in the teaser. Carpool Karaoke is BACK! The Late Late show segment is set to return after a two-year Covid-induced hiatus with Nicki Minaj enjoying a ride with James Corden The short video announces that after two years of being unable to sit in a very confined and closed space, 'social distancing is over.' James also revealed that Camila Cabello will feature on the segment, making her appearance in a show set to air on April 18. The TV stars old friend Niall Horan last the last star hop in for a carpool across Los Angeles in March 2020 before the pandemic put a pause to the cultural phenomenon. Superstar: The short clip announces that after two years of not being able to sit in a very confined and closed space 'social distancing is over,' before revealing the rapper Karaoke: The duo sang along to the rapper's 2014 hit 'Anaconda' in the teaser Guest: James also revealed that Camila Cabello will feature on the segment, making her appearance in a show set to air on April 18 The close pals sang songs from Niall's new album, Heartbreak Weather as James help the Irish singer confront his fear of pigeons. International singing sensation Justin Bieber also featured in the hot seat in February 2020 as the duo chatted about his marriage to Hailey Bieber and of course, sang some of Justin's new music and even a couple classic tunes. Beatle icon Paul McCartney jumped into the passenger seat in June 2018 as the legendary crooner visited his childhood home and dissected the band's iconic fashion in the late-night host's special London edition of The Late Late Show. In December 2019, James went on to invite superstar Billie Eilish for a spin as they headed for carpool lane, singing her hits Ocean Eyes and Bad Guy. The pair ended up taking a detour to visit her home and pet spider. Guest: The TV stars old friend Niall Horan last the last star to hop in for a carpool across Los Angeles before the pandemic put a pause to the cultural phenomenon Crooners: International singing sensation Justin Bieber also featured in the hot seat in February 2020 as the duo chatted about his marriage to Hailey Bieber Special: Beatle icon Paul McCartney jumped into the passenger seat in 2018 as the legendary crooner visited his childhood home and dissected the band's iconic fashion Hot seat: In December 2019, James went on to invite superstar Billie Eilish for a spin as they headed for carpool lane, singing her hits Ocean Eyes and Bad Guy The English actor has become a huge hit in the US since landing roles in Hollywood movies such as 2014's Into the Woods and eventually becoming the host of The Late Late Show from 2015. Earlier this year, the comedian was forced to cancel recordings of his hit CBS show after testing positive for coronavirus. On January 6, he took to Instagram to reveal that he has tested positive for a case of breakthrough COVID-19 . He wrote: 'I just tested positive for COVID 19. I'm fully vaccinated, boosted, and because of this, am fortunate enough to say I feel completely fine.' James told his followers that his CBS program 'will be off the air for the next few days' as he quarantines. The latest: On January 6, James took to Instagram to reveal that he has tested positive for a case of breakthrough COVID-19 (pictured on the show last month) He wrapped up the post in writing, 'Stay safe everyone. All my love, James x.' Prior to his coronavirus diagnosis, the British funnyman welcomed guests Aaron Sorkin and Sophia Bush, Lily Collins, William Jackson Harper and St. Vincent and Jessica Chastain, Penelope Cruz and Andrew Sleighter. The Late Late Show is taped in Los Angeles, where Los Angeles County officials on reported a record 37,215 new cases in the area on the same day. The announcement came after a number of his fellow late night hosts have also revealed they had tested positive for COVID-19, including The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers host Seth Meyers. I'm positive! The Late Late Show host updated fans on his health on the social media site Guests: The British funnyman welcomed guests Penelope Cruz and Jessica Chastain days before testing positive (pictured) Pals: He snapped a selfie with St. Vincent during an episode of the late night program Fallon, 47, took to Instagram Monday to detail his health battle, along with a photo of himself seated in a testing room. 'Hey guys, on the first day of our holiday break I tested positive for Covid,' Fallon said. 'I was vaccinated and boostered which made me lucky enough to only have mild symptoms. 'Thank you to the doctors and nurses who work so hard around the clock to get everyone vaxxed. Thank you to NBC for taking the testing protocols so seriously and doing a great job.' Meyers, 48, revealed his diagnosis Tuesday, writing, 'The bad news is, I tested positive for COVID (thanks, 2022!) the good news is, I feel fine (thanks vaccines and booster!). We are canceling the rest of the shows this week, so tune in next Monday to see what cool location we will try and pass off as a studio!!!' Jasmine Stefanovic and her business partner Tamie Ingham are closing their luxury footwear line, Mara & Mine. The wife of Today host Karl Stefanovic announced the news on her Instagram page on Thursday, saying they have decided to take a break to 'pursue other interests'. Jasmine, 38, and Tamie launched the company in Los Angeles a decade ago, with the embellished flats and slippers seen on the likes of Kendall Jenner, Margot Robbie and Cara Delevingne. New chapter: Jasmine Stefanovic (pictured), 38, has announced she's closing her luxury footwear brand Mara & Mine - seen on the likes of Kendall Jenner and Margot Robbie - to 'pursue other interests'. Pictured with daughter Harper May, one 'Ten years after successfully establishing Mara & Mine, we have decided to take a break from our business that we cherish, to pursue other interests,' Jasmine began. 'Building Mara & Mine has taken a huge amount of our passion, time, and energy over the past decade. 'Ignited by a special friendship that was formed in Los Angeles, the brand took shape from the comfort of our living rooms, and found its home in Australia at our Paddington boutique in Sydney. Popular: The wife of Today host Karl Stefanovic, 47, launched the line of embellished flats and slippers with Tamie Ingham a decade ago in Los Angeles. Pictured together in August 2018 Heartfelt: In an Instagram post on Thursday, Jasmine said they are 'extremely proud of what we have accomplished' and went on to thank their stakeholders, creative teams they've collaborated with over the years, and their loyal customers for their 'unwavering support' 'We are extremely proud of what we have accomplished, and it has been an incredible honour to see our designs adorn the feet of some of the most incredible women across the world.' Jasmine went on to thank their stakeholders, creative teams they've collaborated with over the years, and their loyal customers for their 'unwavering support'. Proud husband Karl Stefanovic, 47, was quick to comment, offering his support by writing: 'What an enduring incredible relationship. You girls built something from nothing. Can't wait for the next chapter. So much experience. So exciting.' Sweet note: Proud husband Karl was quick to comment, offering his support by writing: 'What an enduring incredible relationship. You girls built something from nothing. Can't wait for the next chapter. So much experience. So exciting' Friends and business partners: The line is stocked in David Jones, as well as a store in Sydney's Paddington and at Birkenhead Point. Jasmine told Domain back in 2019 the secret behind their lucrative business. 'We always put friendship before business,' she said. Pictured in July 2015 The luxury footwear line is stocked in David Jones, as well as a store in Sydney's Paddington and at Birkenhead Point. Jasmine told Domain back in 2019 the secret behind their lucrative business. 'We always put friendship before business. That will never change and is the reason why it actually works. We have each other's best interests at heart,' she said. Power couple: The entrepreneur married Karl in a lavish four-day wedding ceremony in Los Cabos, Mexico in December 2018 Jasmine added that having their shoes stocked alongside credible designers is a 'pinch-me moment'. The entrepreneur married Karl in a lavish four-day wedding ceremony in Los Cabos, Mexico in December 2018. They welcomed their first child together, daughter Harper, in May 2020. Ashley Banjo has admitted that he is still a victim of online abuse 18 months after his group Diversity debuted their Black Lives Matter inspired routine. The dance troupe sparked controversy with their Britain's Got Talent performance, which featured the portrayal of a policeman kneeling on Ashley's neck. It accumulated approximately 24,500 Ofcom complaints. The group's leader Ashley, 33, recently appeared on Good Morning Britain to discuss the dance, which triggered the trolls to rush to their keyboards once again. 'It happens all the time': Ashley Banjo admitted that he's still subject to social media abuse following Diversity's BLM routine which sparked over 24,000 Ofcom complaints (pictured 2021) Admitting the abuse is something which 'happens all the time,' Ashley added to The Mirror: 'I did this slot on GMB to talk about how life-changing it was winning a BAFTA for the routine and I went on Twitter afterwards, and it was just like a stream of comments. The negative ones always cut through.' The street dance group, who were triumphant on Britain's Got Talent in 2009, are currently on their nationwide Connected tour. They have incorporated the famous routine into their set and Ashley admitted there is still an element of nerves when it comes to performing it. Sparking debate: The dance troupe sparked controversy with their Britain's Got Talent performance (September 2020) which featured the portrayal of a policeman kneeling on Ashley's neck 'Every night, I go down and take that knee and theres a little part of me that just kind of goes, "I wonder whats gonna happen". You just dont know,' he said. The London-based group never got to perform it to a crowd before now due to Covid, but has been well-received by fans. The remainder of the tour comprises 75 shows and wraps up in mid June. Next week they'll complete a stint of shows at The London Palladium. Talking point: The street dance group, who were triumphant on Britain's Got Talent in 2009, are currently on their nationwide Connected tour. They have incorporated the famous routine into their set Ashley has previously described the dance routine in full, stipulating that Diversity were giving a 'summary of 2020' with their performance tackling topics like lockdown, COVID-19, the NHS, George Floyd's death and the Black Lives Matter movement. 'It was layered, it was something we wanted to bring to the stage to bring hope but also not to shy away from difficult conversations and difficult issues that have arisen,' he said of the dance. 'That's exactly why the question whether Britain's Got Talent was the right platform was one that I just can't get on board with. Nerves: 'Every night, I go down and take that knee and theres a little part of me that just kind of goes, "I wonder whats gonna happen". You just dont know,' Ashley said 'If an artist or creative can't use real world issues, universal issues, to inspire their art and come through how they express them then what's the point? 'Britain's Got Talent has been a stage for so many incredible performers, artists and talents who want to express all different kinds of emotions and views, and stories, human ones. 'Of course political ideas are going to work into performances because it affects us every single day, universal things that affect us, that is what art is; it's an expression of how we feel and this set of 2020 is exactly that,' he said. Khloe Kardashian laughed off claims she has had buttock implants in the comments of an Instagram fanpage this week. The page posted a video of Khloe, 37, doing stretches with a suspicious outline in her leggings, setting off a storm of speculation in the comment section. Eventually Khloe entered the comments herself, blaming the outline on 'the seam design of the leggings' and calling the conjecture 'so funny ha!' 'That's so funny ha!': Khloe Kardashian laughed off claims she has had buttock implants in the comments of an Instagram fanpage this week One comment read: 'Omg u can see her implants when stretching. A 2nd layer of her bum on top of her bum,' prompting the reply: 'Are they implants or padded tights?' Khloe then replied to the initial comment: 'lol silly goose. It's the seam design of the leggings. that's so funny ha! You guys just want to believe anything bad.' Last year on the Keeping Up With The Kardashians finale special Khloe insisted that the only plastic surgery she has ever had was a nose job. 'I've had one nose job - Dr. Raj Kanodia,' she told Andy Cohen, who was hosting the Final Curtain specials that closed out the series. Details: The page posted a video of Khloe, 37, doing stretches with a suspicious outline in her leggings, setting off a storm of speculation in the comment section Allegations: One comment read: 'Omg u can see her implants when stretching. A 2nd layer of her bum on top of her bum,' prompting the reply: 'Are they implants or padded tights?' Khloe also confessed that she has gotten 'injections' but 'not really Botox' because 'I've responded horribly to Botox.' Rumors have been swirling for years about various cosmetic procedures she is said to have had done, with a particular focus on her rear end. She has always denied having her behind augmented, writing on social media years ago: 'Sorry 2disappoint.... I've always had an a**. I know it's more fun 2believe it's not real, kind of a compliment since I kill myself in the gym.' Over time: Khloe is pictured at a Beverly Hills party in 2013 (left) and in her recent workout Instagram video (right) Remember when: Khloe bared her derriere for one of PETA's famous 'Fur? I'd Rather Go Naked' advertisements all the way back in 2008 Changes: Fans have watched her figure evolve over the years, from 2008 (left) to 2011 (center) to 2016 (right) all the way to the present Fans have watched her figure evolve over the years, including with a stunning weight loss journey that led her to host a show called Revenge Body With Khloe Kardashian. Cosmetic surgeon Dr Benji Dhillon once told the MailOnline that 'Khloe's buttocks could simply be down to a strong squat routine.' Said he: 'Although buttock lifts were one of the fastest growing surgical procedures in the US (according to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons), it is difficult to tell if Khloe has had this done.' Maksim Chmerkovskiy looked happy to be back on U.S. soil as he took his mom shopping in Los Angeles on Friday. The Dancing With the Stars pro, 42, had just returned from Poland on Wednesday, following his efforts to help out those affected by the war in his native Ukraine. The choreographer sported a casual look for the day, wearing a black T-shirt, grey and white shorts, and a pair of checkered Vans. With mama Chmerkovskiy: Maksim Chmerkovskiy looked happy to be back on U.S. soil as he took his mom shopping in Los Angeles on Friday The Ukrainian-American Latinballroom dance champion accessorized with a pair of round sunglasses and beaded bracelets on his wrist. In his hand he carried a blue shopping bag from Kitson - a celebrity beloved clothing boutique. Maksim appeared to be in good spirits and even cracked a smile while talking on his cellphone, while walking next to his mom. Casual: The Dancing With the Stars pro, 42, sported a casual look for the day, wearing a black T-shirt, grey and white shorts, and a pair of checkered Vans Meanwhile his mom Larisa looked chic in a white zip-up top, black pants, and white sneakers. She shielded her eyes from the sun with a pair of black sunglasses and accessorized with dangling earrings. Her blonde tresses were pulled back into a neat bun. Mrs. Chmerkovskiy is also the mother of the star's younger brother, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, 36, who is a Dancing with the Stars pro like Maksim. It's good to be home: Maksim appeared to be in good spirits and even cracked a smile while talking on his cellphone, while walking next to his mom Peta Murgatroyd announced Maksim's return to the U.S. on Wednesday via her Instagram Stories. The Auckland, New Zealand native, 35, shared a brief clip in which she revealed she was headed to pick up her spouse from the airport. 'I'm gonna go pick up my husband from the airport,' she said, with a sigh of relief. 'I am so excited, can't tell you.' The latest: On Wednesday Peta Murgatroyd, 35, said Chmerkovskiy was returning to the U.S. after his efforts in Poland The Dancing with the Stars alum, who shares son Shai, five, with Chmerkovskiy, sang, 'Come home to me.' In the social media clip, Murgatroyd had her blonde locks pulled back with a long-sleeved white top, earrings and a pair of sunglasses resting atop her head. Chmerkovskiy was initially in Ukraine's capital Kyiv to film a dance show when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, before he made his way to Poland and later back to Los Angeles. He subsequently returned to Poland to use his platform to help people impacted by the invasion, teaming up with businessman-humanitarian Michael Capponi's Global Empowerment Mission and Bethenny Frankel's BStrong foundation to help provide the people of Ukraine with aid amid the invasion from Russia. The Auckland, New Zealand native posted a brief clip in which she revealed she was headed to pick up her spouse from the airport In the social media clip, Murgatroyd had her blonde locks pulled back with a long-sleeved white top, earrings and a pair of sunglasses resting atop her head The Dancing with the Stars alum, who shares son Shai, five, with Chmerkovskiy, sang, 'Come home to me' Murgatroyd opened up in an Instagram Stories Q&A last week as she fielded a number of questions from fans about dealing with the stressful family situation. Murgatroyd said she had used a number of activities to channel her energy toward amid the difficult stretch, including prayer, focusing on her son, and 'keeping Maks calm and in a place where he is still actively working on helping people but also spending time with family.' Other activities she listed included: 'Finding the balance. Breathing. Meditating. Talking it out to friends and family. Having gratitude for what we have here in US. We are so blessed.' Murgatroyd, who wed Chmerkovskiy in July of 2017, said in her Q&A that while she has had her 'anxious days' watching her husband travel abroad amid the crisis in Ukraine, she feels 'he made the right decision' to return to Europe to help. 'There wasn't a way that he could stay and watch,' she said. 'I'm just proud.' Chmerkovskiy took to Instagram earlier this month from a warehouse in Rzesow, Poland in a clip alongside businessman-humanitarian Michael Capponi, 49, whose Global Empowerment Mission is working to help the people of Ukraine amid the invasion Chmerkovskiy and Murgatroyd were snapped in December in LA Chmerkovskiy's younger brother Val Chmerkovskiy opened up to former DWTS partner Olivia Jade Sunday about the family ordeal amid the tumultuous time Chmerkovskiy's younger brother Val Chmerkovskiy, appearing on Conversations With Olivia Jade Sunday, opened up about the family ordeal amid the tumultuous time. 'My brother was in Kyiv when the invasion started, and we were all really nervous, obviously,' Val, 36, said on the podcast. 'He was petrified, we talked about it, and he was grateful to get out. He is now right back at the Polish border trying to do whatever he can.' Val emphasized how he hopes the situation abroad does not get normalized in the U.S. more than a month into the invasion. 'It's good that were safe here - the privilege of living in this country - but there are a lot of our friends and family and peers that are in Ukraine right now that are, like I said, in bomb shelters,' he said. 'And I think were getting a little used to hearing that word, and were kinda like, "Ok cool." No, no, no, you don't understand what that is. That means you don't have a home, and you have to hide in a shelter with nothing there.' Rumer Willis posted a sweet throwback picture to honor her famous father Bruce Willis in wake of his devastating aphasia diagnosis and retirement from acting. The snapshot showed the 67-year-old Hollywood heavyweight cradling one of his daughters in his arms while Rumer, now 33, flashed a 'silly' face for the camera. 'I love you Daddio, to the (Moon) and Back. Thank you for teaching me to be so silly. I love laughing with you,' captioned the actress. Evan Rachel Wood, Aaron Paul and Bruce's wife Emma Hemming, all posted hearts in the comments section. Good times: Rumer Willis posted a sweet throwback picture to honor her ailing father Bruce Willis. The actress shared a photo of herself, her dad and one of her sisters on Instagram Friday with the post 'I love you Daddio, to the (Moon) and Back. Thank you for teaching me to be so silly. I love laughing with you' Rumer announced, with her family on Wednesday, March 30, that Bruce was suffering from a condition called aphasia, and the Die Hard actor would be stepping back from his career. The Mayo Clinic reports aphasia is a condition that affects your the ability to communicate, affecting speech as well as the way a person writes and understands both spoken and written language. No cause for the condition has been revealed, but the clinic says Aphasia is typically the result of a stroke or head injury. Once the cause is determined, treatment includes speech and language therapy. Fallout: The family have been flooded with support after announcing the 67-year-old Die Hard star had been diagnosed with a degenerative brain condition called aphasia, which affects a person's ability to communicate; (L-R) Rumer Willis, Bruce Willis, Tallulah Belle Willis, Demi Moore, Marlene Willis and Scout LaRue Willis pictured in 2018 It was reported that The Sixth Sense actor's friends and family believe a head injury he suffered on the set of the 2002 action movie Tears Of the Sun may have contributed to his condition. Willis sued the production company, Revolution Studios, in 2004, claiming he had suffered 'substantial mental and physical injuries' after he had been hit by a 'squib' - a special effects explosive meant to look like the impact of gunfire, during the October 2002 production. The lawsuit was settled in 2005, but details of the agreement were not released. Sending love: Friends and family have been responding with thoughts and prayers since the announcement explaining why The Sixth Sense actor would be stepping away from his career Sources claim the actor has worked to camouflage his condition as best as he can relying on assistants and technology to work on movie sets. He was pictured wearing what seemed to be an earpiece to feed him lines on the set of American Siege in 2020. The father of five is being cared for at home by his wife, Emma Heming as well as several medical professionals. Ashley Greene looked cozy while attending a meeting in Van Nuys on Friday. The 35-year-old pregnant Twilight star sported a comfortable brown ribbed two-piece set and black flats for the outing. The actress was glowing after recently announcing that she was pregnant with her first child with husband Paul Khoury. Pregnancy glow: Ashley Greene looked cozy while attending a meeting in Van Nuys on Friday Greene who found fame starring as Alice Cullen in the Twilight series wore her dark brown loosely curled strands parted down the middle and cascading across her shoulders and back. The Florida native accessorized the matching ensemble with an oversized brown purse slung across her shoulder. The busy brunette beauty spoke on her cellphone while making her way across the street, and flashed photographers a coy smile. Comfortable: The 35-year-old pregnant Twilight star sported a comfortable brown ribbed two-piece set and black flats for the outing The actress and her spouse shared their exciting baby joy through a statement from a representative that was published by PEOPLE last Friday. 'The couple is over-the-moon with excitement about expecting their first child together,' said their rep. The star also took to Instagram last week to share her giddiness about witnessing her husband become a father, with a snap of the couple holding a photo of the babys ultrasound. Expecting: Last week the star announced that she was pregnant with her first child with husband Paul Khoury; Pictured on December 10, 2019 in Westwood, California 'I love you more than I've ever loved anything and somehow my heart just keeps expanding to love you EVEN more. I cannot wait to watch you share your light, love, and passion with our baby,' she wrote. Her husband echoed her sentiment, sharing a post to his Instagram that said: 'I find it so amazing that we can make life through love. Ive never been more in love with you and Im so ready for this next chapter in our lives. Thank you giving me the best gift in the world @ashleygreene.' Greene and the Australian and Lebanese TV personality were first spotted together in 2013 when they held hands while strolling around in Los Angeles. Happy together: Greene and the Australian and Lebanese TV personality got engaged in 2016 and tied the knot in 2018 The happy couple dated for three years before the television personality popped the big question during a trip to New Zealand in 2016. The actress notably said yes while standing underneath Bridal Veil Falls, and she later shared a video of the proposal to her Instagram account. The pair waited for two more years before they tied the knot during a wedding that was held in San Jose, California in 2018. Jaden Smith was seen smiling cheerfully while indulging in a spot of retail therapy in New York City this week. The 23-year-old showbiz legacy was accompanied by his pink-haired rumored girlfriend Sab Zada, whom he was first linked to in 2020. His outing comes before his father Will Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in the wake of his onstage assault of Chris Rock during last Sunday's Oscars show. Looking fab: Jaden Smith was seen smiling cheerfully while indulging in a spot of retail therapy in New York City this week Stepping out: The 23-year-old showbiz legacy was accompanied by his pink-haired rumored girlfriend Sab Zada, whom he was first linked to in 2020 Will, who slapped Chris over a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, went on to win best actor and received a standing ovation for a tearful speech in which he called himself a 'vessel of love' and portrayed himself as a defender of his family. After the end of the ceremony Jaden raised eyebrows by writing on Twitter: 'And Thats How We Do It.' Jaden appeared similarly upbeat while stepping out in New York days later, wrapped in a blue anorak with a fashionable paint splotch print. He made a style statement in a pair of trendily faded jeans that featured a print of a shooting star streaking across the front. Stepping out: His outing comes before his father Will Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in the wake of his onstage Oscar night assault of Chris Rock Out and about: Jaden appeared similarly upbeat while stepping out in New York days later, wrapped in a blue anorak with a fashionable paint splotch print Meanwhile Sab, a model, threw a brightly colored jacket over a plunging tan top for her latest excursion with the city that never sleeps. After more than a year of rumors, she and Jaden appear to confirm their romance on Valentine's Day by engaging in public displays of affection at Disneyland. Smith, in a statement obtained by Variety on Friday, called his actions during the ceremony 'shocking, painful and inexcusable,' adding that he would accept any additional consequences issued by the Academy's Board of Governors. 'The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home,' Smith said. 'I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken.' Meanwhile: Sab, a model, threw a brightly colored jacket over a plunging tan top for her latest excursion with the city that never sleeps Backdrop: After more than a year of rumors, she and Jaden appear to confirm their romance on Valentine's Day by engaging in public displays of affection at Disneyland The actor also acknowledged that slapping Rock during the ceremony caused other award winners to be overshadowed. 'I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film,' Smith, 53, said. He also shared how 'change takes time' and he is now 'committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.' Smith's resignation came two days after the academy met to initiate disciplinary proceedings against him for violations of the group's standards of conduct. Will Smith has resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in wake of his onstage assault of Chris Rock during the last Sunday's Oscars show (pictured) In a statement released Friday, Smith called his actions during the show 'shocking, painful and inexcusable' and said he would accept any additional consequences issued by the Academy's Board of Governors. Smith is pictured accepting the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for King Richard during last Sunday's Oscars How does one become an Academy member? Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences membership is available to qualified artists - ranging from actors, writers, production members and more - working in the production of theatrically-released motion pictures. The obtain membership, an artist must be sponsored by two Academy members from the branch to which the candidate seeks admission. There are 17 branches of the Academy. Oscars nominees are automatically considered for Academy membership and do not require sponsors. After being nominated or sponsors, candidates are then reviewed by branch committees who will make recommendations for membership. Those recommendations are then considered by the Academys Board of Governors, which ultimately decides who will receive an invitation to become a member. Membership review occurs annually. Specific requirements for each membership category and Academy branch can be found on the organization's website. Source: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Advertisement Smith's shocking move comes just one day after sources close to the actor confirmed to The Sun that he and his lawyers had planned to write to the Academy to plead his case ahead of his upcoming hearing on April 18. 'Things are hanging in the balance. He will write an official letter to apologize, and effectively beg for their forgiveness,' the source revealed Thursday. 'He is also expected to hold a call with show bosses in the next 24 hours. April 18 is D-Day, though he will find out if he still has an Oscar, and quite possibly, a career.' Sources familiar with the situation also claim the fate of his upcoming projects, including the Apple-funded slave escape drama Emancipation, remains in question. 'Production executives and studio chiefs do not want to be seen picking a side too early,' the insider said, noting that Smith was expected to return for a fourth installment of the Bad Boys franchise although no start date has been set yet. News of the actor's resignation also followed a Good Morning America interview with Oscars producer Will Packer that aired Friday morning and detailed the Academy's immediate response to the attack. After the actor onto the Oscars stage on Sunday and hit Rock, Academy officials asked Smith to leave the ceremony, Packer said. The producer claimed they were considering physically removing Smith, an option that he successfully lobbied against. Packer said that his co-producer Shayla Cowan informed him that Academy officials 'were about to physically remove Will Smith.' 'I had not been a part of those conversations, and so I immediately went to the Academy leadership that was on site and I said, "Chris Rock does not want that. Rock has made it clear that he does not want to make a bad situation worse",' said Packer. Los Angeles police were prepared to arrest Will Smith after he slapped Chris Rock during the Academy Awards on Sunday night, but didn't at the request of the comedian, Oscars producer Will Packer claims Smith was presented with his first Academy Award after the onstage attack 'I was advocating what Rock wanted in that time, which was not to physically remove Will Smith at that time. Because as it has now been explained to me, that was the only option,' he said. 'There was a conversation, that I was not a part of, to ask him to voluntarily leave.' However, a source close to Rock told TMZ denied that the comedian was ever asked about removing Smith from the theater. 'Chris told Packer 'I'm not pressing charges. All I want to do is leave.' He was never asked if he wanted Will removed. This is the Academy covering itself.' Packer also said police told Rock they would remove Smith from the audience and arrest him for battery. 'We will go get him, we are prepared to get him right now,' the cops said to Rock, Packer recalled. 'You can press charges. We can arrest him.' Packer claimed Rock was dismissive towards police, but he encouraged the comedian to hear them out before making a decision. 'They were laying out the options, and as they were talking, Chris was being very dismissive of those options. He was like, "No, I'm fine." He was like, "No, no, no,"' the producer said. Ultimately, Rock declined to press charges, however police said in a statement Sunday 'if the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.' Chris Rock looks shocked during the Oscars Sunday after Smith came onstage and slapped him for making a remark about Jada Pinkett Smith's haircut As evidenced by her unamused expression, Pinkett Smith did not appreciate the joke Smith marched onto the Oscars stage on Sunday and hit Rock, after the comedian told a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Rock's wisecrack was targeted at Pinkett Smith's buzzcut, a style she has embraced in wake of her alopecia diagnosis. 'Jada, I love you. 'G.I. Jane 2,' can't wait to see it,' Rock said to Pinkett Smith, whose close-shaven head looked similar to Demi Moore's in the 1997 movie, during his presentation of the award for best documentary. Whether Rock was aware that Pinkett Smith suffered from a hair-loss condition is unknown, but Smith reacted with the smack and an angry warning 'to keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth!' Shortly after, Smith was announced as the winner of the best actor award and went up to collect his statuette to a standing ovation from many of his peers. In his acceptance speech, Smith apologized to the Academy - whose members vote for the awards, and who stages the ceremony - but stopped short of apologizing to Rock. Smith initially laughed off the attack, writing on Instagram on Sunday evening: 'You can't invite people from Philly or Baltimore nowhere!!' Yet as the gravity of the situation became clear, Smith then posted a public apology to Instagram 24 hours after the ceremony, saying he wanted to say sorry formally to Rock. He said his behavior was 'unacceptable and inexcusable' and left him 'embarrassed'. 'I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris,' he wrote. 'I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.' Pinkett Smith's first public comment came in an Instagram post Tuesday in which she said: 'This is a season for healing and I'm here for it.' Chris Rock stopped his fans from cursing out Will Smith during his comedy show in Boston Thursday night Rock, seen on Thursday, has been performing to sold-out crowds in Boston, but has not spoke at length about the incident Rock, who held comedy shows in Boston on Wednesday and Thursday, has refused to go into any detail about the 'Slap Heard Round the World.' After being met with 'Will Smith' chants from the audience, the comedian did briefly address the slap during the show, noting that he still needs time to 'process' the assault. He also told the crowd: 'I haven't talked to anyone, despite what you heard,' referencing rumors that Rock and Smith had made amends. But come Thursday night, Rock had to stop his fans from cursing out Smith. 'F**k Will Smith!' a fan shouted, likely in an attempt to show support for Rock. 'No, no, no, no, no...' the comedian replied, according to People, putting an end to the verbal attacks. The comic, 57, took to the stage at the Wilbur Theatre on Wednesday and asked: 'How was your weekend?' The rhetorical question got a big laugh from the crowd, which occasionally heckled the Emmy-winning comedian about Will Smith's on-screen strike. But Rock warned those at the sold-out venue that the show would go on as planned. 'I don't have like a bunch of s*** to say about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I had like a whole show I wrote before... this weekend...' he said to more laughs. 'And I'm still kind of processing what happened. 'So at some time I'll talk about that s***... and it'll be serious. It'll be funny,' he said before an audience member shouted, 'F*** Will!' 'I'm gonna tell some jokes,' Rock concluded, later revealing that he hasn't spoken to 'anyone' since the incident, alluding to reports that he and Smith have reconciled. But some of the 3,000 fans in the audience - who paid up to $1,000 per ticket - are disappointed that the stand-up comedian avoided the topic on everyone's mind. 'We want our money back, I didn't pay $400 to see nothing,' one person told Fox News. Chris Rock posed with fan Gerard Cole at the AMC Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts, just days after being slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars Despite the chatter surrounding the Oscars incident, Rock has seemingly been maintaining a sense of normalcy. The comedian showed up solo at the AMC Boston Common movie theatre in Massachusetts on Thursday, TMZ reported. Rock strolled in to the theatre, got some popcorn, a hotdog and a water, and then headed off to see a film - though, it is not known which one. But not before fan Gerard Cole stopped Rock and asked him to pose for a photo, which the comedian happily obliged while balancing an armload of movie snacks. Smith has yet to be seen on a public outing. David Hasselhoff donned his iconic Baywatch costume while appearing in a video for SodaStream's 2022 Earth Day campaign, which was shared to the company's official YouTube channel earlier this week. In the video, the 69-year-old actor stepped back into character as hunky Los Angeles County lifeguard Mitch Buchannon while promoting the brand's environmentally-minded initiative. The company partnered with SeeTurtles.org in an effort to raise funds for the protection of sea turtles from plastic waste products in our oceans. In character: David Hasselhoff donned his Baywatch costume while appearing in a video for SodaStream's new 2022 Earth Day campaign, which was shared to the company's official YouTube channels on Wednesday The video began with Hasselhoff speaking about the initiative, and he announced that a portion of proceeds from each sale would go towards saving a baby sea turtle. At one point, an alarm button was pressed, and the actor tore off his suit to reveal that he had been wearing lifeguard's attire while making his statement. The performer then grabbed one of the company's products and was joined by two other lifeguards while removing trash from a baby sea turtle's path on a beach as it made its way towards the ocean. The clip ended with the performer receiving another notice about a sea turtle and running off to render assistance. Doing it again: In the video, the 69-year-old actor stepped back into character as Los Angeles County lifeguard Mitch Buchannon while promoting the brand's environmentally-minded initiative; pictured in 1995 Hasselhoff previously issued a statement to speak about the initiative, and noted via Markets Insider that he was happy to be its spokesperson. 'I am honored to work with SodaStream on their commitment to protecting the environment by calling attention to the threat to sea turtles and our beaches,' he said. The performer pointed out that he was personally invested in the well-being of sea turtles and that he wanted to bring greater exposure to the issue of their survival. Charitable effort: Hasselhoff previously issued a statement to speak about the initiative, and noted via Markets Insider that he was happy to be its spokesperson Dedicated: The performer pointed out that he was personally invested in the well-being of sea turtles and that he wanted to bring greater exposure to the issue of their survival 'This is a cause that I deeply believe in. I hope that we will raise worldwide attention about this urgent issue,' he said. The Night Rider star expressed that the campaign would be 'crucial in helping to address world attention about the importance of ensuring the survival of the globe.' Hasselhoff concluded by remarking that he hoped that the initiative would inspire others to pay more attention to environment-centric issues. Doing his part: The Night Rider star expressed that the campaign would be 'crucial in helping to address world attention about the importance of ensuring the survival of the globe' Looking to the future: Hasselhoff concluded by remarking that he hoped that the initiative would inspire others to pay more attention to environment-centric issues 'Each of us needs to do our part in contributing to a sustainable world. Our individual contributions will help to collectively add-up to building a strong foundation to reverse the looming threat,' he stated. The performer previously portrayed Buchannon during the original run of Baywatch, which ran for a total of 11 seasons. He went on to reprise his role as the lifeguard in both Baywatch Nights and the first season of Baywatch Hawaii. Sticking with it: The performer previously portrayed Buchannon during the original run of Baywatch, which ran for a total of 11 seasons Hasselhoff also played Buchannon in three separate television films centered on the show's various characters. The performer departed the series after Baywatch Hawaii's first season, although he remained on as an executive producer. Buchannon was later portrayed by Dwayne Johnson in the 2017 feature based on the series, and the character's original actor also appeared in the movie as The Mentor. Winnie Harlow put on a stylish display while shopping at a Sephora store in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon. The model was there to promote her new sun care line, Cay Skin, which she says is sustainable, environmentally friendly and 'for everyone under the sun.' Winnie dazzled her fellow shoppers, wearing a bright orange mini shirt dress with a plunging V-neckline and matching orange high heel mules. Dazzling: Winnie Harlow dazzled her fellow shoppers at a Sephora in Los Angeles, wearing a bright orange mini shirt dress with a plunging V-neckline and matching orange high heel mules. The model turned entrepreneur was there to support the launch of her new sun care line, Cay Skin The 27-year-old completed the look with an orange bikini top, two gold necklaces, large hoop earrings and a pink purse. Her dark tresses were styled in loose waves and she protected her eyes with a pair of wide square sunglasses. The former America's Top Model contestant has a skin condition called vitiligo, caused by an autoimmune disorder, and characterized by skin depigmentation. I'll have what she's having: Fellow shoppers couldn't keep their eyes off the cover girl who filled her shopping basket with some of her favorite sun protection products Learning from experience: The runway superstar said she decided to launch the sun care line after suffering a severe sunburn after an all day outdoor shoot in 2018 that changed the pattern of her vitiligo She was diagnosed with the condition at the age of four and bullied as a child growing up in Canada. Winnie has confessed she once considered suicide. But the cover girl has since gone on to redefine beauty and become a spokesperson about the condition, having shared information about it on social media and in a TEDx talk. Winnie decided to launch the sun care line after suffering a severe sunburn after an all day outdoor shoot in 2018 that changed the pattern of her vitiligo. Perseverance: The 27-year-old runway veteran was diagnosed with the vitiligo at the age of four and bullied as a child growing up in Canada. But the cover girl has since gone on to redefine beauty and become a spokesperson about the condition, sharing information about in in a YouTube video and in a TEDx talk In addition to being featured on dozens of magazine covers, the 5'9" model has also appeared in many music videos. Her most recent part was in Wizkid's True Love. Winnie also has a small part in the upcoming horror film, 18 and Over, starring Pamela Anderson and Luis Guzman. Earlier this week, former Home and Away star Sam Frost revealed she was dating a younger man. And on Friday, the 32-year-old all but confirmed her new romance with Australian Survivor: Blood vs Water star Jordie Hansen, 25. In a series of Instagram Stories posted over the weekend, the pair shared videos taken during their road trip from Sydney to the South Coast of New South Wales. Romantic road trip: On Friday, Sam Frost, 32, all but confirmed her new romance with Australian Survivor: Blood vs Water star Jordie Hansen, 25, as the two documented a romantic road trip together on Instagram 'Little team of escapees down the coast,' Jordie, 25, captioned a video in which In Sam is smiling from ear to ear in the passenger's seat. A follow-up post shows the pair enjoying a cheeseboard platter and sip of wine once reaching their accommodation, which included a roaring fire. Perhaps the most telling post was a black-and-white photo of Jordie, cuddled up next to four dogs on the couch in which he was tagged by Sam. On their way: In a series of Instagram Stories posted over the weekend, the pair shared videos taken during their road trip from Sydney to the South Coast of New South Wales Romantic getaway? One video shows the pair enjoying a cheeseboard platter and sip of wine once reaching their accommodation, which included a roaring fire The pets appeared to include Sam's two dogs, Sir Gregson and Rocky, and perhaps two dogs belonging to Jordie. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Jordie and Sam for comment. Sam's getaway with Jordie. who is a landscaper from Victoria, comes one day after she revealed she's dating a friend of her younger brother, Alex, 26. Puppy love: Perhaps the most telling post is a black and white photo of Jordie, cuddled up next to four dogs on the couch 'I am seeing someone, it's really fun and I'm really happy, he treats me really well,' Sam told on The Herald Sun on Thursday. 'I feel really lucky that I've met him at a really great time in my life.' Sam said because her new beau is her brother's friend, he is close to her family already and Alex has given him a 'tick of approval'. Already close: Sam's getaway with Jordie. who is a landscaper from Victoria, comes one day after she revealed she's dating a friend of her younger brother, Alex (left) who is 26 'My brother spoke highly of him and he's a good judge of character and he's got his tick of approval so I'm happy with that,' Sam said. Sam's brother Alex appeared on the seventh season of Survivor Australia - called Australian Survivor: Blood V Water - alongside Jordie and his brother Jesse. The blonde beauty also spoke about her new flame on Nova's Fitzy and Wippa on Tuesday, admitting: 'Yeah, look I'm seeing someone.' The blonde beauty also spoke about her new flame on Nova's Fitzy and Wippa on Tuesday, admitting: 'Yeah, look I'm seeing someone' 'I actually met him he's friends with my brother,' she said. 'I called my brother up and I said, "So, is he single or what?" He's like, "Oh, don't be weird that's so embarrassing,"' she added. Fitzy then asked if her new man was the same age as her brother, to which she responded: 'He's younger!' 'I called my brother up and I said, "So, is he single or what?" He's like, "Oh, don't be weird that's so embarrassing,"' she added Sam's last known relationship was with Instant Hotel star Jay Bruno. They reportedly moved in together during Sydney's Covid lockdown, but had split by November last year, according to Emerald City. Before dating Jay, her last relationship was with navy diver Dave Bashford. Heidi Klum isn't afraid to take a fashion risk. The supermodel looked like she was on the catwalk as she confidently strode onto the set of America's Got Talent wearing a gaudy Moschino tracksuit. The bright blue set was decked out in a vibrant pattern inspired by decadent diner food, including a plate of burger and fries and an ice cream sundae. Risk taker: Heidi Klum looked like she was on the catwalk as she confidently strode onto the set of America's Got Talent wearing a gaudy Moschino tracksuit on Friday She further styled her funky outfit with a pair of sleek black shades and some patent leather combat boots. Heidi's flowing golden hair was worn down and styled in soft, wavy strands. Before heading into the venue, the blonde beauty beamed for shutterbugs and flashed a peace sign in the direction of passersby. Sharing pictures of her eye-catching look on social media, Heidi wrote, 'I want whats (sic) on my @moschino tracksuit.' Funky: The bright blue set was decked out in a vibrant pattern inspired by decadent diner food, including a plate of burger and fries and an ice cream sundae Blonde beauty: Heidi's flowing golden hair was worn down and styled in soft, wavy strands It was the first day of auditions on AGT and both Heidi and co-host Sofia Vergara were so excited to be back on the set they posted pictures and videos on social media to mark the moment. The cover girl quickly put aside her casual attired and glammed up in a floral dress to get down to business at the judges' table, then it was selfie time and Heidi exclaimed 'Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh, look where we are! First Day!!' and then let out a big howl as Sofia joined in. Co-judges Simon Cowell and Howie Mandel can be seen enjoying the moment. Social butterfly: Sharing pictures of her eye-catching look on social media, Heidi wrote, 'I want whats (sic) on my @moschino tracksuit' Reunited: It was the first day of auditions on AGT and both Heidi and co-host Sofia Vergara were so excited to be back on the set they posted pictures and videos on social media to mark the moment This is the German beauty's ninth season with the make it or break it contest. Sofia was equally excited, although it's only her third season with the high profile talent challenge, she released her own social media video, dancing while wearing a glamorous jumpsuit with a rhinestone encrusted bodice and fringe on her black pants. The Colombian beauty also displayed how close she and her co-host are by borrowing some of Heidi's products from the make-up area, writing 'caring is sharing, thank you @heidiklum.' Nitty gritty: Vergara wasn't afraid to answer her own junk food craving, chomping down on a candy bar without ruining her lipstick Say hello: The Modern Family star brought her young cousin with her to the set as the first day of auditions were set to get underway Simon smiles: Tough talking judge Simon Cowell took a moment to pose with the young guest The Modern Family star kept it all in the family, sharing a picture of a star-struck young cousin who was visiting the set. The teen even got to pose with the tough talking Simon Cowell who is still wearing a wrist brace after injuring his arm in a bike accident. Sofia also demonstrated that she could chomp down on a candy bar without ruining her lipstick writing in Spanish, 'I miss them so much.' The Bachelor is heading for the Sunshine State promising surf, sand and lingering romantic sunsets. Producer's of Channel 10's hit dating show told TV Blackbox that after nine seasons based in New South Wales, they will film the 2022 series on 'idyllic locations' on the Gold Coast. Hosted by Brisbane local Osher Gunsberg, the move to Queensland will inject millions into the state economy and boost tourism, said the producers, Warner Bros. Australia. Heading for romance: The Bachelor will film on the Gold Coast for its 10th season leaving its home in NSW behind and promising surf, sand and lingering romantic sunsets Queensland, say the producers, is the perfect setting for 'love and romance' and fans can expect a glimpse into 'the vibrant lifestyle of the Gold Coast'. The reality show, where a collection of beautiful women compete to find true romance with an eligible man, has launched the careers of celebrities like Anna Heinrich, Home and Away actor Sam Frost and Abbie Chatfield. No Bachelor has yet been named for the 2022 season and auditions are still open for female contestants before filming begins in May. Last year's Bachelor couple Jimmy Nicholson and Holly Kingston landed themselves in hot water in February after sharing an Instagram post about swimming with sharks just one day after a 35-year-old man was killed by a great white in Sydney. A Queensland Beach - fans can expect plenty of this in season 10 of the Bachelor Star power: The Bachelor franchise has launched the careers of plenty of celebrities, including Sam Frost (pictured) Nicholson, 32, shared a gallery of photos on Thursday of himself and Kingston, 28, shark-spotting and snorkelling in the ocean off Vomo Island Resort in Fiji, where they are holidaying as part of a sponsored deal. The images showed the pair, who fell in love on the Channel 10 dating show last year, watching sharks from their boat then diving in for a swim with snorkels and flippers. While many of Nicholson's followers praised the photos, some suggested the timing wasn't appropriate given the tragedy unfolding back in Australia. 'Maybe not the best timing for that photo,' one fan commented. The reality star who was born and raised in Sydney acknowledged the tragedy: 'So terribly sad.' Katie Holmes looked chic as she ran errands in New York on Friday afternoon. The actress looked polished but comfortable in a stylish green coat, aubergine pants and white sneakers. The single mom also wore a mask and had her hair twirled in a loose top knot as she strolled through the streets of the Big Apple. Polished but casual: Katie Holmes looked chic as she ran errands in New York. The actress looked polished but comfortable in a stylish green coat, aubergine pants and white sneakers She toted her belongings in a blue tote bag and slipped her feet into a pair of white velcro sneakers for her solo outing. It's been a busy week for The Secret: Dare to Dream actress. On Sunday, Katie stunned as she attended the star-studded 2022 Vanity Fair Oscars Party in Los Angeles. The brunette beauty modeled a simple but sexy off the shoulder pleated black silk Chloe gown with a plunging neckline and cutouts. Easy style: The single mom also wore a mask and had her hair twirled in a loose top knot as she strolled through the streets of the Big Apple carrying a blue shopping bag Labor of Love: The 43-year-old star is currently working on one of the biggest projects of her career. She is starring in the upcoming film Rare Objects and will direct as well Katie had a small part in Coda, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and seemed only too happy to celebrate the film on Hollywood's biggest night. She appeared to enjoy chatting with friends and acquaintances, including Kate Hudson and James Marsden. The 43-year-old star is currently working on one of the biggest projects of her career. Hollywood's biggest night: On Sunday, Katie stunned as she attended the star-studded 2022 Vanity Fair Oscars Party in Los Angeles. The working mom had a small role in Coda, which one the Academy Award for Best Picture Simple but sexy: The Batman Begins actress wore a simple but sexy Chloe gown to the Vanity Fair 2022 Oscars party and seemed to enjoy visiting with peers such as Kate Hudson, James Marsden and Diane Lane She is starring in the upcoming film Rare Objects. It's based on the book by the same name and tells the story of a young woman who tries to rebuild her life after taking a job in an antique job. The movie is a labor of love for the Batman Begins star. Katie helped write the script and will also direct the film. Tim Robards and Anna Heinrich were enjoying a leisurely weekend day off on Saturday. The married couple headed out for brunch in Sydney's upmarket suburb of Rose Bay, along with their daughter, Elle, one. The genetically blessed pair wheeled their toddler along in a pram before sitting down at a local cafe. Out and about: Tim Robards and Anna Heinrich were enjoying a leisurely weekend day off on Saturday. The married couple headed out for brunch in Sydney's upmarket suburb of Rose Bay, along with their daughter, Elle, one. All pictured Anna, 35, looked as if she had just finished a workout, and donned a black tank top with a hoodie tied around her waist. She added a pair of skin-tight leggings and white trainers to the ensemble as well as sunglasses. Tim, 39, was also sporty in a dark grey shirt and shorts, and did dad duty by pushing the pram. Fit! Anna, 35, looked as if she had just finished a workout, and donned a black tank top with a hoodie tied around her waist Eats: The genetically blessed pair wheeled their toddler along in a pram before sitting down at a local cafe Anna told Stellar magazine last month that the couple are hoping to fall pregnant with their second child later this year. Anna told the publication there's a good chance her next pregnancy will involve two babies, as twins run in her family. 'My grandma was a twin, and this is something I've never spoken about, but I was a twin,' she revealed, before adding that her twin sadly passed away in the womb. More babies: Anna told Stellar magazine last month that the couple are hoping to fall pregnant with their second child later this year Anna also shared the secret to her happy 9-year relationship, revealing that she and Tim's 'shared values' have been an intrinsic part of their bond. 'We went in thinking we're going to try to make this work and if it doesn't work then it doesn't work,' she said. 'But it did work. And the best thing about us is that we kept it real. We have arguments, we have fights. We're like any other couple out there; we have ups and downs, especially when you have a kid.' Dame Joan Collins has spoken out after her longtime friend Jane Seymour claimed she is one of the only actresses in Hollywood who has never undergone cosmetic surgery. The actress, 88, took to Instagram on Friday to reveal she was one of 'many' stars who are still natural, as she appeared to take aim after Jane claimed she was 'one of only two' in LA who hadn't had work done. Jane, 71, recently claimed that she had never got under the knife and that her looks makes her stand out from all other actors - despite previously admitting she had breast implants at the age of 40. Natural: Dame Joan Collins took to Instagram on Friday to reveal she was one of 'many' Hollywood actresses who are still natural... after her longtime friend Jane Seymour claimed she has never undergone cosmetic surgery Joan has now responded to Jane's comments, perhaps thinking they were aimed at her, as she wrote: 'I am another #actress in #hollywood who hasn't had any 'work' done @janeseymour. There's many of us!' Joan has denied having plastic surgery in the past though once admitted she tried Botox but it was painful. She said: 'I had it once in my forehead and it hurt like hell.' It comes after Jane insisted it is all natural as she has never had any cosmetic surgery, despite the prevalence of nips and tucks in Hollywood. Hitting back: Joan has now responded to Jane's comments, perhaps thinking they were aimed at her, as she wrote: 'I am another #actress in #hollywood who hasn't had any 'work' done @janeseymour. There's many of us!' Joan has now responded to Jane's comments, perhaps thinking they were aimed at her, as she wrote: 'I am another #actress in #hollywood who hasn't had any 'work' done @janeseymour. There's many of us!' The former Bond girl recently stunned as she party-hopped between Oscar parties, and has now said her natural look is what makes her stand out from other actors. Speaking to the Daily Express this week, Jane said: 'I am unusual in Hollywood in not having any work done, I only know one other actress who hasn't had it - though she might have now!' Jane disclosed that she feels surgery would take away her full acting potential, saying she needs all the 'moving' parts of her body. She continued: 'I felt as an actress I needed to have all the moving parts moving. And I'm at the point in life where it's not all about looking perfect - it's about playing a character.' Natural: Jane has insisted that she's never gone under the knife or had any cosmetic surgery (pictured left at the Vanity Fair Oscar party this week and right in 1977) Going against her comments this week, Jane has previously admitted to having breast implants and an eye lift, as well as trying Botox once. In 2007 the actress said that after giving birth to her twins, she decided to have implants, although they were unusually small by Hollywood standards. 'My plastic surgeon had to special order them,' she told People Magazine. In 2012 she elaborated on the surgery during an interview with the Daily Mail, admitting that she decided to get surgery at the age of 40. 'It was 20 years ago. I'd breastfed my first two children and things weren't what they had been,' she said. 'I'd never had a big bust I always say they had to make smaller implants just for me, but I wanted the shape back. Clothes fit and look better. It was a good move.' Jane has also previously disclosed that she had also had a 'minor' eyelift in the nineties, telling People in 2007: Forgetting something? Jane has also previously admitted to having an eye lift, as well as trying Botox once 'It was more than a decade ago. Genetically, I had baggy eyes and photographers said they didn't want to spend money endlessly having to eradicate them.' Jane rose to fame as Bond girl 'Solitaire', in the 1973 film Live and Let Die, alongside Roger Moore as the MI5 agent, before taking the US by storm and starring in multiple films and TV shows including Dr Quinn Medicine Woman. Her revelations come after all eyes were on her on Sunday, as she slipped into a plunging sequin gown to party hop between events celebrating Sunday's Academy Awards. Show-stopping: Jane looked sensational in a cleavage baring sequined gown as she party hopped between events to celebrate the Oscars in Los Angeles on Sunday The actress looked sensational as she graced the red carpets at both the Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party and the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles. She was glowing in a cleavage-baring number as she showcased her incredible figure and posed up a storm at the events. The glamorous green gown hugged Jane's svelte waist before gracefully flaring out in a floor length hem. Earlier this month Jane showed off her incredible abs in a black sports bra and leggings as she shared a picture of herself in the gym using a gyrotonic machine as part of her fitness routine. She wrote alongside the photo: Back at it again with @jeenymiller! No makeup kind of day, only @crepeerase! 'Going to start sharing my wellness journey a little more frequently! Whats something you do often for yourself? #wellnesswednesdayjs.' Incredible: She was glowing in a cleavage-baring number as she showcased her incredible figure and posed up a storm at the events Producers of Channel Nine's Underbelly: Vanishing Act say viewers can expect to see a possible fresh theory behind the mysterious disappearance of the Sydney con artist Melissa Caddick. The two-part series, starring Wentworth actress Kate Atkinson, 49 premieres Sunday night on Nine and 9Now and continues Monday. But Nine's head of drama Andy Ryan warned fans of the franchise that answering all the questions surrounding the high profile fraudster - who vanished in November 2021 - were impossible to answer. Mystery Unsolved: producers of Channel Nine's Underbelly: Vanishing Act (pictured) say viewers can expect to see a possible fresh theory behind the mysterious disappearance of the Sydney con artist Melissa Caddick - seen here played by Kate Atkinson He told TV Tonight: 'We actually don't know what happened to her.' Ryan did not reveal any plot spoilers in the chat but added viewers can expect more than a 're-hash of the facts'. 'This was a story that raised all sorts of issues about things like trust, deception... how somebody could create a second life for themselves.' Many theories have surfaced since to explain the circumstances surrounding Caddick's disappearance including murder, and suicide. Nine's head of drama Andy Ryan warned fans of the franchise that answering all the questions surrounding the high profile fraudster - who vanished in November 2021 - were impossible to answer" 'We just just don't know,' he told TV Tonight Some experts who have examined the case argue that it is possible that Caddick faked her own disappearance, and is in hiding. Ryan did not reveal which, if any of these theories Vanishing Act will dramatise. A financial advisor, Caddick scammed an estimated $30million from 60 clients, most of them friends and family, in order to fund an extravagant lifestyle. Melissa Caddick, financial advisor (pictured) was last seen in 2021 - theories about her mysterious disappearance include murder, suicide, some say she even faked her disappearance after getting caught scamming an estimated $30million from 60 clients Caddick was last seen shortly after the $7m Dover Heights home she shared with her DJ husband Anthony Koletti was raided by the Australian Federal Police and ASIC investigators. Three months after Caddick vanished a severed foot was found on the south coast of NSW near Tathra, about five and a half hours from Sydney. After DNA tests confirmed that the limb belonged to Caddick, 49, it was presumed the high-flying schemer was dead. Produced by Screentime and filmed late last year Underbelly: Vanishing Act has a cast that includes veteran actor Colin Friels (Mystery Road), Home and Away's Tai Hara, Maya Stange and Sophie Bloom from Love Child and Ursula Mills from Out of the Blue. Emily Ratajkowski put on a very busty display as she posed for a sizzling Instagram snap on Friday. The 30-year-old model showcased her sensational figure in a tiny black bra and thong set in the sun-kissed photo she shared with her 29 million followers. The brunette beauty kept the look minimal as she simply accessorises with a couple of silver rings as she stood in front of the beach bar. Wow! Emily Ratajkowski put on a very busty display in a tiny black two-piece as she posed for a sizzling Instagram snap on Friday Emily flashed her bronzed physique in the snap and opted for a natural palette of makeup with a swipe of nude lipstick. The Inamorata CEO wore her brunette tresses down and parted in the middle and captioned the post: 'Las Olas - Tried & True' The London-born model recently brought her one-year-old son Sylvester Apollo Bear to the Cayman Islands where she was doing a shoot for her four-year-old bikini brand. Business trip! Emily brought her one-year-old son Sylvester Apollo Bear to the Cayman Islands where she was doing a shoot for her four-year-old bikini brand Emily - who shares Sylvester with film producer husband Sebastian Bear-McClard - announced the pregnancy in October 2020 and her son Sylvester was born on March 8, 2021. The model and her husband were married during a civil ceremony in New York City on February 23, 2018, with just a few friends as witnesses. The 30-year-old DNA Model shared Instagram snaps of her cherubic child wearing a bathrobe and sitting in the sand at her feet. Cute: The 30-year-old DNA Model shared snaps of her cherubic child wearing a bathrobe and sitting in the sand at her feet Photographer Lauren Leekley captured a beautiful sunset shot of Emily modeling a long-sleeved patterned top with a matching mini-skirt from her next collection. Emily also showcased an underwire bikini version of the same pink pattern for a mirror selfie inside the swanky boutique hotel Palm Heights in Grand Cayman. The London-born SoCal native and her BFF/co-founder Kat Mendenhall have also branched Inamorata out to lingerie, loungewear, and basics. Adorable: The model and her husband Sebastian Bear-McClard were married in New York City in February 2018, and welcomed their son on March 8, 2021 The Blurred Lines star recently threw a birthday bash to celebrate Sylvester turning one last month. The proud mom shared pictures on her Instagram Story of her little one in a stylish brown outfit next to a silver balloon sign spelling out his name. The fashionista was seen holding him in her arms while wearing a chic all-black outfit, featuring a long black dress and boots. 'We love being your parents,' she wrote on the sweet photograph shared with her 29M followers. Lachlan Murdoch has reportedly purchased a new yacht. According to Private Sydney, the media heir is the likely buyer of a 43-metre motor yacht called Istros, which cost him around $30 million. The boat will sit in Sydney Harbour, where it will be docked close to the Murdoch family's $100 million Bellevue Hill estate, called Le Manoir. Fancy: Lachlan Murdoch (pictured) has reportedly purchased a new yacht. According to Private Sydney, the media heir is the likely buyer of a 43-metre motor yacht called Istros, which cost him around $30 million Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Lachlan Murdoch for comment. The new comes amid reports Lachlan and his wife Sarah, 49, along with their three children - sons Kalan Alexander, 17, Aidan Patrick, 15, and daughter Aerin Elisabeth, 11 - are in Australia to stay. In April, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Murdochs will be in Australia 'for years, not months, as initially believed'. Roomy: The boat (pictured) will sit in Sydney Harbour, where it will be docked close to the Murdoch family's $100 million Bellevue Hill estate, called Le Manoir The family, who are based in their Bellevue Hill compound, have settled in to life in Sydney after Sarah was seen at the Royal Easter Show in Olympic Park with their children. The publication also confirmed that the Murdoch kids are enrolled in Sydney schools. While no reason was given for the family's return to Australia, a report claimed that it was the political climate in the US that helped make the decision for the family to leave LA in favour of their Sydney home. In town: The new comes amid reports Lachlan and his wife Sarah, 49, (right) along with their three children - sons Kalan Alexander, 17, Aidan Patrick, 15, and daughter Aerin Elisabeth, 11 - are in Australia to stay A source said: 'The school communities here are very close knit, and it extends in to the wider families and the circles and parties they all go to. That Hollywood set is very pro-Democratic. 'They are mostly big fundraisers for Biden, so you can imagine how well it went down when one of their classmates' dads is at the helm of the biggest anti-Biden machine in the country.' Despite having their life based in Los Angeles for years, where Lachlan is Executive Chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation, the couple has always maintained their Bellevue Hill abode. Sophie Monk has finally gotten her storybook ending. The unlucky-in-love television host, who once resorted to searching for 'The One' on The Bachelorette, has walked down the aisle with her fiance Joshua Gross. The Love Island Australia host, 42, and her neurosurgical robotics consultant beau, 41, exchanged vows at their Central Coast, NSW home in March, after eloping together - inviting no guests as they held a wedding just for themselves. Married! Sophie Monk has finally had her storybook ending. The unlucky-in-love television host married her fiance Joshua Gross at their Central Coast, NSW home. Both pictured The bride and groom appear on the cover of this week's Stellar Magazine, with Sophie absolutely glowing in a fitted ivory gown with a sweetheart neckline. The J'Aton Couture dress, which showed off her amazing figure, had a split at the thigh, and corseted boning through the midriff. She added long gloves to the look for an operatic flair, and wore a romantic veil atop her flowing golden locks. Wedding day: The Love Island Australia host, 42, and her neurosurgical robotics consultant beau, 41, exchanged vows at their Central Coast home after eloping together and holding a ceremony with no guests. They appear on the cover of this week's Stellar Magazine Joshua meanwhile looked dapper in a black tuxedo with a white dress shirt worn with a small bowtie. Speaking to Stellar Magazine on Saturday, Sophie called the small wedding, 'so beautiful and relaxed.' Joshua agreed: 'We woke up together and it's been a dream. When I'm with her, it's just smooth. I couldn't be happier.' Sweet: Speaking to Stellar Magazine on Saturday, Sophie called the small wedding, 'so beautiful and relaxed.' Joshua agreed: 'We woke up together and it's been a dream. When I'm with her, it's just smooth. I couldn't be happier' Sophie says she chose to have a wedding at home to keep things 'stress-free' while Joshua calls their private home 'our sanctuary' and he was glad to make wedding memories that will last a lifetime there. Another reason they chose to have a wedding on their own - Sophie was happy to keep the guest list to a bare minimum. 'We figured, if you don't invite one person, then no-one could get upset,' she told Stellar. Moved: Josh admits that the moment Sophie walked down the aisle was extremely emotional. 'I started crying as soon as I saw her, which I didn't plan on at all. But yeah, it hit me hard. It really did,' he told Stellar Magazine Despite the relaxed energy of the day, Sophie says the couple's vows were 'quite serious'. Josh admits that the moment Sophie walked down the aisle was extremely emotional. 'I started crying as soon as I saw her, which I didn't plan on at all. But yeah, it hit me hard. It really did,' he told Stellar Magazine. Plans: The pair pulled the whole wedding together in 'two or three weeks' and don't have a honeymoon planned The pair pulled the whole wedding together in 'two or three weeks' and don't have a honeymoon planned. But they are planning to start a family - with Sophie telling Stellar that they don't want to pressure themselves but would love children together. Last year, Sophie said the couple planned to have a low-key and intimate wedding with just the two of them, before celebrating later on with family and friends. Casual: Sophie says she chose to have a wedding at home to keep things 'stress-free' while Joshua calls their private home 'our sanctuary' and he was glad to make wedding memories that will last a lifetime there 'We are going to do it low key,' Sophie old Daily Mail Australia. 'At this stage [it's] just him and I, and then we will invite everyone over for a big party when we can.' The couple announced their engagement on January 15 last year, with Joshua presenting Sophie with a stunning diamond ring. At the time, the delighted bride-to-be gushed on Instagram: 'Joshua and I are so happy. Vowing to be in love: Despite the relaxed energy of the day, Sophie says the couple's vows were 'quite serious' 'Joshua designed a very personal ring with my favourite Aussie designer Luke Rose Jewellery and I LOVE IT.' Joshua actually proposed on Christmas Day last year, a spokesperson for Sophie later confirmed, but they waited until January to announce their happy news. In April last year, Sophie shared video from the couple's small and intimate engagement party at home. Baby love: The pair say they are planning to start a family - with Sophie telling Stellar that they don't want to pressure themselves but would love children together Josh also shared a video of the couple's cake - made by his mother - which featured doll versions of the pair in identical outfits. He wrote in the captions: 'Engagement Party time. Love you sweetheart @sophiemonk. Thanks Mum for the cake'. At the time, Sophie revealed the pair 'do want children' in future, but admitted the topic is 'hard to talk about'. The Beauty and the Geek presenter told Woman's Day: 'We're not not trying. It's hard to talk about. One on one: Another reason they chose to have a wedding on their own - Sophie was happy to keep the guest list to a bare minimum. 'We figured, if you don't invite one person, then no-one could get upset,' she told Stellar 'Everyone's got an opinion on it so I kind of keep it a little bit low-key. But of course, we do want children!' The Love Island Australia host froze her eggs two years ago, a move which she says takes the pressure off 'a bit'. 'I've got them as back-up!' she added. In March 2021, Sophie said on KIIS FM's Kyle and Jackie O Show that the pair would consider adopting a child if they struggled to fall pregnant. Solo date: Last year, Sophie said the couple planned to have a low-key and intimate wedding with just the two of them, before celebrating later on with family and friends She said: 'If you couldn't then we would do a different plan but I have frozen heaps of eggs.' In December last year, the couple welcomed a new member to their family - a puppy named Bluey. 'New addition to the family, Bluey,' Joshua captioned an Instagram photo of Sophie posing with the cute white-coloured pooch. Love: The couple announced their engagement on January 15 last year, with Joshua presenting Sophie with a stunning diamond ring Reposting the clip to her own Instagram Stories, a smitten Sophie wrote: 'I'm so in love.' The couple first met on a flight from Europe to Australia in August 2018, and shared a kiss after enjoying 'three champagnes' in business class. They grew closer when Joshua helped Sophie recover after endometriosis surgery in November that year. Celebrations: In April last year, Sophie shared video from the couple's small and intimate engagement party at home Around this time, she also began the process of freezing her eggs. Back in July 2019, Sophie admitted she was hoping Joshua would propose, sharing a telling message on Instagram on their two-year anniversary. 'Happy anniversary @joshuargross, I can't believe you've put up with me for two years,' she wrote. 'I love you so much and you're my best friend in the world... I can't wait to marry you (hint hint).' Expanding: In December last year, the couple welcomed a new member to their family - a puppy named Bluey In 2018, Sophie split with millionaire pub baron Stu Laundy, 49, six months after she chose him as her final suitor on The Bachelorette in 2017. 'I gave it the best shot I could and my intentions were everything I said I was looking for but unfortunately it just didn't work out,' she wrote on Instagram at the time. The former pop star has often spoken about having bad luck when it came to romance and pining for her happily ever after. 'Living in LA for 10 years, I've dated high-profile people like actors and rock stars, but that's not at all what I've been looking for,' she said to Confidential in 2017. 'I'm so lucky to do what I do... but the one thing you do sacrifice is a really healthy, good relationship.' Newly-single Katie Price kissed her business partner during her first wild night out since her split from fiance Carl Woods on Friday. The former glamour model, 43, took to Instagram to share the flirty video where she locked lips with Jeyda Yilmaz who she introduced as her 'best friend and business partner'. It comes after luxe car dealer Carl, 33, allegedly accused Katie of cheating twice and reportedly ended his 11-month engagement to Katie as he could no longer trust her. Flirty: Newly-single Katie Price kissed her business partner during a wild night out on Friday - just days after her split from fiance Carl Woods On her night out on Friday Katie posed for snaps with Jeyda and her assistant Ryan in a swanky London bar. She wore a plunging orange blouse that showed off her newly-enhanced assets, tight PVC trousers and sky scrapper heels. Katie penned in her caption - perhaps making a thinly-veiled dig at Carl - 'People who believe in me Business and best friends @rymi1 @jeydayilmaz.' Party: She wore a plunging orange blouse that showed off her newly-enhanced assets during the night out Exes: It comes after luxe car dealer Carl, 33, allegedly accused Katie of cheating twice and reportedly ended his 11-month engagement to Katie as he could no longer trust her The reported split came just a day after Katie ditched the engagement ring which Carl gave her, while he has now deleted all trace of their romance from his social media account. Sources told The Sun: 'Katie and Carl have decided to split up. It's been a difficult couple of months and their ongoing court cases have just added even more stress to the situation. 'It really seems to be over for now and they are both very sad about it. But of course no one would be surprised if they got back together.' Fun: The former glamour model, 43, took to Instagram to share the flirty video where she locked lips with Jeyda Yilmaz who she introduced as her 'best friend and business partner' While Carl deleted all photographs of the pair, he and Katie still follow each other on the social media platform. The news came days after Carl appeared before Colchester Magistrates' Court after being charged with 'abusive and threatening behaviour'. The court case was referenced in the comments section of one of Carl's social media posts, as one follower questioned: 'Thought you said you didn't hit her? But up in court today.' While Carl, who was charged with threatening behaviour, replied: 'Why don't you read what the charge is ACTUALLY for.' All smiles: Katie penned in her caption - perhaps making a thinly-veiled dig at Carl - 'People who believe in me Business and best friends @rymi1 @jeydayilmaz' One fan who was heavily defensive of Carl, wrote: 'He's in court for being threatening, not violence. Price admitted she lied about the bruise and getting punched. She should be charged for lying and wasting police time. 'It's disgusting to falsely accuse a man (or woman) of domestic violence, makes a mockery of the whole system and genuine victims. They added: 'I feel sorry for Carl Woods he has been tangled into such a horrible mess. If he leaves her, we all know how vindictive she is and she could lie again to the police. Close bond: On her night out on Friday Katie posed for snaps with Jeyda - a pretty brunette Outfit: Katie was showing off the results of her latest boob job in the orange top as they group sang songs in the taxi 'If he stays, it's a permenant reminder of being with the person who falsely accued you and dragged your name through the mud. 'People are even questioning his dog owning skills because of HER track record with animals, even though it's clear he looks after Sid very well. 'Guilt by association and all that. Wouldn't want to be in his shoes, I tell you.' Appearing to appreciate the supportive comments, Carl tagged the user and posted a couple of praising hands emojis. Carl was arrested last year after Katie was allegedly punched in the face on August 22, 2021. He was subsequently charged under Section 4 of the Public Order Act following an incident at his home in Little Canfield, Essex last year. The maximum sentence he faces is up to six months. The court heard that the charge followed a row that spilled over into the street, disturbing neighbours. At one stage Carl was seen trying to force open a door, the court heard. Where's it gone? A day before their split was reported, Katie 's engagement ring was nowhere to be seen as she took to Instagram to post a series of videos Carl denied using 'threatening words and behaviour' following a row at his Essex home, with Mark Davies, defending, saying that Carl's argument would be that the incident was 'nothing more than a squabble'. He spoke just to confirm his date of birth and address before answering 'not guilty' when asked to enter a plea to the public order charge. Katie sat in the public gallery and watched her fiance during the short session, while he smiled towards her from behind the reinforced glass of courtroom four. Carl was granted unconditional bail and the case was adjourned for trial on June 16 at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court. The car mechanic earlier accused others of creating a 'storyline' - insisting he and Katie only had an argument in public. Carl claims he 'didn't lay a finger' on the glamour model and said he had 'black and white proof' to clear his name after he was charged with using threatening and abusive behaviour towards her in an incident at their house in Essex. A day before their split was reported, Katie's engagement ring was nowhere to be seen as she took to Instagram to post a series of videos. The mother-of-five could be seen as she showed off some sweets to her followers, without the glitzy ring on her left hand. In a later post to her Story, her engagement ring returned, but the video appeared to be a pre-recorded advertisement, though it is unclear when this was filmed. Advertisement Bella Hadid looked casually chic as she stepped out in Rome with her beau Marc Kalman on Saturday as they enjoyed some ice cream. The model, 25, showed off her relaxed sense of style in a leopard-print lined brown coat and baggy jeans as she strolled around the pretty Italian city arm in arm with her art director boyfriend, 33. It comes after it was announced this week that she is breaking into acting with a role on the upcoming third season of the Hulu sitcom Ramy. Day out: Bella Hadid looked casually chic as she stepped out in Rome with her beau Marc Kalman on Saturday as they enjoyed some ice cream Bella completed her look with comfy blue and white trainers and toted a black quilted Chanel bag while wearing a crisp white shirt under her coat. She accessorised her sightseeing look with a silver hair band, huge gold hoop earrings and wore brown-tinted shades to cover her eyes while enjoying the sweet treat. Meanwhile Marc opted for a laid-back ensemble, wearing a white shirt, baggy navy trousers and a black cap while also donning sunglasses. Fashion: The model, 25, showed off her relaxed sense of style in a leopard-print lined brown coat and baggy jeans as she strolled around the pretty Italian Exciting: It comes after it was announced this week that she is breaking into acting with a role on the upcoming third season of the Hulu sitcom Ramy Outfit: Bella completed her look with comfy blue and white trainers and toted a black quilted Chanel bag while wearing a crisp white shirt under her coat Snack: She accessorised her sightseeing look with a silver hair band, huge gold hoop earrings and wore brown-tinted shades to cover her eyes while enjoying the sweet treat It comes not long after Bella spoke about her relationship with art director Marc during an interview. The star spoke about her connection to her boyfriend during a chat with Vogue, where she attributed their success as a couple to their dedication to privacy. The social media personality pointed out that 'I think that's why things have been able to last.' Bella then noted that she and Marc were uninterested in outside views on their relationship. Candid: It comes not long after Bella spoke about her relationship with art director Marc during an interview Cool: Meanwhile Marc opted for a laid-back ensemble, wearing a white shirt, baggy navy trousers and a black cap while also donning sunglasses Honest: The star spoke about her connection to her boyfriend during a chat with Vogue, where she attributed their success as a couple to their dedication to privacy 'When you give other people room to have opinions on things that are so personal to you, it poisons it,' she said. The couple were initially linked last year, when they were spotted having lunch with each other in New York City. Bella was previously in a high-profile relationship with The Weeknd before they parted ways in August 2019. Supermodel Bella is breaking into acting with a role on the upcoming third season of the Hulu sitcom Ramy. The little sister of Gigi will have a recurring part on the series, according to a report in Deadline. Love: The couple were initially linked last year, when they were spotted having lunch with each other in New York City Exes: Bella was previously in a high-profile relationship with The Weeknd before they parted ways in August 2019 Ramy was co-created by the comedian Ramy Youssef, who stars as a first generation Egyptian American in New Jersey. While the title character is the millennial product of a secular western milieu, his Muslim family and roots are more traditional and conservative. Ramy himself is conflicted about his own feelings on religion and spirituality, and the show charts his personal evolution. New project: Supermodel Bella is breaking into acting with a role on the upcoming third season of the Hulu sitcom Ramy Amazing: The little sister of Gigi will have a recurring part on the series, according to a report in Deadline Previous recurring guest stars on the show have included Mahershala Ali, who won a best supporting actor Oscar for Moonlight. The main cast includes such names as Hiam Abbas, who plays Ramy's mother and who can also be seen playing Brian Cox' dramatically younger wife on Succession. As far as her own faith is concerned, Bella shared in a Porter interview in 2017 that her Palestinian father Mohamed Hadid 'was always religious, and he always prayed with us. I am proud to be a Muslim.' History: Previous recurring guest stars on the show have included Mahershala Ali, who won a best supporting actor Oscar for Moonlight Plot: The main cast includes such names as Hiam Abbas, who plays Ramy's mother and who can also be seen playing Brian Cox' dramatically younger wife on Succession When she covered this year's April issue of Vogue she revealed that she has developed a more ecumenical attitude. 'I'm very spiritual, and I find that I connect with every religion. There's that my-way-is-the-right-way thing in human nature, but for me it's not about my god or your god. I kind of just call on whoever is willing to be there for me,' she said. Although Bella has previously acted in such projects as commercials, Ramy appears set to be the largest acting role she has taken. Busy: Although Bella has previously acted in such projects as commercials, Ramy appears set to be the largest acting role she has taken Truth: As far as her own faith is concerned, Bella shared in a Porter interview in 2017 that her Palestinian father Mohamed Hadid 'was always religious, and he always prayed with us. I am proud to be a Muslim' Interview: Bella then noted that she and Marc were uninterested in outside views on their relationship Busy start to the year: Bella is enjoying a holiday after a mad month of fashion weeks And relax: Bella perched on a wall to eat the rest of her ice cream Star: Over the span of four years, Hadid has made twenty-seven appearances on international Vogue magazine cover Impressive: She signed with IMG Models in 2014 and has done major campaigns for Dior, Michael Kors, Versace and Fendi Will Mellor made an emotional appearance on The One Show on Friday night as he opened up about the death of his father. The 45 year-old actor revealed he lost his father during the Covid-19 pandemic, as he wiped tears from his eyes. The star, who played Gaz Wilkinson in sitcom Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, appeared on the show alongside his podcast co-star Ralf Little. Emotional: Will Mellor, 45, held back tears as he opened up about his dad's death during an emotional appearance on The One Show on Friday evening The pair were on the show to talk about their ongoing Two Pints Live! tour around the UK, as they discussed what was covered by the stage show. But thinks took a heartbreaking turn, as Will shared that he'd lost his dad, Bill Mellor, just weeks after being diagnosed with cancer in April 2020. The tragedy happened at the height of the pandemic and nationwide lockdown, meaning Will was unable to be with is family during the incredibly difficult time. Heartbreaking: The actor revealed he lost his father during the Covid-19 pandemic, as he wiped tears from his eyes (pictured with his dad Co-stars: The star, who played Gaz Wilkinson in sitcom Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, appeared on the show alongside his podcast co-star Ralf Little As the actor explained this to host Alex Jones, he seemingly got emotional, while Alex said: 'I'm so sorry, Will' Speaking of the emotional time, Will said; 'It was a really hard time...it was a horrible time. He was my hero, there was never going to be a good time.' Pal Ralf also chimed in to the conversation, saying: 'He was unbelievably open and genuine in talking about it.' Tragic: Will lost his dad, Bill Mellor, just weeks after being diagnosed with cancer in April 2020, calling him 'my hero' (pictured with his mum and dad) Support: Ralf also chimed in to the conversation, saying: 'He was unbelievably open and genuine in talking about it' Will went on to encourage more men to talk about how they're feeling, sharing: 'I realised at that time if I'm going through this, and it really hit me hard, there must be a lot of people out there...Talking does help. 'It does solve a lot of problems for people to talk, especially men / it's ok not to be ok,' he continued. Will and Ralf host the Two Pints with Will & Ralf podcast, and have been touring it from March through until mid April, travelling across England, Scotland and Wales. Sophie Monk walked down the aisle with her fiance Joshua Gross last month - and she was wearing a very special wedding gown. The Love Island Australia host, 42, designed her own dress, and gave J'Aton Couture just two weeks to create it based off her own sketches. 'I wanted something timeless where it doesn't age badly,' Sophie told Stellar Magazine on Saturday. What a frock! Sophie Monk walked down the aisle with her fiance Joshua Gross last month wearing a J'Aton Couture gown which was custom designed for her in just two weeks, after she gave the designer a sketch of her dream dress. Pictured with Joshua on the cover of Stellar 'I sketched it out a couple of weeks ago with my stylist. I wanted to just keep it simple, beautiful and timeless, but still 'bride'' she added. Custom gowns from the Melbourne label, which is a hot favourite with celebrities, can cost as much as $40,000. Prices average at $11,630 for frocks from the A-list brand, and reach as much as $41,370 for bespoke creations. 'I wanted something timeless where it doesn't age badly,' Sophie told Stellar Magazine on Saturday. Custom gowns from the Melbourne label, which is a hot favourite with celebrities, can cost as much as $40,000. Pictured in a different dress Sophie confessed the process was so rushed that she tried her gown on for the first time on her wedding day. 'It fit like a glove, it was perfect it was just how I'd imagined it. The designers, J'Aton Couture, are incredible. We didn't give them long, but they're pros' she told Stellar. The TV star was absolutely glowing on her big day in the fitted ivory gown with a sweetheart neckline. 'I sketched it out a couple of weeks ago with my stylist. I wanted to just keep it simple, beautiful and timeless, but still 'bride'' she added The dress, which showed off her amazing figure, had a split at the thigh, and corseted boning through the midriff, as well as featuring a long train. She added long gloves to the look for an operatic flair, and wore a romantic veil atop her flowing golden locks. The groom meanwhile looked dapper in a black tuxedo with a white dress shirt worn with a small bowtie. Wedding day: Sophie and her neurosurgical robotics consultant beau, 41, exchanged vows at their Central Coast, NSW home in March, after eloping together - inviting no guests as they held a wedding just for themselves Sophie and her neurosurgical robotics consultant beau, 41, exchanged vows at their Central Coast, NSW home in March, after eloping together - inviting no guests as they held a wedding just for themselves. Speaking to Stellar Magazine on Saturday, Sophie called the small wedding, 'so beautiful and relaxed.' Joshua proposed on Christmas Day last year, a spokesperson for Sophie later confirmed, but they waited until January to announce their happy news. The couple first met on a flight from Europe to Australia in August 2018, and shared a kiss after enjoying 'three champagnes' in business class. Holly Ramsay shared an adorable Instagram snap on Friday with her two-year-old brother Oscar during their holiday in France. The daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay beamed as she held her younger brother in the snow as they enjoyed a family trip in the French Alps. The 22-year-old influencer cut a casual figure in an oversized grey sweatshirt, a pair of black shorts and white slippers. Cute! Holly Ramsay shared an adorable Instagram snap on Friday with her two-year-old brother Oscar during their holiday in France Holly looked in high spirits as she frolicked in the snow in front of a breathtaking view and captioned the snap: 'Snow Babies' Earlier in the day, Holly was tagged in an Instagram story with her sister Tilly, 20, as they suited up for a snowboarding session at the resort. The sister duo looked sensational as they donned a light palette of makeup underneath their Balaclava's and snowboard goggles. Family: The daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay beamed as she held her younger brother in the snow as they enjoyed a family trip in the French Alps Adorable: Holly looked in high spirits as she frolicked in the snow in front of a breathtaking view and captioned the snap: 'Snow Babies' The trip comes after Holly enjoyed her first Grand Prix in Saudi Arabian on Sunday with her father Gordon. The celebrity chef, 55, - who recently caused controversy by saying he 'can't stand' Cornish people - cut a casual figure as he held hands with his stylish daughter at the car racing event, proving their close family bond. Holly looked stunning in a bright red jumpsuit which had a high-neck design and cut-out section as she beamed alongside her father. Stepping out: Gordon Ramsay attended the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah on Sunday with his daughter Holly, where they held hands upon arrival She completed the chic look with chunky black heels, toted a Louis Vuitton backpack and wore Balenciaga sunglasses atop her head. Meanwhile Gordon wore a navy T-shirt and black jeans teamed with comfy trainers and reflective shades. The pair looked in great spirits at the event where they chatted with Dave Redding, the manager of the Williams Formula 1 team. She knows how to make an entrance. And Bella Thorne turned heads once again as she stepped out in a very revealing outfit on Friday evening at Mike Dean and Jeff Bhasker's Pre Grammy Party in LA. The 24-year-old put out a busty display as she barely concealed her assets in a strapless black bra, with a small wire in the middle. Busty: Bella Thorne barely concealed her assets in a TINY bra and textured Gucci suit as she attended a pre Grammy bash in Los Angeles on Friday evening Bella paired this with a textured green Gucci suit, which included high-waisted trousers and a blazer hanging over her shoulders. The actress paired her bold look with a pair of gold bow heels as she clutched a black, white and gold handbag. She styled her creamy apricot tresses in a sleek straight look, as they fell to her shoulders. Happy couple: Whilst the pair weren't pictured together, Bella appeared at the bash with fiance Benjamin Mascolo Opting for a full glam makeup look, Bella looked radiant with a dark winged eyeliner and a peachy lip. She accessorised with stacked silver jewellery on both wrists, small hooped earrings and green nail polish to match her designer ensemble. Whilst the pair weren't pictured together, Bella appeared at the bash with fiance Benjamin Mascolo. Toned: Rita Ora also attended the pre-Grammy bash, putting on an ab-flashing display in PVC trousers The event, which was hosted by record producers Mike Dean and Jeff Bhasker, kicked off the Grammy celebrations, which will take place on Monday April 4. The star-studded party was held at West Hollywood nightclub OffSunset, and also saw other celebrities such as Kate Beckinsale and Rita Ora attend. Rita Ora appeared with her beau Taika Waititi as she put on an ab-flashing display for the outing - donning black PVC trousers and a cropped t-shirt. Taron Egerton has withdrawn completely from appearing in his West End show Cock where he was starring alongside Bridgerton's Jonathan Bailey. The announcement that the Rocketman actor has dropped out 'for personal reasons' comes after he was replaced when he tested positive for Covid-19 and fainted on stage during the opening night of the play. In a statement released by the Twitter account for the play, a revival of Mike Bartlett's 2009 production Cock at London's Ambassador Theatre, it said that understudy Joel Harper-Jackson will take over the role of M previously played by Taron. Oh no: Taron Egerton has withdrawn completely from appearing in his West End show Cock where he was starring alongside Bridgerton's Jonathan Bailey 'Joel Harper-Jackson will take over the role of M in Mike Bartlett's razor sharp, hilarious play Cock until the end of the run,' it said. 'The part was originally played in this production by Taron Egerton, who has had to withdraw from the production due to personal reasons.' The statement added that Joel was an understudy for the role, 'and has been playing the part of M for the past ten days while Taron was absent from the production having tested positive for Covid'. Sad: The announcement that the Rocketman actor has dropped out 'for personal reasons' comes after he was replaced when he tested positive for Covid-19 and fainted on stage during the opening night of the play (pictured on stage with Jonathan) Lower down in the statement: Director Marianne Elliott described Joel as an 'absolute hero', saying that he's a 'brilliant and gifted actor' who took over the role 'at extremely short notice'. 'Audiences have been standing and cheering and so am I,' Marianne added. Jonathan, who has recently been leaving Netflix viewers swooning with his return as Anthony Bridgerton in the second season of the hit period drama Bridgerton, added that Joel is 'an immense talent and we couldn't be luckier to have him on board'. 'I am proud to continue sharing the stage with him,' he concluded in his part of the statement. Announcement: In a statement released by the Twitter account for the play, a revival of Mike Bartlett's 2009 production Cock at London's Ambassador Theatre, it said that understudy Joel Harper-Jackson will take over the role of M previously played by Taron Cock centres around John (Bailey), a man who falls in love with a woman (Jade Anouka) after going on a break from his long-term boyfriend (Egerton). Last week the production team also released a statement after Taron fainted on stage. The statement read: 'During this evening's first preview of Mike Bartlett's play 'Cock' at the Ambassadors Theatre, Taron Egerton fainted towards the end of the performance. 'A doctor who was in the audience attended to Taron immediately after the incident, and whilst he felt fine, it was decided that Taron's understudy, Joel Harper-Jackson would continue in the role to complete the performance.' 'We expect Taron to return to the show next week': The show's producers previously announced the news he had Covid in a statement shared online Taron subsequently wrote on Instagram: 'As some of you may have heard, I passed out during the first performance of COCK last night. 'I am completely fine. Slightly sore neck and a bruised ego, but I'm fine. 'I've decided to put a positive spin on it and I would appreciate it if anyone who was in the theatre last night just said that I gave such a committed, electrifying performance that my body couldn't handle it and check out. 'That being said, apparently you're meant to actually do the full show and not just three quarters of it. [sic]' Taron praised his 'amazing' understudy for stepping in. His post continued: 'I'll be back with a vengeance tomorrow night. That you to the amazing team at the theatre and my wonderful cast mates for being so lovely. 'But mainly I wanted to say thanks to Joel Harper Jackson who stepped in to do the last bit of the play. 'Joel is an amazing actor and a lovely person. Thank you, Joel. T x. [sic]' It comes amid the news that Bridgerton - which stars Jonathan - has continued its reign on Netflix with season two already setting a record on the streamer less than a week after premiering on the platform. Phew! Following his collapse, Taron said he was 'completely fine', and took to Instagram to reassure his fans and announce he would be returning to the stage 'with a vengeance' The romance series has already logged 193 million hours of viewing time worldwide, the most any English-language Netflix series has amassed in its first three days, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Not only that, but the hit series is also in the top 10 in 92 of the 93 countries where rankings are tracked by Netflix, with Japan being the only outlier, adds THR. Season two of Bridgerton sees Lord Anthony (Jonathan) becoming embroiled in a love triangle with Sharma sisters Edwina (Charithra Chandran) and Kate (Simone Ashley) after Edwina is suggested as a match for Anthony. However, he is drawn to her older sister Kate. Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) returns in season two, though this time her now-husband Duke of Hastings (Rege Jean-Page) does not appear. Good-humoured: When he returned to the stage, Taron informed his 2.6million Instagram followers with a self-deprecating video: 'Got to the second preview, didn't pass out!' Jonathan, who's character takes centre stage in the new season, admitted he felt under pressure to perform and keep viewers enticed for the next instalment. 'Stepping into the shoes Phoebe Dynevor and Rege-Jean Page wore, and led with so gracefully last season, has taught me a lot. 'This season has kept me on my toes. I got really fit, I made sure to eat well and get loads of sleep, and everything else just seemed to fall into place,' he said, according to The Sun. She delighted her fans by dressing up as Lady Gaga and Jessica Chastain ahead of the Academy Awards. But Kelly Ripa took a break from the Hollywood glamour on Friday, when she and her husband Mark Consuelos were spotted on a walk in New York City. The 51-year-old Live! With Kelly And Ryan star looked relaxed in a vibrant tie-dye shirt as the couple strolled past the Greenwich Hotel in Manhattan. On the town: Kelly Ripa, 51, paired a casual tie-dye shirt with a sleek blazer and dark jeans as she took a walk near Manhattan's Greenwich hotel with husband Mark Consuelos, 51 Kelly paired her green, blue and red shirt with a classy black blazer, and stuck to dark colors with her slim jeans. The talk show host and occasional actress rounded out her outfit with weathered white sneakers. She wore her blond tresses parted down the middle and swept back to highlight her black sunglasses. Mark, 51, looked rugged in a black down vest over a navy sweatshirt. Staying fit: Mark looked rugged in a black down vest with a navy sweatshirt, gray sweatpants and gray Asics trainers, plus a silver luxury wristwatch He also had on sporty black sweatpants with gray-and-blue Asics trainers, and he had his sleeve pulled up just enough to showcase his silver luxury wristwatch. The two were taking it easy after Kelly seemed to have a blast impersonating some of the actresses nominated at last month's Academy Awards, including Jessica Chastain and Lady Gaga. In one clip Kelly was unrecognizable as Tammy Faye, lampooning Jessica's big scene where she declares that her exaggerated stage look is 'who I am.' Kelly could also be seen singing onstage as Tammy Faye, who used to perform songs as part of her ministry while her husband Jim Bakker did the preaching. For her TV parody, Kelly was singing one of Tammy Faye's actual stage numbers, Jesus Keeps Takin' Me Higher And Higher. Goofing about: Kelly transformed into Jessica Chastain (playing Tammy Faye Bakker) in a clip last month ahead of her and Ryan Seacrest's post-Oscars broadcast Uncanny: Kelly (left) was spoofing Jessica Chastain's Oscar-nominated performance as the late televangelist in the biopic The Eyes Of Tammy Faye (right) When a makeup lady asks if she wants 'a little remover' for her eyelashes, Kelly as Tammy Faye replies: 'Oh, no, that's it. I mean, they're permanently lined and my eyes are permanently line and my eyebrows are permanently on so there's not a whole lot you can do. This is who I am!' The sequence is a send-up of a scene in The Eyes Of Tammy Faye where the 1980s superstar televangelist, as played by Jessica, explains her look. In another clip, Kelly spoke in an Italian accent as she imitated Gaga's performance in House Of Gucci. Making it happen: Kelly can also be seen singing onstage as Tammy Faye, who used to perform songs as part of her ministry while her husband Jim Bakker did the preaching The latest: Kelly is seen depicting Lady Gaga's House of Gucci character Patrizia Reggiani in another teaser ad for her post-Oscar Live with Kelly and Ryan 'Do we have a demitasse? I have my spoon ... grazie, amore,' Ripa said, mimicking the dialogue from a ski trip sequence in the film in which Reggiani thought her then-husband Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) was cheating on her. Kelly said, 'Father, son and House of Gucci,' a line that Gaga had improvised while shooting the film. She added, 'I just say the words' in the clip, which was set to the Blondie classic Heart of Glass. While Lady Gaga did not get an Oscar nomination for her outing in the Ridley Scott motion picture the film's lone nod is in the category of Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling she appeared as a presenter with Liza Minnelli. Tiger King's Joe Exotic has revealed why he filed for divorce from Dillon Passage days ago, citing a new love interest whom he hopes to marry. Joe's lawyer Autumn Blackledge told TMZ that the Netflix personality has been seeing a man named John Graham as he serves a 22-year sentence for plotting to kill his nemesis Carole Baskin. The former zookeeper, 59, reportedly said about the situation, 'God works in amazing ways.' Moving on: Tiger King's Joe Exotic has revealed why he filed for divorce from Dillon Passage days ago, citing a new love interest whom he hopes to marry, according to TMZ Joe and John originally met more than a year ago in February 2021 at FMC Forth Worth in Texas. John was released last month on March 15, after serving most of his 12-year sentence for burglary and possession of a firearm. He was sentenced in 2012. If they wed, the marriage will be Joe's third. He was formerly married to Travis Maldonado before he accidentally shot and killed himself in 2017. The former animal trainer is hoping he and his ex, 25, 'can both move on with their lives and divorce quickly and amicably,' Blackledge told TMZ. New interest: Joe's lawyer Autumn Blackledge said the Netflix personality has been seeing a man named John Graham, whom he met behind bars Splitsville: Tiger King's Joe Exotic filed for divorce from husband Dillon Passage as he serves a 22-year sentence for plotting to murder rival Carole Baskin The news comes a year after the bartender reportedly pulled the plug on their four-year marriage via a phone call to the Fort Worth, Texas prison. At the time, Exotic (full name: Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage) was said to be heartbroken and 'considering rushing to file a petition to divorce in order to beat Passage.' A source claimed the star emailed a friend while fresh from the phone call, telling them he felt 'abandoned and alone and just wanted to mean something to someone,' per TMZ. Though the past owner of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park appeared upset about the split, Dillon said, at the time, that there are no hard feelings and he will still support Joe through his prison sentence. The latest: Joe Exotic's ex Passage (L) revealed on Instagram in July 2021 that he's in a new relationship with a man named John Passage reportedly called it quits with Joe because he grew lonely during his husband's time behind bars and wanted to date again. In July 2021, he posted a picture of his new boyfriend John, who he called his 'rock' and said has helped him 'get through it all' during some 'hard' times. Four months prior, Passage detailed his and Joe Exotic's breakup in a social media post, which read, 'To answer the main question the public wants to know, yes, Joe and I are seeking a divorce. Moving on: At the time, Passage said of his new beau, 'John has been my rock and helping me get through it all' 'This wasn't an easy decision to make but Joe and I both understand that this situation isn't fair to either of us. It's something that neither of us were expecting but we are going to take it day by day.' Passage said he would 'continue to have Joe in [his] life and do [his] best to support him while he undergoes further legal battles to better his situation.' The couple initially tied the knot December 11, 2017, months after Exotic's previous spouse Travis Maldonado died after accidentally shooting himself October 6, 2017. Pumping up: Passage shared a shot of himself and John working out on social media Authorities said Exotic in December 2017 attempted to bribe an FBI agent to murder Baskin, and was recorded saying, 'Just like follow her into a mall parking lot and just cap her and drive off.' Exotic was also convicted in connection with numerous wildlife law violations in the deaths of five tigers, and infractions of the Endangered Species Act. He found fast fame while incarcerated amid the release of the popular Netflix doc Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. Denise Van Outen wrapped up as she paid a visit to Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street Kitchen restaurant in Liverpool on Saturday. The TV personality, 47, braced the chilly temperatures in a black padded coat from Moschino which she teamed up with a coordinating pair of Adidas leggings. Meanwhile, Denise's ex-fiance Eddie, 48, shared a cryptic post following the news she is reportedly back in touch with her former fiance Jay Kay, 52. Emerging: Denise Van Outen wrapped up in a black padded coat from Moschino as she paid a visit to Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street Kitchen restaurant in Liverpool on Saturday Strutting through the city in a funky pair of multi-coloured trainers, she had certainly indulged in some retail therapy and carried a selection of carrier bags. Her bleached blonde locks cascaded down her shoulders in curls and she beamed from ear-to-ear for onlookers. Eddie took to his Instagram Stories and shared an image of two ladders, one with several steps and the other with a handful far apart. The text alongside the image read: 'The importance of small steps! You will get there in the end!!' Happy: Strutting through the city in a funky pair of multi-coloured trainers, she had certainly indulged in some retail therapy and carried a selection of carrier bags Denise previously enjoyed a highly-publicised relationship with Jamiroquai bandmember Jay before they 'painfully' called it quits back in 2001. Denise even wrote about him in her new autobiography A Bit Of Me, and he claimed they called off their plans to marry due to 'conflicting' jobs at the time. A source told The Sun: 'Denise and Jay have been speaking again and it has been good for both of them to have that connection. Post: Denise's ex fiance Eddie shared a cryptic post following the news she is reportedly back in touch with her former flame Jay Kay 'Their split was very painful but a lot of water has passed under the bridge.' Representatives for Denise and Jay have been contacted for comment by MailOnline. It comes after Eddie moved out of her home following their shock split and is now thought to be staying with friends while he works on his career. In an excerpt from her book, she wrote about his alleged infidelities, which she discovered while using his phone. Former flame: The TV star enjoyed a highly-publicised relationship with the Jamiroquai bandmember, 52, before they 'painfully' called it quits back in 2001 (pictured with Jay in 1995) The former West End star penned: 'Her name was Tracy and she had apparently spoken to Eddie over FaceTime and text for a long period often from our home and sometimes from my flat in Hampstead, which she seemed to think was his.' Eddie has certainly been keeping busy on Instagram, giving fans an insight into his day as he hinted at returning to his career as a commodities trader. The commodities trader shared photos from his day in East London, including a snap of a street sign for Old Broad Street. One fan of his former love though added a critical comment to the post, telling Eddie that he cheated on 'the prettiest/charismatic/successful and LIKED ladies around,' prompting a strong response from him. Happier times: Denise announced she had split from Eddie in January after discovering he had cheated on her during their seven year relationship Eddie shared a series of photos under the caption: 'Old city boy meetings!!#bosh #greattobebackinthesmoke #bighandlittlehand #london #city #meetings #ec2 #lovelondon ' One photo showed the former trader making a fist for a mirror selfie before he hit Old Broad Street in London for a meeting. A fan of Denise took umbrage at the post though, writing in the comments: '( B, In a position to cheat on One of The prettiest/charismic/successful/LIKED...Ladies around ... Ok!! eddie .. At least!!! Let it f**king drop now' [sic].' Moving on: Eddie has certainly been keeping himself busy on Instagram, giving fans an insight into his day as he hinted at returning to his career as a commodities trader A dig? Denise's cheating ex shared photos from his day in East London, including a snap of a street sign for Old Broad Street Message: The commodities trader also posted a snap of a British Transport Police poster on the tube which read 'we stand together against hate' Eddie was quick to reply, telling the commenter he wasn't going to rise to her criticism: 'I'm not even going to block you! I want to hear the vile bile that comes from your mouth,' he wrote before deleting the original comment and his reply. 'Keep it coming please as it's people like you that need to get things off your chest. I can take it so I would rather you send it my way than to someone who is vulnerable and break them down to pieces.' 'I don't do hatred and I don't think any less of you as I don't know you personally so I won't make any negative comments Xxxxx.' Prior to getting engaged to Denise in 2018, Eddie worked as a commodities trader but was sacked by SCB & Associates just weeks after he proposed to the TV star - for 'gross misconduct and material dishonesty', according to an employment tribunal hearing at the time. Sticking up for Denise: One fan of his former love added a critical comment to the post, telling Eddie that he cheated on 'the prettiest/charismatic/successful and LIKED ladies around' Reply: Eddie was quick to reply, telling the woman he wasn't going to rise to her criticism: 'I'm not even going to block you! I want to hear the vile bile that comes from your mouth' He was accused of stealing customers and commercially sensitive information from his employers, where he held a 110,000 position, to set up his own rival business. Eddie was hauled before a disciplinary panel after bosses discovered he had sent hundreds of emails containing clients' contact details and confidential information from his work account to a private account. The firm said he then sought to 'cover his tracks' by deleting dozens of the highly sensitive emails. Eddie subsequently sued SCB for unfair dismissal, claiming he was a victim of a scheme concocted by his bosses to cut costs, but his claim failed. Eddie moved out of Denise's home following their shock split and is now thought to be staying with friends while he works on his career. Motto: Eddie also shared a snap of an art installation with the quote 'What's meant for you will find you even if you feel like it has already passed you' On Monday night he was back on Instagram, sharing another scathing post about their relationship. Eddie posted an expletive-filled message on his Instagram grid declaring: 'Unf**k yourself. Be who you were before all the stuff happened that dimmed your f**king shine.' The post comes after Denise broke her silence on how she discovered Eddie had been cheating on her when messages flashed up on his iPad. Message: On Monday night he was back on Instagram, sharing another scathing post about their relationship, declaring 'be who you were before all the stuff happened that dimmed your f**king shine' Moving on: Eddie added the hashtags #don'tchange and #getyourshineback to the post Eddie shared the post on Monday with the caption: 'Be who you were !! #dontchange #getyourshineback'. Denise has detailed the extreme lengths Eddie went to in order to keep his affairs secret in her autobiography, A Bit Of Me: From Basildon To Broadway And Back, but the former commodities trader has since taken to Instagram to 'defend himself.' On Sunday Eddie made a jibe at his ex-girlfriend with a thinly veiled Instagram post after she claimed he secretly stole her phone and blocked a women he had been sexting. Hitting back: Denise has detailed the extreme lengths Eddie went to in order to keep his affairs secret in her autobiography, and he has since hit back with a series of Instagram posts He posted a black-and-white image of Inspector Clouseau, who is described as an 'inept and incompetent police detective in the French Surete' - and the accompanying caption led many to believe he was alluding to his ex's detective skills. It read: 'Inspector Clouseau. The 2nd worst detective in the world !!! [sic]' '#2sides #holdinghandsup #butdefendingmyself #keepprivatelifeprivate #nolongerbeingcontrolled'. Underneath, someone left the comment: 'Someone selling a book [sic]'. Eddie's cryptic response - comprising a book and bag of money emoji - implied he believes Denise's book-writing venture is a ploy for cash. Another penned: 'Don't listen to the noise. No one buys it, especially when someone's driven to sell books,', to which Eddie left a prayer emoji. Despite Eddie's efforts to conceal his infidelities, Denise still found out when she was using his iPad and the messages came up, with Denise splitting from him in January after seven years together. Denise wrote: 'There were also Instagram messages alluding to phone sex with a third woman. I quickly found the woman's profile by her screen name, only to discover I'd previously blocked her on my Instagram account - which struck me as odd.' Hitting back: On Sunday Eddie made a jibe at his ex by posting a black-and-white image of Inspector Clouseau and the accompanying caption led many to believe he was alluding to his ex's detective skills Interesting: Someone left the comment: 'Someone selling a book [sic]'. Eddie's cryptic response implied he believes Denise's book-writing venture is a ploy for cash Fan support: Another penned: 'Don't listen to the noise. No one buys it, especially when someone's driven to sell books,', to which Eddie left a prayer emoji She continued: 'This was a woman I didn't know, who'd clearly had an online connection with my boyfriend. Why would I have blocked her from my Instagram account. Straight away, I unblocked her and sent her a message saying how she knew Eddie.' She added: 'She suggested that Eddie had probably gone into my phone and blocked her so she couldn't message me. 'She has apparently spoken to Eddie over FaceTime and text for a long period - often from our home and sometimes from my flat in Hampstead, which she seemed to think was his. 'They'd never met in person, but she said the conversations had become sexual in nature reasonably quickly - some of the stuff I found on the phone seemed to support that. 'However she was upset with Eddie because he'd apparently ghosted her.' Despite her heartache, Denise has insisted there are 'no hard feelings' and that's she managed to move forward. Speaking on a recent episode of Lorraine, she said: 'I'm feeling really good now because I wasn't in a good place, it was all a bit of a shock. 'These things happen. I'm not the first person it's happened to and I won't be the last, sadly. But it's life, isn't it, Lorraine? 'You just have to get on with it and there are no hard feelings on my side. It's happened and you just accept it. I can't change what's happened.' Sharon Gaffka has revealed she suffered a 'painful' breast cancer scare aged just 19, while her mum Linda was nearing the end of her own treatment for the disease. The Love Island star, 26, admitted that despite the ordeal being a thankful false alarm, she is now on a mission to encourage others to regularly get checked up. She told The Sun: 'I find that young women or anybody, there's a stigma about checking your chest or some who find it weird. So I want to take that stigma away.' Shock: Sharon Gaffka has revealed she suffered a 'painful' breast cancer scare aged just 19, while her mum Linda was nearing the end of her own treatment for the disease 'So, for me it was really important to raise awareness because if I didn't know what to look for, and I didn't know what was abnormal or normal for me, then had it been something more sinister than it ended up being, I could have been in a lot of trouble because I couldn't spot the signs early.' The reality star had discovered the lump in the area between between her breast and underarm, however it soon turned out to be scar tissue. Claiming she 'didn't know that was a potential spot', she continued: 'So knowing how quickly my mum caught on that she wasn't well, kind of pushed me to go check myself, so I went to a GP pretty quickly.' Phew! The Love Island star, 26, admitted that despite the ordeal being a thankful false alarm, she is now on a mission to encourage others to regularly get checked up (pictured with Linda) Fortunately, her doctor explained her how body was trying to fix an injury, which led to the solid lump of tissue, which was 'really painful, even just to move around'. Sharon previously opened up about her shocking experience of being left barely breathing after having her drink spiked while having lunch with her friends. She hit her head on a toilet and was found wedged behind a locked cubicle door after her drink was interfered with while out celebrating one of her friend's birthdays. The influencer said two male paramedics attended but passed her off as someone who had been 'over drinking' rather than a victim of spiking. Candid: She said: 'I find that young women or anybody, there's a stigma about checking your chest or some who find it weird. So I want to take that stigma away' Sharon, who appeared on this year's edition of the ITV dating programme, has collected more than 1,000 testimonies for the Home Affairs Select Committee as part of an inquiry into spiking. Speaking to ITV's Good Morning Britain, the reality star said she has had her drink spiked on 'five or six occasions' since the age of 18. She said, on one occasion, she was spiked with MDMA but most recently a 'date rape drug' was put into her drink when she was out for lunch with friends celebrating one of their birthdays soon after the first lockdown. By 7pm that day, Sharon was taken to hospital after passing out in a cubicle and hitting her head on a toilet. She told Good Morning Britain: 'I think we can recall exactly which drink it was and I can pass myself as quite a responsible drinker, I know my limits. Awful: Sharon previously opened up about her shocking experience of being left barely breathing after having her drink spiked while having lunch with her friends Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and affects more than two MILLION women a year Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Each year in the UK there are more than 55,000 new cases, and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women. In the US, it strikes 266,000 each year and kills 40,000. But what causes it and how can it be treated? What is breast cancer? Breast cancer develops from a cancerous cell which develops in the lining of a duct or lobule in one of the breasts. When the breast cancer has spread into surrounding breast tissue it is called an 'invasive' breast cancer. Some people are diagnosed with 'carcinoma in situ', where no cancer cells have grown beyond the duct or lobule. Most cases develop in women over the age of 50 but younger women are sometimes affected. Breast cancer can develop in men though this is rare. Staging means how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body. The cancerous cells are graded from low, which means a slow growth, to high, which is fast growing. High grade cancers are more likely to come back after they have first been treated. What causes breast cancer? A cancerous tumour starts from one abnormal cell. The exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is unclear. It is thought that something damages or alters certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal and multiply 'out of control'. Although breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, there are some risk factors that can increase the chance of developing breast cancer, such as genetics. What are the symptoms of breast cancer? The usual first symptom is a painless lump in the breast, although most breast lumps are not cancerous and are fluid filled cysts, which are benign. The first place that breast cancer usually spreads to is the lymph nodes in the armpit. If this occurs you will develop a swelling or lump in an armpit. How is breast cancer diagnosed? Initial assessment: A doctor examines the breasts and armpits. They may do tests such as a mammography, a special x-ray of the breast tissue which can indicate the possibility of tumours. Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small sample of tissue is removed from a part of the body. The sample is then examined under the microscope to look for abnormal cells. The sample can confirm or rule out cancer. If you are confirmed to have breast cancer, further tests may be needed to assess if it has spread. For example, blood tests, an ultrasound scan of the liver or a chest x-ray. How is breast cancer treated? Treatment options which may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Often a combination of two or more of these treatments are used. Surgery: Breast-conserving surgery or the removal of the affected breast depending on the size of the tumour. Radiotherapy: A treatment which uses high energy beams of radiation focussed on cancerous tissue. This kills cancer cells, or stops cancer cells from multiplying. It is mainly used in addition to surgery. Chemotherapy: A treatment of cancer by using anti-cancer drugs which kill cancer cells, or stop them from multiplying Hormone treatments: Some types of breast cancer are affected by the 'female' hormone oestrogen, which can stimulate the cancer cells to divide and multiply. Treatments which reduce the level of these hormones, or prevent them from working, are commonly used in people with breast cancer. How successful is treatment? The outlook is best in those who are diagnosed when the cancer is still small, and has not spread. Surgical removal of a tumour in an early stage may then give a good chance of cure. The routine mammography offered to women between the ages of 50 and 70 mean more breast cancers are being diagnosed and treated at an early stage. For more information visit breastcancercare.org.uk, breastcancernow.org or www.cancerhelp.org.uk Advertisement 'I don't tend to wander off after I've started drinking and things like that, so the fact that I had been gone from the table for ten minutes was alarm bells to my friends and they remembered that we had gone to the toilet together but I never came out.' Sharon said her friends went into the bathroom to find her and, after receiving no response, managed to pick the lock to the cubicle door with a pound coin. She was found 'wedged between the door and the toilet' inside the cubicle before the paramedics arrived. Host Richard Madeley said: 'But the paramedics basically said 'no, no, she's had too much to drink, she needs to go sleep it off' so it wasn't taken seriously, was it?' Sharon repiled: 'No. I think for me it was that two male paramedics arrived to look at me. 'I think maybe the NHS and paramedics do have a lot of incidences where people have been over drinking and then, you know.' Sharon said the hospital she was taken to did not test for drugs in her system, but she was advised a week later that she should have gone to the police to be tested. 'But, I know what I'm like when I've been drinking,' she added. 'At this point, I couldn't tell you where I was, I couldn't tell you my name, I could barely stand.' From Strictly to The X Factor, the merciless TV talent show judge who savages contestants has been a love/hate figure for audiences for decades. But their days may be numbered as judging panels become more caring and supportive. West End star Samantha Barks, one of the judges on ITVs new celebrity contest All Star Musicals which starts tonight, says the trend for stinging jibes from celebrities such as Simon Cowell will now give way to warmth and empathy. Samantha Barks, pictured on the red carpet in February, thinks primetime TV is getting nicer Simon Cowell said he's got unfinished business in Hollywood - and 'wishes' he made Sing (file) TV presenter Michaela Strachan (right) is one of the celeb contests on ITV's All Star Musicals After coming third in the BBC talent series Id Do Anything in 2008, the 31-year-old, who went on to star in the film version of Les Miserables, said she understood the pressures that hopefuls face performing on television. ...AS SIMON PURSUES HOLLYWOOD DREAM Simon Cowell (pictured) was inspired by smash-hit musical Sing: 'I wish I'd made it' Simon Cowell plans to conquer Hollywood by creating his own animated movie series. The 62-year-old X Factor and Britains Got Talent supremo told The Mail on Sunday that he dreams of echoing the success of the blockbuster cartoon Sing. He said: Its the one thing I have never done and Id love to do. When I watch those Sing movies, as much as I love them, I feel sick. Because its like, God, I wish Id made those. While Cowell, worth an estimated 460 million, said developing and producing an animated hit would be a dream come true, he added: These things are never easy. You have to be persistent. I keep going until I wear somebody down. A source said: Simons been successful in every other field in music and on television. Now hes determined to crack Hollywood.' Advertisement She vowed that contestants on All Star Musicals weatherman Alex Beresford, actress Jacqueline Jossa, wildlife presenter Michaela Strachan, Coronation Streets Lisa George, James Bond actor Colin Salmon and rugby star Danny Care will not face withering put-downs from the judges. Asked if the show would veer away from sharp-tongued critics such as Nigel Lythgoe, Craig Revel Horwood and Lord Sugar, she replied: Yes, its a big part of the show. 'Something I love about the show is the positivity. Its very much a positive space. I mean we are honest and theres times when we will say You know, that could have been stronger, but the more important thing is the positives. Its fun, for me, as I think thats such a beautiful part of the show. 'Its about making people be their best selves and do their best performances. Were sitting there, the three of us on the panel, giving so much love from our seats. Were waiting for them to succeed, not waiting for them to fail. 'We are in a world where the care of each other is now more prominent in our mindset. Each performer will be given the ultimate musical theatre masterclass as they vie to be voted All Star Musicals champion. Their mentors and judges on the show will also include stage legend Elaine Paige and Aladdin star Trevor Dion Nicholas. The celebrities will perform musical hits with a West End ensemble and orchestra, including songs from Frozen, Les Miserables, 42nd Street and Hamilton. Beresford clashed with Piers Morgan live on Good Morning Britain over Meghan Markles interview with Oprah Winfrey, leading to Morgan storming off set and later quitting ITV. Asked what his former colleague would make of his foray into stage musicals, Beresford quipped: Hes going to think Im fantastic. She lives in Kensington so how come the Queens cousin Lady Tatiana Mountbatten has managed to bag Winchester Cathedral for her nuptials in July? I can reveal that the socialite and equestrian has pulled some strings to land the prestigious venue where Bloody Mary Tudor wed more than 450 years ago using the fact that her mother lives in the diocese to secure one of the cathedrals 900-year-old chapels. It does mean Tatiana, 31, has to attend services there and as my exclusive snap below shows, she went last week, turning out with a bunch of daffodils along with her brother Henry Mountbatten, Earl of Medina, and their mother Clare Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven, for the cathedrals Mothering Sunday service. Tatiana is engaged to entrepreneur Alick Dru who proposed on top of a mountain in Verbier, Switzerland. She tells me that despite the grand venue, itll be a small family affair. Among those expected to attend are Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice. Lady Tatiana Mountbatten, right, will marry Alick Dru, left, in Winchester Cathedral in July Tatiana, pictured outside Winchester Cathedral last Sunday, attended the a service at the venue where Bloody Mary Tudor wed more than 450 years ago Heidi in her sundae best Who says money cant buy taste? Supermodel Heidi Klum splashed out nearly 1,000 on a delicious-looking, if garish, outfit: a tracksuit covered with images of ice-cream sundaes. As the 48-year-old ventured out in LA on the way to judge Americas Got Talent, she said: I want whats on my Moschino tracksuit. Looks good enough to eat but Im not sure it looks good enough to wear Supermodel Heidi Klum splashed out nearly 1,000 on a delicious-looking, if garish, outfit: a tracksuit covered with images of ice-cream sundaes Tracey Emin is having a much deserved holiday after a traumatic few months. Not only has the artist been recovering from cancer treatment, she says her life has been made hell by builders working on a neighbours house. She complains they covered the skylight to her studio in Margate, Kent, in scaffolding. I was crying yesterday. Trying to paint as builders walked on my roof, she said, of their mentally and physically disturbing actions. She named the builders in another post but this was taken down by Instagram, which accused her of bullying or harassment. Simon Gregson was reportedly ordered by bouncers to head home from his on-screen daughter Alexandra Mardell's leaving party in Manchester's Deansgate district in February. In footage obtained by The Sun, the Coronation Street actor, 47, could be seen dancing shirtless on furniture after becoming 'a bit merry.' Simon allegedly directed his fury towards the security staff with an expletive-filled rant, who attempted to kick him out of the venue. 'He was acting pretty wildly': Corrie's Simon Gregson was reportedly kicked out of his co-star's leaving party in Manchester by bouncers after dancing shirtless on furniture An onlooker told the publication 'He was the life and soul of the party but took it a bit far and it annoyed the bar staff and bouncers in the end.' A lip-reading expert told the publication Simon he appeared to be saying 'f**k' and 'f**k you' to the two members of staff before assuring, 'I will get down.' The star - who plays character Steve McDonald in the soap - had been partying with Corrie's Katie McGlynn at the showbiz bash. She allegedly stepped in-between her pal and the bouncer in a bid to cool down the situation, later posting a beaming photo of herself in an unmissable yellow dress alongside Alexandra, who plays Emma Booker in the ITV favourite. Hilarious: An onlooker said: 'He was the life and soul of the party but took it a bit far and it annoyed the bar staff and bouncers in the end' (pictured, centre, with Alexandra and her boyfriend Joe Parker, far left) Gorgeous: Katie McGlynn (left) later posted a beaming photo of herself in an unmissable yellow dress alongside Alexandra (right), who plays Emma Booker in the ITV favourite The source continued: 'Simon was acting pretty wildly but more in the sense that he was in high spirits and getting carried away. 'The crowd were laughing and cheering, with a lot of people egging him on, and most people there saw the funny side. But some clubbers were shouting abuse at him as well, which was unnecessary.' Alexandra's photos from the night saw her party with Millie Gibson (Kelly Neelan), Colson Smith (Craig Tinker), Georgia Taylor (Toyah Battersby), Elle Mulvaney (Amy Barlow) and Mollie Gallagher (Nina Lucas). Simon's representatives have been contacted for comment by MailOnline. Cast night out! Alexandra with her co-stars (L-R) Mikey North, Jordan Ford Silver, Tanisha Gorey, Joe Duttine, Charlie de Melo, Harriet Bibby, Alexandra and Georgia Taylor Gang: Elle Mulvaney (far left) Steve (centre-left), Emma (centre) and Tanisha Gorey (centre-right) appeared to be in high spirits during the star-studded party Looking good: The star posed for another snap with Colson Smith and Julia Goulding It comes after Alexandra revealed that her character is set to leave the cobbles in dramatic fashion as she teased the Rovers barmaid could be sent to prison. Appearing on Friday's episode of This Morning, the actress also detailed her reasons for leaving the soap, explaining that she fancied trying something new. Following a fatal car crash on the show, Emma has been racked with guilt. Although Faye Windass (Ellie Leach) was behind the wheel at the time of the accident, leaving a pensioner dead, Emma was supposed to be teaching her how to drive but she was still intoxicated from the night before. Pals: Emma and her co-star Rob Mallard (who plays Daniel Barlow) put on a friendly display Stunning! The beauty beamed as she posed with Charlotte Jordan known for her role as Daisy Midgeley and Sair Khan who plays Alya Nazir Teasing that this could mean her character is jailed, Alexandra revealed to hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary that her kindhearted alter ego cannot lie. 'Is she off to prison? What's gonna happen? I dont know how she would get on with that.' Alexandra - who cut a stylish figure for the appearance in a chic fuchsia suit - also revealed that she had originally told show bosses that she wanted to leave a year ago. 'There wasnt a particular reason, I just thought it was my time,' she explained. 'Its a relief they're not killing me off, the door is open which is lovely.' Goodbye: It comes after Alexandra revealed that her character is set to leave the cobbles in dramatic fashion as she teased the Rovers barmaid could be sent to prison (pictured on Friday) Having watched the show since she was a child Alexandra went on to say how she understands why actors stay for 60 years or more. Co-star William Roach has played the role of Ken Barlow since the show's inception in 1960. 'It goes so fast I feel new myself still, it was massive to leave, it's like being at school, I was there for quite a long time,' she said. 'It's right for Emma, I'm happy with it.' She added: 'I've loved every storyline - finding out Steve McDonald is your dad and working with Simon Gregson! He's such a laugh to work with, I miss him so much. 'I grew up with Corrie so it was always in my head as a dream. I auditioned for another role and didnt get it but I always told my mum I would be David Platts (Jack P. Shepherd) girlfriend on the show'. The star who is has been appearing in a play since she left the soap also revealed that she took a few momentous from the set. She admitted: 'A mug that said boss girl, I also took the pink furry coats, because why not.' Jon Hamm and Casey Affleck looked like buddies as they attended Mike Dean and Jeff Bhasker's pre-Grammys party in Los Angeles on Friday. The Mad Men star, 51, stepped out in a light brown jacket over a white t-shirt and a pair of black jeans. The actor also walked in brown boots and wore stylish thick-framed glasses. Star-studded: Jon Hamm, 51, and Casey Affleck, 46, looked like buddies as they attended Mike Dean and Jeff Bhasker's pre-Grammys party in Los Angeles on Friday Hamm's salt and pepper hair was combed over neatly to the right, and he sported a few days worth of stubble on his face. Affleck, 46, kept cozy in a dark blue long-sleeve sweater. The Manchester By The Sea star wore a pair of light blue jeans, cuffed to his ankles, and a dark red beanie over his brown hair. While pictured with the two when they were walking together, Hamm's new leading lady Anna Osceola, 33, reportedly attended the event as well. Comfort and fashion: Hamm wore a brown coat over a white t-shirt and pants while Affleck donned a pair of blue jeans and a long sleeve blue sweater Big step: Hamm and Anna Osceola (who joined them) made their red carpet debut at the Mercedes-Benzs Academy Awards viewing party and the Vanity Fair afterparty during Oscar Sunday Hamm and Osceola made their red carpet debut at the Mercedes-Benzs Academy Awards viewing party and the Vanity Fair afterparty during Oscar Sunday. The couple first started dating in early 2020 though they met while filming the series finals of Hamm's hit television show back in 2014. While Hamm reportedly had his girl at this side during the evening, it's unclear whether or not Affleck's love Caylee Crown made it to the event. The two packed on the PDA on Sunday at Darren Dzienciol & Richie Akiva's Oscar Party. Casey and Caylee have been fueling engagement rumors as of late with the actress being seen wearing a brilliant ring. Years together: The couple first started dating in early 2020 though they had met while filming the series finals of Hamm's hit television show back in 2014 Another happy couple: While Hamm reportedly had his girl at this side during the evening, it's unclear whether or not Affleck's better half Caylee Crown made it to the event Casey and Caylee's romance went public in November when Page Six ran pictures of them passionately kissing in the street. The sighting appeared to confirm rumors that Casey had broken up with his longtime girlfriend Floriana Lima, whom he had been with since 2016. The actor then made their romance official as he posted photos of them donating blood to the Red Cross in late November 2021. Affleck shared in January that they had met a year prior in a loving and heartfelt message. He captioned it, ''A year ago, we met. A few months ago, I got smart. Thank God, it wasnt too late,' he wrote, rhapsodizing that 'you make me a better man every day.' Craig Revel Horwood has confirmed that Anton Du Beke will return as a judge on next year's Strictly Come Dancing - replacing show stalwart Bruno Tonioli. Twinkle-toed star Anton, 55, who was previously a professional dancer on the programme, appeared as a panellist in the 2020 and 2021 series after pandemic travel restrictions prevented Bruno, 66, from flying back from the US. Speaking at his All Balls and Glitter UK tour, Craig, 57, revealed bosses had told the judges that the ballroom dancer, would be waltzing back to the panel this autumn. Big news: Craig Revel Horwood has revealed Anton Du Beke will return as a judge on next year's Strictly Come Dancing - replacing show stalwart Bruno Tonioli He told The Sun: 'I really love Anton. I think he is fantastic. I think last year he did a great job on Strictly as a judge. 'And we have just found out he is going to do it again this year.' Craig, went on to tell the audience that he did miss his co-star Bruno, who had been on the Strictly panel since the show launched in 2004. He's back! Twinkle-toed star Anton, 55, who was previously a professional dancer on the programme, appeared as a panellist in the 2020 and 2021 series after pandemic travel restrictions prevented Bruno, 66, from flying back from the US The choreographer said they remain to be 'great mates' after working side by side for 16 years together. He went on to reveal that while he did miss the Italian's energy - Bruno actually struggled to deal with his dramatic performance. He said: 'He always used to come off and say, ''Darling, I am exhausted.'' Star power: Craig, went on to tell the audience that he did miss his co-star Bruno, who had been on the Strictly panel since the show launched in 2004 (pictured 2015) 'And I used to say, ''Well, you created this character darling.'' I will just sit there. My job is easy. MailOnline has contacted representatives for Strictly for comment. Craig previously branded Anton a 'great addition' to the Strictly judging panel as the pair admitted that they love playing 'Good Cop, Bad Cop' on the show. Dynamic duo: Craig previously branded Anton a 'great addition' to the Strictly judging panel as the pair admitted that they love playing 'Good Cop, Bad Cop' on the show 'Particularly with celebs that haven't been 'gifted', he's had to manoeuvre them around that dancefloor and he's been with great dancers, where he could show off his talents! The stalwart judge cheered: 'long may it continue' of Anton being on the panel, after it was revealed that BBC bosses were split in December over whether to dump the newcomer and bring back Bruno in 2022. Speaking to Best magazine, Craig said: 'Anton's a great addition, he knows the process of working with celebrities inside-out, he's been there. Happy: Speaking about his co-star, Craig said: 'I really love Anton. I think he is fantastic. I think last year he did a great job on Strictly as a judge 'Armed with all that information, he's showing great empathy for the celebs he's more lenient than me. And he's funny. Long may it continue, he's a good egg, Anton. 'We're topping and tailing the ladies on the panel, poor things except we're about five metres apart, plus there are Perspex screens! We have to lean forward to chat to each other, but that just adds to the fun. 'You can say, 'Sorry, Anton, I didn't hear a word you said, darling...' We do love to play Good Cop, Bad Cop.' Earlier this week speculation was rife that Anton would be returning to the judging panel, after he was noticeably absent from the show's professional lineup when it was unveiled by show bosses. It was previously claimed sources at the BBC said that Bruno's decision to choose the role in the States, which is understood to pay him in the region of 800,000 rather than the 250,000 he was getting for his Strictly duties, means that some chiefs think their loyalty should lie with Du Beke. They also fear that Anton might quit the show, which he has appeared on as a professional dancer since its inception, if he is axed from the judging panel. Bruno, who was on the Strictly panel since the show launched in 2004, was a judge on the show's tour alongside Craig Revel Horwood and head judge Shirley Ballas which took place earlier this year. Some suggested that the move could be a 'sweetener' for Bruno so they don't have to invite him back and ditch Du Beke, but others think it is a way of lining up his return. Hollyoaks star Nikki Sanderson cut a glamorous figure as she celebrated her 38th birthday at Menagerie in Manchester on Saturday. The actress was followed just minutes later by Emmerdale star Anthony Quinlan, amid rumours the pair started dating earlier this year. Nikki flaunted her incredible figure in a green sequinned mini dress that flashed a hint of her toned abs as she arrived at the swanky eatery. Dating? Hollyoaks' Nikki Sanderson celebrated her 38th birthday at Menagerie in Manchester on Saturday, arriving at the venue minutes ahead of rumoured beau Anthony Quinlan The Soap star's dress also highlighted her toned pins and she accessorised with black thin-stapped heels as she prepared to mark her birthday in style. Mere minutes later, Anthony, who played Pete Barton on Emmerdale, opted for a smart green jumper and jeans as he headed to the restaurant. It was reported in January that Nikki and Anthony were dating after reportedly bonding over their love of fitness. Stunning: The actress flaunted her incredible figure in a green sequinned mini dress that flashed a hint of her toned abs as she arrived at the swanky eatery Gorgeous: The soap star's dress also highlighted her toned pins and she accessorised with black thin-stapped heels as she prepared to mark her birthday in style The pair are said to have struck up a romance last year following 37-year-old Nikki's split from ex Greg Whitehurst in 2020 and her relationship with Anthony, also 37, has since 'gone from strength to strength'. The Sun reports: 'Nikki and Anthony go to the same gym and are really into fitness, so they bonded over that. A source added to the paper: 'It's been a while now and things are going well. 'Nikki has been having a bit of a tough time lately, and Anthony has been a great support for her.' MailOnline contacted both Nikki and Anthony's representatives for comment at the time. Casual: Mere minutes later, Anthony, who played Pete Barton on Emmerdale, opted for a smart green jumper and jeans as he headed to the restaurant Nikki and her ex Greg went their separate ways in July 2020 after five years together, while Anthony's exes include Michelle Keegan, who he split from in 2008, and Strictly's Dianne Buswell, who Anthony dated from 2017 to 2018. Speaking about their split to the Daily Star in 2018, Anthony said: 'We're still really good friends - it's just distance played a part. 'There were all these rumours about the Strictly curse but it wasn't that.' Nikki broke the news of her and Greg's split to The Sun in 2020 and said they have remained friends, though the publication claimed he has since joined dating app Bumble. Parting ways: Nikki and Greg Whitehurst (pictured) split while in lockdown after five years together Explaining what happened, she revealed: 'Sadly Greg and I have decided to separate. We remain friends and wish the best for each other in the future.' Her relationship with Greg got off to a controversial start, as she started dating him in 2015, just ten months after she attended his wedding as a guest. In an interview with OK! Magazine in 2015, Nikki said of their romance: '[Greg's] been blamed for something he didn't do in reality there was a third party who split them up on the other side. 'It ended through no fault of Greg's. People say, ''Well, I wouldn't want to be her mate because she'd steal my boyfriend.'' I'd never do anything like that.' Romance: Nikki's relationship with Greg got off to a controversial start, as she started dating him in 2015 just ten months after she attended his wedding as a guest She previously confirmed in a statement to MailOnline that they got together not long after his split from Sarah. 'I have known Greg and his family for many years. Greg's marriage ended in January, it was a very difficult time for him during which all of his friends and family supported him,' Nikki explained. Nikki has played Maxine Minniver in Hollyoaks since 2012 and has proved her acting prowess as she received nominations for the Best Actress award at the British Soap Awards 2014 and 2015. The actress also appeared in Coronation Street from 1999 to 2005, where she played Candice Stowe over 397 episodes. HYDERABAD: Sudden shift to online education has impacted learning and writing capacities of students, according to teachers. Apart from reduced concentration abilities and inappropriate behaviour, students started using internet slang and texting language in schools and answer sheets. Parents and teachers complained that students were writing d for the and fav for favourite and so on. Apart from that, the ability to form proper sentences without grammatical mistakes is also a concern. Students do not want to write, they just want to talk. They have lost the habit of writing which slowed down their writing and reading speed. The entire reading and writing basics have gone for a toss, said Venkat Sainath, joint secretary, Hyderabad Schools Parents Association. Many parents said they did not have a choice and could not pay attention as homework was also to be sent through PDFs. Asif Hussain, a parent and member of the Telangana Parents Association said at least the examination time must be increased by 20 to 30 minutes due to poor writing ability of students. However, not all parents agree with Asif Hussain. Shifa Shroff, a parent in the city, said that it was time when students realised the importance of academics and not blame Covid as they were having fun out of schools and visiting several places without masks. Why do parents encourage students to use mobile phones at home and not in school? Why are they okay with this habit of students? Technology has ruined lives of students and has created havoc to brain development. Even the above average students take three months to improve their writing skills provided they practice daily. The switching cost will be painful and time consuming, but will be beneficial for students in the long run, said Diana Monteiro, a counselling psychologist. Gudi Padwa is a spring-time festival that marks the beginning of a new year as per the Hindu calendar. From offering prayers at temples and cleaning homes in the hope of a good year ahead, to making resolutions for the future, there are many traditions associated with the festival, known by different names across the country. Among Marathi and Konkani Hindus, it is known as Gudi Padwa. We speak to some actors in Tinsel Town on how they plan to celebrate the day of new beginnings, and their hopes for the year ahead. A day for resolutions I have a strong belief that God is our source of hope and happiness. I celebrate Gudi Padwa the traditional way. On the auspicious occasion of the onset of the New Year, I follow all the traditions and pray to God to shower his blessings on us. This festival signifies prosperity and victory. Many of us make resolutions on January 1, but I make resolutions on the auspicious day of Ugadi or Gudi Padwa, as it is a powerful and beautiful day for doing so. I wish everyone a very happy Gudi Padwa. May this auspicious day bring solace, peace and harmony in everyone's life. I pray for normalcy this year. Kapilakshi Malhotra, yoga lover and actress Hope for a future full of possibilities For me, Gudi Padwa is always a happy occasion. It fills me with hope, since it marks the Maharashtrian New Year. It fills me with hope that the future is full of possibilities. I hope for the same this year too. Celebrations will be the same, a puja will happen, padwa will be put up and some sweets will be prepared. The celebration will be a sweet one with family. Its personally more special to me because my parents got married on the day of Gudi Padwa. Isha Koppikar, actress, model and politician A food fest I have started celebrating Gudi Padwa only after coming to Mumbai. I just love how unfussy the whole affair is but still manages to bring everyone closer together. I love the simplicity of everything during this festival and the festive food made on this day is just lovely. My hopes for this year are relatively simple too. I just want to find better work and do my best to bring justice to everything I do. Ranjit Punia, Model and actor Health and love "Gudi Padwa is Hindu New Year and we celebrate it with family every year. Its an auspicious day for us. I did griha pravesh (house warming ceremony) in my current home in Mumbai exactly 12 years ago on this day, and its always been a special day for me. The day has always brought prosperity and love in my life and this year is going to be no different. I dont eat things containing sugar so there wont be any sweets this time, but we plan on having special dishes and a healthy lunch filled with a lot of love Mugdha Godse, model and actress Hope for normalcy and better days ahead Gudi Padwa is one of my most favourite festivals. The whole ambience is one of calm and positive vibrations. We pray together and eat together as a family on this day. The best part of the celebration is of course the traditional delicacies. Its so much fun when the whole family is relishing them together. My wish for Gudi this year is already halfway true I wish for life to go back to normal after the rough couple of years we've had. Hope this New Year brings good times for everyone. Tina Ahuja, actress and daughter of Govinda Terming the incident at MGM Hospital unfortunate, the minister said state government has immediately suspended two duty doctors responsible for the incident. Representational image/ANI HANAMKONDA: New superintendent of MGM (Mahatma Gandhi Memorial) Hospital Dr. V. Chandrasekhar on Friday ordered staff to take immediate necessary steps to rid the hospital from the menace of rats. Receiving orders from the superintendent, hospital employees have placed rat traps in Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU) and other nine blocks of the hospital to catch rats. Incidentally, MGM came into state-wide focus on Thursday after an unconscious patient undergoing treatment was found in his bed soaked in blood after having been bitten by rats. Patient Srinivas, with serious injuries, has since been shifted to NIMS Hospital in Hyderabad for better treatment. Additional collector Sreevatsav, who conducted an inquiry, submitted a report to the state government. Based on that, two doctors Dr. Yakub Naik and Dr. Md. Abeedi, who are on contractual services, have been terminated. Meanwhile, panchayat raj minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao, accompanied by Director of Medical Education Ramesh Reddy visited the hospital on Friday. Terming the incident at MGM Hospital unfortunate, the minister said state government has immediately suspended two duty doctors responsible for the incident. In addition, the hospital superintendent has also been transferred. The minister disclosed that action is also being taken against the agency looking after sanitation in the hospital. He asked people to continue visiting MGM Hospital without any worry, as the government has taken all measures to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in future. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening told visiting Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov that there should be swift cessation of violence in Ukraine and conveyed India's readiness to contribute in any way to the peace efforts. With India buying Russian oil at highly discounted prices and the Russians apparently willing to offer more, Mr Lavrov had, after talks with external affairs minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, earlier declared his country would be ready to supply any goods that India wanted to buy from it, adding that the Rupee-Rouble mechanism is a way to bypass trade in dollars and the Western sanctions imposed on Russia. Discussing the Ukraine crisis and its economic impact on trade ties, EAM Jaishankar told his Russian counterpart that as a developing economy, global volatility in different domains is of particular concern to India and that it is important for both countries that their economic, technological and people to people contacts remain stable and predictable. India has close defence ties with Russia spanning decades and these were also discussed on Friday. Interestingly, Mr Lavrov hailed Russia, India and China as three natural partners that have a common approach to resolve problems. The Russian foreign minister wrapped up his scheduled two-day visit to Delhi in the evening after calling on PM Modi. Asked whether Indian mediation was possible to solve the Ukraine crisis, Mr Lavrov at a select media briefing organised by the Russian side in the afternoon also indicated in a somewhat cautious answer that Russia was seeking certain security guarantees from Ukraine and that the West had ignored its responsibilities, adding that if India wanted to support the peace initiatives, Russia was not against this. The Russian foreign minister said, India is an important country. If India sees to play that role which provides resolution of the problem...If India is with its position of a just and rational approach to international problems, it can support such process. Mr Lavrov also said there was no approved plan as yet to resolve the Ukraine crisis. The Russian minister also praised India's foreign policy as independent and not bowing to US diktats. He appreciated that India was looking at the Ukraine crisis in its entirety of facts and not in a one-sided way, adding that both countries always respect and accommodate each others interest. India has not voted against Russia at the UN on the Ukraine crisis and has also not condemned Moscow for its military offensive in Ukraine. During the talks on Friday, EAM Jaishankar also sought to convey New Delhis consistent stand to Moscow that violence and hostilities ought to end immediately, with New Delhi conveying a veiled disapproval by saying that differences and disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy and by respect for international law, UN Charter, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. In his media remarks at the start of talks, the EAM said, Our meeting today takes place in a difficult international environment quite apart from the pandemic. India, as you are aware, has always been in favour of resolving differences and disputes through dialogue and diplomacy. In his remarks at the start of talks, Mr Lavrov recalled that bilateral ties and the privileged strategic partnership between both nations had sustained through many difficult times in the past. Mr. Lavrov said, We respect basic Indian principles based on legitimate national interests. Speaking later at the select media briefing, Mr Lavrov said that for gas supplies from Russia to Europe, an honest scheme has been found for payment in roubles since the West had promoted discrimination by freezing Russian accounts in Euros and Dollars. Mr Lavrov blasted the West for forcing others to join their politics and accused the US of acting recklessly in nations such as Libya and Syria. Several priests, vedic scholars from popular temples across Telangana like Yadadri, Bhadrachalam, and Vemulawada participated in the event. (Twitter) Hyderabad: Festive atmosphere returned to Pragathi Bhavan, the official camp office-cum-residence of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Saturday, as the official Ugadi celebrations were held on a grand note after a gap of four years. Rao, cabinet ministers, TRS legislators, MLCs, MPs and other elected representatives in the celebrations. The Janahitha building inside Pragathi Bhavan premises where the celebrations were held was packed with political leaders, top officials from government and police departments. Several priests, vedic scholars from popular temples across Telangana like Yadadri, Bhadrachalam, and Vemulawada participated in the event. The arrangements by the endowments and culture departments earned all-round praise. A mango tree set up on the dais was the centre of attraction. It was under this that noted almanac conducted 'panchanga sravanam' and read out predictions for the Telugu New Year. The decoration made with mango leaves and marigold in Janahitha was a big hit as participants vied with each other to take photographs and selfies. The Chief Minister felicitated several priests and vedic scholars on the occasion. The visitors were given a traditional welcome with silk kanduvas. Participants relished Ugadi pachadi and kheer, prepared especially for the occasion by the endowments department. Yadadri, Bhadrachalam, Vemulawada prasadams were also offered. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba ramped up Indo-Nepal economic ties in the field of hydro-power generation and connectivity initiatives, even as the two nations reached a general understanding during talks that they need to address the pending border dispute between them in a responsible manner through dialogue and that politicisation of such issues needs to be avoided, foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Saturday. India cleared Nepals power export proposals, paving the way for a major boost in power export to India from Nepal, with both nations also releasing a joint vision statement on power cooperation. The use of the Indian RuPay card in Nepal was jointly launched by the two Prime Ministers which will open new vistas for cooperation in financial connectivity, and is expected to facilitate bilateral tourist flows as well as further strengthen people-to-people linkages between India and Nepal. PM Modi told his Nepalese counterpart that under Indias "Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav" (75th Independence Anniversary) celebrations, India would inaugurate 75 development projects in Nepal this year. The move is being seen as a major one to counter Chinese influence that has grown by leaps and bounds in the Himalayan nation in recent years. Ties between India and its Himalayan neighbour had soured two years ago during the tenure of Nepals then Communist Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli after Nepal unveiled a new map that showed portions of territory in Indias Uttarakhand -- Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipu Lekh -- as part of Nepal. New Delhi had objected to that move. But ties began looking up once again later that year. PM Modi on Saturday said, We also discussed today the issue of open borders of India and Nepal being misused by unwanted elements. We also stressed on maintaining close cooperation between our defence and security institutions. Both Prime Ministers jointly inaugurated the 90 km long 132 KVDC Solu Corridor Transmission line and substation built under the Line of Credit extended by India at a cost of Rs 200 crore. Both sides agreed to expedite progress in the implementation of the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project. In a historic milestone, the first broad-gauge passenger railway service connecting India and Nepal in the Jayanagar-Kurtha section that has been built with grant assistance from India was flagged off by the two Prime Ministers. This section is a 35 km-long cross border rail link from Jaynagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Nepal. Both leaders also reviewed progress in construction of 132 health facilities in Nepal, undertaken with the $50 million post-earthquake reconstruction grant. PM Modi also thanked his Nepalese counterpart for assuring Government of Nepals full support in resolving bottlenecks and facilitating the time-bound completion of all India-assisted projects, including the National Police Academy at Kavrepalanchowk, the Integrated Check Posts at Nepalgunj and Bhairahawa and the projects under the Ramayana circuit. Mr Deuba will visit PM Modis Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi on Sunday, a city that symbolises the deep religious and cultural links between the two countries. He will be received by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath who will accompany him on that leg of the visit. Welcoming the Nepalese PM in his inaugural remarks before the media after bilateral talks on Saturday, PM Modi said, Deubaji is an old friend of India. This is his fifth visit to India as Prime Minister. Deubaji has played an important role in the development of India-Nepal relations. The friendship of India and Nepal, the relationships of our people, such an example is not seen anywhere else in the world. Our civilisation, our culture, the threads of our exchanges are connected since ancient times. We have been companions of each other's happiness and sorrows since time immemorial... Today, Deubaji and I had a fruitful conversation... We discussed different aspects of our cooperation, reviewed progress of various projects and also discussed the roadmap for the future. We both agreed that we must take full advantage of opportunities for cooperation in the power sector. Our Joint Vision Statement on Power Corporation will prove to be a blueprint for future collaboration. We emphasised the importance of progressing at a fast pace in Pancheshwar Project. This project will prove to be a game changer for the development of the region. We also agreed on the subject of more participation by Indian companies in Nepal's hydro power development plans. It is a matter of happiness that Nepal is exporting its surplus power to India. It will contribute well to the economic progress of Nepal. I am glad to inform that many more proposals to import power from Nepal are also being approved. A statement put out by New Delhi said, Both leaders discussed the wide ranging and robust bilateral development partnership. They reviewed the progress in implementation of Indian projects in Nepal, including the cross-border rail-link projects connecting (a) Jayanagar-Kurtha-Bijalpur-Bardibas (b) Jogbani-Biratnagar (c) Raxaul-Kathmandu. In a historic milestone, the first broad-gauge passenger railway service connecting India and Nepal in the Jayanagar-Kurtha section was flagged off by the two Prime Ministers during the visit. The Jayanagar-Kurtha rail link has been built with grant assistance from the Government of India. The Joint Vision Statement mentioned that Nepal invited Indian companies to invest in the development, construction and operation of viable renewable power projects, including in the Hydropower sector in Nepal, including storage-type projects, including through mutually beneficial partnerships. HYDERABAD: As the world observes Autism Day on Saturday, parents of children affected with the disorder are seeking better medical care and more specialised schools for their wards. Meanwhile, paediatricians in the city warn that the number of autism affected children is silently growing in India. According to a medical study conducted in 2018, one out of 100 children is affected with the disorder. In countries like India, when a child is affected, the family goes through a lot of trauma which can only be managed with different therapies. Dr Pratima Giri, child development specialist at Rainbow Childrens Hospital, said, As per the recommendations by the Indian Association of Paediatrics, the screening of all children should be done at 18 months for autism. It is very important for experienced physicians to assess a child with autism carefully as they often show symptoms like hyperactivity, anxiety and attention problems. Dr Ashish Chauhan, consultant internal medicine and immunisation specialist, said, Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which is a genetic disorder. In our society there has to be campaigns to educate people on such myths. Moreover, it must be ensured that families of affected children should not be stigmatised by the society. Seema Shet, mother of an autism affected child said, My son is now 8-year-old. Five years ago, he was diagnosed with autism. As per the feedback given by his teachers, we are taking him to a specialist. Until he was 15 months old, he was a normal kid. In Hyderabad we need more centres and specialists for such children. Many centres are just to make money. Also, there are no good schools for these children. A lot of parents are suffering. so, these children should be given admission in all schools, Seema Shet added. VIJAYAWADA: BJP MP G.V.L. Narasimha Rao on Friday demanded in Rajya Sabha that centre probe irregularities in procurement of paddy by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments. In his question to union minister for public distribution system Piyush Goyal, Narasimha Rao further wanted to know whether AP was delaying payments to farmers for paddy procurement by up to three months. In his reply, Goyal said such reports had indeed been received, and the union ministry had asked both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments to investigate the lapses in paddy procurement. The union minister maintained that as per directives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the centre is paying 90 per cent of procurement money in advance to both AP and TS. Goyal assured that his ministry will initiate action if payments are not made to farmers promptly. The BJP MP alleged that both the state governments of AP and TS were hand in glove with scamsters. Hence, asking these governments to probe the lapses will be meaningless. He demanded the centre conduct an independent inquiry into the matter. Narasimha Rao told the union minister that AP government is not paying money to farmers even three months after procuring paddy from them. When questioned, ruling YSR Congress government is alleging that delay in payments to farmers is because centre is not releasing the money in time. The MP warned that BJP will intensify its agitation if farmers are not paid by AP government promptly even after receiving the money from the centre in advance. HYDERABAD: BJP MLA Etala Rajendar on Friday asked Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao to step down from his post if his government was not able to procure paddy produced in Telangana. He said if the state government was broke and did not have funds for such an intervention, he could discuss the financial health of the state with the Central government for finding a way out. Rajendar said all it took to solve the problem of millers purchasing paddy during the current rabi crop for the state government was to offer some subsidy and allow a higher rate for broken rice as sought by millers. It would cost the Telangana government some Rs 600 crore to Rs 1000 crore, he said. The BJP MLA said, The Chief Minister says Telangana is rich. If it is, then finding the money needed to buy the rice from millers should not be a problem, as FCI is willing to purchase milled raw rice from the state. If he finds that the state has no money to ensure paddy grown by state farmers is bought, then he can always admit that the state is actually poor. He said the CM claimed that his government was spending some Rs 30,000 crore for farmers. If this is indeed the case, then he should be able to find the money needed to ensure paddy is procured from farmers. A new bua-bhatija team is emerging. Not in Uttar Pradesh but in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh. Former minister Uma Bharti, who is keen on returning to the political centrestage, is currently warming up to the Bharatiya Janata Partys new recruit Jyotiraditya Scindia. After taking on her old bete noire Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in an attempt to carve a place for herself in state politics, Ms Bharti is on the lookout for allies. She has, therefore, sought out Mr Scindia in the fight for her political revival. Uma Bharti has old ties with the royal family of Gwalior since she was initiated into politics by Rajmata Vijay Raje Scindia. On his part, Jyotiraditya has reciprocated the gesture. On a recent visit to Bhopal for a meeting with the chief minister, Mr Scindia dropped in on Uma Bharti for a lengthy discussion a day before his official appointment. This naturally created a buzz in the states political circles. The bonhomie between the two was evident as the erstwhile Maharaja spoke publicly about his family's ties with Ms Bharti. Uma Bharti also spoke in the same vein. Each time Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears in the attire and headgear of a state he is visiting, it invariably leads to a heated discussion about whether these have any impact on the people of that region. Kumar Ketkar, former journalist and Congress Rajya Sabha member, believes it is difficult to fathom which sartorial choices appeal to people for theres no hard and fast rule about this. He cites Jawaharlal Nehru and Babasaheb Ambedkar in this regard. Nehru, he said, came from a Westernised and privileged background but chose to wear achkan and churidar pyjamas. People accepted him wholeheartedly. Ambedkar, on the other hand, had humble origins and came from a poor disadvantaged family. But after his stint abroad, he opted for the Western suit and tie which was his staple wear. And yet the oppressed castes, whose cause he espoused, revered him. It is tough to explain this paradox, says Mr Ketkar. Emboldened after the Aam Aadmi Partys stupendous performance in Punjab, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has begun preparations on expanding his partys footprint in Himachal Pradesh and Haryana which go to polls next. As a first step, massive advertisements have already started appearing in the newspapers and on television channels in these states. The campaigns focus is on the Kejriwal governments Delhi model and its achievements in the health and education sectors. Media owners are being approached with offers of lucrative deals. Since the AAP is yet to put together a party organisation, it is depending on its ad campaign to attract both workers and voters in the poll-bound states. Meanwhile, Mr Kejriwal is making sure that the new Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann does not overshadow him. It is learnt that Mr Mann has been advised not to hold any press conferences but to publicise his policy decisions on social media or through video messages. Charanjit Singh Channi and Harish Rawat, the two faces of the Congress campaign in Punjab and Uttarakhand, have virtually disappeared after they both lost their seats in the recent election. Mr Channi has not been seen or heard since the election results. He has maintained radio silence over the Centres arbitrary change in service rules for Chandigarh bureaucrats, alleged political violence by AAP workers against Congress workers and the AAP governments recent lathicharge on farmers. Mr Rawat, on the other hand, has been touring different parts of Uttarakhand and taking potshots at his rivals within the Congress, claiming they are blaming him for the defeat to hide their own failures. Mr Rawat has also been inviting newly elected BJP MLAs to his home to congratulate them on their victory while the newly-elected Congress MLAs have to wait for an appointment with Mr Rawat. The formation of the new Yogi Adityanath government has triggered a whisper campaign in Uttar Pradeshs political circles that the second-term chief minister is not his own master and that the Bharatiya Janata Partys central leadership had a major say in picking his ministerial team. Though Delhi agreed to drop its nominees Sidharth Nath Singh and Shrikant Sharma, the second Yogi government has its fair share of ministers who have been labelled as outsiders, be it A.K. Sharma, Jitin Prasad, Brajesh Pathak or Rakesh Sachan. Former Gujarat cadre bureaucrat Sharma is known to be a Modi nominee. The BJP leadership had pushed for his inclusion in the ministry in Yogis first term but he resisted and, finally, as a compromise Mr Sharma was given a position in the partys state unit. Keshav Prasad Mauryas re-appointment as deputy chief minister, despite losing his seat, could not have pleased Yogi Adityanath given their frosty relationship. It is said that Pushkar Singh Dhami was deliberately named Uttarakhand chief minister even though he was defeated in the election, to make way for Mr Mauryas inclusion in the new UP government. A spate of electric scooters catching fire in India, including one made by SoftBank-backed Ola Electric, is sparking safety concerns among some buyers, in an early setback for a nascent sector Prime Minister Narendra Modi is bullish about. India wants electric scooters and motorbikes to make up 80 per cent of total two-wheeler sales by 2030, from about 2 per cent today, and Modi's administration is offering companies billions of dollars in incentives to locally manufacture electric vehicles (EVs.) Sales of electric scooters more than doubled this year, but at least for some prospective buyers, the fires are a reason to think twice. Also Read | Govt waiting for forensic probe into electric vehicle fire incidents: Nitin Gadkari On Saturday, a video of an Ola e-scooter engulfed in flames went viral online, triggering a rare government probe. A scooter from startup Pure EV also caught ablaze and a burning Okinawa Autotech Pvt bike killed two people. The companies say they are investigating the incidents. Three potential buyers told Reuters they were deferring purchase plans, and dozens posted concerns on social media this week with several saying they were reconsidering whether it was the right time to go electric. "I had done a lot of research but I am now reconsidering the decision. I will buy a regular motorcycle," said Praharsh Mahadevia, 28, an engineer from Ahmedabad. Nayeem Quadri, a journalist, is also having "second thoughts due to these repeated instances of fires," he said. Also Read | Electric vehicle makers plan contingencies after e-scooters catch fire: Report The electric mobility push is critical for Modi's climate change and carbon reduction goals. Following the Ola incident, Modi's government told lawmakers in parliament it will take "appropriate action" against the manufacturers once the investigations are complete. Some in government circles say globally vehicles have been recalled by automakers in cases of fires. "This is a sunrise sector and anything negative is bound to have a detrimental impact," said Randheer Singh, director for electric mobility at government think-tank Niti Aayog. "How the situation is tackled will determine how consumer faith and confidence is maintained," he said. 'UP in flames' Video footage of the Ola fire showed one of its popular black-coloured S1 Pro scooters emitting smoke before quickly being engulfed in fire on a busy street in Pune. The Okinawa Autotech incident was more deadly. The company said a man and his daughter died when their e-bike "went up in flames". It cited the police statement which said the likely cause was an electrical short circuit while charging. Jasmeet Khurana, who leads the World Economic Forum's initiative on electric mobility in India and emerging markets, said buyers may forgive one-off incidents given the popularity of the cheap-to-run bikes. But, he said, companies must do more to address the concerns. "The market will continue to grow rapidly but it can grow faster without such incidents," he said. Although most people still use petrol-guzzling motorbikes to travel on crowded Indian roads, E-scooter sales are leading India's clean mobility revolution. Annual sales are expected to cross 1 million units by March 2023, from 150,000 a year ago, industry data showed. Ola Electric, valued at $5 billion, is making 1,000 scooters a day and has plans to manufacture electric cars and battery cells locally. Tarun Mehta, chief executive of Tiger Global-backed e-scooter maker, Ather Energy, told Reuters that despite the fires, his sales had been unaffected. "There is no question of demand derailing. While the incidents are unfortunate, we can't deny the fact that EVs are here to stay and the shift to electric has begun," he said. Check out latest DH videos here The most ambitious effort yet to evacuate civilians from Ukraines devastated port of Mariupol, besieged by Russian forces for weeks, was upended by disruptions Friday, with thousands of residents managing to flee but many more still stuck after the Red Cross judged the exodus too dangerous. A team from the Red Cross that had been en route to Mariupol on Friday had to turn back because it was not guaranteed conditions to ensure safe passage, the organization said in a statement. It said the team would try again Saturday. Sri Lankas former president Maithripala Sirisenas Freedom Party has called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to form an all-party government to tide over the worst economic crisis in the island nation and said that it may leave the alliance if its request was ignored. Sri Lanka is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis in history. With long lines for fuel, cooking gas, essentials in short supply and long hours of power cuts the public has been suffering for weeks. Partys general secretary and state minister Dayasiri Jayasekera said that the Central Committee decided on Friday to urge the formation of a government representing all parties in Parliament. Also Read | Sri Lanka's nosedive into economic chaos holds global lessons The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) with 14 Members of Parliament is the largest group within the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) ruling coalition. Sirisena is the SLPP chair but he is not a minister. We have entrusted the party leaders to make a decision as to whether the SLFP would leave the government if the government ignored our request to form an all-party government, Jayasekera said. The SLPP coalition, an alliance of 11 parties, has been in trouble recently. Two of the 11 party leaders were sacked as Cabinet ministers while another Cabinet member has joined them in criticising the government's handling of the economic crisis. Also Read | Tight security in Colombo as shops open after state of emergency order On Thursday night, a large demonstration opposite the private residence of Rajapaksa led to mass-scale arrests. They held placards calling Gota go home, blaming him for the hardships. In view of the protests, the President declared a nationwide public emergency with immediate effect from April 1. Rajapaksa has defended his government's actions, saying the foreign exchange crisis was not his making and the economic downturn was largely pandemic driven where the islands tourism revenue and inward remittances waned. Watch the latest DH Videos here: EU should stand on the right side of history by upholding autonomy 08:37, April 02, 2022 By China Daily editorial ( China Daily Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen via video link in Beijing, capital of China, April 1, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua] Despite the two sides' divergences on the Ukraine crisis and some other issues, the virtual meeting between President Xi Jinping and European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen late Friday prove they can still focus on their common interests and shared responsibility to the world. This is the first meeting between the Chinese and European Union leaders since the flare-up of the Ukraine conflict. It serves as a good opportunity for the two sides to deepen their mutual understanding and trust on not only the Ukraine issue but also their general bilateral relations. Xi's emphases that the EU should form its own knowledge on China and uphold autonomous China policies, and the bloc should play a leading role in building a balanced, effective and sustainable security mechanism in Europe should have stricken a chord with the two EU leaders, who should know that Xi has hit the nail on the head in pointing out the root cause of the dilemma the bloc is facing at present. The retirement of former German chancellor Angela Merkel, whose tenure saw the EU's effort to seek its status as an independent and responsible power while balancing well its ties with the United States, China and Russia, proves a turning point as after that it started surrendering its hard-earned initiatives in diplomacy, development and security to the US. But what it has reaped from that, over less than three months after Merkel's step-down, should have awaken the EU leaders to the fact in doing so the bloc is quickly downgrading itself into an expendable piece on Washington's geopolitical chessboard. The returns the US paid it back include stalled ties with China, its largest trade partner, major investor and stable partner in addressing global warming, an all-round confrontation with Russia, its largest natural gas provider and major industrial raw material provider, the largest war and humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II. And the US is seemingly at least gaining an upper hand over almost all stakeholders simply by pulling the EU to its sides to disturb the balance. If the EU leaders really know about that, which even outsiders see clearly, they should give a serious thinking to President Xi's warning that the Cold War mentality, something the US has tried to breathe life into and brainwash the European stakeholders with, should not be adopted to construct world and regional security framework, which could only result in politicization and weaponization of economy, finance, technology, trade, energy and food. With nearly 5 million Ukrainian refugees fleeing to the EU Washington only agrees to accept 100,000 of them in principle at least and nearly all of the bloc's natural gas supplies being disrupted the US only agrees to make up for less than 10 percent of the gap the EU leaders must have a first-hand experience of the justification of Xi's warning. China is doing nothing but encouraging the EU to bear a bigger picture in mind and stand on the right side of history. Also, with Xi reassuring them that China's stance on advancing Sino-EU relations remains unchanged, the EU leaders' plausible positive statements on the bloc's readiness to further promoting bilateral exchanges and cooperation on various fronts should be seen as originating from the EU's pressing needs to find back a reliable partner to help pull it out of its current quagmire rather than only symbolic etiquette. Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of the EU. It is also an original aspiration of its founders, if not a painful lessons they have drawn from the Cold War, that the EU should be a united and responsible player in a multi-polar world. But that will not be viable until it achieves its autonomy on the world stage. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan suggested on Saturday that he might not accept a vote to oust him, a move he alleged was being orchestrated by the United States. Opposition parties say Khan has failed to revive an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic or fulfil promises to make his government more transparent and accountable, and have put forward a no-confidence motion due to be voted on on Sunday. "How can I accept the result when the entire process is discredited?" Khan told a select group of foreign journalists at his office. "Democracy functions on moral authority - what moral authority is left after this connivance?" Read | In numbers: Imran Khan's allies, foes in no-trust vote "The move to oust me is blatant interference in domestic politics by the United States," he said, terming it an attempt at "regime change". Khan has already lost his parliamentary majority after key allies quit his coalition government and joined the opposition. Hours before he spoke, the head of the army, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, had said Pakistan wanted to expand its ties with Washington. US President Joe Biden has not called Khan since taking office, but the White House has denied that it is seeking to topple him. Bajwa told a security conference in Islamabad that "we share a long history of excellent and strategic relationship with the United States, which remains our largest export market". He noted that Pakistan had long enjoyed close diplomatic and business relationships with China, but added: "We seek to expand and broaden our ties with both countries without impacting our relations with the other." The US embassy in Islamabad did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Watch latest videos by DH here: Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa said that his country is ready to move forward on Kashmir if India agrees, Dawn reported. "Pakistan continues to believe in using dialogue and diplomacy to resolve all outstanding issues, including the Kashmir dispute and is ready to move forward on this front if India also agrees to do so," he said. He had made similar comments at the Islamabad Security Dialogue last year when he had said it was time for both countries to "bury the past and move forward". Also Read | Pakistan army chief calls for dialogue to resolve all disputes with India Gen Bajwa highlighted the importance of keeping conflict away from the region, he said Pakistan wanted the Sino-India border to be resolved soon through diplomacy and dialogue as well, Dawn reported. "I believe it is time for the political leadership of the region to rise above their emotional and perceptional biases and break the shackles of history to bring peace and prosperity to almost three billion people of the region. "Pakistan recognises that it is the regions and not countries that grow. This is why we believe that peace and stability in our wider region are prerequisites for achieving shared regional prosperity and development. In this regard, our doors are open for all our neighbours," the COAS said. During his speech, Gen Bajwa termed India's accidental launching of a supersonic cruise missile into Pakistan on March 9 a matter of "serious concern", saying "we expect India to provide evidence to assure Pakistan and the world that their weapons are safe and secure". "Unlike other incidents involving strategic weapons systems, this is the first time in history that a supersonic cruise missile from one nuclear-armed nation has landed in another," he said. The incident had raised "serious concerns" about India's ability to manage and operate high-end weapons systems, Gen Bajwa said, adding that the neighbouring country's "indifferent attitude in not informing Pakistan immediately about the inadvertent launch" was equally concerning, Dawn reported. Check out latest DH videos here In a historic move to boost connectivity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba on Saturday inaugurated the first broad-gauge passenger railway service connecting Bihar's Jayanagar with Nepal's Kurtha region. The two prime ministers virtually flagged off the train service after holding extensive talks that focused on significantly expanding cooperation in a range of key areas including trade, investment, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges. Deuba arrived in New Delhi on Friday in his first bilateral visit abroad after becoming prime minister for the fifth time in July 2021. The Jayanagar-Kurtha section is part of the Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas rail link and the project is being implemented with grant assistance of Rs 548 crore from India. "The introduction of Jayanagar-Kurtha rail line is a part of this. Such schemes will make great contribution to smooth, hassle-free exchange between the people of the two countries," Prime Minister Modi said in his media statement. Following the talks between Modi and Deuba, the two sides also inked an agreement on enhancing technical cooperation in the railway sector. The Jaynagar-Kurtha section is 35 km long 3 km of which lies in Bihar, while the rest is in Nepal. The section consists of eight stations namely Jaynagar in India, Inarwa (border station), Khajuri, Mahinathpur, Baidehi, Parwaha, Janakpur and Kurtha. It is the first broad-gauge passenger rail link between the two countries, opening an entirely new dimension for cross-border connectivity. Till 2014, this was an existing rail service on a metre-gauge rail link between Jaynagar and Janakpur. A train having a capacity of around1,000 passengers is proposed to be run at the average speed of 40 km per hour for the inaugural run and will take one hour to reach Janakpur/ Kurtha, officials said. The train will be operated by Nepal Railway Company (NRC), with the assistance of Konkan Railway Corporation Limited and the IRCON or Indian Railway Construction Limited. In his remarks, Modi said India has been a firm partner in the journey of peace, progress and development of Nepal and will always remain so. "The friendship of India and Nepal, the relationships of our people, such an example is not seen anywhere else in the world. Our civilization, our culture, the threads of our exchanges; are connected since ancient times," Modi said. Check out latest DH videos here Communal clashes broke out in Rajasthan's Karauli on Saturday evening after stones were pelted at a motorcycle rally taken out to celebrate the Hindu new year, prompting authorities to clamp curfew, suspend the internet and deploy 600 police personnel. Around two dozen people were injured in the violence while 30 people were detained, Additional Director General of Police ( Law and Order) Hawa Singh Ghumariya said, adding the situation is under control. The rally to mark Nav Samvatsar was passing through a Muslim-dominated area when some people pelted stones. The violence escalated and a few shops and a bike were burnt. Several others were damaged, the police said. The police control room of Karauli initially said that over 35 persons were injured. The ADG said many of the injured were discharged after primary treatment while around 10 were admitted to a local hospital and one was referred to SMS hospital in Jaipur in critical condition. Mobile internet has also been suspended in Karauli, which is 170 km from state capital Jaipur. Governor Kalraj Mishra and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot spoke to Director General of Police (DGP) M L Lather and appealed to the public to maintain peace. Officials said 600 policemen, including 50 officers of the ranks of deputy superintendent of police and inspector, have been deployed and three IPS officers have been sent from Jaipur to Karauli. Karauli collector Rajendra Singh Shekhawat said that curfew has been imposed in the entire city. ADG Hawa Singh Ghumariya said that some shops were set on fire. The fire has been brought under control by fire tenders. ADG Sanjib Kumar, IG Bharat Lal Meena, DIG (Crime branch) Jaipur Rahul Prakash and (DCP) Mridul Kachawa have been sent to Karauli, he said. Gehlot told reporters in Barmer that he had directed the DGP to take strict action against the culprits. Some miscreants happen to be there...they can be in any religion and anywhere and they should be avoided because they are not harmed, common man is harmed. They are not hurt, common man is hurt, he said. Gehlot said that Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh and all other communities need to contribute and play their constructive role in building an environment of peace and development in the state. BJP state president Satish Poonia held the Congress government responsible for the incident. Congress governments appeasement policy is responsible for it. No arrest has been made so far. It was a planned attack on the bike rally which was organised on Hindu new year, Poonia alleged. Former chief minister and BJP leader Vasundhara Raje also condemned the incident and said the "hate mentality" cannot be allowed to flourish in Rajasthan. Watch latest videos by DH here: Pakistan Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, while addressing the Islamabad Security Dialogue, called for dialogue to resolve all disputes with India. Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the dialogue on Friday. The conference brought together Pakistani and international policy experts to discuss emerging challenges in international security under the theme 'Comprehensive Security: Reimagining International Cooperation.' The Islamabad Security Dialogue is hosting 17 international speakers from the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Russia, European Union, Japan, the Philippines and others. Acknowledging the efforts of the National Security Division for organising the second security dialogue, COAS Gen Bajwa said: "I believe today more than ever we need to inculcate and promote such spaces for intellectual debate and discourse where people from around the world come together to share their ideas about the future of their country and world at large." Also Read Pakistan Prime Ministers: A history fraught with uncertainty He was of the view that the spaces like this hold special importance where great individuals can identify the need for global cooperation rather than confrontation. Regarding the unprecedented challenges faced around the world, he said that the resurgence of inter-state conflicts amid shared global challenges of poverty, climate change, terrorism, cyber intrusion and scarcity of resources poses profound questions for the international system. "The international community's collective security rests in our ability to integrate our shared goals of global prosperity to an equitable international system resisting the external pressures. "Pakistan, as a country located at the crossroads of economic and strategic confronts, is navigating these shared challenges in our immediate region and through our partnership in the international community," Geo News quoted him as saying. Watch the latest DH Videos here: The mass flight of refugees from Ukraine has created a humanitarian crisis that dwarfs anything Europe has seen since World War II. More than 4 million people have poured into neighbouring countries, and as long as Russias savage war continues, millions more will flee. Already, the flow of refugees from Ukraine is far greater than the number from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq who fled to Europe in 2015, upending European politics. Europes initial reaction to the flight from Ukraine has been an impressive show of solidarity, given how suddenly the crisis exploded. Refugees, most of whom are women and children, because most men are required to stay behind in Ukraine to fight, have been welcomed and housed even as their numbers swell. But the scale of this crisis is staggering, and it is still in its early stages. Coping with it will demand more coordination, imagination, funds and determination both within Europe and by the United States and allies elsewhere. Existing refugee centers should receive far more assistance, and ways need to be found to encourage refugees to move on to countries that have more capacity to host them. Preparations should also be made now to help Ukrainians return home, should a lasting peace eventually take hold. Read | Ukraine crisis: PM Modi conveys to Lavrov India's readiness to contribute to peace efforts Opening the doors wide to European refugees raises an inevitable comparison to the treatment of refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and other countries. About 16,000 people remain in refugee camps in Greece, and many of them are going hungry because they lack the same rights that are being guaranteed to Ukrainians. But the answer to a double standard cannot be to close the doors to Ukrainians. To put it in perspective, close to 1 million Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis crossed the Mediterranean Sea to seek refuge in Europe in one year, 2015. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, nearly 1 million people have left Ukraine every week. Barring a peace agreement, Russia will keep bombarding civilian infrastructure. Ukraine will keep fighting for its survival. Ten million people roughly a quarter of the population of Ukraine could end up leaving the country in the coming months. Cities in Poland, Moldova and Romania have been transformed, putting pressure on schools, housing, hospitals and government assistance programs. Warsaw, a city of about 1.6 million people, is now hosting more than 300,000 Ukrainian refugees, many of whom are sleeping in hastily set up welcome centers. Overcrowded shelters for women and children are targets for human trafficking and criminal exploitation. Refugees are not a design flaw of Vladimir Putins war in Ukraine. Indiscriminate bombing and shelling of civilian infrastructure is part of a broader strategy to demoralize the civilian population and drive residents into neighbouring countries, where their presence can be destabilizing. This became clear during last years episode on the Belarus-Poland border, after Alexander Lukashenko, the autocratic ruler of Belarus, apparently manufactured a crisis by encouraging migrants to cross into Poland. Over time, resentment of Ukrainian refugees may grow. People who started off welcoming the refugees could turn against them, putting pressure on their governments to force Ukraine to end the war on Russias terms. Easing this pressure, by supporting the countries that are hosting refugees, makes this tactic of trying to weaponize refugees less effective. The Council of the European Union has already taken an important step by passing a directive that grants temporary protected status to Ukrainian nationals and certain legal permanent residents of Ukraine for up to one year. Most Ukrainians already had the right to travel without visas to European Union countries for 90 days. The new measure gives them the right to live, work and attend school in EU countries without having to go through the official process of seeking asylum. Read | Putin's popularity up since Ukraine conflict began: Poll But far more needs to be done to assist the places where refugees are clustered, and to help refugees find their way out of overcrowded welcome centers. Britains Homes for Ukraine program, which pays families and organizations to take in refugees, has resulted in the issuing of 2,700 visas so far, while Finland has offered spots in universities to 2,000 Ukrainians. These ad hoc efforts are important but insufficient given the millions of people who are affected. The European Union has established a platform to match offers of help with those in need. Seven countries, including Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, have pledged to take in some 15,000 of the Ukrainians now in Moldova. But thats a small fraction of the estimated 98,000 Ukrainians in Moldova, many of whom are reluctant to leave because a language they know, Russian, is spoken there. The European Union has also identified roughly 17 billion euros in funds for pandemic recovery and programs to promote social and economic cohesion that could be immediately spent on urgent needs, including housing, education, health care and child care. An EU proposal to address the current crisis would distribute more of those funds to countries hosting large numbers of refugees. Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia would receive 45% more funding than they would have gotten. Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Estonia member states that have received the highest number of Ukrainians in proportion to their national populations would get that increase as well. Efforts to humanely accommodate those displaced by the war need not be confined to Europe. Canada, which is home to a large Ukrainian population, has agreed to welcome an unlimited number of people fleeing the war to stay for at least two years. Even Japan, which has long been reluctant to take in refugees, has agreed to accept Ukrainians. President Joe Bidens announcement that the United States would accept up to 100,000 is a good start, but the country can do more, especially when public support for welcoming Ukrainian refugees is strong. The United States has been a key player in Ukraine over the years, from encouraging Ukrainians to stand up to Russia to persuading Ukrainians to agree to the removal of nuclear weapons from their territory after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a decision that many Ukrainians deeply regret today. As the world enters a period of greater instability, its leaders can no longer ignore the need for a coordinated and humane response to all of those fleeing war and other desperate circumstances. Check out the latest DH videos here: After much protest and procrastination, the Nepali parliament has finally ratified the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)-Nepal Compact. This will pave the way for opening up the country to a $500-million grant from the United States for electricity transmission and road development projects. Nepal and the US had signed the MCC agreement in 2017. Concerns over sovereignty, pressure from China, and domestic politics contributed to the five-year delay in ratifying it. The pacts Section 7.1, for instance, says the agreement will prevail over Nepals domestic laws, prompting critics to claim that that is a violation of Nepals sovereignty. There were also concerns in Nepal that the US aid is part of its Indo-Pacific strategy to contain China. As a neighbour of China and one that has increasingly close ties with Beijing, Nepal was apprehensive that the MCC would draw it into Americas fight against China. Meanwhile, China, whose presence and influence in Nepal has mounted dramatically in recent years not only is Nepal a member of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, but also Chinese envoys and officials have played a role in the formation and collapse of governments is said to have pressed politicians and parties to resist the MCC. Nepals parties have also been opposing ratification not on any issues of principle but to gain leverage or simply to bring down the government. Mass protests against the MCC, reportedly instigated by politicians close to China, have also roiled the country. Ratification of the MCC compact has therefore not come easily. Some of Nepals apprehensions have been addressed. A declaration attached to the MCC agreement that was ratified by parliament clarifies that the grant is not part of the Indo-Pacific strategy. It also clearly states that Nepals Constitution will prevail over the grants provisions. The funding will enable Nepal to address two major obstacles to economic growth in the Himalayan country inadequate electricity and poor road transport connectivity. This is therefore an opportunity for Nepal to boost its economy. The MCC is a five-year programme. If the grant funds are unspent, they will have to be returned. Nepal must make full use of the funds and meet project deadlines. The clock has started ticking. Nepal will have to contend with cost escalations in the projects due to the inordinate delay in ratifying the compact. The pact is of benefit to India, too. In addition to pushing back against BRI and the clout it has provided China in Nepal, MCC-built infrastructure will facilitate trade with India. New Delhi must support implementation of the MCC. Church organs across Northern Ireland will resound in a simultaneous series of free lunchtime recitals to celebrate 10 years of the Northern Ireland International Organ Competition (NIIOC). The event, set to take place on Tuesday April 5 at 1.15 pm, will see all ten of the competition's first prize winners, from across the globe pull out the stops under the banner Northern Ireland Resounds." Amongst the 10 recitals, 2017 winner, Sebastian Heindl, will play at Christ Church in Derry with other winners playing in a range of venues across the country. Sebastian, originally from Germany, received his fundamental musical education in Leipzigs famous St. Thomas Boys Choir and continued his studies at Leipzig conservatory. After earning numerous competition prizes he has developed a busy performing schedule that takes him frequently to precious historical instruments and illustrious concert venues such as the Philharmonie, Berlin. The recitals are dedicated to the memory of organ builder, the late David McElderry, former MD of the Wells-Kennedy Partnership, who lovingly maintained the organs featured in the performances. Richard Yarr, Chair of NIIOC said: Over the past 10 years the Competition has encouraged many young local and international performers and given them a platform to perform and a great start to their professional careers. "Northern Ireland Resounds is a unique opportunity to hear these young organ stars in churches on Tuesday across Northern Ireland on Tuesday April 6 at 1.15pm. "We hope that as many people as possible will come to enjoy some wonderful playing on some wonderful instruments. Theres also the chance to hear all of the performers at a special Gala Recital introduced by Father Eugene OHagan, of the singing group The Priests, in Belfast Cathedral on April 6 at 7.30pm. Tickets for the Belfast Gala Recital cost 10 (students 5) and will be bookable through the competition website www.niioc.com A gala recital will also take place in Southwark Cathedral on Monday 28 March at 7.30pm. Tickets cost 10 (students 5) and will be bookable through the competition website www.niioc.com More information can be found on the NIIOC website: www.niioc.com Important information for people seeking to travel to Ireland from Ukraine News Visa exemption for Ukrainian nationals The Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), Micheal Martin TD, announced on 24 February that Ireland would waive all visa requirements for Ukrainian nationals for travel to Ireland. Ukrainian nationals planning to travel to Ireland can do so without a visa. This applies to all Ukrainian nationals, irrespective of their country of departure, i.e. it applies in full to travel from Finland to Ireland. Travel documents In order to facilitate those who have left Ukraine since the outbreak of the conflict, Ireland is taking a practical and humane approach to travel documents, while maintaining appropriate immigration and security controls. Carriers have been asked to accept official identity documents for Ukrainian nationals in lieu of a national passport: for example, national identity cards, birth certificates, internal passports, or expired passports. Al immigration services and airlines must, however, be satisfied of the identity of a person arriving at a border. In addition, the Irish immigration authorities have requested that no one should be denied boarding without first contacting the immigration authorities in Ireland. Visa requirements for non-Ukrainian nationals who have left Ukraine Irelands visa waiver applies only to Ukrainian nationals. All other non-EEA nationals who are ordinarily subject to a visa requirement still need to apply for a visa, even if travelling from Ukraine or travelling with a Ukrainian national. You should not book your travel until you have a visa. You can find out if you need a visa to enter Ireland by consulting the list of visa-required nationalities here. Visas for those who have left Ukraine will be granted only to immediate family members of Ukrainian nationals or Irish citizens. (De facto partners are equivalent to spouses for the definition of 'immediate family' in this context, but will be asked to provide evidence of their partnership.) If you fall into this category, you should apply online here. When you complete your application, you should select either a single-entry D Join Family visa or a D Other visa. When you have completed your online application, you should submit the following documents to the Embassy, either in person or by courier or registered post: Your passport Two (2) passport photographs Your application summary sheet, signed and dated Payment of 60 Proof of your immediate family relation to a Ukrainian national (birth certificates, marriage certificate) Proof of residence in Ukraine (Ukrainian residency card, any other proof of residency, e.g. bank statements, utility bills) Proof that you have left Ukraine in the period since the outbreak of the conflict (if your passport has exit stamps from Ukraine, this is sufficient) We are, of course, conscious of the extreme circumstances applicants who have fled Ukraine have left behind, and we will take a humane and pragmatic approach to these documentary requirements. The Embassy nevertheless reserves the right to request additional documentation if necessary to verify that individuals are eligible for protection under the EU Temporary Protection Directive. While all applications from Ukrainian residents are being treated as urgent, applicants should nevertheless be aware that all visa applications require a minimum of 2-7 working days. When your visa is granted, we will affix it to a page in your passport and return this to you. Previous Item | Where to Watch / Stream Freunde sind mehr Online Freunde sind mehr is not available on any OTT Platform right now. Advertisements About Freunde sind mehr Freunde sind mehr was released on Apr 03, 2022 . This show is available in de language. Freunde sind mehr is available in genre. Season and Episode Details Disclaimer: All content and media has been sourced from original content streaming platforms, such as Disney Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc. Digit Binge is an aggregator of content and does not claim any rights on the content. The copyrights of all the content belongs to their respective original owners and streaming service providers. All content has been linked to respective service provider platforms.This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by Advertisements Cyber security and health were on the agenda at the latest Conference on the Future of Europe in Strasbourg at the weekend, which was attended by Dundalk TD Ruairi O Murchu. The Sinn Fein deputy, who is a member of the Oireachtas EU Affairs Committee said that outside expert witnesses should be brought in on both matters so that working groups are better informed about these issues and policies are better formed. On the matter of cyber and hybrid security, Deputy O Murchu said there was a recognition of the threat to cyber security from AI (Artificial Intelligence) and there should be a greater focus on social media companies. He said he welcomed the conferences holistic view of health across the union, but said drugs, and their impact on communities, also should be examined. Deputy O Murchu said: We are all aware of drug addiction and the pandemic of crime, violence and intimidation that it brings to our communities. "I think an EU response to the issue is necessary. In relation to an EU right to health, we have shown we can co-operate but we will have to put our money where our mouths are and that does mean we will have to look at fiscal constraints. "If we are talking about health in a holistic sense, I think we are going to have to be imaginative. In the case of Ireland, we want to facilitate and play our part in the refugee crisis. We have a housing crisis, so we need to be imaginative and that means financially as well. Energy and fuel need to be added to the health agenda, he said: "There needs to be mitigations at a European level. We need to look at the ability to reduce the VAT rate and also, to look at block buys." He also pointed out to conference chairperson Commissioner Maros Sefcovic that almost everyone at the conference would need an electronic visa to travel from South to North in Ireland, if the British government gets its way which highlights the ongoing madness of Brexit, the solution to which is Irish unity. Louth and Meath Education and Training Board (ETB) is well positioned to meet the skills demands of the green economy. Thats according to Sadie Ward McDermott, Director of Further Education and Training in Louth and Meath ETB, speaking following the inaugural FET Green Skills Summit, hosted by SOLAS and Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI). The Summit was opened by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD, and took place in Wexford Councils County Hall last week. There are currently over 50 green skills programmes being delivered by the 16 ETBs across Ireland, with a particular focus on construction, agriculture and technology sectors. Commenting on their focus on green skills, Director of Further Education & Training in Louth & Meath ETB Sadie Ward McDermott stated: We in Louth & Meath Education & Training Board are well positioned to meet the skills demands of the green economy and support our learners and trainees to access real career opportunities in this area." Programmes include: Prosper Beechmount/Watergate Street - Recycled Art Environmental Science Ore University Environmental Science Skills for the Future Speaking about the Green Skills Summit, Andrew Brownlee, CEO of SOLAS, said: We planned the Summit to take a proactive look at the skills needs of industry and to explore how best further education and training can meet these needs. The Climate Action Plan published in 2021 has set ambitious targets for the decarbonisation of our economy and the transition to this new economy will require significant levels of skills across the country in a huge variety of sectors to come to fruition. At the Summit, we heard some great insights on how the further education and training sector can expand on the work we are already doing to equip people across Ireland with the right skills to contribute to the transition to a greener economy. Fiona Maloney, Director of Further Education and Training, ETBI added: Irelands Education and Training Boards are ideally positioned to meet the skills demands of the green economy. We have over 50 green skills programmes delivered across our sector and NZEB Training Centres of Excellence in Waterford & Wexford and Laois & Offaly ETBs, with three more to follow in Limerick & Clare, Cork, and Mayo, Sligo & Leitrim ETBs. We will work closely with our SOLAS colleagues to support the implementation of the Green Skills for FET 2021-2030 Roadmap, to ensure that our learners and trainees have the appropriate skills to both power Irelands green economy and access career opportunities. A CITY councillor has called for a park ranger to be appointed to patrol Glen River Park after a gorse blaze came close to houses on Thursday. The latest in a series of fires in recent weeks between the Ballyvolane and Glen areas was dealt with by Cork City Fire Brigade, who warned that the lighting of fires in the park could have dire consequences for local residents. Green Party councillor Oliver Moran, who lives in the area, said the local suspicion is that the fires in Glen River Park are being set deliberately. If the fires are set maliciously, thats not a minor issue of antisocial behaviour, he said. A number of fires this week and last weekend have burned the scrubland overlooking the park. Cork City Fire Brigade third officer Gerard Ryan told The Echo that this has become almost a regular event. The kids lighting fires dont understand that its only by the grace of God if the wind is in the right direction, because on a dry day a fire can spread very fast, and it can threaten houses on the periphery too." Mr Moran said he visited the park during the week to view the damage caused by the fires, and he described it as large-scale destruction of one of the citys key green and blue infrastructure assets, which he noted was located right next to peoples homes. It also highlights the need for the city to assign a park ranger to supervise the Glen River Park, he said. The park became a haven during the pandemic and began to enjoy the citywide fame it deserves, and now, as we emerge from the pandemic, we need a constant presence in the park to ensure incidents like this dont become the norm again. Mr Ryan condemned the antisocial behaviour, and has appealed for public vigilance. It does look fairly bleak at the moment from the burning, but its nearly an annual occurrence at this stage, and its down to just pure antisocial behaviour, said Mr Ryan. Last weekend we were in the Glen Park numerous times, mainly on the side of the North Ring Road, but on the Sunday we had fires in the valley too, top and bottom, we had two units battling a fire there for nearly an hour. He said they had similarly battled a fire for an hour last Saturday, and on March 24 there had been two incidents in the park. Its happening year-on-year in the Glen, unfortunately, and the problem is that those ferns and bushes are brittle-dry at this time of the year, he said. A Garda spokesperson said: The area surrounding the Glen River Park is a vast wasteland with many areas of wild gorse, it is surrounded by high-density urban housing. Local gardai will continue to conduct ongoing mountain bike and foot patrols throughout the spring and summer months. Intensifying their drive, Hindu outfits on Saturday too got down on the streets appealing to the Hindus to use only 'jhatka meat'. (PTI/Representational Image) Bengaluru: Five Bajrang Dal activists were arrested in Shivamogga district in Karnataka for allegedly attacking a Muslim trader for selling halal meat, even as the 'Boycott halal products' campaign by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal intensified in the state. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai appealed to people to celebrate Hindu new year Ugadi and 'Hosa Tadaku' festivals peacefully without disturbing law and order. During Hosa Tadaku, which is celebrated a day after Ugadi, Hindus who prefer non-vegetarian food, cook meat and chicken. The right wing activists have appealed to the Hindus not to buy halal meat as it is already offered to Allah by the Muslims and offering such 'stale meal' would be a disrespect to Hindu Gods and Goddesses. On Thursday, two incidents were reported in Bhadrawati town one in Hosamane Police Station limits and another in old town police station limits, Shivamogga Superintendent of Police B M Lakshmi Prasad told reporters on Friday. In Hosamane police station limits, five people went to the shop and demanded non-halal meat. When it was not provided, the shop was shut. They assaulted one boy in the shop on his head with their hands, he added. Similarly, a case was registered in old town police station where some people went to Janata Hotel and told the owner not to sell halal meat. When a customer questioned, he was assaulted, the officer said. "In both the cases, the same accused have been named. A case has been registered against them and they have been arrested. They are Vadivelu, Srikanth, Krishna, Sawai Singh and Gunda," Prasad said. In Bengaluru, the Chief Minister said he has given directions to the district authorities. "I have asked all the deputy commissioners and superintendents of police of all the districts that people have to celebrate their festivals without disturbing the law and order. Directions given should be followed strictly," Bommai told reporters. He also said peace meetings have been convened with all the people concerned where they were told to ensure peaceful celebration of the festival. Intensifying their drive, Hindu outfits on Saturday too got down on the streets appealing to the Hindus to use only 'jhatka meat', which means killing any animal by stunning it so that the sacrificed animal does not undergo the much sufferings. The campaigners have tied up with Hindu meat vendors and have put up signboards of '100% jhatka certified' on the outlets. Hindu activists have even offered 10 per cent concession on the purchase of meat of Rs 200 and above and free home delivery within eight kms of the outlet. The activists stood outside temples with posters and banners offering Ugadi prasad and appealing to them not to use any halal product especially during 'Hosa Tadaku'. Meanwhile, Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment Minister Shashikala Jolle said whatever the Hindu outfits are doing is right. "The issue of halal and non-halal is very much prevalent in coastal Karnataka if not in other parts of the state. I feel that whatever our pro-Hindu outfits are doing appears right. They are spreading awareness about the 'jhatka cut' of the animal because it has to be offered to God. I am in favour of these organisations," Jolle told reporters. Contradictions between ideology and symbolism were quite evident in the recent state elections. As the dust settles around the commotion of opinions about the recently concluded assembly elections in five states in India, the time is ripe for taking stock of the motifs and messages that were communicated to the public by certain political parties. In every election, one notices a huge array or spectrum of symbols, slogans, and messages that are aimed to garner public support and sympathy. Certain symbols used during the time of the elections are etched in public memory for a longer time span than what the political leaders may have intended themselves. For such is the characteristic nature of political communication during the time of electionsthe promises inherent in the persuasive approach of the political parties communicative symbolism outlive their intended use-by date, as it were. Even against the fervent intentions of the politicians, public memory tends to be sharp enough to remember the promises made during the exceptional time of the elections, where the balance of power temporarily shifts in favour of the voters. There is a system of accountability built into the very structure of representative democracies where political parties are hesitant to take decisions that are likely to be harmful to the general public welfare at the time of elections. At the same time, it is also true that such a system of accountability appears to be dysfunctional after the election time has passed, when the ruling parties begin to feel a sense of firmness and solidity in their control of political power for the foreseeable future. . This question has cropped up in the context of the strong sense of generation and its complete absence in a large section of people. There are three vantage points from which this question can be approachedutilitarian, existential or bare material, and normative. The normative is a bit idealistic, which has a total sense of the good life that should be experienced by people from every succeeding generation, irrespective of tensions. In such a sense, it is the great human values such as maitree, or unconditional friendship and peace, and a sense of dignity for all that is transformed from one generation to another. There is no competition to achieve this normative goal. It eschews the generational shift in terms of the bad vices such as hatred, enmity, and violence. The present electoral politics does not provide any favourable context to make any minimum advance towards achieving this goal. So, this question gets superseded by the utilitarian conception of a generation in which the parameter for indexing human progress is in terms of measuring happiness. The editorial in the current issue of Economic & Political Weekly quite convincingly covers this point. Such a conception of happiness concerns the sections of the population who perhaps are more fortunate in terms of possessing the required resources to instantiate this conception by providing evidence from consumerism. This could be considered as an enlightened sense of consumerism that has been rendered relevant even for the succeeding generations. Such a sense of happiness does have a transformative value in the sense that they want to secure happiness for several generations to come. Interestingly, one often keeps hearing that certain families from the fortunate layer of society have amassed so much wealth and property that it would be enough for the consumerist indulgence of several generations. Thus, there is a concrete notion of generation, and it is based on procreation, material production, and accumulation of assets. They define generation in terms of acquiring access into different opportunity fields. This could be called as the modernist conception of generation where, in a generic sense, the more fortunate acquire these material, intellectual capacities to appear in different fields of progress and development. This conception of generation, of course, is based on the ideal inequality produced through the market-based competition. Ironically, this conception has been dished out as the most authentic concept of generation. This, however, raises a question for the deprived section of the population. Cultural narratives of Calcutta (Kolkata) are codified through cinema and literature, othering and invisibilising other parts of Bengal. In my childhood, a distant cousin visited Calcutta (now Kolkata) for the holidays. When he returned to the village, all of us primary schoolgoers rained questions on him: How was Calcutta? What did you see in the city? To which he replied, I saw Mithun (Chakraborty) and (Amitabh) Bachchan roaming around the city on a bike. We were pleased with his answer as if it confirmed our imagined goings-on in the city. When I was in high school, a teacher who had studied at the Presidency College in the city told us the story of his first day in the college, shocking us with details of how a female classmate asked for the lighter to light her cigarette just as he had finished lighting his own. The classmate lit her cigarette and returned the lighter with a thanks, but none of this had registered in our shocked storytellers mind, who snapped back into reality only when his cigarette finished burning between his two fingers. Around the same time, we had some visitors to our village from Calcutta, one of whom had asked the other, after a visit to a paddy field, whether paddy stems were used for making cots! In our schoolbooks, we read completely opposite and extreme descriptions of villages and cities, pitting them against each otherthe village as all that is good with the world, and the city as the dark underbelly of humanity. Bengali movies and songs too, with an overemphasis on Calcutta as a stand-in for Bengal, have led to Calcuttans claiming and proclaiming all Calcuttan identity as Bengali, othering the rest of Bengali culture. Oftentimes, this has led to people from other parts of Bengal coming to the city with a sense of fear and distrust, believing that the city does not belong to them and is owned solely by urban Bengalis of a higher class. As a result, when I first came to Calcutta in 2000, I was very afraid of the city. I felt that I was an outsider to this great, scary, alienating city that was beyond my grasp. I had similar feelings of foreboding and uncertainty when I arrived at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus of Mumbai and the New Delhi railway station for the first time. This was because of the image of these big cities as intimidating, evil, unfamiliar, and alienating, perpetuated by Hindi cinema as well as the administrative/political importance these cities held in our history, taught in schools and colleges. But I never had such feelings for any of the south Indian cities because of their absence from our cultural imagination. None of the films we watched in our childhoodwith our limited knowledge of Bengali and Hindi cinemarepresented south Indian cities in the way Mumbai and Delhi were represented. Most of our exposure to south Indian cities was through school history books, which portrayed them somewhat one dimensionally, as places of rich cultural heritage. Russia accused Ukraine on Friday of carrying out an airstrike against a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, which it says could jeopardize peace talks with Kyiv. The Russian army has been sowing destruction, death and violence in Ukraine: 4,500 destroyed residential buildings, more than 500 destroyed educational institutions, 261 healthcare, and thousands of crimes against civilians. Commentary From Crisis Management Expert Edward Segal, Bestselling Author of the Award- Winning Book "Crisis Ahead: 101 Ways to Prepare for and Bounce Back from Disasters, Scandals, and Other Emergencies " (Nicholas Brealey) As important as it is for companies to explain the circumstances or reasons that led to a crisis, it is just as important to have others come to their defense or provide their perspective when it is appropriate to do so. Authorities, experts and observers who speak up on behalf of or defend a company that is having a crisis can help combat concerns or criticisms about the organization or its handling of the situation. That certainly appears to be the case in last week's deadly crash of a Boeing 737-800 passenger plane in south China. Voicing Confidence The Washington Post reported that, "As search teams continued gathering wreckage and remains following Monday's crash of a China Eastern flight, the outgoing chief of the Federal Aviation Administration voiced confidence Friday in the type of Boeing plane that went down and in the ability of the international aviation community to learn what went wrong." "FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, a retired airline pilot and Trump appointee who is stepping down next week, pointed to the strong safety record of Boeing's Next Generation fleet of 737 passenger planes in a television interview. "The 737-800 that crashed in southern China's Guangxi province 'is one of the safest aircraft ever produced in commercial operation. It's one of the most widely used aircraft around the world. By all indications, this was an airworthy aircraft,' Dickson said on CNBC's Squawk Box. 'But we'll have to go where the facts take us.'" "Asked about skepticism that Chinese authorities will allow a transparent review of what happened, Dickson said, 'I'm confident we'll get to the root cause of the crash.'" The FAA did not immediately respond to a request to comment on why Dickson defended the safety record of the 737-800 during the CNBC interview. Statements From Boeing According to the BBC, "Boeing's chief executive David Calhoun said: "We have been in close communication with our customer and regulatory authorities since the accident, and have offered the full support of our technical experts to the investigation led by the Civil Aviation Administration of China." "He added that the company would do 'everything we can to support our customer and the accident investigation during this difficult time, guided by our commitment to safety, transparency, and integrity at every step.'" On Boeing's website, the company said, "We extend our deepest condolences for the loss of those on board China Eastern Airlines Flight MU 5735. Our thoughts and prayers are with the passengers and crew, their families and all those affected by this accident. "Boeing will continue to support our airline customers during this difficult time. In addition, a Boeing technical team is supporting the NTSB and the Civil Aviation Administration of China who will lead the investigation." Better Safe Than Sorry China Eastern Airlines quickly decided to ground hundreds of the aircraft that are in their fleet. CNN reported that, "The airline and its subsidiaries have temporarily grounded 223 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, airline spokesperson Liu Xiaodong said in a press conference on Thursday. The same type of plane was involved in the crash. "The grounded aircraft are undergoing safety inspection and maintenance to ensure that they are safe to fly, Liu said. The airline launched a sweeping safety overhaul after the crash, he added." Forbes reported that, "The jet is one of the most popular aircraft in the sky and has a good safety record. Its successor, Boeing's beleaguered 737 MAX, has only recently been allowed back into service in China after it was grounded there for three yearsand by regulators worldwide for more than a yearafter two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia which killed 189 and 157." No Quick Or Easy Answers By their very nature, some crises can take longer to investigate than others. Forbes wrote, "Generally speaking, airplane crash investigations tend to take a long time. "Indeed, the cause may not be determined for 12 to 18 months after the accident," according to the website of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the independent agency that investigates civil aviation incidents within the U.S." "If investigators recover [a] second black box, the public will still wait many months for answers. "The industry does not like to be a talking head and risk coming to unfair conclusions on either behalf of the aircraft or the crew," according to Mark Baier, CEO of AviationManuals, a leading provider of aviation development manual services and safety management system software. Learning From History He said, "We ought to learn from history. The initial reactions to the 737 Max accidents were to say that Indonesia had a poor safety record and to try to denigrate the pilots in Ethiopia, prior to us all realizing that it was actually an aircraft issue and not a pilot issue." Advice For Business Leaders As a crisis unfolds at your company or organization, do not wait to reach out to others who can come to your defense about different aspects of the crisis or your management of the situation. The authorities, experts or observers should have relevant knowledge, expertise or experience relative to the nature of the crisis. Ask them to issue appropriate statements to news organizations and on social media. Do not assume that news outlets will seek them out on their own. The sooner they speak up, the better. Boeing's Latest Crisis The crash of the 737-800 is the latest crisis or controversy to hit Boeing. Allegations Of Fraud In October, CNN reported that a federal grand jury indicted a former key executive of Boeing for fraud. They alleged, "he deceived the Federal Aviation Administration while it was first certifying the 737 Max jet that would go on to have two fatal crashes caused by design flaws." "The charges were not against a top executive. Instead, they were against Mark Forkner, 49, who was the chief technical pilot for Boeing during the certification process for the jet and is accused of deceiving the FAA during that process in 2016 and 2017." Update: Forbes reported yesterday that, "... his trial ended swiftly after less than four days. With just one defense witness testifying, the jury found Forkner not guilty less than two hours after the two sides rested their cases on Wednesday in Fort Worth, Texas." Potential Electrical Issues Last April, Boeing faced another crisis involving its 737 MAX. As reported by Forbes, the airline manufacturer has recommended that a potential electrical issue in a specific group of 737 MAX airplanes be addressed before they fly again. Update: A month later, Boeing said it expected to resume deliveries of 737 Max planes "within the week" after federal officials approved a fix for an electrical problem while U.S. airlines are starting repairs on dozens of grounded jets. The Federal Aviation Administration approved the repairs for the manufacturing flaw, which grounded more than 100 planes in service last month." Engine Explosion In February 2021, an engine on a United 777 exploded over Denver, raining debris on a neighborhood below. Update: Earlier this month, Newsweek reported that "the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is moving ahead with new regulations intended to prevent engines on some Boeing 777 planes from breaking and potentially catching on fire midair." Overcoming Stigma In November 2020, I reported that "the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to lift its ban on Boeing's 737 MAX marks the end of one chapter of this crisis for the airplane manufacturer and the beginning of another. The company must now convince airlines that it is safe to return the planes to service, buy new ones and overcome the fear people have in flying in them." Update: According to Boeing, as of mid-March, "since December 2020, more than 185 out of 195 countries have approved a service return. More than 35 airlines globally have safely operated the 737 MAX for more than 400,000 revenue flights and more than one million hours, with schedule reliability above 99%. ### Saturday, April 2, 2022 Were pleased to inform you that Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), Peoples Vaccine Alliance (India) and Campaign for Access to Medicines, Diagnostics and Devices (CAMD-India) would like to invite you to a webinar on Is the leaked TRIPS Waiver text a loss for India? to discuss the critical issues in the leaked text on 30th March, 2022. For further details, please see the announcement below: Webinar on Is the leaked TRIPS Waiver text a loss for India? The World Trade Organization (WTO) has been discussing the TRIPS Waiver proposal for Covid-19 medical products for the last 18 months. The proposal by India and South Africa received widespread support by developing countries in no time. On the other hand, the rich countries have been opposing it tooth and nail, especially the European Union (EU). The WTO Secretariat facilitated negotiations between a group of four countries India, South Africa, the EU and the US to arrive at a solution. A leaked text, allegedly agreed upon by the four countries, has become a major concern for health activists and civil society across the world. It is a heavily compromised text which limits the use of even existing mechanisms to break the monopoly of Big Pharma. It is confined only to Covid-19 vaccines and suggests a compulsory license mechanism rather than a waiver. Even for vaccines, it calls for waiving of only patents, not other forms of intellectual property such as copyright and trade secrets. It extends till the continuation of the pandemic, but does not clarify when the pandemic situation will cease. India has shown leadership in proposing and advancing the TRIPS Waiver proposal. It ought not to succumb to the pressures of the developed countries like the US or regional blocks like the EU. In this background, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), Peoples Vaccine Alliance (India) and Campaign for Access to Medicines, Diagnostics and Devices (CAMD-India) would like to invite you to a webinar on Is the leaked TRIPS Waiver text a loss for India? to discuss the critical issues in the leaked text. Following are the details of the programme: Date: Wednesday, 30 March, 2022 Time: 6.00 pm-7.30 pm IST Platform: Zoom Speakers: Leena Menghaney, Medecins Sans Frontieres Prof. Dr. Biswajit Dhar, Jawaharlal Nehru University Discussants: Priti Patnaik, Geneva Health Files Anjela Taneja, Peoples Vaccine Alliance Register in advance: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Q1BZUsmiTd-5AtB93H8GwA After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Intelligence officials said the detention of the youth, identified as Suleiman from Hyderabad, was a precaution as he allegedly appeared to be trying to get the attention of the ISIS. (Representational Image/DC) HYDERABAD: An 18-year-old student from Falaknuma was detained by the intelligence wing of Telangana police after he was reportedly found browsing terrorist websites in an attempt to get in touch with them. Intelligence officials said the detention of the youth, identified as Suleiman from Hyderabad, was a precaution as he allegedly appeared to be trying to get the attention of the ISIS among other banned terror groups and might be inclined to join terror outfits through cyberspace. Though the Intelligence officials confirmed that the youngster was detained and booked, the city police denied it said that no such thing has happened. Intelligence wing commissioner Chaitanya Kumar confirmed the investigation against the student. However, DCP, South Zone, S. Sai Chaitanya, said, No one was picked up by the police for questioning or detention. Even the station house officers and assistant commissioners of police said that they had received multiple calls and that nothing of this sort had taken place. Officials are investigating and questioning him about his motives behind the searches and the usage of social media applications to draw their attention to him. His call data record is being accessed and the cybercrime officials are tracking his online activities by seizing his mobile phone. Further links are yet to be established. It will be done in due course of time. The cybercrime police, with the help of the Internet Protocol (IP) address, had tracked him down and took him into custody, the officials added. Senior officials from the state police department, requesting anonymity, said, He is very young and we are figuring out his excitement behind this online radicalism. Usually, browsing and contacting terror groups is the basic step for the enthusiastic lot, which is followed by mobilisation of funds and third stage is forming groups and lobbying, shared the official. Earlier, in 2018, National Investigation Agency (NIA) had arrested eight youths from Hyderabad for planning terror attacks on the instructions of ISIS. The same year, NIA sleuths arrested two more from the city in a separate case for planning terror attacks in the country and for their links to ISIS. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Darren Almendarez was just trying to buy some food for his sisters birthday party. But as he and his wife were leaving the Joe Vs Smart Shop, he saw a black Nissan Altima backed up to his maroon Tundra and men underneath trying to remove its catalytic converter. He told his wife to run. Then, the off-duty Harris County sheriffs deputy approached his truck to confront the three would-be thieves. Moments later, the men began firing. One bullet struck Almendarez in the torso, police said. Despite the injury, the 51-year-old auto theft investigator shot back, striking two of the men, before collapsing. Paramedics rushed the injured deputy to Houston Northwest Hospital, where he died. Almendarez is the fourth peace officer killed in Greater Houston in the last three months. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said he was devastated to learn of Almendarezs death. It came as no surprise that Almendarez, who spent 23 years in the department, had the presence of mind to protect those around him during his last moments, he said. More on Almendarez: Harris County deputy who died protecting wife was Milby HS alum: A shock to everybody He was really a hero, Gonzalez said, because as all of this unfolded, he had the mindset to make sure he was protecting his wife, he told her to run and get way from danger as he put himself in harms way to protect the rest of the community. He is survived by his wife, Flor Zarzoza, and a teenage daughter. Almendarezs assailants fled, shortly before paramedics arrived, but the two men he shot showed up at the same hospital and were quickly detained, Chief Deputy Edison Toquica said. Joshua Stewart, 23, and Fredarius Clark, 19, now face capital murder charges. One of the men was in stable condition late Thursday; the other was listed in critical condition. Fredrick Tardy, 17, is also expected to face charges, Gonzalez said Friday night. As word of Almendarezs death spread, Texas highest elected leaders and hundreds of other people offered condolences on social media and elsewhere. Gov. Greg Abbott said Almendarezs death was reminder of the sacrifices peace officers make on and off duty. Deputy Darren Almendarez lost his life while answering the call to serve and protect his fellow Texans, his statement said. The State of Texas is ready to provide all resources necessary to bring justice to the family and loved ones of Deputy Almendarez. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a tweet that she was absolutely heartbroken about the deputys death. My heart goes out to all our law enforcement family and to his loved ones, she said, in the brief statement, while Mayor Sylvester Turner called the killing unacceptable. It is a terrible day when a family trip to a grocery store ends in violence and loss of life, Turner said. A bloody week: 6 Harris County police officers wounded, killed in one week Almendarez is the fourth law enforcement officer slain in Greater Houston in 2022. The first killing came on Jan. 23, when Harris County Pct. 5 Cpl. Charles Galloway was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop. The next day, Harris County Sheriffs Sgt. Ramon Gutierrez was struck and killed by a motorist during a traffic escort. A month later, San Jacinto County Deputy Constable Neil Adams was shot and killed while working at an off-duty security job at the PlazAmericas mall in Sharpstown. A three-week period in late 2020 saw three peace officers slain Houston Fire Department arson investigator Lemuel Bruce, and Houston police Sgts. Harold Preston and Sean Rios by criminal suspects. All told, 24 peace officers have died in Harris County in the line of duty since the beginning of 2017, including a Harris County constable deputy gunned down during an ambush outside a north Houston bar last fall and 10 peace officers and jailers who died during from COVID, heatstroke or drowning. Those are not the only dangerous circumstances local peace officers have faced recently: three Houston police officers were wounded Jan. 27 in a chaotic domestic disturbance call that ended in a shootout. And on Wednesday night, an off-duty Surfside Beach officer was stabbed in southeast Houston. A lean, muscular auto theft investigator who kept his hair cropped close, Almendarez grew up in the East End, attending Austin and Milby high schools, and joined the department 23 years ago. Colleagues recalled him as a jovial and friendly deputy who worked hard and loved the job. Patrol Deputy Francisco Prado met Almendarez as a teenager they worked together at the same Whataburger. Almendarez had a playful side, which made the hours flipping burgers pass a bit more pleasantly, he said. When Prado joined the sheriffs office in 1998, he was surprised to find Almendarez there, too his old burger-flipping friend had joined the year before, he said. He was a very smart individual, he said. A lucrative black-market business: As metal prices rise during COVID, theft of catalytic converters skyrockets Other colleagues echoed the sentiment. This one hurts, Harris County Deputies Organization President David Cuevas said. Its a shock to everybody. Cuevas first met Almendarez when the two were detention officers working in the jail. The two men yearned to become full-fledged deputies, and frequently studied together as cadets. Cuevas and many of their classmates filled journals with notes, but Almendarez just listened, Cuevas said. They sometimes asked him why he wasnt taking notes, but he always assured them hed remember, Cuevas recalled. And sure enough, when it came time for their exam, he passed without issue. He had an uncanny way about himself, Cuevas said. When they finally started working as patrol deputies, they often ate together at a nearby Lubys. After graduating from the academy, Almendarez spent time in patrol in north Harris County and then worked in the departments gang division. Its tragic, said Cuevas, who had spent the night fielding texts from their academy classmates. Deputies are getting shot down, violence is rising, and the bright lights of the world are a little dimmer because hes gone. Eventually, Almendarez decided to become an investigator and joined the auto theft division. In October, the sheriffs office released a video of Almendarez searching for auto thieves. One call took him to far east Harris County, where he and other deputies found a chop shop in a small, dilapidated warehouse. A red, partially cannibalized red pickup truck sat inside. Two of the people they found were charged in cases involving other chop shops, Almendarez said. Here they are again, stealing vehicles, cutting up peoples valuable property, he said, gesturing at the red pickup. Its horrible what they do. I cant imagine losing my truck that I take such good care of that I work for every day for crooks to chop it up and make it look like this. Its just horrible. st.john.smith@chron.com joel.umanzor@chron.com leah.brennan@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A San Antonio teenager has been indicted on a murder charge in connection with the fatal shooting in December of a man who allegedly had argued with his mother at a South Side bar. The case involving Bryan Gonzalez, 18, was among 248 felony indictments handed down this week by two Bexar County grand juries. A fight Dec. 6 at the Tres Amigas Bar at 10703 Pleasanaton Road turned to gunfire and spilled outside, Arriving police officers found Santiago Sanchez, 37, with multiple gunshot wounds. He later died at a local hospital. On ExpressNews.com: Teenager arrested in deadly shooting outside South Side bar According to an affidavit supporting Gonzalezs arrest, his mother, listed as a witness in the document, told police that he and another of her sons, an unnamed 16-year-old, were responsible for the shooting and that she had summoned them there. Sanchez and Gonzalez had a prior history of enmity, and Sanchez had threatened her in the bar because of it, the woman told authorities. Video footage captured from inside the bar shows Gonzalez and a juvenile arriving at Tres Amigas with guns and talking to their mother and another witness, who point out Sanchez, who is standing nearby, the affidavit states. A verbal altercation between Gonzalez, the juvenile and Sanchez ensued before Sanchez was struck by gunshots, the affidavit states. The pair then left the scene. On ExpressNews.com: Two teenagers suspected in the shooting death of a man outside a South Side bar, police say The case is being prosecuted in the 175th District Court. If convicted, Gonzalez faces up to life in prison. It is unclear if the juvenile was charged. Also indicted was Edwin Sanabria-Pena, 26, charged with intoxication manslaughter in the death of Gabriella Padilla on Jan. 1. According to TV reports, Sanabria-Pena was driving a Dodge pickup on Culebra Road at Zarzamora on the evening of New Years Day when he ran a red light and hit a Chevrolet pickup. The force of the crash caused the Chevrolet to hit a Jeep Patriot. Padilla, 53, a back-seat passenger in the Chevrolet, died at the scene. Three others were hospitalized with serious injuries, as was a passenger in the Jeep. The suspect also was hospitalized with minor injuries. Police later determined Sanabria-Pena was intoxicated, and he was arrested on charges of intoxication manslaughter and three counts of intoxication assault. The case is being prosecuted in the 437th District Court. If convicted of the second-degree felony, he faces up to 20 years in prison. ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863 Ken Branca Law officers on Friday were searching for the driver of a stolen truck that crashed in South Bexar County during a chase that resulted from an apparent immigrant smuggling attempt. The chase began around 11:30 a.m. in Medina County, near the Bexar County line, as deputies there pursued a Ford F350 that had been reported stolen, according to the Bexar County Sheriffs Office. An AR-15 rifle was in the vehicle when it was stolen. The San Antonio Police Department on Friday released body camera video that shows three officers fatally shooting a 28-year-old man who was fleeing from them, as well as a gun beside his body after the firing ceased. The release of the footage comes almost three weeks after officers opened fire on Kevin Johnson Jr., 28, while trying to execute warrants for his arrest in a West Side neighborhood. Police officials initially said that Johnson reached for a gun in his waistband while he was trying to run up the bank of a creek, but his family has repeatedly disputed that account saying Johnson was shot several times in the back while running away. Police officials later added that the officers saw Johnson turn and point the firearm in the officers direction. The six-minute video released by police, meanwhile, shows Johnson stumble as he exits the creek, and its possible that his body turned because he was breaking his fall rather than trying to fire on police. Courtesy of the San Antonio Police Department The video, which includes body camera and dashboard camera footage, is heavily edited and is narrated by Deputy Chief Chris Benavides. On ExpressNews.com: Man fatally shot in West Side clash with police; crowd confronts line of officers At about 3:45 p.m. on March 14, three officers assigned to the SAPDs Street Crimes Unit attempted to stop Johnson, who was riding his bicycle on the 200 block of Carter Street. Benavides said the officers had been searching for Johnson for several days because he was wanted on warrants for felony possession of a firearm and violation of parole. Johnson fled on his bicycle when officers turned on their emergency lights, the video shows. He then got off his bicycle and ran on foot as police chased him, Benevides said on the video. The body camera footage shows the officers later identified as Adam Rule, Gus Vallas and James Quintanilla chasing Johnson through the West Side neighborhood and into Alazan Creek between north Elmendorf Street and Hamilton Avenue. Johnson can be seen on camera running down into the creek as one of the officers shouts, Get down, boy. Johnson wades through the shallow water to the opposite bank from police when officers said they spotted a gun in his right hand. One officer shouts for him to drop your hands before Johnson appears to stumble and fall on the grass. He rolls on the ground and briefly faces police, the video shows. Officers can be heard on the video shouting: Gun. Hes got a gun. Three officers open fire, shooting at Johnson at least a dozen times. The video shows a black object in Johnsons right hand. At that point in the video, its difficult to determine what the object is and whether Johnson pointed it at officers, as portions of the video are inaudible and blurry often the case with body camera footage. But as officers approached Johnson immediately after the shooting, they could see a gun beside him. SAPD officials included a still image of the gun, covered in grass with a bullet in the chamber, in the video release. On ExpressNews.com: Family of man shot by police demands bodycam footage Benavides said the firearm found beside Johnson has been forensically linked to multiple violent crimes, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The release of the body camera footage on Friday comes after media reports were published earlier in the day showing Johnson posing with multiple handguns on social media hours before the chase. An SAPD official told KSAT 12 that officers working to locate Johnson on March 14 were aware of the social media posts, which appear to have since been deleted. Jasmine Johnson, Kevin Johnsons sister, criticized the department for not releasing the videos in their entirety. They continue to try and push (a) false narrative instead of the truth, Johnson wrote on Facebook. All we are asking is transparency. No one deserves what my family and I are going through. Police declined to comment about why the footage was not released in its entirety. An unnarrated, though also edited, version of the body camera footage plays after the narrated version. All three officers are on administrative duty pending a police investigation into the shooting. Benavides said the investigation into the shooting is active. Investigations into deadly force are comprehensive and can take over a year, Benevides said. This is our current understanding of the situation and could change as investigators gather more information. The San Antonio Police Department does not make any determinations as to whether procedures were followed until all factors are known. Staff writer Jacob Beltran contributed to this report. eeaton@express-news.net 21 Pro Video A San Antonio man was arrested Thursday for allegedly taking a 13-year-old neighbor from an apartment complex and sexually assaulting her. Police charged Steve Terrazas Jr., 20, with aggravated sexual assault of a child. He is being held on $100,000 bail. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A man was killed by San Antonio police Monday afternoon on the West Side after police said he pulled a gun on officers attempting to arrest him. Police Chief William McManus said the shooting occurred after three officers on patrol spotted the man near North Hamilton Street and West Laurel. McManus said the officers approached the man, whom police did not immediately identify, to execute warrants for his arrest related to assault on a police officer and felon in possession of a firearm. The man fled and police chased him, said McManus, who spoke to news media after tension subsided somewhat between police and family members of the dead man, as well as area residents. At some point, McManus said, the man began to pull a handgun from his waistband, the chief said. All three officers fired, he said, though he said he could not provide details of the exchange since he had not reviewed body camera footage. Jacob Beltran / San Antonio Express-News On ExpressNews.com: Family of man shot by Bexar County deputy sue over his killing The man was struck and died at the scene, police said. A handgun was recovered, police said. McManus said the officers have four, five and 16 years with the force. Jasmine Johnson, who identified herself as a sister of the man killed, said her brother was fatally shot several times at the scene. She identified him as Kevin Johnson, 28. Witnesses told the family that he was shot nine times from behind. William Luther /San Antonio Express-News Jasmine Johnson said a relative called just before 2 p.m. and told her they shot Kevin, and they kept shooting, and that they shot and shot and shot again. She said he had been staying in the area with a friend. They see anyone bad out here and they wanna harass them and say, Oh, youre drug-related. Youre gang-related, Johnson said. On ExpressNews.com: Ex-San Antonio police officer indicted for firing gun at two teens She and other relatives were angry with police, who they said are not letting them see their deceased family member. The incident caused an uproar among family and friends who gathered at the scene. Johnson said an officer spat at her at the scene. Officers pulled that officer back and began pepper spraying a group of people who were reportedly moving a police vehicle. Johnson said her mother, a cancer survivor, was sprayed during the confrontation. jbeltran@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Her eyes fixed on the heavily pregnant tuxedo cat emerging from a thicket about 20 feet away, Monica Caballero said the fetuses would be aborted. She said death would be more merciful than life in a local park. They wouldnt survive out there, she said. Theyd be picked off by predators owls and hawks and raccoons and coyotes. Despite city ordinances that regulate pet ownership practices, San Antonio is awash in stray cats. Caballero, vice president of the San Antonio Feral Cat Coalition, is one of many volunteers putting in time and resources to slow their proliferation. The tuxedo cat tentatively approached the trap, a conglomeration of mesh and PVC piping propped up by a narrow wood plank set by Caballero. The felines desire for a full belly had overcome her initial suspicion. Hunger, Caballero knew, is a powerful motivating force. Given the opportunity, no animal especially not an expectant mother will pass up a meal. Placing one white paw inside the trap, she hesitated. When nothing happened, she wasted little time digging into the pile of sardines that had tempted her out of hiding. With a swift backward motion, Caballero pulled on the rope extending from the plank. The trap slammed down with a hard thud. The cat, sensing she had been tricked, spun and hurled herself against the mesh in a futile attempt to escape. Perhaps 200,000 stray cats inhabit the metro area, according to Sherry Derdak, president of the cat coalition. Their numbers perpetually increase because the warm, dry weather endemic to the Southwest is conducive to breeding. Its an overwhelming problem for the community, Derdak said. The nonprofit organization was founded in 2005 to promote TNR or Trap, Neuter, Return a method of population control that has been widely adopted by many major U.S. cities. Coalition volunteers capture and sterilize the cats before listing the domesticated ones for adoption and releasing the feral ones back into the wild. That way, Derdak explained, the existing clan dies out naturally. Since Derdak began keeping records in 2010, she said the coalition has subsidized surgery on more than 37,141 cats, preventing an untold number of births. Jerry Lara /Staff photographer Without organizations such as the coalition, Lisa Norwood, public relations and outreach manager for Animal Care Services, said, thered be cats on every corner. The city agency runs its own TNR program. In fiscal year 2021, they operated on 3,645 cats through the program, according to Norwood. One single female can produce as many as four litters annually. Those kittens, in turn, can become sexually active as early as four months old. Keeping up with the exponential growth rate is a challenge. Were just making a very small dent in the problem, Derdak said. Cue the formation of one of San Antonios most fascinating niche communities: cat caregivers. They provide food, water, shelter and veterinary care to one or more stray cats. Devotion to their feline charges, many of whom repel physical affection with bites and scratches, transcends financial stability. They might be just one step from being homeless themselves, Derdak said, adding, I know people that buy tuna with their food stamps. While the overwhelming majority of caregivers work alone in the comfort of their homes and backyards, the most dedicated are among the feral cat coalitions 200 or so volunteers. Some commit hundreds of dollars a month or tens of hours a week to their duties. Caballero was taking a walk one day in fall 2010 through the same park where she would eventually trap the expectant mother when she saw a flurry of cats running toward a car. It was clear, Caballero said, that they recognized the driver, a woman who distributed food as Caballero watched. Inspired by her altruism, Caballero took a class on TNR methodology and started caring for stray cats herself. She now spends two to three hours a day at it. In the nearly 12 years since Caballero took the plunge, the number of cats in the park has been reduced from 120 to about 24, divided among five colonies small packs of sterilized cats that stick to one specific site and socialize among one another. Theres Freddy, a stocky orange tabby; theres Jimbo, who likes to hang out by the train tracks that traverse his territory; theres Blossom, who is so petite that Caballero worries she will be picked off by a hawk or other bird of prey. They see our cars, they hear our voices, they come out, theyre real happy to see us, Caballero said. You can see how they build a relationship with us. Caballero has seven cats of her own, not counting the two she is currently fostering for the coalition. Like many caregivers, Caballero and fellow volunteer Yvonne Saldivar were raised around animals Caballero as the daughter of a farmer and Saldivar as a former vet tech for the military. It troubles them to see people wantonly killing cats or police officers dismissing such killings as inconsequential. The similarities often end there. Caregivers are as diverse a community as any other, according to Derdak. Many are suburban moms and dads who bear little resemblance to the stereotypical cat lady. United by no commonality other than their commitment to alleviating suffering, they have formed strong professional and personal bonds. Jerry Lara /Staff photographer We all know each other, Caballero said. Its like a little network of people that can be counted on to take in dumped animals. This work and it is work it does bring people together, and there is a sense of family, Derdak said. And we do try to watch out for each other and care for each other and help each other. Whenever it feels like the world is against us, we know that our tribe, our like-minded people, are ready in the coalition, Saldivar said. What Caballero calls a network, Derdak calls a sense of family and Saldivar calls a tribe is all but a necessity in a line of work that demands physical and emotional fortitude. To be a cat caregiver is to be inundated with tales of woe. Caballero has seen or heard about some terrible sights: cats poisoned, cats hit by cars, cats mauled to death, cats hanging from trees, kittens carried off by hawks, kittens torn limb from limb by raccoons. The coalition has received reports of a man who bred cats to bait wild hogs and another accused of leaving a bagful of dead kittens on his neighbors car hood in retaliation for feeding the neighborhoods stray cats, according to Saldivar. Sometimes it makes me question humanity, and I hate that thats sometimes what it comes down to, she said. But then I remember there are more like-minded, good-hearted people out there than there are those bad guys, and thats kind of what keeps me going. Because, if not, Id lose my mind. Even cases that dont involve cruelty can force heartbreaking decisions. When a volunteer rescues a cat that needs thousands of dollars in veterinary care, for example, the coalition is faced with a tough choice: save that cats life or feed dozens of others for several months. Some volunteers, Caballero said, resign almost immediately because they cant cope with the emotional wear and tear. However, she cannot see herself ever permanently throwing in the towel exchanging the bloody wounds, raging infections, overflowing litter boxes and Sophies choices for a more mainstream hobby. We spend more money than we probably should, all of us, personally, Caballero said. But, she added, It makes me happy. Once Caballero ensured the pregnant tuxedo cat was secure in her carrier, she drove into the park to check on Freddy, Jimbo, Blossom and their colony mates. The felines watched her from a safe distance as she inspected the clearing for any safety hazards. Caballero tut-tutted when she saw open cans in one corner. Well-meaning people often put out food for the parks cats, she said, but the act of kindness actually hurts the feral cat coalition, as hunger is an incentive to enter traps. Satisfied the colony was stable, Caballero set out for her next destination: an abandoned church on the North Side. Weather-beaten and deserted, it has become a popular encampment for homeless people, Caballero said. While the windows had been covered by sheets of plywood at some point, one in the rear had been forcibly removed, exposing a dark passageway. Rusty nail heads surrounded the makeshift entrance. No one seemed to be inside. No one seemed to be on the property at all, except for the cats. Seeing Caballero approach, they fled, hurdling fences, squeezing through cracks in the churchs clapboard walls and disappearing into the tall grass of the neglected lawn. Within minutes, the only obvious sign that the property harbored any inhabitants was a pair of cat beds on the porch, one white and one zebra-striped. Turning away, Caballero headed back to her blue convertible. She had other matters to attend to before she could resume trapping. Shaking her head, she said she planned to beg Animal Care Services to take the pregnant cat that is, perform an abortion Saturday morning. It was already Friday, but the feline had no intention of cooperating with her captor. That afternoon, Caballero checked on her to discover San Antonios population of stray cats had increased by two. caroline.tien@hearst.com 21 Pro Video After hitting a patrol car, a man sped away from the scene Friday night, at one point driving the wrong way on Frio Street to get around traffic, before losing control, hitting two light poles and flipping his car, San Antonio police said. The man, who was in his 30s, was driving northbound in a Toyota Camry on South Frio Street around 10:20 p.m. when he struck a patrol car driving southbound, according to police. The man fled the scene heading north and was seen driving at a high rate of speed by a UTSA Police Department sergeant. He then drove into the southbound lanes to evade traffic in the northbound lanes and ran a red light at the intersection with West Commerce Street, police said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A bell tolled 14 times Friday under blue skies to remember the children lost last year to violence in Bexar County, as elected officials, advocates and community members pledged to make San Antonio safer. Thirteen local children died of child abuse and neglect but organizers rang a bell one more time for those who may have been missed. More than 250 people marked the start of Child Abuse Prevention Month on the steps of the historic Bexar County Courthouse to listen to elected officials, law enforcement leaders and volunteers with Child Advocates San Antonio, known as CASA, and two chapters of Guardians of the Children, whose motorcyle-riding members work with abused children. The Docket: Local crime and courtroom news, delivered to your inbox weekly They took turns addressing the need for everyone in San Antonio and Bexar County to act, to alert authorities if they witness a child in distress. Every child needs to be safe, and not just at home, said CASA President and CEO Angela White, who marveled at the events attendance, stating, This community cares. Thats all you need to see. It takes everyone who looks like everybody to solve this problem, she said. Childrens Court and its numerous specialty courts and dockets have helped chip away at the numbers of children taken from parents by the state a sometimes necessary but drastic outcome that has decreased over the years, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said. We are strengthening families, not weakening families, he said. Mayor Ron Nirenberg spoke of the children being our future, and reiterated a commitment to secure their future through support and initiatives. Top hits: Get San Antonio Express-News stories sent directly to your inbox We want this problem to stop, he told the crowd. Our commitment remains unwavering. The San Antonio and Von Ormy chapters of the Guardians of the Children brought nearly 100 of their members. Sandy JG Mazz Encina, the Von Ormy groups events coordinator, said its volunteers work in partnership with CASA, paired with children to provide things like school supplies and clothes, if needed. But the big thing they do, she said, is to attend court hearings with them, to encourage them and make them feel protected. We get them ready when we go to court and let them know it is safe to testify, said Terrie Suarez, the groups treasurer. Josie Norris /San Antonio Express-News As CASA volunteers passed out cards with instructions on how to report abuse, Justin Tex Mire, president of the San Antonio Gueardians chapter, led the crowd in reciting a pledge written on the back: I pledge to protect the innocence of all children in my world. To use my voice for the vulnerable. To support efforts to end child abuse in my community. To believe a child, intervene, and above all else, report if I suspect child abuse. Mire told a story a little boy who while walking a beach filled with starfish began to throw them back into the ocean, one by one, so they could live. Although the child could not possibly save each one, he made a difference in the lives of the ones he touched, he said.. You can make a difference in the life of a child, and convince your neighbors to pick up a starfish, too, Mire said. ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863 In the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his Austin-based Infowars headquarters were busy. Jones, a product of paranoia and public-access TV, hosts a nationally syndicated radio show on a dwindling number of stations. He also spawns conspiracy theories and hawks a lot of dietary supplements and survival gear on his Infowars website. Its where Jones announced that Russian forces invaded Ukraine to shut down U.S. bioweapon manufacturing labs there. Its also where he declared that Dr. Anthony Fauci was creating a virus deadlier than COVID-19. No reputable media outlet carried the story because its thoroughly untrue. As are the stories Jones and Infowars provide ultra-right U.S. listeners who are anti-government, anti-immigrant, anti-people of color, anti-intellectual, anti-gay, anti-womens rights and against other issues viewed as liberal or progressive especially if you put health, safety and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in that category. Infowars most appeals to people who long ago stopped watching and reading mainstream news sources. They include some who now even see Fox News as a liberal sellout. Jones fans are all about their faith, their guns and their white supremacy. On Friday morning, Infowars featured Jones touting products that promise better sleep, pain-free joints and a supercharged immune system. The latter was 25 percent off and earned patriot points, no doubt toward more scheming purchases. Jones said such sales support the fight against the infowar, or information war, being waged against patriots like him. Theres some truth in the latter. He has been sued by people whove been harmed by his falsehoods. Much of what Infowars has done in the last two years has focused on the big lie that Donald Trump won the 2020 election and that COVID-19 vaccines either dont work or pose a danger. Jones has been banished from mainstream online venues for providing inaccurate coronavirus information. Infowars has reported that Fauci, one of the nations top infectious disease experts, admitted COVID-19 vaccines dont work. He didnt. The site also said Trump was in great danger while being treated at Walter Reed military hospital for COVID-19. He wasnt. In 2017, Jones and Infowars cited emails that purportedly showed Democrats, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and philanthropist George Soros, orchestrated the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., to defame alt-right groups. Many of Jones worst claims were investigated by the fact-checking website PolitiFact. Theyve been deemed false, and some received its top pants on fire rating. In 2019, Infowars came to San Antonio to stoke fears of Ebola among Central African asylum seekers making their way to different parts of the country from the downtown bus station. Theyd been released by the Trump administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection after they were screened various times. No evidence existed that they carried the deadly disease. City officials rebuked Infowars lies already spreading across the country with factual information and data. Id like to think San Antonio sent them packing back to Austin. If Jones peddles any truth at all its that some people really are at work to stop his business and to hold him accountable for the damage and pain he has inflicted. Chief among them are the parents of 20 first-graders and the families of six educators killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Conn., in 2012. In various lawsuits, Jones has been sued for defamation. Plaintiffs have cited the painful encounters theyve endured with Jones supporters whove confronted and badgered grieving families who lost 6- and 7-year-olds to an assailant armed with an assault rifle. To be clear, Jones has already lost the most recent lawsuit against him in Connecticut and was found liable for damages by default. He failed to produce documents pertaining to Infowars business side, which reaped rewards by telling Sandy Hook lies. One news investigation found Infowars online store made $165 million from September 2015 to late 2018. Sandy Hook proved to be a profitable lie. The report also found sales climbed when Jones talked about it. In a previous deposition, Jones did acknowledge the shooting was real. Last week, he failed to show up for two days of deposition in Austin, citing health reasons. Yet he did his four-hour radio show from a studio on one of those days. He has agreed to be in Connecticut on April 11. Until then, Jones will be fined $25,000 for each business day that he fails to show, making his total fine $525,000, according to news reports. On Friday, the judge denied a motion to halt the fines. Lies, indeed, will catch up to you. eayala@express-news.net Hyderabad: A division bench of Telangana High Court, comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Abhinandan Kumar Shavili, on Friday disposed off a PIL seeking a CBI probe into the Miyapur land scam that runs into thousands of crores. The PIL was filed in 2017 by Madhavaneni Raghunandan Rao (presently a BJP MLA) alleging that government land to an extent of 682 acres in survey numbers 20, 28, 100 and 101 of Miyapur village, Serilingampally mandal were registered illegally by real estate companies and others. This was despite restraint orders issued by the Supreme Court, which said that no documents pertaining to the said lands should be registered. He alleged that the infringement had taken place with the tacit support of government officials, who dance to the tunes of ruling party (TRS) leaders. Collecting fictitious documents, revenue and registration department officials played a key role in transferring the land to Trinity Infra Ventures Limited, the petitioner mentioned. He also brought to the notice of the court that Kukatpally police had filed an FIR and a charge-sheet before the trial court when the issue came to light and it triggered several protests. Apprehending that the real culprits could have fled, Raghunandan Rao urged the court to transfer a criminal case pending with the SHO Kukatpally to the Central Bureau of. Advocate general B.S. Prasad on Friday informed the court that a charge-sheet has been filed against 24 persons of whom some have filed quash petitions before the High Court and that such petitions have been allowed. The court was also apprised of the present stage of the criminal case. After taking all facts into consideration, the bench closed the PIL while also giving the petitioner the liberty to seek appropriate legal recourse, if he remains aggrieved. The Texas Organizing Project has officially endorsed Ina Minjarez in the Democratic runoff for Bexar County judge. The nonprofit advocacy group, which organizes in Black and Latino working-class communities across the state, announced on Friday that it will back Minjarez, a four-term state representative, in her May 24 race against former District Court Judge Peter Sakai. TOP works every day to build power for Latino and Black families and Ina Minjarez is the best candidate to bring the change we need in Bexar County, so that everyone in our community can thrive, said Michelle Tremillo, TOPs executive director. TOP endorsed her because shes committed to creating a more equitable and transparent county government, increasing access to health care and affordable housing and also working with us to codify misdemeanor bail reform. Political endorsements often carry little weight with voters, but the backing of TOP falls into a special category, because its not merely a statement of support. It comes with a commitment from the organization to deploy its considerable on-the-ground political muscle. TOP displayed that muscle in 2018 when it led a coalition on a petition drive to get a paid sick leave initiative on the San Antonio ballot. The coalition succeeded in securing 140,000 signatures. Given the choice between putting it on the November ballot or passing a paid sick leave ordinance of its own, City Council reluctantly passed its own ordinance. The citys paid sick leave ordinance came under legal challenge from various business groups. In November 2019, a week before the ordinance was set to take effect, Sakai issued a temporary injunction to block its implementation. TOPs local impact was felt again in 2019. That year, TOP stayed out of the first round of the mayoral election between incumbent Ron Nirenberg and then-Councilman Greg Brockhouse. Brockhouse forced Nirenberg into a runoff and Nirenberg supporters feared the election was slipping away from the mayor. A week before early voting began for the runoff, TOP endorsed Nirenberg and sent its forces out to knock on doors. The mayor prevailed by a margin of 2.2 percentage points. Minjarez said Friday she believes TOPs endorsement will have a major impact on the county judge runoff. I have great respect for the Texas Organizing Project, Minjarez said. I know that they dont take their endorsements lightly. They are a voice for those Black and brown communities that have been disenfranchised for so long. This is one of the endorsements Im most proud of, and Im happy theyre getting involved in this race. In assessing the race for county judge, TOP sent questionnaires to the three major candidates in the first round of the Democratic primary: Minjarez, Sakai and former mayoral staffer Ivalis Meza Gonzalez. The questionnaire probed for the candidates positions on the organizations six main policy priorities: housing, health care, immigration, criminal justice reform, economic justice and education. We dont just do politics, Tremillo said. Our politics is in the service of our larger, value-driven policy platform. While TOP held off on making an endorsement in the first round, organization members ultimately concluded that Minjarez best aligned with the groups positions. As we do for each candidate that we endorse at TOP, our members will be knocking on doors, phone banking and texting other TOP supporters and voters to show their support for Ina Minjarez, Tremillo said. Sakai finished first in the March 1 primary, with nearly 41 percent of the vote. Minjarez received nearly 31 percent. Given Bexar Countys blueish political tint and the fact that a Democrat, Nelson Wolff, has held the county judge post for the past 21 years the winner of the Sakai/Minjarez runoff will be a favorite in the general election against Republican nominee Trish DeBerry. During her tenure in the Legislature, Minjarez established herself as someone skilled at working across the political aisle, particularly on the issues of foster care and cyber bullying. She grew frustrated last year, however, as GOP lawmakers pushed a culture-war agenda that included a restrictive new voting law seemingly inspired by former President Donald Trumps false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen from him. After Wolff announced last October that he wouldnt be seeking another term, Minjarez decided to leave the Legislature and declare her candidacy for county judge. If she wins, shell be following in the footsteps of Wolff, who served four years in the Texas Legislature before his stint as county judge. ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470 Aided by Attorney General Ken Paxton, Houston conservative activist Steve Hotze is planning to again enlist private sleuths to uncover evidence of voter fraud in Harris County this year, even after one of his own investigators was indicted last year for allegedly holding an air conditioning repairman at gunpoint while in search of phony ballots. The investigator, former Houston police captain Mark Aguirre, said he was surprised to find the A/C repairmans truck contained only parts and tools, and not thousands of phony ballots, after allegedly running him off the road in the run-up to the 2020 election. The repairman later sued Hotze and his organization, Liberty Center for God and Country, for hiring and paying Aguirre. Undeterred, Hotze is raising money to again support his groups so-called voter integrity efforts. On Saturday, Paxton and Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO who has spread incendiary false conspiracies about the 2020 election, are headlining a Freedom Gala at the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Houston that will fund, in part, the hiring of private detectives to investigate, identify, and expose the criminal vote fraud scheme in Harris County and across Texas. The funds also will go toward hiring poll watchers for the midterm elections in November, broadcasting radio ads offering rewards for evidence of voter fraud, and funding legal defensive and offensive efforts to Stop Vote Fraud, according to a website for the event. It is unclear if that includes Hotzes own legal fees, though in a video previewing the event, he mentioned the lawsuit stemming from the Aguirre incident. Ive already been sued, sued over this whole issue of trying to stop and expose voter fraud by the Democrats, said Hotze, who could not be reached for comment Friday. Nobodys going to back me down. Im going to be the tip of the spear in Harris County. Were going to expose and stop it here. And were also going to provide poll watchers across the county and across the state to watch the Democrats, to keep our eyes on them. On HoustonChronicle.com: Former Houston cop who thought A/C repairman was a voter fraud mastermind indicted on felony assault charge Individual tickets for the sold-out event were listed at $100, with packages for up to $100,000. The proceeds are going to Hotzes Liberty Center for God and Country group, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that is exempt from paying federal income taxes and generally is not required to disclose its donors. A longtime activist, Hotze has supported numerous far-right causes and candidates over the last few decades, and is, perhaps, best known for opposing LGBTQ issues. During the March primary, his political action committee, Conservative Republicans of Texas, sent out a mailer touting its support for Christians, conservatives, patriots who promote Biblical marriage, school choice and the right to refuse vaccines. The mailer cast other candidates as socialists and communists who censor Christian and conservative views and support gay marriage, which the mailer described as a mirage. Hotze and Aguirre have not provided any proof of their allegations that prominent Houston Democrats were orchestrating a massive ballot harvesting scheme during the 2020 election. And while minor cases of voter fraud have been uncovered in Texas and elsewhere, multiple academic studies, an investigation by the Trump-controlled Justice Department and Paxtons own Election Fraud Unit have yet to discover widespread, systemic fraud on the scale alleged by Republicans in Texas and elsewhere. The Trump administrations cybersecurity agency and other top election officials called the election the most secure in American history and said there was no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way compromised. Last month, however, Harris Countys elections office came under fire for a number of issues that arose during the March 1 primary, including the discovery of some 10,000 uncounted mail-in ballots the weekend after the election. Harris also was the only one of Texas 254 counties that failed to fully tally and report the results within 24 hours, according to the secretary of states office. County officials finished counting votes 30 hours after the polls closed. On HoustonChronicle.com: Longoria resigns as Harris County elections chief, takes the blame for bungled primary elections The series of problems led Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria to tender her resignation. The Harris County Republican Party also sued Longoria for the delay in counting the results and allegedly failing to supply some poll workers with necessary equipment. Despite the issues, however, no evidence has emerged of widespread fraud in the Harris County primaries. Harris County Republican Party Chair Cindy Siegel, who also is scheduled to speak at Hotzes gala, said she was asked to attend and speak for a few minutes about the fiasco with March 1. "From our standpoint, we're separate from Dr. Hotze, Siegel said. But I think 90 percent-plus of Republicans are very concerned about the election and the integrity of the election process. And the party is especially concerned about it in light of how badly the March 1 primary was mismanaged." Siegel said the party, like Hotze, plans to hire poll watchers for the November election and is anticipating the need to file further litigation if more problems arise. She declined to weigh in on Hotzes stated intent to hire more private investigators after his efforts in 2020 went awry. Any time you hire someone, you want to make sure you get people that are going to do the job the right way. But I cant really speak to that, because I wasnt involved, and I wasnt the chair. jasper.scherer@chron.com Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category Arjun Rampal makes a comeback on the OTT platform after a year of being seen in Nail Polish alongside Manav Kaul. There are repeated visuals of a curved snake in the teaser and it zooms in on a back shot of Arjun Rampal looking at a map of London. The teaser shows interesting glimpses. Arjun Rampal is seen in a rugged look as he solves a mystery case with layers of underlying secrets.There are repeated visuals of a curved snake in the teaser and it zooms in on a back shot of Arjun Rampal looking at a map of London. The series also has Sapna Pabbi, Medha Rana, Gopal Datt, Sagar Arya, and Eva Jane Willis playing parallel roles. It is slated to release on April 21 on an OTT platform. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Arjun (@rampal72) Arjun Rampal is playing the role of a homicide detective Om Singh in the series. As he battles through the evil thoughts that make his mind cave in, he is forced to get involved in the case of Amar Roy played by Purab Kohli, who is looking for his missing daughter. The more Om gets involved in solving the case, the more hidden secrets come to the surface and a blast from the past that Om is forced to face.The series also has Sapna Pabbi, Medha Rana, Gopal Datt, Sagar Arya, and Eva Jane Willis playing parallel roles. It is slated to release on April 21 on an OTT platform. The teaser of Arjun Rampal and Purab Kohli starrer web series - London Files was recently released and the gripping storyline has gotten viewers excited. The teaser showcases a detective on duty who has to combat his own inner demon whilst he gets involved in solving a case of a missing child. Prabhakar had given his statement earlier that the Aryan Khan cruise case was strategically planted by NCB's former director Sameer Wankhade who was at that time the lead overseeing the case. He had allegedly mentioned how Sameer Wankhade's team had the intention of extorting 25 crore from Bollywood superstar and Aryan Khan's father - Shah Rukh Khan. Prabhakar was given special protection after recording his statements. Sail had also gone on to record a statement where he had overhead KP Gosavi, another key witness in the drug case having a word with Sam D'Souza on the extortion plans of an amount of 25 crores, out of which 8 crores were supposedly for Wankhade.Prabhakar was given special protection after recording his statements. Mega Star Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan got arrested on October 3 as police raided a cruise based on a drug racket in Mumbai. Bombay High Court granted him bail on October 28. Aryan Khan was booked under numerous allegations by the central agency - Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for possession, consumption, sale/purchase of banned drugs, and conspiracy and abetment. Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha were the other accused in the same case along with Aryan Khan. They were also granted bail which came with a horde of conditions to abide by. The conditions mentioned how the accused had to give up their passports to NDPS court and were not allowed to leave the country. They also had to mark their presence at the NCB office every Friday between 11 AM and 2 PM. Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha were the other accused in the same case along with Aryan Khan. They were also granted bail which came with a horde of conditions to abide by. The conditions mentioned how the accused had to give up their passports to NDPS court and were not allowed to leave the country. They also had to mark their presence at the NCB office every Friday between 11 AM and 2 PM. Prabhakar Sail, who was a key witness in the Aryan Khan drug case has passed away. His lawyer Tushar Khandare commented that he died of a heart attack. Fort St. John, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 1, 2022) - MACRO ENTERPRISES INC. (TSXV: MCR) (the "Company") announces that, further to its press release of March 28, 2022, the Company, together with 1325996 B.C. Ltd. ("AcquireCo"), have agreed to amend the terms of the arrangement agreement between the Company and AcquireCo dated February 14, 2022 (the "Arrangement Agreement") and the terms of the plan of arrangement under Division 5 of Part 9 of the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the "Arrangement") in light of the untimely passing of Ken Mastre ("Mastre"), the former Vice President, Pipelines of the Company. Under the terms of the amending agreement entered into as of April 1, 2022, among the Company, AcquireCo, Frank Miles and Jeff Redmond: (i) Mastre's estate will no longer be a "Participating Shareholder", a "Participating Class B Shareholder" or a "Participating Incentiveholder" (in each case as defined in the Arrangement Agreement) for purposes of the Arrangement; (ii) Mastre's estate will participate in the Arrangement on the same terms as holders of shares in the outstanding capital of the Company who are not Participating Shareholders and holders of options of the Company who are not Participating Incentiveholders; and (iii) Mastre's estate will be released from his obligations as a "Guarantor" (as defined in the Arrangement Agreement). About Macro Enterprises Inc. Macro's core business is providing pipeline and facilities construction and maintenance services to major companies in the oil and gas industry in northeastern British Columbia and northwestern Alberta. The Company's corporate office is in Fort St. John, British Columbia. The common shares of the Company are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") under the symbol "MCR". Information on the Company's principal operations can be found at www.macroindustries.ca. Forward-Looking Statement Cautions: This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, "forward-looking statements"), as such terms are defined under applicable securities law, regarding the Company's business and operations. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, that could cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements (including execution risk, market risk, industry risk, market sentiment, the impact of general economic conditions and competition from other industry participants, as well as stock market volatility). Readers are referred to the Company's public disclosure record, including the Company's management information circular dated February 28, 2022 which is available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). While such forward-looking statements are expressed by the Company, as stated in this release, in good faith and believed by the Company to have a reasonable basis, they are subject to important risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, risks relating to stock exchange, court, regulatory and other approvals required in connection with the Proposed Transaction, risks relating to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions precedent to the Proposed Transaction (if at all) and adverse changes in applicable laws or regulations, which in each case could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by the forward-looking statements. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the proposed transaction could be modified, restructured or not be completed, and the results or events predicted in these forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, given that they involve risks and uncertainties. The Company is not affirming or adopting any statements made by any other person in respect of the proposed transaction and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities or to comment on expectations of, or statements made by any other person in respect of the proposed transaction. Investors should not assume that any lack of update to a previously issued forward-looking statement constitutes a reaffirmation of that statement. Reliance on forward-looking statements is at investors' own risk. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed timeframes or at all. In addition, this news release contains future-oriented financial information and financial outlook, as such terms are defined under applicable securities laws. The future-oriented financial information and financial outlook contained herein are made solely based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof and are subject to the same assumptions, risk factors and other qualifications as all other forward-looking statements, and are presented solely for the purpose of conveying the current anticipated expectations of the Company and may not be appropriate for any other purposes. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and, except as required by applicable laws and the policies of the TSXV, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. There can be no assurance that Company will be able to achieve all or any of its proposed objectives. For further information please contact: Frank Miles President and C.E.O. Phone: (250) 785-0033 Bob Fedderly Special Committee Phone: (250) 787-0398 Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119028 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 1, 2022) - Altan Rio Minerals Limited (TSXV: AMO) ("Altan Rio" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has closed a first tranche (the "First Tranche") of its previously announced non-brokered private placement of units (the "Private Placement"). The First Tranche raised gross proceeds of approximately C$927,226 through the sale of 7,726,885 units (each a "Unit") at a price of C$0.12 per Unit. Each Unit consisted of one common share of the Company (each a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (each a "Warrant"), with each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share at a price of C$0.18 per share until April 1, 2025. The Company is entitled, in its sole discretion, to accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants upon the occurrence of the Common Shares trading at a VWAP of at least C$0.25 on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") on ten (10) consecutive trading days. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Private Placement to advance its interest in and the drilling program at the Southern Cross North Property, evaluation and exploration of "E" tenement (E77/2691) pursuant to its recently executed option agreement to purchase a 90% interest in "E" tenement and potentially increase the Company's landholding to ~140km2 in the Frasers Corinthian Shear Zone (see the Company's press release dated September 13, 2021), for cash payments to be made under the "E" tenement option agreement, payment of certain outstanding invoices for professional services and for general working capital and administrative expenses. Subject to approval of the TSXV, the Company will pay certain persons (the "Finders") finder's fees in connection with the Private Placement, consisting of, in the aggregate: (i) cash payments of C$25,391.20, being an amount equal to 8% of the gross proceeds raised from subscribers introduced to the Company by the Finders; (ii) 264,492 broker warrants, with substantively the same terms as the Warrants, being an amount equal to 10% of the Units sold to subscribers introduced to the Company by the Finders; and (iii) a cash payment of C$8,856.00 to a Finder, being an amount equal to 6% of the gross proceeds raised from a subscriber introduced to the Company by such Finder. The securities underlying the Units sold in the Private Placement are subject to a statutory resale hold period under applicable Canadian securities laws which expires on August 2, 2022. About Altan Rio Altan Rio is a West Australian-focused gold exploration company primarily focused on the Southern Cross Greenstone Belt, a prolific gold producing region. The Company is focused on applying world-class exploration technologies and experience to proven mineralised tenure to generate shareholder wealth through discovery and production. Altan Rio holds 15 granted Prospecting Licenses covering an area of 23.7 square kilometres, representing a large position in one of Western Australia's premier producing gold belts. Project tenure is centrally located within the greenstone belt and occurs adjacent to numerous high-grade past producers including Frasers, Golden Pig and Copperhead. To learn more about the Company, visit our website at https://www.altanrio.com/. On behalf of Altan Rio For more information contact: Paul Stephen Chief Executive Officer Email: ps@altanrio.com +61 9322 1788 David Tasker Chapter One Advisors Email: dtasker@chapteroneadvisors.com.au +61 433 112 936 Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Altan Rio to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs but given the uncertainties, assumptions and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements or information. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements, and Altan Rio undertakes no obligation to update such statements, except as required by law. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119029 "Let us sow the seeds of conscience in education, saving the world with conscience education." ~ Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, president of FOWPAL LOS ANGELES, April 02, 2022from 3:00-5:00 pm GMT on that day, with a focus on conscience education , integrating the balance between the development of technology and spirituality to build character in younger generations and help the world move toward a better and more stable future. FOWPALfirmly believes that conscience is the key to resolving all problems. It launched the movement of An Era of Conscience in 2014, and beginning in 2018, it collaborated with the Permanent Missions to the United Nations of Bahrain, Kiribati, Equatorial Guinea, and other countries on a draft resolution titled "Promoting the Culture of Peace with Love and Conscience." On July 25, 2019, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the draft resolution submitted by the Kingdom of Bahrain, declaring April 5 as the International Day of Conscience. Thereafter, FOWPAL has been engaged in activities each month to honor various UN-designated days, with an emphasis on conscience, uniting global citizens to act with conscience, transforming their communities, countries, and the world. To date, it has held more than 60 such events, where leaders from all walks of life from around the world have shared their insights on fostering sustainable development through conscience, urging the world to work together to promote a culture of peace with love and conscience. The promotion of International Day of Conscience is gaining momentum around the world. Last month, a webinar on the International Day of Education organized by FOWPAL was broadcast on MNN titled "Transforming Education with Love and Conscience," highlighting, "The core value of education lies in inspiring people's conscience and self-awareness, thereby shaping individuals and the landscape of future society. The most important education for everyone from birth to death is conscience education." Through the power of education for all, the promotion of the movement of An Era of Conscience is expected to inspire global citizens' conscience and good deeds to create a future of love and peace together. To commemorate the third International Day of Conscience, FOWPAL not only will host online events on April 5, but also has organized a series of activities with various organizations around the world since April 1, aiming to gather conscience advice from all walks of life and inject positive energy for the sustainable development of the Earth. The International Day of Conscience is a day for all of humanity, and everyone's conscience and good deeds, great or small, are powerful forces in changing the world. FOWPAL invites everyone to send their conscience words and actionsor post them on its social media pages, such as Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . FOWPAL also invites schools of all levels worldwide to observe this day during the week of April 5, and the citizens of the world are welcome to use them to foster positive values. They are also encouraged to send FOWPAL recordings (videos, articles, photos, etc.) of their practice and promotion of conscience-driven education. As a result, thoughts and actions of conscience will spread throughout the world, positively impacting everyone. The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has shocked the entire world. The global community shares a common destiny, and the war's brutality and casualties have deepened global citizens' aspirations for peace. With a song titled " A Prayer for Peace " and another prayerfor the world, FOWPAL hopes that the deceased will rest in peace and the survivors will be comforted. It prays for an end to the war and people's suffering so that people can return to their safe and stable lives as soon as possible and work together to bring about world peace. The pandemic is still raging around the world, so people must exercise caution. FOWPAL has been sharing a one-minute video, featuring useful tips for epidemic prevention titled " 3 Don'ts, 5 Do's and 6 tips ," encouraging everyone to share it widely through their platforms to benefit the people of the world. FOWPAL's President Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze emphasizes, "With conscience, comes a peaceful world; with happiness, comes a joyful family." FOWPAL hopes that everyone's conscience will be awakened and that everyone will work together for a peaceful and sustainable future! About the Federation of World Peace and Love: Established in 2000 in the United States by Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, FOWPAL is an international love and peace organization, with members from around the world. Guided by the principle of "Changing the world for the better starting with one good thought," it aims to promote world peace and love through various activities such as world summits of love and peace, ceremonies of ringing the "Bell of World Peace and Love ," and cultural exchange performances . To date, 399 prominent figures from 122 countries have rung the Bell, made their wishes for love and peace, and pledged to work for the world's sustainable future. Among them are 43 heads of state and government, seven Nobel Peace Prize laureates, UN ambassadors, and other visionary leaders. Media Contact: Lily Chen Representative info@fowpal.org 626-202-5268 www.fowpal.org A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/39aef07a-a15a-4451-9fca-f99e21017c2d The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress. Peru's participation in Expo 2020 Dubai culminated with a major achievement at Expo 2020 Dubai: the Peru Pavilionwas awarded Gold for Self-Built Pavilion in Category B (between 1,750 and 2,500 M2). This top prize rewarded the "Timeless Peru" concept, an exciting synthesis of Peru's historical, multicultural and mega-diverse richness, reported the Commission for the Promotion of Exports and Tourism, PROMPERU. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220401005526/en/ BIE Day Ceremony of Prizes and Awards at Expo 2020 Dubai: Peru wins the Gold Award of Self-built pavilions Category B (between 1,750m2 and 2,500m2). The Peru Pavilion welcomed over 1.7 million visitors presenting the concept "Timeless Peru", an exciting synthesis of Peru's historical, multicultural and mega-diverse richness. (Photo: PROMPERU) The BIE Day Awards Ceremony, held in the Jubilee Park of the Dubai Expo, was organized by the International Exhibitions Bureau. A total of 51 Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards were handed out and Peru was the only South American country in the event awarded with Gold. "The selection of the winners of the Official Participants Awards fell to an international jury of nine international and Emirati experts, who made two visits to each of the national pavilions, in January and March 2022. These awards celebrate those who have made significant contributions to the success of the Universal Exhibition," said Antoine Bourdeix, director of communications at the BIE. The 2500 meters of built area of ??the Peruvian pavilion were visited by influencers, Emirati television, and international reporters, who were pleasantly surprised by the compendium of Peruvian culture and biodiversity. The reports from CNN, Khaleej Times and Gulf News highlighted the valuable concept of the Peru pavilion and the cultural and musical expressions of the country embodied by the Ayacucho guitar and the scissors dance. Abu Dhabi's The National newspaper included Peru in its article "Expo Dubai: five fantastic pavilions that you should not overlook" and the Emirates Woman magazine mentioned Peru in the list of the most beautiful pavilions of the exhibition. These recognitions were recently endorsed by winning EXHIBITOR Magazine's World Expo Awards in the category People's Choice Voting, where the Peru Pavilion was elected over 550,000 visits from readers and Expo enthusiasts who cast their votes. Likewise, Peru led the positive comments among Latin American countries in the official mobile application of Expo Dubai used by the visitors to rate their experiences in the national pavilions. The participation of Peru was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (MINCETUR) through PROMPERU, and had the commitment of talented Peruvians, as well as the support of DP World, Pisco 1615, Flo Trading, Modenart Peru, Terracota Lab and Adolf Finseth. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220401005526/en/ Contacts: Jose Carlos Collazos jcollazos@promperu.gob.pe Kiel, Germany--(Newsfile Corp. - April 2, 2022) - Fast-growing blockchain protocol Ariva was highlighted as one of the key drivers of blockchain technology in the tourism sector at the Blockchain For Travel Summit held in Dubai on March 26, 2022. Ariva Set for Major Adoption To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8675/118495_img_9215.jpg A gathering of key stakeholders in the tourism sector for blockchain 'The Global Tourism Forum Blockchain for Travel Summit' was organized by Ariva Digital and World Tourism Forum Institute and was supported by Dubai Tourism, which attracted key stakeholders in the tourism sector and top profile speakers. The core focus of the event was to discuss how blockchain could reshape the tourism sector. Former France President, Francois Hollande, noted that blockchain technology provided an ideal ecosystem to take tourism to the next level. He added that blockchain and cryptocurrency would help governments and private sectors retain important data and shape investment plans in the tourism sector. "More accurate data created by blockchain and crypto currency payment technologies will help governments and private sectors to shape their investment plans and services on tourism effectively. I think this system will evolve worldwide," Holland added. Holland further noted that, 'It's all governments and head of states' responsibilities to make travel easier to access for everyone. They need to develop all the conditions to facilitate not only subjects such as health, transportation and security, but also new technologies like blockchain and crypto currencies. Because these technologies can give some elements that allow lower fees to further support travel.' This sentiment was further echoed by top international development banker, Kaiser Naseem, who noted that blockchain has the potential to improve existing financial products and services. Europe has taken the lead in terms of blockchain regulations, which makes it ideal for blockchain adoption. Ismail Ertug, a member of the European Parliament, believes that a synergistic relationship would benefit all parties. 'My wish is to set the golden standard for regulations on these new technologies, which should be coming and driven by EU,' he added. Jose Ramon Bauza, a member of the European Parliament, also revealed his hope that blockchain can transform different sectors in the EU. Blockchain is an opportunity. The leader of the EU should be advised on these developments. Blockchain can help in every single chain of tourism industry. Haitham Mattar a major stakeholder and managing director in MEA & South West Asia IHG Hotels & Resorts, also added his thoughts on the state of the tourism industry. There is no hotel operator today that is really meeting the speed of expectations of any owner. Hotel owners, like any business, want to operate from a dashboard of quick information. We're now using artificial intelligence, not only to appease the owners, but to also improve our reservations. It allows guests to make bookings and have confirmations faster - and hopefully gives the owners what they want - easy access to information. Mattar further added: I dream about hotels without receptionists. The AI helps self-check-in and save guest's time. In today's world even 5 minutes waiting in a line is very long time. Technology helps improve these experiences. Dr. Michael Gebert, Chairman, European Blockchain Association, also noted the importance of blockchain technology. 'We need to understand blockchain in order to use it." Ariva cited as a major blockchain solution in the tourism sector Ariva received praise from keynote speaker Taleb Rifai, who previously served as the United Nations World Tourism Organization Secretary General. Rifai noted that the blockchain protocol was a perfect example of how crypto payments could work in the tourism industry. 'I am sure that crypto will be the new payment model in the tourism industry in the near future, and ARIVA is leading this movement,' he added. The event was live broadcast on the Ariva digital platform and attracted the attention of the crypto community. Ariva has emerged as one of the fastest-growing blockchain platforms focusing on the tourism industry. The innovative blockchain protocol has developed an ecosystem divided into key areas - Ariva.World (B2C online crypto travel booking portal) and Ariva.Finance (Crypto payment gateway) and Ariva Wonderland (The World' first Travel Metaverse). In recent days, it has also achieved significant milestones with the release of Ariva.World where travellers can book travel services with Ariva Coin and stablecoins. Furthermore, Ariva.Finance payment gateway has also been launched, and users can make reservations on Ariva.World directly from the gateway. Ariva has also developed a mobile application that can be downloaded on the Apple store and Google Play Store. These latest development from Ariva shows the growing popularity of the blockchain protocol. Contact Details: Contact Person: Ana-Claudia Tapardel Address: Kiel, Germany Company: Ariva Co. Email: support@ariva.digital To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/118495 BLOOMING THE INTERNATIONAL CHARM OF THE BRAND, FENJIU IS EMERGING AS THE TOP WINE BRAND OF CHINA Beijing, China--(Newsfile Corp. - April 2, 2022) - Fenjiu, a leading wine making company of China has proudly announced that on March 20, 2022, it entered the Royal Thai Embassy in Beijing to showcase its magical wine and food. This took place in the second episode issue of the high-end life and food program "Ambassador's Gourmet Parlour" exclusively presented by the famous Chinese wine Qinghua Fenjiu came to the Royal Thai Embassy. The Honorable Ambassador, His Excellency Arthayudh Srisamot welcomed the guests to the Embassy, alongside the Director of Thailand Tourism Administration Pan Kenan. Ambassador's Gourmet Parlour Thai chapter To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/119048_bf2c195984d6cbfc_001full.jpg "We are delighted to host Ambassador's Gourmet Parlour to the Thai Embassy, and we had a great time with some of the most delicious stimulations to our taste buds," said The Honorable Ambassor, His Excellency Arthayudh Srisamot of Thailand, while welcoming the team at the Embassy. Fenjiu enters the Royal Thai Embassy in Beijing as a guest To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/119048_bf2c195984d6cbfc_002full.jpg Qinghua Fenjiu, a famous Chinese wine known for its delicate fragrance, has always aimed to become a carrier of exchanges between Chinese civilization and other civilizations in the world in the new era, and is committed to dialogue with the world in more diverse ways. According to the officials, the Ambassador's Gourmet Parlour program coincides with the event of the Royal Thai Embassy. Ma Xiaodong, deputy general manager of Fenjiu International Trade Co., Ltd., took a photo with Arthayudh Srisamoot, Ambassador of the Royal Thai Embassy to China To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/119048_bf2c195984d6cbfc_003full.jpg In addition, the famous Chinese liquor Qinghua Fenjiu has once again entered the field of international consumption, telling domestic and foreign consumers a new story of Chinese liquor, allowing more consumption to visitors, who can appreciate the unique charm of "International Fen" and taste the unique connotation of Chinese wine spirit. National Tourism Administration of Thailand Exhibition Area Meigong Market To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/119048_bf2c195984d6cbfc_004full.jpg Themed around Thai railway, the Thai-style event hosted by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Thailand, there were fresh fruit stalls on both sides that attracted everyone to stop and watch. It was themed to look like a railway, and the only "market on the rails" in the world. Thailand Maeklong Railway Fair The re-engraving of the city landscape. This event has simply restored this magical landscape of Thailand as the vendors on both sides of the railway sold all kinds of fresh fruits and food. The event simply brought the rich and diverse Thai culture to China and according to Pan Kenan, director of the Beijing Office of the National Tourism Administration of Thailand, the purpose of this Thai-style event is to let friends who cannot go to Thailand during the epidemic experience the authentic Thai culture here. Ms. Pan Kenan, director of the Beijing Office of the National Tourism Administration of Thailand, and the chief editor of Sohu Food, discharge the water lamp To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/119048_bf2c195984d6cbfc_005full.jpg Every November, Thailand holds the Loy Krathong Festival, where people put their own hand-made water lanterns into the river to express their best wishes. At the scene of this windy episode, the editor-in-chief of Sohu Food and Director Pan put the water lanterns carrying beautiful blessings into the pool, allowing the audience to experience a "water lantern" in an immersive manner. Coconut cake, produced by Thailand National Tourism Administration To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/119048_bf2c195984d6cbfc_006full.jpg Furthermore, the event was crowded, and the special snacks such as coconut-flavored cakes attracted most of the tourists. The event also included special snacks, Thai special dance performances, and Muay Thai performances. Anna, chef of the Royal Thai Embassy in China, made Thai fried rice noodles To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/119048_bf2c195984d6cbfc_007full.jpg "My favorite Thai food is pad Thai rice noodles because it doesn't need a lot of water, and the ingredients in it are very rich, including rice noodles, seafood and various seasonings, and the taste is very rich." The ambassador said. The Ambassador also talked about Thailand's table manners and how the children and adults are served food. Ms. Pan Kenan, director of the Beijing Office of the National Tourism Administration of Thailand, tasted Fenjiu liqueur chocolate To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/119048_bf2c195984d6cbfc_008full.jpg "I want to bring this wine chocolate back to Thailand to share with my friends," said Director Pan, whose heart was instantly captured by this wine chocolate made from Fenjiu. Fenjiu, as the representative of light-flavor liquor, is very close to the internationally popular whiskey and vodka in taste and is very suitable for the liquor-flavor of cocktails. At the same time, the pineapple, apple, pear and other aromas in the compound aroma of Fenjiu make it more acceptable to consumers in terms of taste than other aroma-type wines. Nowadays, in China, Fenjiu often uses limes from Thailand to make cocktails, and gradually formed a unique cocktail culture, which is widely sought after at home and abroad. To watch this entire program, please click the link below: https://youtu.be/cGz-hRcZefs For more information, please visit the website at: www.fenjiu.com.cn Contact: Zheng Xingsheng Tel: +86351 270 9799 Website: https://www.fenjiu.com.cn/ Publisher: TCB To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119048 Swapin, a Tallinn, Estonia-based EU-regulated crypto payment provider known for crypto-to-fiat solutions, closed a private investment round, raising 1.68M. The backers were not disclosed. The funds, combined with the support of experienced advisers, will allow the company to increase its market share. Led by Evald Hannes-Kree, CEO, Swapin is an EU-licensed, regulated crypto-to-fiat payment processing company. The company allows the conversion of crypto funds into fiat by direct deposit to a selected IBAN account, avoiding accounting and legal compliance struggles. Swapin has launched two innovative crypto-to-fiat solutions designed directly for businesses. CoinCollector, which allows businesses with clients interested in paying with crypto to accept payments without dealing with crypto-related compliance or accounting. Via a shareable payment link, clients can pay via crypto, and an equal sum in fiat will hit the merchants bank account; E-com, a widget that merchants can integrate into any website to dynamically accept crypto that is instantly converted to fiat. FinSMEs 02/04/2022 Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance have merged, creating an organization that aims to bring scientific advances to patients faster, and deepens longstanding ties with UW Medicine. Under the restructuring formally launched on April 1, Fred Hutch and SCCA are united as a single, independent, not-for-profit organization now called Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. The unified organization will be a clinically integrated part of UW Medicine and UW Medicines cancer program. Todays milestone is a tremendous step toward our vision of decreasing the time between discovery and delivery of the most advanced treatments for our patients, said Fred Hutch President and Director and Raisbeck Endowed Chair holder Dr. Thomas J. Lynch, Jr., who held the same titles at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center before the merger. Although the organization has a new name, Lynch stressed that Fred Hutchs dedication to research excellence remains unchanged. He said those scientific endeavors will only be enhanced by a streamlined organizational structure and tighter integration with clinical care. The organizations commitment to scientific research in vaccines and infectious diseases, basic and human biology, computational science and public health is the same as before the merger, as is its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and to reducing health disparities. Lynch, UW Medicine CEO Dr. Paul Ramsey and other key leaders celebrated the formation of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center this morning at an opening day ceremony on the Fred Hutch campus. We are creating a cancer center that is committed to compassionate, connected patient care that puts the patient and family at front and center, Lynch said. We are committed to discovery and science, because the very best care is rooted in science. Noting that more than 600,000 Americans die of cancer each year, he said the way to come up with better treatments is when you connect an extraordinary clinical facility with the best science anywhere. SCCA was formed 20 years ago by Fred Hutch, UW Medicine and Seattle Childrens to provide cancer clinical care services for the three institutions. With todays launch of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle Childrens will focus on pediatric cancer care, and Fred Hutch and UW Medicine will more tightly coordinate adult cancer care. The SCCA name will be retired later this year, and a new Fred Hutch brand will be introduced to signify the completion of the integration. Although the pediatric clinical care program, including bone marrow transplants, will move to newly completed facilities at Seattle Childrens, Lynch said the research collaborations between the Hutch and Seattle Childrens will continue unchanged. Under a new management services agreement, Fred Hutch will also provide managerial oversight for those services at UW Medical Center that exclusively provide cancer care, such as oncology infusion and radiation oncology. Although Fred Hutch and UW Medicine will continue to operate independent medical centers, cancer care will be clinically integrated an arrangement that allows two medical organizations to coordinate care seamlessly across different settings. Our vision is to make life beyond cancer a reality for our patients. This is really an evolution of our legacy of innovation, focus on clinical outcomes and excellence in care for our patients, said Ramsey, in remarks at the morning celebration. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, together with UW Medicine, will accelerate the development, evaluation, and use of cancer treatments and discoveries in adult patients with cancer, he said. Ramsey explained that this new deeply integrated relationship will help the two organizations align their clinical care teams, leadership teams and business planning. He predicted important, tangible changes for patients, including improved cancer screening, surveillance, early diagnosis, and a focus on treatment, survivorship and broader availability of cancer services. The patient is at the center of what we are doing, he said. Ramsey also stressed the importance of ensuring that the benefits of cancer research be accessible to all. We will be applying a health equity lens to all that we do, to provide the best cancer care services in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer for all patients, he said. A key goal of this clinical integration will be to reduce the duplicative efforts currently required to set up clinical trials, the avenue through which patients have the best opportunity to access advanced, experimental cancer research. Hutch leaders said the streamlining will improve access to these trials for patients, bringing clinical research and care closer together. Dr. Terry McDonnell, chief nursing officer for Fred Hutch, said that being integrated as a single team will provide even more hope for the people we serve. US biggest spoiler of Ukraine situation, European security (Global Times) 08:43, April 02, 2022 Milking the crisis Illustration: Liu Rui/GT After the latest round of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey on Tuesday, both sides said the negotiations released positive signals. Ukraine proposed adopting neutral status in exchange for security guarantees from the international community. Russia said the country would sharply cut military activity around Kiev and Chernihiv. But such positive signals were clearly not what the US wants. On Wednesday during White House press briefing by Communications Director Kate Bedingfield, when she was asked "Is the US willing to become a guarantor of Ukraine's security or considering that option?" Bedingfield said, "We are in constant discussion with Ukrainians about ways that we can help ensure that they are sovereign and secure. But there's nothing specific about a security guarantee that I can speak to at this time." Some Chinese netizens mocked that Bedingfield's remarks was like "We won't give any security guarantee without you falling." It reflects that the US doesn't want to see Ukraine and Russia get along peacefully. Li Haidong, a professor from the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University, believes the US takes Ukraine as a tool to make Russia bleed, so Washington will sustain its support to Kiev. "If Ukraine and Russia reconcile, the US won't be able to make Russia bleed to the last drop of blood," Li told the Global Times. In addition to refraining from a security guarantee, which will lead to de-escalation of the situation, the US also urged caution on the Russian pledge that it will reduce military operations. Reports said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky informed US President Joe Biden on the progress of the peace talks on Wednesday in a phone call, during which Biden told Zelensky that the US will send an additional $500 million in aid to Ukraine. It was also reported that Zelensky published a video address after the call, saying that Russia scaled back military operations around Kiev because Ukrainian troops' defense has forced Russia to do so. The conflict has bonded Ukraine tighter to the US, and Kiev will act more in accordance to Washington in the future. Zelensky's video address was already a clue. If we see it from another angle, it was like: The US said, "Ukraine, you need to continue the stalemate with Russia so that I can help you out," and Ukraine answered, "OK, I'll do something." Li said another reason the US doesn't want to settle the Russia-Ukraine crisis soon is it wants to use the crisis to effectively control Europe and marginalize Russia while consuming more of its strength. Given the recent events led by the US, Washington has at least realized part of its goals. For example, the US and the EU signed historic deal on gas - superficially, the deal aims to help Europe reduce dependence on Russia, but essentially it will make Europe more dependent on the US. On March 24, NATO reaffirmed it "will continue to provide further political and practical support to Ukraine" and "allies are substantially increasing their defense expenditures." By enhancing the role of NATO, the US ties Europe more firmly to its chariot; and through its dominant position, the US has forced Europe to take its side by escalating crisis and even war. The ultimate goal is to constantly put Europe under its control. While pouring cold water on the Russia-Ukraine peace talks, the US is stepping up its efforts to stir the conflicts. This is in line with US strategic needs. If Ukraine's appeal for a security guarantee is met, a new model of international security guarantee will be opened up, which will mean weakening the role of the US and NATO. The US clearly doesn't want to see this result. It can be said that the US is the biggest spoiler of the security in the entire Europe. The US is the most reluctant to see a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021. Sydney, March 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Just released, this edition of BuddeComm report outlines the latest developments and key trends in the telecoms markets. - https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Rwanda-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?utm_source=GNW The fund is derived from a 2% levy on revenues. During fiscal 2020-21, the UAF contributions were RWF5.301 billion, while expenditure was RWF3.828 billion. About 91% of expenditure was assigned to building telecom towers to increase network coverage in underserved areas. Some 68 mobile sites were built in the year under the UAF, which contributed RWF2.698 billion to the initiative. In addition, the UAF subsidised the cost of broadband services at 193 sites (including public and private institutions). The UAF gives about RWF100 million annually to the Broadband Systems Corporation (BSC), which provides broadband services in subsidised areas. Read the full report: https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Rwanda-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?utm_source=GNW Sydney, March 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Just released, this edition of BuddeComm report outlines the latest developments and key trends in the telecoms markets. - https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Eswatini-Swaziland-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?utm_source=GNW The vast majority of mobile calls made are on-net, which encourages MNOs to offer competitive pricing and discounts on their own networks. With off-net calls, costs are partly determined by the MTR, and so calls are more expensive. On-net promotions are the main driver for multiple SIM card use. Handsets sold in the country commonly allow for dual SIM cards, making its easier for subscribers to switch between networks for each call when required. Recognising that there was no effective competition in the voice call termination market, the regulator determined that the three operators had to adopt various obligations of the 2013 Electronic Communications Act and the 2016 Electronic Communications (Interconnection) Regulations. These collectively will see a reduction in termination rates in stages through to March 2023. In common with most markets globally, subscribers in Eswatini have responded to the particular circumstances of the pandemic by making greater use of mobile voice and data services. The volume of domestic voice calls increased 26% in the year to March 2021, reaching 3.4 billion minutes, and a similar increase is expected to have been maintained for the rest of the year. The country has long had some of the highest charges for mobile data services in Africa, and the lack of affordability held back consumer take-up of services. To help address this, MTN Eswatini in late 2020 reduced the cost of postpaid monthly data bundles by 70% and of prepaid packages by 32%. This greatly supported the development of the sector to coincide with a pandemic-related increase in traffic. Key developments: MTN Eswatini consolidates dominance in the mobile market, expands LTE service reach, reduces the cost of monthly data bundles; Regulator imposes sliding scale reduction in call termination rates through to 2023; Paratus completes 750km terrestrial cable linking Maputo through Eswatini to Johannesburg; Mbabane Internet Exchange Point (MB-IX) is opened to route local traffic; Report update includes operator data to Q3 2021, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, assessment of the global impact of the pandemic on the telecoms sector, regulators market report to March 2021; recent market developments. Companies mentioned in this report: Eswatini Posts & Telecommunications Corporation (EPTC), MTN Eswatini, Africa Online, Posix, Real Image, Viettel, Eswatini Mobile Read the full report: https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Eswatini-Swaziland-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?utm_source=GNW RENO, Nev., March 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ORA), a leading geothermal, energy storage, solar PV and recovered energy power company, today announced that the Company will host its investor day event on March 30, 2022. The event will begin at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, in New York City. The event will include presentations from members of the executive leadership team. Ormat executives will present the Companys long-term strategy, multi-year growth framework, and financial objectives. The prepared remarks will be followed by a question-and-answer session at the end of the presentation. A live webcast, along with the accompanying slides, will be available on the day of the event. The link can be found in the News & Events section of the Ormat Investor Relations website. A webcast replay will also be available on the website following the event. ABOUT ORMAT TECHNOLOGIES With over five decades of experience, Ormat Technologies, Inc. is a leading geothermal company and the only vertically integrated company engaged in geothermal and recovered energy generation (REG), with robust plans to accelerate long-term growth in the energy storage market and to establish a leading position in the U.S. energy storage market. The Company owns, operates, designs, manufactures and sells geothermal and REG power plants primarily based on the Ormat Energy Converter a power generation unit that converts low-, medium- and high-temperature heat into electricity. The Company has engineered, manufactured and constructed power plants, which it currently owns or has installed for utilities and developers worldwide, totaling approximately 3,200 MW of gross capacity. Ormat leveraged its core capabilities in the geothermal and REG industries and its global presence to expand the Companys activity into energy storage services, solar Photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage plus Solar PV. Ormats current total generating portfolio is 1.1 GW with 1,012 MW of geothermal and Solar generation portfolio that is spread globally in the U.S., Kenya, Guatemala, Indonesia, Honduras, and Guadeloupe, and 83 MW energy storage portfolio that is located in the U.S. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global wind power coatings market is estimated to expand 11.3% CAGR over the forecast period between 2021 and 2031, finds Future Market Insights (FMI) in a recent market analysis. Increasing focus on alternate sources of energy has led to surge in wind turbine installation worldwide. This has in turn created conducive environment for sales of wind power coatings. Wind Power Coatings Market Size (2020) US$ 1.09 Bn Wind Power Coatings Market Estimated Year Value (2021) US$ 1.2 Bn Wind Power Coatings Market Projected Market Value (2031) US$ 3.5 Bn Value CAGR (2021-2031) 11.3 % Collective Value Share: Top 3 Countries (2021) 50%-55% The installation of wind turbines has risen in tandem with the demand for cleaner energy sources. Application of wind power coatings is the essential step within wind turbine manufacturing. Besides protecting such a large and costly structure, wind power coatings also ascertain longer life span of wind turbines protecting them from corrosion, erosion, and wear and tear. To Remain Ahead of Your Competitors, Request for A Sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-14236 However, application of wind power coatings require skilled labor and advance equipment. Unavailability of the same could hamper growth of the market. Key Takeaways: Global wind power coatings market value is expected to surpass US$ 3.5 Bn by the end of the forecast period. The onshore coatings segment is expected to register maximum sales. East Asia is expected to be the dominant region in terms of production and consumption of wind power coatings. Demand from Japan and China will support sales of wind power coatings in East Asia. Demand in the U.S. will grow by 9.8% year-on-year in 2021 backed by surging focus on expanding the renewable energy infrastructure. The U.K. and Germany will emerge as highly lucrative market for sales of wind power coatings within Europe. For critical insights on this market, request to ask an expert here @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-14236 In order to gain competitive edge, the market players are eyeing at strategic collaboration. Besides this, they are expanding their portfolio to include coatings with advanced features. This is expected to aid the expansion of the market in the coming years, says an FMI analyst. Competitive Landscape Key manufacturers of wind power coatings Includes Hempel A/S, PPG Industries, Inc., Covestro AG, Akzo Nobel N.V., BASF, The Sherwin-Williams Company, Jotun Group, Teknos Group Oy, 3M, Sika AG, Thomas Industrial Coatings, Mankiewicz Gebr. & Co. (GmbH & Co. KG), Bergolin GmbH & Co. KG, Duromar, Inc. and others. Wind Power Coatings Market by Category By Type Polymer Coatings Epoxy Polyurethane Acrylic Fluoropolymer Others Ceramic Coatings Metal Coatings By Coating Method Spray Roller Others By Application Offshore Offshore Blade Offshore Tower Offshore Interior Offshore Turbine Foundation Onshore Onshore Blade Onshore Tower Onshore Interior Onshore Turbine Foundation By Utilization OEM Maintenance By Region: North America Latin America Europe East Asia South Asia & Pacific Middle East & Africa For More Information or Query or Customization Before Buying, Visit: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/customization-available/rep-gb-14236 More Insights into the Wind Power Coatings Market Report In its latest report, FMI offers an unbiased analysis of the global wind power coatings market, providing historical data for the period of 2016-2020 and forecast statistics for the period of 2021-2031. In order to understand the global market potential, its growth, and scope, the market is segmented on the basis of type, coating method, application, utilization, and Region Explore wide-ranging Coverage of FMI's Chemicals & Materials Market Insights Landscape Paper Processing Resins Market The global sales of paper processing resins are anticipated to rise at a significant pace over the forecast period from 2022 to 2032. Weighing Agents Market The global weighing agents market is forecast to register significant growth during the forecast period from 2022 to 2032. Flexographic Ink Market Recent downturn of the Chemicals and Materials industry is likely to hinder the growth of the Flexographic Ink market during the forecast period. Bio-Plasticizers Market The higher cost of bio-plasticizers as compared to phthalate-based plasticizers is a challenging factor that is expected to hamper the growth of the global Bio-Plasticizers market during the forecast period. Transformer Oil Market Global Transformer Oil Market demand is anticipated to be valued at US$ 2.02 Billion in 2022, forecast to grow at a CAGR of 7% to be valued at US$ 4 Billion from 2022 to 2032. Ballistic Protection Materials Market Global Ballistic Protection Materials demand is anticipated to be valued at US$ 11.80 Billion in 2022, forecast to grow at approximately CAGR of 6% to be valued at US$ 21 Billion from 2022 to 2032. Wind Turbine Composite Materials Market The global wind turbine composite materials market is expected to be valued at USD 12 Billion in 2022 and secure USD 25.4 Billion by 2032. The projected market growth is 7.14% during the forecast period from 2022 to 2032 Acetonitrile Market Global Acetonitrile Market demand is anticipated to be valued at US$ 277 Million in 2022, forecast to grow at a CAGR of 5.5% to be valued at US$ 473 Million from 2022 to 2032. Acrylamide Market During the forecast period, the acrylamide market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 4%. Polypropylene Random Copolymers Market - The global polypropylene random copolymers market was worth US$ 8.3 Billion in revenue in 2021, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% between 2022 and 2032. As of 2022, the market is expected to be valued at US$ 8.8 Billion, projected to reach US$ 15.46 Billion. About Future Market Insights (FMI) Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in Dubai, and has delivery centres in the UK, U.S. and India. FMI's latest market research reports and industry analysis help businesses navigate challenges and make critical decisions with confidence and clarity amidst breakneck competition. Our customized and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. A team of expert-led analysts at FMI continuously tracks emerging trends and events in a broad range of industries to ensure that our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers. Contact: Future Market Insights, 1602-6 Jumeirah Bay X2 Tower, Plot No: JLT-PH2-X2A, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com For Media Enquiries: press@futuremarketinsights.com Website: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/wind-power-coatings-market bioLytical Laboratories Inc. announced today that it is launching a second test on its new platform, iStatis, after receiving Health Canada authorization for the iStatis COVID-19 Antigen Home Test for its immediate market entry into Canada bioLytical has received Health Canada authorization to sell its iStatis COVID-19 Antigen Home Test across Canada for home use The test is portable and can be performed in the comfort and privacy of home with a simple platform and easy-to-understand results Test performance in clinical studies demonstrated industry-leading accuracy bioLytical's quality system is ISO 13485: MDSAP-certified RICHMOND, British Columbia, April 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- bioLytical Laboratories Inc. (bioLytical), a global leader in rapid in-vitro medical diagnostics, announced today that it is launching its iStatis COVID-19 Antigen Home Test after receiving Health Canada Interim Order authorization, allowing its immediate entry into the Canadian market. Building on its innovative INSTI testing platform, the iStatis COVID-19 Antigen Home Test is on bioLyticals newest platform, iStatis. With this additional lateral flow diagnostic technology, bioLytical can continue to reach more people, helping to provide peace of mind to Canadians looking to make informed health choices. We are excited to offer Canadians a COVID-19 test that they can take in the comfort and privacy of their own homes, said Rob Mackie, Chief Executive Officer of bioLytical. With this new test, we can help our home country get access to an accurate test when and where they need one. With the continuing scarcity of available home antigen tests, we saw an opportunity to support our country with a reliable home test from a local manufacturer they can trust. As the world learns to live with COVID-19, rapid testing is a vital tool to help identify infection and reduce exposure and transmission. Conducting regular testing provides an extra layer of defense. Home tests offer a convenient option to help Canadians make informed health decisions at home, at work, and in their communities. To keep Canadians safe and secure, reliable testing access is necessary. Throughout the pandemic, healthcare systems were overwhelmed across the country. Along with the lack of PCR testing and scarcity of rapid antigen tests, it was difficult for Canadians to find and take COVID-19 tests when they needed one. With its high accuracy, portability, and ease of use, the iStatis COVID-19 Antigen Home Test will provide Canadians with a trusted home option. bioLytical will manufacture the iStatis COVID-19 Antigen Tests in its ISO 13485: MDSAP-certified facility in Richmond, British Columbia, to sell and distribute across Canada. As a global leader in ultra-rapid infectious disease diagnostics, bioLytical is working to ensure our iStatis COVID-19 Antigen Home Test kits are available to Canadians so they can know their status faster. Media Contact Communications at bioLytical press@biolytical.com +1-778-238-9340 bioLytical Laboratories Inc. is a privately-owned Canadian company focused on the research, development, and commercialization of rapid in-vitro medical diagnostics using its proprietary INSTI technology platform and its lateral flow line, iStatis. bioLytical has won several local and industry awards, including B.C. Exporter of the Year in 2019. We have been named Lifesciences B.C.s Growth Stage Med Tech Company of the Year and are featured on B.C.s Fastest-Growing Companies for five years in a row, including the Globe and Mails Fastest Growing Companies list in 2020. bioLytical moved to a significantly larger, state-of-the-art facility in Richmond, B.C., in 2020 to accommodate the extraordinary growth achieved through our team. Providing accurate results in one minute or less, the INSTI range includes the INSTI HIV-1/HIV-2 Antibody Test, INSTI Multiplex HIV Syphilis Ab Test, INSTI HIV Self Test, INSTI Covid-19 Antibody Test, and the INSTI HCV Antibody Test. bioLytical sells its products in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Asia. In 2022, bioLytical launched iStatis, its new lateral flow testing platform to create additional access to testing worldwide. By delivering accurate results in real-time, INSTI and iStatis generate meaningful outcomes for medical professionals, patients, and public health organizations worldwide and is a key partner in tackling some of the worlds most severe healthcare challenges. Please visit www.istatis.com and www.insti.com and www.biolytical.com for more information. References https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/testing-screening-contact-tracing/workplace.html A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ab1ff29b-b95a-4eb2-b640-2c03ab35d28a This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices. BRISBANE, Australia, April 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allkem Limited (ASX|TSX: AKE, the Company) provides an update on expected June quarter pricing for lithium carbonate and spodumene products. Lithium carbonate Strong market conditions continue to positively impact the price received for lithium carbonate from the Olaroz Lithium Facility. The June quarter FY22 average price received for lithium carbonate is expected to be approximately US$35,000/t FOB1 on sales of approximately 3,500 tonnes. The preliminary March quarter FY22 sales price was approximately US$27,236/t FOB, 9% higher than the previous guidance. Spodumene Similarly strong conditions in the spodumene market are supporting advanced discussions for spodumene concentrate pricing in the June quarter of approximately US$5,000/t SC6% CIF on sales of approximately 50,000 tonnes. March quarter sales of spodumene concentrate were completed at a price of approximately US$2,218/t SC6% CIF DMT which includes tonnes that were delayed from the December quarter. March quarter report The March quarter sales prices for lithium carbonate and spodumene concentrate are preliminary and indicative. The final prices will be provided in the March Quarterly Report which will be released on 14 April, 2022. This release was authorised by Mr Martin Perez de Solay, CEO and Managing Director of Allkem Limited. Allkem Limited ABN 31 112 589 910 Level 35, 71 Eagle St Brisbane, QLD 4000 Investor Relations & Media Enquiries Andrew Barber +61 418 783 701 Andrew.Barber@allkem.co Connect info@allkem.co +61 7 3064 3600 www.allkem.co 1 FOB (Free On Board) excludes insurance and freight charges included in CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) pricing. Therefore, the Companys reported prices are net of freight (shipping), insurance and sales commission. FOB prices are reported by the Company to provide clarity on the sales revenue that is recognised by SDJ, the joint venture company in Argentina IMPORTANT NOTICES This investor ASX/TSX release (Release) contains general information about the Company as at the date of this Release. The information in this Release should not be considered to be comprehensive or to comprise all of the material which a shareholder or potential investor in the Company may require in order to determine whether to deal in Shares of Allkem. The information in this Release is of a general nature only and does not purport to be complete. It should be read in conjunction with the Companys periodic and continuous disclosure announcements which are available at allkem.co and with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) announcements, which are available at www.asx.com.au. Forward Looking Statements Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and beliefs and, by their nature, are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results, performances and achievements to differ materially from any expected future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, the risk of further changes in government regulations, policies or legislation; the risks associated with the continued implementation of the merger between the Company and Galaxy Resources Ltd, risks that further funding may be required, but unavailable, for the ongoing development of the Companys projects; fluctuations or decreases in commodity prices; uncertainty in the estimation, economic viability, recoverability and processing of mineral resources; risks associated with development of the Company Projects; unexpected capital or operating cost increases; uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones at the Companys Projects; risks associated with investment in publicly listed companies, such as the Company; and risks associated with general economic conditions. Subject to any continuing obligation under applicable law or relevant listing rules of the ASX, the Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this Release to reflect any change in expectations in relation to any forward-looking statements or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based. Nothing in this Release shall under any circumstances (including by reason of this Release remaining available and not being superseded or replaced by any other Release or publication with respect to the subject matter of this Release), create an implication that there has been no change in the affairs of the Company since the date of this Release. Not for release or distribution in the United States This announcement has been prepared for publication in Australia and may not be released to U.S. wire services or distributed in the United States. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction, and neither this announcement or anything attached to this announcement shall form the basis of any contract or commitment. LONDON, April 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A growing body of research shows that the worst impacts of climate change are being borne by the most vulnerable nations. The Commonwealth of Dominica is one of these nations who due to its geographical location is now experiencing a higher number of the harshest hurricanes resulting from climate change. In 2017, Hurricane Maria made landfall on the southwest coast of Dominica on 18 September as a Category 5 hurricane. Windspeeds of 220 mph took the lives of 68 people and decimated 90% of the housing infrastructure and directly impacted 80% of the population. Power and water supplies were disrupted, and entire crops were destroyed. With a population of just over 70 000 people, Dominica, classified as a Small Island Developing Nation (SIDS), was declared international humanitarian emergency. Five days after Hurricane Maria, the Prime Minister of Dominica, Dr the Hon. Roosevelt Skerritt left the frontlines of the devastation to address the 72nd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Here, he reminded the nations, especially developed nations, of how small countries like his who had made a very little to no contribution to global warming were on the receiving end of the ferocious impact of climate change. Heat is the fuel that supercharges ordinary storms and turns them into a devastating force. In the past we would prepare for one heavy storm a year, now thousands of storms form on a breeze in the mid-Atlantic Ocean and line up to pound us with maximum force. We in the Caribbean do not produce greenhouse gases or sulphate aerosols. We do not pollute or overfish. We have made no contribution to global warming that can move the needle, yet we are among the main victims on the war against climate change. In 2019, the worlds six largest carbon dioxide emitters together accounted for 51% of the global population and 67% of total CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. Dominica was not on this list. The U.S. is the second-largest CO2 emitter after China, and the largest historically. In 2019, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions totalled 6,558 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents a two percent increase since 1990, while Dominica represented 0% of the global share of CO2 emissions in the same period according to Worldometer. The recent recommitment of the Biden administrations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris climate agreement and advance research and development for solutions is a step in the right direction from a large CO2 emitter like the U.S and will go a long way in helping to protect the health and well-being future generations. The future of humanity has always been intertwined with that of the natural world. While the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the entire world, it particularly amplified the unique vulnerabilities of SIDS, who are disproportionately bearing the brunt of multiple world crises climate, nature, health and economics and finance. The acute structural challenges and multi-dimensional vulnerabilities of SIDS are being more exposed and intensifying over time. Addressing these vulnerabilities is a significant challenge for the small nations, most of whom are middle income countries and are not necessarily eligible to access concessionary finance based on GDP or other established criteria. Climate change presents unique challenges to SIDS such as Dominica. The associated development challenges from sea-level rise, altered rainfall patterns, and storm-surges threaten to reverse progress made towards the Millennium Development Goals now and in the future. The United Nations Millennium Declaration, signed in September 2000, commits world leaders to combat environmental degradation amongst other things. Key projected risks for SIDS include increased loss of land from sea-level rise, flooding, ecosystem degradation and freshwater stress, to tropical storms of increased intensity, and extreme water level events that may double by 2050. Dominica is one of the countries on the frontlines of climate change. They feel its impacts first and most severely, yet they contribute less than 1% of global carbon emissions. They are vulnerable to hurricanes and cyclones, which are becoming more frequent and extreme, causing economic and environmental devastation, not to mention loss of life. Their dependence on food and energy imports, and tourism revenue, increase their vulnerability to external shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. It must be emphasized that climate change for small island nations is a matter of life and death, added Micha Emmet, CEO at CS Global Partners a leading government advisory and marketing firm. Climate justice is an area of research that frames climate change as a political and ethical issue, and not solely as a problem underpinned by environmental change. SIDS-focused research in climate justice has centred on the shortcomings of existing climate actions to prevent negative climate impacts that affect island states. The so-called North-South divide highlights the difference between developed and developing countries in identifying and implementing ambitious actions that would limit the risks that climate change presents. This divide is exemplified by the contrast between SIDS advocating to limit global average warming to 1.5C and pushback from developed countries to keep to this warming limit, despite the existential risks that increased warming presents for SIDS. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5eb2078a-157b-43a1-b9c8-d2bb333bd231 Toronto, April 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- April is World Autism Month, an annual opportunity for a dedicated conversation about autism. Approximately 1 in 66 children and youth are diagnosed with autism in Canada and more than 70 million people globally. Special Announcement: In celebration of World Autism Month, Autism Speaks Canada is launching their documentary Life on The Spectrum by Autism Speaks Canada on April 2, 2022, World Autism Day. In this documentary, they share lived experiences of autistic Canadians and their families, from coast to coast to coast, to increase understanding and acceptance of people with autism. We believe in empowering every autistic member of the community, says Sarah Ahmed, director of marketing and communications for Autism Speaks Canada. This can only be achieved when people truly understand autism and accept autistic people for their unique strengths, challenges, dreams, and goals. At Autism Speaks Canada, we remain committed to building inclusive communities where autistic Canadians can reach their full potential. How to Watch the Documentary: Subscribe to Autism Speaks Canadas YouTube channel at autismspeaks.ca/youtube and be the first to watch Life on the Spectrum by Autism Speaks Canada. Release date: April 2, 2022 at 12PM EST https://youtu.be/seRZ35gNkE8 Watch the commercial https://youtu.be/peGVh1GGD1c In addition to the documentary, Autism Speaks Canada is thankful to all their partners for collaborating on a list of other activities happening in April: Spectrum Works Job Fair, In-person & Virtual Walks, CASDA Submit, Sensory Friendly events at select Chuck-e-Cheese locations, family and friends discounts at Great Wolf Lodge, GoodLife Moves program and so much more. Visit their website to learn more. www.AutismSpeaks.ca/WAM About Autism Speaks Canada Autism Speaks Canada is a national Canadian charity dedicated to promoting solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the life span. www.AutismSpeaks.ca Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn @AutismSpeaksCanada Twitter @AutismSpeaksCan About Life on the Spectrum by Autism Speaks Canada Life on the Spectrum by Autism Speaks Canada is a documentary to increase understanding and acceptance of people with autism. The documentary shares lived experiences of autistic Canadians and their families, from coast to coast to coast. It will be premiered on April 2, 2022, exclusively on Autism Speaks Canadas YouTube Channel and social media outlets. It will be promoted throughout the month of April, to align with and celebrate World Autism Month. Attachment TORONTO, April 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA), in partnership with the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange, will be gathering with representatives from Ontarios iGaming industry to celebrate the launch of Ontarios regulated iGaming market at the TSX Market Centre on April 4 at 8:30am. Speakers include: Paul Burns, President & CEO, CGA Dave Forestell, Chair, iGaming Ontario Jordan Gnat, CEO, Playmaker Capital John Levy, CEO, theScore Inc. Steven Salz, CEO, Rivalry This event will be live streamed at https://youtu.be/3LjQVclHzb4 . Media are welcome to attend. What: Launch of Ontarios iGaming Market Where: TSX Market Centre, 125 Adelaide Street, Toronto When: April 4, 2022, from 8:30am 9:30am ET About the Canadian Gaming Association The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) is a not-for-profit organization that works to advance the evolution of Canadas gaming industry. The associations mandate is to promote the economic value of gaming in Canada; use research, innovation, and best practices to help the industry advance; and create productive dialogue among stakeholders. Visit www.canadiangaming.ca to learn more about the CGA and gaming in Canada. For further information please contact: Paul Burns, Canadian Gaming Association (416) 579-3922 pburns@canadiangaming.ca "Let us sow the seeds of conscience in education, saving the world with conscience education." ~ Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, president of FOWPAL LOS ANGELES, April 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- April 5, 2022 marks the third UN-designated International Day of Conscience, and the Federation of World Peace and Love (FOWPAL) will host a virtual observance from 3:00-5:00 pm GMT on that day, with a focus on conscience education , integrating the balance between the development of technology and spirituality to build character in younger generations and help the world move toward a better and more stable future. FOWPAL firmly believes that conscience is the key to resolving all problems. It launched the movement of An Era of Conscience in 2014, and beginning in 2018, it collaborated with the Permanent Missions to the United Nations of Bahrain, Kiribati, Equatorial Guinea, and other countries on a draft resolution titled "Promoting the Culture of Peace with Love and Conscience." On July 25, 2019, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the draft resolution submitted by the Kingdom of Bahrain, declaring April 5 as the International Day of Conscience. Thereafter, FOWPAL has been engaged in activities each month to honor various UN-designated days, with an emphasis on conscience, uniting global citizens to act with conscience, transforming their communities, countries, and the world. To date, it has held more than 60 such events, where leaders from all walks of life from around the world have shared their insights on fostering sustainable development through conscience, urging the world to work together to promote a culture of peace with love and conscience. The promotion of International Day of Conscience is gaining momentum around the world. Last month, a webinar on the International Day of Education organized by FOWPAL was broadcast on MNN (Manhattan Neighborhood Network) in New York. During the forum, FOWPAL President Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze delivered a speech titled "Transforming Education with Love and Conscience," highlighting, "The core value of education lies in inspiring peoples conscience and self-awareness, thereby shaping individuals and the landscape of future society. The most important education for everyone from birth to death is conscience education." Through the power of education for all, the promotion of the movement of An Era of Conscience is expected to inspire global citizens conscience and good deeds to create a future of love and peace together. To commemorate the third International Day of Conscience, FOWPAL not only will host online events on April 5, but also has organized a series of activities with various organizations around the world since April 1, aiming to gather conscience advice from all walks of life and inject positive energy for the sustainable development of the Earth. The International Day of Conscience is a day for all of humanity, and everyone's conscience and good deeds, great or small, are powerful forces in changing the world. FOWPAL invites everyone to send their conscience words and actions (video, text, photos, drawings, etc.) to its International Day of Conscience (ICDAY) mailbox at icday@fowpal.org or post them on its social media pages, such as Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . FOWPAL also invites schools of all levels worldwide to observe this day during the week of April 5 (April 4 to 8) to promote conscience education, allowing the seeds of goodwill to be planted in students' hearts and guiding them to better themselves. FOWPAL has created free materials for conscience education , and the citizens of the world are welcome to use them to foster positive values. They are also encouraged to send FOWPAL recordings (videos, articles, photos, etc.) of their practice and promotion of conscience-driven education. As a result, thoughts and actions of conscience will spread throughout the world, positively impacting everyone. The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has shocked the entire world. The global community shares a common destiny, and the war's brutality and casualties have deepened global citizens aspirations for peace. With a song titled A Prayer for Peace and another prayer for the world, FOWPAL hopes that the deceased will rest in peace and the survivors will be comforted. It prays for an end to the war and people's suffering so that people can return to their safe and stable lives as soon as possible and work together to bring about world peace. The pandemic is still raging around the world, so people must exercise caution. FOWPAL has been sharing a one-minute video, featuring useful tips for epidemic prevention titled 3 Donts, 5 Dos and 6 tips , encouraging everyone to share it widely through their platforms to benefit the people of the world. FOWPALs President Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze emphasizes, With conscience, comes a peaceful world; with happiness, comes a joyful family. FOWPAL hopes that everyones conscience will be awakened and that everyone will work together for a peaceful and sustainable future! About the Federation of World Peace and Love (FOWPAL) : Established in 2000 in the United States by Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, FOWPAL is an international love and peace organization, with members from around the world. Guided by the principle of Changing the world for the better starting with one good thought, it aims to promote world peace and love through various activities such as world summits of love and peace, ceremonies of ringing the Bell of World Peace and Love , and cultural exchange performances . To date, 399 prominent figures from 122 countries have rung the Bell, made their wishes for love and peace, and pledged to work for the worlds sustainable future. Among them are 43 heads of state and government, seven Nobel Peace Prize laureates, UN ambassadors, and other visionary leaders. Media Contact: Lily Chen Representative info@fowpal.org 626-202-5268 www.fowpal.org A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/39aef07a-a15a-4451-9fca-f99e21017c2d The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress. Formula 1 has had nothing to complain about in terms of interested circuits since the fight between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in 2021. In March of this year, a rumor surfaced that Malaysia was also thinking about enticing the FIA to host another Grand Prix in the country, but that is not true, according to Azhan Shafriman Hanif. The Malaysian GP was on the program for many years in the past, but in 2017 the country suddenly disappeared from the racing calendar. With the 23 races scheduled by the teams this season, the calendar seems to be full, but the FIA continues to look for interesting destinations. However, the organization does not have to hope for Malaysia, it seems. Read more Red Bull confirms: Verstappen has escape clause Indeed, the director of the circuit believes that Malaysia should first focus on the corona victims who have fallen, he told Bernama.com. He says he does not think it is an appropriate moment to bring in a Formula 1 race, so he is waiting for the time being. However, when the government indicates to him that this moment has come, he would be open to hosting a Formula 1 race again. Verstappen was last winner Between 1999 and 2017, the Malaysian GP was invariably on the racing calendar. Max Verstappen was the last Formula One driver to step off the track as a winner. Sebastian Vettel won the race no less than four times. Ferrari is making a very positive impression so far this season. With Charles Leclerc it seems to have a driver in house who can fight with Max Verstappen for the world title, while Carlos Sainz also seems to be on his way. Mattia Binotto, however, realizes that the team must continue to develop the car to compete. Whereas last season the Italian racing team was unable to keep up with Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, in the first two races of 2022 it was a different story. Mercedes dropped out and has to settle for a place in the subtop, while Red Bull was on a par with Ferrari. Read more Elkann thinks lineup Ferrari better than Red Bull and Mercedes Binotto does not yet expect any upgrades in Australia Leclerc also showed that he has the level to make things difficult for Verstappen. The Dutchman could not get past Leclerc in Bahrain, while he was able to do so in Saudi Arabia. Binotto knows that there is still enough to do to keep this up all season, although he is not sure when updates will come. "Its not just a matter of when we will be ready but a matter of budget caps, making sure we are not spending all we have got in the first races," the team boss explained to Formula1.com. "We are not expecting significant upgrades for the next race in Melbourne, but as soon as we can bring something, we will do it." Benchmark Mineral Intelligence held its inaugural Battery Megafactories Europe 2022 event in Berlin; the event zeroed in on a number of pertinent points for the continents EV and battery supply chain. Key takeaways from the Berlin event include: Raw materials enter the realm of impossible Even in the most optimistic scenarios where every single raw material project in the pipeline comes on stream and existing operations expand aggressively, there will not be enough raw material for the battery supply chain as we go into 2030. Lack of supply is not due to any geological constraints but to a simple lack of capital investment to build future mines. Benchmark forecasts that lithium chemical supply will be in a deficit of more than 300,000 tonnes by 2030, with nickel sulfate supply set to fall short of demand by nearly 400,000 tonnes, cobalt by more than 75,000 tonnes and flake graphite by nearly 2 million tonnes by the end of the decade. Both lithium and cobalt face medium-term challenges to meeting automotive consumer ambitions; raw material constraints will prevent battery production topping the 1 TWh threshold until 2025. OEMS will need to take drastic upstream action Benchmarks Simon Moores stressed that OEMs will need to become miners and invest to bring new raw material mining capacity, not just refining capacity, to market. Benchmarks Daisy Jennings-Gray warned of the the huge raw material disconnect that has opened up between growing downstream demand for critical battery raw materials from the EV industry and the increasingly limited availability of those raw materials. Benchmark warned that OEM raw material fears have become reality for lithium and nickel after unprecedented price spikes. LME nickel chaos exacerbated industry doubts over existing financial mechanism that do not reflect the realities of the EV and battery supply chain and calls for new pricing mechanism grows. The global battery arms race shows no signs of slowing down. Benchmarks Keynote outlined that the lithium ion battery is going nowhere explaining the underlining trends of lithium ion cells, especially NCM and LFP chemistries, are getting better, lower cost, and abundant. Benchmark warned of more battery capacity to come despite raw material disconnect, with global totals expect to top 10GWh for Energy Transition needs. Global lithium ion battery capacity 10 year pipeline has reached 5,777 GWh. Europe is set to have 15% of this capacity, China 68%, and the USA 12%. The world has 282 Gigafactories at various stages of production and construction as assessed by Benchmark in February 2022. Benchmark warned that short term battery cell price increases of 10-20% due to lithium carbonate and nickel sulfate price spikes will impact EVs but the long term trend towards lower costs is generally positive. Benchmark is launching Battery Gigafactories USA 2022 in Washington DC, 23-24 June 2022. This event replaces The Benchmark Summit Washington DC for 2022 only. Aggressive emission and carbon neutrality targets set by regulators worldwide entails a faster transition from traditional automakers to next-gen electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers. Therefore, automakers are committing operational investments of nearly US$600 billion to secure their position in the future automotive market, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. Broadly, the investments announced focus on the development of production facilities, technology, EV batteries, new product and securing future raw material supply (primarily semiconductors and battery materials). Autonomous vehicle development also remains a closely linked area to the investments. The investments affirm that the future must be electric and there is no turning back for traditional automakers. However, the flurry of announcements from the OEMs could also be interpreted as a high-stakes game of one-upmanship or a corporate PR exercise to boost investor confidence. With all OEMs taking the same path, it is unlikely that any long-term sustainable competitive advantage will be conferred and that visibility over the billions of dollars of planned xEV investment is a price of market participation. Bakar Sadik Agwan, Senior Automotive Consulting Analyst at GlobalData VW Group stays on the top of the list with a US$100.5-billion investment through 2030. Its ambition to surpass Tesla is no secret, says GlobalData, and the company wants four out of every 10 cars it sells to be a BEV by 2030. A further analysis, looking at the contribution to xEV growth of each OEM derived from the latest LMC light vehicle powertrain forecast, sheds further light on the returns expected. VW is estimated to have the highest cumulative contribution to EV growth over the next decade when mapped against the investment announced, amongst the players analyzed. However, there is no apparent correlation identified between the level of investment announced and expected contribution to growth as can be seen in the case of Ford, Stellantis and GM. Bakar Sadik Agwan Despite being a pioneer in hybrid vehicles, Toyota was slow to implement BEV strategies; President Akio Toyoda announced the bZ EV brand only last year. Toyota plans to launch 30 models by 2030. Prior to this, Toyota had only a few BEV models manufactured with its Chinese partner GAC Group. Toyota announced US$70.4 billion investment in EVs to 2030, early this year. The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the Council and the Democratic Syria are still appealing to the Damascus government for dialogue to end the long-running Syrian crisis and pay its taxes to the Syrian people, but the intransigence of the Damascus government and its refusal to dialogue closes the door to serious solutions to the Syrian crisis. In this regard, our agency met with the spokesman for the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria, Luqman Ahmi, who confirmed that since the establishment of the AANES it has been calling for a peaceful and democratic solution to the Syrian crisis, adding, "The solution lies in the Syrian dialogue between all parties in Syria." Ahmi expressed his regret that the other parties in Syria were not ready for dialogue, and said, "Unfortunately, our hands are extended for dialogue, but no other party has raised this hand and held it and communicated with us for the sake of the serious poplar," noting that "there are some meetings, but unfortunately the dialogue did not reach between the two parties to the Syrian interest. Luqman Ahmi added, "The basis for dialogue is dialogue, not for dialogue, and we believe and affirm that there is a Syrian crisis and there are unresolved issues within Syria that led to this crisis. In order to solve this crisis, these issues must be resolved, and there are issues of national, religious and ideological components, and also the form the regime in Syria in the coming days. All these foundations, should be discussed because they will lead to a peaceful and democratic solution to the Syrian crisis. Decentralization and pluralism Ahmi affirmed, "The Autonomous Administration wants to have a pluralistic democratic system that accepts the other and covers all of Syria on the basis of decentralized system. Without that, the Syrian people will remain displaced and and divided in the interests of the regional countries." Ahmi explained, "The issue of dialogue with the political parties is entrusted to the Syrian Democratic Council to represent all Syrians on the Syrian soil, without excluding any party." At the end of his speech, Luqman Ahmi stated that "the Syrian Democratic Council is now in the process of convening a conference of democratic forces, personalities and movements in Syria in order to meet for a united front in order to pressure the opposition and the Damascus government to come to a serious dialogue and resolve the Syrian crisis in a peaceful and democratic way." A ANHA This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate GREENWICH Greenwich students claimed top honors at the Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair last weekend. Now, three Greenwich High School students will compete in the national invitational this May. And two Greenwich Catholic School students are invited to the national competition for middle school students. Students from Brunswick School, Greenwich Academy, Greenwich Country Day School and Sacred Heart Academy won titles as well. Prizes vary from meetings with patent attorneys to cash. Andrew Bramante teaches a course at Greenwich High School for students who intend to compete at the science and engineering fair. Students in all grades work from fall to spring honing their project idea and perfecting their presentation. The students apply to get accepted into the class. Bramante said he looks for enthusiasm for the project as well as innovation. These kids really have originated the idea; they design and execute the whole experiment, and then they interpret all the results, and it all happens here at the high school, he said. Theres a sense of ownership and understanding that has to come from that and I think it really speaks volumes when they're delivering their defenses and their talks at a science fair because they really do own it, he said. Greenwich High School has sent 49 students to the national competition in the past 15 years. Only seven high school students from Connecticut are heading to nationals this year: three are from GHS. GHS junior Ambika Grover won the engineering category at the state competition and was awarded the best in the fair in life sciences with Design of a Novel, Dual-Functioning Tissue Plasminogen Activator and Anticoagulant Therapeutic for Rapid Ischemic Stroke Treatment. Her prizes include $2,300, $50 in gift certificates, three plaques and a solid silver medal. Naomi Park, a GHS sophomore, won best in fair in the physical sciences category for her project Biomimetic Removal of Microspheres Water Contaminants, via Calcite-Infused, Coral-like Melamine Sponges. She won $2,000, $75 in gift cards, two plaques and two medals. Ashley Malkin, a freshman from GHS, had the top computer science project for Development of Readily Accessible Machine Learning Diagnostics for Early Stage Mild TBI using Eye Tracking Methods. She received three plaques and $400. A team of two Greenwich Catholic School students, Nicholas Barone and Luke Mannello, received $100 each and plaques and an invitation to compete at Broadcom MASTERS, the national middle school competition. annelise.hanshaw@hearstmediact.com In late 2021, two large regional not-for-profit organizations, The WorkPlace and CONNCORP, came together to form the Alliance for Cannabis Equity for Connecticut. The purpose of the organization is to support minority entrepreneurs, minority communities, minority workers and the state of Connecticuts efforts to make the goal of social equity in the new adult-use cannabis industry a reality. Shortly after forming the organization, my firm, BJM Solutions, was hired to draft a report on what needed to be done to realize these lofty goals. Earlier this month, ACECT released the manifesto and the associated website (www.acect.org). This is a good news-bad news commentary. The good news is that the state of Connecticut through the work of the Social Equity Council and its leadership are making social equity the priority that is stated in the law. Many of the states that legalized adult-use cannabis before Connecticut, like our neighbors in Massachusetts, only paid social equity attention only after the opening of the market when it became apparent that Black, Hispanic and lower-income residents did not have a real stake in the business opportunity legalization created. Connecticut learned from these states that if you do not make social equity a priority in the beginning, it is hard to insert it once the industry gets started. Intentionality is important when it comes to matters of equity. Connecticut deserves credit for this thoughtfulness. Connecticuts definition of social equity is based on residency and household income. Connecticut residents of any race, gender, nationality, household composition or criminal record are eligible if they lived the first nine of their 18 years or the last five of the last 10 years in census tracts that have been determined to be disproportionately impacted areas, and their household incomes are less than three times the median household income in the state. Social equity businesses are businesses that meet the first two requirements and at least 50 percent of the business is owned by a social equity entrepreneur(s). The state will allocate licenses in nine different sub-industries, ranging from large scale cultivators, retailers, shippers, delivery services and manufacturers. There will be one lottery for social equity businesses and one lottery for all other (nonsocial) equity businesses. The plan is that the state will have an equal amount of social equity businesses in the industry as non-social equity (traditional) businesses. Connecticut is about three and a half years behind the adult use cannabis industry in Massachusetts. Massachusetts provides the best guide as to what is possible here. Massachusetts is averaging about $30 million in retail sales per week. The Massachusetts cannabis industry currently hires over 23,000 workers. Cannabis is the fastest-growing industry in Massachusetts and the fastest-growing industry in the country. Connecticut has slightly more than half the population of Massachusetts. This means in a few years; Connecticut could generate $15 million a month in retail sales and over 11,000 good-paying full-time jobs. State sales taxes on cannabis will total about 20 percent including a 3 percent tax that will go to the municipalities that have cannabis operations in their towns. The total state tax revenue generated from cannabis could be about $150 million per year. Cannabis will be big business in Connecticut. The bad news is I am afraid that the supply of legitimate social equity entrepreneurs with the resources and connections is not sufficient to meet the demand. There are similarities in how this industry is being structured and what I experienced in certifying businesses as minority owned and operated. Minority and women fronted organizations were common when large public and private sector buying organizations first implemented preferential buying programs. These were organizations that put a minority or a woman out front as the face of the business, but the business was controlled by nonminority financial backers. Those nonminority financial backers were willing to assume this role if it meant access to markets that they did not have as a nonminority business. In a similar way, there will be non-social equity cannabis investors who will attempt to either participate in the social equity lottery at a lower cost social equity businesses will pay half of the cost of a license as non-social equity licensees or skip the lottery entirely. The confusing array of organizational types social equity partners, equity joint ventures, and Section 149 firms allows entrepreneurs and firms to bypass the lottery, or have lower licensing costs. The states answer to eliminating fronts is to review every social equity applicant and every equity joint venture to ensure that these frauds do not take place. I am not optimistic about the ability of the state at this point to keep these fronts out of the industry, despite their good intentions. And there still are supply and capacity problems for social equity entrepreneurs. Where are these entrepreneurs going to acquire the capital to pay for licenses, and we have not even started talking about operational costs? Who is going to invest most of the money needed to start these businesses if they are allowed to own only 35 percent of the business? How are these businesses going to be able to assure long-term profitability when the state could control the number of competitors by providing new licenses every year? My fear is that social equity businesses might get established, but in five years, Connecticuts cannabis industry is going to have a minimal number of social equity businesses and minority owners. There are some fixes to these problems, but they will require boldness, innovation, and changes in the cannabis law. Fred McKinney is the co-founder of BJM Solutions, an economic consulting firm that conducts public and private research since 1999, and is the emeritus director of the Peoples Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Quinnipiac University. The 4th of April marks the birth of the leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been struggling for 50 years to solve the Kurdish Cause and for all oppressed peoples, and who has developed a lot of intellectual, social, political and philosophical concepts and concepts. Leader Abdullah Ocalan was arrested following an international conspiracy woven in On October 9, 1998, he was arrested on February 15, 1999, and placed in solitary confinement on the isolated island of Imrali. Despite the difficult circumstances and the applied isolation imposed on the leader, Abdullah Ocalan, he continued his struggle for the Kurdish people, the peoples of Kurdistan and the Middle East. He put forward the concept of the democratic nation, which is based in its core on human values, the will of the peoples, the freedom of women, and the brotherhood of peoples. The continuous struggle of the Kurdish people and the freedom movement and the leader Abdullah Ocalan resonated with a wide segment of regional and global societies, and in particular on the cultural and academic elites. A large segment of Arab intellectuals and academics sees leader Abdul Ocalan as a fighter for humanity and patriotism. There must be effective and continuous action from all free people in the world, human rights and human rights institutions, and from official and non-official Arab bodies to stand with the cause of leader Abdullah Ocalan. Our agency surveyed the opinions of a number of Arab writers, politicians and journalists on the ideas and theses of leader Abdullah Ocalan: Syrian writer and politician Muhammad Issa: There is no doubt that confusion revolves around the views of the leader and thinker Abdullah Ocalan among a large number of intellectuals. The majority of them think that the leader is just a political fighter and leads a peoples liberation movement. He has achieved remarkable creativity in developing a lot of knowledge and intellectual, political and philosophical concepts, making him one of the foundations of a school of thought, rising in its level to the level of intellectual schools known in the history of thought in general. Leader Abdullah Ocalan is the author of a critical approach to the socialist economy, which has turned into a monopolistic state capitalism, thus broke the prevailing laws in the capitalist economy to propose an alternative to both, i.e. the economy of the participatory society, which requires ecological concerns and a clean environment. In the form of society, the concept of a political moral society is presented, which is supported by the democratic climate. Here he introduces the concept of non-state, where he despises the concept of the state and considers it, along with the class, the immoral pole in opposition to the political moral pole. And he sees the possibility that the two poles can coexist under the capitalist system to some extent. In the social field and under the updates of sociology, it develops a science about women called Jinology ( feminology), through which women have been able to play a unique leading role in the world and in the historical sense. In this context, we must not forget the great Ocalan slogan that says... A free country means a free woman. In politics, he is distinguished by his contempt for the concept of the nation-state and creeds, and considers it an immoral model. It means subjugating an ethnic or ideological group to the interest of the culture, values, and identity of another group. In the Arab nation-state, for example, the non-Arab is obliged to deny his ethnic and cultural identity to adopt the Arab identity, so on races and spectra, and presents an alternative to it, which is the model of the brotherhood of free peoples, under the roof of a civil, secular and democratic state, which gives every people or component its right and its role without coercion or absence and on an equal footing. And a bridge to a new free world free of marginalization, alienation and injustice, and the issue of leader Ocalan becomes the issue of the peoples of the whole earth as the author of a cosmic theory and a critical philosophy. Radar Qalab is a Jordanian writer. Freedom for the international leader Abdullah Ocalan. The first leader and founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, founded in 1978, which seeks to create a democratic "state" that would give the Kurds a form of independence from power and build a society he describes as an "environmental, democratic, liberal" society. Ocalan presents himself as not representing an identity or a race, and represents "the oppressed and marginalized, minorities, and components of Turkish society from their various religious beliefs and political and cultural orientations." He believes in "fighting exploitation and discrimination, and providing a decent life and equality for all." Thaer Nofal Abu Atiwi, a Palestinian writer and journalist. Abdullah Ocalan, detained in Turkish prisons, is a militant leader and a revolutionary person who seeks to achieve the aspirations of his Kurdish society and legitimate goals within the framework of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which supports the oppressed peoples seeking independence, freedom and sovereignty. The best example here and a guide to support the leader Ocalan He and his party support the Palestinian cause and the belief in its justice, the participation of the PKK with the fighters of the Palestinian revolution in their battles against the Israeli occupation, and the distinguished fraternal struggle relationship that linked the immortal martyr President Yasser Arafat with the liberating humanitarian leader Abdullah Ocalan. The detainee in Turkish prisons, Abdullah Ocalan, is considered an icon of freedom and liberation seeking the independence of his people and society, in order to have a unified national identity that would make him able to build a Kurdish political society with a vision and goals that aspire to unity and oppose the difference between all Kurds on their various political and intellectual affiliations. It is necessary to move effectively and continuously from all free people in the world and human rights and humanitarian institutions, and from official and non-official Arab parties to stand with the issue of the detained leader Abdullah Ocalan, in order to speed up his release and release him without condition or restriction, and also support him in finding a joint Arab-Kurdish formula It makes the Kurdish society a cohesive society with an independent and unified political system that supports the present and future Arab aspirations, according to the Kurdish communitys blood relations and intermarriage with the Arab peoples, and in order for the Kurds to be continuously and continuously supportive of the Arab vision that is not far from the vision with goals and contents, by finding ways For joint Arab-Kurdish cooperation at all levels and fields, in order to establish a general atmosphere of love, harmony and peace, and to combat all forms and doctrines of extremism and terrorism that target the Arab region, which is in its Kurdish orbit. Freedom is all freedom for prisoners and detainees, prisoners of opinion and positions for their constructive ideas and purposeful positions that unite and do not differentiate within the framework of the concept and the promotion of freedom and independence and the establishment of security, tranquility and peace for the peoples of the region and the entire world, and freedom is all freedom for the captive leader Abdullah Ocalan. A ANHA According to Esper, Google is working on an Android 13 feature that would potentially be a game-changer for people using two SIM cards on a single phone. And maybe leave some extra room for smartphone manufacturers to utilize too. Through a feature called Multiple Enabled Profiles (MEP), the search giant wants to assign two carrier profiles to a single eSIM and easily switch between networks. Google is reportedly basing the new feature on a patent filed in 2020, which describes a splitting of the existing SIM interface into two digital connections. There have been reports in the past that Google is testing it on an engineering Pixel hardware. In turn, this could allow manufacturers to get rid of the SIM card slot as a whole leaving room for some extra hardware. We could see the return of microSD cards or we could see slightly bigger batteries too. Even though the source believes that the feature will debut with Android 13, it's actually not intrinsic to Android. It can be implemented on iOS and even Windows. Source About a couple of weeks ago, Samsung first unveiled the Galaxy A73, alongside the A53 and A33. That announcement was devoid of any pricing and availability information for specific markets, however, India included. Thankfully then, earlier today Samsung's Indian arm has outed official pricing information. The entry-level model has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and will be offered for INR 41,999, while the upgraded version doubles the storage for INR 44,999. If you pre-reserve a Galaxy A73, you'll be able to get a pair of Galaxy Buds Live true wireless earbuds for just INR 499 instead of the usual selling price of INR 6,990. Additionally, as a special introductory offer, you can get up to INR 3,000 cashback via Samsung Finance+, ICICI Bank cards, or SBI credit cards. Samsung is hosting an exclusive sale event on its website on April 8 at 6PM where other extra benefits will be available. The phone will be sold in India in three colors: Awesome Mint, Awesome Grey, and Awesome White. To quickly recap what you're getting, the Galaxy A73 comes with a 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED screen with 120 Hz refresh rate and Gorilla Glass 5 on top, the Snapdragon 778G chipset at the helm, a 108 MP main rear camera with OIS, a 12 MP ultrawide, 5 MP depth sensor, and 5 MP macro cam on the rear, a 32 MP front-facing camera, an in-display fingerprint sensor, and a 5,000 mAh battery with support for 25W fast charging. It runs Android 12. Via There have been several revealing leaks for the Axon 40 family, with the most recent one being from TENAA. And now, the company's president of the mobile division shared a teaser poster on Weibo suggesting that the Axon 40, and possibly a Pro variant, will be announced this month in China. The teaser poster doesn't reveal much, but past reports (including the TENAA leak) suggest that the Axon 40 Pro is just a re-badged nubia Z40 Pro so we kind of know what to expect. Then again, the Axon family has a history of implementing under-display selfie cameras, so we wonder if the Axon 40 Pro will be a bit different from the Z40 Pro in this regard. We also wonder whether the so-called Gravity Edition with Magnetic Charging will be a default configuration or a separate one like the nubia Z40 Pro. Luckily, we won't have to wait much longer as ZTE will announce it sometime this month for the Chinese market and will probably make its way to the global scene shortly after. Source (in Chinese) | Via PDN Lifestyle reporter Madison Scott takes us behind the scenes of Breaking Wave Theatre Company's "Much Ado About Nothing," which she also co-directed, at the University of Guam on May 3. The play runs May 5-8. Some residents shared their thoughts on the Guam Visitors Bureaus plans to bring tourism back. I think its a great idea since Korea and Japan have always been so good to us in terms of tourism, said Albert Manley, Express Financial vice president. Manley said the lack of tourism has affected Express Financial because the majority of its customers work in the tourism industry and its been difficult for them to make payments if they arent receiving paychecks from tourism revenue. Its a good sign for all of us that things are going to start getting better after this two-year lull, which has pretty well destroyed the economy over here, he said. GVB announced Wednesday that it anticipates about 250,000 tourists from South Korea, about one-third of the pre-pandemic 2019 number, to visit the island this calendar year. On March 21, the Korean government announced the removal of the mandatory quarantine requirement for arriving international travelers who were fully vaccinated in Korea if they test negative for the virus. At the start of March, Japan eliminated the required three-day quarantine period for travelers with a negative COVID-19 test who are fully vaccinated. Since South Korea and Japan began easing their COVID-19 policies for travelers, the GVB is stepping up its efforts to attract them to return to visiting Guam. The two countries provided the lions share of the tourism market before the pandemic. Hesitation Honestly, I dont think its a good idea because of this pandemic, said Austin Valentin, 20, of Sinajana. He said the continuing number of positive cases and deaths on the island show that its not the right time to try and bring back tourists. I think GVB should just wait until this situation dies down because if they bring another 250,000 people from another area, they could bring COVID-19 here and everything is just going to get worse again, said Valentin. Tamuning resident Samara Kloulubak, 32, said she is split on the issue. For me, I think its a good thing, but bad things could happen too, she said. She said the return of tourism would help businesses but would come with the risk of more COVID-19 cases. A new missile defense system for Guam, which already is being evaluated by the Missile Defense Agency, could cost nearly $900 million, according to the proposed defense budget for next fiscal year. The money would be spent to defend Guam against the missile threat from China, according to a summary prepared by the military. Our budget invests $892 million for the defense of Guam, including improved missile defense, command and control capabilities, radar capacity and new construction, Vice Adm. Ron Boxall said during a press briefing earlier this week. The budget also includes $133 million in base defense enhancements throughout the Indo-Pacific region. In addition to land-based defense systems, the budget would provide funding to develop ship-based Aegis systems to defend Guam, budget documents state. The militarys budget for the current fiscal year prioritizes a 360-degree integrated air and missile defense system to defend the island from advanced cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missile threats. The Missile Defense Agency has been assessing potential sites to place the elements of a defense system. The Army already operates a THAAD missile defense system at Andersen Air Force Base. Navy Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson, commander of Joint Region Marianas, in February said the defense system must be spread out over several military-owned locations on island. He said that the Missile Defense Agency was evaluating as many as 20 sites on Guam. Nicholson at the time said it was unclear what type of system will be installed. The District Court of Guam, Judiciary of Guam and the Guam Bar Association have a total of 35 different schools that will participate in Plant Toward a More Perfect Union. Partnering with the Guam Department of Agriculture, the courts have distributed 432 seedlings 216 short eggplants and 216 pink and red tomato seedlings to the schools. This will be the second year the event is part of Law Month in April, which has as its theme Toward a More Perfect Union: The Constitution in Times of Change. The event was so well received, it almost immediately ran out of seedlings. Unfortunately, we were not able to accommodate every school specifically in some of their requests, but we are happy to say that we did provide every school that reached out to us with at least one seedling or one entry, said Stacy McDonald Flores, District Court outreach coordinator. Were stoked to see what comes of this. Schools compete Last year, it was an individual contest in which students were able to pick up seedlings. There were more than 400 entries. This year, the court has turned the concept into a school spirit event in which schools compete with one another. Each school can enter up to six teams. Its up to the students on how they want to categorize or separate their teams. Teams must include a minimum of two. A team can consist of friends, a classroom, a club, family, a group of administrators or a parent-teacher organization/association. Winners will be determined by the most harvested, based on how many seedlings a school group had. For each grade level, the winners will get $500 that goes toward their schools, along with other prizes. Something different Last years contest had the courts find new and creative ways to teach children about law. You have to follow rules in everything you do in life and to take a planting project and put it out there during this time, in the most trying times of our lives through the pandemic, was extremely rewarding, especially when we watched the progress of all those who participated, Flores said. We wanted something hands-on and something different that will last and teach the community about sustainability, so this was the perfect project for us to work on, she said. Award Earlier this month, the American Bar Association selected the District Court, Guam Bar and the Judiciary of Guam to receive the Law Day Outstanding Activity Award for the efforts from last years theme, Advancing the Rule of Law Now. Its Guams 10th consecutive year receiving the award. Were super excited. Guam is out there and everyone knows that we give our heart and soul to spread about law day on Guam, and anything we do in Guam is big, Flores said. Honorary Southern High School graduate Floren M. Paulino, then 94, during a ceremony at the Inalahan Senior Citizens Center in May 2019. Paulino, a master CHamoru weaver and active cultural preservationist, died March 22, 2022. China's nuclear train could be another move to befuddle the US by launching ballistic missiles added to the systems to deploy them. A study was conducted to see the viability of using the rail system as a military platform that could work. The conflict in Ukraine is making Beijing move ahead in making plans to foil the US in Asia. Chinese Militarized High-Speed Rails for Counterattack Yin Zihong, an associate professor of civil engineering at Chengdu's Southwest Jiaotong University in Sichuan province, is spearheading a group of specialists collaborating on a federally funded national research study, reported the Eurasian Times. He and his colleagues reported their findings a week ago, asserting that a high-speed railway would beat a heavy-duty industrial railway in some situations, which was initially believed to be more fit for the job, noted SCMP. In addition, high-speed railways run more quickly and smoothly than heavy-haul railways meaning that military vehicles would have more mobility, safety, and camouflage on high-speed tracks. Technical Roadblocks Ballast, such as tiny pebbles and gravel, absorbs shocks on a conventional railway. More ballast is required for a heavy haul line carrying ore and coal. A 2020 study by researchers shows that an ICBM launch should generate a powerful shock wave that might go as far as 8 meters (26 feet) beneath, far beyond the strength of most rail lines' base structure. China's high-speed nuclear train can reach 350 km/h (217mph). They're compact, with up to 16 cars totaling around 60 tons, heavy with ballistic missiles as protection. Read Also: Vladimir Putin Net Worth 2022: Does Anyone Know Russian President's Hidden Wealth? They employed data from previous Chinese military missile tests and computer simulations to simulate the operation of a high-speed rail launch system. The research indicates that extra strength should not be needed for a high-speed railway because the rails are installed and fixed on concrete, and ballast as a buffer zone is not essential. According to publicly accessible data, the architecture of some Chinese high-speed railway substructures is as deep as 60 meters. The researchers' modeling showed that most of the disturbances created by firing a missile would be localized to shallow portions of the rail infrastructure, where damage may be identified and corrected more readily. Risks in Using High-Speed Rails To Launch ICBM Specific extremely low-frequency vibrations produced by the launcher may pose a risk to surface elements such as the rail and concrete slab, remarked the researchers. While a high-speed train can be designed to withstand a launch, the stress created by the launch would mostly pass down to the rail and its foundations, causing infrastructure damage and rendering it dangerous and unusable, per Yahoo News. Military experts contend that such a rail-based ICBM launch system can survive the initial wave of nuclear attack more than conventional land-based systems like silos and trucks. According to some assessments, a train could also transport as many missiles as a nuclear submarine. However, it is uncertain whether or when the Chinese military might deploy a high-speed rail-based nuclear launch platform. China tested the tube launch mechanism for the rail-mobile variant of their DF-41 ICBM in 2016, which entailed launching a DF-41 from a canister with a gas charge without igniting the missile's motor. The nuclear train concept for deploying ballistic missiles is getting somewhere as Beijing moves to find innovative ways to carry its armament. Related Article: Macron Says Biden's Remark That Putin Is a Butcher Makes it Harder To End the Ukraine Conflict @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Vladimir Putin told clients paying for natural gas to pay in rubles or get no supplies soon. The Kremlin raised the demand after the sanctions on Russia; he is fighting back with his ways to counter them. Many bloc countries are dependent on Russia, which is driving members apart because not everyone wants to risk energy security. Russia Wants To be Paid in Ruble Putin has been urging countries who buy Russian gas to pay in rubles in the community to enable the Russian economy to recover following the imposition of harsh sanctions against it, reported the Express UK. Following a phone chat with European leaders, He told allies that if the countries do not change their stance by April 1, all contracts will be annulled. He underlined that if hostile countries do not pay in rubles, it will mean a default on existing gas contracts, resulting in the cessation of existing contracts. One more condition the Russian leader imposes is that accounts should be opened in Russian banks, especially for natural gas. If those hostile bloc countries and the US don't do it by April 1, which is April Fool's Day, they face an energy shortage, noted the BBC. These accounts will be the basis of a continuation of gas deliveries by the date indicated. No payment for the current contract will mean the buyers bails out of the contract, and what happens next is severe. Russian President Vladimir added that nothing comes free and will not give out free gas like a charity; pay up and get the supplies but don't do it, then it's the client's problem. Read Also: Vladimir Putin Net Worth 2022: Does Anyone Know Russian President's Hidden Wealth? EU Needs Russian Gas Energy is the most potent leverage at Moscow's disposal to retaliate against extensive Western sanctions for the incursion of Ukraine, while Russia supplies approximately a third of Europe's natural gas. The sanctions did bite, and then pay via ruble scheme should make the Russian currency more resilient after the February 24 special operation to assist Donbas and Lugansk. The ruble has gained a bit against penalties heaved on the Russian economy despite the odds. Those western firms and governments have called it a breach of contract. Paris and Berlin are looking into if they can survive without energy from Russia. European governments keen on making Putin pay dearly are in a worse situation with an energy crisis that will hit everyone hard. Under the new regulation, foreign buyers are now required to transfer foreign currency to a particular special account, known as the "K" account. The gas buyer is expected to advise Gazprombank to buy rubles on his behalf to transfer rubles to this other special "K" account, cited the Mirror UK. Once the transfer is done for funds in Russian money for the account required, that will be paid to the Russian gas firm. The client could have the special account for energy purchase be made without the buyer present as indicated. Washington just announced more sanctions for new Russian individuals and companies. The US is going all out on sanctions against Moscow. These penalties are only agreed on by Brussels, the UK, and several NATO allies, but China and India have ignored these sanctions. Vladimir Putin has outlined what needs to be done to get a special 'K' account for natural gas. Related Article: India Supports Russia Despite Biden's Comment on Putin, Chooses Energy Security Over Western Sanctions @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Haiti - FLASH : The Biden administration announces 35,000 additional H-2B visas After having granted on December 20, 2021 last 20,000 temporary H-2B non-agricultural worker visas for the 2022 financial year https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35533-haiti-flash-biden-administration-adds-20-000-h-2b-temporary-visas.html the Biden Administration faced with the shortage of labor in the United States, again opening up job opportunities in the service sector. Thursday, March 31, 2022, in a press release, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the allocation of 35,000 additional H-2B visas, for temporary non-agricultural work, for the period between April 1 and September 30, of which 11,500 for citizens of Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. These visas "will help support American businesses and expand legal pathways for workers wishing to come to the United States," said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, adding that the measure responds "to current demand in the labor market." Shopuld be noted that private companies in the United States recorded the creation of 455,000 jobs in March 2022, particularly in the service sector, but the labor market remains very limited by the shortage of workers, according to the monthly survey from the business services firm ADP published on Wednesday 30 March. The government is granting 23,500 visas to workers who have already received such a visa or otherwise obtained H-2B status in any of the past three fiscal years. The remaining 11,500, exempt from the obligation to return, are reserved for nationals of Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35533-haiti-flash-biden-administration-adds-20-000-h-2b-temporary-visas.html HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Diaspora Covid-19 : Daily Bulletin #743 GLOBAL SITUATION 2019-2022: Epidemiological situation: Saturday April 2, 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 490,152,870 cases (+1,462,944 in 24 hours ), the day before (+1,487,429) Number of infected countries: 225 *Healings: 424,846,055 people have been cured of Covid-19 worldwide (+1,143,189), the day before (+1,274,265) *Deaths: 6,171,846 people have died of Covid-19 worldwide since the start of the pandemic (+4,599 in 24 hours), the day before (+4,328) *Active cases (less deaths and recoveries) in the world is currently 59,134,969 cases (+315,156 in 24 hours), the day before (+208,836) Average cure rate in the world: 86.67% (-) Average mortality rate in the world: 1.25% (-) World: Number of daily confirmed cases (Day-1) Vaccination: 11.35 billion doses of vaccine injected (+30 million doses injected in 24 hours. Update April 1, 2022 (latest data available). HAITI: Warning: The Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) did not make available after March 26, 2022 daily data on the Covid-19 situation in Haiti. Accordingly, the data below on the situation in Haiti is the latest available. According to the Ministry of Public Health, +16 new cases of Covid-19 and its variants have been confirmed in Haiti as of March 26, 2022 (latest partial data available ) for a total of 30,545 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 (+7 cases as of March 24, 2022). Healings: 28,431 (+162) Cure rate: 93.07% (+) Deaths: 833 deaths (+0) () Death rate: 2.72% (=) 5th Wave (Omicron Dominant): Total of the 5th wave (starting December 27, 2021) 4,551 confirmed cases and 67 deaths Screening since the start of the pandemic: 188,012 tests (+690 in 2 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: 740 (+1); Petion-ville 624 (+3); Port-au-Prince 406 (+0); Tabarre 287 (+0); Cross-Bouquets 239 (+1) Confirmed cases by department (2022 / 2021 / 2020): West: 2022: 2,552 cases; (2021: 9.890); (2020: 6,945 cases) North: 2022: 267 cases; (2021: 664); (2020: 677 cases) Center: 2022: 226 cases; (2021: 1.001); (2020: 508 cases) Artibonite: 2022: 184 cases; (2021: 855); (2020: 593 cases) Northeast: 2022: 148 cases; (2021: 404); (2020: 314 cases) Southeast: 2022: 262 cases; (2021: 768); (2020: 274 cases) South: 2022: 214 cases; (2021: 891); (2020: 262 cases) North West: 2022: 255 cases; (2021: 383); (2020: 229 cases) Grand'Anse: 2022: 173 cases; (2021: 861); (2020: 176 cases) Nippes: 2022: 39 cases; (2021: 249) (2020: 149 cases) Cumulative deaths by department (2022-2021): West: 295 deaths (2020: 104 deaths) North: 54 deaths (2020: 34 deaths) Center: 79 deaths (2020: 13 deaths) Artibonite: 42 deaths (2020: 39 deaths) North East: 7 deaths (2020: 6 deaths) South: 51 deaths (2020: 6 deaths) Southeast: 15 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: 56 deaths 40-49 years: 80 deaths 50-59 years: 134 deaths 60-69 years: 187 deaths 70-79 years: 183 deaths 80 years and over: 137 deaths Vaccination: 163,369 Haitians (1.4% of the population) +2,205 in 6 days have received a 1st dose of vaccine since July 16, 2021, date of the first injection through 149 open vaccination centers and 111,914 Haitians are fully vaccinated (2 doses, 0.96% of the population) +1.585 in 6 days. Update March 22, 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: Epidemic situation : USA: *Cases since the first case (February 29, 2020): 81,813,515 cases (+33,012 in 24 hours), the day before (+39,781) *Healings: 65,382,991 healings (+146,151), the day before (+163,741) National Cure Rate: 79.91% (+) *Deaths: 1,007,989 deaths (+669), the day before (+875) National death rate: 1.23% (=) *Active cases (minus deaths and recoveries): 15,422,535 (-113,808), yesterday (-124,835) USA: Number of daily confirmed cases: (Day-1) Vaccination: 561.09 million doses of vaccine injected since December 14, 2020, the date of the first injection in the United States (+420,000 doses in 24 hours). Update April 1 (latest data available). DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Confirmed cases since March 1, 2020: 578,038 cases (+18 in 24 hours) the day before (+38 in 24 hours). First case (March 1, 2020) Healings: 573,524 healings (+79 in 24 hours), the day before (+76) National Cure Rate: 99.21% (=) Deaths: 4,375 deaths (+0), previous (+0) Death rate: 0.75% (=) Positivity rate over 4 epidemiological weeks: 0.91% (-) Active cases: (excluding deaths and recoveries) 139 cases (-61 in 24 hours) the day before (-38) 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: Santo Domingo: +5 new cases in 24 hours () Santiago: +5 new cases in 24 hours (=) Distrito Nacional: +3 new cases in 24 hours (-) Puerto Plata: +1 new cases in 24 hours () Duarte: +1 new cases in 24 hours () Vaccination: 15.51 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 April 1, 2022 (latest data available). QUEBEC: Confirmed cases since the first case (February 27, 2020): 970,951 (+3,182 in 24 hours), previous (+3,319) Healings: 931,800 people (+2,084 in 24 hours) previous (+1,206) Cure rate: 95.96% (-) Deaths: 14,382 (+17 in 24h) previous (+12) Death rate: 1.48% (=) Active cases: (excluding death and recovery) 24,769 cases (+1,081 in 24 hours), previous (+2,101) Quebec: Trend of daily confirmed cases (average weekly trend) Vaccination: 18,669,587 doses of vaccine injected since December 14, 2020, date of the first injection (+20,898 doses in 24 hours), latest data available - MSSS as of March 31, 2022) FRANCE: *Confirmed cases since the first case (January 24, 2020): 25,763,472 cases (+148,629 cases in 24 hours), previous (+169,311) *Heals: 23,311,315 heals (+72,170), previous (+72,250) National Cure Rate: 90.48% (-) Deaths: 142,407 (+134 in 24h), previous (+139) Death rate: 0.55% (=) Active Cases: 2,309,750 (+76,325), previous (+96,922) France: Number of daily confirmed cases (Day-1) Vaccination: 141.84 million doses of vaccine injected since December 27, 2020, date of the first injection in France (+60,000 doses injected in 24 hours. Update April 1, 2022 (latest data available) Previous bulletin : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36321-haiti-diaspora-covid-19-daily-bulletin-742.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 By William Schwartz | Published on 2022/04/01 "Business Proposal" will be finishing its successful run this month. Though the romantic comedy had only just finished filming on March 17th, lead actor Ahn Hyo-seop won't be resting on his laurels. The popular actor has already been confirmed to be starting direct work on his next drama "A Time Called You" sometime in April. "A Time Called You" is based on the popular Taiwanese romantic drama "A Time Called You", which has been watched over a billion times worldwide. Advertisement The project is the latest from director Kim Jin-won-I, who has been responsible for such dramas as "Very Good Times" and "Remember You" over the years, with "Just Between Lovers" and "My Country: The New Age" being his most recent projects. Ahn Hyo-seop will be playing two roles- Yeon-joon in 2023, who meets an unfortunate fate, and his apparent duplicate Si-hyeon in 1998. Jeon Yeo-been will play the woman who encounters both men via a time slip. Multiple roles are nothing new to Ahn Hyo-seop, who played triple identitites in "Lovers of the Red Sky" last year. There he was at times an official government functionary, a deep undercover mystic, or the possessed spirit of the demon lord depending on the scene in question. With filming for all three dramas taking place with a single year, Ahn Hyo-seop is also showing himself to be an actor of tremendous work ethic. "A Time Called You" is expected to be released on Netflix sometime in 2023. Written by William Schwartz Login or sign up to follow actresses, movies & dramas and get specific updates and news Login Sign Up Email Password Password Username Your E-mail will only be used to retrieve a lost password. Stay logged in Help First UN aid convoy in 3 months enters war-ravaged northern Ethiopia Xinhua) 08:47, April 02, 2022 ADDIS ABABA, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) announced Friday evening that the first aid convoy in three months has entered Ethiopia's northern Tigray regional state. WFP Ethiopia said on social media that "13 trucks have arrived safely in Mekelle, capital of Tigray regional state." "More trucks and fuel will follow in the morning," it said, noting a need for daily convoys to meet the needs of 5 million people in the war-ravaged region. The arrival of the WFP aid convoy in Tigray came a week after the Ethiopian government and the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) conditionally agreed to a cessation of hostilities and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid into the region. The TPLF and the Ethiopian National Defense Force, backed by allied forces, have been engaged in a nearly 18-month conflict that has reportedly left tens of thousands of people dead and millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The Ethiopian parliament designated the TPLF as a terrorist organization in May 2021. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have led Europe since the start of the Ukraine crisis compared to other leaders. Expert on French politics, Professor David Lees, spoke about the impact of leadership of these two from day one of the Russia- Ukraine conflict. Macron and Scholz have taken heat for others not being convinced they can sway Russian President Vladimir Putin. Macron Diplomatically Leads the EU The French president has played a crucial role in diplomatic efforts to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine, apparently speaking with President Vladimir Putin 17 times in the last four months, citing the Express UK. One goal of such engagement with Putin is to "disrupt his logic" while preserving a line of communication to discuss problems such as humanitarian passages and a potential route out of the conflict. Other diplomatic efforts have also seen him engage closely with US President Joe Biden and have a key role at last week's NATO emergency meeting. Another view is that the French leader in charge of the EU's rotating presidency naturally carries on those tasks. According to Dr. Lees, France is the leading figure in Europe due to the UK's departure from the bloc and Germany's leadership transition. This was reflected in its response to Putin's hostility. President Emmanuel Macron went on to say that things may have changed now, increase in military spending and a sense of seeking to be a leader in NATO, particularly in terms of armaments and other assistance to Ukraine, cited NATO. Read Also: Vladimir Putin Net Worth 2022: Does Anyone Know Russian President's Hidden Wealth? Furthermore, Macron got ahead of everyone in the first few months before the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic special operations, with France leading Germany in diplomacy. Lees said that Macron is one of the loudest voices in Europe doing negotiations with Putin, noted Radio Free Europe. The Ukraine crisis brought about a chance for Macron to lead the EU. It was the circumstance that Berlin would lead and Paris not far behind; however, France was at the forefront this time. French Leader Macron Could Win Upcoming Elections Macron could win France's two-round general elections; scuttlebutt is that he might be the only one to get a second term in 20 years. While others rattled sabers, Paris would be reaching out to get a stop to the Ukraine incursion peacefully, which would give a boost to his image. It was similar to the support of British PM Margaret Thatcher during the Falklands conflict. The current French leader is campaigning with only two weeks left with a rally last Saturday. Macron's acceptance remarked that Dr. Lees is due to Paris as a world leader and an international statesman. It would benefit him in the next coming elections with a possible victory. He sees that no one does challenge the president in getting the keys to the official residence of French leaders. Suppose everything goes right for the incumbent French leader to show his worth on the world stage as a great leader. But far-right rival Marine Le Pen's campaign is getting traction on the French leader these days. French President Emmanuel Macron is one of the few EU leaders who have a line with the Kremlin, and suing for settlement gives him a boost at home, but has been scarred by his approach but still moves for resolution. Related Article: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Disagrees With Bloc Members on Total EU Embargo, Calls To Cancel Russian Oil Ban @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. THIS years Chiltern Chase in Ewelme will raise money for Sue Ryder. The multi-terrain challenge, which features race distances of 5km, 10km and 15km, will take place on Sunday, June 12. It was created in 2006 by a group of runners who regularly met to run through Ewelme and has raised more than 100,000 for charity. Organiser and parish councillor Barry Tindall said: As regular runners in the area, we knew how beautiful it is so we created a course and held our first race. We have done it every year since, supporting around 10 different charities along the way, including the John Radcliffe Hospitals special care baby unit, the Thames Valley Air Ambulance and Mind. Every year half of our proceeds go to Ewelme Primary School. We have even helped raise funds for the village pavilion. We have wanted to support Sue Ryder for some time as the palliative care hub South Oxfordshire is local to us and the charity has looked after people we know. A lot of us know about the care Sue Ryder provides so were thrilled to be running the event to raise funds for them over the next two years. Mr Tindall added: We changed the route two years ago to make it less hilly and feedback from runners is that they really enjoy the scenic off-road course and the Ridgeway. Andrew Farrell, 44, who lives in the village, has taken part in the Chase almost every year. He said: It is a really great race and the atmosphere is brilliant. We start on the common and its such a family friendly fun day with a warm-up and music playing to get everyone going. Families of the runners are there to cheer everyone and there is often a bit of competition among the runners as they take on the final 20 yards, which all adds to the atmosphere. With 5km, 10km and 15km options through some stunning scenery, there is something for everyone. We even have Nordic walkers take part. The speed you go at really doesnt matter, it is the taking part that counts. You feel really good at the end knowing youre supporting a charity. This is a race for my local community in my local community that gives something back. Whether youre local to the area or not, theres a really warm welcome to everyone from anywhere who wants to join us. Meghan Bentley, community fundraiser at the Sue Ryder palliative care hub South Oxfordshire, said: Were absolutely thrilled to be charity partners for the popular Chiltern Chase for the next two years and want to thank the organisers for supporting us. Our care relies on the generosity of local people, communities and organisations raising vital funds, so your support makes all the difference. It means we can be there for more families when it matters, helping them to fill their precious last days with love and care. To sign up, visit www.chilternchase.org.uk Russian authorities have accused Ukrainian military forces of attacking an oil depot in the country with the use of an air raid on Friday morning as a United States official confirmed the strike. A Russian regional governor also said that two Ukrainian helicopters staged an attack on the fuel facility found in Belgorod, which is located 20 miles inside Russia's territory. Video footage of the area showed the storage tanks covered in flames. US Claims: Ukraine Attacks Russian Oil Depot The American official who confirmed that the Ukrainian helicopters were behind the attack said they also struck an ammunition depot in the same area. They said that officials in Washington were concerned about how Moscow would react to the alleged aggression. Many see the attack as a significant move by Ukrainian forces if it turns out to be true, but Ukrainian authorities have not yet claimed responsibility for the strikes. The situation comes as Russian forces continue to attack Ukrainian cities and are accused of blocking food and medical supplies from entering the besieged southern port city of Mariupol on Thursday, as per CBS News. Despite the confirmation by the U.S. official, Ukraine's top security official, Oleksiy Danilov, denied that his government's forces were behind the attack. Previously, Ukraine has not fired on Russian targets. Read Also: Russia-Ukraine War: Volodymyr Zelensky Fires 2 Top Generals, Calls Them 'Antiheroes' and 'Traitors' Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov was the first one to accuse Ukraine of the strikes and later followed by Russian defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov who shared details. The latter said that the attack occurred at around 5:00 a.m. Moscow time. According to BBC, Konashenkov claimed that two Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopters entered Russian airspace at extremely low altitude and "launched a missile attack on a civilian oil storage facility" on the outskirts of Belgorod. The official said that the attack damaged some storage tanks and caused the fire. Denying the Allegations Belgorod Mayor Anton Ivanov said that fire services had responded to the blaze and worked on extinguishing the last remnants. He said that the attack caused no threat to human life and health and noted that evacuated residents were allowed to return to their homes. Danilov said that, despite Russian accusations claiming it was Ukraine who was behind the attacks, information that was available contradicted the allegations. Previously, Ukrainian defense ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk did not confirm nor deny Ukrainian involvement in the strikes. But the official said that Ukraine had its hands full with defending against Russian aggression on the mainland and was not responsible for every catastrophe on Russia's territory. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been briefed regarding the incident. The official noted that the attacks could jeopardize Moscow's peace talks with Kyiv. On the other hand, Danilov rebutted by saying that while Peskov said the attacks could affect peace talks Russia continued to attack Ukraine's children and women. "These people are kind of sick," Danilov said, referring to Russian officials accusing Ukraine of aggression. Gladskov said that a second blast had damaged a power line found near the village of Nikolskoye but noted that no resident was hurt. He also posted pictures that showed a crater in a field that was presumably caused by the blast, Reuters reported. Related Article: Russian Troops Flee Chernobyl Amid Possible 'Acute Radiation Sickness,' Ukrainian Officials Claim @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has recently discovered the farthest star to ever be seen, but is it also the oldest one? The stunning view of the most distant individual star has made rounds in the astrology community and is thought to show the cosmic body that existed within the first billion years since the Big Bang. Farthest Star Ever Seen The recent finding is a major leap in discovery compared to the previous single-star record holder that Hubble discovered in 2018. At the time, astronomers found a star that existed when the universe was roughly four billion years old. Astronomers refer to the previous record-holder as "redshift 1.5," which is a term used to reference the "shifting" of light from distant objects as the universe expands. This causes the wavelengths to become longer and redder as they travel toward the Earth. Hubble is still rewriting the textbooks! The telescope observed the farthest individual star ever seen to date, nicknamed Earendel! Are you a content creator or just want to learn more about this discovery? You can find interviews and b-roll here: https://t.co/jO3V9rPO6y pic.twitter.com/v6OY2771Ti Hubble (@NASAHubble) April 1, 2022 Experts said that the newly detected star is so far away that it took light 12.9 billion years to reach our planet and was alive when the universe was only 7% of its current age, at redshift 6.2. Astronomers had only previously seen clusters of stars at similar distances while they were embedded inside early galaxies, as per NASA. Hubble made the discovery as part of its efforts of searching for some of the universe's farthest and oldest galaxies. Astronomers were able to find the star, which has been nicknamed Earendel, by coincidence within one of the galaxies. Read Also: Giant Blobs Inside the Earth Were Detected by Scientists Trying To Investigate Their Nature, How it Affects the Planet A graduate student at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Brian Welch, who is also an author of a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature that talked about details of the discovery, said that it was an unexpected surprise to find something so small. According to the New York Times, more often than not, cosmic objects that are too far from the Earth are too dim to be seen, but Einstein's theory of general relativity, which describes how gravity bends space, helps at times. A massive galaxy cluster nearby can sometimes act as a magnifying glass to amplify light from much more distant stars and galaxies behind to reach our planet. Oldest Star in the Universe The name of the new star found means "morning star" or "rising light" in Old English and it could be up to 50 times the mass of our sun and several million times brighter. Victoria Strait, a postdoc at the Cosmic Dawn Center, Copenhagen, who is also a collaborator and co-author of the study, said that old stars provide scientists with a glimpse of the past. In a press release, she said that peering into the cosmos allows humans to look back in time, with similar extreme high-resolution observations helping experts to understand the building blocks of some of the very first galaxies in the universe, CBS News reported. While Earendel is the farthest star ever seen, it is not the oldest, that title goes to another star named Methuselah. Earlier estimates from 2000 placed the age of the star at roughly 16 billion years old. Remember Earendel, the farthest star we announced this week? Its distance is the greatest of any individual star seen to date, but its not the oldest. The oldest known star with a well-determined age is Methuselah, which still exists, while Earendel likely died long ago. pic.twitter.com/3lFRhzPcqm Hubble (@NASAHubble) April 1, 2022 Related Article: Argon Gas Trapped in Ice Core From Antarctica Found To Exist in Ancient Earth Atmosphere, Study Says @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced plans to leave her current position and transfer to MSNBC sometime around May, prompting criticism over the "ethical" astuteness of her decision. For weeks, there have been speculations that the official was planning to leave the White House for a TV gig. More often than not, White House communications staffers negotiate TV careers after they have left an administration and not while they are still serving their posts. Jen Psaki Leaving the White House? Psaki has allegedly been in close consultation with the White House counsel's office regarding her departure, two sources familiar with the plans said. It was noted that the press secretary has been treading carefully on the ethics and legal aspects of her plans. Despite the rumors, no contracts have been signed regarding Psaki's transfer to MSNBC as government ethics rules have stipulations regarding how public employees can pursue private-sector job opportunities while in office. It is believed that she has not yet told the White House press team about her departure, an administration source said, as per Axios. Psaki's transfer to MSNBC will have her as the host for a show on the streaming platform Peacock, and she is also expected to appear on the network's shows. On the other hand, MSNBC officials declined to comment regarding the issue. One White House official declined to confirm Psaki's plans and added that the press secretary was working hard every day on behalf of United States President Joe Biden to get the answers to questions that Americans may have. Read Also: Biden Claims Putin Has 'Fired' or Placed Advisers Under 'House Arrest' Over Situation in Ukraine According to CNN, currently, there is no clear indication as to who will be replacing Psaki when she steps down from her post. While the White House declined to comment, deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is sure to be under consideration. Psaki was grilled by reporters after she refused to confirm the report that alleged she plans to leave the White House for MSNBC. The press secretary's response brought to question the ethics of the situation. Transferring to MSNBC Fox News White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich confirmed that the White House official was planning to transfer to the media outlet. MSNBC allegedly beat out CNN in a bidding war to acquire Psaki as a talent. When asked by a CBS reporter, Ed O'Keefe, if it was ethical for Psaki to continue her job at the White House while negotiating with a media outlet, the press secretary said, "Well, I have always gone over and above the stringent ethical and legal requirements of the Biden administration and I take that very seriously." Psaki said that she has received rigorous ethics counseling as it relates to any future employment because it was a standard for every employee at the White House. She noted that she had complied with all ethics requirements and went beyond them to make appropriate decisions. One reporter asked if it was part of White House policy to allow staffers to engage in discussions, whether directly or indirectly, with institutions that could affect their current post. Psaki said the policy ensures that any person who was having such conversations did so through consultation with the White House counsel's office, Fox News reported. Related Article: Joe Manchin Rejects Billionaire's Tax Urging Everybody To Pay Fair Share; Bernie Sanders Slams Senator For Nixing President's Plan @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Invasive Russian malware, specifically spyware masquerading as an Android app, was recently detected by cybersecurity researchers at Lab52. According to the researchers' report, the spyware is linked to the Russian state-backed hacking group, Turla, known for using custom malware to target European and American systems for espionage, per Bleeping Computer. The Google App Store no longer hosts the app in question for download as of the publication of this article. Turla Spyware Details According to Lab52's report, a warning appears informing an Android user about the permissions granted to the application. These include screen unlock attempts, locking the screen, setting the device global proxy, setting screen lock password expiration, setting storage encryption, and disabling cameras. Giving the app permissions will delete the app's icon from the screen and notify the user that it is running in the background. The suspected Russian spyware requires different permissions from the user, but the Process manager app itself will request the user to permit it to access 18 phone features. These are: Access coarse location Access fine location Access network state Access Wifi state Camera Foreground service Internet Modify audio settings Read call log Read contacts Read external storage Write external storage Read phone state Read SMS Receive boot completed Record audio Send SMS Wake log Read More: Instagram DM Upgrades, Adds 7 New Features to Compete With Other Apps The spyware also allows itself to be added to the phone's backup, share info with other apps and be accessed by the device, and access secret content. Bleeping Computer noted that these permissions, when granted, pose a critical risk to a user's privacy as it allows the app to track the device's location, send and read texts, and access the phone storage. The permissions will also let the hackers take pictures with the camera without the user knowing and record audio. It also speculated that the spyware is part of a larger system based on its command and control server infrastructure, per Android Police. It remains to be seen what implications a Russian connection to the malware entails. How to Get Rid of Spyware and Malware Android users must review app permissions already granted and revoke those that appear to expose them to privacy invasion and hacking, among other things. Avast also suggests using a spyware removal tool to remove hidden spies and remove all traces of them from people's Android devices. Although these tools come with antivirus apps, many of them may be fake apps and could even be malware or other spyware in disguise. Deleting suspicious apps can also save users from avoidable headaches in the future, per AVG. To do so, users should reboot their Android phones in safe mode to prevent third-party apps from running. After doing so, they should go to "Settings" and tap "Apps & Notifications" to access the info of the apps installed on the device. Tapping "Uninstall" on any app that looks suspicious will remove the troublesome app and spyware. Performing a factory reset is the last resort for compromised users as it wipes everything the phone has, including the spyware. Before doing so, Avast strongly suggests these people have a backup made before the spyware issues started happening to prevent loss of photos, apps, and other important data on the device. Related Article: BEWARE! These Fake Antivirus Apps on the Google Play Store Have a Banking Malware That Does Unauthorized Transactions A UT Health Houston doctor is helping develop a fully implantable blood pump, which early research shows may have reduced risks for contributing to strokes, infection and rehospitalizations than similar products already available. Dr. Richard Smalling, a cardiologist at UT Health in Houston, has spent nearly two decades helping develop the the Pulsatile Flow Torroidal Left Ventricular Assist Device. He will be in Washington, D.C., on Saturday to pitch the device at a national competition hosted by the American College of Cardiology and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Dr. Alan Ulert came up with the pumps original design in 2003, but he was in his late 80s and retired, so he enlisted Smallings help. He told me he invented an artificial heart, Smalling said, And he wanted me to build it before he died. Smalling and others at the company he co-founded, Windmill Cardiovascular Systems in Austin, created a device that pumps at a slower speed than other pumps on the market, he said. The pump Smalling helped develop matches the patients heart beat and pumps at 70 to 110 revolutions per minute, compared with other devices that go at a set speed of 3,000 to 9,000 revolutions per minute. When the devices spin too fast over time it could damage the blood cells which result in bleeding complications, stroke and rehospitilazation. I think its going to be the future of artificial hearts, Smalling said. Current left ventricular assist devices, or blood pumps, on the market have been connected to a 32 percent risk of stroke, 41 percent risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, a 73 percent risk of infection and a 96 percent chance of rehospitalization after five years of use, according to the Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support, a national registry of devices used to treat advanced heart failure. Until the device is tested in humans, its difficult to say how much the pump Smalling helped develop will drive down the risks for these side effects, he said. So far, it has successfully worked in sheep and calves, and he is working to raise money so enough research can be done on the device for it to be implanted in humans. He estimates that it will take about two years and about $30 million dollars before it will be able to be tested in humans. Before the pump could gain approval from the Food and Drug Administration, much more testing and more money will be required, Smalling said. On HoustonChronicle.com: 50 years later, artificial hearts still mesmerize So far Smalling and Windmill Cardiovascular Systems have received about $15 million from angel investors and National Institutes of Health grants. Hes hoping the pitch competition will capture the attention of investors. We'll get exposure to a number of potential strategic partners and potential investors and so forth, Smalling said. It's been a long road, but it appears we are on the path to put the pump into humans and prove it's the right thing to do. Windmill Cardiovascular Systems is one of four companies in the competition, each chosen based on their level of innovation, business plan and potential to move the industry forward, said Dr. David Cho, chair of the American College of Cardiology Health Care Innovation Council. An early assistant in the pumps development believes it rises to the necessary level of innovation. Raul Longoria, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Texas at Austin who worked on an early prototype from 2004 to 2006, said hed never seen anything like ite. He said hed only found one patent for a similar technology, and it was from 1920. No one else had ever conceived of such a pump, Longoria said. Much less built one. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Mike and Martha Flores clearly recall the last time they gathered for worship. It was March 8, 2020, and their Jehovahs Witnesses Kingdom Hall was full. Conversations touched on COVID-19, which was spreading in China at the time and starting to reach beyond. At the end of the day, we were elbowing each other. No hugs, Martha said. Its one of those days, youll never forget, Mike said. The Spring Branch couple did not know it would be their last in-person worship for two years. The Jehovahs Witnesses governing body quickly shut down all Kingdom Halls around the world, as well as public preaching. Even the denominations signature door-to-door ministry went on hold. We had to put our principles ahead of our preferences, said U.S. spokesman Robert Hendriks. There are more than 119,000 Jehovahs Witnesses congregations across the globe with more than 8.6 million members, according to its website. Hendriks said protecting the sanctity of life is a guiding principle for Jehovahs Witnesses, as well as love your neighbor as yourself. Living those principles meant that we had to make tough decisions, he said. That meant making worship virtual. Even the annual global conventions were held on Zoom. Instead of knocking on doors, members wrote letters, made phone calls and held Zoom Bible studies. Were in our 70s, and were not computer savvy, Martha Flores said. The couple asked their granddaughter to teach them Zoom. Now were experts, Flores said. COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS: Jehovahs Witnesses find new paths to connection for prison ministries Youre never too old to learn something new, her husband Mike added. And while he was grateful to have a way to continue meeting online, and to continue reaching others, there was always something missing. We had been longing to see our brothers and sisters, Martha said. Then, earlier this month, Mike got a notice on his JW Library app. In-person meetings were set to resume April 1. Im very happy, Mike said. We can see you in person, hug you and be thankful together. It makes a difference. He plans to wear a mask and remain cautious. Kingdom Halls, where members congregate, have added sanitizing stations and taken other measures to protect worshippers, such as adding touchless paper towel dispensers and water fountains. This happened at just the right time, Mike said. Weve been away from people going on two years. Being able to meet again, it will strengthen our feelings toward one another. It will unite us more. A rush of emotions Bola Owoeye also received word via the app that Kingdom Halls would reopen. He knows exactly when he learned March 9 at 12:18 p.m. As he opened the app, a friend texted him with the same news. You wonder, Is it true? Is he kidding me? Owoeye said. He texted his wife Yemi right away. I was at work when I saw his message, she said. I was so excited. I started jumping up and down. Owoeye also sent a text to his children Jola, 14, and Kanyinsola, 15, at school. It was a rush of emotions, Jola said. We get to go back. And then I thought, How is it going to work? Kanyinsola was thrilled at the idea of seeing friends again. I need new clothes and shoes, she said with a laugh. Its going to be great. The Owoeye family of Fort Bend County was ready for in-person services. This is something we all really missed, he said. As a family, we didnt even have to decide. We never even talked about it. It wasnt a question of whether well go back or not. Bola looks forward to joining in song with his fellow worshippers. Its very near and dear to me to hear others and praise God, he said. And the Kingdom Hall is a place to encourage and support others in ministry. For all these reasons and more, I am excited to be back in person, he said. FLASHBACK MARCH 2020: Abbott says churches can open again but many say they wont His son Jola said theres no substitute for being together with his Kingdom Hall family. Theres something about the mood when all your brothers and sisters are together, he said. Its very energizing. In time for the Memorial The return to in-person gatherings comes in time for the annual commemoration by Jehovahs Witnesses of Christs death, or Memorial, scheduled for April 15. This service is considered the most sacred, Hendriks said. Weve never canceled that, ever. When in-person meetings were halted in 2020, the Memorial quickly became virtual. We had faith it was going to happen, Hendriks said. It was more a question of how it was going to work. We had only been using Zoom for a couple of weeks. The denomination was able to quickly pivot to reach members in new ways. In countries where no internet was available, radio and television broadcasts filled the void. In total, about 20 million individuals around the world were able to participate. To find a way to come together, even virtually, to celebrate Christ was meaningful, especially in the beginning of the pandemic, Hendriks said. Coming back together The timeline for coming back together will happen in phases, Hendriks said. For instance, the door-to-door ministry will stay on hiatus. Throughout the pandemic, efforts to reach others have remained strong, he said, and attendance to virtual meetings was high. Hybrid meetings were piloted in Puerto Rico and Connecticut, where vaccination rates were high, Hendriks said. We cant livestream our meetings, he said. We dont only want our congregants to see us. We want to see them. Our meetings are discussion based. Protocols for reopening were sent to the 13,000 Kingdom Halls and 7,000 auditoriums throughout the U.S. branch, which have all been working around the clock to prepare for in-person gatherings. Theres a lot of joy, a lot of anxiety, Hendriks said. We want to see each other, but we know were still in a pandemic. We have to be careful. Hybrid worship will now allow Jehovahs Witnesses to have a choice, if they are ready to return in person or prefer to join from home. Zoom has made it possible to have spiritual discussions with small groups in breakout rooms, Hendriks said. Hendriks said John 13:35, where Jesus states, By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another, has been on his mind. Love is expressed in peace, he said. And the manifestation of peace is unity. To go back as a unified family and pick up where we left off, its just awesome. Peyton is a freelance writer based in Houston. Lapsus$ hacking group members, a few of them, have now been arrested. The City of London Police has confirmed that two of the seven people previously arrested and subsequently released are now officially charged with a crime in connection with the Lapsus$ hacking. The said London police force, in collaboration with its partners, has been conducting an investigation into members of the Lapsus$ hacking group for some time now. Lapsus$ Hackers Arrest Lapsus$ hackers that were arrested are now being charged. Police authorities in the U.K. reportedly arrested seven people aged 16 to 21 years old on March 25 that were allegedly connected to cyber threat group Lapsus$. However, a recently published statement from the City of London Police Detective Inspector Michael O'Sullivan provided an emailed statement in response to the questions surrounding the investigation and arrest of Lapsus$. O'Sullivan statement states: "The City of London Police has been conducting an investigation into members of a hacking group. Two teenagers, a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old, have been charged in connection with this investigation and remain in police custody." O'Sullivan explained: "Both teenagers have been charged with: three counts of unauthorised access to a computer with intent to impair the reliability of data; one count of fraud by false representation and one count of unauthorised access to a computer with intent to hinder access to data. The 16-year-old has also been charged with one count of causing a computer to perform a function to secure unauthorised access to a program." In addition, the City of London Police noted that the two teenagers will appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on April 1, 2022. The police authorities have reminded the media that the suspects involved in this case are teenagers. Given the [circumstance, reports regarding their identification, address, school, and other personal information are in any matter prohibited by law. On the contrary, a recent report from Bloomberg stated that the suspected mastermind behind the Lapsus$ hacking organization is a teenager based in Oxford, United Kingdom. In the report, it has also been mentioned that the researchers tracked down the 16-year-personal old's information on the internet, and figured "White" and "Breachbase" are the online names he used. In another report here in iTech Post, "The 16-year-old alleged to be a Lapsus$ group leader was outed by rival hackers and angry business partners, who revealed his name, address, and social media pictures to authorities on a hacker website." Read Also: Google Chrome Security Update: CVE-2022-1096 a High-Severity Zero-Day Exploit Lapsus$ Hacking Lapsus$ hackers have been known in the cybersecurity and tech industry for being a fairly new group of threat actors. However, despite being new in the scene, Lapsus$ was able to hack into large and leading tech companies around the world. Lapsus$ came into the limelight this year after they hacked NVIDIA. The actors claim that they only want to help the gaming mining community by hacking NVIDIA. As previously reported, Lapsus$ demanded NVIDIA " to push an update for all GeForce RTX 30 Series Firmware, which will remove any restrictions placed by the company on the cards." After that, a series of hacking from Lapsus$ took place; Lapsus$ hacked Samsung, Ubisoft, Microsoft, and Globant. Microsoft also confirmed that they were indeed breached by Lapsus$, although the damage seems not to be that significant unlike the previous hacking in other companies. Microsoft's Threat Intelligence Center, Detection and Response Team, and Microsoft 365 Defender Threat Intelligence Team revealed that they have been investigating Lapsus$ closely. With that, Microsoft published a cybersecurity measure companies can practice in order to avoid, and mitigate, in cases where they might encounter Lapsus$. Related Article: Lapsus$ Not Yet Dead as Software Company Globant Becomes Latest Victim Paid parental leave is likely coming to Houston this spring for city employees, at least. And proponents of the plan hope it sends a message. We have a duty to normalize what we know is right for Houstonians and the city, said District C Council Member Abbie Kamin, speaking Friday about a new proposal to provide up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave to city employees. The plan is a top recommendation of the Houston Womens Commission, an initiative launched in 2021 that released its first report this week, after six months of work. It would give most city employees those with at least six months on the job up to 12 weeks of paid leave after they welcome a new child, whether by birth, adoption or foster placement. It would also provide for paid time off during pregnancy and for postnatal medical appointments. Beth Matusoff Merfish, the chair of the womens commission, describes the idea in a statement as an investment in women in the city of Houston one that would make employment by the city, for women, more accessible and welcoming. As it stands, city employees are not eligible for any paid parental leave, although they may take unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Compounding the challenge, for working parents, is the high cost of childcare. And even parents who can afford it may not be able to find a spot in a daycare easily. Im on a waitlist, volunteered Kamin. For a tour. Lets put an asterisk here: the plan hasnt yet been approved by city council. But it is is backed by Mayor Sylvester Turner, among others. As a father, I know how special it is to spend time bonding with a newborn and not have to feel distracted by work, Turner told me, adding that he knows city employees have faced such a dilemma directly. One story that comes to mind is that of one of my directors, a mother of three beautiful children. I recall that she worked late on a Tuesday and delivered her third baby early the following day. She saved her vacation and sick hours to take time off after delivery. The councils Quality of Life Committee will hold an April 7 hearing on the proposal, which will go before the full council on April 13. So there will be time to hear any questions or concerns that Houstonians may have. But what are those concerns, really? Some may believe that parental leave is a luxury, or analogous to a vacation, which most new parents would argue with exhausted, bleary eyes is emphatically not the case. More substantive concerns are likely to focus on costs, as Houstons overall budget comes under scrutiny. City Controller Chris Brown has been sounding the alarm about the fiscal challenges facing the city in the not-so-distant future as the federal funds that have helped prop up our structurally imbalanced budget go away. The overarching concerns that he and others have raised are real and worth taking seriously. At the same time, lets keep in mind that Houstons city budget for the current fiscal year is $5.1 billion. While the costs of this proposal would vary depending on how many eligible city employees take the leave, were not talking about something that would bust the budget. Indeed, a FAQ on the subject from Turners office notes that weve already accounted for the costs: The City is able to offer these new benefits with no budgetary impact to the City as the hours approved under this ordinance are already included in the annual budgeted personnel costs. Also worth noting is that paid parental leave, and other such policies, carry benefits that cant be quantified for employees and, by extension, their employer. No one takes a job planning to use bereavement leave, for example, but it helps to know if an employer is committed to supporting its workers in the face of loss and grief. This would be a timely move for the city of Houston. The need for policies supporting parents, children and families was laid bare by the pandemic. There was a push for 12 weeks of paid parental leave in Congress last year as part of President Joe Bidens Build Back Better Act, but that proposal got scaled back, and then died, amid concerns by centrist Democrats and Republicans about the larger programs cost. The most recent version would have included four weeks of paid family leave as well as new investments in childcare. I have always said, If I cant go back home and explain it, I cant vote for it, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat whose opposition ultimately derailed the plan, said in a statement at the time. Despite my best efforts, I cannot explain the sweeping Build Back Better Act in West Virginia. Although the issue of paid parental leave is getting traction in some states, it remains a nonstarter at the Texas Legislature, unsurprisingly. State Rep. Gene Wu, a Democrat who represents part of west Harris County, notes that bills to this effect have been filed, only to never get a committee hearing. That being the case, Texas cities and counties have been stepping up. The city of Austin, for example, last month extended up to six weeks of paid parental leave for the citys police, fire and EMS employees; other city employees have had access to paid parental leave since 2013. (Travis County commissioners in February, similarly, passed a resolution for the county to develop a paid family leave policy for its employees.) For local leaders, such a policy is necessary from a competitive perspective, if nothing else. We can attract and retain talented and dedicated employees by offering some of the benefits provided in the private sector, Turner said. What are the costs of not doing it? Kamin, the Houston city councilmember, asked rhetorically. Because of the financial constraints of the city, we cannot pay (workers) the way that the private sector can, she continued. But we can do the right thing. We can offer the right benefits which show that we care, and that those committed to public service matter, and their families matter. Such a display would benefit the city, as well as employees. The nationwide unemployment rate soared into the double digits during the pandemic, only to plunge during the recovery: It now stands at 3.6 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Across the state of Texas, the unemployment rate is a bit higher 4.7 percent as of February, according to Texas Workforce Commission data. Still, employees here and across the country have real leverage at the moment. If workers want to use that leverage to advocate for paid parental leave, no one should begrudge them. Instead, employers including the city should recognize the benefits of such policies, and act accordingly. erica.grieder@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate When Amirah Khan, 18, attended secular schools in College Station and North Texas, she didnt mind peers asking her why she wasnt eating or drinking as she sat in the cafeteria during the month of Ramadan. I actually enjoy talking about Ramadan, she said. Im able to educate them about my culture and faith, which made us grow closer. Houston-area educators are making accommodations for Muslim children who fast during the daylight hours of the month-long holiday that began Friday evening. Fasting, an act of worship in Islam, helps Muslims focus inward on their faith during Ramadan, but may cause students to struggle with focus and physical tasks. Thoughtful modifications to the school day may help many to successfully continue attending class, experts said. As an extremely diverse school district, we encourage our campus leadership to be culturally aware and meet the needs of their students, especially during periods of religious observances, said Sherry Williams, Fort Bend ISD spokeswoman. Campus principals, along with their school leadership teams, disseminate information and implement best practices for their students observing holy days such as Ramadan. Ramadan, the ninth month of the lunar calendar, is the holiest month in Islam. In the Islamic tradition, it was on the one of the last 10 days of Ramadan that God revealed the Quran to Muhammad. With more than 250,000 Muslim people in the Houston region, many students here observe the holiday. Muslims who have not yet reached puberty are not required to fast, however, some may choose to try. Younger children may also fast half a day to build up to the full day when they are older. Once kids enter high school, they often must pray during the school day. Muslims also must focus on controlling their emotions and being kind during the month, said Khan, which can be difficult in high-stress environments, such as school. In public school, there is conflict and chaos and turmoil, she said. I had to remind myself to control my temper and maintain respect for others. On HoustonChronicle.com: Houston food trucks to prepare, serve meals to refugees for Ramadan Roger Yelton, executive director of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, said the organization issues notices to schools to educate administrators about the holiday. It also offers form letters for parents to request that their students to be relieved from physical activities, such as recess. The Houston, Alief, Alvin, Channelview, Friendswood and Katy ISDs also said they offer similar flexibility during Ramadan. NEWSLETTERS Join the conversation with HouWeAre We want to foster conversation and highlight the intersection of race, identity and culture in one of America's most diverse cities. Sign up for the HouWeAre newsletter here. HISD students requiring religious accommodations are encouraged to communicate and collaborate with their school administrators to establish necessary alternatives to foster a safe and inclusive learning environment, said Luis A. Morales, an HISD spokesperson. Accommodations will vary by school, based on available spaces and resources. Alvin ISD elementary students are allowed to do other activities during lunch and can substitute art or music for physical education class, if needed, spokeswoman Renae Rivas said. In middle and high schools, the district provides an alternative area for students who want to avoid the cafeteria during lunch. Channelview ISD spokeswoman Lila Hollin said the school system makes every effort to ensure students can continue learning in a way that will allow them to practice their religions traditions. Once a family makes us aware, campus principals and district leadership further discuss a learning plan that will suit the students needs during Ramadan, she said. Similarly, Katy ISD encourages families to work with their campus administrators so they can make the necessary accommodations and ensure all students feel safe and comfortable during the school day, said Maria Corrales Dipetta, spokeswoman for the district. On HoustonChronicle.com: For young Muslims, Ramadan is an adjustment Friendswood ISD offers excused absences for religious holidays if a parent decides it would be best for their child to stay home, said spokesperson Dayna Owen. Annette Khan, Amirahs mother, wishes public schools would do more to educate their communities about Islam and Ramadan. It should be a school-wide thing because teachers can easily dismiss it, the mother of seven said. Kids are affected most by their peers. Some (Muslim) kids will explain it, but others may not want to discuss it and might endure teasing. Though her peers were respectful of her religious practices, Amirah Khan said celebrating Ramadan in public school doesnt compare to her experience at the Houston private Islamic high school that she now attends. Everyone here grew up with fasting, she said. Being able to share that with everyone gives us something to relate to. Darul Arqam Academy North has an early dismissal time during Ramadan so kids may go home to nap before evening prayers. There is also a scheduled daily prayer at 2 p.m. year-round. Students also work toward another goal of giving back to the needy as much as possible, said Mohammed Raiyan, a 12th grader at the school. The schools mosque, like many others in the area, offers a free meal to break daily fasts during the holy month. Anyone who wants to join is welcome. The practice allows congregants to connect with their community and provide for them. Fasting is also meant to help Muslims understand the struggles others go through, such as food insecurity, said ninth grader Rawan Emad. Ramadan is a month of not just fasting, but of coming together and sharing with everyone, Amirah Khan said. I hope that Ramadan can bring us together as people and as citizens of our country because our diversity is what strengthens us. hannah.dellinger@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate All three men suspected in the killing of off-duty Harris County sheriffs deputy Darren Almendarez are in custody and have been charged with capital murder, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced early Saturday. Frederick Tardy, 17, had been wanted for questioning in connection with the shooting of Almendarez, a 23-year veteran of the sheriffs office. Almendarez was off-duty Thursday night when he confronted three men in the parking lot of a grocery store who appeared to be stealing the catalytic converter of his truck. The men opened fire, Gonzalez said, fatally wounding the deputy. Almendarez was able to return fire and hit two of the men. Authorities say Joshua Stewart, 23, and Fredarius Clark, 19, were later arrested at a hospital. One was listed in stable condition; the other was listed in critical condition. A magistrate has ordered that Stewart be held without bail pending a review Monday in the 177th District Court. Bail has not been set for the two other defendants. The Harris County District Attorneys Office filed motions Friday to deny bail for Stewart and Clark, pointing out that both men could face the death penalty if convicted. Court records show that Stewart was previously charged in September 2019 with unlawfully carrying a weapon. Judge Andrew Wright dismissed the misdemeanor charge because the case lacked probable cause. When that happens, prosecutors can refile the charge when more evidence is gleaned. That did not happen in this case. Clark was convicted in November 2020 of a misdemeanor criminal trespassing charge. A second misdemeanor charge of unlawful carrying a weapon with police alleging that he had a 30-round clip at his apartment complex was dismissed. Court records indicate prosecutors believed the case lacked probable cause. Tardy is also expected in court Monday. He has no known criminal history in Harris County. Lawyers have not yet been appointed for or hired by any of the defendants. Gonzalez called Almendarez a hero and thanked the community for its outpouring of support. Gov. Greg Abbott said the state of Texas would offer all resources necessary to bring justice for the fallen deputy and his family. County Judge Lina Hidalgo said she was absolutely heartbroken by the death of Almendarez. And Mayor Sylvester Turner said: It is a terrible day when a family trip to a grocery store ends in violence and loss of life. Almendarez is survived by his wife, Flor Zarzoza, and a teenage daughter. john.tedesco@chron.com Regarding Rebuild of I-45 will cost $750M more than expected as work is changed, delayed, (March 30): My jaw dropped to the floor when I read in that the I-45 rebuild project might cost up to $9 billion. Do we really want to spend that kind of money just to make it easier for commuters from The Woodlands and points north to drive to Houston in the morning, go to work downtown and then drive home in the evening? Did we learn nothing from the expansion of the Katy Freeway, which becomes a virtual parking lot during the a.m. and p.m. rush hours? Think of all the mass transit projects that could be funded with that kind of money. Think of all the neighborhood homes, schools and churches that will be negatively impacted (and many destroyed). I wish we had more leaders at the local, state and federal levels who would come up with some creative transportation ideas instead of repeating the same mistakes year after year. Bill Wilson, Houston Don't let TxDOT fool you. It tries to buffalo the City of Houston by saying the price is rising due to delays. These delays are TxDOT's fault because it did not deal with the public seriously about social and environmental problems. TxDOT also said over 10 years ago that the I-10 expansion was going to cost around $1 billion, but the cost ballooned to over $2 billion. As long as we have a highway agency with little or no oversight and more money than God well get ridiculous cost overruns, ugly and unneeded roads, and more air and water pollution. Brandt Mannchen, Houston Its all relative Regarding Property tax cut, (March 31): In Mike Beck's letter, he states hes against either proposed amendment to cut property taxes because it would be a threat to educational funding and the elderly are on average the wealthiest age group. Education in Texas will always be funded, and probably for the most part by the homeowner. The property tax fund bucket continues to fill since appraisals rise year after year. My tax rate was frozen at age 65. But that didnt stop the tax bill from increasing every year due to the appraisal districts opinions (I do protest annually). Do the statistics showing the elderly as the wealthiest group include the disabled as well? There are too many stories where the elderly on fixed incomes are close to being forced from their homes due to large tax increases over a period of time. Dave Lieber, writing in the Dallas Morning News, has clarified the wording of Proposition 1. Do you approve of people who are disabled or over 65 who have frozen school property tax bills getting their school tax lowered year after year because state funding for school districts is increasing and picking up the difference? We are not talking about huge amounts being saved by each property owner, but every little bit can help. Both Prop. 1 and Prop. 2 have my support. Rich Krekeler, Tomball In his letter to the editor regarding the upcoming vote on proposed amendments for lowering property taxes, Mr. Beck tells us that older people have plenty of money and dont need such tax relief. Apparently my banker has been lying to me for a very long time about my wealth. Harold Young, Cypress As on any ordinary evening, Joe Campos Torres visited an East End cantina on May 5, 1977. Joe was a proud Latino, Second Ward resident and Army veteran. But, this was not an ordinary evening. An altercation developed inside the cantina. Officer M. G. Oropeza, who was nearby, was informed of the fight, and he requested backup. Soon after entering the cantina, he was joined by two other officers who had been patrolling the area; four more officers, responding to the call for backup, also joined them. Campos Torres was soon arrested for disorderly conduct. The following hours were so horrific that they dont even seem real. Oropeza stayed behind, while the other six officers took Campos Torres to a hidden area along Buffalo Bayou known as The Hole. The officers beat and tortured him without mercy.. The officers finally took him to jail for processing. He was so abused that the jailers refused to process him and insisted that Campos Torres be immediately taken to the hospital. He was never taken to a hospital. On HoustonChronicle.com: 'I can hate no more': Mother of Joe Campos Torres, vet killed by Houston police, breaks decades of silence The officers instead took Campos Torres back to The Hole. There, he was beaten further, hands tied behind his back, and thrown into the bayou. His disfigured body was found three days later, on Mothers Day. Imagine the horror felt by his mother and the rest of the family. Imagine the pain that returns every Mothers Day. In 1977, we did not have cell phones to record abuse, nor did we have social media to spread the word. Nevertheless, two officers Terry Denson and Stephen Orlando were tried in a courtroom in Huntsville by an all-white jury and were found guilty of negligent homicide. In the testimony, it was discovered that one officer said lets see if the wetback can swim as Campos Torres near lifeless body was tossed into the bayou. Their sentence for assaulting and killing a proud army veteran was probation and a $1 fine. How can the value of a veterans life be just $1? Naturally, the community was outraged which led to multiple protests. Through the incredible work of LULAC and other Latino leaders, a second trial was held; several officers were found guilty and given a ten-year suspended sentence. Denson and Orlando were convicted of assault and sentenced to nine months in federal prison. On the one-year anniversary of his death, the Moody Park Riots took place. It is not critical race theory to remember the terrible events of 1977. It happened and it is real. The family has spent 44 years trying to get the proper acknowledgment of this dark moment in Houstons history. Their quest is not for personal gain and certainly not for defunding the police. Rather, they desire to enlighten society, so it never happens again; so no other family must endure generational hurt. In fact, Campos Torres nephew, Richard Molina, has been a thoughtful spokesperson for the family, dedicating most of his time to activism and police reform. This has included countless hours talking with young police cadets to improve their understanding of a healthy relationship between the police and the community. On HoustonChronicle.com: Renowned architecture firm designs $6M memorial for Joe Campos Torres, killed by Houston police in 1977 This Saturday at 1 p.m. at 1301 Commerce, Houston celebrates the life of Joe Campos Torres as a city marker and beautiful banner are unveiled at the very location where he took some of his last breaths. Immediately after the formal ceremony, Little Joe y la Familia will play a free concert. Most importantly, the family will be there including Campos Torres mother Margaret Torres, his sisters Janie Torres, Sandra Torres, and Margaret Gutierrez, as well as other extended family. A few family members will address the crowd and hopefully bring sunlight to a dark moment on Houstons history. Gilbert Andrew Garcia is the managing partner of Garcia Hamilton & Associates, served as the chair of the METRO board from 2010-16 and is a member of LULAC Chapter. This piece was written with the assistance of Richard Molina. A passer-by takes a photo of a graffiti mural showing the slap-in-the-face scene, which took place at the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony, near a wall at Mauerpark in Berlin, April 1. EPA-Yonhap Will Smith resigned Friday from the Motion Picture Academy following his Oscars night slap of Chris Rock and said he would accept any further punishment the organization imposed. Smith in a statement released Friday afternoon said he will ''fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable.'' Film academy president David Rubin said Smith's resignation was accepted. ''We will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy's Standards of Conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18.'' Smith loses voting privileges with his resignation. But there are other, less tangible benefits to being part of the academy, Hollywood's most prestigious organization: It bestows industry credibility on its members. It's invitation only, and with a once-a-year membership review. ''I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work,'' Smith's statement said. ''I am heartbroken. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film. ''Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason,'' Smith concluded in the statement. The resignation came two days after the academy's leadership board met to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group's standards of conduct. Those proceedings could have resulted in suspension or expulsion, and it was not immediately clear what additional punishment he could face. Had he been expelled, Smith would have joined a small group of men removed from the academy: Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski, Bill Cosby and the actor Carmine Caridi, who was kicked out for sharing awards screeners. On Sunday, Smith strode from his front-row Dolby Theatre seat on to the stage and smacked Rock, who had made a joke at the expense of Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Moments later, he went on to win the best actor award for his role in ''King Richard.'' Rock, who was about to present Oscar for best documentary, declined to file charges when asked by police. He has only briefly addressed the attack publicly, saying at one comedy concert in Boston this week that he was still ''kind of processing what happened.'' Smith stunned Rock, the theater crowd and viewers at home when he took the stage after Rock joked: ''Jada, I love you. 'G.I. Jane 2,' can't wait to see it.'' Pinkett Smith, who has spoken publicly about her hair loss condition, alopecia, had a closely shaved head similar to that of Demi Moore in the original movie. After Smith's attack, he returned to his seat and angrily twice shouted at Rock to ''get my wife's name out your (expletive) mouth.'' When Smith took the stage again less than hour later to accept his Oscar, he tearfully apologized to the academy but notably omitted any mention of Rock. The fallout was immediate and intense. Smith had supporters for coming to his wife's defense, but he was widely condemned for responding with violence and for marring both his long-sought Oscar victory and overshadowing the night's other winners. That included Ahmir ''Questlove'' Thompson, director of the winning documentary, ''Summer of Soul,'' and the film's producers. They claimed their awards in the unsettled moments following Smith's attack and outburst, when the room's attention was shattered. Before the disruption, the ceremony had represented a reset from the pandemic-constrained versions of the past two years. It was back in its home theater, boasted a trio of well-received female hosts Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes and had tallied several breakthrough winners. Among them were ''West Side Story'' star Ariana DeBose, the first Afro-Latina and openly LGBTQ actor to win in the category of best supporting actress, and Troy Kotsur of ''CODA,'' the first deaf male actor to win the supporting actor prize. The night ended with ''CODA'' being crowned best picture, a landmark achievement for a streaming service and for a film with a largely deaf cast. (AP) April 2 is my Alive Day. When military and veterans talk about their Alive Day, its typically a commemoration of the day that they survived death in combat. My Alive Day marks the date that I was not killed by a mass shooter. Eight years ago, a soldier at Fort Hood embarked on a shooting spree that resulted in the murder of three service member and injuries to many others. While the shooter and the three men he killed were all in military uniforms, this was not an act of war. Rather, this was another chapter in the growing saga of gun violence in America. I knew two of the murdered soldiers well. I was working alongside Sgt. Timothy Owens on the day of the shooting; he was a dedicated team leader in my platoon. Sgt. First Class Daniel Ferguson was a hard-working, professional soldier with whom I had the pleasure of working in a past assignment. I did not have the privilege of knowing Staff Sgt. Carlos Alberto Lazaney-Rodriguez. As a veteran, I am often thanked for my service. Yet, I dont consider my service to be complete. I am no longer in active service, but I am still compelled by a duty to protect my fellow Americans this time, from the ongoing epidemic of gun violence. We know how to handle guns in the military. We follow the three pillars of military gun culture: training, safety and accountability. Every soldier knows to keep their weapon locked and unloaded until its ready for use, with strict accountability for every firearm, including regular checks by staff duty officers. The military takes these steps to reduce the number of soldiers killed or wounded on duty. Civilian America is vastly different. Dozens of states have no law requiring gun owners to safely secure their guns or even a law requiring a background check on all gun sales, including those arranged online making it easier for convicted criminals and domestic abusers to get their hands on guns. The shooter eight years ago bought his gun off-base, from the very same store that five years prior another shooter bought a weapon from, used in the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood. Instead of strengthening our gun laws, in Texas last year, politicians went even further, passing permitless carry which allows anyone to carry a handgun in public without a permit, which required a background check and safety training. This lack of oversight does not make us more free as a society, it makes us less safe. Just a few months into this year, there have already been at least 51 unintentional shootings by children with guns, resulting in 17 deaths, and roughly 70 percent of veteran suicides are by gun. If you are one of the many Americans who greet veterans with a hearty, Thank you for your service, what actions will you take to honor the lives of our brothers lost at Fort Hood? We need common-sense gun laws, like universal background checks on all gun sales. If you are a gun owner, practice and promote a culture of weapons safety, including secure gun storage. We cant stay quiet when dangerous laws like permitless carry put us at risk. None of these steps threaten the rights laid out in the Second Amendment rights that I believe in and served to protect. In fact, in states where these gun safety laws are already in effect, they are helping to save lives. The data is irrefutable: States with weaker gun laws have higher rates of firearm-related homicides and suicides. There is no magic cure for gun violence, but common-sense gun laws save lives. We owe it to our loved ones to create a society where people feel safe from this epidemic that is harming our fellow Americans every day. I owe it to Timothy, Daniel and my country to work for a significant reduction in all forms of gun violence. Johnston is an Army veteran who served as a platoon leader during the 2014 mass shooting on Fort Hood. The views expressed in this article are his alone, and do not reflect the United States military or Department of Defense. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. The United States imposed fresh sanctions Friday on five North Korean entities involved in the North's recent missile tests that included its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch in over four years. The five entities include the North's Ministry of Rocket Industry (MoRI), according to the Department of the Treasury. "Today's action targets a DPRK WMD research and development organization that is directly linked to the development of new ICBMs, along with four of its revenue-generating subsidiaries," the department said in a press release. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. North Korea launched an apparent ICBM last Thursday, ending its self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile testing that had been in place since November 2017. The treasury department noted two North Korean missile tests, staged Feb. 27 and March 5 (KST), had also been related to testing a new ICBM system, as earlier identified by the U.S. intelligence community. "The DPRK's provocative ballistic missile tests represent a clear threat to regional and global security and are in blatant violation of UN Security Council resolutions," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, according to the department. "The United States is committed to using our sanctions authorities to respond to the DPRK's continued development of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles," she added. The five entities added to the Office of Foreign Assets Control's list include four subsidiaries of the North Korean rocket industry ministry Hapjanggang Trading Corporation, Korea Rounsan Trading Corporation, Sungnisan Trading Corporation and Unchon Trading Corporation. "These trading companies have pursued various activities likely aimed at generating revenue for MoRI," said the press release, adding that such activities included establishing joint ventures in North Korea, pursuing large-scale projects with Chinese firms and exporting North Korean labor. (Yonhap) A health worker in protective gear prepares for visitors at a temporary COVID-19 screening clinic in Seoul, March 31. AP-Yonhap Korea's new daily COVID-19 cases remained below 300,000 for the second consecutive day Friday as the spread of the Omicron subvariant slows after peaking out last month. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 264,171 infections, including 68 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 13,639,915. The country has seen a downward trend in new cases in recent weeks, following an all-time high of over 620,000, March 17 dipping to a nearly one-month low of 187,182 last Sunday. A total of 339 additional deaths were recorded, raising the total toll to 16,929 for a fatality rate of 0.12 percent. A private member bill was introduced in Lok Sabha to legalise same-sex marriage, and provide the same legal rights to married LGBTQIA couples which heterosexual couples are entitled to. NCP MP Supriya Sule introduced the private member bill in Lok Sabha. Another private member bill was also introduced on a similar issue by DMK MP DNV Senthilkumar S which talked about providing rights to LGBTQIA persons to enable them to live with human dignity. What the bill says The bill introduced by NCP MP Supriya Sule proposes to amend the Special Marriage Act, 1954 to solemnise such marriages and proposes to fix the age of marriage at 21 years in case both parties are males and 18 years in case both are females. Introduced The Special Marriage (Amendment) Bill (2022) in the Parliament aims to provide Equal Marriage rights to #LGBTQIA+ individuals. pic.twitter.com/B7ww9XJ6sL Supriya Sule (@supriya_sule) April 1, 2022 It also proposes to replace the words husband and wife with spouse by amending the various sections of the Special Marriage Act, 1954. In the statement of 'Objects and Reasons' of the bill, Sule said that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (questioning), intersex, and agender (LGBTQIA) individuals still face "persecution, discrimination and social stigma within society". In 2018, the Supreme Court of India struck down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and decriminalised homosexuality. PTI Citing another Supreme Court judgement, Sule said even after the determination of their sexual orientation, "LGBTQIA individuals are still unable to marry and raise their own families". "Fight for their rights" Underlining that LGBTQIA couples have no access to rights that heterosexual couples are entitled to upon marriage, such as succession, maintenance and pensions, etc, she said, "Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to amend the Special Marriage Act, 1954, to legalise same-sex marriage, and provide legal recognition to married LGBTQIA couples." It will ensure that Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution are upheld, and that LGBTQIA couples are provided the rights they are entitled to, she said. What is a private member bill? A private member bill is a draft legislation introduced by any MP who is not a minister. Such bills very rarely see the light of the day unlike a 'Government Bill', which a Union minister introduces. Agencies So far, only 14 private members' bills have been passed, with six being cleared in 1956 alone. For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. Google Docs intends to add more nuance to its suggestions to people while writing. Going beyond basic grammar and spelling errors, Google Docs will now suggest people how to make their writing more concise, active, and inclusive. In addition, the company will also warn people against using inappropriate words, Google announced in a blog post. The six new additions are: Word choice: More dynamic or contextually relevant wording Active voice: Active rather than passive voice Conciseness: More concise phrases Inclusive language: More inclusive words or phrases Word warnings: Reconsidering potentially inappropriate words Google says that these suggestions will appear with a purple underline. Once you select the underline, Google Docs will show a small description of the suggestions - which the user could accept or reject. Google "Youll see suggestions when there are opportunities to structure a sentence with an active voice or when a sentence can be more concise, helping to make your writing more impactful. Potentially discriminatory or inappropriate language will be flagged, along with suggestions on how to make your writing more inclusive and appropriate for your audience," Google wrote. Google Also read: Google's AI Has Reduced Racy Results For Content That Sexualises Ethnicities By 30% The new additions will begin appearing on Google Docs over the coming days. If you are on the Rapid Release domain, the feature began rolling out for you on March 31. For other users with default Scheduled Release setting, the features will be available starting April 14. Of course, there's a catch. If you're on a basic Google plan like Google Workspace Essentials, these features will not be available to you. You can check if you're eligible here. Unsplash Also read: Google's Health AI Expert On How Smartphone Will Hold The Key To Our Well-Being Services like Grammarly already offer such functionalities. In fact, Grammarly is able to integrate Google Docs to improve the quality of your writing. What do you think about Google new efforts to make Google Docs more riveting? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com. The pilots on a Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Washington DC decided to make an emergency landing after the cockpit window "spontaneously" shattered mid-air. The picture of the damaged windshield was posted on Twitter by a passenger who was onboard the flight. The photo shows the right side of the cockpit windshield shattered. Delta Air Lines They came on the loudspeaker saying that the windshield had shattered, and we were diverting to Denver in about 10 minutes. I was sure I had misheard them but I hadn't, Rachel Wright, one of the 198 passengers on the plane, told KUTV. The crew announced the diversion about 90 minutes into the flight and asked the passengers to stay calm. We were on our way to the ACC meeting when it was announced that we we would need to make an unplanned landing in Denver because the windscreen cracked. Apparently it was spontaneous. Fortunately, we landed safely and are about to get back in air. We are grateful for safe flights pic.twitter.com/lK6kq5UiY2 Kirk Knowlton, MD (@KirkKnowlton) March 31, 2022 "They kept coming on saying for everyone to stay calm, to be calm, and we were calm so being told to stay calm while we were calm made us feel a little panicky," Wright said. "I'm really good at playing 'what if?' And so, my mind goes to, kind of, what could have happened, worst-case scenario, and I'm grateful. It could have been really bad. It could have gone very differently," Wright added. Delta Air Lines Delta spokesperson Anthony Black confirmed the "windshield crack" but said the cause had not been determined. "Out of an abundance of caution, the flight crew diverted into Denver and the plane landed routinely. Our team worked quickly to accommodate customers on a new plane, and we sincerely apologize for the delay and inconvenience to their travel plans," an airline statement said. Passengers boarded a new plane in Denver and continued on to Washington. For more trending stories, click here. This photo provided by the union of Hyundai Heavy Industries shows the site of an explosion that killed one worker at the company's shipyard in the port city of Ulsan, April 2. Yonhap A worker was killed Saturday in an explosion at a shipyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. in the port city of Ulsan, 415 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to police. The employee in his 50s, hired by a subcontractor, was cutting steel plates with oxy-fuel gas when the blast occurred at 7:48 a.m. at the yard of the world's largest shipbuilder. He fell unconscious and was sent to a hospital, but he was declared dead, according to police. Other workers at the scene were not injured. Police are investigating to determine the cause of the explosion. About 30,000 employees of Hyundai Heavy and partner companies work at the shipyard in Ulsan. The labor ministry ordered the shipbuilder to suspend work in the section where the accident occurred and began an inquiry into whether the company followed safety rules under the serious industrial accident act. Under the law, owners and CEOs of companies with five or more employees can face a minimum one-year prison sentence or a fine of up to 1 billion won (US$819,830) in the event of accidents that cause death or serious injury. The act went into effect Jan. 27, while workplaces with less than 50 employees were given a two-year grace period. On Jan. 24, a Hyundai Heavy employee was killed after being crushed by steel plates while moving them using remote-controlled cranes. Hyundai Heavy's union issued a statement slamming the company over repeated accidents and calling for a thorough probe. "The accident occurred because corrective measures were not taken despite frequent large and small explosion accidents." the union said. The union plans to file a complaint against management and request the labor ministry suspend entire work at the shipyard. Hyundai Heavy expressed regret and vowed all-out efforts to prevent a recurrence. "The company will cooperate with related agencies to determine the exact cause and details of the accident and will make every effort to come up with measures to prevent a recurrence," Hyundai Heavy said in a press release. (Yonhap) Products What are the Main Properties and Uses of Inconel718 U.S. natural gas futures rose about 5 percent to a near nine-week high as global energy prices surged on concerns over a pricing plan for energy exports, keeping U.S. LNG export demand near record highs. U.S. natural gas prices have risen despite forecasts of mild weather and lower-than-expected demand, which will allow utilities to fill up storage facilities next week. On Wednesday, Germany launched an emergency plan to manage gas supplies in Europe's largest economy. If natural gas supplies are interrupted or stopped, the German government could take unprecedented steps to limit electricity supply. Affected by the increase in the price of natural gas, the price of the Alloy Inconel718 will also increase. What is Nickel-based Super Alloy Inconel718: Inconel 718 or In718 is a nickel-chromium-molybdenum alloy. It is an oxidation-resistant and corrosion-resistant material ideal for use in extreme environments under pressure and heat. In718 was invented in the early 1960s in INCO Huntington Alloys (now Special Metals Co.) and used in turbine parts manufacturing. Since then, In718 has become the most widely used nickel-based superalloy in the history of aero-engines. The unique alloy composition of In718 enables it to have good comprehensive properties, namely high strength, creep resistance, etc. Especially under 650, it has good stability in terms of mechanical properties. 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Various complex-shaped parts can be produced with Inconel718, and thus Inconel718 is widely used in aerospace, nuclear energy, petroleum industry, and extrusion die in the above temperature range. Applications of Nickel-based Super Alloy Inconel718: Chemical processing;Gas turbine blades, seals, and combustors;High-temperature fasteners;Pressure vessels;Aerospace industry, for constructing heat resistant turbines;Low-temperature storage tanks;Nuclear energy industry;Petroleum industry. About KMPASS KMPASS is a trusted global chemical material supplier & manufacturer with over 12 years experience in providing super high-quality chemicals and Nanomaterials. The company export to many countries, such as USA, Canada, Europe, UAE, South Africa, Tanzania,Kenya,Egypt,Nigeria,Cameroon,Uganda,Turkey,Mexico,Azerbaijan,Belgium,Cyprus,Czech Republic,Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Dubai, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia,Germany, France, Italy, Portugal etc. As a leading nanotechnology development manufacturer, KMPASS dominates the market. Our professional work team provides perfect solutions to help improve the efficiency of various industries, create value, and easily cope with various challenges. If you are looking for Inconel718 powder, please send an email to: sales2@nanotrun.com or contact us. The negative electrode material is the carrier of lithium ions and electrons during the charging process of the battery and plays the role of energy storage and release. In the battery cost, the negative electrode material accounts for about 5%-15%, which is one of the important raw materials for lithium-ion batteries. The global sales of lithium battery anode materials are about 100,000 tons, mainly in China and Japan. According to the current growth trend of new energy vehicles, the demand for anode materials will also show a state of continuous growth. At present, the global lithium battery anode materials are still dominated by natural/artificial graphite, and new anode materials such as mesh carbon microspheres (MCMB), lithium titanate, silicon-based anodes, HC/SC, and metal lithium are also growing rapidly.Our company provides anode materials and Alloy Inconel718s. If you need to know more anode materials and Alloy Inconel718s, please feel free to contact us. Inquery us One morning in May 2019, Irish actor Conleth Hill woke to discover he was a global headline. Hill, who had achieved international fame in his mid-40s playing whisper-voiced courtier Varys in Game of Thrones, had expressed his mild frustration in an interview over the manner in which his character had been sidelined as the fantasy blockbuster hurtled toward the finish line. The remarks set the internet aflame. People jumped on the comments as proof Hill agreed with the rapidly-forming consensus that Game Of Thrones was making the mother of messes of its big denouement. One of the things I said was I felt which is one of the things about being in a multi-character. piece of work is that if they chose to go with other characters there is nothing I can do about it. I wasnt bad-mouthing them, says Hill. I was always satisfied with what I got. I preferred [ Game of Thrones] when it was smaller. That doesnt mean I hated it when it was bigger. Everyone had invested so much in it. I had no problem with people not being happy about it. I had a problem when they went for the two show runners [David Benioff and DB Weiss]. It was very personal. Youre allowed your opinion. Dont have a go at them, thats all. Conleth Hill as Varys in Game of Thrones Game of Thrones changed Hills life. But of course the world keeps spinning even after youve appeared in the biggest TV smashes of all time. And for the Co Antrim-raised actor that next chapter has involved crossing the length of Ireland to star in an adaptation of Graham Nortons 2016 small-town murder mystery, Holding. Holding comes to Virgin Media One after debuting on ITV to positive reviews. The Guardian hailed its charm; the London Times praised the well drawn characters. Yet for all that praise Holding doesn't quite reinvent the wheel. Here is a whodunit set in one of those quaint rural idylls where secrets lurk everywhere and nobody is as they appear. And when human remains turn up unexpectedly on abandoned land, years of closely guarded secrets begin to unravel. The idyll in this case Duneen, a fictional West Cork town that feels like an amalgam of Schull, Drimoleague (where it was filmed) and Nortons native Bandon. The Cork accents are, it has to be said, occasionally wonky (imagine a Dublin standup comedian 'doing' a Cork accent and then multiply by five). Holding is nonetheless great fun and a showcase for a cast that also includes Brendan Fricker, Corks Siobhan McSweeney (from Derry Girls), Peaky Blinders Charlene McKenna and theatre actor Olwen Fouere. Clinton Liberty and Conleth Hill in Holding. Picture: ITV Yet it is Hill who holds it together, playing a character who could not be more different from Game Of Thrones shrewd, manipulative Varys. Eccentric Garda PJ Collins is a cross between Benny Hill and Kate Winslet in Mare of Easttown: an outwardly wacky figure whose absurd exterior conceals an undertow of seriousness, even sadness. I read the novel when it first came out. I got it for Christmas or something. I remember thinking, 'oh, that's an amazing part'. A real, flawed, ordinary man in an extraordinary situation. I remember at the time commenting on that. I got a phone call from my agent saying, youve been offered this and Kathy Burkes directing. I thought about it for a millisecond and said, absolutely, where do I sign? Ballycastle, County Antrim, where Hill grew up, is about as far from West Cork as it is possible to be while still on the island of Ireland. However, Hill has fond memories of Cork and of the childhood holidays he would spend in the county as his family drove south down the coast, through Youghal, into the city and on to Glengariff. My dad used to drive from one end of the country to the other during the 1970s. And we'd go down to Cork and Kerry for our summer holidays. Loved the place, love the people. I was familiar with it. I wanted to do more. But [on Holding] youd be working five days a week and then learning lines for the next week. Conleth Hill and Irish screen legend Brenda Fricker in Holding. British TV has a patchy history when it comes to depicting Ireland on the screen. And while a whiff of quaintness hangs over Holding, it avoids the toxic tweeness that was a signature of shows such as Ballykissangel. It isnt nearly as toe-curling as a similar series might have been 20 years ago. Quirkiness hasnt been entirely banished, it is true. Garda Collins spends his spare time eating bread in his car. The village busybody ( Father Teds Pauline McLynn) calls the garda to complain that the shop across from hers on the main street is painted an inappropriate dull brown. The local cake-maker (McSweeney) is also a closet alcoholic, who has never come to terms with being jilted at the altar by her unfaithful boyfriend (thats his body which has just turned up). So far so Father Ted. Yet people are, drawn with real tenderness. Hills Collins, for instance, is less punchline than lost soul. And McSweeneys character is hitting the bottle because she has never quite come to terms with being left at the altar 20 years ago by her fiance (the one whose body has just turned up under a house). So its richly drawn, if not entirely free of cliche. And sensitively directed by Burke, better known as an actress, yet with a distinguished career directing for the stage. We weren't trying to do to present anything 'Irish'. We were just presenting ourselves and in this instance we were Irish, says Hill. Graham said that was something he kept an eye on in the adaptation stage: don't make it to diddly-dee or plastic paddy. And so he had a good eye on it. And I just think Karen [Cogan] and Dominic [Treadwell-Collins] are brilliant writers. It wasnt a trap they were going to go for anyway. You remember The Commitments and how we all felt when we watched that? Or Riverdance? We didnt want it to be diddly-dee. Kilkenny actor Sean Campion, right, with Conleth Hill, on stage at Broadway's Golden Globe Theatre in Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones, in 2001. West Cork used to be a closely guarded secret. But it has become an obsession for true crime buffs with the release of a number of podcasts and streaming documentaries exploring the unsolved murder of Sophie Toscan Du Plantier. Id seen the Jim Sheridan documentary [ Murder at the Cottage: The Search for Justice for Sophie]. And the Netflix one [ Sophie: A Murder in West Cork]. It was very strange when I said I was going to West Cork to work, nine people out of 10 would ask have you heard the podcast? Its fascinating. Theres a cosmopolitan-rural mix there that you dont get everywhere. Holding is one of a number of murder mysteries Hill has recently starred in, alongside Vienna Blood and Magpie Murders. Its part of the arc of many acting careers, he suggests. You get to a certain age he turned 58 in November and they start casting you as a latter-day Poirot. It certainly is nothing like Game of Thrones. That show continues to cast a shadow over TV (a long-awaited prequel is almost here). Several cast members have spoken about the staggering pressure they felt under as Thrones neared its conclusion and of needing time away to decompress. Hill seems to have taken it in his stride. It was an adventure but just one of many. And now hes on to the next. I was probably one of the least hardworking people on it, just in terms of time and things, he says. And then he shrugs: You just go on to the next job. Holding will premiere on Virgin Media More on Tuesday April 12 at 9pm. Virgin Media More is exclusive to Virgin Media TV subscribers. Keith Barry is reading my mind over Zoom. I want you to think of somebody that you know who has passed on, says Irelands best-known magician (he prefers brain hacker). Somebody you personally knew not a famous person. And somebody who brings back a feel-good factor. I wouldnt want you getting upset. Zone in on their initials. Just their initials. Scrambling slightly, I think of a grandparent. Next, Barry scrawls methodically on a whiteboard, which he then holds to the camera. Incredibly, he has scribbled the initials of the person about whom I was thinking. The faintest chill pricks the back of my neck. This is a history lesson as well as a virtual parlour trick. Barry is explaining the process of automatic writing, popular with occultists in the late 19th century. It was said to involve the dead taking control of the writers hand and sending a message from beyond the veil. Barry, like Houdini before him, is famously a skeptic and does not believe in the supernatural. So how did he do it? He obviously didnt commune with my deceased grandparent. And he certainly didnt clamber inside my head and scry my brain cells. Perhaps I subconsciously mouthed the letters as I thought of them? Maybe I blinked in a revealing way. Did the manner in which my eyes rolled around my head function as a sort of mind-hacking morse code? Heres the thing, says Barry. If I answer that now, you have no conversation to have later on with your friends and family over a dinner table. Right now, you do. Its a mystery. A mystery to be potentially solved in your head. Or not solved. Thats what I love about what I do. Mystery is what keeps people coming back. They know Im going to push them to the edge of the cliff. Im going to dangle them over there for a while. Im going to always pull them back and send them home safely the better for their experience. Barry (45) is Irelands most successful magician of the mind (on his website he describes himself as Mentalist, Magician & Subconscious Mind Specialist). This is testament to his talents as a conjurer. And also to his outgoing personality. And, after two years of lockdown, with his new show Reconnected starting in late April, he is relishing the opportunity to stand once again in front of an audience. You get the impression hes been pining for it across the past 24 months. Im friends with a number of entertainers. We're not in it for the money, he says. Money is important to everybody. Let's not belittle money. When people say oh, you know money is not everything. Well, it helps with a lot of things. Im certainly not a magician or mentalist for the money. Keith Barry: 'I'm certainly not a magician for the money' There are, he points out, more straightforward ways to earn a living. At one stage in my life, I considered becoming a vet. I was a cosmetic scientist. I was good at cosmetic science. I could have made a lot of money doing that, right? Its in my DNA to be on a stage. I need to be on a stage. Id do it for free if I had to. I do loads of charity work for free. So its a big missing part of my life that I need to regain. During the lockdown he scratched that itch a little by performing over the web. Of course, thats not at all the same as going before of a crowd. Hence Reconnected, which includes two dates in Cork Opera House in May and which is all about engaging with the world after living for an extended period in our own sealed-off realities. It's not just called Reconnected. The show is themed to actually genuinely reconnect people, he explains. To reconnect them emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, physically. So the start of Reconnected, and I dont mind telling you, Im going to teach half the audience how to hack into the other half of the audiences mind. Ive never done anything even close to that before. And the weird thing is, one half wont know how the other half have hacked into their brains. Everybody immediately will explode with this moment of wonder and amazement. Its a beautiful way to open the show. Barry was born in Waterford City in 1976. He discovered the arcane arts at age 14 when he read Magic for the Complete Klutz. He quickly became obsessed, describing himself as the kid at school who wanted to use the Ouija board all the time,. His career was off to a roaring start in 2003 when he filmed his first series, Close Encounters With Keith Barry (he has another, The Keith Barry Experience, starting on Saturday Apri l on RTE 1). There were dark periods, too. In 2007 he was involved in a head-on collision outside Newry and was lucky to survive. I should probably have been killed, he later reflected. My foot was wrapped around my shin. I was five minutes from amputation. They couldn't get the foot back in. Two years later, his 82-year-old grandfather was attacked by burglars in his home in Mount Sion, Waterford, and later died. It's time for the whole country to stand up against these guys and say enough is enough. We need to feel safe in our own homes, Barry said at the time. Over the course of the pandemic, many people reflected anew on their work-life balance. And vowed to prioritise family over career when normality returned. However, Barry, who lives in Straffan, Co Kildare, with his wife, Mairead Foley, and children Breanna (12) and Braden (nine), feels he always had a good handle on what matters and what doesnt. I always spend enough time with my wife and my kids, he says. Last weekend we went to Dingle for three days. And I didn't work at all. We played cards and went swimming. I was always mindful of spending enough time with my family. I think a lot of successful business people and certainly a lot of entertainers, they don't proportion that fully into their lives. Before they blink, their kids are growing up. I always have made sure that I spend enough time with my kids, even though I'm a workaholic as well. So, when the pandemic hit, I didn't really feel like I needed to spend more time with them. I didn't feel like I needed to shut down and reorientate. Keith Barry: "I always have made sure that I spend enough time with my kids, even though I'm a workaholic as well". Pic: Moya Nolan Barry has brushed shoulders with many a-listers across the span of his career. He has starred in several TV specials broadcast in the US, where he dazzled stars such as Elijah Wood (aka Frodo from Lord of the Rings) and Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger. And he was an adviser on the heist films Now You See Me and Now You See Me Too, starring Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg. All these superstars and massive celebrities at the bones of it, they're the same as us, he says. They suffer the same confidence issues or lack of confidence issues. Theyre the same. I do find that these people, these big celebrities, they have a massive work ethic. When I was working on the Now You See Me movies I was on set about 16 hours a day. But they were on set 12 hours a day. Their work ethic is unbelievable. Its a lesson he has learned to apply to his own craft. I remember years and years ago somebody asked Will Smith, what is the secret to your success? This is way back, when he was just a rapper. And, he said, When all the other rappers are in bed, I'm practicing my rapping. Even to this day, when Im tired and it could be 1 am, I think to myself ah-ha all the magicians and mentalists in Ireland are in bed. Im going to go an extra two hours. The work ethic is the main thing Ive learned. Keith Barry: Reconnected starts on Friday April 29, and visits Cork Opera House Saturday May 7 and Sunday May 8 The Keith Barry Experience starts on RTE 1 on Saturday April 2 at 9.50pm Dozens of vacant positions are likely to be filled by Ukrainian refugees arriving to Kerry as employers facing staff shortages race to recruit those who have fled their war-torn country. While the severe shortage of workers for the hotel and catering industry is well documented, there are also vacancies waiting to be filled across other sectors from manufacturing, engineering, signwriting to retail, according to Kate OShea of Dream jobs recruitment agency in Killarney. Kate and her business partner Peter Guban have offered their services to the Killarney Chamber of Commerce and Tourism to help those who have arrived to secure work. More than 300 refugees have arrived in Killarney in the past fortnight and are being housed in hotels in the town. Thousands more are expected in the coming weeks. The company is offering its services free to the refugees to help them secure work. The company developed a website and QR code where Ukrainian applicants can scan the code and upload their CV in Ukrainian and it will be translated into English. Endless amounts of jobs By Thursday, a day after an appeal to employers went out, some 14 companies got in touch with endless amounts of jobs on offer. Ms O'Shea then drew up a list of the vacancies, spoke to refugees housed in one of the hotels, and says that already 60 refugees have indicated their interest. "There is huge appetite among the refugees for work," said Ms O'Shea. Teachers, engineers, a welder, a graphic designer, medical doctors, and psychologists are among the highly skilled refugees to arrive in Killarney. Many are willing to work in the tourist and retail sectors to improve their English. Gaining employment in the medical sector is a slower process. However the county council is working with the refugees is trying to fast-track the validation process for those with medical qualifications. Employers in the hotel industry are being flexible to allow people work opposite shifts to facilitate sharing of child minding. Peter Guban, originally from Hungary, but living in Killarney for nearly 20 years, said while the tourist industrys critical staff shortage has been well publicised, all sectors in Killarney from printing to welding find it difficult to fill jobs. We are benefiting in Killarney from the arrivals and why not? It also suits the highly skilled refugees who do not want to sit around the hotels all day," he said. Junta Watch Junta Watch: Police to Face Front-Line Duty; Slain Informers Honored, and More Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing pays respects to ex-president U Thein Sein on March 27, 2022. Affected by desertions and casualties, junta eyes police to fill gap Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing enacted a new law on March 25 making it compulsory for law enforcement officers to fight alongside soldiers on the front lines, while expanding their powers to restrict citizens civil liberties. A provision in the new law states: At the necessary time, police must be involved in the states defense and security affairs. This means police, who carried out brutal crackdowns on anti-coup protesters, will if necessary have to fight alongside Myanmars military, which is suffering heavy casualties on battlefields in central Myanmar and ethnic minority areas. The new police law also authorizes law enforcement officers to search buildings without a search or arrest warrant, and allows them to take action against anyone who bangs pots and pans, a popular form of collective protest against the regime. Nearly 7,000 police have joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) since the coup, according to Myanmar Police CDM channel. USDP sets up obelisk for slain members The militarys proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) unveiled an obelisk in memory of members who were killed for allegedly acting as informants for the military regime on the countrys resistance movement, at the partys headquarters in Naypyitaw on March 26. USPD chairman U Htan Htay, who is himself a former brigadier-general, expressed sorrow that the party members were, as he put it, victimized in the chaos caused by the National League for Democracy (NLD)s hunger for power. More than 1,300 USDP members have been killed for allegedly being military informants since the coup last year, according to U Than Htay. The USDP backed by ex-generals suffered resounding defeats to the NLD in both the 2015 and 2020 general elections. Instead of trying to win the support of the people with goodwill and hard work, it only worked hand in glove with the military to smear the NLD, which enjoys popular support. USDP vice chair U Khin Yi, who is also the immigration minister in the current regime, organized rallies targeting the NLD and the Union Election Commission before and after the military coup in 2021. Some of the regimes cabinet members are from the USDP, and many party members actively worked with the regime in its arrest of NLD members and brutal crackdown on anti-coup protesters. Among those who have contributed cash to the fund to support family members of slain USDP members are the former president of the USDP government, ex-general U Thein Sein, to whom junta leader Min Aung Hlaing paid respects on annual Armed Forces Day on March 27; Min Aung Hlaings son Aung Pyae Sone; and their cronies. Junta leader says anti-regime forces pose threat to free, fair election Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing said the non-existence of terrorist groups is a precondition for a free and fair election. The groups must be eliminated to hold a free and fair election without threats and intimidation, said Min Aung Hlaing at a meeting of the State Administration Council, the governing body of the military regime, on March 29. By terrorist groups, he means the parallel National Unity Government (NUG), its parliamentary body the CRPH, and armed wing the PDF. In his speech on Armed Forces Day on March 27, Min Aung Hlaing also said he would not negotiate, but would wipe out terrorist groups. However, many democracies have shown their support for and are engaging with the NUG and CRPH. And at least in the eyes of the majority in Myanmar, the PDF are not terrorists, but groups risking life and limb to fight the regime. It appears, however, that Min Aung Hlaing is better at barking than biting; many junta soldiers are being killed in battles in central Myanmar and ethnic minority regions. The military has been struggling with a mounting number of defectors as well as a drop in recruitment as it becomes an object of popular hatred. His promise of a free and fair election without threats and coercion is in marked contrast to his coup, which he still cant justify. Junta mouthpiece praises Min Aung Hlaing as Myanmars savior In successive periods under military rule, Myanmars military has repeatedly used the same narrative to justify its coupsthat it has no choice but to take responsibility for the state as the country is on the verge of collapse and falling under the control of foreign powers. An editorial published in the March 30 issue of the militarys mouthpiece, Myawady Daily, repeated the same narrative, portraying the NLD, which won majorities in both the 2015 and 2020 general elections, as puppets of foreign powers and Min Aung Hlaing as the rescuer. It argued that military chief Min Aung Hlaing saved the country just as the puppet of foreign powers was about to take control of the state through dishonest means; that the people heartily welcomed Min Aung Hlaings rescue; and that a handful of terrorists groups, which are the puppets of foreign powers, are failing day by day. Myanmars military has always labeled democracy and human rights activists as stooges of foreign powers, and destroyers of Myanmars culture and religion. While the entire country is cursing and swearing at Min Aung Hlaing, the editorial claimed the oppositethat Min Aung Hlaing was heartily welcomed by the people. Though the editorial says PDF groups are being subdued day by day, the fact that the regime has to rely increasingly on air raids in Sagaing and other parts of the country because of heavy casualties, that junta soldiers are being forced to cower behind sandbag-fortified outposts in cities including Yangon, and that junta soldiers and police dare not go out alone in public in their uniforms, just indicate the opposite, showing that the Myawady Daily is full of lies. Different generations of generals show solidarity A ceremony to pay respects to retired military officers was held on March 27 as part of the annual Armed Forces Day. Min Aung Hlaing attended the ceremony for the first time since the coup, and former president and ex-general Thein Sein, who was once considered a reformist, attended the ceremony for the first time. Twenty-five retired military officers from the eras of former military dictators U Ne Win and U Than Shwe attended the ceremony. Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing respectfully bowed down before the retired military officers. Thein Sein, who served as prime minister in Than Shwes regime, and former Major General Thura Saw Phyu, the Air Force chief of staff under Ne Wins regime, gave advice. What Thein Sein advised on the day is unknown. The appearance of ex-generals from the previous Myanmar military regime at the Armed Forces Day commemoration and subsequent ceremony hosted by the current regime on Sunday prove that they are all in solidarity with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, who staged a coup that has so far killed 1,700 people. The ceremony may well have been a way for Min Aung Hlaing to make a pretense of unityeven if only with the old soldierswithin the army, which has been demoralized in the face of public denunciation and growing defections since the coup. As they left the hall after the ceremony, Min Aung Hlaing and retired military leaders cordially and respectfully greeted each other, displaying their solidarity. As usual, former military dictator Than Shwe and his deputy Maung Aye, who are Thein Seins neighbors in Naypyitaw, did not attend the ceremony. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Junta Kills 10 Children in a Week Junta Demolishes Homes in Striking Myanma Railways Town Witness Disputes Myanmar Junta Allegation of Suu Kyi Power Abuse Zambian university rolls out mealie-meal production at China-funded milling plant Xinhua) 09:03, April 02, 2022 LUSAKA, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Zambia's biggest public university has launched the production of mealie-meal at a milling plant financed by the Chinese government. The University of Zambia (UNZA) said it has opened a sales outlet at its campus in Lusaka, the country's capital, to start selling mealie-meal, according to a statement released Thursday. Luke Mumba, the university's vice-chancellor, said the university was given one of the three milling plants funded by the Chinese government and was grateful for the decision. He said the milling plant will also be developing and offering programs in milling science, a program offered only by South Africa and Kenya, as well as processing of maize into maize products for income generation. He further said the milling plant systems, whose construction works were finalized last year, have been tested and gauged for effectiveness and efficiency. The milling plant has a capacity to produce 40 tons of mealie meal per day. The plant is also engaged in the production of maize bran. In 2017, the Zambian government decided to give the plant to the university funded by China under the Presidential Milling Initiative. Two other plants are situated in Mpika in the northern part of the country and Monze in the southern part of the country. The three plants are a result of an agreement by leaders of the two countries when former President Edgar Lungu visited China in 2015. The three plants are in addition to over 1,000 solar-powered milling plants that have been installed in various parts of the southern African nation since 2015. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) A man has his head shaved, Thursday, as part of a protest held by members of civic groups advocating for disability rights, at Gyeongbokgung Station on Seoul Metro Line 3. Newsis By Jung Da-min A total of 72 lawmakers have vowed to make bipartisan efforts to guarantee universal rights for the disabled. The lawmakers, including Rep. Kim Yea-ji of the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP), Rep. Choi Hye-young of the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Rep. Jang Hye-yeong of the progressive minor opposition Justice Party, pledged to make legislative efforts to guarantee basic rights for the disabled, during a press conference held at the National Assembly in Seoul, Friday. "We are here together today, because the responsibility to protect the basic rights of people with disabilities, including mobility rights, is not something that should be sought only by those belonging to a specific political party or standing committee, or by those with disabilities themselves or their family members, but the responsibility of all members of the National Assembly," Rep. Jang, whose sister is disabled, said during the conference. Some of the participating lawmakers themselves live with disabilities, such as PPP Rep. Kim who attends Assembly sessions with a guide dog due to her visual impairment, and DPK Rep. Jang who is a quadriplegic. In a joint statement, the lawmakers said, "All members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea have a basic responsibility to guarantee people with disabilities the right to move in daily life, the right to education, the right to work and the right to live in the local community as stipulated in the Constitution." The lawmakers said that the National Assembly has failed to fulfill its duty of guaranteeing such basic rights, which is why protests by civic groups to secure a budget for disability rights are still ongoing since starting over four decades ago. Rep. Kim Yea-ji of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) kneels in apology next to her guide dog, over PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok's criticisms of daily subway protests held by a disability advocacy group, during the group's protest at Gyeongbokgung Station on Seoul Metro Line 3, Monday. Captured from Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination's Facebook page Johnson City, TN (37604) Today Strong thunderstorms likely. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High 72F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected.. Tonight Rain showers early becoming a steady light rain overnight. Low 53F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Johnson City, TN (37604) Today Cloudy skies early with scattered thunderstorms developing late. Low around 65F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Cloudy skies early with scattered thunderstorms developing late. Low around 65F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Park Eun-mi escaped to South Korea in 2014. After remaining silent for eight years, she launched a YouTube channel on March 14. Ed. By Park Eun-mi In 2007, I decided to escape from North Korea because it was getting more difficult for my family to survive. I knew about two ways to escape from North Korea. One, with the help of a broker. That way is safer. Two, secretly crossing the Yalu River by myself. I made up my mind to escape with the help of a broker because I could not speak Chinese. But finding a broker was a big challenge. They are breaking the law by helping North Koreans escape to China, so they must hide their identities. My friend's sister, I will call her Su-jin, introduced me to a broker and together we escaped from North Korea. It was not easy to escape from North Korea. I tried six times. Finally, Su-jin and I did it. We arrived in the countryside of China. On the first day in China, a young Chinese couple came to the house where we were staying. They explained something in Chinese that I could NOT understand. That morning, they took Su-jin somewhere. When she came back in the evening, she told me the shocking story of what had happened to her. The Chinese broker had Su-jin put on makeup and dressed her in pretty clothes. He took her to a house. When she entered, many people were there waiting for her. They started to speak in Chinese to her, one of them asked her how old she was, if she had a husband and a child in North Korea. Su-jin was then only 15 years old. She was so ashamed that she could not answer their questions. Then things got even worse. One Korean Chinese woman began to touch her body, trying to figure out if she was a virgin. Su-jin was only 15 years old, she didn't know about the outside world or about men The woman touched her body because she thought Su-jin looked like a married woman rather than a virgin. They thought the human trafficker was trying to deceive them. After that, the broker took her to three or four more houses to try to sell her. Even now, I cannot forget Su-jin's face as she explained about those terrible experiences. This situation did not happen only to Su-jin. It happens to so many North Korean girls who go to China. Su-jin now lives in South Korea. I sincerely hope that one day she will be able to share her heartbreaking story without fear and can join me in helping North Korean defector women still living in China. Human trafficking is still taking place in China. So many North Korean defector women have terrible experiences in China. Those painful memories have left deep wounds in our hearts. I hope that North Korean defector women can overcome this pain as soon as possible, find happiness, and enjoy living in freedom. With my small voice, I will also try to give them strength. Casey Lartigue Jr., co-founder of Freedom Speakers International, edited this text for publication. Lee Eun-koo, co-founder of FSI, translated it from Korean to English. Paper and plastic cups are piled on a table at a cafe in Seoul, on Jan. 6. Newsis By Kim Jae-heun Restaurant and coffee shop owners are struggling with customer complaints over the government's ban on the use of disposal cups and dishes for sit-in customers. The ban went into effect Friday after being eased since 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Ministry of Environment banned the use of plastic or paper cups in 2018, but allowed it again two years ago. However, with the COVID-19 situation expected to enter an endemic phase soon, the ministry decided to readopt the rule. "People got used to using plastic cups again during the last two years. I understand that many still feel uneasy about drinking beverages in a mug, which many people share at cafes and restaurants," a coffee shop owner surnamed Jeon said. "However, there is nothing I can do about the government's policy, but people keep asking me if they can just use a plastic cup because they are going to leave in five minutes," Jeon added. Jeon said he wishes the government takes aggressive actions with the environmental campaign as it only encourages restaurants and cafes to ban plastic use for now. There is no penalty fee imposed on the violation of the restriction. A 32-year-old office worker surnamed Kim said it is both a waste of time and a risk to use mugs when COVID-19 infections continue. "There are still some 280,000 daily cases of COVID-19 infections in the country. Why is the government encouraging us to use mugs? I understand and agree with the need to reduce plastic usage, but the timing is not right at the moment," Kim said. There are also views that the restriction is not effective since it is limited to Korea. "The government is encouraging to use personal cups, but they are also made using plastic. Also, I don't know how Korea alone banning plastic cups can help improve environmental protection. Even superpower countries like America and China are not forcing their people to bring their own cups from home," a 28-year-old customer surnamed Lee said. Meanwhile, the use of disposable products has soared amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic here after the ban was lifted o two years ago. The amount of plastic waste generated in 2020 increased by 19 percent, year-on-year. Local residents ride bicycles past flattened civilian cars on a street in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv, April 1, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues. Reuters-Yonhap Talks to stop the fighting in Ukraine resumed Friday, as another desperate attempt to rescue civilians from the encircled city of Mariupol failed and the Kremlin accused the Ukrainians of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot on Russian soil. Ukraine denied responsibility for the fiery blast, but if Moscow's claim is confirmed, it would be the war's first known attack in which Ukrainian aircraft penetrated Russian airspace. ''Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks,'' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, five weeks after Moscow began sending upwards of 150,000 of its own troops across Ukraine's border. Meanwhile, Russia continued withdrawing some of its ground forces from areas around Kyiv after saying earlier this week it would reduce military activity near the Ukrainian capital and the northern city of Chernihiv to promote trust at the bargaining table. While the Russians kept up their bombardment of those two zones, Ukrainian troops exploited the pullback on the ground by mounting counterattacks and retaking a number of towns and villages. Still, Ukraine and its allies warned that the Kremlin was not de-escalating but resupplying and shifting its troops to the country's east for an intensified assault on the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region in the country's east, which includes Mariupol. The latest negotiations took place by video. At a round of talks earlier in the week, Ukraine said it would be willing to abandon a bid to join NATO and declare itself neutral Moscow's chief demand in return for security guarantees from several other countries. The invasion has left thousands dead and driven more than 4 million refugees from Ukraine. Men walk past an OSCE car damaged in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, April 1. Reuters-Yonhap Mariupol, the shattered and besieged southern port city, has seen some of the worst suffering of the war. Its capture would be a major prize for Russian President Vladimir Putin, giving his country an unbroken land bridge to Crimea, seized from Ukraine in 2014. Mariupol's fate could determine the course of the negotiations to end the war, said Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Ukrainian think tank Penta. ''Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance,'' Fesenko said, ''and without its conquest, Putin cannot sit down at the negotiating table.'' The fall of Mariupol, he said, ''will open the way to a peace agreement.'' On Friday, the International Committee for the Red Cross said it was unable to carry out an operation to bring civilians out of Mariupol by bus. It said a team had been on its way but had to turn back. City authorities said the Russians were blocking access to Mariupol. ''We do not see a real desire on the part of the Russians and their satellites to provide an opportunity for Mariupol residents to evacuate to territory controlled by Ukraine,'' Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, wrote on the Telegram messaging app. He said Russian forces ''are categorically not allowing any humanitarian cargo, even in small amounts, into the city.'' Around 100,000 people are believed left in the city, down from a prewar 430,000, and weeks of Russian bombardment and street fighting have caused severe shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine. ''We are running out of adjectives to describe the horrors that residents in Mariupol have suffered,'' Red Cross spokesperson Ewan Watson said. On Thursday, Russian forces blocked a 45-bus convoy attempting to evacuate people from Mariupol and seized 14 tons of food and medical supplies bound for the city, Ukrainian authorities said. As for the fuel depot explosion, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said two Ukrainian helicopter gunships flew in extremely low and attacked the civilian oil storage facility on the outskirts of the city of Belgorod, about 25 kilometers (16 miles) from the Ukraine border. The regional governor said two workers at the depot were wounded, but the Rosneft state oil company denied anyone was hurt. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's national security council, said on Ukrainian television: ''For some reason they say that we did it, but in fact this does not correspond with reality.'' Russia has reported cross-border shelling from Ukraine before, including an incident last week that killed a military chaplain, but not an incursion of its airspace. Amid the Russian pullback on the ground and its continued bombardment, Ukraine's military said it had retaken 29 settlements in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions. Russian forces in the northeast also continued to shell Kharkiv, and in the southeast sought to seize the cities of Popasna and Rubizhne as well as Mariupol, the Ukrainian military said. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrives for a meeting with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Kyiv, April 1, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues. Reuters-Yonhap Meanwhile, Russia began its annual spring conscription, Friday, which aimed at rounding up 134,500 men for a one-year tour of military duty. Russian officials say new recruits won't be sent to the front lines or ''hot spots,'' but many young Russians are skeptical and fear they'll be drawn into the war. On the outskirts of Kyiv, where Russian troops have withdrawn, damaged cars lined the streets of Irpin, a suburban area popular with young families, now in ruins. Emergency workers carried elderly people on stretchers over a wrecked bridge to safety. Three wooden crosses next to a residential building that was damaged in a shelling marked the graves of a mother and son and an unknown man. A resident who gave her name only as Lila said she helped hurriedly bury them March 5, just before Russian troops moved in. ''They were hit with artillery and they were burned alive,'' she said. An Irpin resident who gave his name only as Andriy said the Russians packed up their equipment and left Tuesday. The next day, they shelled the town for close to an hour before Ukrainian soldiers retook it. ''I don't think this is over,'' Andriy said. ''They will be back.'' (AP) Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine: Heavy fighting at Azovstal The mayor of the destroyed city of Mariupol says contact has been lost with Ukrainian forces holed up in the Azovstal steel plant amid heavy fighting with Russian troops. City officials have no way of knowing whats going on, whether they are safe or not, Vadym Boichenko tells Ukrainian television. The Kremlin denies Russia is storming the plant after Ukraine accuses Moscow of launching a powerful assault on the industrial zone. Later Russia announces its forces will cease fire at Azovstal and open a humanitarian corridor for civilians for three days. Zelensky appeal As evacuations from Mariupol continue, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asks United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres to help save the lives of the remaining wounded Ukrainians trapped in Azovstal, and calls on the UN to assist in the removal of all the wounded. The lives of the people who remain there are in danger. Everyone is important to us, he says. Nuclear-capable missile practice Russia says its forces have practised simulated nuclear-capable missile strikes during war games in Kaliningrad, an enclave on the Baltic Sea located between EU members Poland and Lithuania. Moscow practised simulated electronic launches of nuclear-capable Iskander mobile ballistic missile systems, the defence ministry says in a statement. 20 bodies found in Kyiv region The bodies of another 20 civilians are found in the Kyiv region, police say, raising the total number found there so far to 1,235. Kyiv regional police chief Andriy Nebytov says the latest discoveries were found in Borodianka and the surrounding villages, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Bucha, the town near Kyiv now synonymous with allegations of Russian war crimes. Biden open to more sanctions US President Joe Biden says he is open to imposing more sanctions on Russia and will discuss measures with allies from the G7 in the next few days. Were always open to additional sanctions, Biden says shortly after the European Union announced plans for banning Russian oil imports and other new measures. New EU sanctions, oil ban take shape EU chief Ursula von der Leyen says the bloc will impose a gradual Russian oil ban. We will phase out Russian supply of crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year, she tells the European Parliament. EU states opposing embargo complicit: Kyiv Ukraine says EU countries blocking an embargo on imports of Russian oil would be complicit in crimes committed by Russian troops on Ukrainian territory by funding Moscows military. If there is any country in Europe who will continue to oppose the embargo on Russian oil, there will be good reason to say, this country is complicit in the crimes committed by Russia in the territory of Ukraine, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says in a briefing on social media. Mariupol military parade planned: Kyiv Ukraine accuses Russia of planning to hold a military parade in the destroyed city of Mariupol on May 9 to celebrate victory over the Nazis in World War II. Kyiv says an official from Russias presidential administration has arrived in the strategic southern port city, to oversee plans for the Victory Day parade. Eastern assault continues Russian forces continue to pound sites to the east of the country, Ukraines general staff says, as Moscow seeks to establish full control of the regions of Lugansk and Donetsk, and to maintain a land corridor to occupied Crimea. In Lugansk, governor Sergiy Gaiday says two people have died in the last 24 hours, and the whole region is under fire completely, there is no safe place. Belarus launches manoeuvres Belarus, a Moscow ally that shares a border with Ukraine, launches surprise military manoeuvres, to test the reactive capacity of its army, its defence ministry says. Belarus military units were testing their capacity to go on the alert, move to predetermined zones and undertake combat training, it says. EU to support Moldova European Council President Charles Michel pledges to increase EU military aid to Moldova, Ukraines neighbour that has seen a series of attacks in a pro-Moscow separatist region. burs/cdw/raz/reb Former war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte has called for the International Criminal Court to quickly issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over actions in Ukraine. Putin is a war criminal, Del Ponte, who came to prominence investigating war crimes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, said in an interview with the Le Temps daily, published Saturday. The 75-year-old Swiss national said that international arrest warrants for Putin and other high-level Russian officials were needed to hold them responsible for the war crimes committed since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Just over five weeks into the invasion, thousands have been killed and millions displaced as parts of Ukraine have been reduced to rubble. Del Ponte, who also served for years on the UN commission probing rights abuses in Syrias war, stressed that issuing an arrest warrant was an important signal that investigative work has been done. It is the only instrument that exists that makes it possible to arrest the perpetrator of a war crime and bring them before the ICC, she told Le Temps. Del Pont acknowledged that an arrest warrant did not necessarily mean Putin would be taken into custody. If he remains in Russia, that would never be the case. But it would be impossible for him to leave his country, and it would be a strong signal that he has many states against him. The Hague-based ICCs chief prosecutor opened an active probe into possible war crimes in Ukraine on March 3, after obtaining the backing of more than 40 states that are party to the court. Del Ponte said her experience as chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia brought her hope that Putin, like former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, could one day be arrested and charged with war crimes. And incriminating evidence must also be found against high-level political and military officials, she said. The difficulty is precisely reaching the top of the command chain to identify who planned, ordered and executed the war crimes. Ukraine is not a signatory to the Rome Statute treaty which established the ICC but it did in 2014 officially recognise the courts jurisdiction for crimes committed on its soil. Russia withdrew its signature from the Rome Statute in 2016. Ukraine on Saturday said photographer and documentary maker Maks Levin was found dead near the capital Kyiv after going missing two weeks ago and accused the Russian army of having killed him. He went missing in the conflict area on March 13 in the Kyiv region. His body was found near the village of Guta Mezhygirska on April 1, presidential aide Andriy Yermak said on Telegram. Ukraines General Prosecutors Office confirmed Levin had been found dead and said he had been killed by Russian soldiers. According to preliminary information, unarmed Maxim Levin was killed by servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces with two shots from small fire arms, it said in a statement on Telegram. The occupiers killed a Ukrainian photo-journalist. It said Levin had disappeared in March, while covering the war with Russia. An investigation had been opened for violation of the laws and customs of war and to determine the exact circumstances of Levins death. Prosecutors of the Kyiv region continue to document all crimes of the aggressor country in order to bring the perpetrators to justice, it said. The NGO Reporters Without Borders, which works to protect journalists, said on Twitter that Levin was the sixth journalist killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded late in February. He was unarmed and wearing a press jacket, it said. Targeting journalists is a war crime. On March 22, it voiced concern after Levins disappearance. The 40-year-old father of four had been working with Ukrainian and international media. During fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014, he managed to escape encirclement in a town where hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers were killed. Ukraine on Saturday said Russian forces were making a rapid retreat from northern areas around the capital Kyiv and the city of Chernigiv as the Red Cross prepared for a fresh evacuation effort from the besieged southern port of Mariupol. Russian forces now appear to be focusing attacks in the east and south, a day after thousands of people from Mariupol and surrounding Russian-held areas escaped in a convoy of buses and private cars. Russia is prioritising a different tactic: falling back on the east and south, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak said on social media. He said that, while Russian forces appeared to be pulling back from Kyiv and Chernigiv, their aim was to control a vast stretch of occupied territory and set up there in a powerful way. Without heavy weapons we wont be able to drive (Russia) out, he said. President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian tanks into Russias pro-Western neighbour on February 24 and Ukraine estimates 20,000 people have been killed in the war so far. More than 10 million have had to flee their homes. Journalist killed with two shots Pope Francis spoke of icy winds of war again sweeping over Europe as he brought up the conflict at the outset of his trip to Malta on Saturday. Once again, some potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interests, is provoking and fomenting conflicts, the pope said. A visit to the Ukrainian capital was still on the table, he added. In Kyiv, the government confirmed that the body of a well-known photographer, Maks Levin, had been found near a village in the region around the capital that had been caught up in the fighting. According to preliminary information, unarmed Maxim Levin was killed by servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces with two shots from small fire arms, prosecutors said in a statement on Telegram. Levin, a 40-year-old father of four, had been reported missing on March 13 and the body was found near Guta Mezhygirksa on April 1, officials said. The NGO Reporters Without Borders said six journalists have been killed in the conflict so far, adding: Targeting journalists is a war crime. The International Criminal Court has already opened a probe into possible war crimes in Ukraine. Former war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte said in an interview published on Saturday that the ICC should issue an arrest warrant for Putin. Putin is a war criminal, Del Ponte, who came to prominence investigating war crimes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, told the Le Temps daily. Our city doesnt exist anymore Even as Russia consolidates its hold on southern and eastern areas of the country, Mariupol has remained an important Ukrainian hold-out. The city has suffered weeks of Russian shelling, with at least 5,000 residents killed, according to local officials. The estimated 160,000 who remain face shortages of food, water and electricity. We have managed to rescue 6,266 people, including 3,071 people from Mariupol, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address earlier on Saturday. Dozens of buses carrying Mariupol residents who had escaped the city earlier arrived on Friday in Zaporizhzhia, 200 kilometres (120 miles) to the northwest, according to an AFP reporter on the scene. The buses carried people who had been able to flee Mariupol to Russian-occupied Berdiansk. We were crying when we reached this area. We were crying when we saw soldiers at the checkpoint with Ukrainian crests on their arms, said Olena, who carried her young daughter in her arms. My house was destroyed. I saw it in photos. Our city doesnt exist anymore. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its team headed to Mariupol to try and conduct an evacuation but was forced to turn back Friday after arrangements and conditions made it impossible to proceed. The ICRC said its team left on Saturday bound for Mariupol to make another attempt. New US aid Peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow resumed via video on Friday, but the Kremlin warned that what it described as a helicopter attack on a fuel depot inside Russia would hamper negotiations. The air strike hit energy giant Rosnefts fuel storage facility in Belgorod, 40 kilometres from the Ukraine border. Kyiv would not be drawn on whether it was behind the attack. Zelensky meanwhile repeated his plea for the West to provide greater military support. Just give us missiles. Give us airplanes, he told Fox. You cannot give us F-18 or F-19 or whatever you have? Give us the old Soviet planes. Thats all Give me something to defend my country with. The Pentagon later said it was allotting $300 million in security assistance to bolster Ukraines defence capabilities, adding to the $1.6 billion Washington has committed since Russia invaded in late February. Where roses used to bloom Civilians have trickled out of devastated areas after arduous and daring escapes. Three-year-old Karolina Tkachenko and her family walked an hour through a field strewn with burnt-out Russian armoured vehicles to flee their village outside Kyiv. The shops are closed, theres no delivery of supplies. The bridge is also blown up, we cant go for groceries through there, said Karolinas mother Karina Tkachenko. In Mariupol, Viktoria Dubovytskaya, who had sheltered in the theatre where 300 people are feared to have been killed in Russian bombardments, said she only grasped the extent of the destruction as she fled. Bodies lay in the rubble and small wooden crosses were planted in the ground, she told AFP. When people find their loved ones, they just bury them wherever they can. Sometimes where roses used to bloom, she said. burs-dt/bp ROSNEFT Ukraine said Saturday Russian forces were making a rapid retreat from around the capital Kyiv and the city of Chernigiv, as evidence emerged of possible civilian killings in areas they have been occupying. AFP reporters saw at least 20 bodies on a single street in the town of Bucha near Kyiv, including one with his hands tied, and the body of a missing photographer was discovered in a nearby village. All these people were shot, Buchas mayor Anatoly Fedoruk told AFP, adding that 280 other bodies had been buried in mass graves in the town. As it withdraws from northern areas, Russia appears to be focusing on the east and south of Ukraine, where it already hold vast swathes of territory. Russia is prioritising a different tactic: falling back on the east and south, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak said on social media. Without heavy weapons we wont be able to drive (Russia) out, he said. President Vladimir Putin ordered tanks into Russias pro-Western neighbour on February 24 and Ukraine estimates 20,000 people have been killed in the war so far. More than 10 million have had to flee their homes. Pope Francis spoke of icy winds of war again sweeping over Europe as he brought up the conflict at the outset of his trip to Malta on Saturday. Once again, some potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interests, is provoking and fomenting conflicts, the pope said. A visit to the Ukrainian capital was still on the table, he added. Journalist killed with two shots Ukrainian authorities on Saturday said the body of a well-known photographer, Maks Levin, had been found near a village in the region around Kyiv that had been caught up in the fighting. According to preliminary information, unarmed Maxim Levin was killed by servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces with two shots from small fire arms, prosecutors said in a statement on Telegram. Levin, a 40-year-old father of four, had been reported missing on March 13 and the body was found near Guta Mezhygirksa on April 1, officials said. The NGO Reporters Without Borders said Levin was the sixth journalist killed in the conflict. In Bucha, 16 of the 20 corpses found on one street were lying either on the pavement or by the verge. Three were sprawled in the middle of the road, and another lay on his side in the courtyard of a destroyed house. An open Ukrainian passport lay on the ground next to the person who had his hands tied behind his back with a piece of white cloth. Two other people had white cloth tied around their upper arms. All were wearing civilian clothes winter coats, jackets or tracksuit tops, jeans or jogging bottoms, and trainers or boots. The International Criminal Court has already opened a probe into possible war crimes committed in Ukraine and several Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden, have accused Putin of being a war criminal. Our city doesnt exist anymore Russias efforts to consolidate its hold on southern and eastern areas of the country have been hampered by the resistance of Mariupol despite devastating attacks lasting weeks. At least 5,000 residents have been killed, according to local officials. The estimated 160,000 who remain face shortages of food, water and electricity. Dozens of buses carrying Mariupol residents who had escaped the city earlier arrived on Friday in Zaporizhzhia, 200 kilometres (120 miles) to the northwest. The buses brought people who had been able to flee Mariupol to Russian-occupied Berdiansk. My house was destroyed. I saw it in photos. Our city doesnt exist anymore, said Olena, who carried her young daughter in her arms. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its team headed to Mariupol to try and conduct an evacuation but was forced to turn back Friday. The ICRC said its team left again on Saturday bound for Mariupol to make another attempt. They are spending the night en route to Mariupol and are yet to reach the city, an ICRC spokesperson said. In another city in the south, Enerhodar, which is under Russian control, a Ukrainian official said Russian forces opened fire on peaceful demonstrators, injuring four with severe burns. Russian troops took control of Enerhodar, the site of Europes largest nuclear power plant, in early March. Today in Enerhodar, city residents gathered again for a rally in support of Ukraine, singing the anthem, Ukraines human rights ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova said on Telegram. The occupiers used light and noise grenades and opened mortar fire on the residents, four people were injured and severely burned, she said. burs-dt/ach ROSNEFT Commuters wearing face masks walk through the central business district in Beijing, April 1. AP-Yonhap Chinese state media has sought to defend Beijing's zero-COVID strategy which has become a part of Xi Jinping's political legacy using the president's "persistence is victory" phrase to encourage people to stay the course. Authorities are under pressure over the tough policy as China battles its worst wave of infections since Wuhan in 2020, driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, with millions of people in lockdown while much of the rest of the world is reopening. Health officials said Friday that more than 100,000 locally transmitted cases were reported in mainland China in March. Hong Kong has meanwhile been grappling with its worst outbreak of the pandemic, with more than 7,700 deaths so far most of them unvaccinated elderly people and the health system overwhelmed. Mainland officials have pointed to the city as a warning of what could happen as they urge older people to get the jab. State news agency Xinhua published a commentary Thursday saying the country must press on with what Beijing calls "dynamic zero-COVID" a policy that aims to eliminate local cases and prevent the virus from spreading. It sought to rally public support but also called for adjustments to the policy to minimize disruption. It followed another editorial published by the Communist Party mouthpiece Monday highlighting Xi's leadership in China's fight against the virus, praising his vision and efforts to protect lives. Both were carried by most state media outlets, and the message in both was that even as cases are rising the zero-COVID strategy is still China's best option. It comes ahead of the twice-a-decade party congress in autumn, at which Xi is expected to secure an unprecedented third term. Leading China to become one of few countries to have kept the virus at bay as the global death toll has passed 6 million has been seen as one of Xi's main political legacies. While there has been public support for the zero-COVID policy, there is growing discontent over the response to the latest wave of cases. Sweeping lockdowns have been imposed on millions in the tech hub of Shenzhen and now in financial center Shanghai, and many have taken to social media to complain. Confined to their homes, many say they have been unable to get food and medicine or to access vital healthcare. A police officer in a protective suit keeps watch on a street, as the second stage of a two-stage lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 begins in Shanghai, April 1. Reuters-Yonhap After two years, veteran actress Jin Hee Kyung returns to the small screen as a business-minded supermarket owner in the forthcoming mystery comedy thriller drama "The Killer's Shopping List." Jin Hee Kyung Becomes Supermarket Owner in 'The Killer's Shopping List' Veteran actress Jin Hee Kyung joins Lee Kwang Soo and AOA Seolhyun in the forthcoming tvN mystery comedy drama "The Killer's Shopping List" (also known as "The Murderer's Shopping List"). "The Killer's Shopping List" depicts the mysterious killings in a quiet neighborhood. Shopping lists and grocery items are the key evidence to find the serial murderer. In the drama, Lee Kwang Soo plays the role of Ahn Dae Sung, the supermarket owner's son and cashier. AOA Seolhyun takes on the role of police officer Do Ah Hee. Jin Hee Kyung portrays the role of Jung Myung Sook, a caring mother to Ahn Dae Sung and a supermarket owner. On Friday, April 1, 2022, the production unit of "The Killer's Shopping List" unveiled the first still photos of Jin Hee Kyung's character. In the first photo, Jung Myung Sook's business-minded personality is shown as she thoroughly checks the inventory of products and grocery items in her store. She shows off her superwoman charms as she lifts heavy boxes on her own without hassle. Despite her strict nature as a mother, she is a great neighborhood aunt who exudes friendly vibes to her customers in her mart. Her sweet personality is seen in the next photo as she holds a delicious treat while facing her little customer with a warm smile. On the other hand, Jung Myung Sook hints at an ominous event as she can not take her eyes off on a receipt. With a serious expression, she analyzed the items very carefully. Jin Hee Kyung, who always creates a great atmosphere on set, is expected to lead the drama with co-stars Lee Kwang Soo and AOA Seolhyun. They are expected to deliver a fun and worthwhile work. Furthermore, "The Killer's Shopping List" airs for the first time on Wednesday, April 27 at 10:30 p.m. KST on tvN. Jin Hee Kyung To Appear in Fantasy Film With Yoo Ah In, Ra Mi Ran, More Jin Hee Kyung is set to appear in the star-studded cast of the upcoming fantasy film "Hi.5" with Kang Hyung Cheol, Yoo Ah In, Ra Mi Ran, Ahn Jae Hong, Lee Jae In, Kim Hee Won, Oh Jung Se and GOT7 Jinyoung. "Hi.5" follows the stories of five ordinary people who suddenly develop superpower abilities after receiving organ transplants from a man who possesses superpowers. Due to this unexpected event, the quintet ends up defending themselves from various groups who seek to steal their superpowers. The filming of the film took place in Incheon and Seoul, South Korea, which ended on November 7, 2021. Currently, the fantasy film is now in its post production process. "Hi.5" is scheduled to be released in theaters nationwide in the second half of 2022. While you're here, watch the teaser of "The Killer's Shopping List" below: KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. K-Dramas set in the '80s and '90s bring back fans and viewers to the time when life was just simple. There were no smartphones, high-tech gadgets, and multipurpose appliances. In addition to that, the sentimental element can totally make anyone emotional. The rawness and realness of these series will hit every viewer in the feels! If you are interested to watch something entertaining and nostalgic, then check these good old K-Dramas now! 1. 'Reply 1988' The "Reply" franchise is certainly the best pick if you want something that will remind you of the good old days! The classic coming-of-age drama "Reply 1988" is simply one binge-worthy series. It follows the story of five friends-including Girl's Day Hyeri, Park Bo Gum, Ryu Jun Yeol, Go Kyung Pyo, and Lee Dong Hwi-who grew up in the same neighborhood. "Reply 1988" will absolutely bring back a lot of memories of you and your friends! Watch it now on Netflix! 2. 'Mr. Sunshine' Lee Byung Hun and Kim Tae Ri's historical drama "Mr. Sunshine" had viewers hooked up until this writing! It depicts the story of a young boy who escapes to the United States to end slavery, after the 1871 Shinmiyangyo incident. Apart from the beautiful backdrop of 1800 South Korea, the drama also offers impressive character developments that can not be seen in other K-Dramas. It also shows how the country struggled during the time of slavery. 3. 'Go Back Couple' What would you do if you wake up and suddenly, you are a much younger version of yourself? In the 2017 rom-com romance drama "Go Back Couple," Son Ho Jun and Jang Na Ra plays a 38-year-old married couple who are blessed with a child. Their long-term relationship reached a point where the cracks they tried to hide now show. It turned their lives gloomy. Then one day, they return to their younger selves as university students. This allowed them to change their former decisions. Son Ho Jun and Jang Na Ra's melodrama perfectly depicts the unconditional love of parents and how decisions affect one's life permanently. 4. 'Twenty Five, Twenty One' Netflix's blockbuster hit series "Twenty Five, Twenty One" gives viewers a glimpse into the lives of five friends who pursue their dreams despite life's unexpected worries and struggles. Starring Nam Joo Hyuk, Kim Tae Ri, WJSN Bona, Choi Hyun Wook and Lee Joo Myung, "Twenty Five, Twenty One" highlights the important parts in one's life: family, friendships, love, dreams, and career. It depicts the story of an aspiring fencer and a news reporter who was once a conglomerate heir. Their dreams were compromised when the IMF crisis happened in South Korea. It forced them to adapt to life's abrupt changes while trying to enjoy their young adulthood. KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form This is a holy time of the year for all the major religions of the world. We are in the time of Lent leading up to Easter for Christians. On April 15, Jews will celebrate Passover (which is also Good Friday). Last week, Hindus celebrated Holi, the second holiest holiday of Hinduism (after Diwali), and on May 15 Buddhists will celebrate Wesack, which is their holiest day in celebration of the birth of Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha. And on April 2, Muslims around the world will observe the beginning of their holiest month the month of Ramadan. We are blessed this springtime to celebrate an absolute surfeit of world spirituality. Let me wish all our Muslim readers a Ramadan Mubarack A blessed Ramadan and let me try to explain to our non-Muslim readers just a bit about this remarkable religious ritual observed by more than 90 percent of the almost 2 billion Muslims here on planet Earth, which means that roughly one out of every four people on the planet will be celebrating Ramadan beginning this week. Islam 101 First, some common misconceptions and little-known facts about Islam: Most all Arabs are Muslims, but most Muslims are not Arabs. Only about 20 percent of Muslims are Arabs. Turkey and Iran are the largest non-Arab countries and the largest is Indonesia. Muslim clerics are called Imams and unlike rabbis and priests and Buddhist monks and nuns are usually not employed full time as clerics but have other jobs and take on their religious duties in addition to their secular work. The preferred name for a Muslim House of Worship is not Mosque but Masjid. Mosque is a French term. Muslim men and women can pray together in the same room. In most masjids there are usually customs that have the men pray in the front, followed by children and then women. There are no pictures or statues in a Masjid. Decorations in a Masjid are usually verses from the Quran and never, ever a picture of The Prophet, which could be considered idolatrous or disrespectful. The Muslim calendar is unique among world religions because it is a pure lunar calendar, which means it is about 11 days shorter than the solar year. What this means is that Ramadan is one of the very few world religious holidays that is not connected to harvest times or any other agricultural event. It means that the time for the beginning of Ramadan floats throughout the year. One of my favorite Muslim blessings is, May you celebrate Ramadan in every season of the year. Celebrating Ramadan Now, lets return to Ramadan news: Ramadan celebrates the revelation of the Holy Quran by the angel Gabriel (the same angel from Judaism and Christianity) to the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Fasting on Ramadan from dawn to sundown (in Arabic: sawm) is one of the five pillars of Islam. The other four are: The profession of faith. This is called in Arabic, shahada. It is, like the Shema in Judaism, a brief and eloquent statement of the central belief of Islam, There is no god but God (Allah), and Muhammad is the Messenger of God. Prayer (salat). Muslims pray facing Mecca and prostrate themselves five times a day (noon, afternoon, evening and night) and they can be said alone but saying them in a Masjid is preferable, particularly on Friday. Charity (zakat). Giving alms for the poor and for the maintenance of Masjids is one of the most admirable and impressive practices of Islam. Muslims are taught to give at least 2.5 percent of their income, but the poor with no income can fulfill zakat by doing good deeds for others. Pilgrimage (hajj). Muslims who are physically able are commanded to make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca in their lifetime. All pilgrims wear just two simple sheets to eliminate any social or class distinctions. The hajj changes ones name and ones life in an mass act of communal purification. But now back to Ramadan rituals: To ease the fast from dawn to sundown for an entire month, a predawn meal called suhur is eaten. The fasting includes no drinking but Muslims who are ill or infirm are exempt from the obligation to fast. The meal eaten after sundown is called iftar and it usually begins by eating dates. Large buffet meals and social gatherings are common for the iftar meals. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the largest mosque in the UAE, feeds up to 30,000 people every night. The holiday meal eaten at the end of the month of Ramadan is massively joyous and is called Eid al-Fitr with sweets and decorations. Ramadan is a time of purity, joy and generosity. Such a lesson is a gift to all the world. Send questions and comments to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including Religion for Dummies, co-written with Father Tom Hartman. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A pedestrian walks past Special Task Force personnel standing on guard along a street in Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 2. AFP-Yonhap Sri Lanka declared a 36-hour nationwide curfew Saturday and deployed troops backed with sweeping new powers under a state of emergency to quell protests against the president, his relatives and even his most trusted shaman. The lockdown will go into effect at dusk Saturday and be lifted Monday morning, police said a period that covers planned mass anti-government protests against worsening shortages of fuel, food and medicines. The order came a day after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa invoked a state of emergency following a violent attempt to storm his house, saying it was for the "protection of public order." The ire of a mob in the near-bankrupt country was directed Saturday at a woman identified as a soothsayer frequently consulted by Rajapaksa in the northern town of Anuradhapura. Rights activist and former opposition legislator Hirunika Premachandra led dozens of women to storm seer Gnana Akka's shrine and residence, but armed police stopped them. "Why are police protecting a shaman?" she asked a senior officer who physically blocked her march, as seen on a Facebook live video, verified by AFP as authentic. "Thief, thief, Gota thief," the crowds chanted after armed security personnel stopped them. "Think of the country and let us pass," another woman activist pleaded. "#GoHomeRajapaksas" and "#GotaGoHome" have been trending for days on Twitter and Facebook in the country, which is battling severe shortages of essentials, sharp price rises and crippling power cuts in its most painful downturn since independence from Britain in 1948. The coronavirus pandemic has torpedoed tourism and remittances, both vital to the economy, and authorities have imposed a broad import ban in an attempt to save foreign currency. Many economists also say the crisis has been exacerbated by government mismanagement, years of accumulated borrowing, and ill-advised tax cuts. 52 Shares Share Imagine losing control of your childs life-saving care. The mental anxiety is overwhelming enough then suddenly, all the decisions that should be up to your child, you, and your childs physician are snatched out of your hands by faceless institutions. This is the fate currently befalling the families of transgender youth in Texas. The Gender Education and Care, Interdisciplinary Support Clinic (GENECIS) in Dallas, has been effectively shut down, reducing the capacity for gender-affirming care across all of Texas. For the past seven years, the clinic provided interdisciplinary care to transgender youth, including primary, endocrine, and psychiatric care. The clinics closure was followed by an abrupt statement from its parent institution stating that it would cease offering puberty blockers and hormone therapies to new pediatric patients due to the lack of evidence of long-term effects and lack of FDA approval. We believe GENECIS should be reopened due to its critical role in providing gender-affirming care to the youth of Texas. Gender-affirming care is defined as judgment-free, individualized care oriented toward understanding and appreciating a persons gender. Multiple medical societies such as the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics support gender-affirming care. At least eight studies, including one directly out of the GENECIS clinic, revealed improvements in mental health domains for adolescent patients receiving gender-affirming care without associated evidence of harm. The American Psychiatric Association concluded in 2020 that gender-affirming treatment, including the use of puberty blockers, is associated with relief of emotional distress. Furthermore, the Endocrine Society asserts that gender-affirming care is medically necessary and has established evidence-based guidelines including pubertal suppression, hormone replacement therapy, eventual gender-affirming surgical procedures, and multi-disciplinary access to specialties such as psychiatry. The GENECIS clinic has followed all of these, so why then would it need to be shut down? GENECIS clinics parent institution argues gender-affirming therapy is too risky. For instance, the long-term effects of off-label leuprolide use have not been fully studied. However, a reasonable counter-argument can be made that the medical benefits of blocking puberty outweigh the medical risks; the studies above suggest that transgender youth receiving these therapies demonstrate better mental health outcomes including suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-harm, depression, and anxiety as opposed to their peers without stated therapy. Therefore, withholding gender-affirming care is also a care decision with well-characterized negative impacts. GENECISs work has also encountered political opposition in Texas. Public officials argue that gender-affirming care constitutes child abuse and have attempted to investigate families whose children have been treated by this clinic. Though this may possibly be a well-meaning public and political concern for these patients, given all of the evidence for gender-affirming care, how could this patient-parent-physician decision-making possibly be considered child abuse? Perhaps, rather, this concern for transgender youth is rooted in political, social, and medical discrimination against transgender youth, limiting life-saving opportunities and medically necessary treatment. Dr. Ximena Lopez, previously director of the GENECIS clinic, is currently filing a lawsuit on the basis of such concerns. The closing of GENECIS exposes just how fragile transgender health care protections can be in the United States. You can encourage your medical institutions to support Dr. Lopezs lawsuit investigating the potential for medical discrimination. Unfortunately, political encroachment around these medical topics is inevitable as the government is meant to care for its constituents. We need to encourage fact-based policy rooted in academic guidelines. If the concern revolves around issues of safety, then why not funnel more resources into such multidisciplinary clinics and more rigorously study those long-term effects as we would with any medical therapies? Even if this clinic were to reopen, this does not address the significant lack of accessibility for transgender health across Texas and across the nation. We need to encourage more medical centers to open and fund such interdisciplinary initiatives, so that transgender patients do not have to travel across states for such critical care. It is estimated that there are over 1.4 million individuals identifying as transgender in the United States, and these individuals deserve better. The authors are an anonymous medical student and a physician. Image credit: Shutterstock.com The outworkings of Brexit continue to bedevil politics in Northern Ireland, Taoiseach Micheal Martin has told an audience in Londonderry. Mr Martin was addressing an event organised by the Hume Foundation at the Playhouse theatre in the city. He referenced a security alert at a previous event in Belfast last week, when he said that all opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol must be peaceful. Last Friday, Irish Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney had to abandon a speech to the Hume Foundation in Belfast following a security alert when a van driver was threatened by two gunmen and a hoax bomb placed in the vehicle. Police have linked loyalist paramilitaries to the incident. Mr Martin told the event: The threat of violence last Friday targeting an innocent man, disrupting a family funeral in Belfast and the foundations cross-community event with Minister Coveney, underscores how much we still need John Humes message and means of peace-building today. I welcome that last weeks incident, and the attack on Doug Beatties office this week, have been condemned by political leaders from all communities, making clear that no purpose is served and nobody is represented by violence or a threat of violence. My government listens carefully to the concerns of all communities in Northern Ireland. He added: As Taoiseach, I have engaged actively and constructively with unionist, nationalist and other political leaders across the spectrum here. The Irish Government will never dismiss genuinely held concerns around the protocol, and we are working very actively with our EU partners to listen and engage on them, but any opposition must always be peaceful. That is simply fundamental. There are democratic and lawful means for all concerns to be raised and resolutions worked through. That is where our focus must remain. Reflecting on almost a quarter of a century since the Good Friday Agreement, Mr Martin said there had been reconciliation across the islands. He added: But we also see that the three sets of relationships accommodated in the Good Friday Agreement are strained, and they have been for some time now. The outworkings of Brexit, including the protocol, continue to bedevil politics in Northern Ireland and complicate both north/south and east/west relationships. The power-sharing Executive and North South Ministerial Council are, once again, not fully functioning, which is a source of deep concern. As it the fact that the legacy of the Troubles has still not been equitably dealt with. Leaving unmet the needs and legitimate expectations of victims and unresolved trauma in society. Ahead of the event, a number of homeowners affected by the mica scandal in Ireland staged a protest outside the theatre. Thousands of Irish homes have crumbled because of mica, a mineral which absorbs water, causing walls to crack. Mr Martin stopped to speak to the protesters before entering the theatre. Earlier in the day, Mr Martin said he did not think twice about coming to Northern Ireland a week after the security alert which disrupted Mr Coveneys visit. The Taoiseach carried out a number of engagements during his visit to Derry. He met with business leaders in the city and visited Ulster Universitys Magee campus to discuss cross-border research projects. The research projects are funded through the Irish governments shared island initiative. He also visited Altnagelvin Hospital, where the Irish government has part-funded cross-border cancer services. Irish transport officials will hold daily crisis management meetings as passengers continue to report lengthy queues at Dublin Airport. The Department of Transport said on Friday that junior minister Hildegarde Naughton had established a daily crisis management meeting to tackle the issue and was closely monitoring the situation. Dublin Airport has said it is still trying to rebound from the impact of the pandemic and blamed shortages in fully-trained staff working at the countrys busiest airport. This coming weekend will see thousands of people travelling through Dublin Airport, on the outskirts of the Irish capital. Ms Naughton met on Friday with the Daa CEO Dalton Philips, the head of the company that manages Dublin Airport. According to a statement issued by the Department of Transport, the minister was told that extra measures have been put in place including the redeployment of staff to manage queues and improve security screening. Daa briefed the Minister on the additional measures that have been put in place, such as redeployment of staff to support queue management and ensure better presentation for security screening, additional overtime, the additional opening hours of security lanes, and enhancing communications with passengers. Daa reported an improvement in the queue times from last weekend, but excessive times were still experienced by passengers at peak times. The Minister was assured that Dublin Airport continue to work closely with their airline partners through the appropriate channels. One hundred extra security staff have already been recruited by the airport, with plans to hire 300 more. Ms Naughton also met with the bosses of Aer Lingus and Ryanair, as well as the incoming head of the Irish Aviation Authority. A spokesperson for Ryanair earlier on Friday hit out at the response so far from the Government. Ryanair and other Dublin Airport customers, cannot endure more weekends where thousands of customers suffer queue delays of 1 or 2 hours, causing many to miss their scheduled flights. They called on the Government to take responsibility to help solve this short-term staffing problem. Pope Francis has said he is considering a visit to Kyiv as he condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for launching a savage war. Speaking after his arrival in Malta, he delivered his most pointed and personalised denunciation yet of Russias invasion of Ukraine. Francis did not cite the Russian president by name, but the reference was clear when he said some potentate had unleashed the threat of nuclear war on the world in an infantile and destructive aggression under the guise of anachronist claims of nationalistic interests. Once again, some potentate is provoking and fomenting conflicts, ordinary people sense the need to build a future that, will either be shared, or will not be at all. Now in the night of the war, let us not allow the dream of #peace to fade! #ApostolicJourney #Malta Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 2, 2022 We had thought that invasions of other countries, savage street fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past, Francis told Maltese officials and diplomats on the Mediterranean island nation at the start of a weekend visit. Francis has so far avoided referring to Russia or Mr Putin by name, but Saturdays personalisation of the powerful figure responsible marked a new level of outrage for the pontiff. Once again, some potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interest, is provoking and fomenting conflicts, whereas ordinary people sense the need to build a future that will either be shared or not be at all, he said. The Vatican tends to not call out aggressors in hopes of keeping open options for dialogue. The Vatican, which in recent years has forged unprecedented new relations with the Putin-allied Russian Orthodox Church, has offered itself as a potential mediator but has been largely left on the diplomatic sidelines. Francis told reporters en route to Malta that a possible visit to Kyiv was on the table, but no dates have been set or a trip confirmed. The mayor of the Ukrainian capital had invited Francis to come as a messenger of peace along with other religious figures. Francis also said that the war has pained his heart so much that he sometimes forgets about the pain in his knees. Francis has been suffering for months from a strained ligament in his right knee. The inflammation got so bad that the Vatican arranged for an elevator to get him on to and off the plane for Saturdays flight to Malta. The visit, originally scheduled for May 2020, was always supposed to focus on migration, given Maltas role at the heart of Europes migration debate. Speaking with Maltas president by his side, Francis denounced the sordid agreements the European Union has made with Libya to turn back migrants and said Europe must show humanity in welcoming them. He called for the Mediterranean to be a theatre of solidarity, not the harbinger of a tragic shipwreck of civilisation. In Defence of Marxism is committed to safeguarding your privacy. At all times we aim to respect any personal data you share with us, or that we receive from other organisations, and keep it safe. This Privacy Policy (Policy) sets out our data collection and processing practices and your options regarding the ways in which your personal information is used. This Policy contains important information about your personal rights to privacy. Please read it carefully to understand how we use your personal data. We may update this Policy from time to time without notice to you, so please check it regularly. The provision of your personal data to us is voluntary. 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Please let us know if you have any queries or concerns whatsoever about the way in which your data is being processed by emailing the Data Protection Manager at webmaster@marxist.com Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Mostly cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. High 68F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 48F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. As of noon EST Saturday, Alaska Airlines canceled 77 flights, or 11% of its operations. China-proposed BRI complements Africa's continental dev't aspiration: Ethiopian expert Xinhua) 09:07, April 02, 2022 ADDIS ABABA, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) positively complements Africa's continental development aspirations towards realizing an integrated and prosperous Africa, an Ethiopian expert has said. The construction of BRI projects, encompassing roads, railways, ports, industrial parks and digital infrastructure, are in harmony with African country's quest for an integrated and well-connected Africa, Melaku Mulualem, senior international relations and diplomacy researcher at Ethiopia's Institute of Strategic Affairs, told Xinhua. "One of the major plans of Africa's 50-year development plan is integration, and when you see the vision of the African Union, it starts with creating an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful Africa. Integration is a priority for Africa," Mulualem said. Mulualem emphasized that the BRI complements Africa's 50-year continental development aspiration, as it "hugely contributes to the integration of Africa through modern railways, road and other infrastructure projects." "The construction of Belt and Road projects in Africa is truly in line with the Agenda 2063 of Africa. Africa is hugely benefiting from this initiative," said Mulualem. Mulualem argued that a growing number of African countries cooperating with China under the BRI mechanism have realized new deep seaports, thousands of kilometers of roads and railways that have transformed logistics across the continent, among other development projects. The expert underscored that Ethiopia, as a major partner of China under the BRI, is one of the growing list of African countries that have been able to benefit from the BRI in boosting connectivity with ports in neighboring Djibouti, eventually expediting its import and export trade. "Construction of the 752-km Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway not only transformed land-locked Ethiopia's import and export trade, but it also boosts the country's entire economy with an ease of access to the international market," Mulualem argued. According to the expert, in addition to railway, road and other infrastructure projects, Ethiopia has also highly benefited from the construction of industrial parks that were built by Chinese technologies and experts along the railway. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou leaves her home to attend a court hearing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in this Sept. 24, 2021, file photo. Meng has been named the company's new chairwoman. Reuters-Yonhap Telecoms giant Huawei Technologies has given its finance chief Meng Wanzhou, who returned to China in 2021 after nearly three years detention in Canada, the new rotating position of chairwoman, according to the company's website. Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, will act as the company's top leader and head Huawei's board of directors for six months when it is her turn. The announcement did not specify when her term would begin. The rotating chairmen are Eric Xu and Ken Hu. Meng is also deputy chairwoman and will remain CFO, according to the company's website. "The company is optimizing and refining its internal governance structure to make sure the company is built to last," a Huawei spokesperson said. "The supervisory board is responsible for the company's survival, development and long-term prospects." Meng, whose English name is Sabrina, played a central role in the company's tussle with the United States, having been detained in Canada in 2018 over alleged attempts by Huawei-linked companies to sell equipment to Iran in breach of U.S. sanctions. The United States then imposed a series of trade restrictions on the company throughout 2019 and 2020, citing national security concerns. This impeded Huawei's ability to design its own chips and to source components from outside vendors, crippling its smartphone businesses. Meng was allowed to return to China in September after an agreement with U.S. prosecutors to end a bank fraud case. (Reuters) Angola, IN (46703) Today Cloudy with periods of rain. High 52F. Winds ENE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Rain ending early. Remaining cloudy. Low near 45F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. slide 2 of 6 OH MY GIRL enters the broadcasting station to appear on SBS Radio Power FM "Cultwo Show." It is held at SBS in Seoul on March 30. slide 2 of 6 BTS V shared memories with fans by posting photos on Instagram Stories. On the 31st of last month, V posted three photos on his Instagram story. The first picture was during rehearsal for the 'Permission to Dance on Stage - Seoul' concert held in Seoul last March. He was wearing a colorful knit hat. On April 1, K-Pop Radar updated their charts to reflect data on K-pop artists in the previous month. Want to know which K-pop stars gained the most followers on Instagram in March 2022? Then keep on reading! BTS V is the K-Pop Star Who Gained the Most Instagram Followers in March 2022 The K-pop idol who gained the most Instagram followers in March 2022 is BTS's very own V! According to K-Pop Radar, V gained 2,621,504 new followers in March 2022. This brings his end-of-the-month follower count to a whopping 38,233,989. V is not the only BTS member to rank high. All of the BTS members ranked in the top ten in the list of K-pop idols who gained the most Instagram followers in March 2022. Jungkook ranked in second place, gaining 2,596,011 new followers. By the end of the month, Jungkook had a total of 36,057,004. Jin ranked in fourth place, amassing 2,300,038 new followers. He ended the month with 31,186,638 total followers. Jimin ranked in fifth place with 2,208,540 new followers. He had a total of 32,872,128 followers by the end of March. In sixth place, we have Suga with 2,189,763 new followers and a total follower count of 31,561,643 new followers. J-Hope and RM ranked seventh and eighth place, respectively. J-Hope gained 2,149,457 new followers and ended the month with 32,366,206 followers, while RM gained 2,034,261 new followers and 31,441,768 total followers. Kim Sejeong is the Female Idol That Gained the Most Instagram Followers in March 2022 Ranking in second place and rising 149 spots from last month is Kim Sejeong. The female idol-actress gained 2,570,395 new followers in March 2022. By the end of the month, the "Flower Way" songstress had a total of 5,634,734. That means in February, the idol only had a little over 3 million followers! Her sudden rise in popularity is due to her role in the K-drama "A Business Proposal." In the drama, Kim Sejeong plays Shin Ha Ri. The drama is seeing success in South Korea and internationally. This helped boost Kim Sejeong's follower count. She, alongside BLACKPINK's Lisa and Jennie, is the only female idols to rank in the top ten. These are the TOP 30 K-Pop Stars That Gained the Most Instagram Followers in March 2022 *For the complete list with data, CLICK HERE. 1. BTS V 2. Kim Sejeong 3. BTS Jungkook 4. BTS Jin 5. BTS Jimin 6. BTS Suga 7. BTS J-Hope 8. BTS RM 9. BLACKPINK Lisa 10. BLACKPINK Jennie 11. BLACKPINK Jisoo 12. BLACKPINK Rose 13. BTS 14. NMIXX 15. TXT Yeonjun 16. Stray Kids 17. Jay Park 18. BLACKPINK 19. ITZY 20. TWICE 21. IU 22. ASTRO Cha Eun Woo 23. NCT Taeyong 24. ENHYPEN 25. Jeon Somi 26. WJSN Bona 27. TREASURE 28. NCT Jaehyun 29. (G)I-DLE Minnie 30. IVE Jang Wonyoung Who is your K-pop bias? Tell us in the comments below! For more K-Pop news and updates, always keep your tabs open here on KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns This Written by Alexa Lewis On Friday April 1 at approximately 12:33 PM the Walworth County Sheriffs Office Communication Center received a 911 call reporting a boat explosion on Lauderdale Lake in the Town of LaGrange, according to a release from the Sheriffs Office. Emergency responders were immediately dispatched to the area and deputies located a pontoon type barge on the shoreline off of Stewart Drive with significant damage. Three male victims were located and medical first aid was administered by both deputies and fire/rescue personnel. One male victim was transported to a local trauma center with severe injuries, another male was treated and released and the third male was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Walworth County Medical Examiners Office. The Walworth County Hazardous Materials Unit assisted with fuel spillage. The three males worked for a local pier service and were in the process of installing a pier when the explosion occurred. The cause of the explosion is under investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Walworth County Sheriffs Office, the Walworth County Medical Examiners Office, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Assisting agencies include the Lauderdale LaGrange Fire and Rescue Department, Elkhorn Area Fire Department EMS Division, Walworth County Hazardous Materials Unit, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Walworth County Medical Examiners Office, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The names of the victims are not being released at this time. More information may be released as the investigation continues. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. New Delhi [India], April 2 (ANI/ATK): The Agriculture Sector in India has taken a severe hit from the shift in the weather cycles. Despite nutrient-rich soil, the heat, unpredictable rainfalls and recurrent floods have caused extensive damage to crop yields over the past few years. As a result, the country has been unable to produce enough agricultural products to meet the requirement. The existing solution to this is the use of pesticides, which diminish the quality of the produce that reaches the customers through retail outlets or restaurants. Also Read | Maharashtra: NGT Directs PCB To Check Alleged Violations of Environment Norms By Koradi and Khaperkheda Thermal Power Stations in Nagpur. In order to provide healthy and toxic-free food to the public, PlantMe Agro Solutions, a Kerala-based agritech startup has ramped-up its operations and is partnering with hotels and resorts. To begin with, the company has currently partnered with Tonico Cafe at Kochi and Elixir Hills at Munnar. PlantMe Agro Solutions is founded by Ashwin Ramachandran - a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Mobme, Nithin Kumar - Executive Director of Kanaka Polypack Pvt Ltd, and Parvathy Sasikumar- an agritech enthusiast turned Entrepreneur, Akhila Ramdas - an MTech in Artificial Intelligence. PlantMe is advised and mentored by Muraleemanohar, Managing Director, Farm Tech Consultancy. With its partnership with these cafes and resorts in the state, the company has taken a step towards attaining its vision of providing fresh, pesticide and toxic-free produce to consumers. It helps PlantMe to take the 'farm to fork concept' to the next level. PlantMe's solutions put more control and power in the hands of the people. By strategically overcoming the challenges of urban farming, the solutions open new doors for individuals as well as commercial farmers. Also Read | GT vs DC, IPL 2022 Live Cricket Streaming: Watch Free Telecast of Gujarat Titans vs Delhi Capitals on Star Sports and Disney+ Hotstar Online. As a first step towards this, PlantMe has helped Tonico Cafe in Kochi install a vertical hydroponic farm with a variety of greens like Basil, Kale, Cilantro etc. The cafe requires fresh Basil leaves for its signature pesto sauce which is hard to procure in the state. Through its farm, Tonico Cafe not only found a stable supply of fresh basil but also cultivated other greens like Kale, Mint etc. This has allowed the cafe to serve toxic-free fresh food to its diners. "We at Tonico Cafe have always emphasized serving the freshest and finest products to our customers. That's what made Tonico Cafe to try hydroponic solutions offered by PlantMe. It is a convenient and affordable method which solves the problem of lack of space or land, regulates the temperature and humidity and also reduces the risk of pest invasion. The fresh greens thus produced here at Tonico Cafe work real magic with its dishes by truly enhancing their taste and colour. This is one of the reasons why the menu of Tonico Cafe has become an all-time favourite of food lovers! Tony Jose, Founder & CEO, Tonico Cafe. The soilless farming method is a rave around the world right now as the "future of farming". In this system, the roots are immersed in nutrient-rich solution, which helps plants to grow faster, with minimum effort, and with very little space and water compared to traditional agricultural methods. Since the crops grow faster, farmers can produce more yields in a season making it a highly profitable choice. They also have the option of experimenting with more varieties of crops. Speaking about the soil-less farming initiative at Elixir Luke Stephen, Managing Director, Elixir Hills said, "We, at Elixir have always prioritised the wellbeing of our customers, and have started looking at hydroponics as a solution to the shortage of fresh, toxic-free food supply in the market. By moving from soil to soilless farming, adopting protected cultivation and installing climate control systems, we are not only protecting our crops from the impact of climate change but also expanding our horizons. With PlantMe's sustainable solutions, we are now able to produce leafy greens and fruity vegetables such tomatoes, capsicum, cherry tomatoes, cucumber etc. We are hoping to extend our own commercial farms and give our customers the best dining experience. After all, high-quality food is the hallmark of high-quality hospitality." As a whole, PlantMe's solutions have been helping individuals, cafes, resorts, and commercial farms with a promise of high-quality pesticide-free food produce. They would be guided and supported at every step by the consultants at PlantMe Agro (www.plantmeagro.com) to find the right solutions for their needs. This story is provided by ATK. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/ATK) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on Saturday (Photo/ANI) Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], April 2 (ANI): AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann visited the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on Saturday ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections to be held later this year. "We are on two days tour of Gujarat. We came to the ashram to pay tribute to Gandhiji. This is my maiden visit to the Ashram after becoming the chief minister," Kejriwal told media persons here. Also Read | Chennai: Coast Guard To Step Up Patrolling To Prevent Indian Fishermen Crossing International Maritime Boundary Line. "I come from the land of freedom fighters. The people of Gujarat are revolutionaries. I believe the people in Gujarat are ready to play a great role in the country's prosperity and security," said Mann. Assembly polls in Gujarat are slated to be held later this year. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi, Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba Start RuPay Payment System, Inaugurate Cross-Border Train Services. Kejriwal will be holding meetings with party leaders of the Gujarat unit on Sunday. Charged with its landslide victory in the recently held Punjab Assembly elections, AAP is seeking to expand its footprint in other states. AAP plans to contest all 182 assembly seats in Gujarat, Kejriwal had said last year. The party had made its debut in Gujarat in the 2017 assembly polls, but could not open its account. In the local bodies elections held last year in March AAP had won 42 seats.(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 [India], April 2 (ANI): Under the new excise policy in Chandigarh, restaurants, bars and hotels can remain open till 3 am. "The facility of 2-hour extension in closure timings (i.e. up to 3 AM) given to Restaurants / Bars / Hotels on payment of additional license fees," read the press release on Excise Policy of Chandigarh for the year 2021-22. Also Read | Ramzan 2022 Wishes: PM Narendra Modi Extends Ramadan Greetings, Says 'May This Holy Month Inspire People To Serve Poor'. Governor Punjab and Administrator U.T., Chandigarh, Banwarilal Purohit, after a detailed presentation by the Adviser to the Administrator, Finance Secretary-cum-Secretary (E&T), Deputy Commissioner-cum-Excise and Taxation Commissioner and other Senior Officers of the Excise Department, has approved new Excise Policy for the year 2022-23. The policy aims at balancing the aspirations of the consumers, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and the government. Also Read | Curfew Imposed in Karauli Following Communal Clashes, Says Rajasthan Police. According to the new excise policy, to curb spurious liquor, pilfer proof seals are made mandatory in the country. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Jaipur, Apr 2 (PTI) Communal clashes broke out in Rajasthan's Karauli on Saturday evening after stones were pelted at a motorcycle rally taken out to celebrate the Hindu new year, prompting authorities to clamp curfew, suspend the internet and deploy 600 police personnel. Around two dozen people were injured in the violence while 30 persons were detained, Additional Director General of Police ( Law and Order) Hawa Singh Ghumariya said, adding the situation is under control. Also Read | Raj Thackeray Demands Shutting Down of Loudspeakers of Mosques. The rally to mark Nav Samvatsar was passing through a Muslim-dominated area when some people pelted stones. The violence escalated and a few shops and a bike were burnt. Several others were damaged, the police said. The police control room of Karauli initially said that over 35 persons were injured. Also Read | Ramzan 2022 Wishes: PM Narendra Modi Extends Ramadan Greetings, Says 'May This Holy Month Inspire People To Serve Poor'. The ADG said many of the injured were discharged after primary treatment while around 10 were admitted to a local hospital and one was referred to SMS hospital in Jaipur in critical condition. Mobile internet has also been suspended in Karauli, which is 170 km from state capital Jaipur. Governor Kalraj Mishra and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot spoke to Director General of Police (DGP) M L Lather and appealed to the public to maintain peace. Officials said 600 policemen, including 50 officers of the ranks of deputy superintendent of police and inspector, have been deployed and three IPS officers have been sent from Jaipur to Karauli. Karauli collector Rajendra Singh Shekhawat said that curfew has been imposed in the entire city. ADG Hawa Singh Ghumariya said that some shops were set on fire. The fire has been brought under control by fire tenders. ADG Sanjib Kumar, IG Bharat Lal Meena, DIG (Crime branch) Jaipur Rahul Prakash and (DCP) Mridul Kachawa have been sent to Karauli, he said. Gehlot told reporters in Barmer that he had directed the DGP to take strict action against the culprits. Some miscreants happen to be there...they can be in any religion and anywhere and they should be avoided because they are not harmed, common man is harmed. They are not hurt, common man is hurt, he said. Gehlot said that Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh and all other communities need to contribute and play their constructive role in building an environment of peace and development in the state. BJP state president Satish Poonia held the Congress government responsible for the incident. Congress government's appeasement policy is responsible for it. No arrest has been made so far. It was a planned attack on the bike rally which was organised on Hindu new year, Poonia alleged. Former chief minister and BJP leader Vasundhara Raje also condemned the incident and said the "hate mentality" cannot be allowed to flourish in Rajasthan. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) By Shalini Bhardwaj New Delhi [India], April 2 (ANI): With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune along with its chief scientists have been at the forefront to deal with the emerging challenges, including expeditious isolation and detection of various strains and their variants, said top scientist of the ICMR-NIV. Also Read | Chhattisgarh: Locals Protesting Against Rowghat Iron Ore Project Clash With Police in Narayanpur. Dr Pragya Yadav, an ICMR-NIV scientist, is among the scientists who detected the first three COVID-19 cases in India. Now that the pandemic in the country has subsided, Yadav said that the situation was back-breaking when the coronavirus infections were being reported in the early stage. "The preparation for such a large populated country was challenging. We had to prepare for more and that was the time when the ICMR stepped in with its large pool of resources across the country to deal with the situation," the ICMR scientist told ANI. Also Read | Chaitra Navratri 2022: PM Narendra Modi Greets People on Navratri, Vikram Samvat. Following the detection of COVID-19, the medical research centre jumped on a new journey to develop the vaccination against the virus. "Before isolating the virus in March 2020, we went on research mode so that we could isolate the virus in March. Further, we went on a new journey to develop the vaccine requirements against it," Dr Yadav said. She further informed that ICMR-NIV Pune started preparations to develop the testing system with the National Influenza Centre when the cases were rising in China. "As soon as China reported their cases and it was rising, ICMR-NIV Pune started the process of testing system with the National Influenza centre which is always at the forefront of dealing with respiratory diseases. As soon as we detected the first few cases with the arrival of the Wuhan student who arrived in Kerala, we got to know that the pandemic is coming to the country," she added. Meanwhile, ICMR also worked on the strategies of 5Ts -- test, track, trace, treat and technology to expand and diversify the testing capacity for detecting COVID-19 infection to effectively mitigate the effect of the pandemic. Dr Pragya Yadav also explained how she struck balance between the research work and personal life during the COVID-19 pandemic. "I used to talk to my children after coming back home. They used to request me to invent the vaccine against COVID-19 so that they can resume their offline classes. So, they always supported and motivated me," she stated. The coronavirus or COVID-19 had brought life to a standstill in almost every part of the world. The virus, which originated in central China's Hubei Province, claimed numerous lives so far and continues to adversely affect more than 150 countries globally. The first case of COVID-19 was reported in Hubei's Wuhan city in December 2019. An article in the American magazine 'National Review' highlights how China withheld information that proved detrimental to the COVID-19 fight. The coronavirus that jumps from an animal species to a human being probably began at the Chinese 'wet market.' (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) By Shalini Bhardwaj New Delhi [India], March 31 (ANI): India may get an effective vaccine against tuberculosis (TB) in 2024 that will reduce the burden of its transmission in India. Also Read | Telangana Heatwave: People Advised to Stay Indoors Between 12 PM to 4 PM. In an exclusive interview with ANI, Dr Suchit Kamble, Scientist E, National AIDS Research Institute (NARI), Pune said, "We are hoping that India will definitely get a good vaccine that will be effective and reduce the burden of TB transmission in India." The ICMR has started conducting Phase 3 double-blind placebo control trials across 18 subsites in India. In Maharashtra, it has been conducted at two sites under ICMR-NARI Pune. Also Read | Actress Assault Case: Kerala High Court Reserves Order in Case Against Malayalam Actor Dileep in Connection with 2017 Case. "At present a total of 1,593 participants are randomised at Pune and their follow up for 38 months is ongoing. Efficacy and safety of two candidate TB vaccines will be studied under this trial," said Dr Kamble. The two vaccines under study are VPM1002 and Immuvac. "The ICMR is conducting these trials at 18 sites in India spread across six states. In Maharashtra, at two sites, the trials have been conducted under ICMR-NARI Pune," he added. The other states where trials will be conducted are Tamil Nadu, Telangana and others. On trial results, Dr Kamble said, "The last enrolment at our site will be in 2024. When we will complete all the follow-ups, then the patient data will be compiled. Thereafter, the analysis will start and later we can get the final results." He further explained that the participants of age six-year-old and above have been enrolled for the trials. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Ramban (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], April 2 (ANI): The Jammu and Kashmir Police detained 25 Rohingya Muslims in the Ramban district of the union territory and were sent to Hiranagar holding centre on Friday, said officials on Saturday. Police officials said that these Rohingya Muslims were detained on Friday and their documents are being verified. At present, they have been sent to the holding centre in Hiranagar town of Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir. Also Read | Tamil Nadu: TN Forest Department to Hold Public Meetings To Probe Elephants Deaths, Especially in Coimbatore Range. "A total of 25 Rohingyas were detained by Jammu and Kashmir Police yesterday from Ramban, their documents are being verified. They have been sent to a holding centre in Hiranagar," police said. Earlier, on March 6 last year, 169 illegal immigrant Rohingyas were sent to the above-mentioned holding centre, following which the government had to conduct the process of nationality verification to pave way for their deportation. (ANI) Also Read | Navratri 2022: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee Extends Best Wishes to People. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mumbai, Apr 2 (PTI) A 17-year-old medical student sustained injuries in a knife attack by a man known to her near Rabale railway station in Navi Mumbai, a police official said on Saturday. Also Read | COVID-19 Now More Prevalent Than Ever in England, Says Report. The incident took place on Friday evening and the teen girl's injuries are minor, the Rabale MIDC police station official said. Also Read | Odisha Has Shown Spectacular 10.1% Growth in Fiscal Year 2021-22, Says CM Naveen Patnaik. A case was registered on Saturday afternoon against Kundal Ghol, a roadside clothes seller who lives in the same Bhimnagar locality as the victim and is known to her, he added. The victim had earlier complained to police against Ghol for harassment, he said, adding that efforts were on to nab him. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) A toll bridge spanning a local river in Senegal is believed to be the longest of the kind in West Africa. The 1,600m steel bridge was financed by Senegal and China through the Export-Import Bank of China and built by a Chinese company in four years. A special ceremony was arranged Saturday, with Senegalese President Macky Sall attending, to celebrate the commissioning. The bridge was completed late last year and its construction had created 2,000 jobs. According to a local resident, travel time across the river has been reduced from at least an hour to a few minutes. Produced by Xinhua Global Service New Delhi [India], April 2 (ANI): More than 15.66 crore balance and unutilized COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with the states and Union Territories (UTs), informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday. According to the ministry, more than 185.21 crore vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far through Govt. of India (free of cost channel) and through the direct state procurement category. Also Read | Chhattisgarh: Locals Protesting Against Rowghat Iron Ore Project Clash With Police in Narayanpur. "More than 185.21 crore (1,85,21,44,495) vaccine doses have been provided to the states and UTs so far through the Government of India (free of cost channel) and through direct state procurement category, of which more than 15.66 crore (15,66,02,526) balance and unutilized doses are still available with them to be administered," said an official statement by the ministry. The nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive started on 16 January 2021. Also Read | Chaitra Navratri 2022: PM Narendra Modi Greets People on Navratri, Vikram Samvat. As per the ministry, the new phase of universalization of COVID-19 vaccination commenced on 21 June 2021. The vaccination drive has been ramped up through the availability of more vaccines, advance visibility of vaccine availability to States and UTs for enabling better planning by them and streamlining the vaccine supply chain, said the ministry. It further stated that as part of the nationwide vaccination drive, the Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them with COVID Vaccines free of cost. In the new phase of the universalization of the COVID-19 vaccination drive, the Union Government will procure and supply (free of cost) 75 per cent of the vaccines being produced by the vaccine manufacturers in the country to States and UTs, it added. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Apr 2 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday greeted people ahead of the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramzan. "May this holy month inspire people to serve the poor. May it also further enhance the spirit of peace, harmony and compassion in our society," he said. Also Read | Curfew Imposed in Karauli Following Communal Clashes, Says Rajasthan Police. The Ramzan moon was sighted this evening and Muslims in India will begin fasting from Sunday. (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, Apr 2 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held extensive talks with his visiting Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba covering various key facets of close neighbourly ties between the two countries. Deuba, accompanied by a high-level delegation, arrived in New Delhi on Friday on a three-day visit. Also Read | Tamil Nadu: TN Forest Department to Hold Public Meetings To Probe Elephants Deaths, Especially in Coimbatore Range. "A renewed opportunity to deepen the special ties of friendship and cooperation between our two countries," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Twitter ahead of the Modi-Deuba talks. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Deuba on Friday evening. Also Read | Navratri 2022: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee Extends Best Wishes to People. It is Deuba's first bilateral visit abroad after becoming prime minister in July last year for a fifth time following a spell of political turmoil in Kathmandu. Deuba had visited India in each of his four earlier stints as prime minister of Nepal. His last visit to India in his capacity as the prime minister was in 2017. Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and the leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old "Roti Beti" relationship. The country shares a border of over 1,850 km with five Indian states -- Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Land-locked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services. On Sunday, Deuba is scheduled to visit Varanasi. (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, April 2: The Ramzan moon was sighted this evening and Muslims in India will begin fasting from Sunday. Every year, the sighting of the Ramzan moon brings great cheer for Muslims as they scamper to make preparations for fasting and head to mosques to begin special 'Taraweeh' prayers. Fatehpuri Masjid Imam Mufti Mukarram Ahmad said the moon was sighted in various parts of the country and Muslims would begin fasting from Sunday. "As the holy month begins, we pray for the welfare of all the people in the country. We pray for peace and development in the country," he told PTI. In a statement, Muslim body Imarat-e-shariyah-Hind said a meeting of Ruyat-e-Hilal Committee was held today at 1, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and it was verified that moon was been sighted in several parts of the country. Ramadan Kareem 2022 Images & Ramadan Mubarak HD Wallpapers for Free Download Online: Wish Happy First Roza With WhatsApp Messages, Greetings and SMS in The Holy Month. Maulana Asaduddin Qasmi Convenor of Ruyat-e-Hilal Committee, Imarat-e-Sharaiyah-Hind, has therefore, declared that 1st Ramzan falls on Sunday, it said. Various Muslim bodies in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal also declared that the fasting month would begin on Sunday. Muslims have been observing the fasting month in the past two years in the shadow of the Covid pandemic. This year, many of the Covid curbs have been lifted following dip in cases and vaccination of people. (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, Apr 2 (PTI) Nepal on Saturday became the fourth foreign country to operationalise the RuPay card with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba jointly launching the Indian electronic payment system in the Himalayan nation. The three other countries that have the RuPay card are Bhutan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. Also Read | Curfew Imposed in Karauli Following Communal Clashes, Says Rajasthan Police. The card was launched by the two leaders after holding talks covering wide-ranging issues including cooperation in areas of trade, investment and energy. Deuba arrived in New Delhi on Friday in his first bilateral visit abroad after becoming prime minister for the fifth time in July 2021. Also Read | New COVID-19 Mutant XE: No Need to Push Panic Button, But Keep Close Watch, Says TIGS Director Rakesh Mishra. "Introduction of RuPay card in Nepal will add a new chapter to our financial connectivity," Modi said in his media statement after the talks. The Ministry of External Affairs said the launch of the card in Nepal would open new vistas for cooperation in financial connectivity, and is expected to facilitate bilateral tourist flows as well as further strengthen people-to-people linkages. RuPay card scheme was launched in 2012 as part of the Reserve Bank of India's vision to have a domestic, open and multilateral system of payments. People familiar with the project said the Nepal SBI Bank (NSBL), a subsidiary of SBI and Nepal's largest international bank, worked on the initiative for over a year with support from Nepal's Central Bank. They said the launch of the card in Nepal will forge a new path to financial convenience and empowerment with the use of technology and innovation. It will not only enable ease of payment for RuPay car holders but also uplift Nepal's payment ecosystem capabilities, they said. After the Modi-Deuba talks, Nepal and India also inked a pact for the renewal of an MoU for the supply of petroleum products for a period of five years between Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Nepal Oil Corporation Ltd (NOC), the people cited above said. Both parties had signed an agreement on March 27, 2017, which expired on March 31. The renewed agreement will remain valid for a period of five years. The agreement is in the form of an umbrella pact enabling IOCL to supply petroleum products to NOC, including through the Motihari-Amlekhgunj pipeline which was commissioned in July 2019. Another agreement was signed for sharing of technical expertise between IOCL and NOC. The agreement is intended to assist NOC in acquiring technical knowledge and skill in petroleum products, and in the operation and maintenance of facilities required for the purpose. The people said IOCL will impart training and knowledge to NOC personnel in the fields of quality control, engineering, pipeline, IT, terminal/depot operation, infrastructure development and safety. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 2 (ANI): The sale of raw meat has been banned in Ghaziabad during the Navratri, Mayor Asha Sharma said on Saturday. The Chaitra Navratri began on Saturday and will continue till April 10. Speaking to ANI today, Sharma said, "Meat and liquor are different, they can't be equated with each other. It is related to religious sentiments. It happens every time that during Navratri, raw meat cannot be sold in the vicinity of the temple." Also Read | India and Nepal Unveil Joint Vision into Bilateral Cooperation in Power Sector. Local shopkeepers expressed their apprehensions over banning the sale of meat and asked why liquor shops are allowed to open. Speaking to ANI, a local shopkeeper said, "This is for the first time that meat shops are shut during Navratri in Ghaziabad. Liquor shops are opened and meat shops are asked to shut down. Our source of income has stopped. We will incur losses of thousands of rupees. We have meat products worth lakhs kept in our shops." Also Read | Aryan Khan Drugs Case: Maharashtra Police to Probe NCB Witness Prabhakar Sails Death. Chaitra Navratri festivities commenced on Saturday. The nine-day festivities begin on April 2 and will go on till April 11. Each day is dedicated to a different form of Goddess Durga, worshipping the power and qualities that each avatar represents. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Coimbatore (TN), Apr 2 (PTI) Industries body Tirupur Exporters' Association (TEA) on Saturday said the signing of India-Australia Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement will help reach the export target of USD 1 trillion by 2030. TEA president Raja M Shanmugham in a statement said the knitwear exports from Tirupur to Australia, which was Rs 630 crore last financial year, is expected to double in next two years, with the signing of the agreement. Also Read | COVID-19 Now More Prevalent Than Ever in England, Says Report. In a virtual ceremony on Saturday, India-Australia Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IndAus ECTA) was inked by Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Australian Minister for Trade Dan Tehan. Tirupur knitwear cluster having 54 per cent share of exports achieved USD 4.25 billion, with 1.06 per cent contributed from the micro, small and medium enterprises sector, Shanmugham noted. India's knitwear exports to Australia is estimated at Rs 925 crore in the financial year 2021-22 and the signing of the pact would help increase the shipment to that country, he said. Also Read | Gujarat Assembly Elections 2022: Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann Hold Roadshow in Ahmedabad. The TEA president expressed confidence that the cluster units would grab the opportunity following the signing of the agreement, and extended his gratitude to the Centre. (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, Apr 2 (PTI) Leaders of opposition parties including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and National Conference's Farooq Abdullah came on one stage at the opening of the DMK's office here on Saturday. Leaders from the TMC, TDP, CPI, BJD and SAD were also among those present as the DMK office was inaugurated by party chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin with Sonia Gandhi cutting the ribbon for one of the sections of the office. Also Read | Nawab Malik Moves To Supreme Court Challenging Bombay High Court Order in Money Laundering Case. The Congress and the DMK are in alliance in Tamil Nadu. While TMC was represented by Mahua Moitra and TDP by Rammohan Naidu and K Ravindra Kumar, D Raja from CPI, Amar Patnaik from BJD and Harsimrat Badal from SAD also attended the event. Also Read | Gurugram Shocker: Miscreants Break Open ATM Gas Cutter, Walk Away With Rs 13.28 Lakh Cash. Several ministers in the Tamil Nadu government, MPs of the DMK from both Houses and Stalin's son Udhayanidhi Stalin were also present. Billing it as an event that would write the history of southern India from Delhi, Stalin had said it is a "compelling symbol" of the vital space in national politics for his party, its policies and the vehicle to implement it, the Dravidian model'. In an open letter to DMK workers, Stalin had hailed the new office christened Anna-Kalaignar Arivalayam' as a Dravidian fort and had invited leaders from almost all parties, including top leaders of the BJP and other non-UPA parties. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Lucknow, Apr 2 (PTI) Police on Saturday arrested the manager of a private college in connection with the Class 12 English exam question paper leak case, taking the total number of arrests to 35. Deputy Superintendent of Police, Rasda, Shivnarayan Vaishya identified the arrested man Bhanu Pratap Singh. Also Read | Ramadan 2022 Chaand Raat in India, Pakistan, UK and Other Countries Live News Updates: Moon Sighting Expected Today, Holy Month of Ramzan Likely To Begin From April 3. "He is accused of sharing the leaked question paper. His role in leaking the question paper is also being looked into," the DSP said. Meanwhile, local mediapersons have been staging protests against the police and the district administration condemning the arrests of three journalists -- Ajit Ojha, Digvijay Singh and Manoj Gupta -- in connection with the case. Also Read | India and Nepal Unveil Joint Vision into Bilateral Cooperation in Power Sector. When asked, Superintendent of Police, Ballia, Raj Karan Nayyar told PTI, "The arrests of all the accused have been made based on the FIRs lodged in the case and by by following due legal process. Anyone who doesn't agree with the action is free to take legal recourse." He, however, declined to reveal any information on the evidence the police have gathered against the journalists. Digvijay Singh, one of the arrested journalists, is seen in a viral video raising slogans against the district officials, saying that he is being "hounded" by the administration for reporting the paper leak. "I reported the incident based on leaked question paper I got from my sources. The use of unfair means is rampant in the district. If I have reported that the question paper is leaked, the administration must find out from where it is leaked. Instead, the officials are asking me about it," Singh is heard telling media persons in the video. In response to this video, police in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia have issued a clarification on Twitter saying, "The said person has been arrested and sent to jail based on the evidence recovered during the investigation..." District Magistrate of Ballia Indra Vikram Singh declined to comment on their arrests. The English examination was cancelled in 24 districts on Wednesday after the paper was leaked, prompting Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to order invoking the stringent National Security Act in the case. The Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh Police is investigating the matter, while the state's education department has enforced a strict regulatory regime for strong rooms stocking papers across the state, following the Wednesday incident. PTI CORR CDN (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Berlin [Germany], April 2 (ANI/Sputnik): Germany is considering buying missile systems from either Israel or the United States to shield itself from what German Chief of Defense Eberhard Zorn called an existing threat. "The Israelis and the Americans have such systems. Which one is preferable? Will we be able to build a joint (missile defence) system in NATO? These are the questions we need to answer now," he told the Welt daily. Also Read | COVID-19 Outbreak in China: Amid Dearth of Resources, Coronavirus Infections Widely Spreading Among Elderly in Shanghai Hospital. Zorn, the armed forces' inspector general and the highest-ranking officer said Russia's "famed" Iskander missiles in the Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea could strike almost anywhere in Western Europe. "One thing is clear: we have neither time nor money to develop a system ourselves because the missile threat is already there and it is known," he added. Also Read | London Court to Issue Warrant on Assanges Extradition to US on April 20: WikiLeaks. The general stressed that there is no sign of Russia plotting an attack against a NATO member state, so allies have time to build up their capabilities on the eastern flank. He said the buildup will span from the Baltic to the Black Sea and last until the end of May. (ANI/Sputnik) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanavisit said his country hoped to further expand exports to China building on solid bilateral trade cooperation. #GLOBALink Produced by Xinhua Global Service Islamabad, April 2: A Pakistani journalist claimed that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party is actively considering the idea of a mass arrest of a large number of opposition leaders ahead of the no-confidence motion against the PM. Taking to Twitter, Nusrat Javeed, a Pakistani journalist, wrote, "The idea of mass arrest of a big number of opposition leaders is still being actively considered; intense reading of Section 120 etc of Pakistan Penal Code to carve enabling powers. To me, seems like an exercise in futility, however." This is not an isolated instance where the Pakistani media has raised their voice against the PM as earlier, a Pakistan journalist while taking a dig at the statement made by Prime Minister Imran Khan regarding Washington's role in an alleged "foreign conspiracy" to oust him from power, questioned why the United States was invited at the OIC meeting if PM received a threat from the country. Pakistan PM Imran Khan Says 'Establishment' Gave Him 3 Choices: Resignation, No-Trust Vote or Polls. Senior anchor Hamid Mir in Geo News programme "Capital Talk" asked if the US had conveyed such a huge threat to Pakistan then why Imran Khan invited US Under Secretary of state Uzra Zeya to the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers conference held in Islamabad on March 21, reported the News International. Shah Mahmood Qureshi in his tweet said, "Constructive meeting with @UnderSecStateJ, visiting to attend #OIC48CFM, promoting more engagement between US & OIC States. We welcome leadership in the Extended Troika for sustainable peace in Afg. Imp for int'l community to prioritize the humanitarian need of ppl of Afg." "Bilaterally, Pakistan has a longstanding relationship with the US and we believe a regular and structured dialogue process is important to promoting our bilateral and shared regional objectives. We look forward to commemorating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year," he said in his second tweet, as per the newspaper. Earlier, in another similar incident, Pakistani journalist, Syed Talat Hussain while taking a jibe at Prime Minister Imran Khan questioned him as to 'why cry global conspiracy' and yet invite the US delegation. Taking to Twitter, Hussain wrote, "So you cry global conspiracy (by Washington) and also warmly invite and welcome their delegation to the OIC conference? Not to mention holding joint air exercises Falcon Talon?" This comes at a time when PM said that he will share the 'foreign-funded conspiracy' letter with senior journalists and ally party members which has evidence that outside elements are trying to topple the government. Pakistan Orders Commission To Probe Foreign Conspiracy Behind No-Confidence Motion Against PM Imran Khan. After the no-confidence motion against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was tabled in the National Assembly with a total of 161 votes in favour, the proceedings were adjourned till March 31. The no-confidence motion was submitted by the Opposition parties on March 8. The Opposition has been confident that its motion would be carried as many PTI lawmakers have come out in the open against PM Imran Khan. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New York [US], April 2 (ANI): India has contributed USD 500,000 to the UN Women, the United Nations agency for gender equality and women empowerment for their core budget. India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations took to Twitter to say that India "reaffirmed our valued partnership of women-led development and gender parity." He further said that he is looking forward to working with the UN Women to further augment the relationship. Also Read | US Sanctions North Korea Firms Over Recent Missile Tests. "Delighted to hand over India's contribution of USD 500,000 to ED (Executive Director) Sima Bahous @unwomenchief to core budget of UN Women. Reaffirmed our valued partnership for women-led development and #gender parity. Look forward to working closely with @UN_Women to further our partnership," Tirumurti tweeted. UN Women Executive Director, Sima Bahous thanked India for its contribution and said that India's support for UN women remains indispensable. Also Read | Imran Khan No-Trust Vote: Pakistan PM Hints at Early Elections, Says Opposition Part of International Conspiracy to Remove His Govt. "Productive discussion with Amb T. S. Tirumurti @ambtstirumurti, Permanent Representative of India to the @UN @IndiaUNNewYork India's support for @UN_Women remains indispensable to upholding the rights of women & girls, globally. Thank you for your generous core contribution," Bahous tweeted. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi [India], April 2 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba met in New Delhi today with the two countries launching multiple initiatives as well as signing four crucial agreements in multiple domains. The two countries signed agreements on Nepal becoming the 105th member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), technical cooperation in railways, supply of petroleum products and sharing of technical expertise in the petroleum sector between Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) and Nepal Oil Corporation Ltd. (NOC). Also Read | London Court to Issue Warrant on Assanges Extradition to US on April 20: WikiLeaks. The two Prime Ministers also witnessed the launch of the first passenger train service between India's Jayanagar and Nepal's Kurtha, the hand-over of the Solu corridor transmission project by India to Nepal and the progress of the construction of 132 health facilities across 10 districts in Nepal under a Government of India (GoI) grant. The two countries announced the launch of the Indian RuPay card in Nepal, with the domestic variant of the RuPay card (roughly 83 per cent of all RuPay cards issued) to be functional on about 1400 Point of Sale (POS) machines in Nepal. Also Read | Imran Khan No-Confidence Vote: If Shahbaz Sharif Takes Over, They Will Do Slavery of America, Says Pakistan PM. The move makes Nepal the fourth country outside India where RuPay is functional after Bhutan, Singapore and UAE. The inaugurated Jaynagar-Kurtha railway section is part of the Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas rail link being constructed with grant assistance of INR 548 crore from the Government of India. It is a 35 km rail section, 3 km of which lies in the Indian state of Bihar and the rest in Nepal. The project is the first broad-gauge passenger rail link between the two countries, opening an entirely new dimension for cross-border connectivity. Till 2014, this was an existing rail service on a metre-gauge rail link between Jaynagar and Janakpur. The Solu Corridor 132 kV power transmission line and substation project is one of the major projects in Nepal undertaken under the Government of India's Line of Credit (LoC). The 90 km 132 kV Double Circuit line connects the remote Solukhumbu, Khotang and Okhaldhunga districts of North Eastern Nepal with Nepal's national electricity grid. After its operationalization, the transmission line will bring electricity from existing and upcoming hydro projects in the area into the national grid, and also supply power into the rural electrification networks of nearby districts. The project is expected to be crucial for the socio-economic development in the rural part of Nepal, in addition to contributing to Nepal's overall economic and industrial development. Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba also held wide-ranging deliberations with PM Modi on various topics including cooperation in the power sector, railway projects, flood control programs, as well as the border dispute between the two countries. Yesterday, the Nepalese Prime Minister met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla in the national capital. On Friday, he met Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) President JP Nadda at the party headquarters in a courtesy meeting. The last Head of State/Head of Government-level visit from Nepal was in May 2019, when then PM K P Oli visited India for the swearing-in ceremony of PM Narendra Modi and the Union Council of Ministers. Before that PM Modi had visited Nepal in August 2018 for the 4th BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu, which was preceded by a State Visit to Nepal in May 2018. PM Modi had extended a congratulatory message to Sher Bahadur Deuba soon after he won the Vote of Confidence in Nepal's Parliament. This was followed by a congratulatory telephonic conversation on 19 July 2021. The most recent meeting between PM Modi and Sher Bahadur Deuba took place on November 2, 2021, on the sidelines of COP 26 in Glasgow. Sher Bahadur Deuba is a veteran politician of the Nepali Congress with a political career spanning over seven decades. This is Deuba's fifth tenure as PM. His first term was from September 1995 to March 1997. He has visited India several times, both when in and out of power. This will be his fifth visit to India as PM, with the last visit being in August 2018. The previous three visits took place in 2004, 2002 and 1996. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Lviv, Apr 2 (AP) A Russian group that monitors political arrests says 208 people were detained in demonstrations held Saturday across the country protesting Russia's military operation in Ukraine. The OVD-Info group said demonstrations took place in 17 Russian cities, from Siberia to the more densely populated west. More than 70 people were were detained in Moscow and a similar number in St. Petersburg, the organization said. Also Read | Nawaz Sharif Attacked in London by PTI Activist as Brother Shahbaz Sharif Receives Opposition Support for PM Seat. Video released by another group that monitors protests, Avtozak, showed some detainees being led to police prisoner transports as they smiled and carried flowers. Others were shown to be more harshly forced into the transports, bent over with their arms pinioned behind them. Russian President Vladimir Putin's government has cracked down heavily on dissent, even before Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Also Read | COVID-19 Outbreak in China: Amid Dearth of Resources, Coronavirus Infections Widely Spreading Among Elderly in Shanghai Hospital. ___ KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Zelenskyy says the mines Russia has planted in Ukraine are creating a complete disaster' Russian space chief says sanctions could imperil International Space Station What's next for Europe's natural gas amid the war? Russia aims Ukraine disinformation at Spanish speakers Ukraine volunteer fighters from near and far: a photo gallery ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: BUCHA, Ukraine Ukrainian troops moved further north from the capital Kyiv on Saturday, taking up positions in the town of Bucha after retaking territory from Russian forces. AP reporters counted 6 bodies of civilians scattered along a street and in the front yard of a house. The Ukrainian soldiers, backed by a column of tanks and armored vehicles, attached cables to the bodies and pulled them off the street, fearing they may be booby-trapped with explosive devices. Residents of the town said the civilians were killed by Russian soldiers without apparent provocation. ___ CHISINAU, Moldova Authorities in the tiny breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova denied absolutely untrue claims Saturday by Ukraine that Russian troops based there are massing to conduct provocations along Ukraine's border. Earlier Saturday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Russian troops already in Transnistria were preparing for a demonstration of readiness for the offensive and, possibly, hostilities against Ukraine. The information disseminated by the General Staff of Ukraine is absolutely untrue, Transnistria's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that leaders have repeatedly declared the absence of any threat to Ukraine. Moldova's Foreign Ministry also said Saturday there is no information to confirm the mobilization of troops in the Transnistrian region and that state institutions are closely monitoring the security situation in the region. Transnistria is a Russia-backed region of Moldova that broke away after a short civil war in the early 1990s, and is unrecognized by most countries. An estimated 1,500 Russian soldiers are stationed there. ___ KYIV, Ukraine A prominent Ukrainian photojournalist who went missing last month in a combat zone near the capital has been found dead. Ukraine's Prosecutor General's office said in a statement Saturday that Maks Levin was killed with two gunshots, fired allegedly by the Russian military. Levin's body was found in the Huta Mezhyhirska village on Friday. Levin, 40, worked as a photojournalist and videographer for many Ukrainian and international publications. Levin has been missing since March 13, when he contacted his friend from Vyshhorod near Kyiv to report on the fighting in the region. An investigation into his death has been launched. ____ LVIV, Ukraine -- A series of blasts has torn through the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar nearby the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Ukraine's state nuclear agency reported about Saturday's attacks on its official Telegram channel. Both the city and the plant, which generates over a fifth of Ukraine's electricity and is one of the largest nuclear facilities in Europe, have been under Russian control since March 4, according to Interfax Ukraine. A video clip accompanying the Telegram post by Ukraine's Energoatom appeared to feature loud blasts and flying debris. A second post on the state enterprise's channel claimed that explosions and mortar bursts could be heard near the Sovremennik cultural center, where residents held a rally in support of Ukraine. The nation's human rights ombudsman said the residents were singing Ukraine's national anthem. As protesters began to disperse, the invaders arrived in police vehicles, and began to force local residents into them, the post read. A few minutes later, the city was rocked by massive explosions and shelling. Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, Lyudmyla Denisova, said on Telegram the occupiers used light and noise grenades and opened mortar fire on the residents, four people were injured and severely burned. Some of the people were forcibly put in paddy wagons and taken away in an unknown direction. Energoatom also claimed that Russian forces began to jam phone and internet communications throughout Enerhodar. The agency's claims could not be immediately verified. ____ HELSINKI Finland's prime minister says her country should make a decision on NATO membership during this spring after the government and lawmakers have carefully assessed the pros and cons of joining the military alliance - a topical issue in the Nordic nation after Russia's invasion to Ukraine. Prime Minister Sanna Marin said Saturday that both joining (NATO) and not joining are choices that have consequences. We need to assess both the short-term and long-term effects. At the same time, we must keep in mind our goal: ensuring the security of Finland and Finns in all situations. Marin said Finland's relationship with neighboring Russia has changed irreversibly after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last month, and it takes a lot of time and work for confidence to be restored. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia, the longest by any European Union member. ____ WARSAW, Poland --Poland's government says it has issued over 625,000 national identification numbers to Ukrainian refugees since Russia launched its invasion. The ID number, something all Polish citizens have, gives people the right to access health care, schooling or other state services. Poland, the country that has accepted the largest numbers of Ukrainian refugees, decided recently to extend those rights to Ukrainians fleeing war. More than 4 million Ukrainians have so far fled, and more than 2.4 of them have crossed into Poland. Others have fled into Romania, Moldova, Slovakia and Hungary. It is not clear, however, exactly how many of them stay in the countries they first arrive in, and how many move on to other places, such as Germany, Italy and Spain. Pawel Szefernaker, a deputy interior minister who was appointed Saturday as a special plenipotentiary to handle Ukrainian war refugees, said at a news conference that 625,000 Ukrainian refugees had received the Polish ID number, known as a PESEL. That is an indication that at least that many intend to remain in Poland, at least until the war ends. The number is likely higher as people continue to submit applications and people keep fleeing the war. ____ ROME Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, visiting Azerbaijan, has described his talks there as laying the bases for even stronger cooperation on energy, as Italy seeks to quickly reduce its heavy reliance on Russian gas. In comments to reporters in Baku on Saturday, Di Maio described Azerbaijan, which is Italy's largest supplier of oil and third-largest supplier of gas, as a priority partner in Italy's quest to diversify its sources of energy. Di Maio arrived in the South Caucasus country on Friday, following previous energy-focused missions to Algeria, Qatar, Angola and Congo. Italy is eyeing the possibility of increasing the supply of natural gas from Azerbaijan through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, or TAP, which transported its first gas in 2020. ____ GENEVA The former chief prosecutor of the U.N. war crimes tribunals has called for an international arrest warrant to be issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin is a war criminal, Carla Del Ponte told Swiss newspaper Le Temps in an interview published Saturday. In interviews given to Swiss media to mark the release of her latest book, the Swiss lawyer who oversaw U.N. investigations in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, said there were clear war crimes being committed in Ukraine. She said she was particularly shocked by the use of mass graves, which recalls the worst of the wars in former Yugoslavia. I hoped never to see mass graves again, she told the newspaper Blick. These dead people have loved ones who don't even know what's become of them. That is unacceptable. Other war crimes she identified in Ukraine included attacks on civilians, the destruction of civilian buildings and even that of entire towns. ____ This item has been corrected to say that Del Ponte was chief prosecutor of UN war crimes tribunals, not the International Criminal Court. ____ BERLIN The International Committee of the Red Cross says a team of nine staffers is trying to get to the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol again after it had to abandon an earlier attempt when conditions on the ground made it impossible to proceed. The humanitarian group said the team with three vehicles was on the way to help facilitate the safe passage of civilians on Saturday after a failed attempt Friday. The group said in a statement late Friday it would try to accompany a convoy of civilians out from Mariupol to another city in Ukraine. It said that, our presence will put a humanitarian marker on this planned movement of people, giving the convoy additional protection and reminding all sides of the civilian, humanitarian nature of the operation. Mariupol, which was surrounded by Russian forces a month ago, has been the scene of some of the war's worst attacks, including on a maternity hospital and a theater sheltering civilians. Around 100,000 people are believed to remain in the city, down from a prewar population of 430,000, and facing dire shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 765 Mariupol residents reached Zaporizhzhia, about 140 miles (226 km) to the northwest, on Saturday in private vehicles. City officials said some 2,000 made it out of Mariupol on Friday, some on buses and some in their own vehicles. ___ LVIV, Ukraine -- At least 33 people have been killed and 34 injured in a Russian rocket strike on the regional government building in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv. Ukrainian officials gave the latest death toll in a statement Saturday, updating the numbers of the deadly strike that hit Mykolaiv on Tuesday. Rescuers sent by the State Emergency Service have been searching the wreckage for survivors since Russian forces struck the building, which housed the office of regional governor Vitaliy Kim. The governor, who was not on the premises at the time of the attack, later posted social media images showing a gaping hole in the nine-story structure. The confirmed death toll has risen steadily as the search and rescue operation continues. Mykolaiv, a strategically important city en route to Ukraine's largest port of Odesa, has withstood weeks of shelling by the Russian forces. ____ MOSCOW Russia's top space official says the future of the International Space Station hangs in the balance after the United States, the European Union, and Canadian space agencies missed a deadline to meet Russian demands for the lifting of sanctions on Russian enterprises and hardware. The head of Russia's Roscosmos state agency told reporters on Saturday morning that the agency was preparing a report on the prospects of international cooperation at the station, to be presented to federal authorities after Roscosmos has completed its analysis. Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin implied on Russian state TV that the Western sanctions, some of which predate Russia's military action in Ukraine, could disrupt the operation of Russian spacecraft servicing the ISS. He stressed that the Western partners need the ISS and cannot manage without Russia, because no one but us can deliver fuel to the station. Rogozin added that only the engines of our cargo craft are able to correct the ISS's orbit, keeping it safe from space debris. Later on Saturday, Rogozin wrote on his Telegram channel that he received responses from his Western counterparts vowing to promote further cooperation on the ISS and its operations. He reiterated his view that the restoration of normal relations between partners in the ISS and other joint (space) projects is possible only with the complete and unconditional lifting of sanctions, which he referred to as illegal. Responding to Western sanctions on Telegram last month, Rogozin warned at the time that without Russia's help, the ISS could fall down into the sea or onto land, and claimed that the crash site was unlikely to be in Russia. Space is one of the last remaining areas of cooperation between Moscow and Western nations. U.S.-Russian negotiations on the resumption of joint flights to the ISS were underway when Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine last month, prompting unprecedented sanctions on Russian state-linked entities. ____ ISTANBUL Turkey has offered to help evacuate civilians from the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol by ship. The Turkish defense minister said Saturday that we can provide ship support for the evacuation of civilians and injured Turkish and other countries' citizens in Mariupol from the sea. State-run Anadolu Agency reported that Hulusi Akar said Turkey was coordinating possible evacuations with the authorities of the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov, has seen some of the worst suffering of the war. The International Committee for the Red Cross is attempting to remove some of the 100,000 people are believed to remain in the city. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Friday that some 30 Turkish nationals were still in the city. ____ VALLETTA, Malta Pope Francis says he is studying a possible visit to Kyiv and he blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for launching a savage war, as he arrived in Malta and delivered his most pointed and personalized denunciation yet of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Francis didn't cite Putin by name, but the reference was clear when he said that some potentate had unleashed the threat of nuclear war on the world in an infantile and destructive aggression under the guise of anachronist claims of nationalistic interests. Speaking to Maltese authorities Saturday, Francis said: We had thought that invasions of other countries, savage street fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past. Francis has to date avoided referring to Russia or Putin by name. But Saturday's personalization of the powerful figure responsible marked a new level of outrage for the pope. ____ THE HAGUE, Netherlands The Dutch government has launched a campaign urging people to turn down their central warming and take showers to save energy amid spiraling energy costs and reduce the country's dependence on Russian imports. The government took the lead, announcing Saturday that it will turn down the temperature in 200 of its office blocks from 21 to 19 degrees Celsius (70-66 degrees Fahrenheit) in the winter and use less air conditioning in the summer. Minister for Climate and Energy Rob Jetten says that saving energy is good for your wallet, for the climate and it helps us to become less dependent on gas from Russia. The government also is setting aside 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) to help fund moves by home owners, social housing corporations and municipalities to improve insulation of houses in coming years. ____ LVIV, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces were leaving behind a complete disaster as they retreat from the north, including towns just outside Kyiv, and he warned residents to beware of more Russian shelling and of land mines. They are mining the whole territory, they are mining homes, mining equipment, even the bodies of people who were killed, he said in his nighttime video address to the nation late Friday. He urged residents to wait to resume their normal lives until they are assured that the mines have been cleared and the danger of shelling has passed. Zelenskyy warned of difficult battles ahead as the Russians redeploy troops in eastern Ukraine. Zelensky said he spoke Friday with French President Emmanuel Macron by telephone and with the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, during her visit to Kyiv. Europe doesn't have the right to be silent about what is happening in our Mariupol, he said. The whole world should respond to this humanitarian catastrophe. Zelenskyy said 3,071 people were able to leave Mariupol on Friday. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Islamabad [Pakistan], April 2 (ANI): Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday, ahead of a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly, said he has credible information that his "life is in danger", local media reported. He said not only his life was in danger but the Opposition, which is playing in foreign hands, will also resort to his character assassination, Khan said in an interview with ARY News. Also Read | US Sanctions North Korea Firms Over Recent Missile Tests. "Let me inform my nation that my life is at risk too, they have also planned for my character assassination. Not only myself but my wife too," Khan said. As Khan battles to save his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, he said that the "establishment" gave him three options, including the no-confidence motion, resignation from his post, or fresh elections, ARY News reported. Also Read | Imran Khan No-Trust Vote: Pakistan PM Hints at Early Elections, Says Opposition Part of International Conspiracy to Remove His Govt. Answering a question about what options the Opposition gave him, the Pakistan Prime Minister said that he does not think he should talk to people like Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif. "If we survive (the no-confidence vote), we cannot of course work with these turncoats (who left PTI to join opposition), early elections are the best option, I will urge my nation to give me simple majority so that I won't have to do compromises," he said. Terming the Opposition's no-confidence motion a conspiracy, Khan said he knew about it since August last year and he had reports that some Opposition leaders were visiting embassies, ARY News reported. "People like Husain Haqqani were meeting Nawaz Sharif in London," he said. Khan reiterated what he said in a televised address to the nation on March 31 that a foreign country not only expressed disapproval over his premiership and demanded that he be ousted through no-confidence vote so that Pakistan be "forgiven". He stated that the foreign country objected upon his independent foreign policy. Khan further said the "threat memo" did not only demand a regime change but clearly mentioned that he should be removed as the prime minister. Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Faisal Vawda had also claimed that Imran Khan's life is in danger as a conspiracy has been hatched to assassinate him. In Pakistan's National Assembly, the no-trust vote against the Imran Khan government was deferred to April 3. The proceedings of the National Assembly were adjourned till April 3 soon after it met on Thursday to discuss the no-confidence motion. Imran Khan received a massive blow when the PTI "lost the majority" in the National Assembly after losing its key ally in the coalition Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P). The MQM announced that it had struck a deal with the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and would support the no-trust vote in the 342-member National Assembly. The no-confidence motion was submitted by the Opposition parties on March 8 after the Pakistan People's Party's (PPP) long march in Islamabad. The Opposition has been confident that its motion would be carried as many PTI lawmakers have come out in the open against PM Imran Khan. Imran Khan is the third Prime Minister to face the no-confidence motion in Pakistan. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Islamabad, April 2: A Pakistan journalist on Saturday said that the Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was attacked in London by an activist of the current Pakistani PM Imran Khan's ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and added efforts for the arrest of the culprits are being made. This comes at a time when keeping up his attack on the opposition ahead of Sunday's vote of confidence in the National Assembly, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said that if Leader of Opposition and PML-N leader Shahbaz Sharif (Brother of Nawaz Sharif) takes over, "they will do slavery of America". Ahmad Noorani, the Pakistani journalist currently with Fact Focus, a Pakistan-based digital media, wrote on Twitter, "Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been attacked in London by a PTI activist. Action must be taken in Pakistan against the PTI as now the party has crossed all limits. Physical violence can never be condoned. PTI must be made an example now." Pakistan Political Crisis: Imran Khan Issues Stern Warning for Party Leaders Ahead of Punjab CM Election. He also shared that Sharif's guard was injured in the attack. "Nawaz Sharif's guard was injured in the attack. All efforts must be made to ensure the arrest of culprits in the UK tonight. PTI must also be fixed during a few hours," he added. "Shahbaz Sharif will be a slave of America... he said in a TV Programme yesterday that beggars are not choosers... what does this mean? Does that mean that the poor and beggars are slaves? Ask him (Shehbaz Sharif) who brought Pakistan to such a state. Just because we are poor, should we be slaves?" Imran Khan said while taking questions from viewers on TV. Opposition parties have said that Imran Khan "has lost majority" with some of his allies deserting him and that Shahbaz Sharif will be the Prime Minister. Imran Khan attacked Shahbaz Sharif saying he faces allegations of massive corruption.He also referred to the "threat letter" from a foreign power and linked the opposition's no-trust vote with it. "The letter says as soon as Imran Khan is removed, we will spare you... They all had conspired beforehand that when Imran Khan is removed, Shahbaz Sharif will come, on whom there are allegations of corruption worth millions," Khan said."Who brought Pakistan to Life Support machine? These three stooges were taking turns to rule the country for 30 years, they have brought us to this state and are now asking us to be slaves of America," he added. Khan has been referring to Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman as "three-stooges". "They will always be slaves of America and will make all of you slaves of America," Imran Khan said. Imran Khan No-Confidence Vote: If Shahbaz Sharif Takes Over, They Will Do Slavery of America, Says Pakistan PM. He urged people, especially the youth, to come on the streets to express their disapproval of the opposition's move against him. The no-confidence motion against the Imran Khan government is set to be tabled in the National Assembly on Sunday and he faces the prospect of losing it. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Geneva [Switzerland], April 2 (ANI): A new COVID mutant 'XE' has been found in the UK, the World Health Organisation has said in its latest report and noted that it may be more transmissible than the BA.2 sublineage of COVID-19. XE is recombinant of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 sublineages of COVID-19. Also Read | COVID-19 Now More Prevalent Than Ever in England, Says Report. "The XE recombinant (BA.1-BA.2), was first detected in the United Kingdom on January 19 and >600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since," the WHO said. "Early-day estimates indicate a community growth rate advantage of ~10 per cent as compared to BA.2, however this finding requires further confirmation. XE belongs to the Omicron variant until significant differences in transmission and disease characteristics, including severity, may be reported," it added. Also Read | Sri Lanka Economic Crisis: Sri Lankan Government Imposes 36-Hour Nationwide Curfew Ahead of Sundays Public Protest. The United Kingdom has reported 637 cases of XE and experts said it has shown a variable growth rate. According to UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), its new analysis has examined three recombinants known as XF, XE, and XD. "Of these, XD and XF are recombinants of Delta and Omicron BA.1, while XE is a recombinant of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2," it said in an update. A recombinant variant occurs when an individual becomes infected with two or more variants at the same time, resulting in a mixing of their genetic material within the patient's body. UKHSA said this is not an unusual occurrence and several recombinant SARS-CoV-2 variants have been identified over the course of the pandemic. "As with any other coronavirus (COVID-19) variant, the vast majority do not confer any advantage to the virus and die out relatively quickly," it said. In the UK, 38 cases of XF have been identified, though none have been seen since mid-February. There is currently no evidence of community transmission within the UK. UKHSA said XD has not been identified in the UK to date, though 49 cases have been reported to global databases, the majority of these are in France. "A total 637 cases of XE - a recombinant of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 - have been confirmed in the UK so far. The earliest of these has a specimen date of January 19, 2022. There is currently insufficient evidence to draw conclusions about growth advantage or other properties of this variant," it said. UKHSA said it continues to monitor all recombinants closely. "Recombinant variants are not an unusual occurrence, particularly when there are several variants in circulation, and several have been identified over the course of the pandemic to date. As with other kinds of variant, most will die off relatively quickly," Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor, UKHSA said. "This particular recombinant, XE, has shown a variable growth rate and we cannot yet confirm whether it has a true growth advantage. So far there is not enough evidence to draw conclusions about transmissibility, severity or vaccine effectiveness," Hopkins added. UKHSA said BA.2 is estimated to account for approximately 93.7 per cent of cases in England, with the highest prevalence in the South East (96.4 per cent) and the lowest in the East Midlands (91.1 per cent). "BA.2 continues to demonstrate a substantial growth advantage. Since the middle of February, this growth rate has settled at approximately 75 per cent higher than other circulating Omicron lineages in England," it added. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Riyadh [Saudi Arabia], April 2 (ANI/Xinhua): The Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry welcomed on Saturday a two-month truce in Yemen announced by the United Nations, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg announced on Friday the two-month truce, which will become effective at 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) on Saturday, through which all forms of military operations inside Yemen and on the Saudi-Yemeni borders shall be halted. Also Read | COVID-19 Outbreak in China: Amid Dearth of Resources, Coronavirus Infections Widely Spreading Among Elderly in Shanghai Hospital. In appreciation of the efforts exerted by the UN special envoy, the Saudi ministry said the truce comes in the context of a Saudi initiative, first announced in March 2021, to reach a comprehensive political solution to the Yemeni crisis. The Yemeni Houthi rebels have also expressed welcome to the UN-backed truce, which comes just days after the Houthis announced a unilateral three-day cease-fire with the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Also Read | London Court to Issue Warrant on Assanges Extradition to US on April 20: WikiLeaks. Under the truce, the warring sides have agreed to allow fuel ships to enter ports in the Hodeidah region and commercial flights to operate from the airport in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa for humanitarian purposes. The nationwide truce, which coincides with the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, is probably the first of its kind in the Yemeni civil war since late 2014. It is worth noting that the Yemeni peace talks, backed by the United Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council, started in Riyadh with a closed-door meeting on Tuesday and are expected to continue until April 7. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of Sanaa. The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed the country to the brink of starvation, according to the United Nations. (ANI/Xinhua) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Singapore, Apr 2 (PTI) Singapore's predominantly Chinese-led multi-racial society has become more open to the idea of electing top leaders who are non-Chinese, according to a survey conducted by Channel News Asia (CNA) and the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS). However, most respondents were very uncomfortable with the idea of a new citizen from any country taking on these roles. Less than 10 per cent said they would be comfortable with a new citizen as president or prime minister, CNA reported on Saturday. Also Read | U.S. FDA Approves Gilead Cell Therapy for Earlier Lymphoma Latest Tweet by Reuters. New citizens are migrants settling in manpower-short Singapore which invites professionals from around the world, especially to support its flourishing economy. In the second edition of the CNA-IPS survey on race relations, which was conducted last year, a bigger proportion of respondents said they could accept a Singaporean-Malay (69.6 per cent) or Singaporean-Indian (70.5 per cent) as the prime minister. Also Read | US Sanctions North Korea Firms Over Recent Missile Tests. Researchers said the figures are a significant increase from the previous study in 2016, where 60.8 per cent said they were comfortable with a Malay as prime minister and 64.3 per cent with an Indian as prime minister. Almost all respondents (96.8 per cent) were ready to accept a Singaporean-Chinese as prime minister, slightly higher than the 95.6 per cent in 2016. Researchers also found that respondents from the three major races -- Chinese, Malays and Indians -- showed the highest preference for someone of their own race as prime minister. Among Chinese respondents, virtually all said they were comfortable with a Singaporean-Chinese as prime minister (98.9 per cent), while 63.9 per cent said they would accept a Malay prime minister and 65.8 per cent an Indian one. Comparatively, 92.6 per cent of Malay respondents said they would accept a Singaporean-Malay prime minister, but 87.5 per cent would be comfortable with a Chinese one and 80.4 per cent with an Indian one. Among Indian respondents, 91.9 per cent would accept a Singaporean-Indian as prime minister, but 90.3 per cent would be comfortable with a Chinese one and 80.8 per cent with a Malay one, the survey stated. Meanwhile, for the role of president, the percentage of respondents who said they could accept a non-Chinese also rose. About 82.2 per cent said they were comfortable with a Singaporean-Malay as president a jump from 65.5 per cent in the previous study and 82 per cent could accept a Singaporean-Indian up from 70.6 per cent in 2016. In the 240-page report, researchers suggested that the larger rise could be a result of President Halimah Yacob, who is a Malay, dispelling perhaps earlier prejudices that a Malay was not suitable for the highest office of the land. A growing number of people think that racism remains an important problem even while the overwhelming majority believe everyone in Singapore can become rich or successful regardless of their race, according to the survey based on responses from more than 2,000 citizens and permanent residents aged 21 years and above, with a sample that was reflective of the Singapore population in terms of their age, race, gender and housing type. However, an additional 350 or so Malay and Indian respondents were polled so that their views were properly represented. More than half of the survey's respondents (56.2 per cent) felt that racism is an important problem, which was an increase from the previous CNA-IPS survey conducted in 2016 (46.3 per cent). Despite this, a large majority of people believe that meritocracy is not contingent on race, with more than 80 per cent of respondents agreeing that everyone can become rich or successful irrespective of what race they are, which was consistent with the findings from the 2016 survey. While most respondents (88.8 per cent) said it is important for political leaders to talk openly about racism, more than half (58.6 per cent) also felt that such public discourse could cause unnecessary tension. They may feel that political leaders taking the lead in such discussions could avert some of the potential tension, said the report. It noted that Chinese respondents (54.9 per cent) were slightly more likely to feel that ethnic minorities are getting overly sensitive in discussions on race, compared to Indian (42.7 per cent) and Malay respondents (47.8 per cent). The survey also found that respondents were evenly divided on whether there is majority privilege in Singapore, with 53.9 per cent feeling that being of the majority race is an advantage. This was comparable with findings from the 2016 survey, where 52.7 per cent felt this way. Those between the age of 12 and 35 years, especially Malay and Indian respondents, were generally more likely to feel that majority privilege exists. In terms of which cultures respondents felt were more privileged, most (70.2 per cent) said they did not believe that the majority race's culture was privileged. However, ethnic minorities were more likely to feel that the converse is true. Accommodating different cultural needs is also seen as compatible with a strong Singaporean identity, with 71.6 per cent feeling that doing so has not impinged on national identity. Virtually all respondents, 92 per cent, expect the level of national unity to increase or at least stay the same in the next five years, the report said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Honiara [Solomon Islands], April 2 (ANI): The Solomon Islands clarified on Friday that it won't allow any foriegn country to build military bases in the country following the speculations that were raised after the signing of security cooperation with China. "Government is conscious of the security ramification of hosting a military base, and it will not be careless to allow such initiative to take place under its watch," a government statement said, adding that, "contrary to the misinformation promoted by anti-government commentators" the (security) agreement did not invite China to establish a military base in the country, The Diplomat reported. Also Read | Nawaz Sharif Attacked in London by PTI Activist as Brother Shahbaz Sharif Receives Opposition Support for PM Seat. The government statement emphatically ruled out the possibility of a Chinese base after Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare earlier told parliament that it had no intention of asking China to build a base. Sogavare said his nation sought only peace and prosperity, citing its foreign policy mantra: "We are friends to all and enemies to none." He said it wasn't a secret deal but a sovereign issue. Also Read | COVID-19 Outbreak in China: Amid Dearth of Resources, Coronavirus Infections Widely Spreading Among Elderly in Shanghai Hospital. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on security cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands was signed on March 18. It allowed China to send police, Armed Police, military personnel and other law enforcement forces to the Solomon Islands, on request, to assist in maintaining social order and accomplish other tasks agreed upon by both countries, according to media reports. Under the provisions of the MoU, Chinese naval vessels can carry out logistical replenishments and Chinese armed forces can be moved to protect the safety of Chinese personnel and major projects in the Solomon Islands. The Solomon Islands government said on Thursday that only a draft agreement of the new security pact had been initialled by representatives from the Solomons and China and that the agreement would be "cleaned up". According to the report, Article 5 of the MoU stipulates that the nature of cooperation agreed upon cannot be disclosed to a "third party" without the consent of both parties. Earlier, in 2019, the Solomon Islands switched its diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing. The country already has had a bilateral security agreement with Australia since 2017. The signing of a security partnership with Beijing has caused concerns in Canberra, as it views the development as part of an attempt by Beijing to set up a military base in the region. Meanwhile, the Solomon Islands is also negotiating several other MoUs with China including on Civil Aviation Services and Expanding Trade under Non-Reciprocal Trading Arrangement, the report 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) SHANGHAI, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Over 14 million Shanghai residents in Puxi, or areas west of the Huangpu River, took nucleic acid tests on Friday, amid the city's second phase of closed-off management, a local official told a press conference on Saturday. Shanghai reported 260 confirmed locally transmitted COIVD-19 cases and 6,051 asymptomatic carriers on Friday, said Wu Qianyu, an official with the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, attributing the daily rise in positive cases to a wider range of screening. Starting on March 28, the megacity in east China began to enforce temporary closed-off management in two phases to track infections and curb the spread of the virus. Mass nucleic acid testing in areas east of the Huangpu River started on March 28 with the first phase of closed-off management in place. The second phase of closed-off management came into force in areas west of the river on Friday. Colombo [Sri Lanka], April 2 (ANI): Sri Lanka imposed a nationwide curfew starting at 6 pm in the evening today till the morning 6 am on Monday (April 4) following unrest in the country with protests outside the residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa amid the ongoing economic crisis in the Island country. "Under the powers given to the president curfew has been imposed countrywide from 6 pm on Saturday to 6 am on Monday," the government's information department said in a statement. Also Read | London Court to Issue Warrant on Assanges Extradition to US on April 20: WikiLeaks. Earlier on Friday evening, President Rajapaksa had issued an Extraordinary Gazette declaring a state of public emergency in Sri Lanka with immediate effect. "In order to ensure public security and maintenance of public order and to continue with supplies and services essential to the life of the people, according to the powers vested in the President under Section 2 of the Public Security Ordinance, a state of public emergency has been declared right throughout the country with effect from April 01, 2022," Information Department of the Government of Sri Lanka informed in a statement. Also Read | Imran Khan No-Confidence Vote: If Shahbaz Sharif Takes Over, They Will Do Slavery of America, Says Pakistan PM. Rajapaksa said the emergency was declared in the interests of public security, protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community. On Friday evening, Sri Lanka had also imposed a police curfew in the Western Province for six hours amid unrest after protests were held outside Sri Lankan President's residence over the worsening economic crisis in the island nation. Several protestors gathered outside the residence of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday as the island nation faces an unprecedented economic crisis. The protest was staged over the government's failure to address the existing issues in the island nation. The protesters clashed with the police outside the residence of President Rajapaksa in Mirihana. After the protest, at least ten people were injured including journalists. Meanwhile, fifteen individuals arrested over the protest held in Mirihana were ordered to be released on bail after being produced before Gangodawila Magistrate's Court, Daily Mirror reported. It further reported that each of them was ordered to be released on a surety bail by Magistrate Prasanna Alwis. Sri Lanka's economy has been in a free fall since the COVID-19 pandemic due to the crash of the tourism sector. Sri Lanka is presently facing a foreign exchange shortage which has led to a food, fuel, power and gas shortage and has sought the assistance of friendly countries for economic assistance. Sri Lanka is witnessing at least 10-hour daily power cuts. Sri Lanka's currency has been also devalued by almost SLR 90 against the US dollar since March 8. (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], April 2 (ANI): Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Saturday said that the transfer of power from Nepal to India will be enhanced significantly in 2022 as compared to the previous year. Addressing a press conference, following the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Shringla said that both sides discussed the flood control issues in the context of harnessing water resources for mutual benefits and in terms of power generation, irrigation and flood control. Also Read | Pakistan: Punjab Province Election for New CM Postponed. Shringla further said that both countries held discussions on harnessing water resources in a positive way and how to use the hydroelectric potential of these resources. "Transfer of power between the two countries will keep taking place as a power-trade policy is in place. The power being developed in various projects in Nepal involving Indian companies and Indian investment is coming to India in a bigger way," he said. Also Read | Sound Gets Slower on Mars as Deep Silence Prevails, Reveals NASA Rover. "This year, the amount of power that will be coming to India from Nepal will be significantly enhanced over last year. There is a great deal of progress in the paradigm of projects with Indian investment in Nepal. Both the countries will benefit from this," he added. Speaking on the Pashupatinath riverfront development project, the foreign secretary said that both sides held a general review on the water cooperation areas and expressed satisfaction with the progress in many of these areas including that of the Pashupatinath riverfront project. India also reiterated its support to take forward such projects involving growth and development in Nepal, he added. Shringla further informed that both sides agreed to take forward projects like the Pancheshwar multipurpose project that has the potential to benefit both countries. The two leaders also briefly discussed the boundary dispute between India and Nepal, with an understanding that such issues need to be solved through dialogue and deliberations, and politicisation of the boundary issue needs to be avoided. Notably, Deuba is on a three-day India visit. The last Head of State/Head of Government-level visit from Nepal was in May 2019, when then PM KP Oli visited India for the swearing-in ceremony of PM Narendra Modi and the Union Council of Ministers. Before that PM Modi had visited Nepal in August 2018 for the 4th BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu, which was preceded by a State Visit to Nepal in May 2018. PM Modi had extended a congratulatory message to Sher Bahadur Deuba soon after he won the Vote of Confidence in Nepal's Parliament. This was followed by a congratulatory telephonic conversation on 19 July 2021. The most recent meeting between PM Modi and Sher Bahadur Deuba took place on November 2, 2021, on the sidelines of COP 26 in Glasgow. Sher Bahadur Deuba is a veteran politician of the Nepali Congress with a political career spanning over seven decades. This is Deuba's fifth tenure as PM. His first term was from September 1995 to March 1997. He has visited India several times, both when in and out of power. This will be his fifth visit to India as PM, with the last visit being in August 2018. The previous three visits took place in 2004, 2002 and 1996. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Beijing, April 2: China has accused the United States of instigating the ongoing Ukrainian war, alleging that Washington is most reluctant to see a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. "US is the biggest spoiler of the security in entire Europe. The US is most reluctant to see a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine," Global Times has reported. Also Read | Russia Alleges Ukrainian Choppers Attacked Fuel Depot in Belgorod. The Chinese media reported that on March 24, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) reaffirmed it "will continue to provide further political and practical support to Ukraine and allies, substantially increasing its defense expenditures". Also Read | Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Refuses To Discuss 'Attack' on Fuel Depot in Russia's Belgorod. "By enhancing the role of NATO, the US ties Europe more firmly to its chariot. With its dominant position, the US has forced Europe to take sides by escalating the crisis and even war. The ultimate goal is to constantly put Europe under its control," Global Times reported. While pouring cold water on the Russia-Ukraine peace talks, the US is stepping up its efforts to prolong the conflicts. This is in line with US strategic needs, added the Global Times. "If Ukraine's appeal for a security guarantee is met, a new model of international security guarantee will be opened up, which will mean weakening the role of the US and NATO. The US clearly doesn't want to see this result. It can be said that the US is the biggest spoiler of security in all entire Europe. The US is the most reluctant to see a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine," it added. On Wednesday, Communications Director Kate Bedingfield, during White House press briefing, while responding to a question, "Is the US willing to become a guarantor of Ukraine's security or considering that option?", said: "We are in constant discussion with Ukraine about ways that we can help ensure that they are sovereign and secure. But there's nothing specific about a security guarantee that I can speak about at this time." Following Russia's action in Ukraine, many Western nations and European countries have imposed tough sanctions on Russia, targeting its economy and financial system. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Washington, Apr 2 (PTI) The United States on Friday welcomed the United Nations-mediated truce in Yemen, with President Joe Biden saying that the initiative is a long-awaited reprieve for the people of the country. I welcome the announcement today of a two-month truce in the Yemen conflict. This initiative is a long-awaited reprieve for the Yemeni people. It entails a halt to all military activities by any party inside Yemen and across its borders, the entry of fuel ships into Hudaydah port, and the renewal of commercial flights to and from Sana'a to agreed destinations, Biden said. Also Read | US Sanctions North Korea Firms Over Recent Missile Tests. These are important steps but they are not enough, he said. The ceasefire must be adhered to, and as I have said before, it is imperative that we end this war. After seven years of conflict, negotiators must undertake the hard and necessary work to reach political compromises that can bring about an enduring future of peace for all the people of Yemen, he noted. Also Read | Imran Khan No-Trust Vote: Pakistan PM Hints at Early Elections, Says Opposition Part of International Conspiracy to Remove His Govt. The US President also praised the leadership role of Saudi Arabia and Oman in bringing this initiative to fruition before the holy month of Ramadan. I am also grateful for the hard work of the Yemeni government and the confidence they have placed in UN-led mediation, he said. At the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres commended Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis for agreeing on the two-month truce in Yemen, including cross-border attacks. I urge all parties to make the necessary arrangements to support the successful implementation of the truce, and to operationalise cooperation mechanisms without delay, he said. The parties accepted to halt all offensive military air, ground and maritime operations inside Yemen and across its borders. They also agreed for fuel ships to enter into Hudaydah ports and commercial flights to operate in and out of Sana'a airport to predetermined destinations in the region, he said. They further agreed to meet under the auspices of my Special Envoy to open roads in Taiz and other governorates in Yemen. The truce can be renewed beyond the two-month period with the consent of the parties, he added. This truce, which has the possibility of renewal, coincides with the start of the holy month of Ramadan. It opens the door to addressing Yemen's urgent humanitarian and economic needs, and creates a genuine opportunity to restart Yemen's political process. This truce must be a first step to ending Yemen's devastating war, said the Secretary General. Welcoming the truce announcement, US Secretary of State Tony Blinken said the United States, led by the efforts of Special Envoy Tim Lenderking, has been actively involved in diplomatic efforts with the parties and UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg to facilitate this important step. We will continue to work closely with the UN to support the truce, which, if fully implemented, would halt fighting and attacks for at least 60 days and facilitate the flow of goods and people, bringing much-needed relief to millions of Yemenis as they observe the holy month of Ramadan, he said. The United States calls on all the parties to adhere fully to the UN truce for the sake of the Yemeni people. More than seven years of fighting has brought great suffering and destruction across the country. Yemenis are demanding peace. It is time for the parties to listen to them and seize this decisive moment, Blinken said. With the UN truce in place, the parties should turn their efforts to securing a lasting ceasefire and participating in an inclusive political process led by UN Special Envoy Grundberg, which Special Envoy Lenderking will work closely with him to support, the top American diplomat said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Sanna [Yemen], April 2 (ANI/Sputnik): Yemen's rebel Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, welcomes the two-month truce proposed by the United Nations to the sides to the Yemeni conflict, the movement's chief negotiator at talks with the government, Mohammed Abdulsalam, said on Friday. Earlier in the day, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said that the sides to the Yemen conflict have agreed to a two-month halt of all offensive military operations. Also Read | US Sanctions North Korea Firms Over Recent Missile Tests. "We welcome the two-month humanitarian ceasefire under the auspices of the UN, declared by the UN special envoy for Yemen [Hans Grundberg]," Abdulsalam said. According to him, during the truce, the Sanaa International Airport will be open for a number of flights and the port of Al Hudaydah will be open for a number of ships delivering petroleum. Also Read | Imran Khan No-Trust Vote: Pakistan PM Hints at Early Elections, Says Opposition Part of International Conspiracy to Remove His Govt. The conflict between the Yemeni government forces and the Houthis has been going on since 2014. The situation was further aggravated in 2015 after a coalition led by Saudi Arabia joined the conflict on the Yemeni government's side and began conducting air, land and sea operations against the Islamist rebel movement. The Houthis often retaliate by firing projectiles and drones at Saudi and UAE oil facilities. Last month, the Houthis intensified their attacks after Saudi Arabia executed 81 people, including three Yemeni prisoners of war. (ANI/Sputnik) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kyiv, April 2: Responding to Russian accusations that Ukraine mounted a helicopter attack on a fuel depot inside Russian territory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said 'I do not discuss any of my orders.' "I'm sorry I do not discuss any of my orders as commander in chief, the leader of this state. There are things which I only share with military armed forces of Ukraine and when they talk with me," Zelenskyy said, when asked if he had ordered such an attack. Russia Alleges Ukrainian Choppers Attacked Fuel Depot in Belgorod. "You need to understand that on that territory that you mentioned they were placing their shooting systems and were firing missiles themselves," he added. A fire broke out at a fuel depot in Belgorod on Friday, a Russian city near the Ukrainian border. Russia accused Ukraine of the attack and said that it was caused by an airstrike from Ukrainian helicopters. The Russian Ministry of Defense on Friday stated that two Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopters carried out an attack on a fuel storage facility in southern Russia. UK Defence Ministry said in the latest intelligence update that oil tanks at a depot in the Russian city of Belgorod mean probable loss of fuel and ammunition supplies to the Russian forces. The update further suggested that the Friday strike at the depot will likely add more strain to Russia's already stretched logistic chains. (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, April 2: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepal counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba on Saturday jointly inaugurated cross-border passenger train services, RuPay payment system in Nepal and signed several Memorandums of Understanding. The train services between Jainagar in India and Kurtha in Nepal was inaugurated on Saturday after delegates-level meeting between the two leaders. The passenger train services have been built under India's Grant Assistance. They also inaugurated Solu Corridor 132 KV power transmission line and sub-station in Nepal built under government of India's Line of Credit. Further, Nepal joined International Solar Alliance. Both the leaders held delegation-level meeting at Hyderabad House in Delhi on Saturday. "Wide-ranging talks on our multi-faceted partnership are on the agenda," India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. Before reaching Hyderabad House, Deuba paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and laid a wreath at Raj Ghat. On Friday, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Deuba in Delhi. He said, "I am confident that this visit will further strengthen our close neighbourly ties," he said. Before that, Deuba visited the BJP headquarters and met party chief J.P. Nadda. Deuba, his wife and four cabinet ministers of Nepal were part of the delegation that met Nadda. The meeting lasted for around half an hour. Nadda received Nepal Prime Minister Deuba at the BJP office. NGT Directs Panel To Check Media Report on Violation of Environmental Norms at Kulda Coal Mine and Tamnar Thermal Plant. After meeting, head of BJP overseas affairs cell Vijay Chauthaiwale had said that on party chief Nadda's invitation, Nepal Prime Minister Deuba, his wife and four cabinet ministers visited the BJP headquarters. "Discussion was held in a very cordial environment and the BJP chief briefed Nepal Prime Minister about the social works done by party workers during Covid," Chauthaiwale had said. Deuba on Friday arrived in New Delhi on a three-day visit to India at the invitation of Modi. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 02, 2022 02:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). The traditional New Year for Marathi and Konkani Hindus is celebrated as Gudi Padwa. The New Year is observed around the state of Maharashtra, Goa, and the union territory of Daman on the first day of the Chaitra month. It is also known as Samvatsar Padvo. This year, Gudi Padwa will be celebrated on Saturday, 2 April. People celebrate Samvatsar Padvo by erecting a special Gudhi flag known as Gudhi dvaja consisting of a silk banner with a garland of flowers, mango, and neem leaves and topped with an upturned copper or silver pot. Also, rabi crops are reaped after this festival as it also signifies the arrival of the spring season. The festival of Gudi Padwa is celebrated as Ugadi by the people of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Gudi Padwa 2022 Food List: From Sabudana Vada to Shrikhand, 5 Traditional Maharashtrian Recipes To Relish on Marathi New Year. On the cheerful occasion of Gudi Padwa, people make customary dishes like Kothimbir Vadi, Batata Vada, Sabudana Vada, take early morning ritual oil-bathe and pray to Lord Brahma. As the festival is linked to the mythical day on which Hindu God Brahma created time and the universe. To commemorate the Marathi New Year 2022, we have collected festive quotes, wishes, WhatsApp stickers, messages, HD pictures for Telegram and Facebook, Instagram captions, SMS, sayings, and the best greetings that you can share with your family, friends, office colleagues, and relatives. Learn How to Make Gudi At Home With This Simple DIY Video Tutorial to Celebrate Marathi New Year. Gudi Padwa 2022 Greetings Gudi Padwa 2022 Messages (File Image) Facebook Status Reads: May Neem's Bitterness, Raw Mango's Sourness And The Sweetness Of Jaggery Remind You That Life is a Mixed Bag. Make the Most of Every Opportunity and Enjoy Little Moments. Gudi Padwa 2022 Happy Gudi Padwa 2022 Quotes Gudi Padwa 2022 Greetings (File Image) Telegram Photo Reads: A New Hope, New Begining and A New Opportunity are Waiting to Unfold! Wishing You a Very Happy Gudi Padwa 2022. Marathi New Year 2022 Wishes Gudi Padwa 2022 Wishes (File Image) WhatsApp SMS Reads: On the Holy Occasion of Gudi Padwa, Let Us All Pledge to Spread Message of Love, Peace And Happiness! Gudi Padwa 2022 HD Wallpaper Gudi Padwa 2022 Greetings (File Image) HD Picture Reads: On the Auspicious Day of Gudi Padwa The Atmosphere is Filled with Love and Mirth! Have Lots of Fun With Your Family and Friends. Gudi Padwa 2022 Messages Gudi Padwa 2022 Quotes (File Image) HD Image Reads: This Gudi Padwa, May God Bestow You With Bundle of Smiles, Peace, Good Fortune and Health. Happy Gudi Padwa 2022. Happy Gudi Padwa 2022 GIF Greetings Happy Gudi Padwa 2022 (File Image) WhatsApp Message Reads: Wishing You Countless Wealth, Happiness, And Prosperity This Season. Happy Gudi Padwa To You and Your Family. Some people believe that Gudi Padwa also symbolizes Lord Rama's victory over Ravana. The festival is also celebrated for Lord Rama as he returns to Ayodhya after completing his fourteen years of exile. Nevertheless, the celebration is all about family getting together and welcoming the New Year with a positive mindset. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 02, 2022 06:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). IAEA chief Rafael Grossi says he'll head a mission to Chernobyl as soon as possible. 'It will be the first in a series of such nuclear safety and security missions to #Ukraine,' Grossi said on Twitter https://t.co/iGwaq8OAzE pic.twitter.com/2s314mgVm6 Reuters (@Reuters) April 2, 2022 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid met their maker in a dusty Bolivian town on Nov. 6, 1908. Historians say they are dead. What refuses to die is the legend that they survived that shootout and lived on. Now comes a batch of new research that tends to lay the legend in its grave. But dont bank on it. A husband-and-wife team of researchers, Daniel Buck and Anne Meadows, after 10 years of digging, have exhumed long-lost Argentine police files that appear to locate the two desperadoes just where conventional wisdom says they should have been in the late 1900s, Bolivia. Their findings are in the January issue of True West, but Buck is the first to concede that they do not constitute proof positive. Theres never a final word, Buck said from his home in Washington, D.C. You can only build circumstantial cases here. No one identified them when they were buried, and there are no photographs [of the bodies]. Advertisement But, then, no one has proven they came back, either. Then you build a positive circumstantial case that they were the two guys who died in Bolivia. Butch Cassidy was christened Robert Leroy Parker by his Mormon pioneer parents. The Sundance Kids real name was Harry Longabaugh. The two and their gang, known as the Wild Bunch, held up banks and robbed trains in the Rocky Mountains in the 1890s. With the law on their heels, they fled to Argentina in 1901, along with Sundances girlfriend, Etta Place. The three homesteaded a ranch in the Cholila Valley. By 1905, though, they were back to robbing banks. Most historians believe that Butch and Sundance died in a shootout in San Vincente, a town in Bolivia, across Argentinas northern border, where a patrol discovered them holed up in a rented hut. * A gunfight ensued, ending when darkness fell. Later that night, townspeople reported hearing screams and two shots. In the morning, they found both outlaws dead, both shot in the head. The writers Buck and Meadows believe that rather than be captured, Cassidy shot Sundance, then himself. Since 1985 they had chased a rumor that police files would nail down the pairs identity. In September they finally received a nine-pound, 1,500-page package of photocopied reports on outlaw bands that terrorized southern Argentina in the early 1900s. A letter and three notes in the package of material were in Cassidys handwriting. They also found a Spanish translation of a letter from Sundance, and two other letters referring to the outlaws. Cassidy, under his alias of J.P. Ryan, wrote on Feb. 29, 1904, to Dan Gibbon, a Welsh immigrant friend living in the Andean foothills of Chubut: I have been laid up with a bad case of the Town Disease and I dont know just when I will be able to ride, but as soon as I am able I will be down. Look out for my horse. The letter was posted in Cholila. (And Cassidy probably had gonorrhea.) The papers included a receipt for Ryans purchase, for 150 pesos, of a chestnut stallion. Ryan added a postscript transferring ownership of the horse to Gibbon. Another document details expenses by Ryan and H. Place, an alias used by Sundance, for routine ranching expenses. The police record also held a June 28, 1905, letter from Sundance, translated into Spanish, and also addressed to Gibbon. It was posted in Valparaiso, Chile: I dont want to see Cholila ever again, but I will think of you and of all our friends often. . . . . The letter also mentions leaving with his wife, presumably Etta Place, for San Francisco. A June 30, 1905, visit by Sundance and Etta Place to his brother, Elwood, who lived in San Francisco, is recounted in Donna Ernsts book, Sundance, My Uncle. Jim Dullenty, founder of the Western Outlaw Lawman History Assn., says the papers are not conclusive, but this is additional evidence that Butch and Sundance died in Bolivia. I strongly believe it hasnt been proven one way or the other, he said from Hamilton, Mont. This is still an unsolved mystery . . . [but] I would say the evidence is beginning to weigh more on the side of them dying in South America. Still, tales of one or both of the outlaws escaping back to the United States are unlikely to fade. * William T. Phillips, a Spokane, Wash., man who died in 1937, wrote an article titled The Bandit Invincible, in which he claimed that Cassidy survived the shootout, had plastic surgery in Paris, married and eventually moved to Spokane about 1910. Buck says recent research has shown Phillips to have been most likely an impostor born in Michigan who picked up on the outlaws legend when he moved West. Harold Schindler, who has written extensively on the Old West for the Salt Lake Tribune, remains unconvinced by Buck and Meadows discovery. Schindler favors a 1991 account by a retired Utah Highway Patrol trooper, Merrill Johnson, who has since died. Johnson said his father-in-law, John Kitchen, introduced him in 1941 to an old friend of the family, Bob Parker--Butch Cassidy. TEHRAN, April 2 (Xinhua) -- At least 35 foreign nationals were injured in a car crash on the Khash-Saravan road in Iran's southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan Province on Saturday, official IRNA news agency reported. "Unfortunately, 35 people were injured when two Toyota vehicles carrying illegal foreign nationals collided," Fariborz Rashedi, a medical official at Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, was quoted as saying. The injured were transported to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Khash city by seven ambulances, Rashedi said without providing details of nationalities. The province, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, occasionally sees illegal immigrants entering the Iranian territory with the help of human traffickers. According to IRNA, the vehicles carrying smuggled fuel and illegal foreign nationals, with license plates usually removed or marred, often drive recklessly fast and overturn or collide with other vehicles. Traveling to Cuba should be reconsidered with the ongoing pandemic, just like in any country dealing with a high level of COVID-19. But if you decide to see the country's tourist attractions, there are some precautions that every traveler should know, such as the safety guidelines and travel restrictions. Cuba Travel Advisory The U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 3 Travel Advisory for Cuba, meaning the agency is advising tourists to reconsider traveling to the Caribbean country. In its advisory, the State Department said tourists should exercise increased caution in Cuba due to demonstrable and sometimes debilitating injuries to members of the U.S. diplomatic community resulting in the drawdown of embassy staff. The department noted that many U.S. Embassy Havana employees suffered demonstrable and sometimes debilitating injuries during their service in Havana. Affected individuals reported physical symptoms such as ear complaints and hearing loss. Embassy staff also complained of dizziness, headaches, fatigue, cognitive issues, visual problems, and difficulty sleeping. The State Department urged travelers to consult a medical professional if they have personal health concerns or believe they have suffered similar symptoms upon return to the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 3 Travel Health Notice for Cuba due to a high number of COVID-19 cases in the country. According to the World Health Organization database, Cuba has reported 1,088,638 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 8,510 deaths, as of March 30. The CDC urged travelers to be fully vaccinated before traveling internationally. READ NEXT: Pres. Joe Biden Signs $768 Billion Defense Bill, but Complains It Won't Let Him Close Guantanamo Bay in Cuba Tourist Attractions in Cuba Cuba has been known to be rich in culture, large islands, history, and its famously known cocktails. The island has more than 5,000 kilometers of coastline, much of which are beaches. It has been a refuge for hosting presidents during their visits, with the remembrance of its revolutionary history. Cuba has also been home to famous writers, including Ernest Hemingway. Old Havana is a must-see in Cuba, being part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a well-preserved slice of Cuban history. Tourists can see Baroque and neoclassical buildings while strolling around the cobbled streets, according to Planet Ware. Major attractions in Old Havana include Plaza de la Catedral, the iconic restaurant and Hemingway hangout Bodeguita del Medio, and the military fortress Castillo de la Real Fuerza. Beach life can also be found in Cuba, particularly in Varadero. It stretches along the Peninsula de Hicacos, with a drawbridge that connects it to the mainland. Varadero also has the Bellamar Caves, which have the most extensive cavern systems. It is about 150 years old. Another UNESCO World Heritage Site is the Parque Nacional Vinales, which has steep limestone hills called "mogotes." Parque Nacional Vinales have agricultural areas where tobacco, fruit, and vegetables are grown. The park offers hiking and horseback riding in the hills. If you want to know more about the revolutionary history of Cuba, the Che Guevara Mausoleum is a must-visit. It is the famous site of the last guerilla battle led by Che Guevarra in 1958. It also contains his mausoleum and monument. Personal items of Guevarra can be seen in Museo Historico de la Revolucion. So, Cuba can be a perfect destination if it is a relaxing lounge at the beach, a nature trip, or a quick history lesson. READ MORE: Kamala Harris Says 'Democracy' Is the Biggest National Security Threat Facing the U.S. This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Cuba Vacation Travel Guide - From Expedia Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission is providing more than $318 million in emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food benefits for April. The allotments are seen to help more than 1.5 million Texas households, according to the press release of Office of the Texas Governor. The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave the approval to HHSC to extend the maximum, allowing the number of SNAP benefits to recipients based on family size, with all SNAP households receiving a minimum of $95 in emergency allotments. The allotments for the additional emergency fund are set to appear in recipients' accounts by April 30. Abbott said emergency SNAP benefits have played an important role in the government's effort over the past two years to ensure that every Texas resident has access to nutritious food. The Texas governor also extended his gratitude to HHSC and USDA for helping Texan families remain safe and healthy. Texas HHS Access and Eligibility Services Deputy Executive Commissioner Wayne Salter said that they continue to support the Texans who need a helping hand. READ NEXT: SNAP Benefits 2022: Schedule of March Benefits in California, EBT Cardholders Gets New Online Options SNAP Benefits Texas SNAP benefits are provided for people who do not have a lot of money, and who meet the program's qualifications. The benefit might be longer if the person works at least 20 hours a week or is in a job or training program. Meanwhile, some adults do not have to work to get benefits, such as those who have a disability or are pregnant. Those who are eligible to participate in the Texas Simplified Application Project are households in which all members are either older adults or people with disabilities, according to Health and Human Services site. Most people ages 16 to 59 must follow work rules to get SNAP benefits. Work rules noted that a person must look for a job or be in an approved work program. Once a person has a job, they cannot quit without a good reason. SNAP benefits cannot be used to buy tobacco, alcoholic drinks, and buy things that cannot be eaten or drank. It cannot be used too to pay for food bills recipients owe. SNAP Benefits Payment Similarities to Electronic Benefits Electronic Benefits Transfer is an electronic system that allows SNAP participants to pay for food using SNAP benefits. SNAP authorized retail store provides an avenue for participants to shop. Their SNAP EBT account is debited to reimburse the store for food that was purchased. EBT is in use in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. EBT has been the sole method of SNAP issuance in all states since June 2004. It was established by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. EBT is very similar to SNAP. However, it is for children that would have received free or reduced-price school meals, if not for COVID-related school closures and/or COVID-related reductions in school hours or attendance. READ MORE: SNAP Benefits 2022 Schedule for California, Florida, Texas and More: When to Get Food Assistance Each Month This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Texas Emergency SNAP benefits program extended through December - from KENS 5: Your San Antonio News Source At least 110 illegal migrants, who were trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, were rescued by Texas officials in separate smuggling attempts this week. According to New York Post, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) discovered 76 illegal migrants in the back of a truck they pulled over in Dimmit County, Texas on Thursday. Officials did not mention the origins of the migrants, but they were turned over to the custody of the Border Patrol. Fox News reported that the driver, a Honduran national, was arrested for human smuggling. Texas DPS said the driver was in the country illegally himself. The department further noted that the driver was also in possession of meth and had "a previous criminal history of drug and weapons charges." READ NEXT: Border Patrol Chief Claims U.S. Will Encounter 1M Migrants in F.Y. 2022; Groups Say More Immigrants to Come If Title 42 Expulsion Ends U.S.-Mexico Border: Border Patrol Agents in Texas Rescue 34 More Illegal Migrants Border Patrol agents rescued 18 migrants crammed inside a U-Haul trailer early Tuesday, according to Border Report. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that the U-Haul pickup pulling the trailer stopped at the Border Patrol checkpoint on New Mexico Highway 185, and authorities found 17 migrant adults and one unaccompanied child inside the trailer. The driver was reportedly arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to transport migrants. Agents believed that the smuggling scheme was connected to a driver who had crossed the checkpoint minutes before the U-Haul. The other driver, who was found to have an AK-47 rifle, a 9 mm handgun, a 12-gauge shotgun, a flare gun, and ammunition, was also arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to transport migrants. On Sunday, 16 more migrants, including a child, were discovered by Border Patrol agents in Northeast El Paso, Texas. The migrants were rescued after a resident alerted border agents of a possible human smuggling scheme after spotting a tractor-trailer parked along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near the Texas-New Mexico state line. Some of the migrants, who were reportedly from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, ended up at the Central Processing Center, while others were expelled to Mexico under Title 42. The driver was referred to the El Paso Sector Integrated Targeting Team and the Texas DPS as part of an ongoing interagency investigation. "Ruthless human smugglers continuously endanger human lives as one of their tactics is to smuggle migrants in confined spaces with restricted oxygen," El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez said in a news release. DHS Officially Announced End to Title 42 Expulsions at U.S.-Mexico Border The Biden administration has officially announced that the U.S. will end its use of the controversial public health rule known as Title 42. In a statement on Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas noted that Title 42 would be rescinded by May 23, but expulsions of adults and families will continue until then, except for unaccompanied children that have been exempt since January last year. Mayorkas said single adult asylum seekers and families expelled back to Mexico or their home countries since the start of the pandemic could continue to make an asylum claim starting May 23 for a chance to enter the U.S. On Wednesday, a source told NBC News that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had notified the DHS that it would terminate Title 42, which has blocked more than 1.7 million attempts to cross the border. But in a statement, the DHS secretary stressed that the end of Title 42 does not mean that all migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border will be allowed to stay. "Let me be clear: those unable to establish a legal basis to remain in the United States will be removed," Mayorkas said. According to NBC News, there are currently thousands of migrants living in camps in poor conditions in northern Mexico after agents turned them away under Title 42. Meanwhile, DHS officials said they are bracing for a migrant influx of more than 170,000 after the end of Title 42. READ MORE: World Cup 2022 Draw: Here's Who the USA, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina Will Play in the Qatar Group Stage This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Joshua Summers WATCH: Human Smuggling on the Rise Along the I-35 Corridor in Texas - From KENS 5: Your San Antonio News Source Will Smith on Friday announced his resignation as a member of the Academy following the Oscars 2022 drama with Chris Rock. Smith announced his resignation from the Academy through a statement shared by his publicist to CNN. "I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate," Smith said. The actor further noted that his actions during the Oscars 2022 last Sunday were "shocking, painful, and inexcusable." "The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris [Rock], his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home," Smith said. He then pointed out that he betrayed the trust vested to him by the Academy. He said he deprived other nominees and winners of their moment to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work when he exerted violence on the stage of the awards show. And for that, he said he was "heartbroken." Smith noted that his resignation is an attempt to bring back the focus to those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to its incredible work in supporting creativity and artistry in film. The actor then concluded his statement by saying that he was committed to working in ensuring that he would "never again allow violence to overtake reason." The actor initially apologized to the Academy during his acceptance speech for best actor on Sunday, minutes after he slapped Chris Rock. In that speech, Smith did not apologize to the comedian. He publicly apologized to Rock via social media the following day. In a statement, David Rubin, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said that although they have received and accepted Smith's "immediate resignation," they will continue to move forward with their disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations of the Academy's Standards of Conduct. The Academy said disciplinary actions by the organization include suspension or expulsion, along with other sanctions "permitted by the Bylaws and Standards of Conduct." But Smith has willingly left the organization, and by resigning, he will no longer be able to vote on Oscar-nominated films and performances yearly. However, the actor's work will still be eligible for future Oscars consideration and nominations. READ NEXT: Oscars 2022: Here's Jada Pinkett Smith's Shocking Reaction After Will Smith Slapped Chris Rock Oscars 2022 Producer Speaks out After Chris Rock and Will Smith Incident The lead producer of Oscars 2022, Will Packer, revealed that Chris Rock did not want Will Smith to be removed from the audience even though the actor slapped him. Academy leaders reportedly told Smith's publicist that the actor should leave after the slapping incident, but he refused. In an interview with "Good Morning America" on Friday, Packer said he was told that Smith was about to be physically removed, so he went to Academy leaders on site and told them Rock did not want that to happen. The producer further noted that the comedian was not mad at that time, and his tone was not aggressive. "So I was advocating what Rock wanted in that time, which was not to physically remove Will Smith," Packer said. Will Smith has slapped Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith being bald. A source told People that Smith's action last Sunday resulted from Rock's making fun of Jada for years. The source claimed that Smith used to laugh about it, but it bothered Jada, so he asked the comedian to stop making fun of his wife, "and that's why this night escalated." However, the outlet said a rep for Chris Rock had denied this. Spanish Director Pedro Almodovar Slams Will Smith Over His Oscars 2022 Speech Spanish film director Pedro Almodovar also gave his opinion about the Oscars 2022 drama. He slammed Will Smith for giving an acceptance speech "that seemed more like of a cult leader," People reported. In his speech, Smith urged the public to be careful, saying that the devil comes to people at their highest moment, a line that Denzel Washington shared with the actor minutes before his win. Almodovar slammed Smith for what he said and his actions. He said protecting one's family should not be done by fists. "The devil doesn't take advantage of key moments to do his work... The devil, in fact, doesn't exist. This was a fundamentalist speech that we should neither hear nor see," Almodovar noted. The Spanish film director was reportedly seated at the Dolby Theater, where the Oscars 2022 was held, when Will Smith and Chris Rock had their moment on stage. Pedro Almodovar noted that what he saw and heard at that time "produced a feeling of absolute rejection in me." READ MORE: Selena Gomez Reveals Current Relationship Status on TikTok While Debuting New Hairstyle This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Joshua Summers WATCH: Oscars Producer Reveals What LAPD Said About Will Smith - From ABC News A man has been jailed for life for the brutal murder of a Kilkenny pensioner, who suffered a "torturous and painful death" and "unnatural terror" in her own home, her distraught daughter told Central Criminal Court today. "Death had a face; it shouldn't," Elayne Butler said of her mother's murderer, Trevor Rowe, who remained unmoving and head-bowed throughout the hearing. Mother-of-one Anne Butler (70) was murdered on Maudlin Street in Kilkenny on March 20, 2020, after being stabbed, beaten and mutilated by Rowe, a 30-year-old drug addict. At the sentencing hearing, on Friday, April 1, Trevor Rowe of Abbey Street, Kilkenny, was given the mandatory life sentence for the murder by Ms Justice Karen O'Connor, an offence which she said had caused "unimaginable grief" to Ms Butler's family. When discovered days after the murder, Ms Butler was found to have had her throat slit, while a large piece of cardboard was found in the back of her mouth and "a strip" of her ear was found in the living room. Three anonymous 999 calls were traced by gardai in Kilkenny back to Rowe, including one where he said he murdered a woman five days previously and that the location of the body was on Maudlin Street. When gardai called to Rowe's home, he fell to his knees, cried uncontrollably and said: "I killed a woman. I murdered a woman. I slit her throat and stuck a knife in her head". Rowe's defence was that he had been so intoxicated by the amount of drink and drugs he consumed on the day that it prevented him from forming an intent to kill or cause serious injury to Ms Butler. However, last month a jury found him guilty of murder after deliberating for just one hour 19 minutes. Ms Butler's daughter, Elayne, read a tearful victim impact statement, describing her mother as a "brave, charming, dignified, intelligent woman" who treated everyone with "kindness and love". Elayne Butler said it was hard to think of her "quick-witted and insightful" mother as a victim, as "she was always a fighter". She said the last time she met her mother at her home they could not come in close contact because of Covid restrictions and that she asked Anne from outside if she would be ok. "The air we breathe is free, Elayne. Where would we be without it?" Anne said in her last words to her daughter. Elayne said that her mother thought of her home as her favourite place but that "I [Elayne] never thought that her sanctuary would become a tomb". She described her mother as a woman of faith who was not afraid to die but that she had been subject to a "torturous and painful death" with "unnatural terror". "Death had a face; it shouldn't," she said of Rowe, who remained unmoving and head-bowed throughout the hearing. Ms Butler said the cause of her mother's death was not discovered until after a post-mortem that revealed the "brutality" of the killing. She added that her mother's "privacy was also taken, as well as her life". Ms Butler said her mother did everything for her, that she could still see her singing and that it did not seem possible that things could ever be made better. "I miss you and you should still be safe in your home. You're simply the best. I love you," she said. In her victim impact statement, which was read by Garda Lisa Mullins, Anne's younger sister Paula McPherson Jones said that she always received a "warm and wholesome welcome" from Anne and Elayne when she returned home from the UK. She said Anne was devoted to her daughter, Elayne, and that she was "kind, thoughtful and very generous". Ms McPherson-Jones said her world "fell apart" when she got the news of Anne's death and that the death of her "beautiful and courageous sister" was "too difficult to comprehend". She said it had been "two, long years" before the full facts surrounding the murder were discovered and that they were "the stuff of nightmares". In addressing Rowe, she wrote: "If you have a drop of human kindness, what were her last words? Why did you do it?" Detective Sergeant Brian Sheeran told today's hearing that Rowe had 31 previous convictions that included drug offences, assault, criminal damage, trespass, possession of knives, burglary, violent disorder and theft. Det Sgt Sheeran said Rowe was known to gardai in Kilkenny as a man "suffering with drug addiction and alcohol dependency". Kathleen Leader SC, for Rowe, said her client wanted to express his "deep sorrow" to the family of Anne Butler and that he accepted both the verdict and that the sentence would be one of life. Ms Leader said Rowe was "deeply ashamed" for bringing shame upon himself and his own family. She said Rowe had very troubled upbringing and had suffered domestic violence. Counsel said her client had been taken into care when he was three, was moved around in foster and institutional care until he was 16 years-old and had battled with drink and drug addiction. Ms Justice O'Connor imposed the mandatory life sentence upon Rowe and sympathised with the family of Ms Butler, who she said acted with "strength and dignity throughout the trial and through unimaginable grief". She thanked the family for their statements "which gave an insight into a very independent woman who enjoyed travel and who was generous and much-loved". She said the murder had an "enormously painful and profound impact" on the family. EVIDENCE HEARD AT TRIAL At the outset of the trial, Padraic McInerney said that he was working in Waterford Garda Station on March 25 2020, when he received a call on the 999 line from an anonymous phone number. "The first thing the caller said to me was 'Call me God'," he said. The caller then later said: "I wish to inform An Garda Siochana that I killed a woman". Witness Fiona Dunphy said that she received another 999 call at 6.30pm on the same day. "The male came through and said he murdered someone and told me that the location of the body was at the back of Langtons on Maudlin Street in Kilkenny," she said. The witness told the jury that the caller seemed to be frustrated and said he would commit another murder if they did not take the calls seriously. Detective Garda Martin Power told the jury that after gardai had traced the anonymous calls, he called to Rowe's apartment on Abbey Street on March 25 and found the defendant standing in front of his couch and rummaging with both hands behind his back. "I asked him what he was doing with his hands and he pulled out two screwdrivers, one in each hand. I asked him to leave the screwdrivers down and he complied with my request and left them aside," said Det Gda Power. The detective asked Rowe what knowledge he had of the 999 phone calls and said the accused fell to his knees crying uncontrollably. Rowe then told Det Gda Power: "I killed a woman. I murdered a woman. I slit her throat and stuck a knife in her head on March 20 at Maudlin Street". The accused later showed gardai to Mrs Butler's house on Maudlin Street before again falling to the ground where he broke down crying. The detective opened the door of Ms Butler's house and as he did "a gush of heat" hit him along with a smell of what he believed to be a decaying body. Det Power's colleague confirmed to him that there was a female body in the living room and that the circumstances of her death appeared suspicious. Rowe was arrested at 7.38pm that evening on suspicion of the murder of Ms Butler and conveyed to Kilkenny Garda Station. Detective Sergeant James O'Brien told the trial that Ms Butler had lacerations to the neck, an injury to the head and her left ear appeared to be missing when he entered her home on March 25. Describing the accused's demeanour in the back of the patrol car following his arrest, Det Sgt O'Brien said Rowe made several statements in the vehicle including "I just wanted her to be found" and that he had "slit her throat and stabbed her in the head last Friday". The court heard that the defendant asked himself "what have I done, what have I done". Det Sgt O'Brien said the accused also stated: "I thought it was going to be an easy touch, what have I done". Chief State Pathologist Linda Mulligan testified that the body of the pensioner was discovered in a mutilated state after she had been beaten, stabbed and had her throat slit, while a large piece of cardboard was also found in the back of her mouth. The court heard that "a strip" of Ms Butler's ear was later found in the living room of her home and Dr Mulligan agreed that part of the victim's ear had been cut off. Forensic scientist Dr Alan McGee also told the jury that a Linden Village cider can, a crowbar and the wooden part of a crucifix were found in Ms Butler's living room on Maudlin Street. He said that a male DNA profile obtained from the Linden Village can matched Rowe's DNA profile. The witness said he also examined blood-stained gloves found on a coffee table in the accused's apartment on Abbey Street. "A female DNA matching that of Ms Butler was obtained from a sample of this blood-staining," he said. The jury also saw CCTV footage of Rowe walking in the direction of the woman's house on the night she was killed. The 12 jurors also heard that Rowe accepted in garda interviews that he killed the woman but refused to say why, telling detectives it was to do with "no one; just me, God and that woman". He had also said that: "It wouldn't do her family any good to know. I can't even close my fucking eyes with the nightmare I see. When asked by gardai why he could not tell them what he did to Ms Butler, Rowe replied: "because it's disgusting." The defendant also told officers that he was going to return to Ms Butler's house "to cut her up and bury her legs one place and bury her arms somewhere else" but instead made anonymous phone calls to gardai so they could find her body. The trial had heard that a timber cross was recovered from the floor in one of the bedrooms in Ms Butler's house on Maudlin Street and a "Jesus figure" was found in Rowe's apartment on Abbey Street. A forensic scientist gave evidence that her findings provided "extremely strong support" that the timber cross and "Jesus figure" were originally from the same crucifix unit rather than not. This, Mr O'Kelly SC said in his closing speech, was a "clear scientific connection" between Rowe and the deceased. Addressing the 12 jurors, defence counsel Kathleen Leader SC said the jury was dealing with "the killing of an elderly lady" and in order to convict her client, they must be "absolutely sure" that he had intended to kill Ms Butler. Ms Leader suggested to the jury that there was another conclusion open to them on the evidence, which was that Mr Rowe was guilty of manslaughter. She submitted that the evidence in the case supported the conclusion that intoxication prevented him from forming intent. Rowe told gardai in his interviews that he had taken "40 D5's" [Diazepam] and drank all day before the incident on Maudlin Street. Mr O'Kelly asked the jury to consider what it took to shove the cardboard down the pensioner's throat. This, he submitted, was "so far away from being accidental" and was instead a "deliberate" act. "Anyone who inflicted those injuries could have no intent other than to cause death or serious injury. It is the only rational conclusion," he said. Mr O'Kelly also said that Mr Rowe was "cute and calculated enough" to make the anonymous calls on borrowed phones and then make sure he had deleted those calls from the handsets. "This is no man on some angry rant, this is calculation. This man does not want to be traced," he stated. YINCHUAN, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Over more than a decade, bird photographer Yue Changhong has traveled over 180,000 kilometers and captured more than 500,000 images. "I like to take pictures of birds in different postures. They show the liveliness and beauty of nature," said Yue, who is from Pingluo County in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Yue's photos are mostly taken along the banks of the Yellow River, China's second-longest river. The section of the waterway in Ningxia is approximately 400 kilometers, forming lakes and wetlands along the way. Yue is a regular visitor to these lakes and wetlands, taking photos of birds all year round. In the Tianhewan Yellow River national wetland park in his hometown of Pingluo, Yue has found very rare birds in recent years. Statistics show that as of March 2021, Ningxia has restored more than 33,000 hectares of lakes and wetlands, and placed over 206,000 hectares of wetlands on the protection list. "The improving environment has given birds more choice in selecting their habitat," Yue said. In the Tianhewan Yellow River national wetland park, there are more than 180 bird species. Yue and his wife often arrive at the wetland before dawn or dusk to wait for a great silhouette shot. In the summer, heat and mosquitoes are their biggest enemies, and in the winter, temperatures can reach minus 20 degrees Celsius. The couple has even been attacked by wild dogs and once fell into an ice cave. Despite these experiences, Yue feels enriched and satisfied when he posts bird photos on social media and receives likes from his followers. "I want to record the environmental changes in my hometown. It is a meaningful thing to do," he said. Over the years, Yue has witnessed locals' care for birds. Forest farm workers prepare food for birds on migration routes, and local residents often report wounded birds to local authorities. "Humans should give back to nature, which has given us so much," he said. Private and public leisure facilities in Laois are set to get a slice of nearly 70,000 to maintain swimming pools. Laois Offaly TD Sean Fleming who is also Minister of State in the Department of Finance, said six Laois swimming pools have been granted a total of 67,470.59 in funding from Sport Ireland and Ireland Active. The local grants are: Ballinakill outdoor pool 11,754.46; Laois Leisure, Portlaoise 10,343.92; Laois Leisure, Portarlington 14,105.35; Club Vitae, Portlaoise 11,989.55; Midlands Park Hotel Leisure Club, Portlaoise 11,872.00; The Heritage Hotel and Health Centre 7,405.31. Minister Fleming welcomed the money and highlighted its value to the community. "The funding allocation is an acknowledgement of the importance of the sector and the impact swimming has on the nations health. "Swimming Pool operators (both private and public) demonstrated their resilience throughout the pandemic. This funding announced will assist them continue getting communities active. "Swimming pools provide a vital resource for schools, clubs and communities and is particularly popular with the older people in our community. In addition to the physical benefits from swimming it can also be a great social outlet with various classes / lessons open to all ages and groups in Laois. "I would encourage people to access their local pools and keep active as this has never been more important and is essential for our physical and mental wellbeing," he said. The Laois funding is drawn from a 3.2 million funding package for swimming pool operators across the country. Russian president Vladimir Putin will either win the conflict in Ukraine or 'end up dead', according to a former soldier-turned- politician representing Kildare, Laois and Offaly. South Kildare Independent TD Dr Cathal Berry, who was a deputy commander in the Irish Armys Ranger wing, made the comments while explaining his belief that the Ukraine-Russia conflict will soon face a standstill. Dr Berry has been active on social media discussing the conflict, where he has expressed his sympathies to the Ukrainian people and the nations resistance. He has also pointed to the fact that, due to the Budapest Memorandum in 1994, Ukraine handed over its nuclear weapons in Russia in return for security guarantees; a promise he says that Russia 'has clearly broken.' In addition, he referred to Putins regime as 'devious' and 'irrational.' Dr Berry, who is based in Portarlington, also said that he 'absolutely' believes it is only a matter of time before Putin begins to order the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. File Pic: Russian President Vladimir Putin He explained: "This war will go the distance, until a stalemate occurs, and I think that Russia will eventually break this deadlock." As for what other tactics Putins regime may consider, Dr Berry said: "The use of nuclear weapons is less likely, but there is still a big concern there that Putin may use them." He also said that one of Ukraines neighbours, Moldova, could be a potential new target for the Russian military: "The only reason why other nations (near Ukraine) havent been invaded is because of the strong resistance within the Ukrainian people, who are fighting for their democracy and their rights. Dr Berry continued: "Putin will either win, or he will end up a dead man and he knows this, so he will likely escalate, because he knows he cannot be seen to lose face." Dr Berry also applauded the role that Ireland has played in helping Ukrainian nationals and refugees: "You couldnt ask the Irish public to do more to help the people of Ukraine. "However, I would have preferred more contingency planning for the event back in December, when concerns about the conflict potentially breaking out were first raised by NATO." Similarly, Dr Berry spoke positively of NATOs role in monitoring the conflict: "NATO have been involved for ages; they have been planning on helping the Ukrainian army. "They have been right to keep their distance that further shows just how responsible NATO is," Dr Berry said, and added that it is the 'prerogative of the people' in non-NATO countries whether or not they wish to join the organisation. Dr Berry said that he has been in touch with Russian nationals in Ireland who staunchly oppose Putins regime: "That just tells you that all is not well in Russian society right now: its very clear who the aggressor is in this case." He also said that the conflict shows the need for smaller countries, like Ireland, to have 'a minimum, critical deterrent against potential invasion' from a larger superpower. Dr Berry concluded: "This (invasion) will be looked on as a defining moment of the 21st century and geo-politics it must fail, otherwise it will inspire more invasions. "The worlds response to this crisis in Ukraine should be a deterrent to other nations that are considering invading another country." Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. Russian president Vladimir Putin will either win the conflict in Ukraine or 'end up dead', according to a former soldier-turned- politician representing Kildare. South Kildare Independent TD Dr Cathal Berry, who was a deputy commander in the Irish Armys Ranger wing, made the comments while explaining his belief that the Ukraine-Russia conflict will soon face a standstill. Dr Berry has been active on social media discussing the conflict, where he has expressed his sympathies to the Ukrainian people and the nations resistance. He has also pointed to the fact that, due to the Budapest Memorandum in 1994, Ukraine handed over its nuclear weapons in Russia in return for security guarantees; a promise he says that Russia 'has clearly broken.' In addition, he referred to Putins regime as 'devious' and 'irrational.' Dr Berry also said that he 'absolutely' believes it is only a matter of time before Putin begins to order the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. File Pic: Russian President Vladimir Putin He explained: "This war will go the distance, until a stalemate occurs, and I think that Russia will eventually break this deadlock." As for what other tactics Putins regime may consider, Dr Berry said: "The use of nuclear weapons is less likely, but there is still a big concern there that Putin may use them." He also said that one of Ukraines neighbours, Moldova, could be a potential new target for the Russian military: "The only reason why other nations (near Ukraine) havent been invaded is because of the strong resistance within the Ukrainian people, who are fighting for their democracy and their rights. Dr Berry continued: "Putin will either win, or he will end up a dead man and he knows this, so he will likely escalate, because he knows he cannot be seen to lose face." IRELANDS ROLE Dr Berry also applauded the role that Ireland has played in helping Ukrainian nationals and refugees: "You couldnt ask the Irish public to do more to help the people of Ukraine. "However, I would have preferred more contingency planning for the event back in December, when concerns about the conflict potentially breaking out were first raised by NATO." Similarly, Dr Berry spoke positively of NATOs role in monitoring the conflict: "NATO have been involved for ages; they have been planning on helping the Ukrainian army. "They have been right to keep their distance that further shows just how responsible NATO is," Dr Berry said, and added that it is the 'prerogative of the people' in non-NATO countries whether or not they wish to join the organisation. Dr Berry said that he has been in touch with Russian nationals in Ireland who staunchly oppose Putins regime: "That just tells you that all is not well in Russian society right now: its very clear who the aggressor is in this case." He also said that the conflict shows the need for smaller countries, like Ireland, to have 'a minimum, critical deterrent against potential invasion' from a larger superpower. Dr Berry concluded: "This (invasion) will be looked on as a defining moment of the 21st century and geo-politics it must fail, otherwise it will inspire more invasions. "The worlds response to this crisis in Ukraine should be a deterrent to other nations that are considering invading another country." A NUMBER of Limerick groups have come together in a giant effort to install new habitats for wild bees at Lough Gur. The project is being undertaken by Analog Devices Ireland, the Irish Bee Conservation Project, Lough Gur Development, Social Impact Ireland and Limerick City and County Council. The work involves installing new habitats for wild Irish honeybees and solitary bees at Lough Gur. 24 new bee lodge habitats have been installed after trojan work from teams of volunteers who gave up their time to carry out this work for the benefit of the environment in Limerick. Peter Meehan, of Analog Devices Ireland Green Team commented: "ADI is proud to support this initiative through the IBCP in Lough Gur. As a company we recognise that protecting our environment is imperative to safeguard our planet for future generations. "Weve set out to be carbon neutral by 2030 and to produce net zero emissions by 2050. Our Green Team is a grass roots led initiative and our passionate volunteers work tirelessly to identify and promote sustainable activities within ADI, at home and across our local communities. "Were delighted to be here today to fund and help install the bee lodge habitats." As an expert in bees, CEO of the IBCP Pat Deasy, who led the team of installers on the day said "These new bee lodges will offer Limerick bees a safe home to retreat to in order to refuel and go about their crucial pollination work. "As over 95% of the worlds 20,000 bee species are solitary bees, it is rewarding today to see that great efforts will be made in Lough Gur to protect the native honeybees and solitary bees." ACTOR and comedian Pat Shortt has lent his support to the Limerick and Tipperary branch of the Samaritans. The entertainer is giving his support to the emotional support charity, whose Limerick base is located in Barrington Street. Pat, who lived in Castleconnell up to 2017, has urged people who are struggling to reach out to the Samaritans. "Samaritan volunteers are great people providing much needed support to people who are finding life difficult to cope with. Id like to get involved any way I can to support and promote their work," he said, however he admits his listening skills aren't up to scratch himself. Catherine Slater, the branch director of the Samaritans, is delighted the comedian has chosen to support them. "He is incredibly popular and well known, both locally and nationally. We are looking forward to working with him to help spread awareness of Samaritans, and we very much appreciate his support and enthusiasm for the work we do," she said. Pictured below: Catherine Slater with Pat Shortt outside the Samaritans offices in Limerick If you are struggling, and require non-judgemental support, please contact the Samaritans, where volunteers are available 24-hours a day, seven-days a week. Whatever you are going through, they can be contacted any time, free on 116123. SUNFLOWERS and shamrocks stand side by side as a symbol of support to Ukraine in Catherine McAuley School. With many questions and mixed emotions of fear, sadness and worry; the staff and students decided to do something to help manage and support their own feelings and also show support to those who are suffering and directly affected as result of the war. Greg Browne, principal of the city school, said news of the war in Ukrain is dominating headlines, TV channels and social media. All young people, including our own students are exposed to images and information about the conflict. We felt the need to address the war in a way that our students would feel comfortable talking about it. We wanted to give them a platform where they will feel safe addressing their feelings about this war and we also wanted to provide them with an opportunity to do something positive where they can feel helpful, said Mr Browne. Led by the students in room 11, taught by Aisling Travers, the school is undertaking a sunflowers and shamrock project to show their support to Ukraine. Ms Travers said the pupils were inspired by the sunflower being the national flower of Ukraine and the shamrock being our symbol. The students of room 11 researched and planned a whole school project of support for Ukraine. Each student in the school was provided with a beautifully designed sunflower and shamrock support template page. The students worked with our art teacher Ms Huban on the template design and a key feature of the design brief was incorporating both the sunflower and shamrock into the letters of the message, said Ms Travers. To date, over 200 completed messages have been posted in their dedicated post box. They range from prayers, letters of hope and thoughtful artwork. These message will be sent to the Ukrainian ambassador in Ireland. Eye-catching and heartfelt window displays under the theme of sunflowers and shamrock have also started popping up around the school. In addition to this, a very positive and exciting aspect of the project is our sunflower and shamrock seeds project which Ms Monaghan, our horticulture teacher, will run in her classes over the coming weeks. Students will plant both sunflower and shamrock seeds and watch them grow side by side as a symbol of our continued and ever growing support to the people of Ukraine, said Ms Travers. Zoe Long, pupil, said: It has been great being the class to lead this project for our school. It feels like we are doing something small to help the people of Ukraine. LIMERICK Enterprise Development Partnership (LEDP) has announced it will support the planting of 27,000 native Irish woodland trees across Limerick over the next five years. The announcement coincided with National Tree Week which promotes the benefits of planting trees. LEDP, which has committed to embracing the UN Sustainable Development Goals as part of its new strategic plan, says the planting of the 27,000 trees will offset over 4,000 tonnes of carbon emissions over a 100 year period. The total number of trees to be planted represents 1,000 trees for each year of LEDPs existence up to and including the lifetime of the strategic plan in 2026. The LEDP is supporting the planting programme through the Department of Agricultures Woodland Environment Fund (WEF), which is an initiative under which Irish businesses can partner with landowners and the Department to help create new native woodlands in Ireland. Niall OCallaghan, Chief Executive of LEDP commented: We want to meet our environmental responsibilities by preserving biodiversity and reducing our carbon footprint. Planting 27,000 trees in the next five years forms part of our wider sustainability strategy and means we can support the Governments objective to plant 22 million trees annually each year until 2040. We are delighted to support this initiative which will have a long-lasting positive impact for our community and region. The trees will be planted in various locations across Limerick as identified by LEDPs partner SWS Forestry Services in conjunction with the Governments Woodland Environmental Fund Scheme. The native tree plantations will create a wildlife corridor for native species and enable grassland to revert to more natural vegetation, further enhancing biodiversity in the area. ONE LIMERICK town recorded the most significant year-on-year increase in commercial vacancy rates measured, in Munster, and the third highest nationally. National figures were tallied in a recent commercial buildings report compiled by Geo Directory, showing that Limericks had the seventh highest commercial vacancy rate in Q4 2021 at 16.7%. Data shows that since the Covid-19 pandemic began, the national commercial vacancy rate has progressively ticked upwards to a nine year high of 13.9%, with Limerick close to 3% above average. Of the five counties containing the main urban centres in Ireland, which account for 47.3% of the total vacant commercial address points, Limerick city makes up 5.3% or 1,556 units. Abbeyfeale recorded the second highest year-on-year increase in its commercial vacancy rate out of a total of 80 towns outside of Dublin districts that were analysed. In Q4 2021, Abbeyfeale had a vacancy rate of 20.8%, which now sits at 23.6%, marking a 2.8 percentage point change, seven times the national average increase. The only greater percentage point increases in Ireland were listed as Dublin 2, which saw a 3.1% increase in its commercial vacancy rate average and Roscommon town, topping the charts at 3.8%. Newcastle West also featured in the top 15 vacancy rates by town in the surveyed quarter, totaling 21.8%, a 0.1 percentage point increase on the previous year. Limerick city was also put under the microscope, with its commercial vacancy rate listed as 18.5%. This comes from a total of 3,140 occupied units currently registered. Abbeyfeale and Newcastle West, while registering higher percentages, have 160 and 250 businesses registered, respectively. Data also homed in on the accommodation and food service sectors, where Limerick scored well, through the loss of only two address points between Q4 2020 and Q4 2021. A total of 874 commercial address points in the county are involved in this sector, which comprises 12.9% of Limericks total percentage share of commercial stock. While 15 of the 26 counties had an increase in vacancy rates, the report concluded optimistically: The hope is that the economic recovery, combined with recent government incentives to rejuvenate towns and villages, will fuel a rebound in commercial occupancy over the coming years. Travelers arrive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang of Selangor, Malaysia, April 1, 2022. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua) Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Nancy Shukri said over 10,000 foreign travelers and Malaysians residing abroad are estimated to arrive at airports nationwide on Friday alone and the ministry is targeting over 2 million tourist arrivals within the year. KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia opened its borders to international travel on Friday, ending restrictions that have been in place since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Among measures adopted by Malaysian authorities to facilitate the travel of non-Malaysian nationals to the country are the abolishing quarantine requirements for vaccinated travelers, with only a pre-departure test and a test within 24-hours of arriving in Malaysia. There is already optimism that the move into the endemic phase will see economic recovery, especially for the country's hard hit tourist sector which has been largely closed off. Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Nancy Shukri said over 10,000 foreign travelers and Malaysians residing abroad are expected to arrive at airports nationwide on Friday alone and the ministry is targeting over 2 million tourist arrivals within the year. "After two years, today is a historic moment and a huge relief for our tourism industry as we welcome international tourists, newcomers and regulars alike, back to Malaysia, supporting our economy again," she told reporters at an event to mark the reopening at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Malaysia attracted 4.3 million tourists in 2020 because of lockdowns following the COVID-19 pandemic, a sharp decline from the 26.1 million in 2019. A passenger plane is welcomed by water cannon salute at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang of Selangor, Malaysia, April 1, 2022. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua) Separately, Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong noted the influx of travelers moving across the bridge connecting Malaysia and Singapore, allowing families to reunite ahead of Ramadan, the Islamic fasting month, and Qingming, a traditional tomb-sweeping festival. "Some were on motorcycles or in cars, and some even walked. This is the result of good discussions between the Malaysian and Singaporean governments to benefit the people of both countries," he said in a statement. "However, everyone is reminded to always take care of the health and safety of yourself and your loved ones. This is the first step towards a normal life," he cautioned. Travelers arrive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang of Selangor, Malaysia, April 1, 2022. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua) The relaxed standard operating procedures (SOP) and other measures, while welcome, must not mean that caution is thrown to the wind, according to Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) President Koh Kar Chai. "As everyone is either preparing to travel or to receive visitors from abroad due to the opening of our international borders from today, the public is reminded that we are still in the pandemic phase of COVID-19. The borders have been opened not because we are free from disease but because we need to revive our economy," he told Xinhua in a phone interview. He added that the coming weeks and months would be important, with health authorities being expected to keep a close eye on the rate of hospitalization of COVID-19 cases and the incidence of severe cases which are warning signs to look out for. Malaysia reported 18,560 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Thursday, bringing the national total to 4,201,919, according to the health ministry. A further 44 deaths have been reported, bringing the country's COVID-19 death toll to 34,983. WHAT was once a home for the keepers of Beeves Rock lighthouse on the Shannon is now set to become a home from home for artists looking for a dedicated but temporary space in which to work. The house, which has been in the Horrigan family for many years, has now become the dedicated headquarters of Askeaton Contemporary Arts. It may not have the space and financial backing of the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Co Monaghan or the dramatic scenery of the Cill Rialaig centre in County Kerry. But it will offer a warm, comfortable, sheltering and encouraging space in which artists can come and create. For Michele Horrigan (pictured left below), who initiated the Askeaton Contemporary Arts festival, Welcome to the Neighbourhood in 2006, it is a dream realised in bricks and mortar. And it comes full of possibilities for the future. Sixteen years ago, Micheles festival idea was to have contemporary artists come to Askeaton for a week or fortnight, where they would engage with the local community and create work in response to or inspired by that immersion in the local area. At the time, Michele had completed her BA at the Limerick College of Art and Design, followed by an MSA from the University of Ulster and had spent time at an international art college in Berlin. It was my first time outside the country and I started to look at what would be there for me if I was to come back, she explained. As a young artist, she was discovering how difficult it was to get exhibitions. There were no artist-run spaces in Limerick and the Belltable or the Limerick City Art Gallery, she felt, were for people in mid-career. In thinking about making an opportunity for artists of her own generation, Michele also thought about her home-town of Askeaton. Being away from it I could see its potential. As it happened, her ideas meshed with an initiative of the Arts Council, the Small Arts Festival Grant and, under the auspices of the local Askeaton Civic Trust, and with their support, the first Askeaton Contemporary Arts Welcome to the Neighbourhood took place. We ran it on a wing and a prayer that first year, Michele recalled. But seven young artists came for a week, created some new work, and a new tradition was born in Askeaton. In the years since, up to 100 artists have come and spent time in the town, mostly during festival week, staying in digs or in rented accommodation and exhibiting their work in shops, in empty premises, on the gables of buildings or on the street and taking part in various public programme events. However, when a house became available three years ago, it galvanised the idea of having a dedicated space for people to stay and work and opened up the possibility of year-round residencies. By then, Askeaton Contemporary Arts had also developed a publishing programme, ACA Public which included the work of wood artist Seanie Barron who specialises in making exquisite and magical walking sticks. Then, during lock-down, they also started up a media channel to host filmed work and documentaries. One of these is a short docu-film which, under the direction of filmmaker Michael Holly, explored and featured Seanie Barron s work. The film, Only in Askeaton: Seanie Barron went on to win the Short Film Audience Prize at last years Cork International Film Festival and was long-listed for the Oscars. It will now go forward to the Fastnet Film Festival in West Cork later this year. For Sean Lynch, Micheles co-curator and husband, the strength of Askeaton Contemporary Arts has been its willingness to evolve. It never settled down into being just one thing, he observed. And he is, he explained, constantly struck by the new insights somebody from outside can bring to the town. There is always an exchange of knowledge, a nice interaction between peoples ideas and the local area. It can be an incident. It can be a small encounter. Where you are is half the work. Why would you ignore it? he continued. For now though, Michele and, are looking forward to the official opening of the house. This house can also become a place for events, for exhibitions, a cultural hub, enthused Michele. The possibilities are boundless. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a nationwide public emergency late on Friday following violent protests over the country's worst economic crisis in decades. In a Sri Lankan government gazette notification, Rajapaksa said the decision was taken in the interests of public security, the protection of public order, and to ensure the maintenance of supplies and essential services. On Thursday hundreds of protesters clashed with police and military outside President Rajapaksa's residence in a suburb of the capital, Colombo. Police arrested 53 people and imposed a curfew in and around Colombo on Friday to contain sporadic protests that have broken out over shortages of essential items including fuel and other goods. The island nation of 22 million people is in the midst of its worst economic crisis in years with rolling blackouts for up to 13 hours a day as the government scrambles to secure foreign exchange to pay for fuel imports. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds near the president's residence on Thursday, after they torched several police and army vehicles. One official said at least two dozen police personnel were injured in the clashes, but declined to comment on the number of protesters who were hurt. Tourism minister Prasanna Ranatunge warned such protests would harm economic prospects. "The main issue Sri Lanka is facing is a forex shortage and protests of this nature will hurt tourism and have economic consequences," Ranatunge said. The U.N. representative in the country, Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, called for restraint from all groups involved in the clashes. "We are monitoring developments and are concerned by reports of violence," she said on Twitter. Trading on the country's stock market was suspended for a third consecutive day on Friday after the main blue-chip index fell 10% from the previous close. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. Talks to stop the fighting in Ukraine resumed Friday, as another attempt to rescue civilians from the besieged port city of Mariupol broke down and Russia accused the Ukrainians of launching a cross-border helicopter attack on an oil depot. The governor of Russias Belgorod region said the alleged airstrike by a pair of helicopter gunships caused multiple fires and injured two people. A Kremlin spokesman said the incident on Russias territory could undermine the negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives. Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied when asked if the strike could be viewed as an escalation of the war in Ukraine. It was not immediately possible to verify the claim that Ukrainian helicopters targeted the oil depot or several nearby businesses in Belgorod also reported hit. Russia has reported shelling from Ukraine before, including an incident last week that killed a military chaplain, but not an incursion of its airspace. Asked if Ukraine had fired on the depot, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in Warsaw that he could "neither confirm nor nor reject the claim that Ukraine was involved in this simply because I do not possess all the military information." The latest negotiations, taking place by video link, follow a meeting in Turkey on Tuesday where Ukraine reiterated its willingness to abandon a bid to join NATO and offered proposals to have its neutral military status guaranteed by a range of foreign countries. The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, wrote on social media that Moscow's positions on retaining control of the Crimean Peninsula and expanding the territory in eastern Ukraine held by Russia-backed separatists are unchanged." The International Committee for the Red Cross said complex logistics were still being worked out for the operation to get emergency aid into Mariupol and civilians out of the city, which has suffered weeks of heavy fighting with dwindling water, food and medical supplies. We are running out of adjectives to describe the horrors that residents in Mariupol have suffered," ICRC spokesperson Ewan Watson said Friday during a U.N. briefing in Geneva. The situation is horrendous and deteriorating, and its now a humanitarian imperative that people be allowed to leave and aid supplies be allowed in." He said the group had sent three vehicles toward Mariupol and a frontline between Ukrainian and Russian forces but two trucks carrying supplies for the city were not accompanying them. Dozens of buses organized by Ukrainian authorities to take people out also had not started approaching the dividing line, Watson said. City authorities said a little while later that the Russians were blocking access to Mariupol and it was too dangerous for people to leave it on their own. We do not see a real desire on the part of the Russians and their satellites to provide an opportunity for Mariupol residents to evacuate to territory controlled by Ukraine," Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, wrote on the Telegram messaging app. He said Russian forces are categorically not allowing any humanitarian cargo, even in small amounts, into the city" On Thursday, Russian forces blocked a 45-bus convoy attempting to evacuate people from Mariupol after the Russian military agreed to a limited cease-fire in the area, and only 631 people were able to leave in private cars, the Ukrainian government said. Russian forces also seized 14 tons of food and medical supplies trying to make it to Mariupol, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. The city has been the scene of some of the worst suffering of the war. Tens of thousands of residents managed to leave in the past few weeks through humanitarian corridors, reducing the population from a prewar 430,000 to an estimated 100,000 by last week. But continued Russian attacks have repeatedly thwarted aid and evacuation missions. In the past few days, the Kremlin, in a seeming shift in its war aims, said that its main goal" now is gaining complete control of the Donbas, where Mariupol is located. The Donbas is the predominantly Russian-speaking industrial region of eastern Ukraine where Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014 and have declared two areas as independent republics. Western officials said there were growing indications Russia was using its talk of de-escalation in Ukraine as cover to regroup, resupply and redeploy its forces for a stepped-up offensive in the east. Russian forces have subjected both Chernihiv, a besieged city in northern Ukraine, and the capital of Kyiv to continued air and ground-launched missile strikes despite Moscow saying Tuesday it planned to reduce military activity in those areas. Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces have retaken the villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka, south of Chernihiv and along one of the main supply routes between the city and Kyiv, according to Britain's Defense Ministry. Ukraine has also continued to make successful but limited counterattacks to the east and northeast of Kyiv, the ministry said. Hours later, Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram early Friday that the fire at the oil depot occurred as a result of an airstrike from two helicopters of the armed forces of Ukraine, which entered the territory of Russia at a low altitude." The depot run by Russian energy giant Rosneft is located about 35 kilometers (21 miles) north of the Ukraine-Russia border. Separately, Ukraines state power company, Energoatom, said Russian troops pulled out of the heavily contaminated Chernobyl nuclear site in northern Ukraine early Friday after receiving significant doses" of radiation from digging trenches in the exclusion zone around the closed plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it could not independently confirm the exposure claim. Energoatom gave no details on the condition of the soldiers and did not say how many were affected. There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin. The agency, which is the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, said it had been informed by Ukraine that Russian forces at Chernobyl had transferred control of the site of the worlds worst nuclear disaster to the Ukrainians in writing. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi wrote on Twitter that he would visit the decommissioned plant as soon as possible and his agency's assistance and support" mission to Chernobyl will be the first in a series of such nuclear safety and security missions to Ukraine." Grossi was in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad Friday for talks with senior officials about nuclear issues in Ukraine. Nine of Ukraines 15 operational reactors are currently in use, including two at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhya facility, the agency said. Russian forces seized the Chernobyl site soon after invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, raising fears they would cause damage or disruption that could spread radiation. The workforce there oversees the safe storage of spent fuel rods and the concrete-entombed ruins of the reactor that exploded in 1986. Five weeks and one day into a conflict that has left thousands dead and driven more than 4 million refugees from Ukraine, there seemed little faith that the two sides would find agreement on their respective demands any time soon. Russian President Vladimir Putin said conditions werent yet ripe" for a cease-fire and he wasnt ready for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy until the negotiators do more work, Italian Premier Mario Draghi said after a Thursday telephone conversation with the Russian leader. In his nightly video address late Thursday, Zelenskyy doubted Moscow's willingness to end the conflict. He warned that Russian withdrawals in the countrys north and center were just a military tactic to build up strength for new attacks in the southeast. We know their intentions," Zelenskyy said. We know that they are moving away from those areas where we hit them in order to focus on other, very important ones where it may be difficult for us." This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. TEL AVIV : Israel is bracing for one of the biggest waves of non-Jewish refugees in its history, as incoming Ukrainians force the country to balance its historic desire to help people fleeing war with its responsibility as a haven for Jews. About 16,000 Ukrainian refugees have already arrived in Israel but two-thirds of them dont have Jewish roots. While most of the 3.7 million Ukrainians who have fled the war are headed to neighboring European countries, the influx has jolted Israel, which has a population of 9.3 million. Some Israeli officials fear that an unchecked wave of refugees could undercut the countrys Jewish majority. Israels Central Bureau of Statistics said in 2021 that 74% of Israels population identify as Jewish, and 21% are Arab. Another 5% are largely non-Arab Christians, most of whom were among or born to the nearly one million immigrants from the former Soviet Union who came to Israel during the 1990s. Israels Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked on March 8 announced a first-ever policy to cap non-Jewish refugees from Ukraine at 5,000 while permitting an additional 20,000 Ukrainians residing in Israel largely without legal status before the war to remain during the hostilities. Five days later Ms. Shaked changed course after she was condemned from centrist and left-wing members of her own government. The issue has similarly divided the country largely along political lines, according to polls, with left-wing Israelis supporting a more open policy to absorbing non-Jewish refugees. The revised policy keeps the non-Jewish refugee quota at 5,000 but allows an uncapped number of Ukrainians with family in Israel to stay until the hostilities cease. It also requires Ukrainians to apply for approval from Israel before being allowed to board a plane to Tel Aviv. Israels current quota for Ukrainians entering the country and the requirement that they receive prior approval while abroad effectively suspended a visa-waiver agreement Israel has with Ukraine. The nearby United Arab Emirates took a similar step in early March before quickly backtracking. On March 23, Israeli officials said they were approaching the quota, with 4,000 non-Jewish Ukrainian refugees already here. Ms. Shaked has said her policy is meant to give priority to Ukrainians with Jewish roots who are eligible for citizenship. We have to remember that the state of Israel is a national homeland of the Jewish people," said Ms. Shaked. She has argued that, relative to the size of its population, Israel is expected to take in and naturalize more Ukrainian refugees than any other country that doesnt border Ukraine. Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticized Israels refugee policy in a Zoom-hosted speech to Israeli lawmakers. Why isnt Israeli help, or even entry permits, forthcoming," he said. Mr. Zelensky, who is Jewish, compared Ukrainians fleeing the war to Jews escaping Nazi persecution during the Holocaust. That specific appeal drew outrage from a largely Jewish audience, who considered the comparison incorrect and unnecessary. Israels Supreme Court has given the government until Monday to revise the current policy before ruling whether the quota of Ukrainian refugees and the requirement for entry approval from abroad is legal The petition to the court is backed by Ukraines embassy in Tel Aviv. Israeli officials have argued the visa-waiver program is for touristic purposes, while those fleeing war would be more likely to remain in the country. We showed that the law relates to any visitor from Ukraine and to any purpose, not only tourism, and the Supreme Court hinted that indeed this is how they see it," said Tomer Warsha, who filed the petition challenging the current refugee policy. Israel has sought to balance its close relationship with the U.S. and Europe with diplomatic and security ties it has developed with Moscow in recent years. Israels position is that it opposes Russias invasion of Ukraine but can only provide humanitariannot militaryaid to maintain its ties with Russia. Moscow has forces in Syria, where Israel has been conducting a long-running aerial campaign against Iranian-backed militants. Israel has a deconfliction line of communication with Russia to prevent the possibility of unintended clashes over Syrian skies. Israel has established a field hospital in Ukraine and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is one of a handful of state leaders mediating between Kyiv and Moscow. Ukrainian officials say some non-Jewish refugees have been mistreated as they tried to enter the country, in contrast to the relatively easy process for refugees with Jewish roots. Yulia Tomin, a 25-year-old refugee who fled her hometown of Ivano-Frankivsk with her two young children and her grandmother, isnt Jewish but she does have Israeli relatives. She said she slept on the floor in the airport from March 8-11 while nursing her 1-month-old son and trying to take care of her 4-year-old daughter. She was transferred to a hotel and slated for deportation before an immigration lawyer took up her case and won. Others werent as fortunate. Two of the women in Ms. Tomins hotel were deported earlier this month. Im not afraid here," Ms. Tomin said. I fear for what will happen in Ukraine." Israels immigration authority hasnt responded to a reply for comment on Ms. Tomins case. In parliamentary hearings, Israeli officials said they were surprised by the quick buildup of refugees at the airport when the war in Ukraine began. They have since opened facilities at the airport with food and child care available and have switched to considering refugee applications to stay in Israel from abroad to reduce deportation. Since Feb. 25, 289 Ukrainians have been denied entry into Israel out of more than 16,000 that have arrived. Many Jewish refugees have had an easier time and their applications for citizenship are now being fast-tracked. Psychiatrist Ilya Tregubov, 40, fled Dnipro with his wife and teenage daughter after rockets began falling. In Lviv, he met officials with Israels semi-governmental Jewish Agency, which verified their Jewish heritage and helped them emigrate to Israel. Mr. Tregubov said he and his family are now Israeli citizens, living with his cousin in central Israel and working on their Hebrew. Its a feeling I had all my life. If it gets really bad, I will move to Israel. As a Jew, you have that idea deep in your consciousness. But you dont really imagine that it will happen," he said. Israeli officials say they expect between 50,000 to 100,000 Jews this year to immigrate from countries once part of the former Soviet Union, through a law that allows anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent to receive citizenship. Israeli officials also said nearly 2,000 Russians have already immigrated to Israel since the war began and thousands more have submitted inquiries regarding immigration. In the seven decades since its founding, Israel has almost exclusively dealt with waves of Jewish immigration, but it was forced this time to cobble together an ad hoc policy for non-Jewish refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine, said Yohanan Plesner, president of the Jerusalem-based think tank the Israel Democracy Institute. Soviet immigrants in the early 1990s were the biggest group of non-Jews Israel has ever accepted and it also took in non-Jewish refugees from Vietnam in the late 1970s. It has generally refused refugees from Syria and other recent conflicts, and Palestinian refugees from Israels founding war have largely never been allowed to return. Israel didnt really deal in the past with large pressure from non-Jews to immigrate to Israel, and therefore, never really developed a coherent policy," he said. Some Ukrainian refugees are preparing to stay in Israel despite their status being in limbo. Alla Misiuk and her daughter are among about a dozen non-Jewish families being brought to Israel with the help of Jerusalems Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum because their families once saved the lives of Jews during World War II. On Monday, Ms. Misiuk said she found her young daughter a new school to attend. Yet Mrs. Misiuk still doesnt know if she and her daughter will be allowed to stay in Israel permanently. My home is destroyed. There is no place to go back to," she said. Click here to read the full article. The latest batch of Italian TV series for the international market is a mix of genres spanning from a new Elena Ferrante adaptation made for Netflix, to two RAI reconstructions of the countrys terrorism-plagued past and Skys spaghetti Western Django. Django This English-language reimagining of the world of Django, the cult 1966 Sergio Corbucci spaghetti Western that launched the career of Italian icon Franco Nero, is a Sky Studios and Canal Plus original. The shows cast includes Noomi Rapace, Nicholas Pinnock and Matthias Schoenaerts. Director Francesca Comencini has called it a universal story with a narrative that celebrates diversity and minorities. Esterno Notte Marco Bellocchi is in post on this limited TV series from RAI Fiction about the 1978 kidnapping and assassination of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro by Red Brigades terrorists. The veteran helmer previously recounted Moros still-mysterious abduction from the viewpoint of one of his captors in the 2005 film Good Morning, Night. The Generals Men Italys Stand by Me and RAI have co-produced The Generals Men, the countrys most ambitious reconstruction of the countrys battle against the Red Brigades terrorists to air on RAI this fall. The eight-episode series, directed by Lucio Pellegrini (The Miracle), follows the efforts of a special paramilitary unit set up by a high-ranking police official, Gen. Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, played by local A-lister Sergio Castellitto. Teresa Saponangelo (The Hand of God) plays Dalla Chiesas wife. Los Angeles-based Dynamic Television will launch international sales at Mip TV. The Lying Life of Adults This new Elena Ferrante adaptation is a Netflix Italian Original series directed by Neapolitan helmer Edoardo De Angelis (Indivisible) with Valeria Golino playing a prominent role. Set in the 1990s, the Ferrante book depicts the transition from childhood to adolescence of a young woman named Giovanna in a divided Naples: the upper-crust Naples, and the Naples of its more vulgar and exciting part of the city where the protagonists intriguingly crass aunt Vittoria (Golino) lives. Prisma This Amazon Prime Video Italian Original centers on gender identity through the tale of adolescent twins, Marco and Andrea, who challenge norms in different ways. They are followed on this journey with their group of friends who are going through a similar experience. The eight-episode show is set in the city of Latina, just south of Rome, and its surrounding area, which used to be a swamp until the land was drained under fascist rule. The area is now known for modernist architecture. Prisma is the brainchild of Ludovico Bessegato, who gained local prominence as showrunner of Skam Italia, the Italian adaptation of the Nordic drama thats made a splash in Italy. The Rising This English-language historical drama is being produced by Italys Lux Vide and former Hasbro chief content officer Stephen J. Davis. It focuses on what is being described as the human and secular story of Jesus Christ. Daniel Knauf, who is the creator and showrunner of HBOs Carnivale, is attached as showrunner, while Italys Jan Michelini, who broke out directing episodes of Luxs hit Medici: Masters of Florence, will direct. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. During a press interview for Brian Mays reissue of the 1998 album Another World on the Debatable SiriusXM program, the Queen guitarist shared his thoughts and remembrances of late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. The 50-year-old drummer unexpectedly died on March 25 in Bogota, Colombia where the Foo Fighters were scheduled to perform. Rock fans everywhere have been grieving the loss, including May, who shared he had spoken to Hawkins just a week before his death. Taylor was very close to [Queen], hes been in my studio a few of times. In my life, I talk to him often. I talked to him just a week ago from when we lost him, May said. We talk about stuff, talking about Dave [Grohl], about what life is like, his joys, frustrations, being in Foo Fighters. May recalled first meeting Hawkins when he was drumming for Alanis Morissette in London, saying: [We] instantly bonded, Taylor became very close to Roger [Taylor] and Rogers son, Rufus, who very much follows in Taylors footsteps hes a wonderful drummer. Just before Hawkins joined the Foo Fighters, he was credited for drums in the track Cyborg off of Mays Another World album. Hawkins then began playing small gigs with Foo Fighters, who eventually ingrained themselves in pop culture as rock icons. I saw the Foo Fighters from those very early small gigs, May said. I think I saw them at Brixton Academy first and they were wonderful just full of exuberance. The two bands mutual admiration for one another was ripe from the beginning, May recalled: We instantly bonded because Taylor and Pat Smear were the most informed Queen fans, they knew more about us than we did. We were just shocked to find out how much they felt about us. May describes Hawkins as the best publicist for Queen ever, hes been so good for our image! Where he kind of regarded us as cool which at the time a lot of people didnt. May continued, Taylor wasnt even my generation. I think of him as a boy same as I saw George Michael as a boy to lose them feels all wrong. It makes you feel so frustrated. It makes you feel like you want to negotiate with death. It makes you feel like if you looked at it enough, if you talk about it enough, if you analyze it enough then maybe you can bring him back, but of course, thats just not the way it all works. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. TV production is growing in Italy, where U.S. streamers are gradually raising their investment levels just as pubcaster RAI, which is still the industrys main driver, is cutting back. According to local TV producers association APA, the Italian market in 2022 will generate more than 1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) worth of scripted content resulting in double-digit growth. Exports of the countrys high-end shows, such as My Brilliant Friend, now in its third season, and upcoming spaghetti Western saga Django are also gaining more traction. But though demand is increasing, the picture for Italian producers isnt all rosy. While pubcaster RAI remains the main driver of content in Italy, its 2022 budget has been trimmed by $33 million to $176 million. This is the second year of cuts as it tries to recover following COVID-related ad and tax revenues drops. Like many of his cohort, producer Rosario Rinaldo, head of TV production company Cross Prods. (owned by Germanys Beta Film), bemoans the pubcasters shrunken resources. Rinaldo saw the budget of his crime show Brennero cut. RAI remains crucial for us because they represent an alternative business model from the streamers, says Rinaldo. But at the moment its really tough working with the pubcaster, he laments. RAI could not be reached for comment. Netflix, Amazon and Disney spent a combined total of roughly $152 million on Italian scripted content in 2021. They are now expected to almost double their investments in Italian originals to at least $292 million in total by 2023, becoming Italys main TV industry drivers, according to APA chief Giancarlo Leone. He has been busy negotiating terms of trade with the global streamers as the country implements the European Unions Audio Visual Media Services directive, which is expected to allow producers to hold on to rights when they make shows for premium platform play. Meanwhile, Cross has completed the first season of Prisma, an Amazon Italy original centered on identical adolescent twins named Marco and Andrea, who challenge gender norms in different ways. The show will be dropping later this year. Italys first Amazon original made for the international market is 1980s-set criminal coming-of-ager Bang Bang Baby. The show revolves around a shy, insecure teenage girl who becomes the youngest member of the Milanese mob not for money, ambition or a desire for power, but to win the love of her father, whom she had long thought to be dead, says producer Lorenzo Mieli. Bang Bang Baby, which Amazon will drop globally on April 28, is loosely based on the true story of a teenager born into the notorious Ndrangheta clan in which women have a central role, Mieli says. He points out that whats key to its appeal is that its very pop and pulpy, but also somewhat surprisingly anchored in reality. Mieli, who heads Fremantle unit the Apartment, is proud of his next show, Eastern Notte, from auteur Marco Bellocchio. The series, which is a three-way co-prod among RAI, Franco-German network Arte and Netflix, follows the 1978 kidnapping and assassination of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro by Red Brigades terrorists. In March, Fremantle gained control of Italys Lux Vide, the shingle behind the Medici, Devils and Leonardo skeins, which have travelled widely. It also owns Wildside, another top Italian production company that in tandem with Apartment is behind My Brilliant Friend, the third season of which recently launched to stellar ratings on RAI in Italy and rave reviews in the U.S. on HBO and HBO Max, and on Sky in the U.K. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Netflix has slowed development on its upcoming action-thriller Fast and Loose, which Will Smith has been attached to star in. The project has been moved to the streamers back burner in the days following the 2022 Oscars ceremony, during which Smith walked onstage and slapped Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about the appearance of Smiths wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. In the week before the Oscars ceremony, director David Leitch reportedly also pulled away from the project, electing to move to the Ryan Gosling vehicle Fall Guy for Universal. After beginning to search for a new director, Netflix has now halted Fast and Loose in the days following the Oscars. It remains uncertain whether Netflix will return to developing Fast and Loose and, if so, whether the streamer would seek a new star for the project. Variety has reached out to Netflix for comment. The story of Fast and Loose would follow a criminal who loses his memory after an attack. After mysteriously waking up in Tijuana, the character is forced to discover the clues of his past, leading him to learn that he has led two identities one as a wealthy crime lord, the other as an undercover CIA agent. Along with Fast and Loose, it remains to be seen how many dominoes could fall in the wake of Smiths outburst at the Oscars. Smiths Apple TV Plus drama Emancipation is currently in post-production and was seen by some as a potential awards contender for the coming year. The thriller stars Smith as an escaped slave in Louisiana who joins the Union Army. The film is scheduled to release in 2022, but Apple has not yet issued an official date. The news of Fast and Loose comes on the heels of Smith resigning from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on Friday. The Hollywood Reporter was first to report the news. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Ten associates of the Cartel de Jalisco Nuevo Generacion were sentenced to prison for their roles in smuggling crystal meth, cocaine, heroin and fentanyl, according to U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery. Manuel Enrique Ayala Rodriguez, Jorge Luis Castellanos de la Mora, Juan Jose Garcia Lerma, Armando Animas Hernandez, Victor Hinojosa, Omar Hiracheta-Cruz, Giovani Mendez Hornelas, Daniel Morales Hinojosa, Roberto Ivan Rodriguez Ramirez and Santos Salazar had pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to possess narcotics, drug possession or both. U.S. District Diana Saldana sentenced the suspects throughout hearings last week and on Monday: Ayala Rodriguez, 192 months; Castellanos de la Mora, 67 months; Garcia Lerma, 80 months; Hernandez, 120 months; Hinojosa, 210 months; Hiracheta-Cruz, 192 months; Mendez Hornelas, 108 months; Morales Hinojosa, 262 months; Rodriguez Ramirez, 192 months; and Santos Salazar, 262 months. All are expected to be deported following the completion of their sentence. At the hearings, Judge Saldana noted the extensive conspiracy which relied on many truck drivers to succeed, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in a statement. Saldana noted that each played a role that contributed to the smuggling of large amounts of drugs from the Michoacan area into the United States for distribution to cities throughout the United States. Whether truck drivers, stash operators or couriers co-conspirators were in some way responsible for these deadly drugs reaching distribution centers. Saldana noted the horrible effects that such drugs have had in certain regions and populations of the country. The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Operation Gelo Podre with the assistance of the Laredo Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service, Williamson County Sheriffs Office, Interpol Mexico City and the Mexican National Guard. The case unfolded in June 2017, when the DEA launched an investigation into the Juan Manuel Salazar-Alvarez drug trafficking organization. Salazar-Alvarez was identified as a leader within the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion operating in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, according to court documents. Salazar Alvarez is pending sentencing. Salazar-Alvarez directed a large-scale organization composed of couriers, stash operators and transportation coordinators responsible for smuggling fentanyl, heroin, meth and cocaine. Narcotics were concealed in fire extinguishers, wooden blocks, vehicle batteries and hydraulic jacks, court records show. The narcotics were transported from the Mexican states of Michoacan and Jalisco to Nuevo Laredo, and into Laredo. Once in Laredo, the drugs were stashed in storage units, tractor-trailers or other locations before being delivered to other couriers who would transport the narcotics further north. Ayala Rodriguez was identified as a con-conspirator who smuggled drugs for the Salazar-Alvarez organization via the international bridges to other co-conspirators in the Laredo area. DEA special agents had identified Ayala Rodriguez as someone working on behalf of Salazar-Alvarez. On April 25, 2018, the DEA received information about a drug delivery that would occur at the H-E-B on San Dario. Special agents set up surveillance and observed Ayala Rodriguez deliver a drug-laden battery to a law enforcement confidential source equipped with a recording device. Ayala Rodriguez told the confidential source that he was only tasked with bringing one battery from Mexico instead of two. Ayala Rodriguez is then seen returning to Mexico via the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge. Special agents opened the battery and discovered 28.77 pounds of meth with an estimated street value of $575,400. On July 19, 2018, DEA special agents received an alert from the Colombia Solidarity International Bridge that Salazar-Alvarez and another co-conspirator had entered the United States in a black Chevrolet Tahoe bearing Mexican license plates. Special agents followed the Tahoe to Stor-In-Town on Rosario Street. Special agent confirmed that the renter of Stor-In-Town storage unit 115 was Salazar-Alvarez. On Aug. 7, 2018, special agents received an alert that Ayala Rodriguez had crossed into Laredo in black Chevrolet Suburban via the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge. This prompted special agents to respond to the Stor-In-Town on Rosario and set up surveillance on the Suburban. Authorities followed the Suburban as it departed from the storage facility. Ayala Rodriguez then stopped on Midland Drive. He was observed taking out several batteries from the Suburban and placing them inside a tractor-trailer parked on Midland. The next morning on Aug. 8, 2018, a man parked behind the tractor-trailer that contained the batteries delivered by Ayala Rodriguez. The male retrieved two batteries from the parked tractor-trailer and placed them on the bed of his pickup before departing the area. During a traffic stop on the pickup, authorities observed signs of tampering on both batteries. Further inspection revealed that the batteries contained 14.33 pounds of meth, 9.92 pounds of heroin and 5.07 pounds of fentanyl. The man arrested in connection with the case admitted he and others worked for Salazar-Alvarez and mentioned that the drug trafficking organization used unit 115 to store drugs hidden in car batteries or wooden blocks. Member of the organization would go there to either drop off or pick up batteries or wooden blocks containing drugs. Special agents executed a search warrant at unit 115 on Aug. 8, 2018. The raid led to the seizure of two batteries containing 13 pounds of heroin and 14.33 pounds of meth. The DEA arrested Ayala Rodriguez as he entered the World Trade Bridge. He agreed to provide a post-arrest statement. Ayala Rodriguez admitted to trafficking drugs on behalf of Juan Manuel Salazar-Alvarez, whom he had known since his childhood in Mexico. Ayala Rodriguez admitted that approximately two years ago, he began moving drugs on behalf of Salazar-Alvarez while working as a transfer driver, which made it ideal for illegally importing drugs, states his plea agreement. Ayala Rodriguez further admitted he first started moving drugs for Salazar-Alvarez in fire extinguishers. He was paid 20,000 Mexican pesos, about $1,000, each time. He also stated he would transport drugs in wooden blocks, hydraulic jacks and car batteries. Ayala Rodriguez estimated that in total, he had assisted Salazar-Alvarez in trafficking drugs on 30 or 40 occasions, states his plea agreement. Mendez Ornelas was also identified as a con-conspirator who resided in North Carolina. He was tasked with receiving wooden blocks containing meth from Laredo to the North Carolina area. When arrested, Mendez Ornelas claimed a childhood friend had loaned him $8,000 to $9,000 to purchase property in Michoacan, Mexico. Therefore, he felt compelled to do him a favor by picking up the wooden blocks containing drugs, according to court documents. Morales Hinojosa recruited Rodriguez Ramirez and other men to take part in the pick up and delivery of three wooden blocks containing 29.76 pounds of crystal meth with an estimated street value of $595,200. Santos Salazar admitted to being involved in several rug deliveries that took place at the Walmart on San Bernardo Avenue and did so at the behest of Salazar-Alvarez. Santos Salazar also admitted to making deliveries of wooden blocks containing drugs to a person who lived at an apartment on Lyon Street at the direction of Salazar-Alvarez. Santos Salazar would pick up the drugs from the truck driver and deliver them on Salazar-Alvarezs behalf. Castellanos de la Mora, Garcia Lerma, Hernandez, Hinojosa and Hiracheta-Cruz would also be identified as suspects in the conspiracy. crodriguez@lmtonline.com With hegemonic thinking, the U.S. can't vindicate itself of its bio-military activities 09:09, April 02, 2022 By Zhong Sheng ( People's Daily The U.S.-controlled biological laboratories in Ukraine have recently become a focal point of the international society as the fallout of the news continues. Russia accused the U.S. of violating the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in Ukraine, while the U.S. denied it and claimed it was based on fabricated evidence given by the Kremlin. It is no secret that the U.S. hosts the most bio-military activities in the world, and is the only country that opposes the establishment of a verification mechanism for the BWC. The activities of U.S. biological laboratories matter to the security of global biological safety. However, the White House's response to this grave worry has been denial. It has never offered any valuable or convincing information. Such perfunctory and arrogant response has further exacerbated worldwide society's concerns about the safety of U.S. bio-military actions. Overseas bio-military activities are a tradition of the U.S. After the end of the Cold War, the country initiated the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program promoted by Richard Lugar and other U.S. senators. The White House claimed that the Soviet Union would be the first to "benefit" from the program, and then the benefits would expand to other parts of the world. Later, hundreds of laboratories were established under the CTR program. The program, a gigantic bio-military empire, never ceased to cause scandals. Some of the labs reported leakage of highly dangerous pathogens that led to outbreaks of strange diseases, and some collected biological samples of local residents and transferred the samples to the U.S. and its allies for "studies." Many of these labs were poorly managed. Personnel sent by the U.S. Department of Defense had extraterritoriality and diplomatic immunity, so they could always get away with crimes at these labs. After the U.S.-controlled bio-labs in Ukraine were exposed, the White House tried to vindicate itself with some materials. However, the U.S. doesn't have an innocent history of the development and employment of biological weapons at all. The U.S. once covered up Shiro Ishii, director of the notorious Japanese Army Unit 731, and other war criminals, so as to make them develop biological weapons for itself. In the Korean War, the U.S. military launched undifferentiated germ warfare against Chinese and Korean forces and even civilians. In Vietnam, the U.S. military used the highly toxic Agent Orange on the battleground, killing and disabling millions of Vietnamese. The U.S. even forced thousands of soldiers into biological medicine tests. These are all evidence of the U.S. poisoning the world. Former Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari of Indonesia once shut down the lab of the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit-2 during her term. She said the lab didn't make any contribution to Indonesia's capability in coping with biological threats and the studies were not submitted to the Indonesian government. She remarked that establishing laboratories on the territory of an independent country is a kind of colonialism. The U.S. always takes "cooperating to reduce biological safety risks" as an excuse. However, only the U.S. itself knows whether it is really cooperating and whether it is reducing or increasing the risks. Recently, a large demonstration was staged in South Korea, requesting the shutdown of U.S. military biological labs established in the country and calling for immediate investigations into these labs. The outrage of the South Koreans came from the United States Forces Korea, which has ignored South Korean laws and regulations and sent poisonous substances to South Korea, including Bacillus anthracis and Yersinia pestis. These labs have caused frequent safety accidents, posing huge threats to the lives of South Koreans. Some South Koreans said that the U.S. bio-labs were built for American interests, and are a misfortune for the countries where they are built. The international society has every reason to know what the U.S. has done. In recent years, the United States has arbitrarily requested that biological weapons verifications be launched in other countries, wielding the big stick of sanctions and even launching military invasions. However, it is ironic that the U.S. is always tolerant of itself and strict with others. It's either arrogantly requesting other countries to stay out of its biological weapon business, or passing the buck to other countries, or just showing its colors and unjustly blaming other countries for "disseminating fake information." Faced with the accusation from Russia this time, the White House is even acting as a "victim." Such typical American double standard once again exposed the hegemonic thinking of the U.S. It is a huge insult to the countries and people that have been poisoned by U.S. bio-military activities, and is irresponsible to the whole world. As a response to the Russian accusation and the concerns of the international society, the U.S. should take its responsibility, vindicate itself and stop opposing the establishment of a verification mechanism for the BWC. .The country can never prove itself innocent of hegemony. Only by following international rules and accepting investigations can it give a clear explanation to the world, and that's what is supposed to be done by a major country. (Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.) (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) BERLIN, April 2 (Xinhua) -- In a virtual meeting on Friday, Chinese and European Union (EU) leaders underscored the imperative role of sound and healthy bilateral ties for a world that has arrived at a critical juncture. China and the EU stand as two major forces, big markets and great civilizations on the world stage. It is the common aspiration of the global community for the two sides to uphold peace, promote shared development and add stabilizing factors to a turbulent world fraught with uncertainties induced by such challenges as a lingering COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Ukraine crisis. China-EU cooperation originates from their broad common interests. The two major economies, now each other's largest trading partner, boast a high degree of economic complementarity, extensive areas of cooperation, and great potential for common prosperity. Over the past years, China-EU exchanges have yielded remarkable results through practical dialogue and cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit. Despite the pandemic-induced repercussions felt throughout the global economy, China-EU trade managed to buck the trend, hitting a new record of more than 800 billion U.S. dollars by registering a 27.5 percent year-on-year growth last year. The China-Europe Railway Express, an important pillar for the Belt and Road Initiative, has helped stabilize global supply chains and opened up a lifeline for rendering mutual assistance in the fight against COVID-19. The number of China-Europe freight train trips rose by 22 percent year on year to 15,000 in 2021, according to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. Such resilient economic ties have brought confidence and hope to business and people of both sides as well as those of the rest of the world who are caught in the harsh winter of the pandemic. Cooperation, not rivalry, is the only right choice for both sides. Europe needs to discard the misguided "partner-competitor-rival" perception of its relations with China, stick to the keynote of mutual benefit, and view bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term perspective. Otherwise, political prejudice and ideological shortsightedness will sour a robust China-EU economic partnership, one of the key engines for global economic recovery. China and the EU have other important roles to play to make this world a better place. They need to work more closely on various regional and international affairs to promote global stability and safeguard world peace, and offset growing uncertainties with ever stabler China-EU ties. On the Ukraine crisis, the two sides should stay levelheaded and bear in mind the bigger picture. It is also important to refrain from a one-sided perspective of the issue, prevent this regional conflict from magnifying, and continue to facilitate peace talks whenever possible. As two great civilizations, China and the EU should, as Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged, do more to cope with global challenges for the shared future of humanity. Both China and the EU are strong and consistent champions of multilateralism. To improve global governance and make the international order more just and equitable, it is imperative to advocate a vision of global governance featuring the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. To guarantee a sustainable future for the human race, the two sides also need to shoulder the responsibility to keep on working in sync to follow through their commitments to facilitating a green and digital transformation, reducing carbon emissions, protecting biodiversity and mitigating climate change. In a world littered with risks and challenges of the most treacherous nature, how and what China and the EU choose to do together can make a real and lasting difference. An unshirkable historic responsibility is for both sides to carry forward the fine legacy of their relations and jointly build a China-EU partnership featuring peace, growth, reform and civilization. NANNING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- A freight train left Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Saturday for Laos' Vientiane, marking the opening of Guangxi's first international freight train that runs via the China-Laos Railway. Loaded with 165 tonnes of industrial products produced by companies in Guangxi, the train will arrive in Vientiane in three days, according to the China Railway Nanning Group Co., Ltd. Compared with sea shipping and other traditional methods, the freight train can cut the transportation time by more than 10 days, which helps save companies' costs, said Qian Feng, general manager of the Sinotrans Limited Guangxi branch, a participant in the cross-border transportation. "The operation of the China-Laos Railway has created convenient and efficient traffic conditions for Guangxi's products to enter the Laos market, and a number of companies interested in developing business in Laos have consulted us," said Qian. The China-Laos Railway, which kicked off operation on Dec. 3, 2021, stretches over 1,000 km, linking Kunming, the capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, with the Laotian capital Vientiane. An application for funding under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme is planned to extend public lighting along the N55 Edgeworthstown Road Ballymahon from Leo Casey GAA grounds to the Ballybrannigan Road. Cllr Pat OToole raised the issue at last weeks meeting of Ballymahon Municipal District and said that this stretch of road is a very popular walking route. A lot of people walk it in winter. Its the only section that is unlit, he said. Area Engineer, Seamus Lough explained that the 250m route would need to be lit via underground ducting and suggested that an application be made with the town team for ORIS funding. In a separate motion, Cllr OToole requested a guide map be drawn up of services that have been installed in the town of late. Given the level of new services that have been installed in Ballymahon over the past number of years, e.g. water mains, gas mains sewerage lines etc, I call on Longford County Council to draw up a guide map indicating where the pipes are located on the Main Street and on adjoining roads which would be very beneficial not just for the council itself but to any utility company who may have to excavate the street at any time in the future, he said. Mr Lough explained that a map of these networks is already available since Irish Water took over the water services in the area. IDH launches fifth Al-Borg Scan branch in West Cairo's Capital Business Park This marks Al-Borg Scan's third branch inauguration in the last six months, and sees the Company further progress on its ramp up strategy which will see Al-Borg Scan launch at least three more branches in 2022 as it works to capture the important growth opportunities presented by Egypt's radiology segment 29 March 2022 (Cairo and London) - Integrated Diagnostics Holdings ("IDH," "the Company" or "the Group"), a leading consumer healthcare company with operations in Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, and Nigeria, announces the launch of Al-Borg Scan's fifth branch. The branch will be located in West Cairo's Capital Business Park and sees the Company further expand its radiology venture's geographic footprint, penetrating a strategic and currently underserved neighbourhood. This is the third Al-Borg Scan branch to launch in the last six months following the roll out of a new branch in West Cairo's Faisal/Haram neighbourhood in December 2021, and of a new branch in East Cairo's Heliopolis neighbourhood in early October 2021. The new branches will be essential in further strengthening the Al-Borg Scan's brand equity and complement Al-Borg Scan's other two locations in the centrally-located Mohandessin and Shoubra neighbourhoods. In line with the other locations, the new branches are equipped with the latest state-of-the-art radiology technology available on the market and will offer a full-suite of radiology services, including but not limited to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), x-ray and contrast studies, ultrasonography, echocardiography, electrocardiography (ECG), electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), Gamma Camera, Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT), in addition to panoramic exams for jaws and teeth. The branches will also provide patients with access to some of the highest-ranking radiology specialists in the country, offering consultations and diagnostic reports from subject matter experts. Finally, the Company will leverage its enhanced digital capabilities to deliver results and reports to patients within 24 hours from the exam through the Company's website and its dedicated WhatsApp account. Commenting on the launch, IDH CEO Dr. Hend El Sherbini, said: "We are thrilled to announce the launch of Al-Borg Scan's fifth branch located in a strategic and currently underpenetrated neighbourhood of West Cairo. The roll out supports Al-Borg Scan's geographical expansion efforts and is directly in line with our vision of providing patients across Greater Cairo with access to state-of-the-art radiology services to supplement our more established diagnostics offering. In the coming period, we are aiming to roll out at least three additional branches for a total investment cost of EGP 200 million, further expand our radiology service offering, and complete the necessary modules to obtain ACR (American College of Radiology) accreditation for all Al-Borg Scan's branches." As at year-end 2021, IDH had invested more than EGP 250 million in Al-Borg Scan since its launch in 2018, with the venture delivering impressive results from the very start. More specifically, in 2021, Al-Borg Scan reported revenue growth of over 80%, serving more than 60 thousand patients and performing around 80 thousand tests. This represented a c.70% year-on-year increase in both patients served and tests performed, further highlighting Al-Borg Scan's strong momentum. Meanwhile, the company's efficiency enhancement efforts helped further boost profitability which continues to improve ahead of management's expectations. -Ends- About Integrated Diagnostics Holdings (IDH) IDH is a leading consumer healthcare company in the Middle East and Africa with operations in Egypt, Jordan, Sudan and Nigeria. The Group's core brands include Al Borg, Al Borg Scan and Al Mokhtabar in Egypt, as well as Biolab (Jordan), Ultralab and Al Mokhtabar Sudan (both in Sudan) and Echo-Lab (Nigeria). A long track record for quality and safety has earned the Company a trusted reputation, as well as internationally recognised accreditations for its portfolio of over 2,000 diagnostics tests. From its base of 507 branches as of 30 September 2021, IDH will continue to add laboratories through a Hub, Spoke and Spike business model that provides a scalable platform for efficient expansion. Beyond organic growth, the Group's expansion plans include acquisitions in new Middle Eastern, African, and Asian markets where its model is well-suited to capitalise on similar healthcare and consumer trends and capture a significant share of fragmented markets. IDH has been a Jersey-registered entity with a Standard Listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (ticker: IDHC) since May 2015 with a secondary listing on the EGX since May 2021 (ticker: IDHC.CA). Learn more at idhcorp.com. The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement is Nancy Fahmy, Investor Relations Director at IDH. Contact Nancy Fahmy Investor Relations Director T: +20 (0)2 3345 5530 | M: +20 (0)12 2255 7445 | nancy.fahmy@idhcorp.com Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains certain forward-looking statements. A forward-looking statement is any statement that does not relate to historical facts and events, and can be identified by the use of such words and phrases as "according to estimates", "aims", "anticipates", "assumes", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "forecasts", "intends", "is of the opinion", "may", "plans", "potential", "predicts", "projects", "should", "to the knowledge of", "will", "would" or, in each case their negatives or other similar expressions, which are intended to identify a statement as forward-looking. This applies, in particular, to statements containing information on future financial results, plans, or expectations regarding business and management, future growth or profitability and general economic and regulatory conditions and other matters affecting the Group. Forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the Group's management ("Management") on future events, which are based on the assumptions of the Management and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Group's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The occurrence or non-occurrence of an assumption could cause the Group's actual financial condition and results of operations to differ materially from, or fail to meet expectations expressed or implied by, such forward-looking statements. The Group's business is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could also cause a forward-looking statement, estimate or prediction to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this communication. The information, opinions and forward-looking statements contained in this communication speak only as at its date and are subject to change without notice. The Group does not undertake any obligation to review, update, confirm or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that arise in relation to the content of this communication. 29 March 2022 Premier African Minerals Limited Completion of Zulu Lithium DFS Funding Premier African Minerals Limited ("Premier" or the "Company"), is pleased to confirm the completion of the Subscription Agreement by Suzhou TA&A Ultra Clean Technology Co., Ltd., ("Suzhou TA&A") to raise 12 million before expenses at an issue price of 0.4 pence per new ordinary share for the ongoing Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") at Premier's Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project ("Zulu") (the "Subscription") as announced on 8 March 2022. George Roach, CEO commented, "I reiterate my welcome to our new shareholders and to Dr Lou Wei, and express my appreciation for the confidence in Premier and Zulu. Premier has already taken steps to expedite issues associated with resource definition needed to complete mine optimisation and test work and we will continue to accelerate all aspects of the DFS underway." Proposed Board Appointment As previously announced, on completion of the Subscription, Suzhou TA&A has the right to appoint one director to serve on the boards of Premier, Zulu Lithium Mauritius Limited, and Zulu Lithium Private limited. Dr Luo Wei has therefore been invited to join the boards of Premier, Zulu and Zulu Lithium Mauritius Limited (collectively the "Companies"), subject to the satisfactory completion of standard regulatory checks in compliance with the AIM Rules which are currently underway, and which we anticipate being completed shortly. In the interim, Dr Luo Wei will have observer rights of the day-to-day operations of the Companies, including without limitation, access to any information on Zulu. Dr Luo Wei is a geologist with 23 years of experience who has worked in senior engineer positions for the past 12 years in a variety of locations. He has experience in the discovery and exploration of precious, nonferrous and base metal mineral resources internationally, including the DRC, Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Pakistan, South-East Asia and China. Dr Luo has a PhD. in Geology from the Central South University of Changsha, China and is a member of the Chinese Geological Society. Admission Application has been made for the 3,000,000,000 Subscription Shares be admitted to trading on AIM and admission is expected to take place on 30 March 2022. Market Abuse Regulation The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The person who arranged the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company was George Roach. Enquiries George Roach Premier African Minerals Limited Tel: +27 (0) 100 201 281 Michael Cornish / Roland Cornish Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nominated Adviser) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396 John More/Toby Gibbs Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 7408 4090 Matthew Bonner EAS Advisors LLC Tel: +1 646 495 2225 Notes to Editors Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM) is a multi-commodity mining and natural resource development company focused on Southern Africa with its RHA Tungsten and Zulu Lithium projects in Zimbabwe. The Company has a diverse portfolio of projects, which include tungsten, rare earth elements, lithium and tantalum in Zimbabwe and lithium and gold in Mozambique, encompassing brownfield projects with near-term production potential to grass-roots exploration. The Company has accepted a share offer by Vortex Limited ("Vortex") for the exchange of Premier's entire 4.8 per cent interest in Circum Minerals Limited ("Circum"), the owners of the Danakil Potash Project in Ethiopia, for a 13.1 per cent interest in the enlarged share capital of Vortex. Vortex has an interest of 36.7 per cent in Circum. In addition, the Company holds a 19 per cent interest in MN Holdings Limited, the operator of the Otjozondu Manganese Mining Project in Namibia. Ends Chen Xingrong takes a swimming exercise in a swimming pool in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, March 23, 2022. (Photo by Li Duojiang/Xinhua) HAIKOU, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Chen Xingrong's favorite activity is hopping onto the swing in the middle of the living room and dangling around. The swing was set up by his father to help him learn how to swim without water. "When he is happy, he jumps on the swing and smiles from ear to ear. This is his way of saying 'I am happy,'" said Chen's father Chen Xunhu. "But he is a big boy now and has grown as tall as 1.78 meters, and the swing has become a bit too small for him." Chen Xingrong, 16, was diagnosed with autism when he was a baby. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by varying degrees of impairment in communication skills and social interactions and by restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior. There is neither an effective cure nor a widely accepted treatment. There are at least 10 million cases of autism in China, with more than 2 million children affected by this disease, according to an industry report released in 2015. In spite of all the hardships in life, Chen Xingrong managed to become an outstanding swimmer, thanks to relentless training and the love and support of his family and community members. Last year, he won five medals, including a gold, at the 11th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 8th National Special Olympics Games. The story of Chen's family has come to the fore, as World Autism Awareness Day is observed on Saturday. SWIMMING TOWARD VICTORY Born in China's southernmost province of Hainan, Chen Xingrong could not utter a word until the age of two. After being diagnosed with autism, his parents were extremely worried. "We did not understand why such a thing would happen to us," Chen Xunhu said, adding that he began traveling to big cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou to learn more about autism. During the process, he learned how to communicate properly with autistic people. He quit his job at a computer company and devoted his full attention to the topic of autism. In 2012, Chen Xunhu learned that swimming could help people with autism enhance their vital capacity and articulation, so he spent three months learning how to swim by watching videos and reading books. "I did not know how to swim myself, so I watched videos and read books about swimming. I spent three months teaching my son, but the efforts all went in vain," he recalled. "However, I did learn how to swim myself." To his surprise, after another three months, Chen Xunhu discovered that his son had developed the ability to control his breath under water which significantly boosted his confidence and swimming soon became an inseparable part of the family. The father laid the groundwork for his son's swimming lesson. On one wall of their house hangs a table for Chen Xingrong's routine exercises. "I used to plan all of his exercises for him, but now it is all up to him," said senior Chen. "He decides how many exercises he wants to do, and we respect his choices. It's a process of self-management." Two hand rings and a swing are suspended from the roof, all of which were installed by the father to help Chen Xingrong strengthen his muscles and learn swimming movements more precisely. In October 2021, Chen Xunhu led his son and several other disabled athletes to participate in the 11th National Paralympic Games and the 8th Special Olympics in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Chen junior managed to claim five medals, including a gold. "It was really exciting," Chen Xunhu said. "My son looked so happy on the podium!" BUILDING INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY Besides swimming, learning basic life skills is also an important part of life for a teenager with autism. "I hope that my son can live well on his own when we grow old," said Chen Xunhu. To make people in their community understand autism better, Chen Xunhu made great efforts. In 2010, an autism-themed film named Ocean Heaven hit the big screen in China. It depicts how a terminally ill father attempts to teach his son the necessary life skills to live a life without him. "My wife and I watched the film in the theater," he said. "We sobbed uncontrollably because we could resonate with the film's characters. It took us some time to regain our composure before exiting the cinema." Thereafter, Chen Xunhu organized about 500 people to watch the film together in the cinema. "I wanted the public to know more about autistic people so as to reduce misunderstanding," said senior Chen. Thanks to his father's resolute perseverance, Chen Xingrong has learned to buy food in the market in their neighborhood. He also does voluntary jobs at supermarkets and fast-food restaurants, such as arranging shelves and cleaning dining tables. "He is good at skillfully arranging cluttered goods. He also likes to attend patients in clinics by monitoring their infusion bottles and covering the patients with quilts," said Chen Xunhu. "He is part of the community, and I hope he will live a wonderful life in the future." Chen Xingrong shops at a supermarket in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, March 23, 2022. (Photo by Li Duojiang/Xinhua) Chen Xingrong (L) takes a swimming exercise under the guidance of his father Chen Xunhu in a swimming pool in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, March 23, 2022. (Photo by Li Duojiang/Xinhua) Chen Xingrong (2nd R) wins a gold medal at the 11th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 8th National Special Olympics Games in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Oct. 26, 2021. (Xinhua) Chen Xingrong rides a unicycle in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, March 31, 2022. (Photo by Li Duojiang/Xinhua) Chen Xingrong cleans dining tables at a restaurant in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, March 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Junfeng) Marine fuel sellers have stopped serving vessels flying the Russian flag at major European hubs including Spain and Malta in another blow to Moscow's exports, five industry sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Losing access to refuelling points in the Mediterranean Sea poses major logistical problems for Russian oil tankers going from Baltic ports to Asia and also creates safety concerns over potentially being stuck at sea with flammable cargoes, shipping sources say. Russia is reeling from a wave of severe economic sanctions on its banks and oligarchs and foreign companies are cutting ties after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin calls a special military operation. Multiple factors have prompted the halt in refuelling services, including what sources have described as "self sanctioning" where companies try to stay ahead of the next wave of measures by refusing to enter into contracts with Russian entities. Payment problems due to banking restrictions have also added to complications with deals for marine fuel, which is typically priced and paid for in U.S. dollars. One source said Russian-flagged ships couldn't secure marine fuel in Malta, the British overseas territory of Gibraltar or neighbouring Algeciras in Spain all major bunkering, or refuelling, zones in the Mediterranean. "Several tankers had to take a longer journey in order to bunker in other countries after European ports refused to provide fuel," said another source who was familiar with one of the tanker's movements. A government official in Malta said the country was not allowing any Russian-flagged ships to come to its ports. A transport ministry spokesperson with Spain's Merchant Marine said it was "possible that certain providers are adopting these measures independently". A Gibraltar government spokesperson said port authorities would "reject calling requests by all ships either owned or operated by anyone connected to the country, not even for bunkering, in accordance to UK rules". The spokesperson said that as in Britain, foreign ships with Russian cargoes would be not be affected. 'Not doing business' Russia's maritime sector is already grappling with the winding down of other services including ship certification by leading foreign providers - vital for accessing ports and securing insurance - shipping companies pulling out and ship engine makers suspending training on their equipment. Shipping industry sources say given the complexities of the world's seaborne trade it was unclear how Russian companies would be able to operate with multiple services being withdrawn. Danish marine fuels supplier and ship owner Monjasa said it had suspended "trading and supplies with Russian-flagged vessels, Russian registered companies and companies and individuals with ties or affiliation to Russian ownership" with effect from Feb. 25, a day after Russia's invasion started. Denmark's Bunker Holding said it had stopped all deliveries into Russian harbours since the start of March, adding that the group and subsidiaries including Dan-Bunkering had also "ceased to enter into new obligations with Russian counterparties". "We are aware of the challenges this decision to stop trade with Russian counterparties imposes on clients and counterparties in the rest of the world, but with the terrible situation in Ukraine we need to act swiftly and decisively against Russia," Bunker Holding said in a statement. Gibraltar bunker supplier Peninsula, which is active elsewhere in the Mediterranean and other locations, said in a LinkedIn post it was "not doing business with Russian vessels, ports, companies owned or majority owned - suppliers and financial institutions". Earlier this month, Britain announced sanctions on Russia's biggest shipping company Sovcomflot. While a ban on Russian vessels from EU ports is still under discussion, Russia's oil and products exporters have already faced problems concluding charters for ships and insurance, shipping sources say. A 55-year-old German woman was arrested in Palma on Friday in connection with the alleged murder of her 90-year-old father. The National Police were acting on a European arrest warrant issued by the German authorities on March 16. The woman is said to have fled Germany after murdering her father with the assistance of her brother. She moved in with her daughter, who has lived in Mallorca for several years. The daughter has also been charged but has denied any connection with the death of her grandfather. According to judicial sources, the woman, who goes by the initials I.S., and her brother administered benzodiazepines and opiates to their father over a period of several days. He died in October 2021. Following an autopsy, the German police launched an investigation, which revealed that there is a substantial inheritance. The brother has also been arrested. If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) meets with visiting Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, April 2, 2022. India and Nepal signed four agreements in various fields on Saturday, including solar power, railway and petroleum products, and launched various new projects during a visit of Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. (Photo by Partha Sarkar/Xinhua) NEW DELHI, April 2 (Xinhua) -- India and Nepal signed four agreements in various fields on Saturday, including solar power, railway and petroleum products, and launched various new projects during a visit of Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. The 35-km crossborder rail link from Jaynagar in India's state of Bihar to Kurtha in Nepal was launched, and the 90-km 132 KV Solu Corridor transmission line built with India's Line of Credit at a cost of 2 billion Indian rupees (around 26.3 million U.S. dollars) was inaugurated, said a statement issued by India's Ministry of External Affairs. Besides, India's RuPay card was also launched in Nepal on the occasion. RuPay is an Indian multinational financial services and payment service system conceived and launched by the National Payments Corporation of India. Nepal joined the India-initiated International Solar Alliance framework agreement, while both sides exchanged a memorandum of understanding on enhancing technical cooperation in the railway sector and signed two agreements for supplying petroleum products and sharing of technical expertise. The signing of agreements took place in the presence of visiting Nepali prime minister and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. Both sides also issued a joint statement on power sector cooperation, including India's investment into Nepal's renewable power sector, in particular the hydropower. LAGOS, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian Railway Corporation(NRC) are working hard and collaborating with security agencies to ensure the rescue of at least 21 missing passengers onboard a train which was attacked by gunmen on Monday, an official said. In a statement on Saturday, Fidet Okhiria, the NRC's managing director, confirmed the safety of about 170 passengers who were on board the train. "The corporation, in continuation of its concerted effort through repeated calls, has been able to confirm the safety of 170 passengers, while 21 passengers are reported missing by the relatives who made calls to us," Okhiria said. The corporation is seriously collaborating with the security agencies who have already swung into action to do everything possible to rescue the missing passengers, he said. On Monday night, a passenger train en route to north Nigeria's Kaduna city from Abuja, the country's capital, was attacked by yet-to-be-identified gunmen in Rijana, a town in Kaduna. At least eight passengers were killed and 26 others injured, according to the Kaduna state government on Tuesday. The manifest received from the Nigerian Railway Corporation(NRC) showed 362 passengers were validated as having bought tickets, the Kaduna state government added. The NRC announced on Tuesday it has temporarily suspended its train operations between Abuja and Kaduna due to "unforeseen circumstances" following the attack. Okhiria said in the latest statement the corporation has moved human and material resources to the accident site to ensure the resumption of train services without further delays. He said the move was to reduce the stress currently faced by its passengers in getting to their destinations. On safety, the NRC boss said arrangements had been put in place for increased security along the track and onboard the train to prevent a recurrence of the unfortunate incident. Regional cinema has always stunned the Indian audience in terms of storyline, action, concept and even the fandom the stars enjoy. Even Bollywood actors have been remaking and working in South films lately like Ajay Devgn and Alia Bhatt in RRR or Sanjay Dutt in KGF: Chapter 2 However, another Bollywood actor, John Abraham, recently said in an interview that he never intends to be a part of regional cinema. He said he is a Hindi film hero and wont ever do a Telugu or any other regional film just to stay relevant in the film business like other actors are doing. Abraham said it while promoting Attack and said it was a damn good film. People felt that this statement was demeaning to the regional cinema and the actors working in it. They mentioned that it sounded like he was looking down upon it, which is why when Attack was released, they got a chance to compare his film with the Telugu film RRR which is still going strong at the BO. They also trolled him mercilessly for his comment. Here is what they said. #RRRMovie #RRRBlockbuster #JohnAbraham last 12 films collections - around Rs 620 crores He says Im Bollywood hero, wont do Telugu films.#RRRs 6 days collections - Rs 670 crores RRRs 6 days > Johns last 10 years Dead M Manoj Kumar Patro (@MManojKumarPat1) March 31, 2022 Every Actor in India says I'm an Indian Actor. Mean while #JohnAbraham : pic.twitter.com/zTvwlgtuub Nikola Tesla (@BeingPlatooo) April 1, 2022 Lol you talk about South cinema. Telugu - Big budget Malayalam - Strong content Tamil - High action Kanada - Unique concepts Even if you want to act in south no one's gonna give you offer.#AttackMovie#RRR#Beast #JohnAbraham Emotional Damage (@jonsnoww608) April 2, 2022 7-10 = 3 crores #JohnAbraham this is what you are & what a distress Dear #JohnAbraham learn to respect pic.twitter.com/PH3UpLRXa4 Telugu 101 (@Telugu101) April 2, 2022 RRR's 12th-day collection surpasses Attack's first-day collection by more than four times. The success of RRR even got action star Salman Khan praising the film and wondering out loud as to why Hindi films dont work in the South while South films work pan-India. Every cinema has its potential and USPs and actors should know better than to look down upon them. Bintou Keita (on the screen), the UN secretary-general's special representative and head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), speaks via video link during a Security Council meeting on the situation in the DRC, at the UN Headquarters in New York on March 29, 2022. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua) The council members urged the UN secretary-general, the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) and the Congolese authorities to conduct swift, thorough and transparent investigations into the crash. UNITED NATIONS, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council on Friday voiced concern over Tuesday's crash of a peacekeeping helicopter in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which left eight peacekeepers dead. In a press statement, the members of the council expressed their deep concern over the crash and expressed their deepest condolences to the families of the victims, to their countries -- Pakistan, Russia and Serbia, and to the United Nations. The council members, noting ongoing efforts in this regard, urged the UN secretary-general, the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) and the Congolese authorities to conduct swift, thorough and transparent investigations into the crash. They called on the Congolese authorities to bring any perpetrators to justice and to keep the relevant troop-contributing countries informed of the progress. They condemned in the strongest terms all attacks and provocations against MONUSCO. They underlined that deliberate attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law. The council members expressed concern about the increase in armed group activities in the eastern provinces of the DRC. They expressed their deep concern over the resurgence of the March 23 Movement, which has led to the displacement of hundreds of civilians and a deteriorating humanitarian situation. They stressed the importance of MONUSCO having the necessary capacities to fulfill its mandate and promote the safety and security of the UN peacekeepers and its operations. BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China. SCI-TECH ETHICS GUIDELINE China's first national guideline on the ethical governance of science and technology will effectively prevent potential risks that could arise from sci-tech development, according to senior officials from the Ministry of Science and Technology. The country recently issued the guideline, which noted that accelerating the construction of a sci-tech ethics system with Chinese characteristics should be integrated with innovation and risk-prevention. EVOLUTION OF CREATURES Most of the creatures today consist of hundreds of millions of cells, but when life on Earth first emerged, they were merely a few microns long, invisible to naked eyes. According to a recent study published in the international journal Geology, scientists have found the secret behind it. A joint study conducted by Chinese scientists and their British counterparts has confirmed that the critical evolution of "growing big" happened about 602 million years ago. 3D CARDIAC TISSUE Chinese researchers and their counterparts from British and Dutch universities have worked together to print a cardiac tissue that can survive in vitro and sustain pulses for more than six months. The researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua University, the University of Manchester and Delft University of Technology overcame the limitations of conventional bioprinting systems by converting a six degree-of-freedom robotic arm into a bioprinter, thus enabling cell printing on 3D complex-shaped vascular scaffolds from all directions. A recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas shows that real house prices, which are adjusted for inflation, have steadily increased since 2012, with further acceleration in the pace of house-price appreciation beginning before the pandemic but strengthening since early 2020. The underlying causes of the run-up differ from those during the last housing boom, preceding the 2007-09 Global Financial Crisis, economists at the Federal Reserve wrote, but there is growing concern that U.S. housing prices are "becoming unhinged from fundamentals," and showing signs of a "brewing U.S. housing bubble." Mortgage rates are quickly increasing, reaching an average of 4.67% for a fixed 30-year loan for the week ending March 31, the highest since 2018 according to Freddie Mac. The national median listing price for a home has jumped to a record $405,000, Realtor.com found, with the typical listing price increasing almost 27% in the past two years. RELATED: Housing prices reach record high in March "Real house prices can diverge from market fundamentals when there is widespread belief that today's robust price increases will continue," Dallas Fed economists wrote. "If many buyers share this belief, purchases arising from a 'fear of missing out' can drive up prices and heighten expectations of strong house-price gains," although a rapid rise in home values doesn't necessarily signal a bubble, the Dallas Fed noted. Shifts in disposable income, the cost of credit and access to it, supply disruptions and rising labor and raw construction materials costs are among the economic reasons for sustained real house-price gains, the Dallas Fed wrote. The self-fulfilling mechanism of belief that housing prices will continue to rise resulting in more buyers purchasing at higher costs may become exponential, economists noted, potentially resulting in a progressively misaligned housing market that may lead to more cautious investors, policymaker intervention and the flow of money into housing drying up and a housing correction or even bust occurring. The U.S. housing market has been showing signs of exuberance, or prices growing at an exponential rate exceeding what economic fundamentals would justify, for more than five consecutive quarters through the third quarter of 2021, the report found. The U.S. is not the only country experiencing that exuberance, as 11 of the 25 countries in the Dallas Fed's International House Prices Database show signs of real house-price exuberance. The Dallas Fed noted that evidence points to "abnormal U.S. housing market behavior" for the first time since the boom of the early 2000s. Certain economic indicators including the price-to-rent ratio and the price-to-income ratio show signs that 2021 house prices appear increasingly out of step with fundamentals. "Based on present evidence, there is no expectation that fallout from a housing correction would be comparable to the 2007-09 Global Financial Crisis in terms of magnitude or macroeconomic gravity," the economists wrote, however. "Among other things, household balance sheets appear in better shape and excessive borrowing doesn't appear to be fueling the housing market boom." Market participants, banks, policymakers and regulators are all better equipped to assess in real-time the significance of a housing boom, the Dallas Fed further noted. That's due to the development of advanced tools for early detection and deployment of warning indicators. This means that those involved with the housing market are more able to react quickly and avoid the most severe, negative consequences of a housing correction. Bob Stefanowksi, Republican candidate for governor, traveled to Poland last week to help set up a school for refugee children and bring supplies to Ukranians crossing the Polish border. Poland has taken in the largest number of refugees - more than 2.1 million - since Russias invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24. Several weeks ago, as the war intensified, Stefanowski received a call from a former colleague who asked for his help raising money to start a school for refugee children in the city of Gdansk on the Baltic coast of northern Poland. Stefanowksi, the grandson of Polish immigrants, said he stepped away from the campaign trail last week to visit the school as it was opening. Already, 50 children, mainly middle-school aged, are attending, and at least another 100 are on the waiting list, he said. I know everyone thinks this is political. I get it. I didnt say anything while I was there because I didnt want to sensationalize it, Stefanowski said in a phone interview Friday. Were trying to raise money for the school. Stefanowski said the school cant accept more kids until it hires more teachers because the goal is to limit class sizes to one teacher per 10 students. The building formerly housed an art school. Theres no curriculum yet. Right now, the point is to let the children socialize together. Theyve also spent time drawing and dancing, Stefanowski said. The childrens parents have also been able to connect as they figure out how to start anew including finding housing and employment. Some of the people are trying to stay in Gdansk because theyre hopeful that theyll be able to go home, Stefanowski said. Other people are saying, Weve had it. Weve been under the threat of Russia forever. This has happened before. We hate to leave the Ukraine but enough is enough were just going to relocate our family permanently. Stefanowski also spent several days at the border town of Dorohusk. He said what he observed there families packed into cars with their belongings, an elderly man whod traveled with his homemade wine, mothers traveling alone with their children didnt compare to what hed seen on the television news. People are making the best out of what they have, he said. Theyre trying to stay positive In a staging area near Dorohusk, officials have converted an old palace into dormotories where refugees come to take a shower, get a hot meal and go through a health screening. They can only stay for one night due to limited capacity. Outside the palace are rows of tents where they can pick up supplies such as jackets, blankets, diapers, and childrens toys. Theyre basically handed a garbage bag and walk from station to station taking what they need, Stefanowski said. He said hes thought about the trip every day since. When you see a family in a car that a week ago had a beautiful house and a neighborhood and now everything they have is in a car. Ill tell you, it puts things in perspective, he said. julia.bergman@hearstmediact.com BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- China has spent more than 120 billion yuan (around 18.9 billion U.S. dollars) on COVID-19 vaccination, an expenditure within the limits of the country's medical insurance funds, said the National Healthcare Security Administration. So far, 3.2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered on the Chinese mainland, according to the administration. China launched free programs to vaccinate its population against COVID-19 in February 2021. The cost of vaccine procurement and inoculation is mostly covered by the country's medical insurance funds and government budget. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) As Russian forces pull back from Ukraines capital region, retreating troops are creating a catastrophic" situation for civilians by leaving mines around homes, abandoned equipment and even the bodies of those killed," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Saturday. Ukraine and its Western allies reported mounting evidence of Russia withdrawing its forces from around Kyiv and building up troop strength in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian fighters reclaimed several areas near the capital after forcing the Russians out or moving in after them, officials said. The visible shift did not mean the country faced a reprieve from more than five weeks of war or that the more than 4 million refugees who have fled Ukraine will return soon. Zelenskyy said he expects departed towns to receive airstrikes and shelling from afar and for the battle in the east to be intense. Its still not possible to return to normal life, as it used to be, even at the territories that we are taking back after the fighting, the president told his nation in a nightly video message. "We need wait until our land is demined, wait till we are able to assure you that there wont be new shelling. Moscow's focus on eastern Ukraine also kept the besieged southern city of Mariupol in the crosshairs. The port city on the Sea of Azoz is located in the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region, where Russia-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian troops for eight years and military analysts think Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to expand control after his forces failed to secure Kyiv and other major cities. The International Committee of the Red Cross planned to try Saturday to get emergency supplies into Mariupol and to evacuate residents. The Red Cross said it was unable to carry out the operation Friday because it did not receive assurances the route was safe. City authorities said the Russians blocked access to the city. Mariupol, which was surrounded by Russian forces a month ago, has been the scene of some of the wars worst attacks, including on a maternity hospital and a theater sheltering civilians. Around 100,000 people are believed to remain in the city, down from a prewar population of 430,000, and facing dire shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine. The city's capture would give Moscow an unbroken land bridge from Russia to Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, but also has taken on symbolic significance during Russia's invasion, said Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Ukrainian think-tank Penta. Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, and without its conquest, Putin cannot sit down at the negotiating table, Fesenko said. The Mariupol city council said Saturday that 10 empty buses were headed to Berdyansk, a city 84 kilometers west of Mariupol, to pick up people who can get there on their own. Some 2,000 made it out of Mariupol on Friday, some on buses and some in their own vehicles, city officials said. An adviser to Zelenskyy, Oleksiy Arestovych, said in an interview with a Russian lawyer and activist, Mark Feygin, that Russia and Ukraine had reached an agreement to allow 45 buses to drive to Mariupol to evacuate residents in coming days. Such agreements have been reached before, only to be breached. On Thursday, Russian forces blocked a 45-bus convoy attempting to evacuate people from Mariupol and seized 14 tons of food and medical supplies bound for the city, Ukrainian authorities said. Zelenskyy said he discussed the humanitarian disaster in Mariupol with French President Emmanuel Macron by telephone and with the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, during her visit to Kyiv on Friday. Europe doesnt have the right to be silent about what is happening in our Mariupol, Zelenskyy said. The whole world should respond to this humanitarian catastrophe. On the outskirts of Kyiv, signs of fierce fighting were everywhere in the wake of the Russian redeployment. Destroyed armored vehicles from both armies left in streets and fields and scattered military gear covered the ground next to an abandoned Russian tank. Ukrainian forces recaptured the city of Brovary, 20 kilometers east of the capital, Mayor Ihor Sapozhko said in a televised Friday night address. Shops were reopening and residents were returning but still stand ready to defend their city, he added. Russian occupants have now left practically all of the Brovary district, Sapozhko said. Tonight, (Ukrainian) armed forces will work to clear settlements of (remaining) occupants, military hardware, and possibly from mines. Elsewhere, at least three Russian ballistic missiles were fired late Friday at the Odesa region on the Black Sea, regional leader Maksim Marchenko said. The Ukrainian military said the Iskander missiles did not hit the critical infrastructure they targeted. Odesa is Ukraines largest port and the headquarters of its navy. As the war dragged on, the U.S. Defense Department said Friday night it is providing an additional $300 million in arms to Ukrainian forces. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement that the gear in the new package includes laser-guided rocket systems, unmanned aircraft, armored vehicles, night vision devices and ammunition. Also included are medical supplies, field equipment and spare parts. There was no immediate word Saturday on the latest round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, which took place Friday by video. During a round of talks earlier in the week, Ukraine said it would be willing to abandon a bid to join NATO and declare itself neutral Moscows chief demand in return for security guarantees from several other countries. On Friday, the Kremlin accused Ukraine of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot on Russian soil. Ukraine denied responsibility for the fiery blast at the civilian oil storage facility on the outskirts of the city of Belgorod, about 25 kilometers (16 miles) from the Ukraine border. If Moscows claim is confirmed, it would be the wars first known attack in which Ukrainian aircraft penetrated Russian airspace. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines national security council, said on Ukrainian television: For some reason they say that we did it, but in fact this does not correspond with reality. Later, in an interview with American TV channel Fox News, Zelenskyy refused to say whether Ukraine was behind the attack. ___ Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Andrea Rosa in Irpin, Ukraine, and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. Answers Foam concrete wall pouring method The purchasing pace at the demand end of the international thermal coal market continues to slow down and the international thermal coal price continues to decline. Prices for thermal coal at major international ports continued to fall last week as buyers in Europe slowed in recent days for April, coupled with weaker-than-expected import demand from End users in China. According to China Coal Market net monitoring: as of March 25, Australia Newcastle port thermal coal price index was 253 USD/ton, compared with 309.02 USD/ton as of March 18, down 56.02 USD/ton, down 18.13%. South Africa's Port Richards thermal coal price Index was $264.5 / mt, down the US $62.72 / mt or 19.17% from US $327.22 / mt as of March 18. The European ARA Tri-port thermal coal price Index was $281.8 / ton. Does the price of thermal coal in major international ports continue to decline to affect the price of the Foam concrete? Foam concrete wall casting methods can be divided into three types: removable formwork casting, formwork-free casting and sandwich wall casting. Among these three types of casting methods, the mold-free casting method is widely used. The so-called mold-free casting wall is mainly born for the construction of foam concrete walls in recent years. Because foam concrete is especially suitable for cast-in-place construction (such as roof insulation, floor heating insulation, floor cushion, filling works, etc.), People have always been studying how to apply it to wall casting to exert its good physical properties. However, due to the high fluidity of foam concrete, it is easy to cause accidents such as expansion of mold and slurry leakage for the high height of wall casting. At the same time, it is difficult for closed construction. The uniformity and stability in the pouring process are not easy to grasp. In the application of wall pouring technology in recent years, most of the constructions follow the traditional concrete construction technology, and there is no feasible construction technology that is organically combined with the technological characteristics of foam concrete. Although the application field of foamed concrete has a history of several decades, the application field has been limited to a very small range. It has been staying in a primitive state. In recent years, the foam concrete roof insulation cast-in-place has also been staying at the original technical level, but the consistency of the foam concrete has been increased. Only this improvement requires high-demand wall casting. It is far from enough. It needs to consider the construction organization design, the preparation process of foamed concrete and its physical properties. 1. Preparation technology of wall foam concrete Foam concrete free formwork wall pouring, solving the technology of expanding formwork and slurry leakage is the key factor. Foamed concrete for formwork-free wall casting can be divided into the preparation technology of pure ordinary Portland cement foamed concrete according to the application, and the preparation technology of foamed concrete with light aggregate added. (1) Preparation technology of ordinary Portland cement foam concrete. Ordinary Portland cement to prepare wall casting foam concrete is the most common wall casting foam concrete. The wall core generally has low eyeball strength, but has good sound insulation, heat preservation and fire resistance. No matter what kind of hollow wall this product is poured into, it has little requirements on the settlement and bleeding of foamed concrete. For these two indicators, one is to choose a good foaming agent, which must have good foam stabilization and anti-foaming properties. At the same time, it must have affinity with various cements, and it is allowed to add some admixtures. Animal protein foaming agents and composite foaming agents are recommended. These two foaming agents are the first choice for wall casting. (2) Preparation technology of adding lightweight aggregate foam concrete. For medium-height wall casting materials with higher requirements, it is necessary to add low-density lightweight aggregates to the foamed concrete, especially a part of lightweight aggregates, such as fly ash, ceramsite, polystyrene particles, perlite, vitrified Microbeads etc. However, ordinary foaming equipment cannot prepare foamed concrete with light aggregates. For this reason, Nanchang Golden Concrete Construction Engineering Co., Ltd. has introduced advanced equipment, which can effectively add materials such as vitrified microbeads, polystyrene particles, and perlite. Among the foamed concrete, the foamed concrete added with light aggregate has the characteristics of high strength, good crack resistance and good thermal insulation performance. 2. Wall pouring foam concrete conveying technology Foam concrete conveying technology is the key to the success of wall pouring. As an ordinary pump foaming equipment, due to its unreasonable conveying method, foam concrete will be unstable and difficult to operate and control. Foam concrete fails to be poured in a large number of walls. The majority of pour failures are due to poor conveying techniques. Foamed concrete has a certain compressibility due to the large amount of air bubbles, which will cause separation and fragmentation under different flow rates and pressure environments. Unreasonable conveying methods will cause the quality of foamed concrete to change, and these changes will cause pouring failure to a certain extent. After a large number of experiments, it is found that the transportation of foam concrete should be one-way, low-pulse, and uniform and constant flow. Among the conveying equipment hydraulic plunger pump, diaphragm pump, screw pump, hose pump and other pumps, only the latter two are close to the conveying requirements of foam concrete. The biggest advantage of these two kinds of pumps is that there are no inlet and outlet valves, one-way pulse output, and no negative pulse caused by back-and-forth motion, which maximizes the protection of the original state of the product. Therefore, it is best to choose a hose pump for the transportation of foam concrete, because the pressure of the pump can reach 2.5MPa, which is twice that of the screw pump. It is the preferred equipment within the range of the maximum effective height specified in the current foam concrete industry standard. 3. Foam concrete wall formwork Formwork-free foam concrete wall pouring is a composite composite of lightweight concrete slab, cement pressure slab, fiber cement slab, cement wood wool slab, calcium silicate slab and glass magnesium slab as permanent formwork and cast-in-place foam concrete. Insulated walls. The formwork of the composite thermal insulation wall is a combination of the wall, and there is no formwork removal procedure, which makes the construction process more simplified, the work efficiency is higher, the construction period is shorter, and the shrinkage cracks of the foam concrete are effectively controlled. Composite thermal insulation wall is a new type of self-insulating wall, which is an integrated product of wall, thermal insulation and decoration. TRUNNANO is a concrete additives supplier with over 12 years experience in nano-building energy conservation and nanotechnology development. We accept payment via Credit Card, T/T, West Union and Paypal. Trunnano will ship the goods to customers overseas through FedEx, DHL, by air, or by sea. If you are looking for high quality concrete additives, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry. sales@cabr-concrete.com Prior to the impact of COVID-19 on the chemicals and materials industry and the price of the Foam concrete, many industry observers expected low to flat growth in 2021 in all regions outside Asia, with many countries seeing slower growth compared to recent years. Operational excellence has long been a hallmark of the Foam concrete chemical industry, and many companies are financially able to withstand short-term dips in end-market demand due to rapid leverage from reduced capex on hand. The analysis shows that, whatever the final course of the pandemic, we can expect the inevitable long-term effects. Workplaces are expected to slowly return to pre-COVID-19 practices. Companies investing in enterprise-wide digital initiatives saw these "payoffs" in the early pandemic environment. For more information about Foam concrete, please feel free to contact us. Inquery us Answers Microsilica Fume The purchasing pace at the demand end of the international thermal coal market continues to slow down and the international thermal coal price continues to decline. Prices for thermal coal at major international ports continued to fall last week as buyers in Europe slowed in recent days for April, coupled with weaker-than-expected import demand from End users in China. According to China Coal Market net monitoring: as of March 25, Australia Newcastle port thermal coal price index was 253 USD/ton, compared with 309.02 USD/ton as of March 18, down 56.02 USD/ton, down 18.13%. South Africa's Port Richards thermal coal price Index was $264.5 / mt, down the US $62.72 / mt or 19.17% from US $327.22 / mt as of March 18. The European ARA Tri-port thermal coal price Index was $281.8 / ton. Does the price of thermal coal in major international ports continue to decline to affect the price of the Microsilica Fume? Micro-silica is finely processed from silicon dioxide (SiO2), also known as quartz, through crushing, purification, grinding, grading and other processes. It has high purity, white color, and reasonable particle size distribution. It has unique properties and a wide range of uses. Because the micro-silica fume can fill the pores between cement particles, and at the same time form a gel with the hydration product, and react with the alkaline material magnesium oxide to form a gel. In cement-based concrete, mortar, concrete and refractory castables, mixing a proper amount of micro-silica fume silica fume can play the following roles: 1. Significantly improve the compression resistance, flexural resistance, impermeability, corrosion resistance, impact resistance and wear resistance. 2. It has the functions of retaining water, preventing segregation and bleeding, and greatly reducing the resistance of concrete pumping. 3. Significantly prolong the service life of concrete. Especially in harsh environments such as chloride pollution erosion, sulfate erosion, and high humidity, the durability of concrete can be doubled or even several times higher. 4. Significantly reduce the floor ash of sprayed concrete and castables, and increase the thickness of a single spray layer. 5. It is a necessary component of high-strength concrete, and C150 concrete has been used in engineering. 6. It has about 5 times the effect of cement, and its application in ordinary concrete and low-cement castables can reduce costs and improve durability. 7. Effectively prevent the occurrence of concrete alkali aggregate reaction. 8. Improve the compactness of castable refractories. When coexisting with Al2O3, it is easier to form a mullite phase, which increases its high-temperature strength and thermal shock resistance. For the design of the mixing ratio of micro-silica fume concrete, it is mainly based on the design requirements to determine the method of mixing silica fume, the optimal amount of micro-silica. Ordinary concrete design method 1. The method of mixing silica fume: There are generally two methods for micro-silica fume in concrete: one is internal mixing, and the other is external mixing, both of which are used in conjunction with a water reducing agent. The internal mixing method often uses micro-silica fume instead of cement, and is divided into equal replacement and partial equal replacement. The equal replacement is micro-silica fume content instead of equal cement, and the partial replacement is 1 kg micro-silica fume instead of 13. kg cement, as a research, the general mixing amount is 5% to 30%, and the water-cement ratio generally remains unchanged: while the external mixing method refers to the micro-silica fume is mixed into the concrete like an admixture, and the amount of cement is not reduced. Generally, it is 5% to 10%. Generally, the mechanical properties of concrete obtained by the external admixture method are much higher, but the amount of cementing material in the concrete is increased. 2. The optimum amount of silica fume: Too little silica fume is added to the concrete, which will not improve the performance of the concrete much, but if the amount is too much, the concrete will be too sticky and difficult to construct, and the shrinkage deformation will be large, and it will resist freezing Poor performance, therefore, when doping micro-silica powder, the optimal dosing amount should be found in order to obtain the best results. Under normal circumstances, the effect is more satisfactory if the dosage is less than 10%. The appropriate amount of micro-silica fume is generally selected according to the micro-silica fume, the type of cement and the nature of the aggregate, such as 3, 5, 7, 10%, etc., to form the concrete specimen and draw R-SF (Intensity-microsilica content) curve is determined. 3. The optimal dosage of water-reducing agent: Use micro-silica fume in concrete. If you want to keep the same fluidity without adding water-reducing agent, you must increase the water consumption and the water-cement ratio. Combined use of micro-silica fume and water reducing agent. The water-cement ratio of mixed micro-silica fume remains unchanged, that is, the water consumption does not increase, and the same fluidity and strength of micro-silica concrete can be achieved with concrete without micro-silica fume. Has been greatly improved. 4. Adjustment of the amount of sand and gravel: Generally, there is no need to adjust the amount of sand and gravel mixed with micro-silica powder. The volume of sand and gravel equal to the volume of the micro-silica powder should be reduced when the micro-silica powder is added. Overall, the demand for Microsilica Fumes is on the rise, and future Microsilica Fumes will continue to evolve. Although the prosperity of the brand name has rebounded, there are still many outstanding problems in production and operation. The proportion of enterprises reflecting high raw material cost, high labor cost, and capital shortage are 60.2%, 36.3%, and 32.0% respectively increased this month. In the future, the company will continue to adjust the structure, improve the quality of the Microsilica Fume, and the Microsilica Fume will develop steadilyif you need product nanme please contact us. Inquery us Products Concrete Early Strength Agent The biggest immediate challenge for the EU will be replenishing its depleted gas inventories. While the EU could still increase LNG imports from countries such as the US, such purchases would be more expensive. Refilling natural gas storage space to historical average levels this year could cost 70 billion euros, a sevenfold increase, compared to 10 billion euros in previous years. " A complete replacement for Russian gas is not only very expensive, but it also may not be possible. In the next 12 months, there is little way to meet the demand for a "normal" year in the absence of Gazprom, which also includes early strength agent. Overview of concrete early strength agent: Concrete early-strength agent can greatly change the final setting time while ensuring the quality of concrete is reduced. It is changed to demoulding as soon as possible. The sleeve accelerates the turnover of the formwork, saves the amount of formwork, saves energy and saves cement, reduces production costs, and improves the output of concrete products. Our early strength agent 31B can reduce the activation energy of the cement hydration reaction, increase the hydration reaction rate, promote the rapid development of the strength during the hardening period. And it can significantly improve the cement mortar products. Ultra-early strength within 12 hours. Abnormal, does not affect the durability of cement mortar products. Data of concrete Early strength agent: Item Unit Performance Required indicators Test results Appearance Grey powder Grey powder Water content % 4.0 3.6 Density g/cm3 3.25 pH 7-9 8 Total alkali % 10 5.8 Compressive strength ratio 1d,% 135 160 3d,% 130 143 7d,% 110 120 28d,% 100 113 Application of concrete Early strength agent: 1) 31B does not contain chlorine ions and has no rusting effect on steel bars. It is suitable for all civil, industrial buildings and prestressed reinforced concrete members, mortar, etc. (2) 31B is suitable for construction under low temperature in early winter and early spring; (3) 31B is used for Portland cement, especially for the reinforcement and modification of slag cement. The advantage of concrete Early strength agent: 1. Excellent super early strength performance, can greatly improve the strength development under normal temperature, low temperature or thermal curing temperature conditions 2. It can improve the durability of cement mortar and board, and won't shrink the strength of cement mortar and board. 3. Shorten demolding time and speed up mold turnover 4. Shorten or even eliminate steam curing process, save energy and reduce consumption 5.Reduce the amount of glue Package of concrete Early strength agent: 25kg/bag Suppliers of concrete Early strength agent: TRUNNANO is the global leader of Low-Density Cellular Concrete (LDCC), Celluar Light Concrete (CLC) and advanced engineered foam solutions. Known globally for its commitment to research, innovation, and applied expertise, we have been providing engineered foam solutions since the early 2012's. Our early strength agent 31B can reduce the activation energy of the cement hydration reaction, increase the hydration reaction rate, promote the rapid development of the strength during the hardening period. And it can significantly improve the cement mortar products. Ultra-early strength within 12 hours. Abnormal, does not affect the durability of cement mortar products. Add amount2-4 kg/m3 Appearance: Grey powder Application: The main function of early strength agent is to accelerate the hydration speed of cement and promote the development of early strength of cement. Cancer cells can "stretch out a big hand" and take away the mitochondria of immune cells. The Harvard Medical School research team cultured mouse and human breast cancer cells and immune cells, such as killer T cells, and used field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) to observe the relationship between cancer cells and immune cells. interactive. Interestingly, they found that cancer cells stick out long nanotubes, typically within 100-1000 nanometers in diameter, each of which connects to multiple immune cells along the way. The researchers used the drug L-778123, which inhibits the formation of nanotubes, for treatment. The higher the concentration of L-778123, the better the treatment effect. Product name are used in various high-tech fields, so the market demand for early strength agent will continue to rise. We are a quality supplier of early strength agent name, please feel free to contact us sales1@nanotrun.com Inquery us In February, Ingenuity Lab member Miranda Ntorinkansah was invited to speak on the student panel for the Midlands Racial Equality in Medicine 2022 Conference. Hosted by the University of Warwick, the MREM conference was designed to bring together medical schools in the Midlands to tackle racial inequalities and close the attainment gap in medicine. Miranda, a third-year Medicine student and Witty Entrepreneurial Scholar , founded Med2Be Consultants in 2021, inspired by her struggles when applying to Medical School. Growing up in London as the daughter of first-generation immigrants, she experienced first-hand how hard it can be for state-educated students and those from under-served communities to get the support needed to successfully apply to study Medicine. I had a fantastic time at the MREM Conference last month, said Miranda. I had the opportunity to meet my peers from various medical schools in the region and learnt more about Warwick Medical Schools initiatives like decolonising their curriculum and improving representation in their leadership. As a panellist, I also shared more about my story and some of my struggles as a black, first-generation medic. It was great to learn more about how to advocate for myself and others, and gave me the opportunity to meet different medics within the region. Miranda on the Student Panel at the MREM Conference Med2Be is a student-led organisation that aims to break down the barriers standing in the way of successfully achieving a place on a medical, dental or pharmacy course. Miranda and her co-founder Chiedza work with a team of medical, dental and pharmacy students from some of the top schools in the country, who know what it takes to get into these competitive courses. It was very difficult getting to where I am now, and I made many mistakes along the way, partly because I didnt have anybody I could go to for advice, she explained. My parents didnt go to university in the UK, so they didnt know how the system worked, and the school I went to didnt have the facilities or track record of sending students to medical school either. She has since been returned to her secondary school to work with young people who aspire to enter the medical profession. Five years ago, I didnt feel like those options were available to me, she said. My journey was a long and rigorous one with many hurdles and disappointments along the way. But I wouldnt change any part of it, as it taught me many key lessons, and formed the basis and passion that led me to start my business. Through the Witty Entrepreneurial Scholarship and her membership of the Ingenuity Lab, Miranda has been able to receive support and advice to help establish and grow her business, all while juggling her studies as a third-year Medic. Miranda added: Support from the Scholarship and the Lab has really helped, especially as I do not have that business background. Its so much more than just providing our services to students its how we market ourselves, how we grow our following its this side of things I didnt have much prior knowledge of. But being part of this is building my knowledge and makes me want to learn more about the business side of things. The first aid convoy in three months reached Ethiopia's war-stricken Tigray region on Friday, the UN said, a week after the government and Tigrayan rebels agreed to a conditional truce. The UN's World Food Programme said on Twitter that 13 trucks had "arrived safely" in the Tigrayan capital Mekele, adding: "More trucks & fuel will follow in morning." The 17-month war has created a humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia, with the UN saying hundreds of thousands of people were on the brink of famine in Tigray. It is the first such convoy to reach Tigray since December and follows the declaration last week by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government of an indefinite humanitarian truce, while the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) agreed to a "cessation of hostilities" if aid arrived. Earlier, the UN agency had announced the convoy was on its way to Tigray from the neighbouring Afar region carrying more than 500 tonnes of food "for communities on (the) edge of starvation". "Good progress, much more needed -- we need daily convoys flowing in safely to meet the needs of 5 million people," it said. The arrival of the aid could help shore up the shaky truce between the government and the TPLF. "This is one good step in the right direction," TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda said on Twitter, announcing that 20 WFP trucks had made it to rebel-controlled territory. "The bottom line, though, isn't about how many trucks are allowed but whether there is a system in place to ensure unfettered humanitarian access for the needy!" 'Extreme lack of food' Friday's development comes just days after both sides accused each other of blocking an aid convoy headed for Tigray, which has not seen any humanitarian supplies arrive by road since December 15. The government had announced on Thursday that 21 vehicles carrying relief supplies had started moving through Afar towards Tigray. "The government of Ethiopia reaffirms its commitment to work closely with stakeholders to ensure the full delivery of humanitarian assistance to those in need," it said. A humanitarian source said the convoy had been blocked on Thursday evening by regional forces in Afar but was able to resume its journey on Friday. The WFP on Twitter thanked the federal government and Afar authorities for the convoy's safe passage, which also comes after the US charge d'affaires in Ethiopia, Tracey Jacobson, travelled to Afar this week and met regional president Awol Arba. Nearly 40 percent of Tigray's six million inhabitants face "an extreme lack of food", the UN said in January, with fuel shortages forcing aid workers to deliver medicines and other crucial supplies sometimes by foot. Map of Ethiopia locating the region of Tigray. By Aude GENET AFP Since mid-February, humanitarian operations in the northern region have been virtually halted due to local shortages of fuel, food and cash, according to the UN. Tigray has also been subject to what the UN says is a de-facto blockade and is without elecricity or communications. The United States has accused Abiy's government of preventing aid from reaching those in need, while the authorities in turn have blamed the rebels for the obstruction. Both sides have issued demands in connection with the truce. The government has called on the rebels to "desist from all acts of further aggression and withdraw from areas they have occupied in" the neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara. The rebels have in turn urged the Ethiopian authorities "to go beyond empty promises and take concrete steps to facilitate unfettered humanitarian access" to Tigray. The government previously declared a "unilateral ceasefire" in Tigray in June last year, after the TPLF mounted a shock comeback and retook the region from federal forces before expanding into Amhara and Afar. The fighting intensified in the second half of 2021 before reaching a stalemate. The rebels at one point claimed to be within 200 kilometres (125 miles) of the capital Addis Ababa. According to the UN, the war has displaced more than two million people, driven hundreds of thousands to the brink of famine and left more than nine million in need of food aid. The conflict erupted in November 2020 when Abiy sent troops into Tigray to topple the TPLF, the region's former ruling party, saying the move came in response to rebel attacks on army camps. Thousands of people have died as fighting has dragged on, while accounts have emerged of massacres and mass rapes, with both sides accused of human rights violations. The Minority in Parliament is suspecting foul play and corruption in governments Green Ghana Project. This comes after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) that seven million trees have been planted through the project. Before that revelation, the Minister responsible for Lands and Mineral Resource in Parliament earlier noted that about 4.89 million trees were planted. Accusing the government of contradicting figures, the Deputy Ranking Member for the Select Committee on Lands and Natural Resources, Alhassan Suhuyini says there is something wrong somewhere. According to him, the Minority will not stop at anything to ensure government properly account for the Green Ghana Project. We are preparing as a country to undertake second year of Green Ghana. I am sure you heard the President talk about how two million more trees were planted last year even though they projected five million trees. So in effect, the President made the claim that last year seven million trees were planted. Now, the records that is known to the House of Parliament where the President was speaking is clear that only a couple of weeks ago the Minister responsible for Lands and Mineral Resources in answering to a question indicated that only about 4.89 million trees were planted, Hon. Alhassan Suhuyini told Starr News in an interview. The Tamale North MP continued, Lets assume that the Minister is right because he is responsible for the operation of the institutions of the Forestry Commission that was undertaking this project. Where did the President get the figure seven million from? Was he lying to Ghanaians when he said they planted seven million trees last year? We are all in support of attempts to green our nation because we know the effect on the Ozone Layer and carbon emissions. But we will not stop asking the question of transparency and accountability because these seedlings are usually procured with the taxpayers money. Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), attends a press conference in Vienna, Austria, April 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Guo Chen) VIENNA, April 1 (Xinhua) -- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi said Friday that he would head an assistance and support mission to Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant "as soon as possible" to help ensure the facility's safety. Grossi tweeted on Friday that the mission "will be the first in a series of such nuclear safety and security missions to Ukraine." He also told a press conference in Vienna later on Friday that the IAEA mission would be in Chernobyl "very, very soon." The IAEA chief has just returned from his recent visits to Ukraine and Russia, during which he held discussions with officials on both sides about ensuring the security of Ukraine's nuclear facilities. The IAEA said on Thursday the agency had been informed by Ukraine that Russian forces which had been in control of the Chernobyl plant were leaving the facility and had transferred control of the plant to Ukrainian personnel. At Friday's press conference, Grossi said he had not discussed with Russian officials why Russian forces left Chernobyl. Grossi said the IAEA was still unable to confirm reports that Russian forces were contaminated with radiation at the Chernobyl plant. He added that the general radiation level around the plant was "quite normal." "There was a relatively higher level of localized radiation because of the movement of heavy vehicles at the time of the occupation of the plant, and apparently this might have been the case again on the way out," he said. Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces had been in control of the plant since Feb. 24. The Chernobyl plant, some 110 km north of the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, suffered one of the worst nuclear accidents in human history on April 26, 1986. Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), speaks during a press conference in Vienna, Austria, April 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Guo Chen) Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), speaks during a press conference in Vienna, Austria, April 1, 2022.(Xinhua/Guo Chen) This week on The Sound Kitchen you'll hear the answer to the question about International Women's Day, plus a look at an extraordinary woman from India, Dr. Hemalatha Nomula. There's The Sound Kitchen mailbag, Ollia's Happy Moment, Music from Erwan, and of course, the new quiz question. Just click on the Audio arrow above and enjoy! Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll hear the winner's names announced and the week's quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you've grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, On This Day, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music so be sure and listen every week. RFI Planete Radio is sponsoring a video contest, and we want you to enter! Planete Radio is an RFI department that reaches out to remote populations around the world. For the fourth consecutive year, Planete Radio is holding a video competition on environmental issues. The theme of this year's competition is Show how they feel: You are to create a 3-minute video about climate change, the environment, pollution - told by the people it affects. Here's what Planete Radio says about the competition: Environmental deterioration, climate change, pollution, everybody's talking about it. But amid articles, figures, and expert reports, what do we really know about the feelings of the people already impacted? The video clips produced by the ePOP community in more than 50 countries allow us to hear from those who never ask for anything yet have seen it all - those who are already living with these changes that deteriorate their quality of life. Your project can be intergenerational: Get together with your grandfather, your aunt, someone older in your community and ask them how they feel about what is happening to their surroundings or to the place where they grew up. Your project can also be about how you, or people your age, feel about climate change, given that your future will be affected by this phenomenon. Gather the words of those around you who are confronting the environmental crisis in their daily lives, investing, researching, and questioning the urgency of deploying solutions to face it. Prizes for this year's competition include equipment grants from 1,000 to 4,500 euros, as well as ePOP promotion kits and other goodies. For competition guidelines and more information about the four different categories you can enter, click here. You can also write to us at [email protected] if you need more help. We're very proud that the winner in the ePOP 2020 RFI Club category went to an English language club Adita Prithika's RFI Agnichiragu Phoenix Club in Tamil Nadu, India. Here's Adita's award-winning video. Please note that you do not have to be a member of an RFI English Club to enter. Everyone is welcome! The deadline for entries is 1 May, so get to work! Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your musical requests, so get them in! Send your musical requests to [email protected] Tell us why you like the piece of music, too it makes it more interesting for us all! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts which will leave you hungry for more. There's Paris Perspective, Africa Calling, Spotlight on France, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have a bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too. As you see, sound is still quite present from the RFI English service. Keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we'll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website and click on the three horizontal bars on the top right, choose Listen to RFI / Podcasts, and you've got 'em ! You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is Headline News) until you see Podcasts, and choose your show. Teachers, take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected] If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below. Another idea for your students: my beloved music teacher from St Edward's University in Austin, Texas, Br Gerald Muller, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English - that's how I worked on my French, reading books which were meant for young readers and I guarantee you, it's a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald's free books, click here. Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! And don't forget, there is a Facebook page just for you, the independent RFI English Clubs. Only members of RFI English Clubs can belong to this group page, so when you apply to join, be sure you include the name of your RFI Club and your membership number. Everyone can look at it, but only members of the group can post on it. If you haven't yet asked to join the group, and you are a member of an independent, officially recognized RFI English club, go to the Facebook link above , and fill out the questionnaire !!!!! (if you do not answer the questions, I click decline). There's a Facebook page for members of the general RFI Listeners Club, too. Just click on the link above and fill out the questionnaire, and you can connect with your fellow Club members around the world. Be sure you include your RFI Listeners Club membership number (most of them begin with an A, followed by a number) in the questionnaire, or I will have to click Decline, which I don't like to do! This week's quiz: On 5 March, we had an early tribute to International Women's Day, which is celebrated every year on 8 March and to that end, the quiz was about the holiday. As I noted then, International Women's Day has a long history, with different countries proposing a Women's Day in the early 20th century. I asked you to do a little research and find out when the earliest version of Women's Day occurred, who organized it, and in which country. The answer is: According to the United Nations' article Background: International Women's Day, the earliest version of Women's Day was organized by the Socialist Party of New York, in New York City, on 28 February 1909. Then, at the 1910 International Socialist Women's Conference, the German delegates proposed an annual Women's Day which was adopted by various countries over the years. International Women's Day became a global holiday when it was added to the calendar of official United Nations Days in 1977. The winners are: RFI Listeners Club members Rachid Dahmani from M'sila, Algeria; Tasneem Saleh from Nilphamari, Bangladesh; Arne Timm from Harjumaa, Estonia; Radhakrishna Pillai N. from Kerala State in India, and RFI English listener Lata Khondaker from Bogura, Bangladesh. Congratulations winners! Here's the music you heard on this week's program: Dance with Waves by Anouar Brahem, performed by Brahem and his quartet; The Flight of the Bumblebee by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; Africa Unity a Must by Femi Kuti, performed by Kuti and Positive Force, and Turbulences by Michel Portal, performed by Portal and his ensemble. Do you have a musical request? Send it to [email protected] This week's question ... You have to listen to the show to participate. After you've listened to the show, refer to Michael Fitzpatrick's article to help you with the answer. You have until 9 May to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 14 May podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France or By text You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country's international access code, or + , then 33 6 31 12 96 82. Don't forget to include your mailing address in your text and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. To find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize, click here. To find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or to form your own official RFI Club, click here. Even though every government needs ministers to carry out various functions but to make it easier for the president to deal with a huge variety of issues, he has to appoint an advisor. The current Senior Presidential advisor to President Nana Akufo Addo is Yaw Osafo-Maafo but who is Osafo-Maafo? And why among all the NPP politicians, did Akufo Addo choose this particular man as his advisor? I dont have friends because I dont need them but if Im interested, I will make sure to find those that will build me up with more wisdom, since bad company ruins good morals. It's over five years since Akufo Addo became the president of Ghana, unfortunately, he has never been successful in anything. Poor decisions, corruption, waste of resources, huge debt without accountability, and the lack of job creation, have made him the worst president in the political history of Ghana. What good advice does Akufo Addo expect from Yaw Osafo Maafo, the former Education Minister sacked by ex-president John Agyekum Kufuor? If Yaw Osafo-Maafo is the Senior Presidential advisor to Akufo Addo and the president has failed in everything he does and the decision he makes, then we need to ask ourselves, what kind of advice does Osafo-Maafo give to Nana Akufo Addo? Why has Nana Akufo Addo failed as a leader, is it because he is an incompetent president, or is his Senior Advisor, Osafo Maafo, responsible for the president's failure due to his harmful advice? Why was the stone rejected by the ex-Ghanaian president, John Agyekum Kufuor became the cornerstone of Akufo Addos government? I don't understand Akufo Addo. Osafo Maafo, the current Senior Presidential advisor to President Nana Akufo Addo, was sacked by ex-president John Kufuor, when serving as the Minister of Education, over an alleged corruption scandal involving a $2 million. Akufo Addo ignored this fact and still appointed Osafo-Maafo as his Presidential Advisor. I don't know if Akufo Addo understands what he did and what it means to both the party and the ex-president, John Agyekum Kufuor. I do understand Akufo Addo sometimes, even though I am not a psychologist. Since the president knows he is not a saint but corrupt, he eats and dines with corrupt politicians but I hate his lies when he wants to convince Ghanaians that I Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, Im not corrupt. The Ghanaian president is a Christian who loves God, thats why has promised Him a Cathedral, besides, it is written in his bible that Jesus did not come to call the righteous but sinners, therefore, Akufo Addo finds it comfortable to add corrupt politicians to his government. Unfortunately, Akufo Addo adding corrupt politicians such as Eugene Arhin, Charles Bissiw, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, Paul Adom-Otchere, etc, to his government is not the same as Jesus looking for sinners because the Saviors mission is to heal them, while Akufo Addo is promoting corruption. Thats why his government has been the most corrupt in Ghanas political history, all because Akufo Addos decisions are very bad and his thinking ability very poor. He should have avoided Osafo-Maafo since Kufuor had him sacked. How can the NPP lick back the vomit of the NPP? How does any intelligent person expect Ghana to grow under Nana Akufo Addo who is still attached to Osafo-Maafo, giving him harmful advice every day? I am not saying this to discourage the common Ghanaians, yet the truth is, apart from the politicians that have enough to eat and, therefore, don't feel the impact of the country's economic disaster, no one should expect any better governance under this NPP government until they are no more in power. (Monrovia, Liberia): The City Government of Monrovia has condemned in the highest term an unprovoked and unjustified attack on Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson T. Koijee by contaminated and unscrupulous individuals who were seen wearing paraphernalia of different kinds on the Capitol Hill Campus of the University of Liberia. The City Government of Monrovia hereby calls on Authorities of the University of Liberia to launch an immediate probe to ascertain the hidden nature of the attack and as well bring the perpetrators to book and face the requisite punishment in consonance with the law; and sternly warns that it will not take lightly any form of violence meted out against the City Mayor or any other citizen residing in the city limit of Monrovia and it's environs. It can be recalled that on Thursday, March 31, 2022, Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson T. Koijee went to attend an occasion on the Capitol Hill Campus of the University of Liberia where a ceremony was held in honor of a fallen statesman Dr. Amos Claudius Sawyer, at which time he was unreasonably, unjustifiably attacked by individuals yet to be identified. An elaborate press conference was held at the Monrovia City Hall on Friday, April 1, 2022, in which Mayor Koijee lamented that people claiming to be students of the University of Liberia were sufficiently armed with machetes and other deadly weaponry. He added that stones were thrown at him and that his security at the moment was at a high risk. "We want to use this time to categorically condemn the unfortunate situation that ensued on the grounds of the Capitol Building particularly the University of Liberia where we witnessed the lost or the damage of properties and the severe body injuries on peaceful citizens" and added that "Under no form and manner somebody should encounter injury. It shouldn't be something that we are comfortable about". "We think it's wrong and is totally unaccepted. We want to use this time to call on the Authorities of the University of Liberia to launch a speedy investigation and to ensure that the culprits be brought to book", he noted. He also notified that it is prudent that the Liberia National Police get involve and work closely with authorities of the university to avoid reoccurrence of the situation. "We also think that the Liberia National Police can work with the authority of the university hands-in-hands so that we can be able to ensure that those attitudes that are totally uncalled for, be dealt with". Meanwhile, the City Government of Monrovia sees this unprovoked and unjustified attack on Mayor Koijee as an abuse to humanity and one's constitutional right to free movement as enshrined in the 1986 revised constitution of the Republic of Liberia. With a deep feeling of sadness, the City Government expresses great dismay over the situation and intimates that no citizen, regardless of political affiliation, cultural assimilation, or socioeconomic status deserves to be a victim of brute force attack coming from individuals who claim to have been the right set of people to be seated in lucrative positions in national government. Earlier on Saturday, March 26, 2022, Mayor Koijee received a call from the leadership of the Movement for Justice in Africa (MOJA) asking to use the premises of the Monrovia City Government to celebrate Dr. Amos Claudius Sawyer, following his role played in the redemption struggle in Liberia. Mayor Koijee in excellent fate granted the permission with the Monrovia City Government shouldering the full responsibility of the occasion. According to Mayor Koijee, he saw it as an opportunity to partake in the home going of a great statesman. "But on the issue of Dr. Sawyer, we thought it wise to allow MOJA to be granted a free space. Fuel and all other expenses were shouldered by the Monrovia City Government." We have no regret; infact, we are very proud that we were able to have an opportunity to participate in the home going of a person that has been widely celebrated and considered one of our finest iconic figures who lived his life beyond a particular grouping in this country", he continued. Mayor Koijee did not go to speak at the occasion, he only attended to listen and watch. Unfortunately, when his name was called, 'claimed to be' leaders began to murmur. "When they pronounced my name, automatically there was an upheaval in the theater of which I am the Mayor of the city". I calmed myself in front of them. Too often we know the tendency where people who are unable to confront you in person, normally use either institution or individuals as surrogates and puppets and have them puppeteered." That program was being disrupted. In fact, Cllr. Tiawone gonglo was so embarrassed in front of me, and the microphone was being wrestled off his hand", Mayor Koijee iterated. It's an opened fact that we have the premises of the Monrovia City Government ranging from the Ballroom, the Theater, and the Presidential parlor which are all for renting. We use these places to generate resources to be able to sustain our operation and the upkeep of the Monrovia City Government. Normally when you come to use the Monrovia City Government's edifice, a stipulated percent is required. Against this background, the City Government of Monrovia has made tremendous progress in combating solid waste. The City Government of Monrovia has introduced a new model for waste control in Monrovia. It is intended to properly manage waste and a pilot test has been initiated on Front and Center Streets. It will extend to Bong Mine Bridge which is already 60% clean. Currently, central Monrovia is being stabilized and there are plans to extend to the northern and southern regions. More than fifty loads of garbage were taken from Rally Town Market which was an illegal dumping site created by marketers and community dwellers. The City Government of Monrovia also appreciates petit traders for their partnership in helping to keep Monrovia clean and calls on citizens to desist from bad sanitation practice. Residents are encouraged not to give their garbage to illegal and unrecognized individuals; rather, members of our test team formulated by the mayor. Abuja, April 1, 2022 Ghanaian authorities should swiftly investigate an attack on journalist Michael Aidoo and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On March 5, two soldiers at a military hospital in the Ashanti region repeatedly slapped Aidoo, a member of an investigative journalism fellowship program organized by the local press freedom group Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), and forced the journalist to do push-ups for taking pictures of the hospital, according to the journalist, who spoke by phone with CPJ, and an MFWA report. The attack lasted around 30 minutes, during which the soldiers also briefly placed a cement block on Aidoos waist to make the push-ups more difficult and deleted all the photos and videos he took that day from his phone, Aidoo said. Authorities in Ghana must hold those responsible for the March 5 attack on journalist Michael Aidoo and ensure that the press can work safely without fear of violence or censorship by security forces, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator, from New York. Far too often impunity prevails when journalists are violently attacked by those who are supposed to ensure their safety. These security officers make a mockery of the rights of the press and the people. Aidoo said he was assigned as part of his MFWA fellowship to investigate the alleged abandonment of the Afari military hospital, located in the Atwima Nwabiagya district of the Ashanti region. He had gone there at 6 a.m. on March 5, hoping that he would arrive early enough to avoid any authorities who might seek to interfere with his reporting. Aidoo said he met a military officer at the entrance to the hospital and after being granted access, he filmed the premises and interviewed a security guard. He was about to leave when he found that an office of Ghanas ruling New Patriotic Party was located within the hospital grounds and decided to film the office as well. Aidoo said that while filming the NPP office, the same military officer approached him and demanded that the journalist hand over his phone. When the journalist refused, the officer grabbed it and Aidoo said he then ran away, leaving the phone with the officer, but the officer chased him, slapped him five times on the face and head, and then took the journalist to the military base on the hospital grounds. At the base, another officer threatened to beat Aidoo if he did not unlock his phone, so Aidoo complied, the journalist told CPJ. The soldiers then called their commander, who instructed them to delete the journalists photos and videos and to return the phone to the journalist. After deleting the photos and videos, the soldiers called the commander again, who asked to speak with Aidoo on the phone; the commander asked why the journalist was filming and taking pictures of the hospital premises and said he had told his soldiers to slap the journalist after the commander learned about the pictures. According to Aidoo, the soldiers then told the journalist that he would be punished and instructed Aidoo to do 30 push-ups. The soldiers forced the journalist to start anew each time he failed to do the full 30 without stopping and the soldiers briefly placed a cement block on his waist to make it more difficult, he said. The soldiers removed the cement when Aidoo told them after two attempts that he could not proceed with the push-ups while carrying the cement, he told CPJ. The soldier returned Aidoos phone and told him to run from the hospital premises, but the journalist felt too weak to run and was experiencing leg pain, so he walked out; the soldiers threatened to further punish him if he did not run, he told CPJ. After leaving, Aidoo said he informed his employers and was advised to report the incident at the police station, which he did the same day. CPJs calls to the number listed on the Ashanti regional police website rang unanswered. Aidoo also said he visited the hospital, where he was given some medication to stop the pain but was told he had no major injuries. Aidoo, however, said he had a cut on his left hand that happened sometime when the first soldier forcefully took him to the military base. He added that because of the incident, he had difficulty breathing for three days. The MFWA wrote to Ghanas minister of defense, Dominic Nitiwul, requesting an investigation into the attack, according to the same report by the foundation. Muheeb Saeed, a senior programs officer with the MFWA, told CPJ by messaging app that they have not received any response from Nitiwul. CPJs calls and text messages to Nitiwul went unanswered. Author: Al Mukhollis Siagian 02.04.2022 LISTEN The unconditional right to freedom of expression is the basis of all freedoms and guarantees the security of people of different minds - Reviewer of The Interdisciplinary Social Science All nation-state regimes often regard criticism as an enemy, because they are smart to break the shackles. The way criticism works is by overtaking the duping of meaning and ridiculing the irrational interpretation of values, as the most effective and harsh act of human emancipation, of course also one of the most dangerous acts. Criticism, satire, and sarcasm always frighten the regime holders who want their desire for power to run smoothly anywhere. In fact, criticism anywhere in the world has become the most effective tool for breaking taboos and straightening out deviations. Critics play an important role in enabling conversations that seem nebulous from the public eye. This important point seems to have completely crossed the heads of liberals and regressive leftists with its tendency to intensify calls to ward off offensive criticism. By pressing for an end to critical dialogue about a perverted act produced by the regime, they will set a new standard for justifying the silence of dissenting voices. By engaging in communitarianism and becoming prisoners of political correctness, they have forgotten that any denial will always amplify evil. Since 2020, Freedom House has released reports on the freedom of speech of people in various countries. Where Indonesia has a global freedom score of 59 which consists of 30 points for political rights and 29 points for civil liberties. Furthermore, Indonesia has a score of 48 freedom on the internet. This means that Indonesia is in the status of partly free in the quality of democracy. The next report was also released by The Economist Intelligence Unit, the ranking of our latest democracy slumped to 64th position with a score of 6.39. Based on the categorization of The Economist Intelligence Unit, Indonesia's democracy has the status of flawed democracies. The two reports above are not inconsistent with the findings of the national version, a study conducted by Indonesian Political Indicators in 2020 has confirmed with the results that there has been an increase in threats to civil liberties. The majority of the public tend to agree that the public is increasingly afraid to voice their opinion (79.6%), it is difficult to demonstrate (73.8%), and the apparatus is considered to be increasingly arbitrarily arresting citizens who have different political views with the authorities (57.7%). The three releases of the findings show that the Indonesian people are afraid to voice their opinions and find it difficult to hold demonstrations. Real evidence is stifling the high level of silence on the progress of criticism in this nation-state. One of the manifestations of the regime's authority in the form of regulations to silence critics is through the ITE Law. In 2019, a prominent journalist and founder of the Watchdoc production house, Dandhy Dwi Laksono, was picked up by Polda Metro Jaya officials. He holds the status of a suspect and is charged with violating Article 28 paragraph (2), in conjunction with Article 45 A paragraph (2) Law Number 8 of 2016 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE) and/or Article 14 and Article 15 Number 1 of 1946 concerning Law Criminal. The accusation against him as a suspect was judged from uploads on social media regarding Papua with allegations of containing hate speech. Also for a noble cause, advocate and human rights activist Veronica Koman was silenced by the ITE Law regarding her point of view on Papua. Koman was determined by the East Java Police with layered articles from the Criminal Code, the Law on the Elimination of Racism and Ethnicity, and the ITE Law on September 4, 2019. Veronica escaped from police security because she was in Australia. The ITE Law's entanglement against government critics also targeted public policy researcher Ravio Patra on charges of inviting people to carry out national looting on April 30, which coincided with the plan for workers and students to demonstrate against the job creation bill. At the end of 2020 also targeting the Koalisi Aksi Menyelamatkan Indonesia (KAMI). A number of high-ranking alliance officials were arrested by the police on suspicion of spreading provocative messages related to demonstrations against the Omnibus Law on Job Creation. And finally, in August 2021, there were 15 cases and 18 victims of the ITE Law based on a release disclosed by Amnesty International Indonesia. The regime's mistakes have made future generations laugh and when the regime talks about them it is often seen as a form of responsibility for the crimes they have suffered and the anger they have caused. With the laudable intention of ending critical dialogue, they committed one of the greatest violations of freedom by trying to remove plural criticism and end debate. Exactly like the meaning behind the President's sentence Jokowi at the Presidential Palace, Thursday (10/24/2019) which reads "We want to build a mutual cooperation democracy. So I need to say that in Indonesia there is no such thing as a rich opposition in other countries. Our democracy is a mutual cooperation democracy. Contrary to what they think, contrary to what Jokowi explicitly said, criticism is open in the realm of democracy. Strictly speaking, Jokowi during his speech at the MPR Annual Session at the Parliament Building, Monday (16/08/2021) said that "constructive criticism is really needed and we always answer that by fulfilling our responsibilities, as expected by the people". All of the above activists, journalists, religious figures, free thinkers, and writers are evidence that criticism of the regime has led to a steep and thorny road in Jokowi's democracy. We have not included a number of policies that have received rejection from the public but have been ignored, such as the various controversial bills in 2019, the 2020 Job Creation Omnibus Law, and the 2022 IKN Law. With all of this they have proven that criticism cannot work in Jokowi's democracy, for generations of heirs to the spirit of the archipelago, this is a bad legacy. However, on the other hand, the Jokowi regime has also proven that the unconditional right to freedom of expression is the basis of all freedoms and security guarantees for a pluralistic and different-minded Indonesian society. In relation to this full of mourning, a community called the Paguyuban Korban UU ITE (Paku ITE) has been formed. They are survivors, critics who are silenced in a democracy. Three hungry lepers went to the market to buy some foodstuffs to prepare food. They went to a stall where a woman sold fish and vegetables. There were quite a number of people also waiting to buy from the market woman, and so the lepers had to wait for their turn, but their turn never came; the woman ignored them and decided to serve customers who came much later. Irked by this development, the lepers decided to scuttle the womans business. They forcibly made their way into the stall and started touching the foodstuffs with their severed fingers. Ye tapo, tapo, they spoke through their noses in unison while touching the foodstuffs. Away bus, all the customers left the stall no one wants to buy food items touched by lepers. Having finished with the story of the lepers, as citizens, it will be essential for us to discuss some matters of national interest which are worthy of analysis. The cost of living is now very high and prices of goods and services are skyrocketing. It is, therefore, believed that the passing and implementation of the E-levy will overburden the already suffering Ghanaian as it adds up to the numerous taxes citizens are already paying. Many also think that the E-levy is going to increase unemployment because it is going to collapse the Mobile Money Banking business popularly known as "momo". The most incensed group of people regarding the passing of the E-levy are market women and traders who have resorted to the use of "momo" to pay for goods because of attacks by highway robbers. As the economy continues to twist and turn, with dips and dives, tempers are rising, and Ghanaians especially market women and traders may not be easy converts to any unreasonable level of endurance. And they seem to be mimicking the ghost, "If you have managed to escape tonight, remember there will be other nights." True to the words of the ghost, there are many nights, and interestingly, one of it falls on December 7, 2024; so, a market woman whispered to me, "If government goes ahead to implement the E-levy, walahi talahi, ye b3 tapo, tapo." Anthony Obeng Afrane AngloGold Ashanti has made significant strides in efforts to ensure quality education delivery in Obuasi. The company through its Social Management Plan which was launched in 2019 has committed over GH 5million into educational development in the last three years. This was made known by the Senior Manager, Sustainability, Emmanuel Baidoo when he led AngloGold Ashanti to donate 1000 chairs and a modern Public Address system to the Obuasi Senior High and Technical School. Totalling GH 242,715, the chairs are expected to enhance interaction with students for better learning outcomes. It will help students sit comfortably during school gatherings which was not the case previously where students had to stand through school gatherings for long periods. The situation affected their concentration on issues being discussed coupled with the frustration that accompanied holding outdoor activities which involved large number of students without a powerful PA system. On investments made by Anglogold Ashanti towards educational development, Mr. Baidoo said a significant part of the investment has gone into the provision of infrastructure, building the capacity of teachers to enhance effective teaching and learning outcomes. "When we invest in education, it will definitely translate into developing the Human Resource capability that we need as a country to pursue the developmental agenda that we seek to push as a country", he added. He again lifted the lid on what should be expected in AGA's 10 year development plan which is yet to be outdoored. He said, in contributing to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), the 10 year development Plan will focus on developing these areas which Obuasi Senior High and Technical will have its fair share. The Headmaster of the school Ernest Wiafe who received the items thanked Anglogold Ashanti for coming to the aid of the school. He said the school had no furniture at its auditorium which was completed in 2017. Describing the donation as a timely intervention, the Headmaster said the donation has come at a time when the school is expecting about 1,800 first year students which will put a lot of pressure on the existing furniture of the school. Dr. Ernest Atiemo, the Global President of the Old Students Association of the school said the lack of furniture and PA system at the auditorium was of a major concern to the Old Students Association. He thanked Anglogold Ashanti for coming to their aid when they called on them for support. The Municipal Chief Executive for West Gonja, Musah Kusubari has admonished resource guards of the biggest game reserve in Ghana, the Mole National Park to endeavor at all times to protect the animals and plant species in the park. Speaking at a refresher training for some 75 resource guards deployed at the Mole National Park, the MCE said the protection of the resources in the park was not negotiable to the workers whose livelihood was dependent on the existence of the very park resources. He added that,"without the forest reserve and without these animals and plant species, you wouldn't be here...". He reiterated that discipline and patience were key ingredients to success, calling on the trainees especially, the newly inducted forest guards to humble themselves and learn from their leaders and those ahead of them. "Count yourself very lucky to be selected among the privileged few to work in this park. So, do your very best to protect the animals. "You are here to protect the forest, so that generations yet unborn will also come and benefit from your sacrifice. If the resources in the forest are depleted and destroyed, future generations will suffer from your negligence of duty," he stated. The Park Manager for the Mole National Park, Ali Mahama, called on staff to intensify their efforts at protecting the park as an important heritage for future generations. He admonished the trainees, especially the new staff to abreast themselves with the collective bargaining agreement and work towards the vision of protecting the park for the future generations. He also acknowledged the efforts of the CITES-MIKE programme for funding the refresher training which was aimed at empowering the trainees with skills to help improve park protection and field activities. The Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants(MIKE) programme in his words, was established by the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and is largely dependent on donor support with the European Union (EU) being the most important donor for the CITES-MIKE programme. Alfred Bara, who spoke on behalf of the instructors took trainees through an overview of the training modules and various sessions. He encouraged the trainees to take the course structures very seriously. According to him, one important tool for forest law enforcement was the establishment and manning of observation post. He commended the park and training group for working without casualties. He also encouraged the trainees to share the knowledge acquired and discipline themselves within the work ethics of the Forestry Commission. Instructors took trainees through intensive first aid and life saver training, parade deportment and drills, patrol formation, patrol tactics, bush craft, protected area conflict management, leadership and team building, and an introduction to the Forestry Commission's Human Resource policy as well as the consolidated Wildlife laws of Ghana. The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) as part of its exchange program would host a training for firefighters across the west African sub-region later the year. This would help expand the horizons of the service personnel and open up a world of new educational and logistics opportunities. It will also allow the service to view new and current trends in the industry. Chief Fire Officer, Mr Julius A Kuunuor, who made this known mentioned that the Service had established a new forensic science laboratory at its national headquarters in Accra with the help of the National insurance Commission. The yet to be equipped and commissioned forensic science laboratory, he said would be responsible for the examination and analysis of evidentiary materials, in areas including chemistry, arson, firearms, biochemistry and trace evidence among others. This, he emphasized would go a long way to help the GNFS in fire investigation and report writing. Nonetheless, he stressed that the GNFS would need assistance with the construction of the fire service college and the special hospital at Kyebi in the Eastern Region. Divisional Officer Albert Aidoo of the Directorate of Policy Planning Monitoring and Evaluation said the GNFS existed with the vision to save lives and properties through firefighting, rehabilitation and other rescue services. He noted that the Service has contributed immensely to the well-being of the country since its inception in 1963. In the past decades, he indicated that the GNFS has demonstrated through the delivery of its valued services, training and development of human resource capacity, competence in fire engineering and rescue, equipment tool and logistics as well as local and international reputations as a credible institution. He said the Service was adequately working closely with the Civil Protection Department of the Republic of Malta to train officers in various capabilities such as forensics, fire investigation and report writing, incident command system, operational fire fighting among others. This, he said was to boost the operational capabilities of the personnel and enable them learn new approaches to handling different situations. He stressed that the service was preparing for the next batch of 20 officers to be deployed to Malta for their training in addition to the 40 that had already undergone the said training. Malta Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency Jean Claude Malea Galea assured the Service of continued support and promised to strengthen the bilateral cooperation programme. He further pledged to work closely with the Service to train more officers in various capabilities to strengthen the operational capacities of personnel of the GNFS. 02.04.2022 LISTEN The Rwanda-Uganda border was reopened on 31st January 2022, following the closure of the border for about two years. The move to reopen the Katuna border, which has been among the critical issues at the centre of relations between the two countries, is a significant relief to the business community that has endured two years of trade disruption. The Katuna border reopening is great news for the Private Sector and Trade, opening up a chance to export Ugandan products. The Ugandan trade fraternity should resolve pending issues between Rwanda and Uganda to speedy normalize relations between the two countries. There have been complaints about delays in crossing at the Katuna border, spotlighting that even with the reopening, more needs to be addressed. After three years of closure, there has been a general breakdown in bilateral trade. The morale among exporters is particularly low, and infrastructure is in disrepair. But with the opening of the border, trade volume is expected between the two countries. The major concern is now for both countries to rethink their prevalent trade policies and practices to flourish free trade. For Uganda, improving infrastructure at the side of the border would go a long way to increase trade volume between the countries. There is a need to rehabilitate cracked parts of the Kabale-Katuna Highway that leads to the border. The potholes and mud have blocked heavy trucks, thereby hindering adequate transportation. Infrastructure enhances connectivity and encourages the number of exports. Boosting infrastructure would ensure that Uganda performs better in inter-state trade. Uganda should focus on increasing security in the Katuna area. Ensuring adequate border security and management is essential for preventing and countering the flow of suspected insurgents. Border security and management are imperative to curb the illicit cross-border movement. Both countries have a flourishing tourism industry, and activities like gorilla trekking cut across the borders. Therefore, it is essential to warrant security for crossing tourists. Giving Border Patrol sensor technology and having more security personnel available to search vehicles can improve safety. The unionisation of Ugandan exporters would boost the lagging trade at the border. Upon reopening, business at the border has been slow. To increase the volume of trade to Rwanda, the Uganda government should incentivize exporters to unionise. The formation of trade unions would bring about collective bargaining and increase bargaining power on the market. Ultimately, unionising would increase the price of Ugandan products in the Rwandan market, thereby boosting morale and productivity among traders. The opening of the Katuna border is an opportunity to strengthen bilateral ties between the two states. The renewed free movement of goods and services would accelerate economic development. However, Uganda must revise its trade policies for free trade to blossom. Preta Peace Namasaba is a writing fellow at the African Liberty Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi holds talks with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province, April 2, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) HEFEI, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks on Saturday with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province, with the two sides agreeing to promote bilateral ties. Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Thailand, Wang said China is willing to advance all-round cooperation with Thailand. Wang said both sides should step up consultations on the Belt and Road cooperation plan outline and joint action plan, and accelerate the construction of the China-Thailand railway. Wang also called on the two countries to take the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement as an opportunity to tap the potential of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and to expand cooperation in electronic technology, digital economy, new energy and other fields. Don Pramudwinai said that Thailand cherishes the traditional friendship between the two countries and is willing to work with China to jointly build the Belt and Road to a high quality standard and actively participate in the Global Development Initiative. Thailand hopes to expand agricultural trade, connectivity and cooperation, ensure the security of industrial and supply chains, and deepen cooperation on sustainable development, Don Pramudwinai said. The two sides agreed to solidly advance the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership and maintain in-depth communication on strengthening multilateral coordination. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi holds talks with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province, April 2, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) 02.04.2022 LISTEN The Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Decentralization (MLGRD), Dan Kwaku Botwe has asked the various assemblies to enforce sanitation by-laws to help rid the country of filth. He said they can also make their laws as well. His comments come on the back of a tour he embarked on to the various landfill sites in Accra. He said the country can be cleaned if the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) without fear or favour apply the laws to the letter. The assemblies have by-law, and they can also make their own laws as well to make sure the cities are clean. We continue to urge them to put in place sanctions because when there is filth in the communities, it has a great effect on our health. The MMDAs need to take charge of cleanliness in communities and cities; and it is our duty to make sure they take sanitation as their top priority. Any assembly that doesnt see sanitation as a priority will be sanctioned. With regard to the provisions of transfer stations in Accra to reduce the turnaround time for the trucks that will take the filth to landfill sites, the minister assured that these stations will be ready in due time. Even if you will sanction someone for doing the wrong thing, you have to first make it easy for them to do the right thing, then when they flout, you can sanction them. Hence, the transfer sites will be ready so that the tricycles can easily access them. The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey has begun a motion; Operation Clean Your Frontage, in the quest to make Accra Work, making it the cleanest city in Ghana. The Minister banned tricycles from using the highways for reasons that their pace is too slow, and that they liter the street with filth. This decision of his was battled against as the rubbish collectors argued that the highways, particularly the motorway, is the only route they can use to reach the dumping site at Kpone which is the only one that can house a lot of refuse. The Ministry hence assured that more dumping sites will be made available and very much operational to help see this course succeed. citinewsroom Member of Parliament for Ellembelle Constituency, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah wants the Ghana Police Service to launch a thorough investigation into the incident that caused the deadly violence at the forecourt of the Nkroful Magistrate Court on Friday, April 1. The incident left one person dead with four others injured. Two are said to have sustained life-threatening wounds and are battling for their lives at the Eikwe Catholic Hospital. A statement issued by Mr Armah-Kofi Buah, a former Minister of Energy and Petroleum, on Friday condemned the incident but called for a probe into its cause. He said the tension between the youth and Adamus Resources Limited is deepening by the day. A sad reminder of the tension that has characterized the relationship between the communities and Adamus Mining Company since this mining company began operations in the area, he noted. I call for a thorough investigation by the police to be followed by an independent investigation by CHRAJ to ensure truth and justice delivery. I also call on the affected communities to exercise restraint and calm while the investigations are carried out. He called for a united approach in engaging Adamus to deal with the root causes of the recurring incidents to ensure peace and justice. Background Some military officers Friday dawn rounded up small-scale miners who were on the concession of Adamus Resources Limited . The miners, all of whom are youth of the community, were immediately arraigned before the court that day. But the chief of Teleku-Bokazo was informed about the incident. He led some youth to the court and that is where the scuffle ensued between the miners and the military officers. One person by name Andrew Donkor of Teleku-Bokazo was killed after he sustained gunshot wounds. 3news.com A massive blaze has destroyed the central market in the northern Somali city of Hargeisa, wiping out hundreds of small businesses, officials said on Saturday. Fierce flames tore through the Waheen market late on Friday, sending huge clouds of smoke billowing into the night sky over Hargeisa, the capital of the breakaway region of Somaliland. The cause of the inferno that engulfed the sprawling market -- the economic lifeblood of the city and home to an estimated 2,000 shops and stalls -- is not yet known. Officials have issued urgent appeals for help to recover from the disaster that injured more than two dozen people and is certain to inflict further hardship on thousands more in the impoverished desert city. "The town has never witnessed such a massive calamity," Hargeisa's mayor Abdikarim Ahmed Moge told reporters at the scene. The fire gutted the Waheen market. By MATAAN YUUSUF AFP The fire broke out on Friday evening and firefighters battled the flames for hours before it was largely brought under control on Saturday. "This place was the economic centre of Hargeisa and even though the firefighters did their best to contain the fire, the market is destroyed," the mayor said. He added that the blaze could have been brought under control before causing such extensive damage but firefighters' efforts were hampered by problems of access. 'I have lost everything' The vast market is a crowded warren of shops and makeshift stalls, with no proper streets, only narrow pathways. Images of the aftermath in and around Waheen showed charred and blackened buildings, some still smouldering, with their windows blown out. The leaders of several countries including Britain, which once ruled Somaliland, and neighbouring Ethiopia, voiced their shock and sympathy over the disaster. Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, better known by his nickname Farmajo, also telephoned Somaliland president Muse Bihi Abdi to discuss the damage wrought by the fire, his office said on Twitter. Abdi meanwhile said during a visit to Waheen that about 28 people, nine of them women, were injured, but that so far no loss of life had been reported. He said the government of Somaliland -- which declared independence from Somalia three decades ago -- would be releasing one million dollars to help with the emergency response to the blaze. Hargeisa is the capital of the breakaway region of Somaliland. By AFPFile Hargeisa Chamber of Commerce chairman Jamal Aideed said the loss of the market was immense as it accounted for 40 to 50 percent of the city's economy. "I have lost everything tonight, this fire was the biggest I have ever seen in my life," said market trader Bashi Ali. "I had several businesses in the market and all of them burned to ashes." 'We need your help' Hargeisa councillor Abdirahman Abdi appealed for people everywhere to come to the aid of the devastated city. "I want to ask everyone who hears of this disaster to help: fire brigades, national armies, media and the people of Hargeisa." British government ministers including Prime Minister Boris Johnson voiced their sympathy over the disaster in Somaliland, an area that was once a British protectorate. The fire-ravaged market in Hargeisa was vital to the city's economy. By SIMON MAINA AFPFile "We are in close contact with the Somaliland authorities, our international partners and aid agencies operating in-country, and are considering what assistance is needed," Britain's Minister for Africa Vicky Ford said on Twitter. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he was "shocked and saddened" by the blaze that he said had caused "incalculable losses". The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Somalia said the blaze had affected thousands of people including migrant workers, and pledged to work with the authorities to help people recover. Hargeisa, a trading and watering hub, is also a transit point along a people-smuggling route through the Horn of Africa and many migrants wind up stranded there. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991, an act still unrecognised by the international community that has left the region of 4.5 million people poor and isolated. Somaliland has however remained a comparative beacon of stability while Somalia has been wracked by decades of political violence. The Upper West Region has unveiled its maiden Senior High School Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) League Table for 2021. Following the successful unveiling of the League Table, the Upper West Region has become the second region after the Northern Region to unveil a Senior High School WASH League Table (LT). The LT captured all the 33 government accredited Senior High Schools in the 11 Municipal and District Assemblies in the Upper West Region. The study was conducted by the Upper West Regional Inter-agency Coordinating Committee on Sanitation (RICCS). In the unveiling ceremony, the speakers call for a stronger commitment to WASH services in all spheres of life. The Upper West Regional Environmental Health Officer Madam Freda Naatu re-iterated their commitment and that of the Regional Coordinating Council to continue the course in realising the significant milestones in WASH interventions. In presenting performance indicators for the WASH assessment in the school, Mr. Bipuah Sulemani who was one of the consultants and Programs Manager of CDA- Ghana indicated that the assessment was carried out on seven thematic areas with each thematic areas compressing of specific indicators. The areas included; students access to latrines, Staff access to latrine, Access to hand washing facilities, Status of latrines/ WASH Facilities, School ODF status, Schools commitment to WASH activities and General Cleanliness Mr. Tahiru Lukman, Chief Executive Officer of Ideapath Consult who led the analysis in his presentation emphasizes that the agenda of the Senior High School WASH League Table is not to name and shame schools nor to create unhealthy competition. According to him, it seeks to help identify the availability of WASH facilities, examine access to WASH facilities, unveiled an SHS WASH League Table and intensify advocacy for interventions in schools WASH sector with the ultimate aim of improving Water, Sanitation and Hygiene behaviour and services in the Senior High Schools in the Upper West Region. Mr. Tahiru Lukman explained that the methodology included the use of a mixed-method approach (qualitative and quantitative), the use of questionnaires, observations and transact walk. Sampling was not encouraged since the study team can reach out to all the 33 government accredited senior high schools. To Mr. Tahiru Lukman, data were analyzed and presented in Microsoft word using pie charts, bar charts and tables. He noted, the conclusion from the study revealed that only 36% of schools have improved access to latrine facilities by Students, 24% moderately improved, while 40% have fair to very poor access. Again, 48.5% of schools have challenges regarding access to hand washing facilities. The finding also shows that the condition of 64% of the schools WASH facilities were in a very poor state and only 33% of them and in proper (improved) condition. In addition, 70% of schools practice open defecation. Other findings revealed that 67% of schools have an unkempt environment with 61% of schools not showing commitment to WASH. On the climax was the unveiling of the WASH League Table. Three Senior High Schools in the Nadowli/ Kaleo District took the top spots; Takpo Senior High School, Sombo Senior High School and St. Augustine Technical Institute as first, second and third respectively. The bottom three was share by Wa TI AMASS, Wa Islamic SHS, Eremon SHS as 33rd, 32nd and 31st. The result placed Nadowli/ Kaleo District as the most improved and WASH District with reference to the Senior High Schools performance whiles Wa Municipal is the worst. The Chairman for the occasion Mr. Martin Dery the Executive Director of ProNet North and a seasoned WASH expert with over three decades of experience in the WASH sector was full of praise to the RICCS most especially the study team for showing commitment and professionalism in the study. He stressed the need for all hand-on-deck approach to support WASH in-school interventions. The Upper West Regional Director of Education (Mr. Razak Abdul- Koray) on his part indicated that the study was an eye-opener and will provide a basis for his outfit in terms of planning and supporting WASH services in the Senior High Schools. He pledged his commitment to work with management of SHS and GES Directors at the Municipal and District to support the course of WASH in these schools. A WASH specialist with UNICEF Ghana Mr. Osman Mumuni remarked that the data would go a long way to help in ensuring WASH interventions since; data would now be used as a basis in the process for planning, decision making and implementation. He applauded RICCS for the in-depth of WASH data collected and analysed. He said major problem found in all spheres of Ghana's development is lack of data. Other partners present promised to contribute their quota to improving WASH situation in the Senior High Schools. A representative of the Upper West Regional Minister in his speech called for collaborative effort to scaling up CLTS interventions in the Region. He bemoaned the widening practice of open defecation in the Wa Municipality. Communities in the Ada West District Toflokpo Anukpenya, Hanya, Korpeynguam, SalomMadagber, Matsekope, Koluedor and others have been hit by a heavy rainstorm causing havoc and rendering some residents homeless as houses, churches, and a private school was destroyed. The rainstorm which lasted about two hours on Friday was accompanied by strong winds which ripped off the roofing of the homes, churches, and the school building thereby exposing; properties, textbooks, exercise books, expensive musical instruments, electricity installations and accessories as well as other vital documents to the rain. In an, interview Mr. Jerry Narh, the Deputy Director of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) for the Ada-West District Assembly (AWDA) said the Faith Academy at Toflokpo Anukpenya near Seges roofing was ripped off and destroyed. He added that three church buildings were also affected with the Apostolic Faith Church at Toflokpo Anukpenya having its roofing completely taken off by the heavy storm and over 80 residential buildings also affected. "About 25 out of the pupils learning at the Faith Academy, a private basic school at Toflokpo Anukpenya before the incident, were injured and sent to the Sege Polyclinic where they were treated and discharged," he noted. Mr. Narh said electricity poles were also destroyed, leaving cables exposed which led to a temporal power cut-off. It was however restored after the Electricity Company of Ghana visited the affected communities. He explained that about 73 people have been rendered homes and were currently perching with other families as NADMO assesses the extent of damage adding that, "it is a very serious incident because we have big trees falling and all that". Mr. Sampson Tetteh Kpankpah, the Ada-West District Chief Executive told newsmen that, the incident was unfortunate and disastrous. He said NADMO would assess the cause of damage to the various communities and families, and present its report to the Assembly for further action. Mr. Daniel Tetteh Ajesiwor, a resident of Sege who also has his building affected described the situation as a catastrophe. Mr. Ebenezer Adabang, a resident of Toflokpo said, "I was at the farm but due to the storm, I went home only to find the roof of my house ripped off by the storm. I had no choice but to wander around until this morning. Madam Maamle, a victim at Matsekope also said she was lying on the carpet in her room, and suddenly my door opened forcefully due to the pressure of the heavy storm. Then the roof ripped off immediately and the wood on the roof fell into the room, I don't even know what to say nor do". Scores of affected residents who interacted with the media called for support from the government, NGOs, philanthropists and all individuals who are capable to help relieve them from the impact of the disaster on them. China rejects so-called U.S. "Hong Kong Policy Act Report" Xinhua) 09:20, April 02, 2022 BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Foreign Ministry Friday expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the so-called Hong Kong Policy Act Report issued by the United States. It urged the U.S. to stop its erroneous acts and speak with prudence on issues related to Hong Kong. Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a daily press briefing when asked to comment on the report, which "made irresponsible remarks on Hong Kong affairs and made groundless accusations against the central government of China and the HKSAR government in total disregard of facts." Zhao said Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of China. Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs which brook no foreign interference. Since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the policies of "one country, two systems," "the people of Hong Kong administering Hong Kong," and a high degree of autonomy have been earnestly implemented, and the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents are protected under the law, Zhao noted. China enacted and implemented the Law on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR and improved the electoral system in Hong Kong in accordance with law, in an effort to safeguard Hong Kong's prosperity and stability and the principle of "one country, two systems," Zhao said. He added that the national security law in Hong Kong targets a small number of criminals who endanger national security and protects the lawful rights and freedoms of Hong Kong citizens and foreign citizens in Hong Kong. Since the implementation of the national security law in Hong Kong, the rule of law in Hong Kong has improved and is guaranteed. It is an objective fact that cannot be denied, he noted. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Aerial photo taken on March 28, 2022 shows the business service center in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Zhu Xudong) BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- About 100 km south of Beijing, a "city of the future" is emerging with great potential five years after China announced plans to set up the Xiong'an New Area. A key move to advance the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Xiong'an has been designed as a major recipient of functions relieved from Beijing that are nonessential to its role as China's capital and to explore a new model of development in densely populated areas. Under the guidance of President Xi Jinping, who has personally engaged in making decisions and arrangements and advanced progress in the new area, the development of Xiong'an is in full swing toward high-quality development. Efforts should be made to create "Xiong'an quality" and make it a national model for high-quality development, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has said. METICULOUS PLANNING The country has pledged to build Xiong'an, located in north China's Hebei Province, into an innovative, green, smart and world-class city with blue skies, fresh air and clean water. For a city whose establishment will carry "lasting importance for the millennium to come," as central authorities have stressed, sound planning has been a priority in its development. Xi attaches great importance to the planning of Xiong'an. He has given directions on the guiding concepts, key stages and major issues of the planning. "Every inch of land should be clearly planned before construction," Xi has said on the development of Xiong'an. He urged meticulous efforts to advance the development to "avoid leaving historical regrets." To lay a solid foundation for high-quality development, more than 200 teams from China and abroad have participated in drafting the blueprint of the new area. China unveiled the master plan for Xiong'an New Area in April 2018. Now the blueprint is gradually turning into a tangible reality. An intercity railway linking Xiong'an and Beijing opened to traffic in December 2020, slashing the travel time between the two places from one and a half hours to about 50 minutes. So far, major roads to the city, main streets in the city and the urban water system have taken shape. Meanwhile, municipal infrastructure related to water, electricity, gas, heating and internet access in the area is being built in a systemic underground project, with integrated planning, design, construction and management. Digital technology makes it possible to turn plans into reality efficiently. A digital management platform shows a model for each building constructed in Xiong'an. Progress is accelerating to move companies and public services to the new area. Centrally administered state-owned enterprises, including China Satellite Network Group and China Huaneng Group, will soon start the construction of their headquarters. Locations have been decided for a group of colleges and hospitals from Beijing that will build branches or be relocated in the new area. Aerial photo taken on April 1, 2022 shows a view of Rongdong District in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) INNOVATIVE, GREEN CITY At the site of a smart transportation demonstration project in Xiong'an, unmanned transfer vehicles, unmanned mobile shops, unmanned road sweepers and patrol robots operate under unified management. This is part of the innovative future Xiong'an is pursuing. To spur innovation, a raft of institutional reforms have been made, including new mechanisms to improve fund-raising for construction, ensure housing supply and make it easier to start businesses in Xiong'an. So far, more than 3,000 enterprises have been registered in Xiong'an, with 80 percent of these being sci-tech enterprises from Beijing. Green development is also an indispensable part of the city's future. In line with Xi's instruction of "giving priority to ecological protection and pursuing green development," efforts in the past five years have led to significant improvement in the environment of Xiong'an. The local Baiyangdian Lake, the largest wetland ecosystem in northern China, has undergone the largest-scale systemic ecological restoration ever. Its water quality has seen a leaping improvement, while the latest data show that there are 230 species of birds in the lake area, 24 more than the amount before the establishment of Xiong'an. About 30,000 hectares of afforestation have been carried out in Xiong'an since November 2017, increasing its forest coverage rate from 11 percent to 32 percent. According to the urban planning outline, citizens of Xiong'an will be able to find greenery anywhere in the city and visit a park within 300 meters of their homes. While inspecting Xiong'an in 2019, Xi was delighted to see saplings planted in a forestry zone. "Let them take the time to grow together with the Xiong'an New Area," he said, noting that a good ecological environment is an important part of the value and appeal of the new area. The bank of the river Rhine is flooded in Cologne, western Germany, on July 15, 2021. (Photo by Tang Ying/Xinhua) According to Edenhofer, although global emissions started to decline with the emergence of COVID-19, they have largely returned to pre-pandemic levels by now. BERLIN, April 2 (Xinhua) -- To tackle the global challenge of climate change, it is essential for Europe to cooperate with China on the economics of climate change, Germany's leading expert Ottmar Edenhofer has said. Due to its sheer size and vast potential for innovation, China's involvement is crucial for the world to solve the climate problem, Edenhofer, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview. China's goals to achieve carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060 are in alignment with the European Union's (EU) plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, said Edenhofer. The fact that the United States has similar targets "means that the world's three most important economies are in alignment of the transformation pathway," he said. In particular, Edenhofer, whose institute has actively engaged in providing insights to decision-makers, expects to see close cooperation between the EU and China in the field of carbon pricing. China initiated its national carbon trading market in 2021. The EU has also started to launch a new emission trading scheme for the transport and building sectors as one of the main drivers of emission reduction in Europe. According to Edenhofer, the EU and China should work together to establish a minimum price for carbon emissions in order to create a level playing field. He acknowledged that the issue of carbon pricing was a complex one but said that it was "something we could start" with. He called a minimum CO2 price one of the "instruments that we could jointly implement." According to Edenhofer, although global emissions started to decline with the emergence of COVID-19, they have largely returned to pre-pandemic levels by now. This means that "the pandemic has not changed the underlying structure of our economy and our society." A burning ring on a gas cooker is seen in Manchester, Britain, March 17, 2022. (Photo by Jon Super/Xinhua) He said that a particularly worrying trend is the surge in the price of natural gas, which has led to the increased use of coal in the power sector and to a rise in global carbon emissions. Assessing Germany's experiences in combating climate change, Edenhofer said that it was important to focus first on developing technology, and in particular to support infant technologies in relevant fields. But technology alone cannot reduce carbon emissions, he said. Carbon emissions must be priced to avoid the increased use of traditional energy sources, such as coal, he stressed. Furthermore, low-income households should be compensated to offset the growing costs of green energy and to popularize climate policy, he said. Photo taken on Dec. 8, 2021 shows wind turbines at Changma wind farm in Yumen City, northwest China's Gansu Province. (Xinhua/Fan Peishen) Edenhofer's institute has been working closely with its Chinese counterparts at the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and has published a series of papers jointly with Chinese scientists, particularly on carbon peaking. "We are very pleased to be working with Chinese scientists," he said. Crude prices closed the books on a tumultuous March as markets were roiled by Russias invasion of Ukraine. Crude futures experienced massive intraday swings, trading in a $37 band during the month. The Biden administrations decision Thursday to release 1 million barrels a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve daily over the next six months for a record 180 million barrels had the desired effect of cooling crude prices. West Texas Intermediate on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed below $100 for the first time in several weeks. WTI, which fell four of five trading days, fell $1.01 or 1 percent Friday to close at $99.27 and is down $14 from last Fridays close of $113.90 a barrel, the steepest weekly drop since 2011. The posted price ended the week at $95.75, according to Plains All American. Natural gas futures on the NYMEX enjoyed a good week, staying above the $5 barrier all week. Prices got off to a shaky start, falling 7 cents and 25 cents Monday and Tuesday before climbing 27 cents Wednesday, 4 cents Thursday and 8 cents Friday to end the week at $5.72 per Mcf, up from $5.51 at Mondays close and $5.57 last Friday. Michael Oestmann, president and chief executive officer of Tall City Exploration III, told the Reporter-Telegram by email the company had decided to increase activity before the run-up in oil prices. Tall City made the decision to ramp up from one to two drilling rigs in the summer of 2021, and we added a second rig in November, he wrote. Oil was in the 60s and 70s when we made the decision to increase activity. In other words, our activity plan was made prior to the run up in prices in 2022. We plan to continue at this activity level for the remainder of 2022, adding about 25 more wells to our production base this year. As a result, Tall City will exit 2022 at ~20,000 BOEPD, compared to ~6,000 BOEPD at year end 2021. He continued, Please note, and I think this is a key point: Increasing drilling activity takes a long period of time planning, permitting and coordinating supplies and services do not occur overnight, they require significant lead time. Secondly, given the current activity levels in the Permian Basin, securing services and supplies to add additional rigs is increasingly difficult. Again, it will take some time for services and supplies to catch up with increasing demand for those services and supplies. Considering the release of oil from the SPR, Oestmann noted, As far as release of oil from the SPRs impact on prices, history tells us that the impact is mild and temporary. This level of SPR release is historic in scale, so perhaps the impact will be more than what weve seen in the past. However, the long term and more sound solution is to increase production. He wanted to note that Tall City employees and friends donated a little more than $25,000 this week toward relief for Ukrainian refugees. In a town hall discussing energy and the economy, Lutz Killian, senior economic policy advisor with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said that unless the shortfall of petroleum exports from Russia can be contained, were looking at a large and persistent increase in oil prices in order to suppress demand to levels consistent with supply.. He listed a couple of scenarios that could impact what he called a dismal outlook for energy prices. One is a shock or shocks that could significantly reduce global demand for crude. One such shock is currently taking place in China, which is locking down millions of citizens to combat a fresh COVID-19 outbreak. That will not only reduce Chinese demand for crude but ripple through supply chains and could impact global oil demand, reducing prices. That, he said, has already been seen in the recent retreat in oil prices. A second scenario is the strong public support throughout Europe for banning energy imports from Russia, which would make it difficult for European financial institutions to fund those imports. Right now, he said, enough Russian petroleum is making it through despite sanctions that significant shortages are being avoided. But if that changes, he said the economic impact may trigger a response from Russians harmed by the sanctions. Edward Moya, senior market analyst, The Americas with OANDA, wrote in his daily newsletter that The knee-jerk selloff from the SPR announcement of the release of 1-million barrels a day from the SPR over the next six months wont have a lasting impact on oil prices, so if geopolitical risks continue to intensify, oil will recover most of this weeks losses. BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- China will finish screening outfalls in seven major river and lake basins and water near the coastline for problems by the end of 2025, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment Qiu Qiwen said Saturday. Treatment of outfalls in the seven basins including Yangtze River, Yellow River and Taihu Lake will also be basically completed by then, Qiu told a press briefing. The announcement followed an earlier State Council guideline on tightening oversight and regulation on outfalls. Since 2019, the country has successively launched screening and treatment of outfalls in the Yangtze River, Bohai Sea and Yellow River, and obtained a more accurate tally. China will carry out differentiated treatment of the outfalls, removing, combining or rectifying problematic ones based on their types, said Qiu. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The path to zero flaring and venting lies in ensuring the natural gas meets the standards set by pipelines. Midstream operators have strict rules for the natural gas they take and if you dont meet their specifications, you have to flare, said Cody Blair, regional sales manager, Permian/New Mexico with EcoVapor. Speaking with the Reporter-Telegram by telephone, Blair said the presence of oxygen in the gas stream plays a huge part in operators having to flare their natural gas instead of selling it. Midstream companies dont like oxygen because it causes erosion, he explained. Jason Roe, EcoVapors president and chief executive officer, told the Reporter-Telegram in a telephone interview that oxygen is frequently introduced into the gas stream through truck loading or tank hatches. As we dug more and more into this problem, (we found) tanks create the largest emissions problem through fugitive emissions or venting, Roe said. The company, which got its start in Colorado, has developed a vapor recovery unit it calls ZerO2 that captures 100 percent of the tank vapor, which is run through the units precious metal catalyst which removes all the oxygen, which is burned off. Theres no waste, Blair said, and all that comes out is carbon and a little bit of water. By focusing on the low-pressure facilities where oxygen is more likely to be introduced, we can take out a sizable chunk of the emissions problem while allowing operators to sell their gas, Roe said. He added, The industry works so hard to produce this valuable resource, why are we wasting it? Agreed Blair, This is cash everyone is burning. Doing the math, he said if an operator is burning 100 Mcf a day, at $5 per Mcf, thats $500 a day being flared. By removing the oxygen and making the gas sellable, he said thats $15,000 a month added to an operators bottom line. And, he added, its additional production a marketer can sell. Roe said the company wants to be a life of production partner, offering various sizes of the units as production rates decline. The E1200 can process 1200 Mcf a day, the E300 300 Mcf and the E100 100 Mcf a day, and Roe said the company is working to develop a smaller unit to handle even smaller amounts of gas. After initial production, rates will decline, Blair said. As gas rates decline from 300 to 100 Mcf, we can replace units and lower the cost. As you produce less gas, it can cost less to have a unit. Alongside oxygen, hydrogen sulfide is another contaminant that causes operators to flare gas. EcoVapor also offers the Sulfur Sentinel, a treatment system that uses a solid, iron oxide-based catalyst to treat the H2S concentrations present before they enter the ZerO2 unit. The company has units placed with operators large and small in the Permian. Blair said 44 units so far have been placed with XTO Energy and other units have been placed with Shells Permian assets, which are now part of ConocoPhillips. There is a shop in Midland staffed with personnel to service the companys units, and Blair said a second shop is being considered in Carlsbad, New Mexico, because the company covers such a wide area. Everyone in the industry, from ExxonMobil to Chevron to Pioneer to XYZ Operating wants to cut emissions, Blair said. If they can sell 100 percent of the gas they capture, theyre making money and not flaring and third-party midstream companies are buying more gas to sell. Its a win-win. Reducing emissions is an obvious trend the industry cant ignore, said Roe, a trend being driven by stakeholders from customers to investors, regulators to the general public. Were being held accountable; our license to operate is being challenged, he said. With that in mind, we need to take steps to be good stewards. Besides, Roe added, in a world of energy scarcity were witnessing before our very eyes, we cant afford to waste this precious resource. Supply concerns in Europe amid Russias invasion of Ukraine highlight the increasingly important role natural gas is playing in providing energy to the world. Combine that with continued growing concerns about the energy industrys impact on the environment, and natural gas proponents continue to point to the commodity as a "bridge fuel" to a cleaner world. Even so, there remains significant skepticism about the cleanliness of natural gas, prompting producers to prove its environmental credibility. To do so, theyre turning to third-party companies, from MiQ to Equitable Origin to Project Canary, to certify their natural gas production as responsibly-sourced. A report on responsibly-sourced gas issued by Enverus Intelligence Research found that Appalachia leads in supplying certified gas, followed by the Haynesville. The Permian is taking part in the trend as XTO Energy, Laredo and Chisholm Energy have announced plans to have their production certified and Chevron and Project Canary have a pilot project in the Permian and Denver-Julesberg basins. We do expect the list of companies in the Permian to continue expanding with the primary goal of seeking environmental credibility, Jon Gutentag, associate at Enverus Intelligence Research and an author of the report, told the Reporter-Telegram by email. At this point, we are skeptical that a potential customer response will be the main driver of RSG certification, it is a supply-saturated market. The report found the supply of producer-certified responsibly-sourced gas will grow from 8.7 billion cubic feet per day in 2021 to about 20 Bcf per day by the end of this year, or about 18 percent of the North American market, based on announced projects. As Gutentag said, those commitments are driven more by a desire to demonstrate environmental credibility than expectations of higher prices for certified gas in the near-term. Project Canary is the most active certifier with a 38 percent market share across 13 partnerships, with seven more pilot projects announced. MiQ and Equitable Origin co-certify 42 percent of RSG volumes. In promoting natural gas as a bridge fuel, Gutentag said, We think that reducing the uncertainty around methane leakage across the natural gas value chain is an integral step in solidifying natural gas as a bridge fuel. RSG certification has the potential to provide more credibility to reported values, especially when paired with transparent disclosure, continuous monitoring and third-party verification. There are potential barriers to increasing acceptance of RSG, he noted. Those potential barriers include transparency as the current certification process is fairly opaque to the public. Standardization of what constitutes RSG is also a barrier as each certifier uses different standards and grading systems. There is also the need to move beyond primarily upstream certification to include gathering, processing and transmission in the process, allowing for wellhead to end-use certification and monitoring. Currently there is a lack of demand growth for certified natural gas. Gutentag said he and his fellow analysts and Enverus Intelligence Research are seeing signs that natural gas pipelines are already important to the process. First, there is the ongoing debate with FERC, Kinder Morgan and other interested parties as Kinder Morgan is trying to establish a process for pooling RSG separately from traditional natural gas, he wrote. We also saw the Rockies Express Pipeline commit to monitoring all compressor stations with continuous monitoring equipment. Lastly, we are seeing commitments from companies to operate net-zero pipelines where all emissions are reduced with the residual emissions being offset from various projects. The bottom line is we are seeing a rapid supply chain optimization as all companies seek ways to reduce their direct Scope 1 emissions. The report noted that roughly 90 percent or 18.6 Bcf per day of estimated 2022 certified gas volumes had been announced last year, highlighting the significant increase in producer interest in RSG over the past year. This year, Gutentag predicted, he expects expanded midstream certification along with more development surrounding the marketing of RSG. As often happens when the legacy media attempts to represent conservative beliefs, the Dallas Morning News hot take on Texas new energy discrimination law claiming it betrays free-market principles predictably misses the mark. Senate Bill 13, signed into law by Gov. Abbott last year, is the ultimate free-market solution to the dangerous precedent being set on Wall Street. Financial firms are trying to bully Americas responsible energy producers out of business in the name of the Paris Agreement, a foreign document that isnt even law. And they arent just limiting our energy resources theyre putting our tax dollars in jeopardy in the process. Heres how it works: under the new law, financial institutions that boycott, divest from or sanction the fossil fuel industry are ineligible to do business with the state of Texas. Every company is free to run its operations however it sees fit. They can freely engage in so-called sustainability initiatives, offer green investment funds, and make any perceived environmental or climate commitments they choose. But if they deliberately pursue anti-energy investing practices that harm our state, we simply will not reward them with control of Texans tax dollars. Senate Bill 13 is the pro-business, pro-taxpayer, pension protection approach to Wall Streets senseless energy discrimination campaign. This isnt a new concept, and Texas isnt alone in its concern that banks and investment managers may be prioritizing political agendas above their legal fiduciary duty. The legislation was modeled after existing laws prohibiting state contracts with companies that boycott Israel. Dozens of other states are considering similar legislation to SB 13 or have already withdrawn funds from companies like BlackRock that publicly endorse the anti-fossil fuel, climate alarmist narrative. At the end of the day, SB 13 isnt about fossil fuels, though. Its true that oil and natural gas are a key component of Texas economy and thriving job market and its worth noting that taxes on the energy industry make up more than 10 percent of the states budget. Energy is essential to everything we do every transaction we make, every item we own, every societal structure we depend on for our high quality of life. But whats more important is that SB 13 protects Texans tax dollars from politically influenced mismanagement. Texas state and local pension systems comprise more than $300 billion in assets money that should be stewarded with the utmost caution and respect. Our public servants thats teachers, peace officers, fire fighters, paramedics, correctional officers, state and local employees will depend on their pensions one day for survival. They deserve to know that their money is being managed well, and Texas taxpayers should never be left wondering if their investment in these funds is subject to political exploitation. It would be difficult to defend the Texas model of liberty, limited government, and low taxes without protecting those taxes from waste and abuse by corporations colluding to push an agenda. What most news reports about SB 13 miss is that the anti-fossil fuel investing movement known in financial circles as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing doesnt just run contrary to the Texas state of mind. It likely violates several longstanding consumer protection laws. Federal law explicitly prohibits corporate conspiracies to restrain competition. Thats exactly what Wall Street is doing going far beyond mere political posturing to create a cartel, colluding to de-bank and discriminate against the energy industry. Their efforts to instead funnel investments into funds labeled green, without evidence these funds will provide the same return on investment, flies in the face of fiduciary obligations. Their clients should know their financial interests are the number one priority, but under ESG investing, the climate alarmist agenda is given equal or greater footing. It's an affront to the free market, and Texas is proud to lead a strong and growing coalition of states fighting back. Its unfortunate the media and leftist organizations are fixated on SB 13s focus on fossil fuels, because Texas commitment to the free market means the same provisions could, and should, be extended to any industry targeted by the ruthless cancel culture mob. The system of capitalism that made our state and nation so great depend on it as do Texas taxpayers. Perhaps SB 13 should have been called the Texas Taxpayer Protection Act. -- The Honorable Jason Isaac is director of Life:Powered, a national initiative of the Texas Public Policy Foundation to raise Americas energy IQ. He previously served four terms in the Texas House of Representatives. BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- China has released a circular demanding that online platforms not slander deceased heroes during the upcoming Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, which falls on April 5 this year. The circular, issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China, aims to standardize the management of online tomb-sweeping activities. Online platforms are not allowed to spread vulgar, feudal, or superstitious information, said the circular, adding the platforms should promptly handle tip-offs from netizens. Winchester United Methodist Men's Cookout: 9 a.m., Three-way stop west of Scotty's, Winchester. Pork chops $4, hot dogs $1. COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic: 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Jacksonville NAACP, 300 E. Walnut St. Free | Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is authorized for those 5 years of age or older. Schedule appointment at tinyurl.com/95hyz3nd. Walk-ins welcome. Breastfeeding Basics: 9:30 a.m., Jacksonville Memorial Hospital, 1600 W. Walnut St. | Depending on COVID-19 restrictions, class may be moved to a virtual format. Presented by lactation consultant. Story Time: 10 a.m., Carlinville Public Library, 510 N. Broad St. Free | Story time with Hannah Crawford, children's librarian. Jacksonville Kiwanis Club 0.5K Walk, Skip, Run or Roll: 11 a.m., Don's Place, 207 W. Morgan St. Registration $30. | Begins at Don's Place. Proceeds benefit Jacksonville Public Schools Foundation. For more information, contact Gary Scott at 217-370-9058 or gscott@wlds.com, Lauren Dwyer at 618-946-2323 or lauren@beardimplement.com, or Kristin Jamison at 217-719-9215 or kristin@jredc.org. Yacht Rockers: 3-7 p.m., The Loading Dock, 401 Front St., Grafton. | Live music. Gallery Opening: 6-8 p.m., The David Strawn Art Gallery, 331 W. College Ave. | Abstract paintings by Allison Pratt. Exhibit runs through April 24. Hookie: 6-10 p.m., Wild Pickins Winery, 14223 Illinois Route 111, Chesterfield. | Live music. White Lightnin': 7 p.m., Beardstown Elks Lodge, 205 E. Second St., Beardstown. | Live music. Cinderella: 7 p.m., Hoogland Center for the Arts, 420 S. Sixth St., Springfield. $18. | Featuring the Hoogland Teen Improv Troupe. For tickets or more information, go to hcfta.org. A Doll's House Part 2: 7:30 p.m., UIS Performing Arts Center, 1 University Plaza, Springfield. Ticket price varies. | For tickets and more information, go to uispac.com. Sunday Versailles Lions Club Fish Fry: 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Old Versailles School Gym, 211 N. Chestnut St. Donations accepted. | Menu includes buffalo and catfish, side items and dessert. Proceeds go to memorial being built at the Old Versailles School. Easter Egg Hunt: 1-2 p.m., Centenary United Methodist Church, 331 E. State St. Free | For kids up to fifth grade. Rain date is April 10 at 1:30 p.m. Cinderella: 2 p.m., Hoogland Center for the Arts, 420 S. Sixth St., Springfield. $18. | Featuring the Hoogland Teen Improv Troupe. For tickets or more information, go to hcfta.org. A Doll's House Part 2: 2 p.m., UIS Performing Arts Center, 1 University Plaza, Springfield. Ticket price varies. | For tickets and more information, go to uispac.com. Dave Horton: 2-5 p.m., Wild Pickins Winery, 14223 Illinois Route 111, Chesterfield. | Live music. Monday Produce and Bakery Giveaway: 9 a.m.-noon, Jacksonville Food Center, 316 E. State St. Free | For Morgan County residents. Free Noon Meal: 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., The Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. | Meals in to-go containers can be picked up at side door. Walking for Wellness: 12:30-3 p.m., First Christian Church, 2106 S. Main St. Free | Indoor walking program offered year-round Monday-Thursday. For more information, call 217-243-6445. Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen: 3:30-4 p.m., Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen, 105 E. Dunlap St. Free | Serving meals to go for anyone in need. Tuesday Produce and Bakery Giveaway: 9 a.m.-noon, Jacksonville Food Center, 316 E. State St. Free | For Morgan County residents. Triopia Preschool Screening: 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Triopia Elementary School, 2204 Concord-Arenzville Road, Concord. Free | To make an appointment, call 217-457-2284, ext. 1030. Story Time: 10 a.m., Carlinville Public Library, 510 N. Broad St. Free | Story time with Hannah Crawford, children's librarian. Free Noon Meal: 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., The Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. | Meals in to-go containers can be picked up at side door. Walking for Wellness: 12:30-3 p.m., First Christian Church, 2106 S. Main St. Free | Indoor walking program offered year-round Monday-Thursday. For more information, call 217-243-6445. Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen: 3:30-4 p.m., Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen, 105 E. Dunlap St. Free | Serving meals to go for anyone in need. Wednesday Produce and Bakery Giveaway: 9 a.m., noon, Jacksonville Food Center, 316 E. State St. Free | For Morgan County residents. Story Time: 10 a.m., Jacksonville Public Library, 201 W. College Ave. Free | Stories and a craft. For more information, call 217-243-5435 or email clangdon@jaxpl.org. Free Noon Meal: 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., The Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. | Meals in to-go containers can be picked up at side door. Walking for Wellness: 12:30-3 p.m., First Christian Church, 2106 S. Main St. Free | Indoor walking program offered year-round Monday-Thursday. For more information, call 217-243-6445. Commodity Food Distribution: 1:15 p.m., The Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. Free | For income-eligible residents of Morgan County. Bring proof of residence and a box for food. Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen: 3:30-4 p.m., Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen, 105 E. Dunlap St. Free | Serving meals to go for anyone in need. County Line Dance Club Class: 6:30 p.m., The Hangout Bar & Grill, 901 W. Superior Ave. $5. Thursday Produce and Bakery Giveaway: 9 a.m.-noon, Jacksonville Food Center, 316 E. State St. Free | For Morgan County residents. Winchester Preschool Screening: 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Winchester Pre-K Building, 283 S. Elm St. Free | To make an appointment, call 217-742-9551, ext. 339 or ext. 342. Blood Drive: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Jacksonville Police Department, 200 W. Douglas Ave. | To donate, contact Courtney Glass at 217-479-4630, ImpactLife at 800-747-5401 or go to bloodcenter.org and use code 60161 to locate the drive. Masks and appointments are required. Free Noon Meal: 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., The Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. | Meals in to-go containers can be picked up at side door. Walking for Wellness: 12:30-3 p.m., First Christian Church, 2106 S. Main St. Free | Indoor walking program offered year-round Monday-Thursday. For more information, call 217-243-6445. Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen: 3:30-4 p.m., Spirit of Faith Soup Kitchen, 105 E. Dunlap St. Free | Serving meals to go for anyone in need. Forest Park Owls: Hiding in Plain Sight: 5:30 p.m., Carlinville Public Library, 510 N. Broad St. Free | 90-minute program presented by Mark H.X. Glenshaw, naturalist and expert from St. Louis. For more information, call 217-854-3505 or email mail@carlinvillelibrary.org. Poetry Open Mic: 7 p.m., Soap Co. Coffee House, 207 S. Sandy St. Free | Read or listen to poetry. Masks preferred. For more information, call 217-742-5777 or email robertseufert@frontier.com. First Thursday of each month. A Doll's House Part 2: 7:30 p.m., UIS Performing Arts Center, 1 University Plaza, Springfield. Ticket price varies. | For tickets and more information, go to uispac.com. Friday Produce and Bakery Giveaway: 9 a.m.-noon, Jacksonville Food Center, 316 E. State St. Free | For Morgan County residents. Winchester Preschool Screening: 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Winchester Pre-K Building, 283 S. Elm St. Free | To make an appointment, call 217-742-9551, ext. 339 or ext. 342. Free Noon Meal: 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., The Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. | Meals in to-go containers can be picked up at side door. Produce and Bakery Giveaway: 12:30-1 p.m., The Salvation Army, 331 W. Douglas Ave. Free. Morgan County Audubon Society: 7 p.m., First Presbyterian Church, 870 W. College Ave. | Featured speaker Kathryn Chapman, education program coordinator for the Center for American Archeology in Kampsville, will present "What the Archaeology Tells Us: Past People and the Plant Kingdom." Cinderella: 7 p.m., Hoogland Center for the Arts, 420 S. Sixth St., Springfield. $18. | Featuring the Hoogland Teen Improv Troupe. For tickets or more information, go to hcfta.org. A Doll's House Part 2: 7:30 p.m., UIS Performing Arts Center, 1 University Plaza, Springfield. Ticket price varies. | For tickets and more information, go to uispac.com. Alex Ortiz: 8 p.m., Casey's Pub & Columbian Hall, 2200 Meadowbrook Road, Springfield. | Presented by Donnie B's Comedy Club. For ages 18 and older. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PLEASANT HILL Residents of the village of Martinsburg are speaking up against the possibility of a marijuana craft grow facility opening within walking distance of their homes the fight, to keep what they've worked for years: working toward a peaceful view of rural Pike County. "If the board approves it, I will sell my home and move out of Pike County ... if they will do it here, they will do it anywhere," said Jeff Ruzicka, who lives fewer than 200 feet from where the proposed cannabis craft facility could be. Ruzicka, a retired schoolteacher, has lived at his house with his wife, Misha. for the past 26 years and bought it for the peace and quiet so they can grow their food and enjoy the rural life, especially after a liver transplant. But, when learning that 10 acres of land was bought in sight of his back porch and the possibility of a cannabis craft grow, infuser and transportation facility was proposed, he took to the county board. During Monday's Pike County Board meeting, when the vote to change the zoning of land from agriculture to business was slated to take place, Ruzicka said asked board members "would you want it in your backyard?". "If they pass it, they can building anything," Ruzicka said, adding that what they're proposing has changed over time and that he feels that Ganja Thai LLC would need to build a larger facility to house what the company is projecting. The proposed craft grow facility would be located at 17766 County Highway 11 in Pleasant Hill and has a building that is 3,240 square feet in size. The zoning change was tabled during Monday's meeting due to the application not being complete, and it was not clear the stated plans for the possibility of future buildings. "It's still missing data," Pike County board Chairman Jim Shepparrd said. "It's all on the applicant's shoulders right now," he said. Sheppard said that it's unclear if the owner is planning to build a building that would range from 5,000 to 15,000 square feet. "They've given three different sizes," he said. Other concerns that Ruzicka expressed is that if a growing facility is approved, lighting would be a hindrance to the dozen homes within the village, in addition to parking lights and traffic of trucks to what the company is stating it would bring in revenue to the county. "My estimate, they would need at least four buildings," he said. "That whole area would be lit up like a shopping mall," adding that representatives said that lights would be motion sensor activated and only on for 13-hours and that wild animals would trigger the lights during the night. The process for growing marijuana consists of one to two weeks of germination, where seeds are encourages to grow to sprout; then two to three weeks of seedling, where seeds are moved to the growing stage where lights are used; two to eight weeks for the vegetative process, where plants require flowing dry air, fresh warm water and increased nutrients, especially nitrogen; then six to eight weeks for flowering, where light is gradually reduced to produced to increase phosphorous levels and decrease nitrogen with fertilizers that help bud formation. "If they build that, who's going to work there," Ruzicka said. Retired English teacher Bob Ring, also against the proposed location, is concerned of the people that will be working at the location. "If trimming marijuana is all they can do then they can leave the county," Ring said of his concern of the youth getting involved in addition of attracting other workers from areas outside of Pike County. Trevian Kutti, a consultant for Ganja Thai and based out of Georgia, said the location will not be a dispensary and it will only be used to grow cannabis that would be sent to dispensaries. "This would be $3.6 million a year in tax revenue for the county," Kutti said, adding that Pike County wasn't a random location and that there will be no retail sale of marijuana at the location. Additionally, Kutti said that it would have about 20 employees and, if approved by the state to have additional craft licenses, it could employ more at that time and adding buildings. "Expansion would be dictated on licensing," she said. "We're just selling the flowers to the dispensaries. The only traffic would be workers." For Sheppard, who said that he hasn't directly asked other board members their thought whether in favor or not, he feels that: "If I was a betting man, it will be denied," regarding the zone change. As of Friday, the item to vote on the zoning change had not been added to the April 25 county board meeting agenda. Although some groups have resumed meetings, others schedules may have changed because of pandemic restrictions. It is recommended you contact the group in advance to verify details. Any changes in meeting schedules can be emailed to JJCsocial@myjournalcourier.com. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS 217-370-4002 Jacksonville locations: First Baptist Church, 1701 Mound Ave. Wheelchair-accessible. Club HOW, 638 S. Church St. Monday Closed discussion, 7:30 a.m. at Club HOW. Closed discussion, noon at Club HOW. Closed discussion, 8 p.m. at First Baptist Church. Bowen Group." Closed discussion, 8 p.m. at Club HOW. Tuesday Open discussion, noon at Club HOW. Womens open meeting, 5:30 p.m., First Christian Churchs Fireside Room. VIRGINIA: Closed discussion, 7 p.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, Main and Washington streets. ROODHOUSE: Closed discussion, 12-step/12 traditions, 8 p.m. at Grace Center, 114 W. Palm St. Wednesday Closed discussion, noon at Club HOW. Closed discussion, 8 p.m. at Club HOW. Thursday Closed discussion, 7:30 a.m. at Club HOW. Closed discussion, noon at Club HOW. Closed discussion, 8 p.m. at Club HOW. Newcomers Group. Friday Closed discussion, noon at Club HOW. TGIF Group. Closed discussion, 5:15 p.m., Big Book Study at Club HOW. VIRGINIA: Closed discussion, 8 p.m. at United Methodist Church, 401 E. Broadway Ave. Saturday Open speaker, 8 p.m. at Club HOW. Open meeting, noon at Club HOW. Sunday Closed discussion, 8 p.m. at Club HOW. 12 & 12 Group. Closed discussion, 10 a.m. at Club HOW. (Second Sunday is open) SPRINGFIELD: AA for Women, 10 a.m. at Discovery Club, 313 W. Cook St. AL-ANON Meetings are nonsmoking and open to anyone. The only requirement is that there be a problem of alcohol with a loved one or friend. 217-248-6434. Wednesday Al-Anon, 7:30-8:30 p.m. at Centenary United Methodist Church, 331 E. State St. (use Morgan Street entrance). Thursday Al-Anon, noon at First Presbyterian Church, 870 W. College Ave. (open meeting). NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS All meetings are nonsmoking. Not affiliated with any religious organization. Jacksonville locations: First Christian Church, 2106 S. Main St. (enter through far southeast door). 217-883-1975. Lutheran Church for the Deaf, 104 Finley St. (enter through back door). 217-883-1975. Wednesday Open discussion group, 8 p.m. at Lutheran Church for the Deaf. Friday Open discussion group, 7:30 p.m. at First Christian Church. OTHER MEETINGS Monday Hope Lives On support group for mothers who have lost children to suicide, 7 p.m., Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, 155 W. Morton Ave. Addicts Victorious, 7-8 p.m. at Faith Tabernacle, 571 Sandusky St. Use side entrance to church hall. PITTSFIELD: Addicts Victorious, 7-8 p.m. in the basement of Subway in Pittsfield. 1-800-323-1388. Tuesday Dementia Caregiver support group, 2-3 p.m., free virtual event. Call 800-272-3900 to register, which is required. Hosted by the Springfield office of the Alzheimers Association Illinois. American Legion Post 279, first Tuesday of every month, 7 p.m. at 903 W. Superior Ave. Wednesday Breastfeeding support group, 6 p.m., Passavant Area Hospital, Meeting Room 2. ROODHOUSE: Women with Hearts of Love (WWHOL), 6-7 p.m. at House of Restoration, 208 W. Franklin St. 217-602-1670. Thursday Jacksonville Area Chess Club, 6-9 p.m. at Jacksonville Public Library. 217-370-0882. Jacksonville Kiwanis Club, noon at Hamiltons. WHITE HALL: Addicts Victorious, teens 5:30-6:30 p.m.; adults 7-8 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of New Life Church, 626 Curtis St. Friday Jacksonville Rotary Club, noon at Hamiltons. PITTSFIELD: Addicts Victorious, 6 p.m. at Assembly of God, 575 Piper St. 800-323-1388. Saturday Jacksonville Amateur Radio Societys Net, 9 p.m. Transmitted on K9JX repeater. K9JX.com. Compiled by Angela Bauer Like all effective satire, the Onion's headline had a ring of truth: "Putin Pleased as Plot to Ruin Russian Economy, Destroy International Standing Goes Exactly to Plan." A month after Russia invaded Ukraine, the comedy website has been willing to Go There, to look for humor in the most searing of stories even as it unfolds. The satirical site has identified Russian President Vladimir Putin's college major as "aggression," showed a coastal resort in Ukraine "with extremely affordable rates right now" and said the United Nations is escalating its response to the invasion from "warnings" to "stern warnings." Too soon? Too bad. "Finding comedy in the Ukraine situation serves several functions," says Chad Nackers, editor in chief of The Onion. "It is a powerful tool for exposing the folly and absurdity and human cruelty as well as providing some release from a stressful state of affairs and an endless cycle of misery. "Laughter," he says, "can fill the hole created by a sense of hopelessness." The war hasn't been ignored elsewhere in comedy. Late-night television has used Ukraine for familiar or tangential punch lines Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump or the quality of Papa John's pizza. Stephen Colbert suggested the United States add a T-shirt cannon to the weapons it sends to the Ukraine. After President Joe Biden called Putin a war criminal, Jimmy Kimmel suggested "stupid-head" was next. True to The Onion's nature as a brand sprung from the Midwest (Madison, Wisconsin) in 1988, there's a whiff of gentility to its Ukraine humor. None of its sarcasm touches on the human victims of the war. Its list of the war's potential outcomes ranged from "a lot of really bad speculative historical fiction" to "the Mets win the World Series." A map of Ukraine identifies the "only decent taco place in the whole ... country." A mock slide show on Putin's rise to power shows a pregnant woman with the caption, "Putin's parents decide to try for an evil megalomaniac." Under another picture of a gravestone, the caption reads: "Opponent for student council treasurer suffers mysterious organ failure." The Onion's decision not to ignore a thorny topic recalls one of its most impactful moments, when its print issue two weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks helped break a comedy barrier, says Sophia McClennen, a Penn State University professor and author of the upcoming book, "Trump Was a Joke: How Satire Made Sense of a President Who Didn't." That issue's cover pictured President George W. Bush under the headline, "U.S. Vows to Defeat Whoever it is We're at War With." Those were more influential days at The Onion, which stopped printing editions in 2013 and now exists as a website with traffic directed through social media posts. It has a great deal more competition online now and in late-night television comedy, which grew more satirical in the wake of Jon Stewart and "The Daily Show," says Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. There's a rich history of satirical publications like Mad magazine and National Lampoon places where the news of the day collides with the potential for laughter that can reduce its heaviness. Spy magazine burned brightly and briefly in the 1980s. Private Eye and Punch were popular English magazines. Notoriously, the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo was the target of a terrorist attack in 2015. The Onion sometimes looks to be merely entertaining instead of satirical, says James Caron, author of "Satire as the Comic Public Sphere." "It's just kind of silly at times," Caron says. Yet it still has the capacity to hit a target squarely. In the wake of several mass shootings in the United States over the past decade, The Onion repeated essentially the same article, changing only a few details, under the headline, "'No Way to Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens." "It's just this endless loop of horror," Nackers says. The way The Onion matched the repetitiveness with its stories "really struck a nerve with people. It hit it in a way that is respectful. It feels like there's a really strong point being made, but ... it doesn't feel like you're exploiting people." The Onion, now based in Chicago, has a staff of 20 people. It has gone through a handful of corporate overseers. The current owner, Great Hill Partners, purchased The Onion from the communications company Univision in 2019. Nackers started in 1997 as a photographer, earning $10 a photo. He began contributing jokes, became a writer and now runs the place. He watched the satire grow more serious after 9/11, as the world's insanity "kind of caught up with what used to be insane satirical premises." The focus tends to toggle between dark humor and the more frivolous as dictated by the times. "One thing that we can kind of do, because we have a lot of editorial freedom, is that we are basically a truth-teller," Nackers says. "We kind of get to the core of things and expose the real truth by using satire, making a joke, but showing things how they really are." During the past month, The Onion ran a mock "fact check" on Ukraine. To the statement that Russia claimed Ukraine is harboring biological weapons, The Onion said "fabricating allegations about enemies holding biological weapons is America's job." "CLAIM: Rudy Giuliani is a valued Russian asset acting against Ukraine in service of the Kremlin," The Onion wrote. "REALITY: Rudy Giuliani has not been of value to anyone for years." Occasionally, someone will think some of The Onion's "fake news" actually is true, like when a Chinese newspaper reprinted its declaration of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as the sexiest man of the year adding its own slide show. When those things happen, "it's a fun day at the office," says Jordan LaFlure, senior managing editor. "The story of The Onion is how little we've changed," LaFlure said. "We have a voice that endures across changing political climates. It's just a matter of deciding what is the best arrow in our quiver to fire at a particular target." The groundbreaking ceremony of the foundation treatment of Abu Qir Marine Port Container Terminal Project was held in the coastal city of Alexandria in Egypt on Thursday. It marked the official start of the onshore construction of the project and laid a solid foundation for accelerating the construction of the main body of the project. The terminal was constructed by China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC). Produced by Xinhua Global Service Journal-Courier The first of two people charged in the death of a former Jacksonville resident in Indiana has been sentenced to 61 years in prison. Justin M. Blake, 22, of Mooresville, Indiana, was convicted Feb. 23 of robbery and two counts of murder in the 2019 death of Alexander "Alex" Dashiell Jackson. He was sentenced Wednesday to 58 years on the murder charge the second of which was vacated, according to court records and three years on the robbery charge. GREENFIELD Investigators were continuing Friday to piece together details about a fire that claimed the lives of two people, one of them an infant, and injured three others. Greenfield Fire Protection District firefighters were dispatched to 1003 Green St. about 12:20 p.m. Thursday because of a kitchen fire. Three of the five people inside the house at the time were able to get out safely. A Greenfield Police officer and a Greene County sheriff's deputy were the first to arrive and were told two people still were inside the house. They tried to rescue the family members, but were unable to save them. Both officers and one of the people who escaped the burning house were treated for smoke inhalation. Firefighters said the house was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived. Roodhouse and White Hall firefighters were called for assistance. Coroner Danny J. Powell said Friday that 77-year-old Nancy L. Hillis and 11-month-old Danika C. Alderfer were pronounced dead at the scene. Autopsies were scheduled for Friday in Springfield. The news left many in the the community of just more than 1,000 people stunned. "Please, please pray for the people affected by the fire in Greenfield," one person wrote amid dozens of comments posted on social media. "My heart breaks for this family. My very worst fear as a mother," another commented. "May the Lord wrap his arms around everyone that was involved." Powell said it was a tragic and sad ordeal. "Our hearts go out to the victims and their families," he said. The fire is being investigated by the coroner's office, Greenfield Fire Protection District and the State Fire Marshals Office. Many Americans have taken significant steps back from once-routine coronavirus precautions, with fewer than half now saying they regularly wear face masks, avoid crowds and skip nonessential travel. Americans are letting down their guard even as experts warn a new wave of COVID-19 cases is coming. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows fewer people taking protective measures than at any point in AP-NORC polls conducted since early 2021. The poll found 44% say they often or always wear a face mask around people outside of their homes, down from 65% in January when infections of the highly contagious Omicron variant were soaring. Just 40% say theyre largely avoiding nonessential travel, compared with 60% in January. And 47% say they regularly stay away from large groups, down from 65% in January. Most Americans say they at least sometimes still follow those safeguards. But they're increasingly returning to pre-pandemic norms as coronavirus infections have fallen to their lowest level since July. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer recommends masking indoors for most Americans, while cities are liftingmask and vaccinerequirements to enter restaurants, bars and concert venues. And more U.S. workers are returning to offices after two years of doing their jobs at home. Judy Morgan, a retired teacher from Poulsbo, Washington, said she and her husband, a Navy veteran, have gradually become more relaxed about wearing masks and other precautions since getting their vaccine booster shots in late October. Roughly six weeks ago, she went back to shopping without a mask when the Navy base where she buys groceries stopped requiring face coverings. "I figured when the military starts easing up, because theyre pretty strict, thats a very good sign, said Morgan, 80. Morgan and her husband plan to put their masks back on at the airport later this week when they fly to Florida to celebrate her birthday. She said they were extra cautious earlier in the pandemic because her husband has a heart condition that makes him more susceptible to severe illness from COVID-19 and she's ready to go back to that behavior if another severe wave of infections hits. My hope is that its tapering off and every variation will be somewhat less viral or significant," Morgan said. "But my fear is something new will happen. Experts say the coronavirus isn't going away, and most Americans recognize the virus will stick around. In January, an AP-NORC poll showed just 15% of Americans said the pandemic will be over when COVID-19 is mostly eliminated. Most said they expect the pandemic to end when it's largely a mild virus. But that might not be the case just yet. Experts still say new variants could soon start another wave of rising infections in the U.S. Scientists are closely watching an extra-contagious spinoff of Omicron that already has case numbers climbing in parts of Europe and Asia, as well as a delta-Omicron hybrid, though so far infections of that variant appear to be rare. Sonia Montoya, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, isn't taking any chances. The 65-year-old bookkeeper still works remotely from her office colleagues, orders any restaurant meals to go and makes sure to wear a mask when shopping or attending church. Six of Montoya's relatives and friends died from the virus, and she said she's still very worried about getting sick even though she's vaccinated. It came back and hit us again once before, and I have a feeling if we aren't cautious we are going to do it again," Montoya said. Yes, its slowing down, but theres a lot of stupid people out there, especially the younger ones that don't think its serious. Since vaccines became widely available to the American public, AP-NORC polls have consistently shown that vaccinated people are more worried about infections and more likely to take preventive steps than the unvaccinated. The vaccinated are still more likely than the unvaccinated to say theyre always or often avoiding nonessential travel (44% to 29%), staying away from large groups (51% to 32%) and wearing face masks around other people (49% to 26%). But the new poll shows that over the past two months the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike have become less likely to regularly take those precautions. Likewise, both Democrats and Republicans are less likely than they were in January to say they frequently take protective measures. Jason Newman, of Greenville, Kentucky, said he never wears a mask unless he's required to, has no concerns about dining out and never got vaccinated. He said he's tested positive for COVID-19 twice but suffered no symptoms either time. The 43-year-old postal worker said in recent months he's noticed more people who seem to be treating the virus the way he does. Its always going be here no matter what, because they wont be able to eradicate it, Newman said. I think, by and large, theyre all over it." Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela (C) attends his swearing-in ceremony presided over by Malta's President George Vella (1st R) in Valletta, Malta, March 28, 2022. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua) BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday congratulated Robert Abela on his reelection as the Maltese prime minister. In a congratulatory message, Li said that since the establishment of their diplomatic ties 50 years ago, China and Malta have always respected each other, treated each other as equals, and deepened their traditional friendship, which has become a model of mutual support and win-win cooperation between large and small countries. Li said that he looks forward to working together with Prime Minister Abela to push for greater development of China-Malta relations. Lawyers hope new evidence can stop Texas womans execution View Photo HOUSTON (AP) During hours of relentless questioning, Melissa Lucio more than 100 times had denied fatally beating her 2-year-old daughter. But worn down from a lifetime of abuse and the grief of losing her daughter Mariah, her lawyers say, the Texas woman finally acquiesced to investigators. I guess I did it, Lucio responded when asked if she was responsible for some of Mariahs injuries. Her lawyers say that statement was wrongly interpreted by prosecutors as a murder confession tainting the rest of the investigation into Mariahs 2007 death, with evidence gathered only to prove that conclusion, and helping lead to her capital murder conviction. They contend Mariah died from injuries from a fall down the 14 steps of a steep staircase outside the familys apartment in the South Texas city of Harlingen. As her April 27 execution date nears, Lucios lawyers are hopeful that new evidence, along with growing public support including from jurors who now doubt the conviction and from more than half the Texas House of Representatives will persuade the states Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Greg Abbott to grant an execution reprieve or commute her sentence. Mariahs death was a tragedy not a murder. It would be an absolutely devastating message for this execution to go forward. It would send a message that innocence doesnt matter, said Vanessa Potkin, one of Lucios attorneys who is with the Innocence Project. Lucios lawyers say jurors never heard forensic evidence that would have explained that Mariahs various injuries were actually caused by a fall days earlier. They also say Lucio wasnt allowed to present evidence questioning the validity of her confession. The Texas Attorney Generals Office maintains evidence shows Mariah suffered the absolute worst case of child abuse her emergency room doctor had seen in 30 years. Lucio still advances no evidence that is reliable and supportive of her acquittal, the office wrote in court documents last month. The Cameron County District Attorneys Office, which prosecuted Lucio, declined to comment. Lucio, 53, would be the first Latina executed by Texas since 1863 and the first woman since 2014. Only 17 women have been executed in the U.S. since the Supreme Court lifted its ban on the death penalty in 1976, most recently in January 2021. In their clemency petition, Lucios lawyers say that while she had used drugs, leading her to temporarily lose custody of her children, she was a loving mother who worked to remain drug-free and provide for her family. Lucio has 14 children and was pregnant with the youngest two when Mariah died. Lucio and her children struggled through poverty. At times, they were homeless and relied on food banks for meals, according to the petition. Child Protective Services was present in the familys life, but there was never an accusation of abuse by any of her children, Potkin said. Lucio had been sexually assaulted multiple times, starting at age 6, and had been physically and emotionally abused by two husbands. Her lawyers say this lifelong trauma made her susceptible to giving a false confession. In the 2020 documentary The State of Texas vs. Melissa, Lucio said investigators kept pushing her to say she had hurt Mariah. I was not gonna admit to causing her death because I wasnt responsible, Lucio said. Her lawyers say Lucios sentence was disproportionate to what her husband and Mariahs father, Robert Alvarez, received. He got a four-year sentence for causing injury to a child by omission even though he also was responsible for Mariahs care, Lucios lawyers argue. In 2019, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Lucios conviction, ruling she was deprived of her constitutional right to present a meaningful defense. However, the full court in 2021 said the conviction had to be upheld for procedural reasons, despite the difficult issue of the exclusion of testimony that might have cast doubt on the credibility of Lucios confession. Three jurors and one alternate in Lucios trial have signed affidavits expressing doubts about her conviction. She was not evil. She was just struggling. If we had heard passionately from the defense defending her in some way, we might have reached a different decision, juror Johnny Galvan wrote in an affidavit. In a letter last month to the Board of Pardons and Paroles and to Abbott, 83 Texas House members said executing Lucio would be a miscarriage of justice. As a conservative Republican myself, who has long been a supporter of the death penalty in the most heinous cases I have never seen a more troubling case than the case of Melissa Lucio, said state Rep. Jeff Leach, who signed the letter. Abbott can grant a one-time, 30-day reprieve. He can grant clemency if a majority of the paroles board recommends it. The board plans to vote on Lucios clemency petition two days before the scheduled execution, Rachel Alderete, the boards director of support operations, said in an email. A spokeswoman for Abbotts office did not return an email seeking comment. Abbott has granted clemency to only one death row inmate, Thomas Whitaker, since taking office in 2015. Whitaker was convicted of masterminding the fatal shootings of his mother and brother. His father, who survived, led the effort to save Whitaker, saying he would be victimized again if his son was executed. Lucios supporters have said her clemency request is similar in that her family would be retraumatized if shes executed. Please allow us to reconcile with Mariahs death and remember her without fresh pain, anguish and grief. Please spare the life of our mother, Lucios children wrote in a letter to Abbott and the board. ___ Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70 ___ This story has been corrected to show that Lucio would have been the first Latina to be executed by Texas since 1863, not ever. By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press From The Heralds Files (The following story appeared in the Feb. 13, 1966, issue of The Herald and was written by the late L.D. Brown.) Remember the Big Snow? Well, if you lived in Plainview in 1956, the chances are pretty strong that you do. And with good reason. The snow that topped 30 inches in parts of this area was the most ever recorded in Plainview and for downright excitement and close calls with a minimum of damage, it probably will outlast in memory the Big Blow on Thanksgiving 1926, and the flood of 41. On Feb. 1, 1956, most of the Plains was ice-coated and at Plainview mist continued and froze during most of the day. Traffic slipped and slid helplessly. City employees spread sand at intersections and everybody held their breath in antici-pation of serious traffic mishaps. But an astounding thing about the week of violent weather was that there was not one report of serious injury as a result of the snow and ice and despite the paralysis of communication no one is believed to have really suffered. On Feb. 2, a Thursday, from 6 to 8 inches of snow fell over the Plainview area. Weather forecasts were for zero readings that night and clearing skies. In fact, at one time late Thursday, the overcast thinned and it looked just like another normally light snow. But the snowman was just getting his second wind. And wind it was, for the snow drifted considerably, slowing traffic and disappointing farmers because they would not receive even and maximum benefit from the moisture. It was the first appreciable snow here since 1947. The severe drifting marooned automobiles in driveways and in the streets. Telephone connections between Plainview and Floydada were interrupted, businesses were running two hours or more behind schedule and the community generally slowed down. An ambulance brought a patient here from Dimmitt as highway crews and others stood by to lend a hand in case the ambulance stalled. Joel Culp, who lives 10 miles south of Plainview, had 5 inches of snow, but not much on his fields. It was in the roads and in the fence rows in 2- and 3-foot drifts. Still it snowed and the region hadnt seen anything yet. The snow continued Thursday night and into Friday. By noon Friday, traffic was about at a standstill. The snow had changed from the light, powdery variety at the start to the heavy kind and was piling up on the level. Sleet and drizzle prevailed over North, Central and East Texas. Hereford had 24 inches of snow, Amarillo 16 and Lubbock 10 by Saturday. When Plainview awoke on Saturday morning, Feb. 4, the people were confronted with a spectacle that to those unaccustomed to such was ominous. Snow had drifted to the eaves of houses, shutting out the light from windows and blocking driveways. Three-foot deep overhangs jutted from gables and eaves. Trees and shrubs were encased still in the ice coat and on top of that was the snow covering. The landscape was sculptured in the clinging snow and there was a deadly stillness under the bright glare of the sun. Plainview and the area were paralyzed, transportation wise. The official snow measurement was 25 inches with some unofficial measurements at 29 inches and above. It was the heaviest snow recorded for Plainview since Nov. 6, 1906, when 24 inches fell. (Plainview holds the Texas record of the most snowfall in a 24-hour period for the 25 inches recorded from Feb. 3-4, 1956. Hale Center has the record for the maximum depth on the ground of 33 inches on Feb. 5, 1956.) Some stores didnt open that morning. Hospital personnel went to bed wherever they could find a place to sleep because some of them couldnt get home, and were afraid if they did they could not get back to their posts. Some residents were to be confined to their homes for 72 hours before streets were cleared. On Saturday morning, pilots flying over the area sighted abandoned automobiles on long stretches of highway. There were more than 30 cars abandoned between Plainview and Olton on U.S. 70. Farm families were blocked in by 6- and 7-foot snowdrifts. A husband and his wife who was expecting a baby momentarily started to the hospital while there was still time. A few miles from home their car stalled in a snowdrift. The husband walked to a farm house and telephoned for help. Southwestern Public Service crews with trucks went to the rescue. The woman reached the hospital where the baby was born several hours later. An ambulance on the way from Hale Center to Plainview was held up behind a stalled bus for four hours. The patient made the trip in good condition. Marooned motorists put up in hotels and motels here. Scores of others sat through Friday night in bus and railway waiting rooms. Les and Billy Weaks of Plainview with relatives started out late Friday to the country. Their car stalled on the Snyder community road, but the group made it to the Herman Meester farm residence, breasting drifts several feet deep. Their whereabouts were unknown until near noon Saturday. It was the kind of incident repeated numerous times during the height of the storm. No mail arrived or went out of Plainview from noon Friday until Monday. There was no city mail delivery and milk deliveries were suspended. Numerous families ran out of staple foods. Word went out for those with children who had to have milk to contact police or others lending public service for emergency deliveries. Near Hale Center, volunteer workers cleared five miles of country road with tractors to take an elderly man to relatives in order to reach medical aid. Farmers probably fared better than most people, for they used their tractors for transportation. The storm was another of the numerous occasions that have demonstrated the responsive neighborliness of Plains people. Everybody was determined that nobody would suffer. Those who could get around by tractor checked on their neighbors, making sure that no isolated family was overlooked. People living on the impossibly blocked country roads stomped out messages in the snow and volunteer pilots responded to their wants: D meant they needed a doctor X fuel and F food. Three Hale Center fliers donated their time and planes to the relief work, clearing a small landing field of snow. Some of the fliers with practice got pretty good with their drops. One hit a farmers front porch with the groceries. And on and on endlessly were incidents growing out of the storm. Many of them will live in memory of the participants through their lives and be passed along to their children and grandchildren. By standards in some parts of the country the 25-inch snow was not a big snow. But it was most unusual. The Associated Press made aerial pictures. A woman accused of poisoning her husband with a horse tranquilizer last year and burying his body in a California vineyard hanged herself in a jail cell, authorities said Sunday. Laren Sims, 36, had been held without bail in the Hernando County jail since her arrest March 18 in Destin. She was found hanging from a braided bed sheet early Saturday morning in an apparent suicide, and died Sunday, Hernando County sheriff's Capt. Alan Arick said. Several days before her death, Sims wrote a three-page confession detailing how she and a 21-year-old secretary from her husband's California law firm killed Larry McNabney and then buried his body, police said. Sheriff's officials in California were seeking her extradition when she died. McNabney, 53, was last seen alive Sept. 10 being pushed in a wheelchair by Sims at a Los Angeles horse show. A day later, authorities said, Sims started clearing out his office and sold his $110,000 horse trailer and truck. She shut down his law practice in January and disappeared with about $500,000 of his assets. Police said Sims described in her confession how she and Sarah Dutra, a secretary in McNabney's office, gave McNabney horse tranquilizers at a Los Angeles hotel, then drove to Yosemite National Park to bury him. When they discovered he was still alive, they took him back home to Woodbridge, in California's Central Valley, police said. McNabney died shortly afterward. Sims said she kept the body in a refrigerator for several months before burying it in a San Joaquin County vineyard, police said. Farmworkers unearthed the body in February. Dutra, the secretary, was arrested on murder and conspiracy charges a week ago in California. She has not yet entered a plea and was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday. Attorney Kevin Clymo, who represented Dutra at a recent hearing, said Sims' flight from California and suicide suggested she was feeling "consciousness of guilt." "I don't think it really affects Sarah's case one way or the other," he said. "I think the truth will come out. I think the truth is that Sarah is not guilty of murder and I do believe as this story evolves and is presented that that's what everybody will see." Authorities say Sims had a 113-page criminal record, was wanted in Florida and Washington for credit card and grand theft charges, and had more than a dozen aliases and multiple Social Security numbers. Three Florida counties with charges against her dropped them last week to speed her return to California. McNabney apparently never knew Sims' real name. When he met her in 1995, she had gone by Elisa Barasch, the last name of a former cellmate in Florida, where she served seven months for violating her parole for grand theft and fraud. Her latest arrest records in Florida refer to her as Elisa McNabney, Arick said. He confirmed that her maiden name is Sims. Sims had been married twice previously and had a 17-year-old daughter, Haylei Jordan, who was with her in Florida when she was arrested. San Joaquin County Sheriff Baxter Dunn said friends of the daughter turned her in, and the daughter was later turned over to Sims' parents, who had been estranged from Sims for a decade. Sims' death early Sunday appeared to be well-planned, Hernando County Sheriff's Lt. Phillip Wood said. She had been in the jail's medical unit, and officers said they had been regularly checking on her every 15 minutes. Her lawyer, Tom Hogan, didn't immediately return phone calls Sunday. March 23 A crash resulting in vehicle damage was reported on March 23 at the 1500 block of N. I-27. The incident occurred in the Walmart Supercenter parking lot. No injuries were reported. Theft was reported at the 500 block of Dallas St. on March 23. Theft from a vehicle was reported at the 1300 block of W. 5th St. Multiple items were reported stolen. Criminal mischief was reported at the 1000 block of W. 5th St. on March 23. Damaged property was reported. Theft from a vehicle was reported on March 23 at the 3600 block of Grandview. An individual with Code Red Safety went to the police station to report several stolen items from the back of their truck. The items are estimated to be valued at $5,550. The items were taken while the individual was staying at the Comfort Suites. Two individuals were arrested on March 23 at the 400 block of W. 5th St. during a traffic stop initiated for a traffic violation. The individuals were found to have several outstanding warrants between them. Warrants for the 57-year-old included charges for credit card/debt card abuse, unauthorized use of a vehicle and assault of a family/household member. Warrants for the 41-year-old woman included one for theft and one for failure to appear/bail jumping. Police were called out to a theft at Allsups on the 400 block of W. 5th St. on March 23. An employee told officers a female wearing a green hoodie walked out of the store with several items including rice, Vienna sausage and Blue Def and proceeded to walk north. The individual was identified but not located, according to the incident report. Plainview police arrested a 27-year-old man on March 23 after responding to a location in reference to a disturbance. The individual was charged with assault. March 24 A 42-year-old woman was arrested on March 24 at the 1600 block of Ennis St. during a traffic stop for a criminal traffic violation. The individual was arrested and charged with driving without a valid license with previous conviction/suspension without financial resolution. A 36-year-old man was arrested on March 24 at the 1600 block of N. Date St. Officers were dispatched to the location in reference to criminal trespass. The individual was charged with criminal trespass of a habitat/shelter/superfund/infrastructure. A crash resulting in vehicle damage was reported at the 3000 block of the east frontage road of N. I-27. A 37-year-old man was arrested on March 24 at the 600 block of W. 11th St. where officers were dispatched in reference to a domestic disturbance. Officers met with the reporting party who said she feared for her safety because a man at the scene had assaulted her a day before. The victim had visible bruising on her face, arms and shoulder. Officers conducted a warrant check and found the man John Marshall Zamora to have an active Hale County warrant. He was informed of the warrant and then resisted arrest refusing to be handcuffed and refusing to walk and pulled away from officers. He was taken to the Hale County Jail. Zamora was charged with resisting arrest, search or transportation; assault causing bodily injury, family violence; a warrant for bond surrender/assault causing bodily injury; and or abandonment/endangerment of a child, criminal negligence, which is a felony. March 25 Officers responded to the 400 block of W. 5th St. on March 25 in reference to an individual harassing customers at Allsups. The individual was issued a criminal trespass citation. Police stopped a vehicle at the 800 block of El Paso on March 25 for an expired registration. During the stop, the driver was found to be in possession of a controlled substance. The incident report indicates it was amphetamine but no arrests were indicated. This case remains under investigation. A 31-year-old man was arrested on March 25 at the 2600 block of W. 7th St. during a traffic stop. The vehicle was stopped for an expired registration and upon a check, the driver was found to have several active warrants and an invalid license. The individual was charged with driving with an invalid license with previous conviction/suspension without financial resolution. He was also arrested for the following warrants: no drivers license, open container and for failure to appear/bail jumping. A theft was reported at the 500 block of N. Date St. on March 25. A known person entered the business and consumed a drink then left without paying for it. Officers responded to the 1200 block of Joliet St. on March 25 for criminal trespass. A homeowner told officers a random individual identified at the scene entered his home without consent. An assault was reported at the 220 block of St. Louis St. on March 25. Officers were dispatched to the 1300 block of Oakland in reference to an assault that had already occurred and met with the reporting party who told them it happened on St. Louis St. The reporting party said a male kept her from leaving the residence and struck her with a shoe multiple times and a closed fist. The man also placed his hand on the reporting partys throat and pulled her hair. The man was not located. A theft was reported at the 2800 block of Olton Road on March 25. Officers were flagged down by a man at the Allsups two blocks down. The reporting party told officers their spouse made a purchase using a $50 and a $20 dollar bill. The Allsups employee did not pick up the money immediately and a man picked up and left the store with the $20. March 26 Police arrested 23-year-old Pablo Luis Serrano on March 26 at the 600 block of Denver St. after responding to the location in reference to an aggravated assault that had already happened. The victim told officers someone had pointed a shotgun at him. Upon further investigation, Serrano was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which is a felony. Damaged property was reported on March 26 at the 300 block of W. 7th St. A stolen vehicle was reported on March 26 at the 1000 block of W. 5th St. An assault was reported at the 1300 block of Portland St. on March 26. Plainview police arrested 29-year-old Leonardo J. Hidalgo on March 26 at the 400 block of W. 7th St. Hidalgo was charged with possession of a controlled substance, which is a felony; failure to identify a fugitive with intent to give false information; and a warrant for assault causing bodily injury, family violence. The arrest happened during a bicycle stop. A 22-year-old man was arrested on March 26 at the 1800 block of W. 5th St. during a traffic stop for speeding. The driver was found to have an active warrant. He was arrested for a warrant for possession of marijuana and was taken to the Hale County Jail. March 27 A sexual assault was reported on March 27. A crash resulting in an injury was reported on March 27 at the 4000 block of Olton Road. Possession of marijuana was reported on March 27 at the 1100 block of W. 8th St. Theft from a vehicle was reported on March 27 at the 800 block of W. 8th St. A 30-year-old man was charged with burglary of a vehicle. March 28 A crash resulting in vehicle damage was reported at the 1500 block of N. I-27 on March 28. A 27-year-old man was arrested on March 28 at the 300 block of N. Date St. Officers were called to the location in reference to criminal trespass. He was charged with making a terroristic threat. A case of animal cruelty was reported on March 28 at the 200 block of S. Broadway. Police arrested a 27-year-old man and charged him with cruelty to a non-livestock animal. He was also charged with multiple outstanding warrants including charges for driving with no license, violating a promise to appear and expired license plates. A theft was reported at the 3100 block of N. I-27 on March 28. A burglary was reported at the 2300 block of E. 5th St. on March 28. March 29 A crash resulting in vehicle damage was reported at the intersection of W. 11th and Yonkers. The crash involved three vehicles. One vehicle failed to yield right-of-way at the stop sign. No injuries were reported. A burglary was reported at the 1300 block of Kokomo St. on March 29. A crash resulting in injury was reported at the 1500 block of W. 5th St. on March 29. A 20-year-old was arrested on March 29 at the 1500 block of N. I-27. Officers were dispatched to Walmart in reference to several males taking multiple items from the store. All of the individuals were identified and one was found to have multiple outstanding warrants. The five warrants included charges for two counts of driving with no license, one for failure to maintain financial responsibility, one for speeding and one for violating promise to appear. A 21-year-old man was arrested on March 29 at the 700 block of W. 5th St. The individual had multiple active warrants. Police responded to a residence in reference to a sexual assault where the suspect told officers the reporting party struck him with a bat. The suspect told officers he wants to press charges against the reporting party for the assault. Officers responded to a location in reference to a sexual assault. It was reported to police that a family member sexual assaulted a child in the family. The investigation continues. March 30 Harassment was reported at the 110 block of Yonkers St. on March 30. A sexual assault of a child was reported on March 30. A 27-year-old man was arrested at the 1000 block of CR V. Officers responded to a broken-down vehicle. Upon arrival, the driver identified himself and was known to have two active municipal warrants for theft and for failure to appear. The driver was arrested. A crash resulting in an injury was reported on March 30 at the 3100 block of Olton Road. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Shawn Vandygriff chose to retire last year after spending 28 years working for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Her own kids are growing up and she wanted to take some time to enjoy their transition to college. She retired in April 2021 from her position as regional director of Child Protective Services investigations across the Lubbock region, which includes Plainview and Hale County. By December, she decided she wasnt quite ready to let the work go and rejoined her colleagues with the word assistant tacked on to the end of her previous title. Its important work, she said, noting why she felt the desire to return. We have a mission of protecting kids, she said. On Friday morning, her peers praised her dedication as she was recognized as CPS Worker of the Year by the Texas Council of Child Welfare Boards. Vandygriff was in Plainview aiding the kick-off of Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month in Plainview surrounded by members from organizations that share in that same mission. The organization previously attempted to present Vandygriff with her Texas-shaped plaque but she was unavailable so the presentation was saved for Friday. Prior to her retirement, Vandygriff served the agency in several different capacities for, not just region 1, but region 2, both of which encompass the Texas Panhandle and dip into the South Plains. Anna Riggler, a member of the Texas Council of Child Welfare Boards, presented Vandygriff with her plaque taking a minute to publicly acknowledge her service. She went above and beyond to keep the council informed, acted as a spokesperson for her organization and for charitable causes and serves on numerous boards. That is just a brief highlight, Riggler said just prior to handing Vandygriff her award. The Obama portraits are finally here, and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) is planning a full afternoon of fun activities on Sunday, April 3, to celebrate their arrival. In 2018, the Smithsonians National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., debuted The Obama Portraits, an exhibit with works by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald portraying former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. The portraits have since gone on tour in Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles and Atlanta. And now, its Houstons turn. The portraits will be on view at MFAH from April 3 to May 30. This Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m., MFAH is hosting an outdoor festival called Sunday Best to kick off the exhibits Houston stay. The afternoon will begin with remarks from U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and Necole Irvin of the Mayors Office of Cultural Affairs. There will be performances from Texas Southern Universitys marching band, Ocean of Soul, as well as from the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses, and readings by Houston-based poet Joy Priest, author of "Horsepower" and winner of the Donald Hall Prize for Poetry, and Houston Poet Laureate Outspoken Bean. Attendees will also get to join in on a discussion with the Free Black Womens Library about White Teeth, a Zadie Smith novel recommended by Michelle Obama, and meet the folks behind Kindred Stories, a new bookstore that highlights Black authors and artists. Various craft activities will be available, from designing wearable art with Houston Community Colleges fashion faculty to decorating paper fans with artist Melissa Aytenfisu. Want your own portrait? The Jack Yates High School students featured in Eye on Houston: High School Documentary Photography will be there to take your picture. Finally, H-E-B is bringing the snacks at the Grab and Go stand, Third Wards Doshi House will sell vegan and vegetarian food, and Cafe Leonellione of the restaurant concepts inside MFAH's new Kinder Buildingwill have a happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m., serving $5 wine and focaccias. View the full Sunday Best schedule on MFAHs website. After Houston, the Obama portraits will head to San Francisco, then Boston. You may not believe this, but my parents put me in anger management classes at De Zavala Elementary School to teach me how to deal with my emotions when things didn't go my way. Yes, I was THAT kid. It worked. I was less of a moody kid until my know-it-all teenage years and stressful 20s. Therapy eases the pain, but sometimes breaking something is the release you need to get some rage out. Priscilla Aguirre, MySA.com That's the help 21-year-old Thalia Trejo wanted to offer when she suggested to her mother, Debra, that they should open a rage room on San Antonio's Southside. Debra knows more than a thing or two about opening a business. Debra has owned her store, I Got Clothes, for more than 20 years on 1602 SW Military Drive. She also invested in the space next to her shop for her son Michael Reyes open up a selfie museum. However, Reyes moved The Selfie Box to North Star Mall for more foot traffic, leaving the space available for Thalia to take over and run a rage room business. "I'm so proud of my kids," Debra said. "My son has his thing going and now Thalia brainstormed and creatively put together this cool concept San Antonio doesn't really have." Priscilla Aguirre, MySA.com Priscilla Aguirre, MySA.com Dubbing themselves as the only rage room in San Antonio, Thalia created a business where you can safely smash bottles, televisions, plates, glasses, and more. In the space, Thalia has two rooms for rage, another for expressive paint throwing, and an ax-throwing area. All include cool artwork from local artist Christopher Ramos. "I always saw these rooms in Los Angeles but it's not something you'll see in San Antonio," Thalia said. "The nearest one is in Austin, so I got with my dad and mom, and we decided to at least try it out." It opened on March 19 and has already sold out on weekends the past two weeks and I can understand why. Priscilla Aguirre, MySA.com When I raged with Thalia's best friend and employee, Denise Flores, on Wednesday, March 30, I felt my anxiety leave me the minute I threw a beer bottle at the wall. And when I used a bat to hit a plate and glass. It was a bit nerve-wracking at first because I don't have a lot of anger in me anymore. Those anger management classes helped. However, I unleashed some power from anger I didn't even know I had. I finished feeling empowered and joyful. "The biggest thing people say when they walk out is like, 'Oh, I feel so much better,'" Debra said. "People have said that over and over. It really does release a lot of stress." Priscilla Aguirre, MySA.com If you're worried about getting paint or glass cutting you, don't worry. The Rage Room offers you suits and goggles as part of the package deal. Along with the gear, you will get a bat or crowbar and 13 glass breakables for $29.99 for a 30-minute rage session. You can add other items like printers, large televisions and microwaves to the package if you want. For the rage painting, it's $29.99 for 30 minutes for three 4oz bottles of paint colors, one paint canvas, one poncho, and shoe covers. For more information on the Rage Room, visit its website at the rageroomsa.com. Brandon Bell/Getty Images Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday appeared to show support for mandating the death penalty for those who kill police officer in a now-deleted tweet. The Republican leader tweeted the message "Cop killers deserve the death penalty" from his personal Twitter account after sharing a statement about the shooting death of Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Almendarez. Abbott deleted the tweet seconds after it was posted. The deleted message was sent out amid other tweets from the governor offering prayers for Almendarez's family and condemning those responsible for his death. Almendarez was shot confronting suspected car burglars at Joe V's Smart Shop in the 2900 block of FM 1960 on Thursday night. Two suspects have been arrested in relation to the shooting and one remains at large. Local villager Hasan Osman (2nd L) chats with workers at the drilling site of deepwater wells dug by the Chinese firm Zhongman Petroleum and Gas Group (ZPEC) in the Siwa Oasis, west of Cairo, Egypt, March 25, 2022. In a remote village in the Siwa Oasis of Egypt's Western Desert, part of the Sahara Desert, a Chinese drilling company, commissioned by the Egyptian authorities, is digging deepwater wells for the villagers in efforts to bring them sustainable and sufficient access to drinking water. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) SIWA, Egypt, April 2 (Xinhua) -- In a remote village in the Siwa Oasis of Egypt's Western Desert, part of the Sahara Desert, a Chinese drilling company, commissioned by the Egyptian authorities, is digging deepwater wells for the villagers in efforts to bring them sustainable and sufficient access to drinking water. "I offered a sheep to the Chinese drilling team on behalf of the whole village as a thank-you gift for drilling water wells for us," Hasan Osman, a 30-year-old villager, told Xinhua, looking at the huge drilling platform of the Chinese firm Zhongman Petroleum and Gas Group (ZPEC). The village where Osman lives is called Malol, located in the Siwa Oasis about 560 km west of the capital Cairo. Being close to the Egyptian border with Libya, Siwa is the most remote and inaccessible desert oasis in Egypt. "The water we have been drinking is salty and insufficient for drinking, let alone for growing crops," Osman said. With the arrival of the ZPEC drilling team comes the potential access to potable water. Like a long-awaited rain in the desert, the drilling site has become a magnet for villagers who talk about the promising project and make friends with the workers. "We're very happy that the Chinese company is digging a well for us! What a pleasure!" Osman said with an expectant grin. Li Wei, general manager of the ZPEC branch in Egypt, told Xinhua that the village heavily relies on underground water, but the existing wells are mostly shallow with a depth of 300 to 400 meters, offering water of high salinity well below ideal drinking water par. In February, the Egyptian authorities decided to stop drilling shallow wells in Siwa and contracted ZPEC to drill two deepwater wells with a depth of about 1,200 meters to tap quality water sources for the local people. This is not the first time for ZPEC to provide deep drilling services in Egypt. Since 2016, the Chinese company has been providing drilling services in Sinai Peninsula, where its highly efficient work quickly won recognition from the Egyptian government and resulted in more projects by contract in the North African country. The project in Siwa has never been easy. The team managed to transport a 550-horsepower drilling rig from Cairo all the way to Siwa for the project, before being put to the test of difficulties in technical work and management. "Due to the remote location of the project and some geological problems, the company's technical department has assigned specialized experts to study and implement leak prevention and plugging measures at the drilling site," Li said. Pointing to a well being drilled at hand, Fahmy Abdel-Hamid, a project manager who has been working for ZPEC for nearly five years, said the well has been drilled to a depth of over 400 meters so far, with 28 workers manning it in two shifts round the clock. Abdel-Hamid also praised the Chinese professional and technical expertise in the drilling field, noting he has gained a lot of experience from his work at ZPEC. "We're not only bringing a couple of deepwater wells to the village but also hope for the local people to live a better life," Li, the general manager, told Xinhua. Li Wei (L), general manager of the ZPEC branch in Egypt, talks with workers at the drilling site of deepwater wells dug by the Chinese firm Zhongman Petroleum and Gas Group (ZPEC) in the Siwa Oasis, west of Cairo, Egypt, March 25, 2022. In a remote village in the Siwa Oasis of Egypt's Western Desert, part of the Sahara Desert, a Chinese drilling company, commissioned by the Egyptian authorities, is digging deepwater wells for the villagers in efforts to bring them sustainable and sufficient access to drinking water.(Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) Laborers work at the drilling site of deepwater wells dug by the Chinese firm Zhongman Petroleum and Gas Group (ZPEC) in the Siwa Oasis, west of Cairo, Egypt, March 25, 2022. In a remote village in the Siwa Oasis of Egypt's Western Desert, part of the Sahara Desert, a Chinese drilling company, commissioned by the Egyptian authorities, is digging deepwater wells for the villagers in efforts to bring them sustainable and sufficient access to drinking water.(Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) Photo taken on March 25, 2022 shows the drilling site of deepwater wells dug by the Chinese firm Zhongman Petroleum and Gas Group (ZPEC) in the Siwa Oasis, west of Cairo, Egypt. In a remote village in the Siwa Oasis of Egypt's Western Desert, part of the Sahara Desert, a Chinese drilling company, commissioned by the Egyptian authorities, is digging deepwater wells for the villagers in efforts to bring them sustainable and sufficient access to drinking water. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) Aerial photo taken on March 25, 2022 shows the drilling site of deepwater wells dug by the Chinese firm Zhongman Petroleum and Gas Group (ZPEC) in the Siwa Oasis, west of Cairo, Egypt. In a remote village in the Siwa Oasis of Egypt's Western Desert, part of the Sahara Desert, a Chinese drilling company, commissioned by the Egyptian authorities, is digging deepwater wells for the villagers in efforts to bring them sustainable and sufficient access to drinking water.(Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) Photo taken on March 25, 2022 shows the drilling site of deepwater wells dug by the Chinese firm Zhongman Petroleum and Gas Group (ZPEC) in the Siwa Oasis, west of Cairo, Egypt. In a remote village in the Siwa Oasis of Egypt's Western Desert, part of the Sahara Desert, a Chinese drilling company, commissioned by the Egyptian authorities, is digging deepwater wells for the villagers in efforts to bring them sustainable and sufficient access to drinking water.(Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) Local children visit the drilling site of deepwater wells dug by the Chinese firm Zhongman Petroleum and Gas Group (ZPEC) in the Siwa Oasis, west of Cairo, Egypt, March 25, 2022. In a remote village in the Siwa Oasis of Egypt's Western Desert, part of the Sahara Desert, a Chinese drilling company, commissioned by the Egyptian authorities, is digging deepwater wells for the villagers in efforts to bring them sustainable and sufficient access to drinking water. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) Aerial photo taken on March 25, 2022 shows the drilling site of deepwater wells dug by the Chinese firm Zhongman Petroleum and Gas Group (ZPEC) in the Siwa Oasis, west of Cairo, Egypt. In a remote village in the Siwa Oasis of Egypt's Western Desert, part of the Sahara Desert, a Chinese drilling company, commissioned by the Egyptian authorities, is digging deepwater wells for the villagers in efforts to bring them sustainable and sufficient access to drinking water. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) Local villager Hasan Osman (2nd L) chats with workers at the drilling site of deepwater wells dug by the Chinese firm Zhongman Petroleum and Gas Group (ZPEC) in the Siwa Oasis, west of Cairo, Egypt, March 25, 2022. In a remote village in the Siwa Oasis of Egypt's Western Desert, part of the Sahara Desert, a Chinese drilling company, commissioned by the Egyptian authorities, is digging deepwater wells for the villagers in efforts to bring them sustainable and sufficient access to drinking water.(Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) (Natural News) Dr. Bryan Ardis is number one on Big Pharmas hit list. The popular chiropractor himself shared that bit of information to lawyer Tom Renz during the March 29 episode of Lawfare with Tom Renz on Brighteon.TV. Ardis said Dr. Vladimir Zev Zelenko, who is now famous for his Zelenko Protocol that has saved lives worldwide, told him during an interview last week that he was on a hit list or assassination list of Big Pharma, specifically Pfizer. Im number one on Big Pharmas hit list. And I just lost it laughing because Zev Zelenko said, Im not sure if I should be jealous of you or congratulate you that youre number one. And Im number two but then goes on to say that he knows were obviously doing something right because we are the targets, said Ardis, adding that Zelenko wanted the world to know how important both of them have become by being singled out and targeted by Big Pharma cabal. The ArdisLabs CEO added that he, Zelenko and other concerned medical professionals are trying to keep people outside of hospitals and protecting lives using early treatment. Ardis knows somebodys watching him Ardis mentioned that he has done tons of research into specific topics around the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) since the beginning of December 2021. And I know theyre tracking me. I know theyre watching me. Its very obvious that they are watching what Im doing and what Im saying because I have been on stages around the country. And I will actually pinpoint things on websites, and I will circle them with a laser pointer, the certain things I want people to read and notice that they have on their sites, Ardis said. And the very next day, theyll take those down. Theyll actually scrub one sentence that I highlight, theyll scrub one adverse event Ill highlight or theyll take down the whole page the next day. And I kind of find it humorous that weve gotten to their attention so much, but Ive been saying since December 16, that theyre watching me. So I know theyre watching what Im doing and what Im saying. The Dr. Ardis Show host said that he has been on a watch list after unloading a ton of documentation on the toxic effects of remdesivir and making people aware that it is a dangerous and toxic drug. (Related: Dr. Bryan Ardis tells Dr. Peter Breggin: Fauci is using remdesivir to mass murder Americans Brighteon.TV.) He also recalled the chart from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) website that actually said there were three drugs: remdesivir, ivermectin and another anti-parasitic drug that were approved or under evaluation for the treatment of COVID-19. Ardis said he had shared this information around the world and that American families have been using it to get their loved ones off of remdesivir and out of the hospitals. Ardis took note that the NIH updated its chart last December and started deleting specific adverse events aside from putting words right underneath the medications that remdesivir is the only drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for COVID-19. Pfizers COVID-19 drug paxlovid has a neurotoxin According to Ardis, Dr. Peter McCullough had talked about a drug that was coming out from Pfizer called Paxlovid, an oral pill that was already given an emergency use authorization for COVID-19 early treatment. He explained that this new drug from Pfizer has an ingredient widely known as a neurotoxin that suppresses the brains control of the diaphragm. Ardis added that it was not a good idea to swallow a pill that can suppress your ability to breathe, especially if a person was struggling with a respiratory virus like COVID-19. He warned people not to take the drug, which he described as toxic and deadly. The podcaster-doctor mentioned that theres a burning desire inside of him to protect as many innocent people as possible and he didnt know about it until he read Anthony Faucis memo in May 2020. And ever since then, Ive just wanted to call out all of their lies because they are physically trying to murder people. And they are finding every way to do it either by poisoning you and calling it COVID-19 or injecting it into your vein, calling it remdesivir or injecting it into you called mRNA technology. Vaccines are now with oral pills from Pfizer and Merck, Ardis said. Follow MedicalTyranny.com for more stories related to Big Pharma. Watch the full March 29 episode of Lawfare with Tom Renz below. Lawfare with Tom Renz airs every Tuesday at 11:30-12 p.m. on Brighteon.TV. More related stories: Dr. Bryan Ardis exposes the truth behind COVID-19 protocols Brighteon.TV. Dr. Bryan Ardis: Fauci knows remdesivir is KILLING PEOPLE. Thomas Renz to Americans affected by COVID pandemic lies: We need to hold them accountable Brighteon.TV. Sources include: Brighteon.com VladimirZelenkoMD.com TheDrArdisShow.com (Natural News) A proposal filed in the California State Senate aims to defund law enforcement departments that do not enforce Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) mask mandates. Democratic State Sen. Richard Pan introduced Senate Bill (SB) 1464 back in February. He wrote: Existing law authorizes each sheriff to enforce all orders of the California Department of Public Health (DPH), or of the local health officer, issued for the purpose of preventing the spread of any contagious, infectious or communicable disease. Pan added that SB 1464 would require sheriffs and peace officers to enforce those [health] orders. The bill would additionally prohibit state funds from being provided to any law enforcement agency that publicly announces that they will oppose, or adopt a policy to oppose, a public health order. In case police departments in the Golden State refuse to enforce public health orders, money originally allocated to them will be reallocated to the county public health department of the county in which the law enforcement agency operates for public health purposes. Republican State Assemblyman Kevin Kiley took to social media to denounce Pans proposal. The [California State] Senate considers legislation to defund police for not enforcing mask mandates. Its the most fanatical threads of progressivism knotted into one bill, he wrote. The state senator and practicing physician reiterated his support toward COVID-19 mask mandates through a Feb. 28 statement on his website. In following the science, I will continue to wear a mask indoors in public spaces and large mass gatherings where social distancing is not allowed. I [also] join [California Health and Human Services Agency] Secretary [Mark] Ghaly in asking all Californians of good conscience to continue to wear masks indoors to protect the most vulnerable among us. Too many have died of COVID-19, including over a thousand U.S. children, and too many others are suffering COVID-related disabilities including long COVID. (Related: Medical authoritarian Dr. Richard Pan believes government of California controls all medical choices for parents and their children, including forced vaccination.) Bill appears to target pro-health freedom LA County sheriff Pans SB 1464 appears to be aimed at Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. The Democratic sheriff went against the grain by opposing mandatory face coverings back in July 2021, contrary to other Democrats that supported the mandate. Forcing the vaccinated and those who already contracted COVID-19 to wear masks indoors is not backed by science and contradicts the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. The L.A. County DPH has authority to enforce the order, but the underfunded/defunded L.A. County Sheriffs Department (LASD) will not expand [its] limited resources and instead ask for voluntary compliance, Villanueva stated in a July 16, 2021 statement. The sheriff called on the county DPH to work with the countys Board of Supervisors and law enforcement to establish mandates that are both achievable and supported by science. Months later in October 2021, Villanueva again made it to the headlines by announcing that LASD will not enforce a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. I dont want to force anyone [because] the issue has become so politicized. There are entire groups of employees that are willing to be fired and laid off rather than get vaccinated, so I dont want to be in a position to lose five percent [or] 10 percent of my workforce overnight on a vaccine mandate, said the L.A. County sheriff. He also denounced the defunding effort against already bare bones police departments, coupling it with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city workers as the worst of two worlds. Villanueva later tweeted: When a decision must be made between responding to a violent felony in progress or serving as the vaccine mandate police, the choice is simple. [LASD] will continue requiring all of [its] employees to register [if they are vaccinated], but will only seek voluntary compliance and testing for the unvaccinated. Visit RichardPan.news to read more stories about the California state senator. Watch the Health Ranger Mike Adams discuss California State Sen. Richard Pan lying about human fetal cells in vaccines. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva says he will not enforce COVID-19 vaccine mandate. California legislators, including Richard Pan, trying to force all schoolchildren to get vaccinated for covid. LA County admits covid vaccines are a hoax, tries to reinstate mask mandate, even for the fully vaccinated. Richard Pan says Americans who refuse experimental coronavirus gene therapy injections are domestic terrorists. Sources include: WesternJournal.com LegInfo.Legislature.CA.gov Twitter.com SD06.Senate.CA.gov LASD.org CBSNews.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) A propaganda campaign by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) showing people locked down in their homes with sufficient food has backfired as many complained about not having enough to eat. A leaked official memo addressed to CCP officials in the city of Changchun in the northeastern Jilin province called for a social media campaign. Jilin was ravaged by an outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), with authorities imposing lockdowns to contain the virus in line with Chinas zero-COVID policy. The outbreak control task in our city has moved into a critical stage, it said. Prevailing negative sentiment about the lack of food in Changchun only exacerbated the problem, argued the memo. CCP authorities in Changchun then ordered city officials to launch the social media campaign dubbed show off your pack of vegetables. The campaign sought to promote a positive outlook to live and show that the populace enjoys ample food supplies with no concerns despite the harsh COVID-19 lockdowns. (Related: Chinese city implements harshest lockdown yet as Beijing aims for zero-COVID.) They instructed all [CCP] cadres across city agencies to post vivid short videos and photos of the food supplies they received on the Chinese Douyin and Kuaishou social media platforms. The cadres were also reminded that any photos posted on the two social media platforms must be authentic. Please rally your family and friends to actively participate and make their contribution to the outbreak containment work, it urged. Despite the officials warning that the memo about the social media campaign should not be made public, it was eventually released sometime after Changchun announced a lockdown on its nine million residents on March 20. The memo became viral on Chinese social media as soon as it was posted online on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, with many criticizing it. Most comments critical of the memo appear to have been removed as of March 31. State media later posted on Weibo that Changchun has held two officials responsible for causing a negative impact. CCP killing Chinese citizens through lockdowns One Weibo user wrote: The media kept saying food supplies are plentiful. We commoners demand to know: Where are these supplies? Another user echoed his sentiments, saying: We know they are lying. They know themselves [that] they are lying. They also know that we know they are lying but they still [continue to do so.] With many Changchun residents unable to leave their homes, they have relied on grocery apps to purchase food online. But even though they can conveniently order, there is still no guarantee that the food items would make it to their doorstep. Its not even a matter of price. You simply cant get any, even if you fight for them. To put it bluntly, no one cares even if you starve to death, revealed a migrant worker in Changchun who helped build the citys largest makeshift hospital. The lack of food amid COVID-19 lockdowns is not only limited to the borders of Changchun. A woman who lives in Taikang county in the central Henan province told the Epoch Times: We lack everything, [so] we need to eat sparingly. She added that thousands of other residents were quarantined in the surrounding areas, and healthy locals confined to their homes have resorted to rationing food. The stoppage of delivery services, which meant that no supplies are being sent into Taikang, made the problem worse. Activist Wang Wanying, who lives in Shanghai, lamented how neighborhood committee officers refused to provide her with food when her stocks ran out. They told her to order takeout after she finished the last of her vegetables at home. I dont have money to buy those. They are basically telling me to live or perish on my own, she lamented. One video that went viral showed an elderly Changchun resident who resorted to begging outside a supermarket, just so he could buy food. He was informed that he had to place his order through a mobile app after his provisions ran out, despite his apparent ignorance of this technology. The elderly man was forced to live by himself away from his children due to the pandemic. Visit FoodSupply.news to read more stories like this. Watch the viral footage of the elderly Changchun resident begging to be allowed inside a grocery to purchase food. This video is from the Chinese taking down EVIL CCP channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: China now facing its own food crisis is a food collapse also coming soon to the USA? Tonghua City residents imprisoned in their homes, low on food amid lockdown. Forced covid lockdowns in China are starving people to death. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com Reuters.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) We have previously discussed allegations that Marc Elias, the former general counsel for the Clinton Campaign and partner at the firm Perkins Coie, lied to conceal the campaigns funding of the infamous Steele Dossier. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has now fined the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign for violating election rules in hiding that funding. Elias has previously been sanctioned for his conduct in litigation and recently lost an effort to gerrymander the Maryland voting districts. The alleged Elias lies would ordinarily seem a professional liability for any attorney but they seem an actual professional attraction for Elias. (Article republished from JonathanTurley.org) On March 29, the FEC imposed a relatively small fine of $8,000 for Clinton and $105,000 for the DNC. However, it is the basis rather than the size of the fine that is so notable. The FEC found that Clinton campaign and DNC payments to Fusion GPS were funneled through Perkins Coie and Elias. As the campaign denied funding the dossier, these payments were concealed as legal advice and services. The FEC said the law firm, Perkins Coie, paid Fusion $1,024,407.97 for the dossier in 2016. Elias has featured prominently in the filings of Special Counsel John Durham. The key to many of these operations is someone referred to by Durham as Campaign Lawyer-1, who is now known to be Elias. Elias was called before the grand jury. It was Elias who made the key funding available to Fusion GPS, which in turn enlisted Steele to produce his now discredited dossier on Trump and his campaign. During the campaign, a few reporters did ask about the possible connection to the campaign, but Clinton campaign officials denied any involvement. It was only weeks after the election that journalists discovered that the Clinton campaign hid payments for the Steele dossier as legal fees among the $5.6 million paid to Perkins Coie. New York Times reporter Ken Vogel said at the time that Elias denied involvement in the anti-Trump dossier. When Vogel tried to report the story, he said, Elias pushed back vigorously, saying You (or your sources) are wrong. Times reporter Maggie Haberman declared, Folks involved in funding this lied about it, and with sanctimony, for a year. It was not just reporters who asked the Clinton campaign about its role in the Steele dossier. John Podesta, Clintons campaign chairman, was questioned by Congress and denied categorically any contractual agreement with Fusion GPS. Sitting beside him was Elias, who reportedly said nothing to correct the misleading information given to Congress. Elias former partner, Michael Sussmann, has been indicted by Durham. It is not known if Elias is a target for possible indictment. Democrats continue to hire Elias despite his checkered past. Elias has unsuccessfully led efforts to challenge Democratic losses. Elias has been sanctioned in past litigation. Elias also was the subject of intense criticism after a tweet that some have called inherently racist. Democrats used the recent Georgia election law as a rallying cry for federalizing elections by labelling the law, as described by President Biden, Jim Crow on steroids. Biden has been repeatedly called out for demonstrably false statements about the law. Elias argued that Georgia voters could not be expected to be able to read their drivers licenses correctly a statement that seemed to refer to minority voters who would be disproportionately impacted by such a requirement. Elias was back in the news on another defeat in court last week. He filed in support of an abusive gerrymandering of the election districts in Maryland that a court found violated not only violated Maryland law but the state constitutions equal protection, free speech and free elections clauses. The court found that the map pushed by Elias subverts the will of those governed. Elias has been accused of making millions from gerrymandering and challenging election victories by Republicans (while condemning such actions by Republicans as anti-Democratic). He was involved in the New York redistricting that was ridiculed as not only ignoring the express will of the voters to end such gerrymandering but effectively negating the votes of Republican voters. It is clear that none of these controversies will alter Elias conduct or such tactics. Indeed, they appear to be a draw from some Democrats and the media. CNN recently asked Elias what should we be doing differently in covering elections. He chastised the media for not having enough of a a pro-democracy slant, which appears to mean a more Democratic slant. After the FEC fine, DNC spokesman Daniel Wessel called the complaints over their hiding the funding of the dossier (and public denials before the election) are silly. It has been a bad week for Elias, but these headlines only seem a draw for some in Democrats that Elias is the precisely the type of attorney that they want in case pursuing gerrymandering and election challenges. Read more at: JonathanTurley.org (Natural News) The deep state operatives running what amounts to Barack Obamas third term must have decided that its time for Joe Biden, the dementia gaffe machine, to go, which would explain the torrent of mainstream news reporting in recent weeks further exposing the Biden familys corruption. This month alone, The New York Times, CNN, the Washington Post and other legacy media outlets have confirmed what rational Americans knew in the weeks before the 2020 election: The New York Posts reporting on Biden family corruption using materials gleaned from a laptop Hunter Biden abandoned at a Delaware computer repair shop the previous year was indeed accurate. In essence, the materials and emails discovered on the laptop reveal that Hunter Biden and his uncle, James Biden, used Joe Bidens name and contacts to strike business deals worth tens of millions over several years, and with shady governments including Ukraine, Russia and China. Additional evidence that the deep state is setting Joe Biden up to fall: The Justice Departments investigation into Hunter Biden is said to be heating up, with some now projecting that he will be indicted. To that point, CBS News Catherine Herridge also reported this week that two former business associates of Hunter Biden testified before a grand jury last fall about a mysterious, shady and now-bankrupt Chinese energy conglomerate that was linked to the now-infamous 10 for the big guy email found on his laptop. Federal officials are looking at his foreign business dealings, including his ties to a Chinese energy company, said CBS Mornings host Tony Dokoupil. The investigation began as a tax inquiry years ago and has expanded into a federal probe involving the FBI and IRS, Herridge contributed. A source familiar with the investigation now tells CBS News, two men who worked with Hunter Biden when his father was vice president were called to the grand jury last fall. The investigation seeks to uncover evidence regarding whether Hunter and his pals violated tax, money laundering and foreign lobbying statutes. According to congressional documents and other records that were reviewed by CBS News, federal investigators are looking at multiple financial transactions involving an energy company called CEFC. Republicans have said that the conglomerate was an arm of the Chinese government, which means that, by default, it also has ties to the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). The year Joe Biden left the vice presidency, 2017, a $1 million retainer was signed with a Chinese energy firm to use Hunter Bidens services as an attorney. His client, Patrick Ho, a CEFC official, was later convicted on money laundering and international bribery charges for unrelated work in Africa. The Hunter Biden investigation began as a tax inquiry years ago + expanded into a federal probe. Source familiar with the investigation now tells @cbsnews I-unit two men who worked w/Hunter Biden when his father VP were called to the grand jury last fall.pic.twitter.com/1LaXDiycWk Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) March 31, 2022 To recap, CEFC was the firm the Bidens allegedly took a $5 million interest-free loan from that outraged their business partner, Tony Bobulinski, who then flipped on the Bidens after a Senate report identified the loan. According to Bobulinski, he was introduced to Joe Biden by Hunter and they had an hour-long meeting where they talked about the Bidens business plans with the Chinese firm. He went on to say that Joe Biden was plainly familiar with all of the deal at least at a high level. In addition, texts from Bobulinski also reveal that there was a concerted effort to conceal Joe Bidens involvement in all of Hunters business deals, while he also confirmed that the big guy described in a leaked email is indeed Joe Biden. The Bidens are corrupt, and Joe Biden is incompetent. It seems apparent that the deep state has decided its time for him to go. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com ConservativeBrief.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) The government of the United Kingdom is pushing ahead with its planned rollout of a nationwide digital ID system. It will start this month with the launch of a system for verifying digital IDs and a portal where uploaded credentials can easily be accessed. On April 6, the British government is expected to introduce new technology for public use that can verify digital IDs. This verification system allows government agencies and businesses to get hold of private data uploaded by users to servers as part of their sign-up for the British digital ID system. (Related: Digital tyranny: Beware of the Governments push for a digital currency.) According to recent announcements from the British government, the verification technology will be made available to employers, landlords and letting agents who need the technology to carry out pre-employment criminal record checks, right to work checks and right to rent checks. The introduction of the verification technology is part of the British governments digital ID plans announced last month. The government claims that the digital ID can help U.K. citizens to easily and quickly prove their identity using digital methods instead of having to rely on traditional physical documents. British government to launch online portal where all citizen credentials are accessible to trusted organizations As part of the British governments nationwide digital ID plan, the verification technology is intended to pave the way for the trial launch of its proposed One Login for Government project. The first public version of the One Login for Government project is expected to go live this month, with full deployment scheduled for 2025. The One Login program is expected to be an online portal where British citizens can create an account to access all the public services they are entitled to, including healthcare, education, housing and other benefits. Under the British governments digital ID plans, so-called trusted organizations like employers, landlords and letting agents will be able to access any information they require from British citizens through the single digital identity uploaded in the One Login program. This information can be used in-person or online and either through a smartphone app or a website. The verification checks carried out by the so-called trusted organizations will supposedly help prevent the British government from losing over 52 billion pounds ($68.2 billion) to fraud every year and can save taxpayers up to one billion pounds ($1.3 billion) every week. Privacy concerns hamper launch of UK digital ID system The British government has been trying to launch some kind of digital ID system for nearly a decade. It has consistently been plagued with technical issues and a lack of support from different government agencies and a large portion of the U.K. public. The biggest constraint is making sure that the system is secure from potential breaches and does not put the privacy of citizens at risk. One survey of British citizens on current attitudes towards online personal data use and privacy carried out by Statista last year found that more than half of respondents were very concerned about their online privacy, more so compared to a year ago. Even if the U.K. government will somehow miraculously be able to create a system that is secure from potential breaches and data thefts, another challenge is getting citizens to actually use the digital ID system. Other recent surveys show that many people are still very reluctant to use it. One survey conducted earlier this year found that one out of every three people in Britain are hesitant to trust the government to handle digital services due to overcomplicated transactions, fears about data breaches and past issues with using digital services. Learn more about ID systems and other ways governments attempt to surveil their populations at Surveillance.news. Watch this clip from InfoWars as host Harrison Smith talks about how the World Economic Forum is preparing to launch a global digital ID system. This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com. More related sources: Vaccine passports pave the way for digital identity system, warns Nick Corbishley. Diabolical How digital ID will control your life. Worlds largest biometric digital ID program Aadhaar tracks medications, vaccines, purchases, and all movement of 1.3 billion people in India. Mark of the beast? UN rolls out biometric digital ID wallet and passport. Sources include: BlacklistedNews.com ReclaimTheNet.org TechHQ.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) The Biden administration has included 100 killer drones in its gargantuan weapons package for Ukraine. With the approval of Congress, the White House recently unveiled an $800 million weapons package to aid Ukraine in its war with Russia. This package includes 800 Stinger surface-to-air missile systems, 2,000 Javelin anti-tank missile systems, 6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems, 1,000 other light anti-armor weapons and 100 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems. (Related: Biden regime significantly escalating conflict likelihood with Russia after decision to send Switchblade kamikaze drones to Ukraine.) The 100 tactical drones were later confirmed to be Switchblade drones. Also known as kamikaze drones, suicide drones or suicide missiles, the Switchblades carry explosive payloads and are designed to be delivered to their targets by deliberately crashing into them, hence the nicknames. The Switchblade, designed by defense contractor AeroVironment, comes in two variants: Switchblade 300 and 600. The 300 can hit targets within six miles and is designed to hit groups of enemy combatants, unprotected weapons systems like mortar emplacements and machine-gun nests and unarmored vehicles like pickup trucks and other repurposed civilian vehicles. The 600 has a range of 25 miles and it carries an anti-armor warhead, making it useful for disabling heavier and armored military vehicles. Both Switchblades are designed to be easily carried into battle and set up during ongoing fights. The 300 weighs just 5.5 pounds, can be carried in a military backpack and can be set up and launched in under two minutes. The 600 is much heavier at 120 pounds with the explosive payload alone weighing 33 pounds and may need more than one person to transport into battle. It has a setup and launch time of under 10 minutes Once launched, the Switchblades can be directed to their targets by an operator on the ground who indicates where he wants the drone to look, where he wants the camera to point and what he wants the drones to focus on. Both Switchblades are designed to be able to loiter in the air for some time while it seeks a target the 300 for 15 minutes and the 600 for 40 minutes. If the operators directing them see that they no longer have targets, they can be called off and then recovered after their batteries are recharged. Kamikaze drones#AFPGraphics factfile on the US Switchblades or kamikaze drones, to be sent by US to Ukraine pic.twitter.com/fzAov9ncrQ AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 18, 2022 America sending more and more equipment to Ukraine According to Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander, the proposal to send 100 Switchblade drones came after a request from the Ukrainian government. Weve heard the Ukrainians and we take that request very seriously, she said in a testimony before the House Committee on Armed Services. Before Wallanders testimony, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a plea to American lawmakers to send Ukraine additional military equipment. A diplomat familiar with the specifics of Ukraines requests said the government in Kyiv specifically asked the United States and its allies to send more man-portable surface-to-air missile systems like the American Stinger and the British Starstreak, more anti-tank weapons like Javelins, ground-based mobile air defense systems and combat drones. Ukraine also reportedly asked for long-range anti-ship missiles to deal with Russias Black Sea Fleet, off-the-shelf electronic warfare equipment, satellite navigation systems and communications jamming equipment. Ukraine also repeated its request for the U.S. and its allies to implement a no-fly zone to prevent Russian drones and jets from bombing Ukrainian cities and military targets. I think thats probably still a non-starter, said Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia. That doesnt mean we cant up the amount [of supplies sent], do more with equipment and drones and other things that would be just as helpful. The U.S. is also pressuring its allies in Eastern Europe to send more air defense systems to Ukraine, including Russian-made surface-to-air missile systems like the SA-8 and the S-300. The former can intercept enemy aircraft, while the latter can intercept both aircraft and enemy cruise missiles. Learn more about the weapons being sent to Ukraine at MilitaryTechnology.news. Watch this clip from InfoWars as Alex Jones reacts to the news regarding the suicide drones being sent to Ukraine. This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: RUSSIA on the march: Mayor of major Ukrainian city ordered residents to evacuate as Moscows forces take it over completely. Biden approves billions for defending Ukraines borders but refuses to finish building border wall for America. Assessment forecasts nightmare scenario of nuclear World War III over rising potential for operational miscalculation regarding Ukraine. A death warrant: Foreign volunteers being told by Ukraines government they wont be allowed to leave until war with Russia is over. Putin lays out his demands for peace with Ukraine in call with Turkish president, but agreement is far from being reached. Sources include: CNBC.com Politico.com PopSci.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) More evidence has emerged to suggest that not only are the Pentagon-run biolabs in Ukraine real, but that the Pentagon is planning to use them to attack Russia. Moscow says that records and other proof show that the U.S.-funded biolabs, which are linked to EcoHealth Alliance, the Biden crime family, and others, were going to be used for sending bioweapon-filled drones into Russia. Russias Defense Ministry claims to have discovered the names of specific U.S. personnel who have been engaged in bioweapons development in the Eastern European country, though no tangible proof, according to Great Game India, has yet been presented. Documents testifying to the plans of the Kiev regime to use unmanned aerial vehicles capable of carrying and spraying deadly substances are of special importance to Russian authorities, announced military spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov during a recent conference. Konashenkov went on to state that information now held by the Russian military prove[s] that the Kiev regime was seriously considering the possibility of using biological weapons against the population of the Donbas and the Russian Federation. Hunter Biden directly involved in developing bioweapons at Ukraine biolabs, says Russia Konashenkov also claims that Russia has uncovered the names of specific officials who took part in the creation of components of biological weapons, though he did not name any of them. All he would say is that they are the heads of divisions and employees of the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as its main subcontractors. These bioweapons campaigns, Konashenkov went on to say, are directly related to the son of the current U.S. president, Hunter Biden. This claim corroborates with revelations that came forward last week about how the Biden crime family has connections to the Pentagon contractor Metabiota, which specializes in investigating potential pandemic-causing pathogens that could be used as bioweapons. In another conference, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of the Russian Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Forces, called out Biden as well for his alleged participation in financing these Ukrainian biolabs with American tax dollars. In the near future at a special briefing, Konashenkov promised, more details about the investigation and the biolabs will be released. Western media and governments are still claiming that this is all just an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory and Russian disinformation, but it is increasingly proving to be true. We know from the recent admissions of U.S. diplomat Victoria Nuland, who testified before the Senate earlier this month, that the Ukrainian biolabs do, in fact, exist, and are not just a conspiracy theory. She told Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), however, upon him prompting her to say such, that if anything goes wrong at the labs, it is automatically Russias fault. Nuland also claimed that these biological research laboratories in Ukraine exist as part of a collaboration with Kiev to ensure that the materials of biological research do not fall into the hands of Russian forces. This is not a war against the Ukrainian people, but is rather Putins dismantling (in a hostile manner) of the Deep States Toy Factory, a.k.a. the Nation of Ukraine, suggested someone at Great Game India about the situation. This explains all the rage of State Department, the CIA, & deep state politicians / media who are against Putin. Another wrote that he has personally spoken with Dr. Alan Zabrosky, who used to be the education director at the Pentagon War College, who told him that almost every general and admiral still on duty was hand-picked by Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld going all the way back to 1969. Cheney was only 27 years old and Don Rumsfeld was 32, this person added. These two picked generals. More related news coverage about the conflict in Ukraine can be found at Chaos.news. Sources for this article include: GreatGameIndia.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Remember when George W Bush said Saddam Hussein had WMDs so the USA could bomb Iraq and steal all their oil? Now there really are WMDs, but theyre not in Iraq, theyre in Ukraine, and created there at secret bio-labs funded by the USA. Thats why the Biden Regime is so adamant about trying to destroy all evidence those labs exist and existed, while violating international treaties to do so. These are serious war crimes (think biowarfare gain of function research) by Fauci and his cohorts that Vladimir Putin may be about to reveal to the world. Russia has discovered USAs biological materials developed in Ukraine primarily for military purposes, while U.S. pretends for decades to be searching for others The United States is building dirty bombs and biological weapons on another continent and in a territory that borders Russia, while we complain about Russia trying to protect their own borders. Meanwhile, the southern border of the USA is wide open for anyone to cross, including terrorists and foreigners with their own dirty bombs, biological weapons and COVID-19 infections. Go figure. Russia now has evidence that cannot be refuted, that USA has given instructions to Ukraine on how to use these biological weapons, to what end, and with what deadlines. Even our own State Department official, Victoria Nuland, has admitted during testimony that the US has bio-labs in Ukraine, even as fake news MSM is scrambling to deny it. Is this why the Biden Regime is so concerned about American citizens and conservatives looking into every Ukraine affair and dirty dealings in that country? Maybe its not so much about crackhead Hunter and money laundering, and more about this biological war that is being waged and was about to be waged on the world just a few years back. USA has over 300 biological labs stationed all over the world, with two dozen or more of those in Ukraine Is Ukraine the real hub of the COVID war? Is Ukraine ground zero for the pandemic, rather than the Wuhan lab in China? Why is NATO so concerned with protecting a country that castrates soldiers they capture, creates bio-terror weapons and makes billion-dollar-deals with a crackhead pervert from America? Talk about collusion. This is conspiracy to commit mass murder on a world scale. Is Fauci funding these Ukraine labs, like Obama did? This could all be happening right now, as fake news and the Biden CCP Regime scrambles to con Americans into feeling sorry for Ukraine and hating everything Russia. The US is currently violating the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention. Russia has officially and formally announced, as stated by a Russian Federation official, We have found your biological weapons! Its coming time to vote these corrupt American officials out of their offices where they are supposed to represent the ethics and morals our founding fathers put in place. This planning of biological terror by the USA all around the world needs to end, and the people who fund it and lie about it need to be held accountable. Why do so many Americans put up with this? People who hated Trump certainly dont want to die from lab-made viruses that the rich gurus running our country right now are covering up. Whether these gain of function bat viruses come from Wuhan or Ukraine, the end result is the samedepopulation. Now you know why the Biden Regime is making Russia look so bad and Ukraine so good. Its a cover up of these labs. As it turns out, WE are the ones with the WMDs parked all over the world, threatening every other nation. Pay close attention as the biological war on terror unfolds under our own noses and the Biden Regime attempts to destroy those labs using NATO forces and weaponry. Stay tuned and stay frosty. Tune your internet to Censored.news for huge swaths of truth news about the war in Ukraine thats being censored from the rest of media as you read this. Sources for this article include: TheGatewayPundit.com DailyExpose.uk TheGatewayPundit.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Rep. Matt Gaetz is pushing to have the security clearances stripped of dozens of former U.S. intelligence officials who signed on to a letter ahead of the 2020 election claiming that they believe materials gleaned from a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden was Russian disinformation. Some of the contents from the laptop, which included damning photographs of the first son as well as emails that indicated he and his entire family are corrupt, were first reported by the New York Post, the countrys oldest newspaper, in mid-October 2020, just a few weeks before the election. While the mainstream media went into full denial, 51 deep state intelligence officials gave them cover with their letter, which claimed, in part: 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. If we are right, this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this election, and we believe strongly that Americans need to be aware of this. But in fact, they were lying all of them. And they knew it. But their opposition to another four years of the best president in the modern era, Donald Trump, led them to dump their impartiality and offer an opinion they knew to be false, meaning they were attempting to influence our election, not Russia. Though the Posts reporting was spot-on, in recent days the same legacy media outlets that touted the Russian disinformation lie have now confirmed that the contents of Hunters laptop indeed are genuine, which is likely the beginning of the process to can Joe Biden who obviously has early-stage dementia and has to have everything that comes out of his mouth either explained by his White House or walked back completely, which is unprecedented in our history. That aside, Gaetz, a Florida Republican, now believes those dozens of intelligence officials should pay a professional price for their purposeful lie and 2020 election manipulation operation. His Spook Who Cried Wolf Resolution seeks to strip all of them of their security clearances, which would dramatically impact their current ability to use that clearance to their financial advantage. On October 19, 2020, 51 former intelligence officials signed a letter titled, Public Statement on the Hunter Biden Emails, which claimed Hunter Bidens emails were a part of a Russian information operation. Following the censorship of the New York Posts expose on the emails by Big Tech and media tycoons, the New York Times confirmed the legitimacy of the emails on March 17, 2022. As of March 22, 2022, 4 of the 51 signatories maintained their support for the erroneous letter, said a press release touting the resolution, which also contained the names of the aforementioned former intelligence officials. The 51 signatories of the letter who publicly and falsely decried Hunter Bidens laptop to be Russian disinformation should be barred from holding any level of security clearances indefinitely, the resolution states, in part. The resolution goes on to point out that the Posts reporting began on Oct. 15, 2020, and that a few days afterward 15 days before the Nov. 3 election the letter was distributed and it was picked up by the legacy media, not the Posts reporting. In fact, the Posts reports were legitimately censored on all the major social media platforms, while Twitter locked the Post out of its account for weeks. The resolution also notes that then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe publicly discounted the letter and rebuked the intelligence officials who signed it, saying during an interview on Fox Business: Hunter Bidens laptop is not part of some Russian disinformation campaign, and I think its clear that the American people know that. Its clear that Americans can no longer trust their governing institutions because we no longer have ethical people running them. Sources include: PatriotsForPresidentTrump.com Gaetz.House.gov Li Zhanshu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, chairs a symposium on the revision to the country's Vocational Education Law in Xuancheng Vocational and Technical College in east China's Anhui Province, April 1, 2022. Li made an inspection in Anhui Province from March 30 to April 2. During the inspection, Li chaired symposiums on learning and implementing the guiding principles from the Central People's Congress Work Conference, the work of deputies to the people's congresses at all levels, and the revision to the country's Vocational Education Law. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) HEFEI, April 2 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Li Zhanshu has urged the implementation of the guiding principles from the Central People's Congress Work Conference and adherence to the path of socialist political advancement with Chinese characteristics. Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, made the call during an inspection in east China's Anhui Province from March 30 to April 2. During the inspection, Li chaired symposiums on learning and implementing the guiding principles from the Central People's Congress Work Conference, the work of deputies to people's congresses at all levels, and the revision to the country's Vocational Education Law. Stressing the need to uphold the Party's overall leadership over the work of people's congresses, Li called for unswerving adherence to the path of socialist political advancement with Chinese characteristics and leveraging the role of people's congresses in practicing the whole-process people's democracy. Li called on deputies to people's congresses to maintain close ties to the people and urged efforts to solve prominent problems in vocational education through legal means to cultivate more high-quality technicians and skilled workers. He also inspected work related to rural vitalization and visited revolutionary heritage sites in the province. Li Zhanshu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, inspects work related to rural vitalization in Hongcun, in east China's Anhui Province, March 30, 2022. Li made an inspection in Anhui Province from March 30 to April 2. During the inspection, Li chaired symposiums on learning and implementing the guiding principles from the Central People's Congress Work Conference, the work of deputies to the people's congresses at all levels, and the revision to the country's Vocational Education Law. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) Li Zhanshu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, inspects the Xuancheng Vocational and Technical College in east China's Anhui Province, April 1, 2022. Li made an inspection in Anhui Province from March 30 to April 2. During the inspection, Li chaired symposiums on learning and implementing the guiding principles from the Central People's Congress Work Conference, the work of deputies to the people's congresses at all levels, and the revision to the country's Vocational Education Law. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) Li Zhanshu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, inspects iFlytek Co., Ltd. in east China's Anhui Province, April 2, 2022. Li made an inspection in Anhui Province from March 30 to April 2. During the inspection, Li chaired symposiums on learning and implementing the guiding principles from the Central People's Congress Work Conference, the work of deputies to the people's congresses at all levels, and the revision to the country's Vocational Education Law. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) (Natural News) New research published in the Journal of Pediatrics reveals that more than 66 percent of all adolescents who develop Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine-related myopericarditis after the second jab still end up suffering from persistent heart abnormalities months after their initial diagnosis. This revelation suggests that, contrary to what the government claims, Fauci Flu shot adverse effects can be long term, even in children. And the saddest part is that children have a zero percent risk of dying from the disease in the first place, so what is the rationale behind them getting the shots? Published on March 25, the study challenges the position held by multiple government agencies in the United States, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which claims that heart inflammation caused by Pfizer and Moderna mRNA (messenger RNA) injections is always mild. Researchers at Seattle Childrens Hospital looked at cases of younger patients under age 18 who came to the hospital with chest pain and elevated serum troponin levels between April 1, 2021, and Jan. 7, 2022, which covers the height of the Operation Warp Speed mass injection campaign. All of them had received their second dose of Pfizer within the previous week. Of the 35 patients who fit the criteria, 16 were determined to be suitable for evaluation purposes. All 16 underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests three to eight months after their first examination. Of these, 11 were found to have persistent late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), though levels were lower than in previous months. The presence of LGE is an indicator of cardiac injury and fibrosis and has been strongly associated with worse prognosis in patients with classical acute myocarditis, the study explains. Fully vaccinated children have troponin levels more than 20 times higher than a heart attack patient A meta-analysis of eight studies found that LGE is a predictor of all-cause death, cardiovascular death, cardiac transplant, rehospitalizations, recurrent acute myocarditis, and is a requirement for mechanical circulatory support. Another 11-study meta-analysis found the presence and extent of LGE to be a significant predictor of adverse cardiac outcomes. While some of the child patients in the new study showed symptoms that were transient and most patients appeared to respond to treatment, there was still a persistence of abnormal findings, the team found. All of this rais[es] concerns for potential longer-term effects, the researchers wrote, adding that they plan to take more MRIs at the one year mark to see whether any of the abnormalities have resolved. The paper provides more evidence that myocarditis in adolescents that result from COVID-19 vaccines is very serious, says Dr. Madhava Setty, the senior science editor for The Defender, a project of Childrens Health Defense (CHD). All patients had significantly elevated serum troponin levels indicative of heart damage. And LGE, which is indicative of poor outcome, was present in more than two-thirds of the kids. These young patients had a median troponin level of 9.15 more than 20 times greater than the levels found in people suffering heart attacks. Commenting on the findings on Twitter, Dr. Marty Makary, a surgeon and public policy researcher at Johns Hopkins University, wrote that the CDC has a civic duty to rigorously study the long-term effects of vaccine-induced myocarditis. New follow-up study 3-8 months after myocarditis shows the MRI heart abnormality of late gadolinium enhancement seen in 63% of children, he added. Merits further study. According to Dr. Anisha Koka, a cardiologist, the study also suggests that upwards of 70 percent of teenagers who develop myocarditis from covid injections will be left with a scar on their heart. The latest news coverage about Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine injuries can be found at ChemicalViolence.com. Sources for this article include: ChildrensHealthDefense.org NaturalNews.com Scientists have created a radio message that will be broadcast into outer space and, perhaps, comprehended by an intelligent extraterrestrial race. The message is essentially an updated version of the renowned Arecibo message, which was broadcast in 1974 and had the same objective. The message, which was broadcast from Puerto Rico's Arecibo Radio Telescope, was made up of 1,679 bits divided into 73 lines of 23 characters. Sending a message from the outer space When we find that intelligent life exists beyond Earth, the first thing we are going to ask is, how can we communicate? As we approach the 50th anniversary of humanity's first effort to send out a message understandable by an alien intelligence, the question feels more pressing than ever. Remote sensing technology advancements have shown that the great majority of stars in our galaxy contain planets and that many of these exoplanets are capable of harboring liquid water on their surfaces, which is required for life as we know it, as per Scientific American. The chances of at least one of these billions of planets producing intelligent life appear to be good enough to invest some time learning how to say "hi." Scientists have now created a new message to improve the Arecibo transmission. The Beacon in the Galaxy message provides more fundamental mathematics and scientific knowledge than the Arecibo message. It is believed that these notions will be universally comprehended by living forms with an intellect comparable to humans. Matthew Chong, a Cambridge University physics and math student and co-author of a draft paper explaining the research, as per Newsweek. The main part of this BITG Message, which is an extension of the 1974 Arecibo statement and the 1999/2003 Cosmic Call, contains a new set of graphical information in a format of pictures and special 'alphabets' to represent numbers, elements, DNA, land, ocean, and human, beginning with an artificial header and footer that consists of prime numbers. Every interplanetary communication must answer two basic questions: what to say and how to express it. Almost all of the signals that humans have sent into space so far begin by establishing common ground with rudimentary instruction in physics and mathematics, two areas that we and extraterrestrials are supposedly familiar with. If a culture outside our planet is capable of constructing a radio telescope to receive our message, it most likely understands physics. Read more: Is There Evidence That Ancient Aliens Existed But Are Now Extinct? Stephen Hawking is very concerned The late physics professor Stephen Hawking voiced worry on several occasions about mankind screaming out into space and meeting aliens. Hawking spoke at an event in 2015 to announce the commencement of the Breakthrough Listen project, which investigates radio waves to see if any of them are artificial in origin. Hawking expressed support for efforts to locate extraterrestrial life by listening but cautioned against actively reaching out ourselves, citing humanity's past actions as evidence that aliens will not always be nice. Despite the drawbacks, many argue that the possible benefits of active SETI exceed the dangers. According to the reasoning, first contact would be one of the most significant events in the history of our species, and if we simply wait for someone to call us, it may never happen. Concerning the possibility of destruction by a malignant space alien: We blew our cover a long time ago. Any extraterrestrial capable of getting to Earth would be more than capable of detecting traces of life in our atmosphere's chemical fingerprints or the electromagnetic radiation that has been seeping from our radios, TVs, and radar systems for the past century. Related article: No, Space Aliens are Not Communicating Through Strange Signals From Stars SHANGHAI, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan on Saturday urged resolute and swift moves to stem the spread of COVID-19 in Shanghai in the shortest time possible, issuing her call during an inspection visit to the city. Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressed unswerving adherence to the dynamic zero-COVID approach and mobilizing COVID-19 testing capacity, medical personnel, and COVID-19 prevention supplies to support Shanghai in the fight against the epidemic. The vice premier called for stepping up efforts to ensure that all those in need are tested, isolated, hospitalized or treated. During the inspection, Sun listened to the report from medical experts and visited a makeshift hospital and a residential community in Shanghai. "It is an arduous task and huge challenge to combat the Omicron variant while maintaining the normal operation of core functions in a megacity with a population of 25 million," Sun said. She urged the improvement of the nucleic acid testing capacity as soon as possible and the organization of mass testing to get a clear picture of the epidemic situation. The epidemic control measures in communities should be further strengthened, while people's basic living conditions and normal medical needs should be ensured, Sun said. It is necessary to expand makeshift hospitals and designated hospitals for COVID-19 treatment, Sun said, calling for the preparation of sufficient quarantine venues and swift action on the transfer and treatment of patients. She also stressed strict closed-loop management for key industries and institutions to ensure the normal operation of core functions and the stability of supply and industrial chains. Before arriving in Shanghai, the vice premier was on an inspection visit in the virus-hit city of Jilin in northeast China. New COVID-19 infections from communities in Jilin city are decreasing significantly and the epidemic spread in the city has been brought under effective control. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Cloudy with occasional showers this afternoon. Thunder possible. High 56F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 46F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Rain likely. Thunder possible. High around 55F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Cloudy. Periods of light rain early. Low 46F. Winds N at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 70%. UN envoy urges Lebanon to join UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities Xinhua) 09:24, April 02, 2022 BEIRUT, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Najat Rochdi, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, urged on Friday the country to join the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), according to a UN statement. On March 29, the Lebanese parliament adopted a law authorizing the government to proceed with the ratification process to join the UN convention. Rochdi praised the Lebanese step, and called on its government "to join the current 185 States parties to the Convention and fully commit to promote, protect, and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights by persons with disabilities." (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) LAGOS, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian Navy on Friday launched a special operation to stop oil thieves from further sabotaging the nation's oil and gas installations. Awwal Gambo, the country's chief of naval staff, who spoke at the launch of the operation, blamed the nation's economic downturn on attacks on oil and gas facilities by saboteurs. He said about 40 warships, 200 gunboats, five helicopters, the Special Boat Service, and several other units would take part in the three-month operation. "We will identify where the problem (breach on pipelines) is," he said, adding that they will track the oil thieves and secure the pipelines for the economic prosperity of the country. He said the navy was fully committed to eliminating all acts of criminality in Nigeria's maritime environment and the Gulf of Guinea. "We will use this operation to dominate the nation's backwaters through aggressive and intelligence-driven patrols," he added. (Newser) Who can forget the mass smash-and-grab at a San Francisco Louis Vuitton in November? As CNN and others reported, it was just one example of a property crime rampage in several major cities. Nationally, the reported property crime rate has actually dropped steadily since the 1990s, per Statista, and SFist notes overall property crimes in San Francisco are down 11% compared to 2019 (though up over 2020 numbers). Be that as it may, the trend feels different on San Francisco's streets, where smashed storefronts are a regular occurrence and thefts from cars averaged 57 a day in 2021. According to the Wall Street Journal, which examines the San Fran's efforts to address the issue, everyone is looking for solutions and casting blame. The city is trying to help, not only with more cops and investigators but also a new grant program to help repair storefronts; it's doled out more than $500,000 to roughly 400 business. The city's Small Business Commission raised funds from businesses to offer rewards "up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those involved in criminal rings," particularly fencing operations that move stolen goods, per the San Francisco Standard. Business owners are also beefing up security with costly upgrades. The finger-pointing is multidirectional. Locals tend to blame the city's homeless population and drug users, but law enforcement blames organized gangs. The police departments no-chase policy for nonviolent crimes makes it easy for getaway drivers, but police say they don't bother with arrests because they doubt the district attorney will file charges. DA Chesa Boudinelected in 2020 as part of what Journal calls a "national progressive prosecutor movement"points back at police for not arresting thieves in the first place. His version was bolstered by surveillance footage that showed officers passively observing a robbery in progress at a cannabis dispensary in November, per the San Francisco Chronicle. Still, Boudin faces a recall election in June. (Read more smash-and-grab stories.) (Newser) In 1911, when American explorer Hiram Bingham first reached the ancient Incan city in the clouds, his guide told him it was called Huayna Picchu. Soon after, per NPR, another guide called it Machu Picchu, and thats the name Bingham carried to the outside world. At the time, the city had been abandoned for over 400 years and nobody knew much about the ruins. The mislabeling was due to a simple misunderstanding over toponyms (place names derived from topographical features), according to a new research paper. After poring over historical documents and maps, Peruvian and American researchers determined, "There's really no doubt about it." The site is Huayna Picchu, or simply Picchu; Machu is not mentioned anywhere. Early Spanish references refer to a region and town named Picchu, including a document from 1588a half-century after Spains conquest and about 15 years after the city was abandoneddescribing local inhabitants' desire to return to the town of Huayna Picchu and restore their own religion. There is also mention of Huayna Picchu in a 1904 atlas, but explorer Bingham evidently did not have a copy. Its all fascinating, but NPR notes the find doesn't mean a name change is looming. As one Latin American history put it to the Guardian, "Machu Picchu is an established brand very linked to Peruvian identity, so what would be the point of changing it? (Read more Machu Picchu stories.) YANGON, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar received a batch of 3 million COVID-19 vaccine syringes donated by China on Saturday, according to a statement from the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Myanmar has received China's support including COVID-19 vaccines, oxygen concentrators and face masks, the statement said. According to the Health Ministry, Myanmar reported 135 new COVID-19 cases with a daily positivity rate of 1.04 percent on Saturday. The number of infections in the country has increased to 611,809, while death toll stood at 19,432. With 210 new recoveries, a total of 589,842 patients have been discharged from hospitals and over 7.6 million samples have been tested for COVID-19 so far. (Newser) The president of Panama has declared an annual national holiday to commemorate Panamanians who died during the 1989 US invasion of the country. The decree signed Thursday by President Laurentino Cortizo establishes Dec. 20, the date of the invasion, as a national day of mourning, the AP reports. People in Panama will have the day off. "By enacting this law, we settle a debt with the nation, with those who died in that tragic event, who we remember with respect," Cortizo said. A truth commission set up years ago documented about 20 disappearances from the US military action that toppled strongman Manuel Noriega. About 300 Panamanian soldiers and 214 civilians were killed during the invasion, according to official estimates, while the US military reported 23 deaths among its troops. Human rights groups say the number of Panamanian dead could be higher. "It took us a long time to achieve this demand, and finally, the day has arrived," said Trinidad Ayola, president of the Association of Friends and Relatives of Victims of Dec. 20. Questions remain about where some of the Panamanians were buried. Forensic workers have exhumed several bodies from a Panama City cemetery to determine their identities. The cemetery contains more than 100 people killed during the invasion that were first exhumed months after the invasion because they had been buried in common graves. DNA testing is expected to take months. (Read more Panama stories.) (Newser) The International Committee for the Red Cross said it was unable to carry out an operation to bring civilians out of the shattered and encircled city of Mariupol by bus on Friday, but Ukraine said thousands of refugees nevertheless made it to safety. The Red Cross said its team had to turn back before reaching the city, the AP reports, after being blocked by Russian forces. "We do not see a real desire on the part of the Russians and their satellites to provide an opportunity for Mariupol residents to evacuate to territory controlled by Ukraine," an adviser to the city's mayor wrote on the Telegram app. But about 1,800 refugees reached Zaporizhzhia on Friday, per the Washington Post, traveling on 42 buses. They had been picked up by buses on the edge of Berdyansk, a city down the coast from Mariupol that's controlled by Russian forces. Thousands of other refugees, most of whom were from Mariupol, arrived in Zaporizhzhia by car, officials said. The city is several hours inland from Mariupol. The Red Cross said it will try to get its team through to Mariupol again Saturday. Russian forces also "are categorically not allowing any humanitarian cargo, even in small amounts, into the city," the aide to Mariupol's mayor said. Also Friday, Russia accused the Ukrainians of a cross-border helicopter attack on a fuel depot, per the AP. The governor of Russia's Belgorod region said a fiery raid on Russian soil by two helicopter gunships left two people wounded, though state oil company Rosneft denied anyone was hurt. "Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks," a Kremlin spokesman said, five weeks after Moscow began sending more than 150,000 of own troops across Ukraine's border. The Russian claim could not immediately be verified. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he could "neither confirm nor reject the claim that Ukraine was involved in this, simply because I do not possess all the military information." (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) Facing an investigation and a disciplinary hearing over his assault of comedian Chris Rock on the Oscars stage, actor Will Smith has resigned as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In a statement issued Friday, Smith apologized for his behavior Sunday and said he'll accept any consequences the academy's board decides on, per the Hollywood Reporter. "I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken," the statement says. "I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film." Suspension or expulsion from the academy are among the punishments the board said it was considering against Smith for slapping and screaming at Rock during the broadcast. The organization said Wednesday that Smith had to explain his actions in writing within 15 days, per Variety. Smith's statement Friday said that he had answered the board's notice of the hearing. He has apologized to the academy and to Rock, though in his speech later Sunday night as he accepted the best actor Oscar, he seemed to be trying to justify the slap. His new statement includes a more specific apology, and he promised to work "to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason." The academy said Friday that it accepted Smith's resignation and will continue its disciplinary process. Resignation would not keep Smith from attending the ceremony in the future, or from being nominated for and winning an Oscar, per the Reporter. "The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home," Smith's statement says. (Read more Will Smith stories.) (Newser) Update: The mob hit man who escaped federal custody has been captured, one week later. Dominic Taddeo was taken back into custody in Florida's Miami-Dade County without incident Monday around 11am, CNN reports. That's about 273 miles south of the halfway house he was assigned to in the state, NBC News reports. Our original story from Saturday follows: In mid-February, Dominic Taddeo, a convicted hit man for organized-crime families in Rochester, NY, was transferred from a medium-security prison in Coleman, Fla., to a nearby residential halfway house. His stay there, however, was short-lived: According to the Bureau of Prisons, Taddeo has escaped from federal custody, never returning after an approved medical appointment last month, reports the Democrat & Chronicle. The "find an inmate" section of the Bureau of Prisons website shows the 64-year-old escaped on Monday. Taddeo, who fatally shot three men in 1982 and 1983, had just one year or so left before his release. The Guardian notes Taddeo pleaded guilty in 1992 to racketeering charges that included those killings, for which he was sentenced to 54 years in prison. Taddeo also tried twice in 1983once in April, then again in Novemberto assassinate Thomas Marotta, one of Rochester's most notorious mob leaders, after being contracted to do so. Although Taddeo hit Marotta both times, the latter man survived the murder attempts. In 2020, Taddeo lobbied for a compassionate release, due to COVID and his own supposed health issues, but his request was denied. Prosecutors say medical records didn't indicate Taddeo had any particularly serious health issues that would've necessitated release. Meanwhile, experts are scratching their heads on why he chose now to flee, with such a short time left behind bars. "It's the dumbest thing he could have done," Jerry Capeci, an ex-New York Daily News journalist who now writes a column about the Mafia for Gang Land News, tells the New York Times. "Either there's something wrong upstairs, or something bad happened to him." Gary Jenkins, a former mob investigator in Kansas City, Mo., says that despite Taddeo's innocuous appearancehe wore glasses and was a little overweighthe was "one of the most vicious hit men of the Rochester family" and may prove savvy at eluding authorities. "If you look back, he thinks big," Jenkins says. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was gone for a long time." (Read more mobsters stories.) (Newser) The nation's oldest active park ranger is hanging up her Smokey hat at the age of 100. Betty Reid Soskin retired Thursday after more than 15 years at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, Calif., the National Park Service announced, per the AP. Soskin "spent her last day providing an interpretive program to the public and visiting with co-workers," a Park Service statement said. She led tours at the park and museum honoring the women who worked in factories during wartime and shared her own experience as a Black woman during the conflict. She worked for the US Air Force in 1942 but quit after learning that "she was employed only because her superiors believed she was white," according to a Park Service biography. "Being a primary source in the sharing of that historymy historyand giving shape to a new national park has been exciting and fulfilling," Soskin said in the Park Service statement. "It has proven to bring meaning to my final years." Soskin won a temporary Park Service position at the age of 84 and became a permanent Park Service employee in 2011. She celebrated her 100th birthday last September. Soskin was born Betty Charbonnet in Detroit in 1921, but she recalled surviving the devastating Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 while living with her Creole family in New Orleans, according to the Park Service biography. Her family then moved to Oakland, Calif., and Soskin remained in the San Francisco Bay Area, where in 1945 she and her first husband founded one of the first Black-owned record stores in the area, the biography said. She also was a civil rights activist and took part in meetings to develop a general management plan for the Home Front park. Soskin has received several honors. She was named California's woman of the year in 1995, and in 2015, she received a presidential coin from President Barack Obama after she lit the National Christmas Tree at the White House. In June 2016, she was awakened in her home by a robber who punched her repeatedly in the face, dragged her out of her bedroom, and beat her before making off with the coin and other items. Soskin, then 94, recovered and returned to work just weeks after the attack. The coin was replaced. Soskin also was honored with entry into the Congressional Record. Glamour magazine, meanwhile, named her its woman of the year in 2018. "Betty has made a profound impact on the National Park Service and the way we carry out our mission," Director Chuck Sams said. "Her efforts remind us that we must seek out and give space for all perspectives so that we can tell a more full and inclusive history of our nation." (Read more uplifting news stories.) (Newser) Three men have been sentenced to federal prison as part of a broad investigation into what authorities say was a wide-ranging conspiracy to bring workers from Central America to the United States for forced labor on southern Georgia farms. The three men were charged in separate but related cases related to a federal investigation dubbed "Blooming Onion," prosecutors said in a news release. Authorities say the farm workers were brought into the US on the H-2A agricultural visa program, after which the suspects profited from their work by underpaying them and forcing them to live in substandard conditions, per the AP. Prosecutors said the investigation into forced labor in south Georgia and elsewhere is continuing through a federal case in which 23 people are charged in an alleged conspiracy to commit labor trafficking, visa fraud, and money laundering. Javier Sanchez Mendoza Jr., 24, of Jesup, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in forced labor and was sentenced to serve 30 years in prison. Aurelio Medina, 42, of Brunswick, pleaded guilty to forced labor and was sentenced to five years and four months. Yordon Velazquez Victoria, 45, of Brunswick, received a sentence of 15 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy. Mendoza and Medina are Mexican citizens living illegally in the US and are subject to deportation once they serve their prison terms, prosecutors said. Mendoza admitted that from August 2018 to November 2019, he was a leader in a scheme to provide labor and services for farms and other businesses in Glynn, Ware, and Pierce counties, the release says. He recruited more than 500 people from Central America and unlawfully charged them for H-2A visas, then withheld their ID papers and forced them to work for little or no pay in terrible conditions by threatening them and their families back home, prosecutors said. One victim testified during sentencing that Mendoza picked her from a work crew after she arrived from Mexico and brought her to live with him, making her believe falsely that she'd married him. He controlled her using threats and intimidation, repeatedly raping her, for more than a year, prosecutors said. After she escaped, Mendoza kidnapped her at knifepoint from the front yard of a home where she was babysitting, prosecutors said. Law enforcement officers who found her at Mendoza's mobile home in Jesup and rescued her found a shrine to Santa Muerte, "Saint Death," decorated with her hair and blood, the release says. Mendoza faces state aggravated assault charges related to that. Medina admitted that from April 2020 to October 2020, he charged foreign workers for H-2A visas and then withheld their identification documents in Glynn and Effingham counties. Victoria, a naturalized US citizen, admitted that he allowed Medina to use his name to apply to use H-2A workers and was paid $600 a week to bring the workers from their housing to work. "These men engaged in facilitating modern-day slavery," US Attorney David Estes said in a news release. "Our law enforcement partners have exposed an underworld of human trafficking, and we will continue to identify and bring to justice those who would exploit others whose labors provide the fuel for their greed." (Read more forced labor stories.) (Newser) The head of Russia's space program said Saturday that the future of the International Space Station hangs in the balance after the US, the European Union, and Canadian space agencies missed a deadline to meet Russian demands for lifting sanctions on Russian enterprises and hardware. Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos, told reporters that the state agency is preparing a report on the prospects of international cooperation at the station to be presented to federal authorities, the AP reports. Rogozin implied on Russian state TV that the Western sanctions, some of which predate Russia's invasion of Ukraine, could disrupt the operation of Russian spacecraft servicing the ISS with cargo flights. Russia also sends manned missions to the space station. He stressed that the Western partners need the space station and "cannot manage without Russia, because no one but us can deliver fuel to the station." Rogozin added that "only the engines of our cargo craft are able to correct the ISSs orbit, keeping it safe from space debris." Rogozin later Saturday wrote on his Telegram channel that he received responses from his Western counterparts vowing to promote "further cooperation on the ISS and its operations." Space is one of the last remaining areas of cooperation between Moscow and Western nations. US-Russian negotiations on the resumption of joint flights to the space station were underway when Russia attacked Ukraine last month, prompting unprecedented sanctions on Russian state-linked entities. So far the US and Russia are still cooperating in space: A NASA astronaut caught a Russian ride back to Earth on Wednesday after a US record 355 days at the International Space Station, returning with two cosmonauts. (Read more International Space Station stories.) NEW YORK, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of millions of dollars were supposed to go to building a community health workforce after the American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law in March 2021, but much of the money is being quickly spent instead on health departments or national initiatives rather than local, community-based organizations, reported St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Friday. Community health workers were positioned as key to U.S. President Joe Biden's public health agenda, but the funding situation has been making them difficult to maintain in the United States without consistent ways of payment, according to the report by this major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. "For bills and a car note, rent or children, that's just not sustainable," Denise Smith, the founding executive director of the National Association of Community Health Workers, was quoted as saying. "We can't do it for free." Smith is optimistic that the association's current programs will secure money to keep its community health workers on staff and then use the goodwill they've built up in communities to focus on disease prevention. However, "the fragmented American health care system -- and its systemic inequities -- won't disappear with COVID," while millions of people are poised to lose their insurance coverage as pandemic benefits run out, said the report. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com The Bahrain Information Affairs Ministry has launched a tender for hiring event management companies for the upcoming GCC TV and Radio Festival. It was agreed last year in November that the fifteenth session of the Festival will be in Bahrain during the first quarter of 2022. This decision was in the presence of Minister of Information Ali bin Muhammad Al-Rumaihi during a meeting of the Permanent Committee of the Gulf Radio and Television Festival. The Minister of Information, at that time, stressed the importance of the Festival as a Gulf meeting to celebrate creativity in media. The minister had also stressed the significance of the Festival in unifying media visions at the level of the Arab Gulf, celebrating excellence and honouring the youth for their creativity in this vital domain. The current tender by Bahrains Ministry of Information Affairs seeks a specialised company to prepare for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Radio and Television Festival. The exact dates of the closing and opening ceremony are not published. The tender says a successful contractor should plan, design and execute an event venue branding for the programme. The contractor should also produce an opening and a closing show that will incorporate and promote GCC media to the audience, the tender adds. Works also include designing and executing an exhibit with 3 x 9meter dimensions, conducting the awarding event, and providing 5-star dining for the 500 guests for two nights (Opening and Closing Ceremony). The tender invites bids only from service providers having a minimum of five years of experience in event management. Those interested in the works should make bids before the 13th of this month with a BD1,000 bond and BD50 tender fees. National Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities coming soon: Bahrain minister National Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities coming soon: Bahrain minister TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Bahrain today joins hands with the world nations in marking the International Day for Awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder, established by the United Nations in 2008. The United Nations General Assembly unanimously declared the 2nd of April as World Autism Awareness Day to highlight the need to help improve the quality of life of those with autism, to help them lead meaningful lives as an integral part of society. Autism is known as a spectrum disorder because there is wide variation in the type and severity of symptoms people experience. People of all genders, races, ethnicities, and economic backgrounds can be diagnosed with ASD. The 2022 theme for World Autism Awareness Day is Inclusive Quality Education for All. On this occasion, the Minister of Labour and Social Development, Jameel Humaidan, said Bahrain has made remarkable progress in understanding the nature of autism and its accompanying disorders. Labour ministry, Humaidan said, is drafting an executive plan for the National Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2022-2026), which will be launched during the second quarter of 2022. He stressed that supporting the rehabilitation of children with autism is one of the priorities of the five-year plan. 12 centres, BD1.2 million The minister also revealed supporting all civil rehabilitation centres with an annual budget of 1.2 million dinars. There are now 12 centres concerned with providing services to people with disabilities (those with determination), including six centres for people with Autism: Alia Center for Early Intervention, Tawafa Center for Special Education, Al-Wafa Centre for Autism, Al-Rashad Centre for Autism, Al-Amal Centre for Early Care and Al-Amal Institute for Special Education. A total of 200 students benefit from the services of these institutions. "This is in addition to the 25 private centres licenced by the ministry for autism spectrum disorder," the minister said. Electronic ID The total number of students with autism spectrum disorder registered with the ministry is 1,100, who also benefit from the monthly disability allowance. In 2020, Bahrain launched an identity card integrated with the disability ID and an electronic identity chip for people with disabilities. "There are now about 13,000 people registered with the ministry, including those with autism spectrum disorder," the minister said. The minister also called on renewing identity cards with the upgraded version, which includes disability data and enables them to obtain all the benefits granted by the previous disability identification card. Discounts These include discounts from institutions and shops of 5 % to 50%, sticker for private parking from the General Traffic Department, a path at the King Fahd Causeway Corporation, 50% discount on the bridge crossing fees, access to all facilities and free games in parks, and complexes, in addition to facilities in government hospitals and health centres. Cardholders also get free medical supplies monthly, and 11 government institutions and more than 100 institutions in the private sector provide various privileges and discounts to holders of the integrated card with the ID and disability icon. The minister said work is underway to include more institutions in the private sector to support the ID card for people with disabilities. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com An agreement to establish an Omani-Bahraini Investment Holding Company, with a joint capital of 10 million riyals, to boost food security has been signed during the Bahrain-Oman Business Forum. The forum, held at the headquarters of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Muscat, was attended by Ahmed Abdullah bin Hindi, the President of the Bahrain Businessmen Association, and Rida bin Juma Al Saleh, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This decision came during the bilateral sessions on the sidelines of the forum. Dr Juma bin Ahmed Al Kaabi, the Ambassador of Bahrain to Oman, Dr Saleh bin Saeed Al-Masn, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Omani Investment Promotion, and members of the business community were present. Bin Hindi stressed the depth of the commercial ties, where the volume of trade exchange during the past year reached 672 million US dollars, compared to nearly 616 million US dollars in 2020. Bahraini exports to Oman grew by more than 19% last year to 570 million US dollars from 479 million US dollars in 2020. Electrical equipment, food distribution devices, cleaning materials, jewellery and perfumes are among the most prominent Bahraini exports to the Sultanate, while electrical cables, aluminium, medicines and building materials are among the top Bahraini imports from Oman. Bin Hindi called on the Omani business sector to visit the Kingdom to explore investment opportunities. Ambassador Dr Juma bin Ahmed Al Kaabi pointed out that there are about 490 Bahraini-Omani partnerships in various fields and nearly 900 Bahraini commercial establishments operating in Oman, the majority of which are small and medium enterprises. The forum included dialogue sessions, feasibility studies and an overview of the business environment in Oman. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com Staff Reporter Thirteen Indian nationals are serving life sentences in Bahrain jails, according to the Indian Government. The Daily Tribune earlier reported that 162 Indian nationals are being sentenced in Bahrain for various offences, quoting a Central Indian Minister. As many as 8,278 Indian prisoners, including undertrials, are lodged in foreign prisons at present, with 156 of them serving life sentences, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan informed Lok Sabha, Indian Lower House of Parliament. He asserted that the government attaches the highest priority to the safety, security and well-being of Indians in foreign countries, including those in prisons there. Indian missions and posts abroad remain vigilant and closely monitor the incidents of Indian nationals being put in prisons for violation or alleged violation of local laws, the minister pointed out. All matters regarding the repatriation of Indian nationals lodged in foreign prisons are regularly pursued by Indian missions and posts abroad with the local authorities concerned. The Daily Tribune earlier quoted Dr Babu Ramachandran, the Chairman of the Indian Community Relief Fund (ICRF), saying that the Kingdoms government has been putting in its best efforts to ensure the best humane treatment of prisoners. ICRF is a non-government, non-profit organisation working under the patronage of the Indian Ambassador for the general welfare of Indian workers in the Kingdom. ICRF would regularly conduct prison visits before the pandemic struck the Kingdom. The Kingdom has one of the worlds best prison systems in the world. All requirements of prisoners are being attended to, matching the best of world standards. We have been earlier conducting regular prison visits that have to be stopped following the pandemic outbreak. We are hopeful that ICRF teams will be able to resume jail visits again once the pandemic is brought under absolute control. Since it debuted in November 2020 on the pages of the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump by Shueisha, Sakamoto Days little by little it has managed to carve out a niche for itself among Japanese readers consolidating in the last year and a half as one of the titles to take into account. This work, written and illustrated by Yuuto Suzuki, arrived in Spain from Editorial Ivrea on March 31st and, if you havent seen it yet, we can assure you that if you like crazy characters, ultraviolent comedies and totally exaggerated action , this is your sleeve. However, do not expect a very dense plot, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Starting Sakamoto Days is enjoy one bow after another with the only common thread being that an association of villains wants to eliminate Sakamoto and he just wants to live his life in peace. But, if we havent convinced you yet, heres why Sakamoto Days is a purchase you wont regret. Japan premier Kishida pledges to relax border controls by next month straitstimes.com - May 06 Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he would loosen Japan's virus-related border controls in line with other wealthy democracies next month, as he sought to boost consumer spending to fight an economic slowdown. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he would loosen Japan's virus-related border controls in line with other wealthy democracies next month, as he sought to boost consumer spending to fight an economic slowdown. Global supplies shortage and dependence on West spell urgency, opportunity Nikkei - May 06 Japanese pharmaceutical and medical material makers are expanding domestic output of ingredients and production materials for vaccines in response to a creeping shortage of supplies globally. Japanese pharmaceutical and medical material makers are expanding domestic output of ingredients and production materials for vaccines in response to a creeping shortage of supplies globally. Putin warned over 'barbaric' invasion as UK and Japan reach historic agreement on trade express.co.uk - May 06 Boris Johnson has agreed to deepen defence and trade links with Japan following diplomatic talks with the country's premier in Downing Street. Boris Johnson has agreed to deepen defence and trade links with Japan following diplomatic talks with the country's premier in Downing Street. Kanye West emerges in Japan with his new muse msn.com - May 06 Kanye West was spotted in Japan alongside his new muse Chaney Jones, after laying low for a while following his public bitter divorce from ex-wife Kim Kardashian. Kanye West was spotted in Japan alongside his new muse Chaney Jones, after laying low for a while following his public bitter divorce from ex-wife Kim Kardashian. Kishida announces new sanctions on Russia NHK - May 06 Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has announced additional sanctions on Russia, freezing the assets of about 140 more individuals, as well as more assets of Russian banks. Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has announced additional sanctions on Russia, freezing the assets of about 140 more individuals, as well as more assets of Russian banks. Tokyo consumer prices rise at fastest pace in seven years Nikkei - May 06 Core consumer prices in Tokyo, considered a leading indicator of Japanese price trends, rose 1.9% in April from a year earlier, marking the fastest annual pace in seven years, government data showed on Friday. Core consumer prices in Tokyo, considered a leading indicator of Japanese price trends, rose 1.9% in April from a year earlier, marking the fastest annual pace in seven years, government data showed on Friday. Child victims of 2011 disaster remembered with carp streamers NHK - May 06 Child victims of the major earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan in 2011 have been remembered with hundreds of streamers painted with a blue carp pattern fluttering in a clear sky. Child victims of the major earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan in 2011 have been remembered with hundreds of streamers painted with a blue carp pattern fluttering in a clear sky. Autistic adults in Japan stay active in their communities, households spectrumnews.org - May 05 Most autistic children in Japan grow up to live somewhat independently as adults, engage in community activities and form friendships, according to a new longitudinal study. Most autistic children in Japan grow up to live somewhat independently as adults, engage in community activities and form friendships, according to a new longitudinal study. Climate and currents shaped Japans hunter-gatherer cultures eos.org - May 05 The island prefecture of Hokkaido, Japans second-largest island, has a rich cultural history of hunter-gatherers both on land and at sea. The island prefecture of Hokkaido, Japans second-largest island, has a rich cultural history of hunter-gatherers both on land and at sea. The history and meaning of Childrens Day in Japan theconversation.com - May 05 In Japan, Childrens Day Kodomo no Hi is held on May 5 and marks the final national holiday of the period known as Golden Week. In Japan, Childrens Day Kodomo no Hi is held on May 5 and marks the final national holiday of the period known as Golden Week. M4.8 quake jolts areas near Tokyo, no tsunami Kyodo - May 05 An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 jolted Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures near Tokyo on Thursday, but no tsunami occurred, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 jolted Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures near Tokyo on Thursday, but no tsunami occurred, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Baseballs biggest fans return to the stands in South Korea and Japan South China Morning Post - May 05 Baseball is a national obsession in South Korea and Japan and for the first time since the pandemic, crowds returned to the stands to sing, dance and cheer on their favourite teams. Baseball is a national obsession in South Korea and Japan and for the first time since the pandemic, crowds returned to the stands to sing, dance and cheer on their favourite teams. COVID-hit Japan travel agency looks for growth in agriculture Japan Today - May 05 Major Japanese travel agency H.I.S. Co has decided to move into agriculture to diversify its revenue sources after a tough period in which the coronavirus pandemic dealt a heavy blow to the tourism sector. Major Japanese travel agency H.I.S. Co has decided to move into agriculture to diversify its revenue sources after a tough period in which the coronavirus pandemic dealt a heavy blow to the tourism sector. South Korea, Japan condemn Pyongyang for firing ballistic missile CNA - May 05 South Korea and Japan have condemned North Korea for launching yet another ballistic missile. South Korea and Japan have condemned North Korea for launching yet another ballistic missile. Stonehenge exhibition explores parallels with Japanese stone circles theguardian.com - May 05 They were separated by thousands of miles and the two sets of builders could not conceivably have met or swapped notes, but intriguing parallels between Stonehenge and Japanese stone circles are to be highlighted in an exhibition at the monument on Salisbury Plain. They were separated by thousands of miles and the two sets of builders could not conceivably have met or swapped notes, but intriguing parallels between Stonehenge and Japanese stone circles are to be highlighted in an exhibition at the monument on Salisbury Plain. Russia has begun more military drills following one a week ago in an area that includes islands it controls but are claimed by Japan. The move is seen as an attempt by Moscow to send a warning to Japan, which imposed sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine. The Russian defense ministry announced on its website on Friday that more than 1,000 Army troops and about 200 military vehicles are taking part in the drills on two islands, Etorofu and Kunashiri in Japanese. The two are part of the four islands Japan calls the Northern Territories. The Japanese government maintains they are an inherent part of Japan's territory. It says the islands were illegally occupied after World War Two. The Russian ministry says the troops are practicing procedures to launch anti-tank missiles and use state-of-the-art drones to locate targets for artillery batteries. It announced on the same day that a drill was also conducted on the island of Matua, northeast of the four islands. They say a surface-to-ship missile system called Bastion was used to practice blocking the landing of a potential enemy. Russia conducted military drills with more than 3,000 troops in the area in late March, following its unilateral decision to suspend talks on a peace treaty with Japan. Japan has been protesting these moves. Russia also designated Japan as one of the countries that took "unfriendly" action against Moscow. The wait to see the doctor at Japans popular fertility clinic Saint Mother Hospital just got longer. Starting yesterday, public health insurance will reimburse 70 percent of the costs of advanced fertility treatments as part of the governments attempt to halt a decline in one of the worlds fastest-aging populations. Atsushi Tanaka, doctor and director of Saint Mother in Kita Kyushu, southern Japan, expects more patients at his clinic, already packed with couples seeking treatments such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF) which previously cost over 500,000 yen (US$4,090) per cycle more than the average households monthly income. I think well see a huge number of patients, he said, adding that nationwide IVF attempts may even double. Yet Tanaka and other specialists say this wont be enough to reverse Japans demographic decline, with patients still facing considerable costs, and insurance coverage excluding procedures such as genetic screening and the use of donor eggs. With the number of women of child-bearing age dropping off in the coming years, they said, the government needs to do more. Japans experience will serve as a test case for advanced economies facing declining birth rates. While free, or mostly free, IVF treatments are already available in a handful of countries including Denmark and France, Japan is the biggest economy to subsidize most costs for such treatments. Japanese lingerie brand Peach John is often coming out with cute underwear. Sometimes its anime-themed, like the Gundam lingerie that came out earlier this year, and sometimes its more traditional in design. But would you have ever expected them to take a classical work of art like Sandro Botticellis The Birth of Venus and put it on a bra and panties? Well, they did! Meet the Peach John Boticelli Green lingerie. Featuring one of the most famous Italian Renaissance paintings, this lingerie is almost like a work of classical art all on its own. The main images of the painting are depicted on the bra (4,378 yen/US$36.06) over a base of sea green to represent the spring ocean depicted in the painting, so theres no mistaking the inspiration behind this unique lingerie set. On the left cup is Venus herself, standing on her scallop shell with her hand to her chest and holding her golden hair, flanked by one of her attendants holding a cloak for her. On the right is the wind god Zephyr holding a young woman as they blow Venus to shore. Theyre meticulously embroidered on to the cups of the bra, giving it quite a luxurious feel. The lacey border on the cups and the decorative straps give the embroideries the feel of being in a frame, and the lightly translucent back strap is equal parts sexy and pretty. ...continue reading THE winners of the by-elections held on March 26 will be sworn in this week, after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) gives Parliament the full list of successful candidates, Clerk of Parliament Mr Kennedy Chokuda has said. Further, Parliament business is expected to move to the new Parliament building during the first half of this year, with Government set to decide what will happen to the current building. In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Mr Chokuda said: The swearing-in of members will be done at the earliest possible date, most probably the first week of April, once ZEC has officially written to Parliament giving us the full list of all the successful candidates. We note that on 31st March 2022 ZEC gazetted the list of successful candidates and hence we expect that communication any time from now, he said. Mr Chokuda said the benefits due to Members of Parliament (MPs) will be extended to the new members and these will include the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) for this year and next year. In respect of vehicles this will be treated on a case by case basis depending on the status of the member. The new members will get a vehicle as expected. Those returning to Parliament and who had received a vehicle during the life of this Parliament have already been covered and hence will not get a new vehicle. The law says a Member is only eligible for one vehicle every five years. However, if a Member was recalled before they received a vehicle they will still be eligible to receive a vehicle, he said. Mr Chokuda said the uptake of CDF by MPs has been good with more than 80 percent of members having accessed it last year. There have been many impactful and exemplary CDF Projects around the country and across the political divide. Examples include the completion of several clinics, classroom blocks, solar-powered boreholes, and dams in some constituencies, he said. All Portfolio Committees have also been instructed to engage with the respective Ministries to ensure that all bills that were outlined in the State of the Nation Address by President Mnangagwa are brought to Parliament timeously, said Mr Chokuda. He said Parliaments plans to establish a television station were very much alive and this would be done once the digitalisation of airwaves has been completed. As a short term measure, a Parliament radio station will be set up. Sunday Mail A HARARE duo appeared in court yesterday for allegedly conniving to steal a vehicle from the Office of the President and Cabinet. The car was parked along Nelson Mandela Avenue in Harare. The duo of Lameck Phiri and Last Chinamasa appeared before Harare magistrate, Shane Kubonera, who remanded them in custody. He advised them to approach the High Court for bail. The complainant is Obey Mbofana, who is employed by the OPC. The court heard that on March 17, Mbofana parked a silver Toyota Quantum in the Harare CBD. He left the car keys on the ignition, while the engine was idling, as he negotiated the price of a pair of shoes, which were being sold on the pavement. The court heard that Chinamasa and Phiri took advantage, opened the car from the passenger side and drove off at high speed. Mbofana tried to give chase but the duo turned into Leopold Takawira Street and disappeared. On March 29, detectives from the Vehicle Theft Squad received information that Crynonce Kasenga was in possession of one of Mbofanas stolen cellphones. Kasenga told detectives he bought the cellphone from Phiri who in turn implicated Chinamasa. The court heard that when the police conducted a search they recovered the stolen vehicle key attached to a Honda Fit key. They also recovered, from Chinamasa, a battery and a starter which he had stripped from the stolen Toyota Quantum. Chinamasa allegedly led detectives to Zinanga Village, Chief Seke in Ziko where his father Simon stays. He told detectives the vehicle, which was parked at his homestead, was brought by his son. Detectives inspected the motor vehicle and identified it by its Chassis number. They found out that the engine, gearbox, battery, starter and number plates had been removed. Phiri led the police to a maize field in Sunningdale 2 where he had stashed the number plates. The gearbox was also recovered. The duo is also facing another count of vehicle theft where the State alleges that they connived to steal Isaac Chiveros Toyota Runx in the CBD. The court heard that Chivero parked his car along Rezende Street and left the key in the ignition. The duo pounced and stole the car. It was stripped and the majority of the parts were sold. In the third count, the duo allegedly stole and stripped Marvelous Wasakaras Blue Honda Fit, which he had parked along Leopold Takawira. Phiri also appeared before Harare magistrate, Barbra Mateko, facing vehicle theft charges after he allegedly stole Owen Muleyas beige Honda Fit. The court heard that on January 20, Muleya parked his car and went into a restaurant along Chinhoyi Street, in Harares CBD. Phiri is alleged to have pounced and stole the car. Tapiwanashe Zvidzai and Marian Furidze appeared for the State. H Metro REDDING Some parents expressed frustration this week over how finance board members referenced the increasing burden of special education costs on the school districts budget. The discussion came at a Board of Finance meeting on Monday where the board voted on a $23.8 million school budget that would bring the proposed spending increase from 3.6 percent to 3.2 percent. Superintendent Jason McKinnon said the request to drop almost $100,000 from the budget would lead to the reduction of a teacher position, and funds originally allocated to purchase school supplies and support teacher training. The board, however, singled out the rising cost of special education in its meeting with the superintendent and Board of Education Chair Chris Parkin, drawing criticism from some parents over their request that the school district find ways to mitigate what they see as a continuing financial burden on the school district. There is an explosion of need, I got it, Board of Finance Member James Barickman said. But another five yearsits just going to consume the entire budget because you cant pass those kinds of increases weve been cheating the general education programs that entire time. Over the last 20 years, he has been around, Barickman said the total cost of special education services have gone from $3 million to $8 million, with the cost per pupil rising from $2,400 to $9,100. I am really eager to pressure the boards of education to find some better solution for how were managing long term, the special education needs of the students that are only going to increase because its just not sustainable for us, he added. Robert Dean agreed with his colleague over what he called the very weighty burden of special education but recognized this is not a problem unique to Redding. Special education programs meet the needs of students who qualify for them under 13 disability categories including dyslexia, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and hearing or visual impairment, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Connecticuts statewide special education costs increased from approximately $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion between 2007 and 2019, even as overall enrollment declined over the same period, according to a report released by Connecticut Voices for Children last fall a dynamic the advocacy groups research found led to an overall decrease in state and federal funding for schools and shifted the burden of special education costs to individual school districts and municipalities. I am not minimizing the importance [of providing special education], Dean said. But we have to find a way to do it that doesnt bankrupt us. The comments drew consensus from members of the board but received criticism from residents and parents during the meetings public comment period. I think how we talk about our special education budget really needs to be done in a sensitive manner, especially when the district is already below the state average, said Kristen Anstett. Compared to the statewide average of 16.3 percent, data provided by the Redding school district put the overall percentage of the towns students receiving special education at 15.4 percent this year a decline of roughly three percentage points from the 2019-20 school year. Earlier in the meeting, members had commented on the declining rate as a sign of progress. When we say things like, our special education has movedin the direction we want to see, and, theres been incremental progress, we need to make sure that doesnt actually mean denying children who have learning disabilities or who require supports just for the sake of our budget, Anstett said. Meredith Ferris is the co-chair of the special education committee for Easton, Redding and Region 9. Like her, both her children are diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD and she praised their schools support for them. My daughter is a straight-A student, and my son could not read last year and this year he can read, she said. However, Ferris added, the experience felt by her children is not the same for others in the community. Specifically, she said she is aware of several students who, after producing a physicians report and diagnosis on their learning disability, were denied special education services by the school district over the past year. We have to support all students a student is a student, one might need more than another but the thing that most upset me was the fact that they said special education is moving in the right direction, Ferris told the News-Times. When the school gives you the services, they do an excellent job of supporting students, however, my concern in listening to this meeting, and then talking to community members and other parents is there are children that are being denied, she added. Board of Finance Chair Dr. Kimberly Yonkers responded to the criticism. People certainly dont ask to have a child or to be somebody who has additional needs, Yonkers said. Just to clarify, one of the things people were talking about is receiving more assistance from the state in terms of managing the cost [of the interventions they need], which people are entitled to receive. McKinnon, who took the superintendent position earlier this school year, said the school districts three boards have been looking at strategies to contain the special education costs. Under state law, school districts must provide transportation and tuition for any student requiring special education services that cannot be provided in house. According to the superintendent, the average tuition cost for placing a student in an outplacement program is $250,000 per year, with transportation costs on average totaling $44,000 annually. Its really important for districts to work together to share transportation and bus rides to different programs and that we are developing programs in house, McKinnon said. The superintendent disagreed that special education costs in Redding are crowding out general education costs. I just think that costs are going up in general and special education costs tend to be going up at a higher rate, so they are more noticeable, he added. /NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/ VANCOUVER, BC, March 31, 2022 /CNW/ - Monumental Minerals Corp. ("Monumental" or the "Company") (TSXV: MNRL) (FSE: BE5) is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into an arm's length definitive option agreement dated March 30, 2022 (the "Option Agreement") with Lithium Chile Inc. ("Lithium Chile") (TSX-V: LITH) to acquire up to 75% of the 5200-hectare Salar De Laguna Blanca project (the "Laguna Project") located near the town of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile (see news release dated March 9, 2022). The Laguna Project is located within the prolific lithium triangle, a zone within the central Andes high desert that includes Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. This zone is estimated to contain more than half of the world's lithium supply beneath the many salt flats, also known as salars, that are common to the region. The Laguna Blanca property consists of 23 exploration concessions totaling 5,200 hectares, 100% owned by Lithium Chile through its wholly owned Chilean subsidiary Minera Kairos Chile Limitada. The Laguna Project includes both active and paleo salar brines and salts. Jamil Sader, Monumental's CEO comments: "The Laguna Blanca lithium asset has the potential to become a significant cesium-lithium deposit in the region. The Project is complimentary to the Company's flagship Jemi heavy rare earth element project in Coahuila, Mexico, and the strength of these two assets will position Monumental to take advantage of the global shift of decarbonization, and to add significant value for shareholders. Certain members of the Company's team are currently in Chile conducting a site visit and will be on the Jemi project in Mexico shortly thereafter." About Critical Metals The US government has identified lithium and select rare earth elements (REEs) as critical metals, and there is currently a strong push to curtail the US reliance of these metals from sources that are not politically friendly. On February 22, 2022, US government announced government financial incentives for both lithium and REE producers to develop downstream processing and refining of REEs and lithium. Additionally, a bi-partisan US senate bill recently passed, which would make it illegal for US defense contractors to procure REEs from China. Monumental Minerals is positioned to play a significant role in lithium and REE stability and sustainably in the Americas. TERMS OF THE OPTION AGREEMENT In order to exercise the option to acquire a 75% interest in the Laguna Project, Monumental must issue common shares, make certain staged cash payments to Lithium Chile and incur exploration expenditures on the Laguna Project as follows: (a) Make cash payments of an aggregate of Cad$1,500,000 according to the following schedule: (i) $200,000 within thirty (30) days of final TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") approval of this transaction (the "Acceptance Date"); (ii) $250,000 on or before the eighteen (18) month anniversary of the Acceptance Date; (iii) $300,000 on or before the second anniversary of the Acceptance Date; and (iv) $750,000 on or before the third anniversary of the Acceptance Date. (b) Incur minimum expenditures on the Laguna Project of not less than an aggregate of Cad$1,500,000 according to the following schedule: (v) $200,000 on or before the first anniversary of the Acceptance Date; (vi) $500,000 on or before the second anniversary of the Acceptance Date; and (vii) $800,000 on or before the third anniversary of the Acceptance Date. (c) Within thirty (30) days of the Acceptance Date, issue 3,401,874 common shares of Monumental to Lithium Chile (the "Payment Shares"). The number of Payment Shares will be reduced if required by the Exchange. Subject to the exercise of the option to acquire 75% of the Laguna Project, Lithium Chile would retain a 1% net smelter returns royalty payable upon the commercial production of the Laguna Project. In addition to the statutory hold period of four months and a day from the date of issuance, the Payment Shares will be subject to a 12-month voluntary hold period from the date of issuance. Upon Monumental earning a 75% interest in the Laguna Project, Monumental and Lithium Chile will use commercially reasonable efforts to negotiate and execute a joint venture agreement for the purpose of jointly carrying out exploration, evaluation and development of the Laguna Project. In connection with the Option Agreement, Monumental has entered into a finder's fee agreement (the "Finder's Agreement") with Blackhill Consulting Corp. ("Blackhill"), an arm's length party, in consideration for services in transaction advisory services and introducing the Company to Lithium Chile, pursuant to which Blackhill shall receive consideration of 194,515 common shares of Monumental (the "Finder's Shares") if the Option Agreement is approved by the Exchange. The Finder's Agreement and the issuance of the Finder's Shares are subject to Exchange approval and will be subject to a four month hold period. The transaction between Monumental and Lithium Chile is subject to Exchange approval. Private Placement Financing Monumental intends to complete a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $5,000,000. The Private Placement will consist of units (each a "Unit") at a price of $0.45 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company ("Shares") and one-half of one transferable common share purchase warrant of the Company ("Warrants"). Each whole Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one Share at a price of $0.65 per Share for a period of two years following the closing of the Private Placement. The Company intends to use the net proceeds raised from the Private Placement for: cash payments related to the Option Agreement, to fund its maintenance and exploration expenses on its properties (including the Laguna Project, the Jemi Project, and the Weyman Project), and for general corporate purposes and working capital. The Private Placement is subject to Exchange approval and all securities issued are subject to a four month hold period. Finder's fees may be payable in connection with the Private Placement, all in accordance with the policies of the Exchange and applicable securities laws. Qualified Person The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Kristopher J. Raffle, P.Geo. (BC) Principal and Consultant of APEX Geoscience Ltd. of Edmonton, AB, a Director of the Company and a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. About Monumental Minerals Corp. Monumental Minerals Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties in the critical and electric metals sector. The Company's flagship asset is the Jemi HREE project located in Coahuila, Mexico near the Texas, USA border which the Company has an option to acquire 100% of the 3,650-hectare project. The Company has an option to acquire a 100% interest and title to the Weyman property located in the Kamloops and Nicola Mining Divisions and in the Thompson Nicola Regional District, British Columbia. On behalf of the Board of Directors, /s/ "Jamil Sader" Jamil Sader, Chief Executive Officer and Director Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, including any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for account or benefit of, U.S. Persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration requirements is available. Forward Looking Information This news release contains "forwardlooking information or statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, which may include, without limitation, obtaining Exchange approval and completing the proposed transaction with Lithium Chile, completing the Private Placement and the expected use of proceeds, the potential plans for the Company's projects, other statements relating to the technical, financial and business prospects of the Company, its projects and other matters. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the price of metals, the ability to achieve its goals, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner and that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms. Such forward-looking information reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including the risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of exploration results, risks related to the inherent uncertainty of exploration and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses and those other risks filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. While such estimates and assumptions are considered reasonable by the management of the Company, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive and regulatory uncertainties and risks. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions, failure to secure personnel and equipment for work programs, adverse weather and climate conditions, risks relating to unanticipated operational difficulties (including failure of equipment or processes to operate in accordance with specifications or expectations, cost escalation, unavailability of materials and equipment, government action or delays in the receipt of government approvals, industrial disturbances or other job action, and unanticipated events related to health, safety and environmental matters), risks relating to inaccurate geological assumptions, failure to maintain all necessary government permits, approvals and authorizations, failure to obtain surface access agreements or understandings from local communities, land owners or Indigenous groups, fluctuation in exchange rates, the impact of Covid-19 or other viruses and diseases on the Company's ability to operate, an inability to predict and counteract the effects of COVID-19 on the business of the Company, including but not limited to, the effects of COVID-19 on the price of commodities, capital market conditions, restriction on labour and international travel and supply chains, decrease in the price of rare earth elements, lithium, cesium and other metals, loss of key employees, consultants, or directors, failure to maintain community acceptance (including from the Indigenous communities), increase in costs, litigation, and failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations. The Company does not undertake to update forwardlooking statements or forwardlooking information, except as required by law. SOURCE Monumental Gold Corp For further information: Email: [email protected] Or Email: [email protected] On being asked if he had indeed ordered a strike on the Russian fuel depot, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he only discusses military affairs with personnel of the armed forces. Russia has accused Ukraine of attacking one its fuel depots in Belgorod, a Russian city near the Ukrainian border. Russia claims that a fire at the fuel depot was caused by an airstrike by Ukrainian attack helicopters. The Russian Ministry of Defence on Friday alleged that two Ukrainian Mi-24 attack helicopters carried out an assault on a civilian fuel storage facility in southern part of the country. A statement by the Russian Defence Ministry said, On April 1, at about 5:00 a.m. Moscow time, two Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopters entered the airspace of the Russian Federation at extremely low altitudes. Ukrainian helicopters launched a missile attack on a civilian oil storage facility located on the outskirts of Belgorod. As a result of the missile hit, individual tanks were damaged and caught fire. On being asked if he had indeed ordered a strike on the Russian fuel depot, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he only discusses military affairs with personnel of the armed forces. He replied to the question, Im sorry I do not discuss any of my orders as commander in chief, the leader of this state. There are things which I only share with military armed forces of Ukraine and when they talk with me. Speaking to CNN, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that he had no information about the incident. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also stated that he could not verify the accusations by Russia. As per a report, three "options" were mutually discussed between the government and the military side and that Imran Khan agreed to the option of dissolving assembly and holding early elections. The Pakistan Army has denied allegations by Prime Minister Imran Khan that it had given three options to the latter amid the volatile political situation in the country. Resignation, dissolution, or no-trust vote the three options that Imran Khan claims were given to him by the military. The Pak military has denied the allegations and claimed that the ruling party approached the Pak militarys top brass to fix a meeting between PM Imran Khan and Pak Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa to discuss the political scenario in the country. According to sources cited by The News International, the meeting of Pak PM Imran Khan with the countrys Army chief and DG-ISI was fixed at the request of the ruling government. As per a report, three options were mutually discussed between the government and the military side and that Imran Khan agreed to the option of dissolving assembly and holding early elections. However, the opposition rejected the proposal of dissolution of assembly, as per Pakistani media reports. According to a source cited by The News International, the military is staying neutral but encourages both Khan and the Opposition to sit together and discuss the economy and political stability of the country. This comes amid the volatile political scenario in Pakistan where Imran Khan is set to face a no-confidence motion supported by the united opposition and many disgruntled ruling party lawmakers. In an apparent reference to United Kingdom, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that his Russia visit angered a powerful country. Speaking at the Islamabad Security Dialogue, Khan said as reported by Geo TV, Today, I read the statement of the British Foreign Secretary that mentioned that they cannot say anything to India as it is an independent state I dont blame them for this support, this is our mistake. This comes amid the volatile political scenario in Pakistan where Imran Khan is set to face a no-confidence motion supported by the united opposition and many disgruntled ruling party lawmakers. On the other hand, the West is strongly opposing Russias invasion of Ukraine. During his address to Pakistan on Thursday, Imran Khan said that he wanted an independent foreign policy for Pakistan. He also hinted at the involvement of the US in destabilizing his government. He further stated that Pakistan being an ally of the US in the 80s during Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a wrong move. Being an ally of the US in 80s was a mistake. Under the Islamabad Security Dialogue, Pakistan is hosting 17 international speakers from the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Russia, European Union, Japan, the Philippines and other countries. Both the countries inaugurated a 35-km long cross-border rail link connecting Jayanagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Nepal, and a passenger train service built under India's Grant Assistance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepali PM Sher Bahadur Deuba met on Saturday during the latters India visit. The two Prime Ministers exchanged their views on ways to further strengthen bilateral ties and advance cooperation in multiple areas for the mutual benefits of the peoples of both countries. They also launched multiple projects to boost connectivity between India and Nepal. Both the countries inaugurated a 35-km long cross-border rail link connecting Jayanagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Nepal, and a passenger train service built under Indias Grant Assistance in a joint address at Hyderabad House. Modi and Deuba also jointly inaugurated the Solu Corridor 132 KV Power Transmission Line and Substation in Nepal built under financial aid by the the Government of India. One of the key emerging pillars of India-Nepal cooperation is energy. PM @SherBDeuba and I talked about augmenting cooperation in the power sector. I also welcome Nepals decision to join the International Solar Alliance, tweeted Prime Minister Modi. Another key development arising out of the bilateral visit was the launch of RuPay cards in Nepal. PM stated on the occasion, The introduction of RuPay card in Nepal will add a new chapter to our financial connectivity. PM Modi lauded Deuba for playing a key role in strengthening India-Nepal ties. Held fruitful discussions with PM @SherBDeuba, who has always played a key role in boosting the India-Nepal friendship. We took stock of the full range of bilateral relations including important development projects that will deepen economic as well as cultural linkages, Narendra Modis tweet. The UN special envoy will visit Moscow and Kyiv to discuss the ongoing situation between the two countries and the prospects of a ceasefire. UN Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths will visit Russia and Ukraine amid the ongoing military conflict between the two countries in eastern Europe, informed the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday. According to Guterres, Griffiths visit will take place on April 3. The UN special envoy will visit Moscow and Kyiv to discuss the ongoing situation between the two countries and the prospects of a ceasefire. Antonio Guterres said during a press conference, My special envoy, Martin Griffiths, was asked by me to pursue a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine. He will be flying to Moscow on Sunday and after that he will be going to Kiev. Meanwhile, the talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators resumed online on Friday after meeting in Turkeys Istanbul. After the delegation-level talks in Istanbul, Russia announced steps for a drastic reduction in military activity in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions. The Russian side also stated that a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents is The US cancelled the test launch of its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Minuteman III in order to avoid sending out a wrong signal to Russia amid the latter's "special military operation" in Ukraine. The United States cancelled the test launch of its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Minuteman III in order to avoid sending out a wrong signal to Russia amid the latters special military operation in Ukraine, the US Air Force said on Friday (local time). The US Air Force further said that an earlier launch of the missile was also cancelled due to the same reason. In a statement to Xinhua news agency, US Air Forces spokesperson Ann Stefanek said, The Department of the Air Force recently cancelled the routinely planned test flight of an LGM-30G Minuteman III missile scheduled for March 2022. The launch had been previously delayed due to an overabundance of caution to avoid misinterpretation or miscommunication during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and was cancelled for the same reason. Stefanek added that the Air Force has another launch planned for later this year. Our next planned test flight is later this year. The Department is confident in the readiness of the strategic forces of the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putin in February ordered his countrys nuclear deterrent forces to be put on high alert after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Divorce orders obtained fraudulently by some greedy men with a view to stripping their spouses in the Diaspora of matrimonial property, are now on the increase amid reports that a Deputy Sheriff was recently fired while another is under investigation for fraudulent service of court documents. Some couples are now living separately as women leave the country for greener pastures. Men who remain in Zimbabwe, at times, rope in some corrupt elements at the Sheriffs office to misrepresent to the court that they would have personally served the wives with divorce papers. Proof of service is filed at court, with the Sheriff confirming personally serving the parties for the case. The court will then treat the cases as if they were unopposed. Judges end up granting divorce orders without the wives knowledge. In some cases, men engage female friends who pose as their spouses to obtain decrees of divorce and favourable sharing of property without their wives knowledge. The men use the hired women to file fake divorce proceedings, file consent papers and agree to a property sharing model which favours the husbands. Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Secretary Mr Walter Chikwana this week said an officer had since been fired while another is under investigation for fraudulent service of documents. We have one case where we fired an officer at the Sheriffs office over fraudulent service of documents. In respect of the story published last week where fraudulent divorce was exposed, another officer who handled the case, is now under investigation. If found guilty, the officer will be discharged, he said. Mr Chikwana said the new electronic court system will help to end corruption in the serving of court papers. We are introducing electronic service of court documents and the Sheriff will not be involved in that. The electronic system will end such challenges, he said. This month the High Court exposed the case of a woman who wedded an ailing married man in the week he died and sought to take over the property he acquired together with his wife who was fending for the family in the Diaspora. Mrs Martha Singizi, who has been based in the United Kingdom for almost 20 years, got the shock of her life upon discovering that her late husband had divorced her using fraudulent documents. The discovery sparked fears that the Sheriff of the High Courts office could have played a role in the fabrication of service papers. Presented with fraudulent return of service documents from the Sheriffs office confirming Mrs Singizi had been personally served with divorce papers at her Chitungwiza house, but decided to default court, Justice Tendai Uchena in 2015 granted the divorce in favour of the now late Mr Edmore Singizi. Two houses, one in Waterfalls and the other one in New Zengeza 4, Chitungwiza, that were jointly owned by the couple, were awarded to Mr Singizi. Mrs Singizis travel documents show she never set foot in Zimbabwe during the period of the said service, but the Sheriffs papers filed on record claiming she had personally been served with the divorce papers. Based on the fraud, the husband started living with another woman Ms Josephine Makuwaza. Mr Singizi fell sick and tied the knot with Ms Makuwaza under the monogamous Marriages Act, Chapter 5:11. Barely a week after the marriage, he passed on. Ms Makuwaza then registered the estate at the Master of High Courts office as the surviving spouse. In another case, Justice Garainesu Mawadze urged lawyers to be on the lookout for fraudsters in divorce cases. He made the remarks while setting aside a judgment in which a UK-based nurse Mrs Lucia Vela had been divorced and lost property as a result of fraud. In view of the apparent increase in the number of cases of fraud of this nature in divorce proceedings (I dealt recently with a chamber application for substituted service in which I recommended the investigation as applicant in that matter also claimed not to have instituted any divorce proceedings like in casu), I have directed the Registrar of the High Court to bring this judgment to the attention of the Law Society of Zimbabwe so that legal practitioners are alerted to prevalence of this obnoxious practice which threatens to erode confidence in our judicial system in unopposed divorce matters . . . said Justice Mawadze. This was after Ms Velas lawyer Mr Cephas Mavhondo of Mhishi Legal Practice convinced the court that the judgment was fraudulent. The judge said the practice was dangerous in the sense that judges can even be duped into believing that the parties before them are the correct ones and subsequently grant the orders sought. Mrs Vela married Mr Costa Magolis in 1998 in terms of the Marriages Act Chapter 5:11 and the union was blessed with three children. The woman relocated to the UK in 2001 and is staying there with her children.Mr Magolis later followed his wife to the UK and they had marital problems that culminated in a separation in 2007. Ms Vela later returned to Zimbabwe where she discovered that she had been fraudulently divorced. The records showed that she had been divorced in 2009 when she neither filed any divorce papers nor consented to any divorce proceedings. Investigations by the womans lawyers revealed that Mr Magolis approached a lawyer, only identified as Mr Mapondera of Mapondera and Company, accompanied by a certain woman who posed as Ms Vela seeking legal representation in the divorce case. They indicated that they were agreeable to divorce and the manner in which property would be shared. The court granted the order.In a related pending court case, Harare businessman Mr Rochford Biggie Munjoma allegedly engaged a woman who forged his wifes signature and obtained a divorce order. Mr Munjomas wife, Febby Christina Munjoma, at the time of the filing of the summons, was in a Chinese prison where she was serving a sentence for smuggling ivory. She only discovered the divorce when she returned to Zimbabwe and took the matter to court. Justice Tendai Uchena nullified the fraudulent divorce. The divorce proceedings issued out under HC4789/09 on the 7th of October 2009, processed by the respondent (Mr Munjoma) and another person known to the respondent who purported to be Febby Christina Munjoma (nee Ushamba), the real and actual applicant herein and which proceedings were finalised by this Honourable Court granting an order of divorce between the applicant and respondent are hereby declared null and void. The divorce order granted by consent as a result of those defective proceedings referred to in paragraph 1 herein above is hereby revoked. Everything that done by the divorce in case number HC4789/09 granted on the 20th of November 2009 by the Honourable Justice Chitakunye is hereby declared null and void, reads part of the court order. Herald A statement by the White House read, "Singh consulted with Indian counterparts on the goals and mechanisms of U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia and ways to cooperate on addressing global food insecurity and global energy prices." The US Deputy NSA for International Economics Daleep Singh discussed about the economic sanctions on Russia with Indian officials during his two-day visit here, said a White House statement on Friday (local time). The White House statement read, Singh consulted with Indian counterparts on the goals and mechanisms of U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia and ways to cooperate on addressing global food insecurity and global energy prices. Singh, known as the architect of US sanctions on Russia, was on a two-day visit to India from March 30-31. The statement also stated that Singh held talks with his Indian counterparts about the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy. continued our close consultations with Indian counterparts about the destabilizing economic impacts of Russias war against Ukraine, read the statement. Daleep Singh met with Principal Secretary P.K. Mishra, Minister of Commerce and Indian G20 Sherpa Piyush Goyal, Foreign Secretary Harsh V. Shringla, Deputy National Security Advisor Vikram Misri, and Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth during his visit to India. The Indian and US sides also discussed about the development of an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and strengthening the global economy, said the statement. This week, Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh was in New Delhi to discuss ways to deepen U.S.-India economic cooperation and advance our shared interest in a free and open Indo-Pacific, said the statement from White House. The preservation of historic resources is laudable. But as observers have noted, such efforts often conflict with equally laudable efforts to address the need for an adequate housing supply, and ultimately the availability of housing that is affordable to persons of moderate and low income. Theres always the danger that historic preservation can become an exclusionary tool. The Greenwich Preservation Network, dedicated to preserving the towns historic resources, is circulating a petition against demolition of seven houses in Greenwichs Fourth Ward Historic District. This district, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, was nominated for this recognition because of its historical significance as the towns oldest major urban settlement that developed as a neighborhood of moderate-income households. The towns immigrant Irish population, its first Roman Catholic Church, and its African American population are significant factors in this historic designation. The Fourth Ward is a prime example of that kind of affordable housing which is increasingly under siege in the town, the protection of which is important if the towns origins are to remain visible, was the rationale in a 1998 evaluation of the Fourth Ward as eligible for the National Register. In addition to a seven-story residential building at 20 Church St. built in 1949, the Fourth Ward historically consisted of single-, two-, and three-family homes that were affordable to persons of modest means. However, over the last two decades since historic designation, it has ceased to be that originally affordable neighborhood. Since historic designation, many once affordable homes have been demolished (18 by one count), and others significantly altered through redevelopment into luxury housing. The Fourth Ward is becoming increasingly unaffordable to persons with incomes below $200,000. This transformation of the district, including demolitions, did not meet with any significant opposition, not until now. Although there have been no applications for demolition of the seven houses named in the Greenwich Preservation Network petition, the Networks opposition efforts have already gone beyond the petition. On March 25, demolition opponents brought these properties to the attention of the State Historic Preservation Review Board, which is a state board that plays a role in evaluating properties on the National Register that face demolition. With these actions, the Greenwich Preservation Network has entered into battle as one of the fierce combatants in Greenwichs raging war against 8-30g of the Connecticut General Statutes, legislation thats successfully created thousands of affordable units in the state. Its doubtful anyone would have singled out these particular seven houses for preservation if a proposed 192-unit apartment building on two acres between Church Street and Sherwood Place did not require their demolition to provide housing units affordable to low- and moderate-income persons. This 35 Church St. development is the same height as the seven-story 20 Church St. residential building across the street and comparable in height to seven residential buildings within a half mile. Its being proposed under 8-30g, the provisions of which allow developers to submit applications that do not comply with existing zoning regulations if 30 percent of the units are deed restricted as affordable to low and moderate income persons for 40 years. This Church Street proposal includes 58 affordable units. Should a municipalitys regulatory agency deny an 8-30g application, the burden of proof on appeal is on that agency to demonstrate that, based upon record evidence, (1) (A) the decision is necessary to protect substantial public interests in health, safety or other matters which the commission may legally consider; (B) such public interests clearly outweigh the need for affordable housing; and (C) such public interests cannot be protected by reasonable changes to the affordable housing development ... Its intended that such public interests be limited to serious health and safety concerns. Efforts to include historic preservation as a public interest have little to draw upon beyond a 1994 ruling in United Progress V. Stonington P.Z.C., which upheld historic grounds for denial of an 8-30g application, a decision of questionable relevance to the Fourth Ward. And resting on uncharted legal ground is the Preservation Networks effort to invoke the Connecticut Environmental Protection Act through the State Historic Preservation Review Board. Wouldnt it be more constructive, in keeping with Fourth Ward history, to welcome 58 new affordable units? Alma Rutgers served in Greenwich town government for 30 years. Zimbabwe is battling against time to administer over 14 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines that are already in its stocks amid concerns of public complacency and hesitancy, it has been established. There are fears the vaccines might expire before use or become less effective as they draw closer to their best-by date. The government on March 20 launched a Covid-19 vaccination blitz that includes jabbing children aged 12 and above to revive the faltering inoculation campaign after targets to vaccinate at least 70% of the population in order to reach herd immunity by December 2021 were missed. In March last year, Zimbabwe set targets to vaccinate 60% of its population of nearly 16 milliontranslating to herd immunityto halt the spread of the coronavirus and re-open an economy that has been battered by two years of lockdown restrictions. The threshold was later reviewed upwards to 70% by the World Health Organisation (WHO) by mid-2022. Governments in Africa, including in Zimbabwe, have been struggling to roll out the Covid-19 vaccination programme due to logistical problems, hesitancy that is largely blamed on lack of information and misinformation as well as complacency. Investigations by The Standard in collaboration with the Information Development Trust (IDT), a non-profit organisation that supports journalists to investigate issues of corruption in the public sector and bad governance, showed that Zimbabwe has received 22.4 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines since March 2020, but had only used eight million of the jabs at the beginning of this month. The investigations involved tracking vaccination rates and delivery of Covid-19 vaccines since the first batch of 200 000 doses was received on February 15, 2021. Zimbabwe mainly bought Sinopharm and Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines from China in addition to regular donations from Beijing as we reported from the time the vaccine rollouts began. The country also received the same type of vaccines from the WHOs Covax facility. It also received donations from Indias Covaxin and Russias Sputnik. Less than 2% of all received doses have been donated. The rest have been procured using domestic funding, which means the country has devoted significant amounts of its health budget to Covid-19 vaccination. Zimbabwes vaccines uptake has remained low compared to the doses in its stockpiles, data from the Health and Child Care ministry shows. According to the ministrys situational reports, on March 13, Zimbabwes first dose vaccine coverage was 45% of the target population and 29% of the total population. About 35% of the target population was fully vaccinated or had received two doses. Medical experts said the fact that Zimbabwe had only managed to administer eight million doses of the Covid-19 vaccines in one year meant that exhausting 14 million doses would be a tall order. Some countries in Africa are being forced to dispose of their Covid-19 vaccines after they expired without being used. In Nigeria up to one million Covid-19 doses are estimated to have expired without being used in December last year. South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo last year had to send some of their Covid-19 vaccine doses back to manufacturers because they could not distribute them in time. Namibia last year warned that it may have to destroy thousands of expired doses due to a low uptake. Zimbabwe, despite being a beneficiary of donated vaccines, handed 50 000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccines to Botswana in February this year and donated another 20 000 doses to Namibia. Agnes Mahomva, the national coordinator on governments response to Covid-19, said the vaccine donations were done because of Zimbabwes good relations with other countries when asked if this was meant to get rid of doses that were close to expiry. Zimbabwe has very good relationships with its neighbours and some have struggled to get vaccines, Mahomva said. It is, therefore, only strategic to help them. She said it was unlikely that the vaccines that were already in stock would expire before use. Remember access to vaccines needs to be for everyone in order to end this pandemic, Mahomva added. Most of our vaccines expire at the end of 2023 and that is the end of next year. Johannes Marisa, the Medical and Dental Private Health Practitioners of Zimbabwe Association president, said ordinarily vaccine manufacturers do not indicate expiry dates on their products, but it was common knowledge in the medical field that vaccines lose their potency a year after being produced. Zimbabwes last vaccine deliveries were received in September 2021. (Not indicating expiry dates) is done for security reasons on the part of manufacturers, but we rightfully know that after 12 months, the vaccines lose their potency, Marisa said. So you cannot keep a vaccine for more than 12 months. So ideally, we must try to limit the shelf life of vaccines. Mahomva said the government had come up with a new strategy to increase the uptake of Covid-19 vaccines to reach the WHO targets to vaccinate 70% of the population by mid-year. She said Zimbabwes Covid-19 vaccination programme was one of the strongest programmes in Africa. The country has, however, had its fair share of vaccine uptake challenges, Mahomva said. This is despite the fact that the country has plenty of vaccines in stock. Uptake challenges are mostly associated with low-risk perception, misinformation and access issues. The country, therefore, recently went through a re-planning process and put in place additional vaccination strategies to address identified challenges. She said innovative approaches, including outreach services and targeted vaccination messages for key community groups, will be used in order to address the challenges. The main aim of the campaign is to ramp up the vaccination coverage in order to reach 70% of the total population by end of July 2022 in line with the WHOs new global target of 70% total population coverage by mid-2022, she said. The campaign is in collaboration with all stakeholders including community and church leaders. She said additional vaccine doses had been procured and paid for and were awaiting delivery once the government gives a green light to the manufacturers. Itai Rusike, director of the Community Working Group on Health, said instead of donating vaccines, Zimbabwe must be pushing for a higher uptake to effectively fight the pandemic. Instead of donating our vaccines to other countries, Zimbabwe needs to come up with innovative communication strategies in order to increase vaccine uptake and accelerate towards achieving the required herd immunity of vaccinating at least 70% of the population of about 13 million Zimbabweans, he said. Standard With just a month left in the legislative session, supporters of a bill that would allow terminally ill patients to determine when they might die is in a race with the calendar. After clearing the General Assemblys Public Health Committee in a 22-9 vote last month, the 33-page bill, which outlines safeguards and responsibilities for physicians and patients, is likely to get referred to the Judiciary Committee, where the legislation expired without a vote last year amid bipartisan opposition. This year, however, proponents of the aid-in-dying bill think they have some new momentum that maybe, for the first time since the legislation was introduced back in 1994, there is hope for people who want to avoid the painful final stages of terminal illness and end their lives while there is still some quality. Proponents will likely find out early next week on the further review in the law-writing Judiciary Committee, where supporters including state Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, co-chairman of the Public Health Committee, plan to convince colleagues on the 39-member panel to approve it and send it to the floor of the Senate. There are parts of the bill that are very crucial, from a legal perspective, said Anwar, a physician, in a Friday phone interview. In recent years, hundreds of people have provided public testimony on the legislation and more than a few of them came to the end of their lives without legislative action, including Kim Hoffman, 59, of Glastonbury who died in January after an eight-and-a-half-year battle with ovarian cancer. This is one of the bills that nearly every year we have individuals like Ms. Hoffman, who plead to try to get the Connecticut legislature to have some recognition, empathy and understanding of their pain and suffering, Anwar said. There are many more than that who died. I hope my colleagues in the Judiciary Committee will have the kindness to listen. It is the dying wish for so many people who say that while they might not make it, they want to make sure others dont suffer, and theyre requesting us as a state to do the right thing. Gov. Ned Lamont on Thursday said he supports aid-in-dying legislation, but it first has to pass the Senate and House before it reaches his desk. In recent years, the Connecticut State Medical Society has shifted from opposing the legislation, to supporting the individual decisions of doctors. All humans are hard-wired to protect everyones life, especially doctors, whose training is about saving lives, said Anwar, noting that with the legal guardrails in the legislation, only those ptients whose doctors believe they have six months or less to live would be eligible. Only a tiny percentage of patients would fall outside of current palliative and hospice care protocols, Awar stressed. This is an important bill, he said. Many people have spoken over hundreds of hours, and I hope my colleagues will be thoughtful rather than vote based on internal biases. State Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, co-chairman of the Judiciary Commission, said Friday that in 2021, it was bipartisan opposition in the panel that showed there wasnt enough support to bring it to a committee debate and vote. Last year, when we caucused the bill and did a vote count, it was short votes by a pretty clear margin, with no Republican support and a very mixed reaction from Democrats. If it comes again well likely caucus it again. The Judiciary Committees deadline is Monday afternoon to finalize bills that originated in that committee. Once a bill is referred to it from another committee, there are only a few days to review legislation, and it can expire without action. Time is growing short in the 12-week budget-adjustment session that ends at midnight the night of May 4. And with State Supreme Court Justice Christine Keller announcing her move to senior status, it means that Gov. Ned Lamont will want to quickly nominate another member to the high court. Nominees are scrutinized by the Judiciary Committee before votes in the House and Senate. Sen. Will Haskell, who is also a member of both the Judiciary and Public Health committees, said Friday that when he was first elected in 2018, he hadnt thought much about aid-in-dying. Its one of those things that you get to know through your constituents, Haskell said. We have let these people down by not passing aid-in-dying in previous legislative sessions. This really deserves a vote, one way or the other, in Judiciary. My gut says people who are of sound mind deserve the choice, said state Rep. Jason Doucette, D-Manchester, whose fathers painful death from cancer in March of 2021, helped change his mind. I was someone who was raised Catholic. Although now I am not a practicing Catholic, I have always had a doubt about this issue that I would attribute to that. Palliative and hospice care did not help his father. For around the last five months of his life, he expressed on a daily basis his desire to end his life and we had to suffer along with him. That sort of crystalized it for me. We should have trust in patients that they can make this determination, and we should trust these physicians who care for these patients, said Timothy Appleton, state campaign director for the Compassion & Choices Action Network, an advocacy group. Ten states plus the District of Columbia have aid in dying, or physician-assisted suicide laws, the nearest being New Jersey. Were only seeking one more option on the continuum of the end-of-life care, Appleton said in a phone interview Friday. This isnt new legislation. It is absolutely unconscionable that someone in Middletown, Connecticut has fewer options than someone in Middletown, New Jersey. These are real people who seek out just one more option. I cannot express enough that this is an urgent matter of life and death. For some, having an option under certain circumtances doesnt impact those who dont want that option. Right now the government is deciding how we should die in this state. kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TORRINGTON Torrington and North Canaan are two of many towns across the state to receive funding for development and health care in the northwest corner. Torrington is receiving $500,000 for riverfront development of the former Torrington Manufacturing Company site on Franklin Street. Torrington is using the money to support the construction of riverfront apartments, which are being built by Pennrose LLC and began in August 2021. The project includes a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units for a range of incomes. There will be 60 apartments in total, 75 percent of which will be reserved for households earning up to 70 percent of the area median income. The remaining units will be rented at market rate. The apartment building is expected to be completed later this year. This project will breathe new life to a site that has been vacant for over a decade and it will bring vibrancy to downtown Torrington, said Rep. Michelle Cook, D-Torrington, in a release. Our state is experiencing a shortage of affordable housing and this project helps take steps to address our regions housing needs. Cook said she is grateful for Gov. Ned Lamont and the State Bond Commission for understanding this projects importance local economic growth. The redevelopment of the riverfront helps address critical housing needs throughout the region, and brings economic vitality to the center of Torrington, and represents an investment that will pay off in years to come, said Rep. Maria Horn, D-Salisbury, in a release. Thank you to the Governor and the Bond Commission for your support of this critical project. New health care center In North Canaan, $3 million is being provided by the state for a new federally qualified health center, Horn said. The new health center will provide much-needed increased access to comprehensive, quality primary and behavioral health care to the area for everyone in Northwest Connecticut, regardless of their ability to pay, Horn said in the release. Federal qualified health centers serve vulnerable individuals and families, including people experiencing homelessness, agricultural workers, residents of public housing and veterans. Patients will be able to receive primary care, mental health, and non-emergency services no matter the economic, geographic, or cultural barrier, according to a statement. In December 2020, Cook and Horn worked alongside city leaders and the State Bond Commission to secure $3,528,400 to assist with the development of the apartment project. The project has an estimated price tag of $19,965,422. Of the total amount, approximately $2,880,000 will be financed. A total of $12,148,786 will be offered in low-income housing tax credits. Horn said opening a health center in North Canaan has been a top priority for many years. By approving a $3 million grant for construction of a health center by Community Health and Wellness Center, the state made sure this project will at last become a reality, she said. At a time when we are seeing the withdrawal and constriction of healthcare services in rural communities throughout the country, I am deeply grateful for the states full-throated support for this project, and for the crucial financial support from the Foundation for Community Health. For several years, the town of North Canaan along with the Community Health and Wellness Center of Greater Torrington and the Foundation for Community Health have worked to get this project off the ground and into the community, Horn said. We at Foundation for Community Health have been excited to partner with Community Health and Wellness Center, Rep. Maria Horn, the state, as well as members of the local community to bring this project to fruition, said Nancy Heaton, MPH, CEO, Foundation for Community Health, in a statement. Federally Qualified Health Centers go beyond providing medical care and seek to work with people and families to address other needs that may impact their health and wellbeing like coordinating transportation or connecting them to other needed resources or programs. Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Saturday said the resumption of investigation into the murder of a former Attorney General of the F... Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Saturday said the resumption of investigation into the murder of a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, was already hamstrung and disrobed of credibility with the emergence of a prime suspect in the case as the National Secretary of the ruling All Progressive Congress. The playwright expressed the view in a statement on Saturday titled, Perhaps closed files should remain just that-closed? He said, With the emergence of the said prime suspect as National Secretary of the ruling party, is the Inspector-General of Police equipped to confront political obstacles in a resumption of investigation? Is there any guarantee that the result will see the light of day? How suspect, ab initio, will be the conclusions, given the present political ordering? To this layman, that investigative revisit is already hamstrung and disrobed of credibility. I think the nation should simply relieve President Buhari of his pledge. I am certain the Inspector-General of Police will be equally relieved and can now turn his mind and energy to the national accustomed posture Business as Usual. The elder statesman in December last year urged the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to ensure the exposure of Iges killers to reinstate what he termed the broken lines of justice. Soyinka wondered then what happened to the Presidents pledge to open an enquiry into the countrys spate of political murders. Ige, also an ex-governor of old Oyo State, was assassinated by unidentified gunmen at his Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State, home on December, 23, 2001. The essayist stated that barely three months had passed since the twentieth anniversary of Iges murder; an occasion which he said he utilised to remind the President of a subsisting election pledge. He added, That pledge was to re-open the files on the spate of unsolved political assassinations that had plagued the nation in recent decades. Prominent among those cases was that of the Minister of Justice, murdered on his way to take up a prestigious position with the United Nations. Presidential response was swift. Buhari ordered the Inspector-General of Police to re-open those files and resume investigations. The nation has patiently awaited even a hint of work in progress. Most, I am certain, expect no less than a revaluation of prior investigative efforts. None, to my knowledge, has attempted to rush the Chief of Police and his team into judgment. We all take solace in the knowledge that the wheels of justice grind slowly, but they arrive. Eventually. Soyinka, however, stated that an unusual turn of events had raised questions because the ruling party, headed by the same President, had just elected as its National Secretary one of the prime suspects of the most notorious of the nations unsolved murders. He stated, Not for a moment does one suggest that mere accusation, even trial, presumes guilt. More than a mere verdict is involved in any trial, however. The process of arriving at that ultimate destination justice is integral to the very concept of democracy and equality under the law. That process is one of the structures of civic education. Unresolved till today were quite a number of untidy, even suspect aspects of investigation, prosecution and trials, aspects which revealed improper cell co-habitation by suspects under custody. That this led necessarily to recantations of earlier depositions is not thereby proven, but the fact remains that such U-turns did take place. One was so brazen that it induced a heart attack that proved fatal to the victims wife, another Justice Mrs. Atinuke Ige. That the prime suspect was privileged in a number of improper ways went beyond mere allegation. Political interventions, including pressure on the judiciary during bail hearings, cannot be denied. A judge under such pressure kept a diary with accusations, pages of which he consigned to friends for safe keeping. Jon Batiste has served as the face of New Orleans ahead of Saturday night's Final Four at the Caesars Superdome, and the musician had a full 4 minutes to put a spotlight on the city ahead of the TBS broadcast of the Kansas-Villanova game. Batiste was at the forefront throughout the lively bit that included tunes from his Grammy-nominated Album, "We Are," and the production put a spotlight on his growing status as an ambassador for the Crescent City. The video turned out all the hits of New Orleans culture - from the music to the food to the nightlife. If you can't see the video below, CLICK HERE. Batiste, 35, comes from a well known lineage of New Orleans musicians, including Lionel Batiste of the Treme Brass Band. He recorded his first album, "Times in New Orleans" at the age of 17. In 2015, Batiste and his band, Stay Human, became the house band for "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." Batiste, who grew up in Kenner, received 11 Grammy nominations for his latest album in November. The Grammys broadcast starts at 7 p.m. on Sunday on CBS. Wishing Town Bakery Cafe in March opened the second location of its bakery and dim sum restaurant in Uptown, and a technology failure dealt the business an unwelcoming surprise on its first day. We designed all of our ordering and checking out to be online and on portable devices, says Aisha Chen, a partner in the business originally founded by pastry chef Vivi Zheng and her husband, chef Kevin Zheng. When it came time to open the doors, there was a line down the block and dozens of online orders in the queue. We so appreciate our customers, but the kitchen couldnt keep up, Chen says. Our internet capacity wasnt strong enough to handle everything. We had to cancel orders and people waited. Chen posted a message on Instagram at the end of the day, explaining what happened and apologizing for the inconvenience. Instead of rants from internet trolls, Wishing Town received an outpouring of love and support from new and longtime customers alike. The comments were so touching, Chen says. One customer said, Dont worry, we have nothing but love and patience. It almost made me cry. Now it has boosted tech working well, and Wishing Town has stayed busy. The menus dim sum section includes 13 types of dumplings, and there also are hot pots with beef or seafood, marinated chicken over noodles, cold glass noodle salads and more. People loved the dumplings, Chen says. Dumplings arrive freshly steamed in bamboo baskets, most with four to six dumplings to an order. So far, the best-selling items include the mini steamed buns, stuffed with seasoned ground Angus beef or ground pork mixed with Chinese cabbage, ginger and scallions. Tender Dragon shrimp dumplings feature whole shrimp combined with garlic, ginger and crab stick with bits of seaweed and sesame on top. One of Chens favorites is the cheeseburger pocket dumpling, shaped like an open purse and filled with ground beef, onion, ginger, scallion, mozzarella cheese and crumbled bacon. The same shape works well with a tofu skin to deliver nibs of char siu, or Cantonese-spiced barbecued pork, combined with cabbage, ginger and scallion. Most of the dishes are not highly spiced, except for the spicy dumpling soup, a chile-oil fueled broth bobbing with beef or pork dumplings. For dessert, slices of Vivi Zhengs beautiful but not overly sweet treats are featured in flavors like almond Chantilly, Oreo Chantilly and tiramisu. Wishing Town took over a refurbished Victorian cottage that formerly housed the coffeeshop Cafe Luna, which closed during the pandemic. The Zhengs added an expansive deck for outdoor dining. A large live oak tree and table umbrellas shade the space, and solar-powered light fixtures illuminate the patio at night. Currently, the restaurant opens daily at 11 a.m. and serves food until closing, but dim sum isnt available from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wishing Town Bakery Cafe What Wishing Town Bakery Cafe Where 802 Nashville Ave., (504) 885-8272; Instagram, @wishingtownbakerycafe When Lunch and dinner daily How Dine-in, takeout and outdoor seating available Check it out Dim sum and more in a new bakery and cafe in Uptown The second location is a milestone for what started as a much smaller business. Vivi Zheng started making egg tarts in her home and sold them to a mostly Chinese clientele. The Zhengs opened a bakery in a little strip shopping center on David Drive, and later moved to a more central location near Lakeside Shopping Center. The name Wishing Town was inspired by the sound of the Chinese phrase wei xin tang, which translates to a heart and mind dedication that sums up the couples dedication to their business. Chen moved to New Orleans nine years ago from California when her husband took a research job at Tulane University. She met the Zhengs, who were their neighbors in Kenner. They are my best friends, Chen says. I was helping them with paperwork and things in English when they opened their original business on David Drive in 2018. One day they just said, Why dont you come into the business, so I did. Although her background is in engineering, Chen has taken to hospitality, and fills in wherever shes needed which, because of staff shortages, is everywhere. We are very encouraged by our customers faith in us, Chen says. We are proud to be part of this Uptown community. Almost 60 years ago, a historic Black community founded as a home for newly freed slaves was demolished to expand the national park commemorating the Battle of New Orleans and Civil War casualties. Now park rangers and iris enthusiasts think they have found a botanical reminder: Louisiana iris and African lilies that the village's residents might have planted. The dark purple iris and white and pink crinum lilies were first noticed last spring, more than a half century after tiny Fazendeville was torn down to join the national park's two sections. One part is the land where the Battle of New Orleans was fought; the other is a national cemetery where about 7,300 Union soldiers and sailors rest with later U.S. military members. We may never know for certain that the flowers were planted by Fazendeville residents, but it seems very likely, said Gary Salathe, who created a group to rescue native irises and who first noticed those on the battlefield. Fazendeville, called The Village by people who lived there, was founded around 1870 by Jean-Pierre Fazende, a grocer from a family prominent in the social class known as free people of color, said Bill Hyland, historian for St. Bernard Parish, where the national park is located. Fazende wanted to give recently freed slaves a place to live. So he subdivided an inherited strip of land, wide enough only for a single row of houses, into 33 lots for a freedmens colony. The land eventually included 30 homes, a church, bars, a grocery store and a school that was used at night as a dance hall. Like so many people of his class, he understood that the transition of the enslaved to freedom would be a long and arduous process, Hyland said. For decades families lived and worked in the small community, built where U.S. forces defeated the British military on Jan. 8, 1815. In the early 1960s, with an eye toward unifying the national park in time for the Battle of New Orleans' 150th anniversary in 1965, the National Park Service tried to buy the land. Owners refused. Eventually, Congress approved expropriation, and the community was demolished. Homeowners were paid about $6,000, at a time when new homes in the area cost $16,000, according to a 2014 article in 64 Parishes magazine, published by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. In later years, the park service addressed the expropriation in an article on its website. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The choice to preserve one history sacrificed another, the park service said. While we may be able to better visualize the experience of soldiers during the War of 1812 as a result of this choice, it leaves us less able to appreciate the struggles and triumphs of later generations, and less aware of the complex layers that make up our shared history. In 2010, a marker commemorating Fazendeville was erected near the battlefield road. In February 2021, Salathe and other members of his Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative were planting a small group of blue iris in another part of the park. Salathe, whose group seeks to save Louisiana iris from areas slated for development and plant them in visible spots in nature preserves and parks, noticed long, tall leaves growing in the grass a distance from the road. They looked like iris. A closer look confirmed it. He and park rangers went back a month later when the iris bloomed and got two surprises. First, they were dark purple, not the better known blue iris that is the state flower. Then came a more startling discovery: crinum lilies. Volunteer Paul Christiansen recognized them as a species from Africa, possibly brought by enslaved people, that could not have been growing wild there. They would have had to be planted by people, he said. The group then found the slight depression where Fazendeville's road once ran. The stands of iris all were on the side where houses once had stood, ending about where the backyards would have ended, Salathe said. Salathe said he asked permission to move some of the iris and lilies to an area where they can be more easily seen. The park is considering such a display, park ranger Kim Acker said. Near the end of 2020, three local government agencies denied tax breaks for planned improvements to the Folgers coffee plants in New Orleans East. But only now, more than a year later, has the assessor put the properties onto the tax rolls, making the company liable for $5.1 million in real estate levies. Assessor Erroll Williams blames the Louisiana Department of Economic Development for the delay. That agency blames Williams. Even with the delayed taxation, the company is now claiming a far smaller investment in its plants than it originally said the project would entail. That translates into significantly less in taxes for the company and less revenue for City Hall, public schools and other agencies. The additional improvements now being put on the tax rolls are worth about $77.4 million, Orleans Parish Assessor Erroll Williams said Friday, based on filings made by The J.M. Smucker Co., the coffee giants parent. Thats less than half the amount the company said it would spend on projects at its plants on Chef Menteur Highway and Old Gentilly Road when it was seeking exemptions through the Louisiana Industrial Tax Exemption Program. All told, that means about $5.1 million in revenue will be split between various local governing authorities for taxes in 2022 and the past three years, a period in which some of the work had been completed but the application for tax breaks was still pending government review. The upgrades will also be taxed going forward. J.M. Smucker did not respond to questions Friday about why its latest filings included only a portion of the investments it touted in its tax exemption application. It was not clear whether the companys plans were scaled down, some spending is still in the works or the company omitted the full investment from its filings. Exemptions denied in 2020 Folgers is one of the few New Orleans companies that uses the Industrial Tax Exemption Program, and its tax breaks have been in dispute for years. The state Economic Develoment Department oversees the program, but in recent years local governments have been given the authority to reject the tax breaks which hit their budgets, not state coffers. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up For the Folgers projects, the City Council, Orleans Parish School Board and Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office denied the request at the end of 2020. But the new equipment installed in the plants remained off the tax rolls until March. Williams said his office was following its standard practice: Don't put properties on the rolls while their applications for tax breaks are still pending. He said his office asked the state about Folgers in February because the state database did not yet show the tax breaks were denied and he had received no formal paperwork from any agency saying a decision on the breaks had been made. "This office hasnt gotten a letter from the School Board, city of New Orleans or the Sheriffs Office that theyve decided to vote the contract down, so I cant put a taxpayer on the rolls based on what I read in the newspaper," Williams said. The status was not changed to denied until March, at which point Williams said his staff began working to put the properties on the tax rolls. The state agency said it does not notify local taxing authorities about the actions of local government entities involved in the ITEP application review process. Questions about when and how the exemption is applied at the local level are best directed to each local taxing authority. Activist group critical The activist group Together New Orleans which led the charge to deny the exemptions has blasted the assessors office for failing to make the properties taxable in the time since their exemptions were denied. On Friday, Together New Orleans lead organizer Broderick Bagert said the fault fell on the assessors office. Once it is rejected and on the front page of the newspaper, the idea that a database maintained by LED is the adjudicator of this - they have never set themselves up to play that role, Bagert said. They dont have the infrastructure to play that role. The organization also contested earlier estimates put out by the assessors office of what Folgers would owe, saying Williams had under-charged them. The group said it was reviewing Folgers' new figures after being provided with them by The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate on Friday afternoon. We think, obviously, his office needs to make some changes in how they deal with this kind of property, Bagert said. But the assessor is recognizing the most important thing, which is that a company that didn't get a tax exemption shouldn't be treated as though it got a tax exemption. That's progress. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of a Metairie woman found fatally shot inside a Harvey home Thursday night. The Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office identified her as Brandie Franklin, 36. An autopsy determined she had a gunshot wound to the head, according to authorities. Franklin's body was discovered about 8:45 p.m. inside a house on Ravenna Street (map), said Capt. Jason Rivarde, a Sheriff's Office spokesperson. Deputies went to the residence after receiving a report of an unresponsive woman. Franklin was pronounced dead at the scene. The case is under investigation, and detectives did not have any information about a suspect or motive, Rivarde said. Anyone with information about the death of Brandie Franklin is asked to call the Sheriff's Office investigations bureau at 504-364-5300. The public can also call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-7867. Callers do not have to give their names or testify and can earn a reward of up to $2,500 for information that leads to an indictment. Plotting to crash vehicles for the insurance money would be its own felony in Louisiana under a bill backed by Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, amid a federal probe in New Orleans that has spawned a slew of indictments, guilty pleas, and possibly a murder. The legislation introduced by state Rep. Sherman Mack, House Bill 15, would make it a felony to cause a collision in exchange for anything of value; to scheme to document phantom wrecks; or to help in filing fraudulent insurance claims after staged crashes. The bill would set a prison sentence of up to five years for those convicted of the charge of staging a motor vehicle collision. If the accident causes death or serious injury, a prosecutor could file aggravated charges. The sentence then would be 5 to 30 years. Donelons office said it modeled the legislation on laws passed in Florida, Georgia and New York state, as insurance companies and regulators aim to stiffen criminal laws around a fraud they say has grown more rampant, brazen, and costly to ratepayers. At least 15 people have pleaded guilty so far in New Orleans to charges in a series of federal indictments that describe parallel schemes in which teams of slammers, spotters and local lawyers conspired to create whopping insurance payouts by packing people into vehicles and aiming them at tractor trailers. Cornelius Garrison, a veteran slammer and ringleader for one of those bands, was gunned down days after a federal grand jury indicted him last year. His death, with no suspects identified, raised the stakes for a prosecution that has promised more indictments to come. Among more than 30 defendants indicted so far, nearly all were accused of directly participating in the allegedly staged wrecks. Only one, Danny Keating, is a lawyer. He stands accused of counseling a different slammer, Damian Labeaud, on how to maximize profits. Keating faces a charge of wire- and mail-fraud conspiracy, and a May 10 trial date. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up But other players identified in court documents as participants in the alleged schemes, including more lawyers, have so far skirted prosecution. Insurance defense attorneys have raised suspicions as well around a cadre of doctors who performed surgeries on many of those who claimed injuries from suspect wrecks. But former U.S. Attorney Peter Strasser cast doubt before he left office in February that charges were coming against any surgeons, citing a challenge to prove knowledge. Donelons office argues that Louisianas insurance fraud laws, though they also set a five-year maximum prison term, arent tailored to prosecuting the varied players who may be looking to score off a staged crash. Prosecutors currently need to rely on a mix of state and federal laws, including federal laws about health care fraud, to handle cases like the recent staged accident case in New Orleans, Donelon's office said in a statement. The bill is meant to help prosecutors bring legitimate charges against not only those who were directly involved in the staged accident but any third parties who knowingly assist in the planning (planted passengers), fabrication of false evidence (fraudulent doctors) and those who knowingly assist in the filing of false claims (attorneys). The bill has been referred to the House Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice. A 22-year-old New Orleans man who admitted to painting swastikas on a Mandeville synagogue in 2018, but later said he was remorseful and had come to reject Nazi ideology, has pleaded guilty to a hate crime and simple criminal damage to property, authorities said. Caine Zander Brown was given a five-year suspended sentence and two years of probation by 22nd Judicial District Judge Reginald Badeaux, according to a news release from north shore District Attorney Warren Montgomery's office. He must also make restitution to the Northshore Jewish Congregation, write the congregation a letter of apology, perform 54 hours of community service and complete an online course on the history of the Holocaust. Brown defaced the Mandeville synagogue in September 2018, spray-painting the words "synagogue of Satan" and two swastikas and a cross on the outside of the building. He also painted the word "burn" and 14/88, code for a 14-word white supremacist slogan and "Heil Hitler" which both start with h, the eighth letter in the alphabet. The vandalism touched off an outpouring of community support. The owner of a pressure-washer business came and cleaned off the graffiti, an artist painted a mural on the wall and many flocked to a community support event hosted by the congregation. The Mandeville Police Department, which initially investigated the matter, was not able to immediately identify a suspect. But Brown came to the attention of law enforcement when the FBIs Joint Domestic Terrorism Task Form interviewed him concerning the deadly attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in October 2018. FBI interview During the interview, Brown expressed knowledge of the vandalism in Mandeville. Investigators were then able to determine that he had been in the Mandeville area at the time the synagogue was vandalized and had lived for a time in a nearby apartment complex. St. Tammany top stories in your inbox A weekly guide to the biggest news in St. Tammany. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Brown also had posted extensively on social media, espousing Nazi beliefs, including denying the Holocaust and had used the term "synagogue of Satan." He also posted pictures of himself in Nazi headwear making Nazi salutes. A search warrant was issued for his cellphone records in October 2019, and mapping was able to locate the phone in the area for about four hours on Sept. 5, the day that the graffiti appeared. A former roommate also told investigators that Brown had admitted his responsibility. Brown was arrested on March 11, 2020. Rejecting Nazi ideology He told The Times-Picayune shortly after his arrest that he was remorseful about his actions and had rejected the Nazi ideology that he said had attracted him as an angry and socially isolated young person. During the sentencing, four victim impact statements were read into the record, including one written by a founding member of the congregation. "Anyone who knows me, understands that I come from a place of love for my fellow human beings, however, this incident is a hate crime which even crosses the line of human decency," the letter said. "It is hurtful, insulting, unacceptable and should not go unpunished, lest the feelings expressed on the walls of our religious home are perpetuated. It violates the basic tenants (sic) of Humanity. Assistant District Attorney Matthew Caplan prosecuted the case. Theres a widely held assumption in political circles that Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards successor will be a Republican. That outcome would jibe with the states general political leanings. And it would follow a consistent pattern in elections, which is that after eight years of one thing, even something voters generally like, they tend to look for something different. A Bill Cassidy run for governor next year could both confirm and upend assumptions. The senator, who admits hes at least considering it and said hell decide by the end of the year, is a Republican, so go ahead and check that box. But what makes him appealing to the influential folks bending his ear is not that hed set the state on a different path, but that hed largely stay the course. In fact, Edwards and Cassidy have a lot in common. While both embrace many of their respective parties principles, they each have independent streaks. Edwards opposes abortion and defends gun rights, although he rejects the 2nd Amendment absolutism of todays movement conservatives. He brings a moderate approach and temperament to business and economic issues. Since his 2020 reelection, Cassidy has broken with many congressional peers on several high-profile matters. He was the only Louisianan in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021 who voted to certify President Joe Bidens win in all states, and the only one who voted to hold Trump accountable for inciting the insurrection at impeachment. He also joined with Biden and the Democrats to pass a massive infrastructure bill that the rest of the state's GOP delegation opposed. By all reports, Cassidy and Edwards maintain a strong working relationship across party lines, which suggests a similar approach to governing. Those urging him into the race clearly see Cassidy as their best hope to avert the extreme partisanship that other Republicans might espouse, and that Louisiana has somewhat sidestepped during Edwards tenure, at least compared to states such as Florida and Texas. Hed be the best hedge, this theory goes, against someone like Attorney General Jeff Landry, who relishes the politics of confrontation and tacks much further to the right. Cassidy enthusiasts think he could combine support from Republicans who are tired of all the dysfunction with backing from independent voters and Democrats who appreciate Cassidys willingness to be his own man, and his pragmatism on priorities such as infrastructure, which once upon a time wasnt actually divisive. They also note that voters are less tied to party labels in governor races than in national contests for President and Congress, with Edwards two victories as evidence. So thats the case for a Cassidy candidacy. The case against stems from Louisianas open primary system, which gives the senator a potential path, but an extremely narrow one. If Louisiana had party primaries, a Cassidy run would be a nonstarter, given Trumps continued popularity and his own high disapproval rate among Republicans, which showed up in a recent survey by pollster John Couvillon. But the states open primary system presents its own challenges. Cassidy would likely face Landry, Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, Treasurer John Schroder and possibly others on the Republican side, so his best-case scenario would be split support among them. Should one build and hold a significant base, that would make his road rockier. Likely even more challenging would be the task of convincing Democrats and independents that supporting him is the best way to block Landry or someone of his ilk. For this to work, Democratic leaders would have to either clear the field a difficult proposition given that anyone can sign up or sell the message that a Democrat has no realistic shot. Working against them is that even in state-level races, voting is becoming more polarized these days, and many voters, particularly in higher turnout elections, might not be politically attuned enough to follow the complicated strategic maneuvering. Or they might not want to; the Couvillon poll gave Cassidy a 38% overall approval rating, meaning that while Republicans arent embracing him right now, neither are many Democrats. The endgame would be to get Cassidy into a runoff against a more conservative Republican, which would make him a heavy favorite, but theres no guarantee at all that hed make it that far. Which makes me wonder how serious he really is about trying. Governor says Ukrainian helicopters attacked oil depot in Russia, causing fire Xinhua) 09:24, April 02, 2022 MOSCOW/KIEV, April 1 (Xinhua) -- A fire broke out at an oil depot in the Russian city of Belgorod after two Ukrainian military helicopters attacked the fuel storage facility, Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod Region, said Friday. Hours later, spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Olexandr Motuzyanyk said he does not confirm or deny the information about Ukraine's involvement in the fire at the oil depot in Russia's Belgorod, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported. "I will neither confirm nor deny this information," Motuzyanyk told reporters at a media briefing in Kiev. Ukraine has been carrying out a defensive operation to repel "Russian armed aggression" on the territory of Ukraine, he said. "This does not mean that Ukraine should be responsible for all miscalculations, all catastrophes, and all the events taking place in Russia," Motuzyanyk added. The fire at the oil depot occurred "as a result of an airstrike carried out by two helicopters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which entered the Russian airspace at a low altitude," Gladkov wrote on his Telegram channel earlier on Friday. All emergency services are on the scene, he said, adding that civilians are not in danger. Gladkov said that two oil depot workers had been injured in the fire. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) According to the well-known leaker Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is actively testing a rather large 9-inch foldable device, which could hint at the prioritized development of a possible iPhone-iPad hybrid instead of a more compact smartphone in this new form factor. 4 Reviews , News , CPU , GPU , Articles , Columns , Other "or" search relation. 3D Printing , 5G , Accessory , AI , Alder Lake , AMD , Android , Apple , ARM , Audio , Benchmark , Biotech , Business , Camera , Cannon Lake , Cezanne (Zen 3) , Charts , Chinese Tech , Chromebook , Coffee Lake , Comet Lake , Console , Convertible / 2-in-1 , Cryptocurrency , Cyberlaw , Deal , Desktop , E-Mobility , Education , Exclusive , Fail , Foldable , Gadget , Galaxy Note , Galaxy S , Gamecheck , Gaming , Geforce , Google Pixel , GPU , How To , Ice Lake , Intel , Intel Evo , Internet of Things (IoT) , iOS , iPad , iPad Pro , iPhone , Jasper Lake , Lakefield , Laptop , Launch , Leaks / Rumors , Linux / Unix , List , Lucienne (Zen 2) , MacBook , Mini PC , Monitor , MSI , OnePlus , Opinion , Phablet , Radeon , Raptor Lake , Renoir , Review Snippet , Rocket Lake , Ryzen (Zen) , Science , Security , Single-Board Computer (SBC) , Smart Home , Smartphone , Smartwatch , Software , Storage , Tablet , ThinkPad , Thunderbolt , Tiger Lake , Touchscreen , Ultrabook , Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) , Wearable , Wi-Fi 7 , Windows , Workstation , XPS , Zen 3 (Vermeer) , Zen 4 Ticker It's an open secret that the Cupertino-based iPhone maker is diligently working on its very first folding device. Since its main South Korean competitor Samsung is one of the leaders in this new market segment thanks to its continuously improving Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold lineup, Apple now appears to be conducting more tests regarding its highly-anticipated foldable. According to a recent tweet by the popular leaker Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is specifically working on a foldable device with a rather large 9-inch screen, which would be significantly bigger than Samsung's comparable Fold smartphones. Kuo suggests that Apple may envision a folding iPhone-iPad hybrid, whose OLED display could feature a pixel density that falls right between the PPI found on its current smartphones and tablets. The according OLED panel may be developed in collaboration with the long-time supplier LG. Kuo further notes that Apple currently seems to prioritize the development of a medium-sized foldable, which appears plausible in consideration of the purported 9-inch display found in the prototype or test device. Subsequently, the tech behemoth could release an even larger device in this new category, while a smaller folding iPhone supposedly only comes third on Apple's to-do list. However, the leaker also confirms that the release of Apple first product in the foldable segment is still years away as it won't launch before 2025. Buy the unlocked Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G Android smartphone on Amazon The latest on the RussiaUkraine crisis, April 2. Click here for updates from April 1. Kremlin Says Talks With Ukraine Not Easy, Important That They Continue Russias talks with Ukraine have not been easy, but the main thing is that they are continuing, RIA news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Saturday. He also said Russia would like to continue talks with Ukraine in neighboring Belarus but Kyiv opposed the idea. Russia and Ukraine held several rounds of talks in Belarus last month before their delegation met in Istanbul last week. RIA said Peskov had been speaking in an interview with Belarus television which is due to be shown later on Saturday. ___ Ukraine Regains Control of Whole Kyiv Region The Ukrainian armed forces have retaken the whole Kyiv area, Ukraines Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on Saturday. Irpin, Bucha, Gostomel, and the whole Kyiv region were liberated from the invader, she wrote in a Facebook post. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier in the day that Russian armed forces are withdrawing from northern Ukraine in a slow but noticeable mode and being accumulated in Donbas, a disputed area. The UK Ministry of Defense confirmed that Ukrainian forces are retaking territory on the outskirts of Kyiv. Read the full article here ___ Breakaway Area Denies Russian Troops Massing Authorities in the tiny breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova denied absolutely untrue claims Saturday by Ukraine that Russian troops based there are massing to conduct provocations along Ukraines border. Earlier Saturday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Russian troops already in Transnistria were preparing for a demonstration of readiness for the offensive and, possibly, hostilities against Ukraine. The information disseminated by the General Staff of Ukraine is absolutely untrue, Transnistrias Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that leaders have repeatedly declared the absence of any threat to Ukraine. Moldovas Foreign Ministry also said Saturday there is no information to confirm the mobilization of troops in the Transnistrian region and that state institutions are closely monitoring the security situation in the region. Transnistria is a Russia-backed region of Moldova that broke away after a short civil war in the early 1990s, and is unrecognized by most countries. An estimated 1,500 Russian soldiers are stationed there. ______ Anti-Russian Sanctions Dont Work: Polish PM The recovery of the Russian ruble indicates that the sanctions on Moscow are not serving their purpose, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Saturday. A large number of states, including EU members, imposed sanctions on Russia after it attacked Ukraine in late February. I must say this very clearly: the sanctions we have imposed so far dont work. The best evidence is the ruble exchange rate, Morawiecki said on Saturday. The ruble exchange rate, this litmus test, has returned to the level it was before the Russian aggression against Ukraine. What does it mean? It means that all economic, financial, budgetary, and monetary measures have not worked as some leaders wished. It needs to be said very loudly, he added, speaking at a center for Ukrainian refugees in Otwock near Warsaw. _____ A Series of Explosions Took Place in Energodar Nearby Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant A series of blasts has torn through the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar nearby the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Ukraines state nuclear agency reported about Saturdays attacks on its official Telegram channel. Both the city and the plant, which generates over a fifth of Ukraines electricity and is one of the largest nuclear facilities in Europe, have been under Russian control since March 4, according to Interfax Ukraine. A video clip accompanying the Telegram post by Ukraines Energoatom appeared to feature loud blasts and flying debris. A second post on the state enterprises channel claimed that explosions and mortar bursts could be heard in the vicinity of the Sovremennik cultural center, where residents held a rally in support of Ukraine. As protesters began to disperse, the invaders arrived in police vehicles, and began to force local residents into them, the post read. A few minutes later, the city was rocked by massive explosions and shelling. The agency claimed that four people were injured and received medical assistance. Energoatom also claimed that Russian forces began to jam phone and internet communications throughout Enerhodar. The agencys claims could not be immediately verified. _____ Thousands Evacuated from Mariupol Thousands of people were successfully evacuated by buses from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Friday, according to Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who called the situation there a humanitarian catastrophe. Zelenskyy said in a video address early Saturday that a humanitarian corridor was operational in Zaporizhzhia, allowing for the evacuation of 3,071 residents from Mariupol. Tens of thousands of people have been trapped in the besieged city, with scant access to food and water. Read the full article here ____ Finnish Government to Discuss Potential NATO Membership in Spring Finlands prime minister says her country should make a decision on NATO membership during this spring after the government and lawmakers have carefully assessed the pros and cons of joining the military alliancea topical issue in the Nordic nation after Russias invasion to Ukraine. Prime Minister Sanna Marin said Saturday that both joining (NATO) and not joining are choices that have consequences. We need to assess both the short-term and long-term effects. At the same time, we must keep in mind our goal: ensuring the security of Finland and Finns in all situations. Marin said Finlands relationship with neighboring Russia has changed irreversibly after Moscows invasion of Ukraine last month, and it takes a lot of time and work for confidence to be restored. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia, the longest by any European Union member. _____ Italian Foreign Minister Visits Azerbaijan Amid Energy Crisis Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, visiting Azerbaijan, has described his talks there as laying the bases for even stronger cooperation on energy, as Italy seeks to quickly reduce its heavy reliance on Russian gas. In comments to reporters in Baku on Saturday, Di Maio described Azerbaijan, which is Italys largest supplier of oil and third-largest supplier of gas, as a priority partner in Italys quest to diversify its sources of energy. Di Maio arrived in the South Caucasus country on Friday, following previous energy-focused missions to Algeria, Qatar, Angola, and Congo. Italy is eyeing the possibility of increasing the supply of natural gas from Azerbaijan through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, or TAP, which transported its first gas in 2020. _____ Russian Troops Disperse Pro-Ukraine Rally in Occupied Town, Local Authorities Claim Local authorities in the occupied Ukrainian town of Enerhodar claimed Russian forces had violently dispersed a pro-Ukrainian rally on Saturday and detained some participants. Residents had gathered in the center of the town in the south of the country to talk and sing the Ukrainian national anthem when Russian soldiers arrived and bundled some into detention vans, the local administration claimed in an online post. The occupiers are dispersing the protesters with explosions, it said in a separate post on Telegram, sharing a video of what appeared to be multiple stun grenades landing in a square and letting off bangs and clouds of white smoke next to the towns main cultural center. It also accused Russian forces of shelling another part of the town on Saturday and said as a result four people had been wounded and were being treated in hospital. Reuters could not immediately verify the video or the local administrations reports. Enerhodar lies on the Dnipro river in southern Ukraine and is home to workers of the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europes largest, which has also been occupied by Russian troops. _____ Ukrainian Journalist Killed in Combat Zone A prominent Ukrainian photojournalist who went missing last month in a combat zone near the capital has been found dead. Ukraines Prosecutor Generals office claimed in a statement Saturday that Maks Levin was killed with two gunshots, fired allegedly by the Russian military. Levins body was found in the Huta Mezhyhirska village on Friday. Levin, 40, worked as a photojournalist and videographer for many Ukrainian and international publications. Levin has been missing since March 13, when he contacted his friend from Vyshhorod near Kyiv to report on the fighting in the region. An investigation into his death has been launched. _____ Russian Missiles Strike Several Ukrainian Cities: Local Officials Russian missiles hit two cities in central Ukraine early on Saturday, damaging infrastructure and residential buildings, the head of the Poltava region claimed. Poltava. A missile struck one of the infrastructure facilities overnight, Dmitry Lunin wrote in an online post. Kremenchuk. Many attacks on the city in the morning. Lunin later said at least four missiles hit two infrastructure objects in Poltava while, according to preliminary information, three enemy planes attacked the industrial facilities of Kremenchuk. Poltava city is the capital of the Poltava region, east of Kyiv, and Kremenchuk is one of the areas major cities. There was no immediate information about possible casualties, Lunin said. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. In the Dnipro region in southwestern Ukraine, missiles hit an infrastructure facility, wounding two people and causing significant damage, Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the region, claimed in an online post. In the city of Kryvyi Rih a petrol station has been shelled, causing fire, he added. _____ UK Wont Get Russian Gas: Moscow British energy major Shell will not be able to buy Russian gas due to Londons anti-Russia sanctions, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin, told the media on Saturday. London wants to be the leader of everything anti-Russian. It even wants to be ahead of Washington! Thats the cost! Peskov outlined. He was referring to the fact that the UK is the only country to have imposed sanctions on Russias Gazprombank, through which payments for Russian natural gas are made. The measure effectively denies Britain the ability to pay for the commodity. ____ Ukraine Recaptures City of Brovary Near Capital Kyiv, Says Official Ukrainian officials claim their forces have recaptured the city of Brovary, 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of the capital Kyiv. Brovarys mayor said during a televised address on Friday evening that Russian occupants have now left practically all of the Brovary district. He added that the Ukrainian forces would begin working to clear the region of remaining Russian soldiers there as well as military hardware, and possibly from mines. The mayor claimed that many Brovary residents had already returned to the city, and that shops and businesses were reopening. Earlier on Friday, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that satellite towns northwest of Kyiv were being targeted after Ukrainian fighters pushed back Russian troops, and that fighting had also taken place in Brovary. ____ Turkey Offers to Evacuate Civilians From Ukraines Mariupol City Turkey has offered to help evacuate civilians from the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol by ship. The Turkish defense minister said Saturday that we can provide ship support for the evacuation of civilians and injured Turkish and other countries citizens in Mariupol from the sea. State-run Anadolu Agency reported that Hulusi Akar said Turkey was coordinating possible evacuations with the authorities of the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov, has seen some of the worst suffering of the war. The International Committee for the Red Cross is attempting to remove some of the 100,000 people who are believed to remain in the city. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Friday that some 30 Turkish nationals were still in the city. ____ The Netherlands Urges Its People to Save Energy The Dutch government has launched a campaign urging people to turn down their central warming and take showers to save energy amid spiraling energy costs and reduce the countrys dependence on Russian imports. The government took the lead, announcing Saturday that it will turn down the temperature in 200 of its office blocks from 21 to 19 degrees Celsius (7066 degrees Fahrenheit) in the winter and use less air conditioning in the summer. The government also is setting aside 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) to help fund moves by home owners, social housing corporations, and municipalities to improve insulation of houses in coming years. ____ Death Toll From Mykolaiv Strike Keeps Growing At least 33 people have been killed and 34 injured in a Russian rocket strike on the regional government building in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv, Ukrainian officials claimed in a statement Saturday, updating the numbers of the deadly strike that hit Mykolaiv on Tuesday. Rescuers sent by the State Emergency Service have been searching the wreckage for survivors since Russian forces struck the building, which housed the office of regional governor Vitaliy Kim. The governor, who was not on the premises at the time of the attack, later posted social media images showing a gaping hole in the nine-story structure. Mykolaiv, a strategically important city en route to Ukraines largest port of Odesa, has withstood weeks of shelling by the Russian forces. _____ Ukraine Says Seven Humanitarian Corridors Planned for Evacuations on Saturday Seven humanitarian corridors to evacuate people from Ukraines besieged regions are planned for Saturday, Ukraines Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. The planned corridors include one for people evacuating by private transport from the city of Mariupol and by buses for Mariupol residents out of the city of Berdyansk, Vereshchuk said. _____ Red Cross Plans Fresh Evacuation Effort From Ukraines Mariupol A Red Cross convoy will try again to evacuate civilians from the besieged port of Mariupol on Saturday as Russian forces looked to be regrouping for new attacks in southeast Ukraine. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent a team on Friday to lead a convoy of about 54 Ukrainian buses and other private vehicles out of the city, but they turned back, saying conditions made it impossible to proceed. They will try again on Saturday to facilitate the safe passage of civilians, the ICRC said in a statement on Friday. A previous Red Cross evacuation attempt in early March failed. An advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was hopeful about the Mariupol evacuations. Russia and Ukraine have agreed to humanitarian corridors during the war to facilitate the evacuation of civilians from cities, but have often traded blame when the corridors have not been successful. Seven such corridors were planned for Saturday, Ukraines Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, including one for people evacuating by private transport from Mariupol and by buses for Mariupol residents out of the city of Berdyansk. In an early morning video address, Zelenskyy said Russian troops had moved toward Donbass and the heavily bombarded northeastern city of Kharkiv. I hope there may still be solutions for the situation in Mariupol, Zelenskyy said. Before dawn on Saturday, as sirens sounded across Ukraine, the Ukrainian military reported Russian air strikes on the cities of Sievierodonetsk and Rubizhne in Luhansk. In that eastern region and neighboring Donetsk, pro-Russian separatists declared breakaway republics that Moscow recognized just before its invasion. The Ukrainian military also said defenders repulsed multiple attacks in Luhansk and Donetsk on Friday and that Russian units in Luhansk had lost 800 troops in the past week alone. Reuters was unable to verify those claims. _____ Russian Official Says Future of ISS Uncertain Russias top space official says the future of the International Space Station hangs in the balance after the United States, the European Union, and Canadian space agencies missed a deadline to meet Russian demands for the lifting of sanctions on Russian enterprises and hardware. The head of Russias Roscosmos state agency told reporters on Saturday morning that the agency was preparing a report on the prospects of international cooperation at the station, to be presented to federal authorities after Roscosmos has completed its analysis. Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin implied on Russian state TV that the Western sanctions, some of which predate Russias military action in Ukraine, could disrupt the operation of Russian spacecraft servicing the ISS. He stressed that the Western partners need the ISS and cannot manage without Russia, because no one but us can deliver fuel to the station. Rogozin added that only the engines of our cargo craft are able to correct the ISSs orbit, keeping it safe from space debris. Later on Saturday, Rogozin wrote on his Telegram channel that he received responses from his Western counterparts vowing to promote further cooperation on the ISS and its operations. He reiterated his view that the restoration of normal relations between partners in the ISS and other joint (space) projects is possible only with the complete and unconditional lifting of sanctions, which he referred to as illegal. Responding to Western sanctions on Telegram last month, Rogozin warned at the time that without Russias help, the ISS could fall down into the sea or onto land, and claimed that the crash site was unlikely to be in Russia. Space is one of the last remaining areas of cooperation between Moscow and Western nations. U.S.Russian negotiations on the resumption of joint flights to the ISS were underway when Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine last month, prompting unprecedented sanctions on Russian state-linked entities. ____ Ukraine Expects Good News Over Weekend Regarding Mariupol Evacuations: Presidential Adviser Ukraine expects good news over the weekend regarding evacuations of people from the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelesnskyy said on Saturday. Our delegation has reached an agreement in Istanbul (during Ukraine-Russia peace talks) to provide evacuations, Oleksiy Arestovych told Ukraines television. I think that today or maybe tomorrow we will hear good news regarding the evacuation of the inhabitants of Mariupol. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent a team on Friday to lead a convoy of about 54 Ukrainian buses and other private vehicles out of the city, but they turned back, saying conditions made it impossible to proceed. They were due to try again on Saturday. Encircled since the early days of Russias five-week-old invasion, Mariupol has been Moscows main target in the southeastern region of Donbas. Tens of thousands of people are trapped in the city with scant access to food and water. ____ Ukraine Continues to Advance Against Russian Forces Near Kyiv, UK Claims Ukrainian forces continue to advance against withdrawing Russian forces in the vicinity of Kyiv, British military intelligence claimed on Saturday. Russian forces are also reported to have withdrawn from Hostomel airport near the capital, which has been subject to fighting since the first day of the conflict, Britains Ministry of Defence claimed in a regular bulletin. In the east of Ukraine, Ukrainian forces have secured a key route in eastern Kharkiv after heavy fighting, the ministry added. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. _____ Ukraines Economy Could Contract 40 Percent in 2022, Ministry Says Ukraines economy shrank 16 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year and could contract 40 percent in 2022 as a result of Russias invasion, the economy ministry said in a statement on Saturday, citing preliminary estimates. Areas in which remote work is impossible have suffered the most, it said. _____ US Cancels ICBM Test Due to Russia Nuclear Tensions The U.S. military has canceled a test of its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile that it had initially aimed only to delay in a bid to lower nuclear tensions with Russia during the war in Ukraine, the Air Force told Reuters on Friday. The Pentagon first announced a delay of the test on March 2 after Russia said it was putting its nuclear forces on high alert. Washington said at the time it was important both the United States and Russia bear in mind the risk of miscalculation and take steps to reduce those risks. But it had publicly stated its intent only to delay the test a little bit, and not cancel it. Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek said the decision to cancel the test of the LGM-30G Minuteman III missile was due to the same reasons as when it had been first delayed. The next Minuteman III test is scheduled to take place later this year. Altering the test schedule for Americas ICBM force can be controversial. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed disappointment in March at the delay of a test he said was critical to ensure Americas nuclear deterrent remains effective. Jeffrey Lewis, a missile researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), played down the impact of the cancelation. Theres a value to doing the tests but I dont think missing one test in the grand scheme of things is a really big deal, said Lewis, adding the Minuteman III was extremely reliable. The nuclear-capable Minuteman III is a key part of the U.S. militarys strategic arsenal and has a range of 6,000-plus miles (9,660-plus km) and can travel at a speed of approximately 15,000 miles per hour (24,000 kph). Russia and the United States have by far the biggest arsenals of nuclear warheads after the Cold War that divided the world for much of the 20th century, putting the West against the Soviet Union and its allies. ____ EU Says It Eyes Further Russia Sanctions That Will Not Affect Energy Sector The European Union is working on further sanctions on Russia but any additional measures will not affect the energy sector, the EUs Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said in Cernobbio on Saturday. The 27-nation bloc will be faced with a growth slowdown caused by the war in Ukraine but not a recession, he added, saying the 4 percent growth forecast was too optimistic and the EU would not reach it. ____ Japan Will Not Exit From Oil and Gas Project With Russia, Kishida Says Japan will not pull out from the Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Russia despite the withdrawal of other companies over Russias invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday. It is an extremely important project in terms of energy security as it has contributed to the long-term, stable supply of inexpensive liquefied natural gas, Kishida said in a parliamentary meeting, Kyodo News reported. Kishida added that Japan would increase efforts to reduce reliance on Russian energy in coordination with the Group of Seven (G7) advanced countries plan. Russia is Japans fifth-largest LNG supplier, accounting for about 8 percent of the countrys consumption. The Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project in the Russian Far East was one of Japans main LNG supply sources, with an annual capacity of 9.6 million tons. Read the full article here ____ Russia Trades Accusations With Ukraine on Drifting Black Sea Mines Russia accused Ukraine on Thursday of laying hundreds of mines near its coast and said some were drifting into open waters of the Black Sea and creating dangers for merchant shipping, a day after Kyiv said Moscow was responsible for planting mines. The Black Sea is a major shipping route for grain, oil, and oil products. Its waters are shared by Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, and Turkey as well as Ukraine and Russia, which have been at war since President Vladimir Putin invaded his southern neighbor on Feb. 24. Ukraines foreign ministry claimed on Wednesday that Russia was planting naval mines in the Black Sea as uncontrolled drifting ammunition, turning them into a de facto weapon of indiscriminate action. Russias defense ministry claimed on Thursday that from Feb. 24 to March 4, the remnants of the Ukrainian navys mine-sweeping forces had placed about 420 sea anchor mines370 in the Black Sea and 50 in the Sea of Azov. As a result of storms in the Black Sea and due to unsatisfactory technical condition, cables with bottom anchors broke on about 10 Ukrainian mines, the defense ministry said. Since then, under the influence of wind and surface currents, Ukrainian mines have drifted freely in the western part of the Black Sea in a southerly direction. No one can know where the remaining Ukrainian mines are drifting today. Earlier this month Russias main intelligence agency accused Ukraine of laying mines to protect ports and said several hundred of the explosives had broken from cables and drifted away. Kyiv dismissed that account as disinformation. In recent days Turkish and Romanian military diving teams have been involved in defusing stray mines around their waters. Turkeys defense ministry said it had not yet identified the source and number of drifting mines and had been in contact with Ukrainian and Russian counterparts over the issue. Five merchant vessels have been hit by projectileswith one of them sunkoff Ukraines coast, with two seafarers killed, shipping officials say. _____ Germany Looks to Buy Israeli or US Missile Defence System Berlin is considering buying a missile defense system from Israel or the United States to defend against threats including Russian Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad, German weekly Welt am Sonntag reported on Saturday. The Iskander missiles can reach almost all of western Europe and there is no missile shield in place to protect against this threat, Germanys chief of defense Eberhard Zorn told Welt am Sonntag in an interview published on Saturday. The Israelis and the Americans possess such systems. Which one do we prefer? Will we manage to establish an overall [missile defense] system in NATO? These are the questions we need to answer now, Zorn said. He did not specify the names of the systems but was most likely referring to Arrow 3 built by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and the U.S. system THAAD produced by Raytheon. Russia said in 2018 it had deployed Iskander missiles to its Kaliningrad exclave, a slice of Russia wedged between Poland and Lithuania. A mobile ballistic missile system, the Iskander replaced the Soviet Scud missile and its two guided missiles can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads. In a landmark speech days after Russias invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Berlin would hike its defense spending to more than 2 percent of its economic output by injecting 100 billion euros ($110 billion) into the military. Zorn belongs to a group of high-ranking officials consulting with Scholz on how to spend this money. So far, only one thing is clear: We have neither the time nor the money to develop these [missile defense] systems on our own because the missile threat is known to already be there, Zorn said. Referring to Germanys lack of a short-range missile defense, which can be used to protect troops on the move or under threat while deployed, he said Berlin had started looking into the purchase of such systems and it now had to make a decision. ____ US Investigators Find Evidence Russian Oligarchs Trying to Evade Sanctions: Official U.S. prosecutors have found evidence that Russian oligarchs are trying to evade sanctions put in place to pressure Moscow to stop its invasion of Ukraine, the head of a new Justice Department task force claimed on Friday. Andrew Adams, a veteran prosecutor tapped to lead the KleptoCapture task force established last month, told Reuters in an interview that in some cases, even oligarchs who have not yet had sanctions imposed on them are trying to move assets ahead of potential future sanctions. But even as they try to hide yachts, planes, or other mobile property in countries they believe to be secretive, Adams claimed that oligarchs trying to evade sanctions are facing an all-time high level of international cooperation to track the ill-gotten gains of Russian elites. The task forces goal is to put the finances of Russian oligarchs under strain in a bid to pressure President Vladimir Putin to cease his weeks-long assault on Ukraine. The United States and its allies have imposed several rounds of sanctions targeting Putin, many of his wealthy friends, and dozens of Russian businesses and government agencies. Tracing oligarchs assets is often difficult because they are hidden behind layers of shell companies scattered around the globe, Adams said. U.S. prosecutors are receiving information from places previously thought to be safe havens, Adams said. He declined to provide details of specific jurisdictions that have provided the task force with information, or to name specific people under investigation. He said targeting assets located overseas was a major component of the units work, adding that the United States has not been an attractive country for supporters of Putins government since around 2014 due to a series of sanctions over Moscows annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. European countries have already found and detained the yachts of a number of wealthy Russian businessmen. Adams said that criminal charges and asset seizure warrants could come in the early days of the unit, which was also prepared for lengthy legal battles by oligarchs seeking to prevent the United States from permanently confiscating their assets through civil forfeiture. Those cases can allow the department to take ill-gotten property in cases where people are outside the country and cannot be extradited. Criminal forfeitures, meanwhile, can accompany an indictment against the property owner. _____ Allen Zhong, Tom Ozimek, Aldgra Fredly, Reuters, and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Anyone looking to advance their career in business with a master of business administration degree can take advantage of some of the best MBA programs in the country right in their own backyard. U.S. News and World Report recently released its list of the 2023 Best Business Schools. Universities in Indiana and Chicago took many of the top spots. The Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago tied with The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania for No. 1 nationally. The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston ranked third. Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, which offers both a full-time MBA program and an online program, tied for 22nd with the University of Washington in Seattle. It got high marks for its focus on integration, leadership, career guidance, and experiential learning. Its notable alumni include Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales, former Ford CEO Harold Arthur Poling and Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers. The Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame ranked 25th nationwide. The college offers an accelerated program and caters to career changers. It has produced notable alumni like Raymond James Financial Director and CEO Paul Reilly, ADERANT Holdings President Michael Kohldorf and Chicago Bears President and CEO Ted Philips. U.S. News and World Report was a national print magazine that has since migrated online. It's internationally renowned for its education rankings. U.S. News continues to update the Best Graduate Schools methodology and add new programs to keep the rankings relevant and valuable for prospective students, said Robert Morse, chief data strategist at U.S. News. Utilizing a robust data-collection process surveying more than 2,100 programs and more than 23,000 academics and professionals allows us to provide students with useful, quality data to determine the best program for their individual needs. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The main Twitter account of the Indiana State Police was briefly taken over Saturday afternoon in an apparent hack of the state law enforcement agency. At 1:46 p.m. the verified @IndStatePolice Twitter account retweeted a March 27 Wall Street Journal article about actor Sean Penn vowing to melt his Academy Awards if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wasn't invited to speak at the annual Oscars ceremony. The retweet came with the following message that appeared to be sent by state police: "I dont like that that was poo poo head I dont like that." The police agency seemingly regained control of its account shortly afterward and issued the following statement: "It appears our Twitter account was recently hacked. The previous tweet sent 15 minutes ago was not sent by ISP personnel. Please notify us if you see any suspicious activity from our account." Sgt. Glen Fifield, ISP public information officer for Northwest Indiana, said passwords on all state police social media accounts were changed in response to the hack. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CHICAGO One person was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening after a Friday afternoon shooting on the Dan Ryan Expressway, police said. At about 3 p.m. Friday, officers responded to a reported shooting on Interstate 94, according to a news release from the Illinois State Police. At about 5:05 p.m., the northbound express lanes were shut down at Marquette Road for the investigation. The lanes were reopened at about 6:45 p.m., police said. Anyone who witnessed or has knowledge of the shooting is asked to call the ISP by calling 847-294-4400 or emailing ISP.CrimeTips@Illinois.gov. Persons providing tips may remain anonymous. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CHICAGO - The state of Illinois on Thursday finalized a deal to sell the James R. Thompson Center for $70 million and then buy back about one-third of the building for more than double that amount. The sale to a company led by Michael Reschke, chairman and CEO of real estate developer The Prime Group, will spare the states controversial Helmut Jahn-designed Loop headquarters from the wrecking ball. The state entered into negotiations with Rechkes JRTC Holdings in December, and the deal was signed just ahead of a Tuesday deadline set in state law. The $70 million upfront payment to the state is dwarfed by the roughly $146 million the state will pay to buy back office space once the notoriously rundown building is renovated, a net cost of $76 million. In the long run, however, state officials say the deal is good for taxpayers, who would otherwise bear the full cost of needed upgrades to the 17-story glass-and-steel structure estimated at $325 million or of purchasing or leasing other office space in the central business district. Gov. J.B. Pritzkers office estimated the deal will save the state $20 million per year over the next 30 years by consolidating office leases and reducing operating expenses. The sale, expected to close this summer, also will add vitality to Chicagos LaSalle Street corridor by honoring the original design through a modern lens, Pritzker said in a statement. JRTC Holdings is working with the late Jahns firm on its plan to revamp a building, named for former Gov. James R. Big Jim Thompson, that has inspired strong opinions since opening in 1985. The redevelopment plan calls for installing a glass curtain wall to separate the office floors from the soaring atrium, which should alleviate many of the heating and cooling issues and noise problems the building has faced, Reschke said late last year when the tentative agreement was announced. That atrium will become the monumental entrance to the future office building, and it will be unlike any other entrance in the city, and for that matter in the country, he said. The overhaul is expected to take about two years, and Reschke estimated it will cost about $280 million. The CTAs Clark/Lake station that occupies part of the building will remain in operation throughout construction. Once completed, the state will occupy 425,000 of the buildings 1.2 million square feet. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Until recent events at the Oscars, the film seasons most memorable best actor speech belonged to Caleb Landry Jones. In July, the Cannes Film Festival awarded Jones its top male thespian prize for his portrayal of a mass shooter in the Australian drama Nitram (now in theaters and on digital). The 32-year-old actor had been to Cannes twice before and had experienced its queasy jitters, spurred by drinking too much, sleeping too little and feeling eyeballs scan his face to gauge his importance. (L.A., but times 50, he said.) But this time, all eyeballs were fixed on him as he clutched the awards podium like a fainting chaise. I think Im going to throw up, he sputtered. The audience tittered, uncertain if his panic was a bit. Then Jones fled the stage, leaving in his wake a few exhalations that lingered like dust clouds from a cartoon roadrunner: I am so sorry I cannot do this. Thank you so much. I wanted to be invisible, Jones recalled. I was barely forming words, and I thought, Ive got to give up. Re-enacting the moment, he bellows, Caleb Landry Jooooones, seal claps and then pantomimes his flailing heebie-jeebies. The Texas-born actor who still speaks in a singsong twang looked exponentially more relaxed the day we spoke in the backyard of his 101-year-old ramshackle rental house in Los Angeles. In a corner of the city that doesnt yet have a gentrified name, the people around him (mostly) dont mind if he plays guitar at 2 a.m., or if he and his girlfriend, the artist Katya Zvereva, set out paper plates of tuna for the stray cats. Here, its OK if Jones steels himself for stress by rolling joint after joint in the sunshine, as he did during our talk. Later that afternoon, he was headed to the dentist for four root canals. Thats why Im getting as loaded up before I go in as I can. In the last two weeks, Hillsong has lost nine of its 16 American church campuses, a swift and stunning decline for one of the worlds largest and most influential evangelical churches. Just a few years ago, Hillsong was the leading edge of cool Christianity, a quickly expanding network that appealed to young people and city dwellers with energetic, stylish preachers and an upbeat atmosphere. Hillsong translated the charismatic church experience, which emphasizes miracles and personal encounters with the Holy Spirit, for a hip, upscale audience. Justin Bieber and the N.B.A. star Kevin Durant attended services. One of the churchs worship bands won a Grammy Award and the church produced soaring anthems that became staples in smaller churches that imitated its sounds, style and Instagram-friendly aesthetic. Now, Hillsongs U.S. presence is in collapse. The departures are partly the fallout from a series of crises most recently the sudden resignation of its charismatic founder that have left the church with a tarnished reputation and instability that pastors say they found increasingly difficult to endure. WASHINGTON The Biden administration will work with allies to transfer Soviet-made tanks to bolster Ukrainian defenses in the countrys eastern Donbas region, a U.S. official said on Friday. The decision to act as an intermediary to help transfer the Soviet-made tanks, which Ukrainian troops know how to use, comes in response to a request from President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, the official said. It marks the first time in the war that the United States has helped transfer tanks. The official said the transfers would begin soon, but declined to say how many tanks would be sent, or from which countries they would come. They will allow Ukraine to conduct long-range artillery strikes on Russian targets in Donbas, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. The tanks arrival could be another signal of a new phase in the war, which is five weeks old and has been dominated by Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and installations from the air, and a stalled Russian advance on the ground. Earlier this week, Russian officials indicated that they were refocusing their efforts on eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian soldiers since 2014. BNEI BRAK, Israel A recent wave of terrorist attacks in Israel, the deadliest in seven years, has presented a stark challenge to Israels fragile coalition government, which has come under criticism from both ends of the political spectrum for policies that critics claim have compounded the risk of violence. On the right, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has been criticized for including an Arab party within the coalition, a decision that right-wing critics say has dampened the states willingness to police Israels Arab minority and limited its ability to respond to the recent attacks, two of which were carried out by Arab citizens of Israel. On the left, Mr. Bennett has been criticized for making small concessions to the Palestinians while ruling out peace talks or any moves toward the formation of a Palestinian state an approach that left-wing critics say has increased Palestinian despair, encouraging a minority to respond with violence. Mr. Bennett is also constrained in his options in responding to the violence by the composition of his ideologically diverse coalition, an eight-party alliance that includes right-wingers like Mr. Bennett, centrists, leftists and a small Arab Islamist party, Raam the first independent Arab party to join an Israeli government. Ten months into their tenure, the alliance has consistently found ways of circumnavigating their differences, but the violence has accentuated the gaps in their worldviews. Sarah Pinborough specializes in steamy mysteries with wacky resolutions cooked up in the outer reaches of her imagination. With her diverting new book, INSOMNIA (Morrow, 322 pp., $27.99), she hugs the shores of reality more closely, at least at first. Who among us has not spent some part of the last two years in a sleepless fugue, nights of endless agita interspersed with days of exhausted incoherence? If only that were all that was bothering Emma Averell, the books unraveling heroine. Emma has been struck with insomnia as her 40th birthday approaches alarmingly, the age when the same thing happened to her mother, Patricia, as a prelude to a complete breakdown. Not only did Patricia wander through the house reciting random numbers in a guttural voice the way Emma is starting to, she also locked Emma in the cupboard under the stairs and tried to murder her other daughter, Phoebe, before being sent to a mental hospital. Emmas going to go crazy too, Patricia liked to say, and now it seems that she might have been right. Sleeplessness makes you feel that youve lost your mind, but does losing your mind make you unable to sleep? Is fate a circular concept? These are the sorts of questions that keep even nonfictional characters tossing in bed at night, and in the book they urgently present themselves to Emma as her home and work lives begin to implode at an alarming clip. In the first dark days of the pandemic, as an Amazon worker named Christian Smalls planned a small, panicked walkout over safety conditions at the retailers only fulfillment center in New York City, the company quietly mobilized. Amazon formed a reaction team involving 10 departments, including its Global Intelligence Program, a security group staffed by many military veterans. The company named an incident commander and relied on a Protest Response Playbook and Labor Activity Playbook to ward off business disruptions, according to newly released court documents. In the end, there were more executives including 11 vice presidents who were alerted about the protest than workers who attended it. Amazons chief counsel, describing Mr. Smalls as not smart, or articulate, in an email mistakenly sent to more than 1,000 people, recommended making him the face of efforts to organize workers. The company fired Mr. Smalls, saying he had violated quarantine rules by attending the walkout. In dismissing and smearing him, the company relied on the hardball tactics that had driven its dominance of the market. But on Friday, he won the first successful unionization effort at any Amazon warehouse in the United States, one of the most significant labor victories in a generation. The companys response to his tiny initial protest may haunt it for years to come. Photos and video that showed young children isolated from their families and crying at a Shanghai hospital led to an outburst of anger online on Saturday, as Chinas largest city struggled to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious Omicron version of the coronavirus. In the images, a series of hospital cribs, each holding several young children, appeared to be parked in the hallway of the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center in the citys Jinshan district. A video showed several of the children crying. The images and video could not be independently verified, but in a statement, the health center said they were real and did not deny that parents with Covid were being separated from their children. The fury and concern of parents over what might become of their children if they fall sick is the latest in a series of crises faced by Shanghai officials, who are in the middle of a staggered lockdown to facilitate mass testing in the city. Things have not gone smoothly. Lockdowns have differed by neighborhood, panic shopping has emptied grocery store shelves and people with life-threatening conditions have posted calls for help online when they could not get to the hospital. A year ago, while many countries were still reeling from Covid-19, China seemed to be one of the few places prospering through the pandemic. It was also the only major economy that reported growth in 2020. Global investors were bullish on Chinese stocks even as Beijings regulatory crackdown on its private sector became more like a political campaign. That led some people in China to argue that its one-party authoritarian rule offered a compelling alternative to traditional liberal democracy. The United States was declining politically and economically, they said, and the world was gravitating toward China. Many Chinese cheered the narrative online. A year later, the tone within China is more one of anxiety, anger and despair. In the past month, hundreds of millions of people there have struggled under lockdowns as coronavirus outbreaks spread across the country. Foreign investors are dumping Chinese stocks over geopolitical, regulatory and pandemic uncertainties. And the governments support of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as he wages war in Ukraine has risked the worlds criticism, and potentially sanctions. Its all leading to increasingly anxious questions about the countrys path and even about whether too much power has been concentrated in the hands of the countrys leader, Xi Jinping, who is seeking a third five-year term at the Communist Party congress late in the year. Overall, more than 20 tankers that have departed from Russian ports since the invasion together carrying almost 8.5 million barrels of oil now list their status as For Orders or Drifting, which indicates a lack of destination, according to the Russian Tanker Tracking Group, an initiative led by the Ukraine government to observe Russian oil sales. Other tankers now list final destinations like ZZZ. Mr. van Schaik said it was uncommon to see so many tankers sailing under for orders status, and it likely had to do with the U.S. ban on Russian imports combined with self-sanctioning among oil companies. (Tankers sometimes do change destinations or are turned back if there is a mishap at the accepting refinery, for example.) Its not always possible to know where the oil will end up, he said, but traders could quietly sell it to refiners that cared less about their reputation than about price. Once you put the crude somewhere in a tank on land, it is anonymous, Mr. van Schail said. You blend it with some other crude, load it on another tanker and sell it as European Sour Blend and nobody knows its origin was Russia. At the same time, at least seven tankers are still sailing toward the United States to offload their shipments before the U.S. ban on Russian oil takes full effect on April 21. The United States imports only a small fraction of its oil from Russia, but nevertheless gasoline prices in America have been soaring in part because of the uncertainty over global supplies caused by the Ukraine invasion. On Thursday, President Biden, under pressure to bring down high American gasoline prices, said that the United States would release up to 180 million barrels of oil from its emergency reserves, a release at an unprecedented scale. The British government on Friday shut down or scaled back a number of its Covid surveillance programs, curtailing the collection of data that the United States and many other countries had come to rely on to understand the threat posed by emerging variants and the effectiveness of vaccines. Denmark, too, renowned for insights from its comprehensive tests, has drastically cut back on its virus tracking efforts in recent months. As more countries loosen their policies toward living with Covid rather than snuffing it out, health experts worry that monitoring systems will become weaker, making it more difficult to predict new surges and to make sense of emerging variants. Things are going to get harder now, Samuel Scarpino, a managing director at the Rockefeller Foundations Pandemic Prevention Institute, said. And right as things get hard, were dialing back the data systems. Since the Alpha variant emerged in the fall of 2020, Britain has served as a bellwether, tracking that variant as well as Delta and Omicron before they arrived in the United States. After a slow start, American genomic surveillance efforts have steadily improved with a modest increase in funding. It is not surprising then that so many would choose seemingly more difficult alternatives. During the first 12 days of the citys encampment-clearing plan a period during which 239 makeshift residences were struck down only five people agreed to go into shelters, even as temperatures plummeted to frigid levels this past week. Most of those living in encampments are adult men and it is this population that the city has had the least success trying to house. Over the past decade, as the rate of family homelessness has shown a slight decline, the number of single men in the shelter system has roughly doubled to more than 14,000. Part of the problem is pushback from communities who are especially averse to the notion of mens shelters when the city tries to develop them. Another issue is an inadequate plan for those coming out of jails and prisons. The criminal justice system has moved toward decarceration, but people coming out of custody are almost 10 times more likely to experience homelessness. Two years ago, I spoke with a man who was stuck in a Brooklyn shelter, where he had been remanded after a technical parole violation, even though he had a girlfriend (and young daughter) with an apartment in Queens who wanted him home. His experience was so awful that he told his parole officer he was leaving the shelter and that she could send him back to Rikers if she wanted, because jail was preferable. People are often hesitant to acknowledge the connection between homelessness and prison, Lincoln Restler, a city councilman in Brooklyn, told me. They dont want to create stereotypes or fear about the homeless, he said. But the state government is failing people coming out of prison. One of the encampments removed this week was on a stretch of Meeker Avenue, underneath the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Mr. Restlers district, where images soon surfaced of mattresses and other things being thrown into the backs of garbage trucks. When theres a tornado, Anderson Cooper searches through the rubble with someone to find a family memento, Ms. Quinn remarked. That trauma of having things taken from you and thrown away is not going to drive you into service. Its going to frighten you. Benjamin Adam, a volunteer coordinator for North Brooklyn Essentials, a group that distributes food, clothing and other resources to people living in encampments under the expressway, said that many who were staying there were Spanish-speaking day laborers working in construction. They relied on outreach workers for food, batteries, MetroCards, over-the-counter medications and so on, and Mr. Adam said he believed that they would rebuild. The path forward will rely on the citys ability to renovate or construct buildings big enough to accommodate individual rooms and bathrooms, recreation space and services for those struggling with issues around mental-health or addiction, where they may live until they can transfer to permanent housing. While Mayor Adams stressed in a news conference on Wednesday that all people deserved to live with the dignity tents and other makeshift structures could not provide, and that supportive housing was crucial, his preliminary budget for the upcoming fiscal year does not increase capital allocations to the citys office of Housing Preservation and Development. The city he envisions is still far in the distance. Ida B. Wells-Barnett, in a contemporaneous account, called it the greatest outrage of the century. W.E.B. Du Bois devoted an entire chapter of his 1920 memoir, Darkwater: Voices From Within the Veil, to the riot, which he described in nearly apocalyptic terms: The white men drove even black union men out of their unions and when the black men, beaten by night and assaulted, flew to arms and shot back at the marauders, five thousand rioters arose and surged like a crested stormwave, from noonday until midnight; they killed and beat and murdered; they dashed out the brains of children and stripped off the clothes of women; they drove victims into the flames and hanged the helpless to the lighting poles. Fathers were killed before the faces of mothers; children were burned; heads were cut off with axes; pregnant women crawled and spawned in dark, wet fields; thieves went through houses and firebrands followed; bodies were thrown from bridges; and rocks and bricks flew through the air. The background to the riot is mostly straightforward. St. Louis, at the time, was one of the largest cities in the United States, with a population of nearly 700,000. St. Louis and East St. Louis, a neighboring community across the river in Illinois, were homes to a number of major industries that, during the years of World War I, attracted Black migrants from the South and white migrants from around the country, as well as immigrants from Europe. For Du Bois, there were two forces that made this a combustible situation. The first was white racism, which kept or drove Black workers out of unions and divided labor in the city. The best electrician in the city was refused admittance to the union and driven from town because he was black, Du Bois wrote. No black builder, printer, or machinist could join a union or work in East St. Louis, no matter what his skill or character. The second was the war in Europe. It supercharged demand for industrial products like steel and aluminum, which, in turn, supercharged demand for labor. When white workers took advantage of this demand to strike for higher wages, employers used Black workers excluded from union work as scabs and strikebreakers. Here were black men, Du Bois wrote, trying to capture the rage of the white workers, guilty not only of bidding for jobs which white men could have held at war prices, even if they could not fill, but also guilty of being black! In a more recent account, American Pogrom: The East St. Louis Race Riot and Black Politics, the historian Charles L. Lumpkins argues for a third force, namely, politics. As their population grew, African Americans in East St. Louis became skilled in mobilizing as a voting bloc, swinging elections, and winning patronage. By 1915, he continues, black residents had become a source of fear for white inhabitants who thought that black voters held the balance of political power. And as an increasingly assertive black population reshaped the citys political culture, white political bosses and progressive reformers firmed their resolve to reverse the expansion of black political strength that they viewed as a threat to white entitlements. In 1917, agents of the state would opt for violence to solve the Negro problem. The violence began on May 28, 1917, after the Aluminum Ore Company had hired several hundred Black workers to replace white workers who had gone on strike. At a City Council meeting that evening, nearly 1,000 people gathered to protest to the mayor about the influx of the negro, Lumpkins writes. During the meeting, two white city police detectives spread the word that patrolmen had just arrested a black man for shooting a white man. As if on cue, people rushed to the city jail, attempting to seize and lynch the suspect. There were assaults on nearby Black residents and some property damage, but the mob spirit eventually left the crowd. It would emerge again, on July 2 and 3, organized and supported by figures in the white political class. The July pogrom represented a political solution planned by certain white real estate men, politicians, and businessmen, Lumpkins writes. The mass racial violence of July accomplished what the May riot had failed to achieve: the elimination of the black communitys influential role in local electoral politics. Right now Vladimir Putin is losing the battle for Ukraine. His maximal goals have been abandoned (for now); his troops around Kyiv are in retreat; his imperial dreams are being disavowed. He has more modest goals to fall back on, resources and territories that he may be able to hold but a month of Ukrainian valor and Western support has dealt his ambitions a devastating blow. Putin is not losing, however, in the battle for Russia. From the start of hostilities, the Western answer to his maximalist ambitions not an official goal, but a hope that informs policy and punditry and slips out of Joe Bidens lips in excited moments has been regime change in the Kremlin, a failed war toppling Putin and bringing a more reasonable government to power. This was always a thin hope, but despite military quagmire and unprecedented economic sanctions, it appears even thinner now. In polling and anecdote alike, Putin appears to be consolidating support from the Russian public, rallying a nation that feels itself to be as he portrays it unjustly surrounded and besieged. His approval ratings, according to Russias main independent pollster, look like George W. Bushs after 9/11. His inner circle has always been unlikely to break with him, for reasons sketched by Anatol Lieven in The Financial Times a few weeks ago: Its members mostly come from the same background, share the same geopolitical assumptions, and are far more likely to fight on ruthlessly for a long time than to suddenly turn against their leader. But even in the wider circle of Russian elites, the war so far has reportedly generated more anti-Western solidarity than division. INTERNATIONAL An article on Friday about Syrian fighters deployed to join Russian forces in Ukraine paraphrased incorrectly comments by John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman. He said that the Wagner Group is believed to recruit Syrians, not that Syrians are among the 1,000 mercenaries who are believed to be focused on the Donbas region of Ukraine. METROPOLITAN A picture caption with an article on Page 4 about the many books returned after New Yorks public library systems ended late fees misstates the author and title of a work shown. It is Ninon de Lenclos by Emile Magne, not Magne by Ninon de Lenclos. WEEKEND ARTS A theater review on Friday of the play I Agree to the Terms misidentified the home state of one of the workers who participates in the play. Noel is from New Mexico, not Arizona. ARTS & LEISURE An article this weekend on Page 6 about the return of the play For Colored Girls to Broadway omits the given name and the title of a representative from the Shange estate. Donald Sutton is the literary trustee for the estate. The look at a recent trivia night at the Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla., was anything but trivial. It wasnt modest either. Quilted bags said money. Feathered bags said peacock along with tiaras, sky blue blazers, slim white jeans and tweedy hot pants. Men wore velvet slippers. Women wore white ankle boots, espadrille wedges and Chanel spectator pumps, a perfectly named shoe for a voyeuristic poolside scene. The crowd of 20 to 30-somethings skewed surprisingly young for a cloistered resort town that is known for its septuagenarian snowbirds, discriminatory private clubs, old-money socialites and former President Donald J. Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort. Social observers have called it a youthquake. Theyre embracing venerable old places like the Colony, a midcentury jewel that was rediscovered during the pandemic, after languishing as a staid pink-and-bamboo relic. Now, it has become the kind of social media chum that tracks half its bookings to Instagram links, according to hotel management. Young people are discovering all the old things down here and posting about them, and the old people are amused watching them make such a fuss, said Celerie Kemble, 48, the interior designer who, along with her mother, Mimi McMakin (both are Palm Beach natives), renovated the Colonys lobby and 90 rooms. Its all kind of a hoax but its fun. A Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Washington made an emergency landing in Denver on Thursday after the planes windshield shattered midair. After the crew of Delta Flight 760 declared an emergency due to a cracked windshield, the flight landed safely at Denver International Airport around 11 a.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. What caused the windshield to crack is still undetermined, but the F.A.A. said it would conduct an investigation. Melissa B. Long, a Delta spokeswoman, confirmed that the plane, a Boeing 757, had a maintenance issue mid-flight, but did not offer information about when the windshield started to crack or why. Out of an abundance of caution, the flight crew diverted into Denver and the plane landed routinely, Ms. Long said in a statement on Saturday. Our team worked quickly to accommodate customers on a new plane, and we sincerely apologize for the delay and inconvenience to their travel plans. For well over a century, the Pledge of Allegiance has been a pillar of Americas national identity. New evidence has emerged, though, to indicate that perhaps the man who pledged that he originated it did not. Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister and Christian socialist from upstate New York, went so far as to swear in at least two affidavits that he had formulated the oath one blistering August night in 1892 in the Boston headquarters of a magazine for young people that he was promoting. Bellamys authorship was reaffirmed during the 20th century by, among others, the American Flag Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, the Legislative Research Service (now the Congressional Research Service) and the Library of Congress. He was credited again as recently as last year in a resolution by the United States Senate and a citation by the New Yale Book of Quotations. In February, however, simmering doubts about the oaths origin resurfaced. A New York history buff discovered a newspaper account that appears to contradict Bellamys. State courts in both Democratic and Republican states have been aggressively striking down gerrymandered political maps, as this years redistricting fights drag on and begin to create chaos in upcoming primary elections. In Maryland, a state judge last week threw out a congressional map drawn by Democrats, citing an extreme gerrymander. In North Carolina, the State Supreme Court in February struck down maps drawn by Republicans. And in New York, a state judge ruled on Thursday that a map drawn by Democrats had been unconstitutionally drawn with political bias. The flood of rulings reflects an emerging reality: that state courts, rather than federal ones, have become a primary firewall against gerrymandering as both Democrats and Republicans try to carve out maximum advantages in the maps they control. The parties have been emboldened to do so by a 2019 Supreme Court decision that federal courts cannot hear challenges to partisan gerrymandering, though they can still hear challenges to racial gerrymandering. At the same time, however, state judges in at least five states many, though not all, from the opposing party of the one that drew the districts have slapped down contorted maps as illegal partisan gerrymanders. WASHINGTON Immediately after Merrick B. Garland was sworn in as attorney general in March of last year, he summoned top Justice Department officials and the F.B.I. director to his office. He wanted a detailed briefing on the case that will, in all likelihood, come to define his legacy: the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. Even though hundreds of people had already been charged, Mr. Garland asked to go over the indictments in detail, according to two people familiar with the meeting. What were the charges? What evidence did they have? How had they built such a sprawling investigation, involving all 50 states, so fast? What was the plan now? The attorney generals deliberative approach has come to frustrate Democratic allies of the White House and, at times, President Biden himself. As recently as late last year, Mr. Biden confided to his inner circle that he believed former President Donald J. Trump was a threat to democracy and should be prosecuted, according to two people familiar with his comments. And while the president has never communicated his frustrations directly to Mr. Garland, he has said privately that he wanted Mr. Garland to act less like a ponderous judge and more like a prosecutor who is willing to take decisive action over the events of Jan. 6. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Mr. Garland said that he and the career prosecutors working on the case felt only the pressure to do the right thing, which meant that they follow the facts and the law wherever they may lead. GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba The U.S. military on Saturday delivered to Algeria a prisoner whose repatriation from Guantanamo Bay was arranged during the Obama administration but then delayed for five years. The prisoner, Sufyian Barhoumi, 48, was captured in Pakistan in March 2002 and soon taken to Guantanamo Bay, where he never faced trial. He was notified in August 2016 that he was eligible for release, but his case was sidelined by a Trump administration policy that generally halted transfers. The transfer was the second this year and the third since President Biden took office with the goal of closing Guantanamo. Now, 37 detainees remain, including 18 who are approved for release to the custody of another country if U.S. diplomats can arrange secure deals for them to go. The United States appreciates the willingness of Algeria and other partners to support ongoing U.S. efforts toward a deliberate and thorough process focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing of the Guantanamo Bay facility, the Pentagon said in a statement on Saturday. For decades, the police in Shelby County, Ind., could not identify the man who broke into houses at night, armed with a knife or a gun, woke his victims, and then bound and sexually tortured them. He often disguised himself in a bulky coat and covered his face with a ski mask or leggings. Then, in 2020, 35 years after his last known assault in the county, investigators were finally able to identify the attacker as Steven Ray Hessler, and arrest him. The breakthrough came, prosecutors said, when DNA extracted from the envelope of a water bill that Mr. Hessler had licked matched DNA that had been left at the scene of his last known crime in the county, on Aug. 17, 1985. On Friday, Mr. Hessler, 59, was sentenced to 650 years in prison. The sentence came a month after a jury convicted Mr. Hessler of two counts of rape, six counts of unlawful deviate conduct, seven counts of burglary resulting in bodily injury, three counts of criminal deviate conduct and one count of robbery. James B. Landwerlen, the prosecutor in Shelby County, southeast of Indianapolis, said that from Aug. 14, 1982, to Aug. 17, 1985, Mr. Hessler brutally assaulted 10 victims: seven women, a 16-year-old girl, and two men, including a former Marine whom he had handcuffed, hogtied and beat with a gun, leaving him in a coma for months. Like many countries, Brazil has a brutal history of racism. From the arrival of the first European settlers, Indigenous people were slaughtered for hundreds of years. Brazil imported more slaves than any other country and was the last nation in the Americas to abolish slavery, in 1888. And today, in a country where more than half the population is Black, Black people hold fewer than 1 in 100 corporate management positions, according to one study. The fight for equality has gained steam in recent years, in part fueled by a surge of affirmative action programs. In 2020, Magazine Luiza, a Brazilian retail giant with more than 1,400 stores, announced that its executive trainee program would be open only to Black candidates. The announcement ignited a national debate. Many conservatives in Brazil criticized the company, calling its policy racist, while many on the left cheered it on. We were canceled on social media, even by congressmen, said Frederico Trajano, Magazine Luizas chief executive. Yet since then, similar policies in Brazil have taken off, he said. The number of new initiatives is impressive. In the United States, companies including Google, Twitter and J.P. Morgan have introduced internship programs in recent years that are limited to certain minorities, framed as a way to create a more diverse pipeline of talent. But while there have been broad efforts to diversify the white-collar workforces at many American companies, U.S. law generally prohibits job ads that show a preference for a specific race. In Brazil, several recent court decisions have upheld affirmative action policies, making the law more clear that companies can give preference to Black and Indigenous employees, said Elisiane Santos, a prosecutor in the federal labor prosecutors office. It certainly is legal, she said. As a result, companies have become bolder. So when Laut, a research institute in Sao Paulo, posted its ad for a financial coordinator that gave preference to Black and Indigenous candidates, the move was hardly groundbreaking. It was more surprising when, three days later, on Feb. 28, LinkedIn removed the ad and told Laut, the Center for the Analysis of Freedom and Authoritarianism, in an email that the listing violated its policies. BANGKOK Each morning in her market stall in the Bangkok Noi district of the Thai capital, Jintana Rapsomruay rolls balls of dough into a snack known for its resemblance to the eggs of an oversize lizard. The sweet treat, which looks like a doughnut hole, was supposedly invented by a consort of the first king of the Chakri Dynasty, which continues to reign 240 years later. The 18th-century monarch liked to nosh on the eggs of water monitor lizards, so the story goes, but the concubine couldnt get her hands on any, so she substituted dough stuffed with sweet bean paste. The king among whose accomplishments was moving the Thai capital to its present location was pleased. The snack remains popular to this day, but Ms. Jintana can barely get by. Like millions of Thais struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic, her income has plummeted by half. In 2013, the federal government challenged the millions of dollars in legal and administrative fees the Catholic Church intended to count as part of its settlement payments at Court of Queens Bench for Saskatchewan. Disagreements over a proposed settlement of that case set off a legal chain reaction. In the course of it, a lawyer for the church told the court that the Catholic fund-raising drive came up with only 3.9 million Canadian dollars for the settlement about 1.3 million of which was paid to a private fund-raising company. What happened to the remainder is unclear. The government contended that, in exchange for a payment from the church of 1.2 million Canadian dollars, it agreed to settle the dispute over the churchs claim for fees. The churchs lawyers, however, said that the relatively small payment was to relieve the church of all settlement obligations, including the 25 million Canadian dollars. Last October, the CBC and The Globe and Mail reported, based on newly released documents, that the judge sided with the church. The decision allowed the church to walk away from its reparations payments. Then the federal government started an appeal of the courts decision, only to drop it. Among the many people shocked last fall by the revelations was Marc Miller, the minister responsible for Indigenous relations, who, like all members of the Liberal government, believes that the church should have been held to its commitment of 25 million Canadian dollars. As everyone, Im dumbfounded by it, Mr. Miller told The Canadian Press in November, making particular note of his confusion over the governments decision to end the appeal. I want to get to the bottom of it, he said. DEBRECEN, Hungary The towering memorial, erected on the battlefield where the Russian imperial army routed Hungarian troops, mourns Russias 1849 victory over brave homeland defenders. It is a reminder of how, for centuries, the Hungarian psyche has been shaped and scarred by the specter of Russian domination. There has been a constant fear of Russia, said Gyorgy Miru, a history professor in Debrecen, a Hungarian city near the border with Ukraine where the battle took place. Under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, however, this fear has turned into a trusting embrace. Mr. Orban, a political bruiser who revels in defying what he scorns as liberal conventions, has for years looked to Russia as a reliable source of energy and its president, Vladimir V. Putin, as a beacon of no-nonsense nationalism and muscular leadership, emulating in a milder form the Kremlins stranglehold on media and its one-party system. Amid the agonies inflicted on neighboring Ukraine over the past five weeks by Moscow, Mr. Orbans stance has left many in Hungary and beyond dismayed and angry that a nation with such a long and painful experience of Russian aggression could fall so far out of step with the rest of Europe. BERLIN Lithuania has stopped importing natural gas from Russia as of April and will be able to rely instead on deliveries from other countries to meet its energy needs, the countrys president announced on Saturday, saying the move was an example for other European Union members. Before Russias invasion of Ukraine, the E.U. had been looking for ways to reduce its dependency on Russian fossil fuels, including coal and oil, but especially gas. Nearly 40 percent of the blocs total natural gas came from Russia. But since Moscow ordered tanks into Ukraine on Feb. 24, member states have been more actively seeking ways to cut their gas needs. If we can do it, the rest of Europe can do it too, Gitanas Nauseda, Lithuanias president, said on Twitter on Saturday. While Lithuania is a tiny country with only 2.8 million people and an economy more reliant on trade than industry, it is the largest economy in the Baltic States and also a member of the eurozone. So while losing Lithuania as a customer is unlikely to significantly hurt Gazprom, Russias state-owned energy group, the move has geopolitical significance in setting a precedent for the E.U. ROME Pope Francis on Saturday inched closer to blaming President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia for invading Ukraine and said that a trip to Kyiv was possible as he arrived in Malta for a short visit emphasizing the plight of migrants, an issue that has long topped the pontiffs agenda and that has become critical with the war in Ukraine. On the flight to Malta from Rome, Francis responded to a reporters question about visiting Kyiv, Ukraines capital, by saying that it was on the table. Then in his address to the dignitaries and officials in a frescoed government chamber in Malta, Francis blamed a potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interests, for casting dark shadows of war from Europes east. Francis has refused to explicitly cite Mr. Putin or Russia as the aggressor for a variety of reasons, including the Vaticans hopes of playing a part in a potential peace agreement, and out of precaution so as to not endanger Roman Catholics across the world. But on Saturday, he clearly seemed to be speaking about Mr. Putin, who, Francis said, was provoking and fomenting conflicts. Ukrainian soldiers inspecting the remains of a Russian military vehicle on the road outside of Kyiv on Saturday. BUCHA, Ukraine The Russian forces that were intent on overwhelming Kyiv at the wars start with tanks and artillery retreated under fire across a broad front on Saturday, leaving behind them dead soldiers and burned vehicles, according to witnesses, Ukrainian officials, satellite images and military analysts. The withdrawal suggested the possibility of a major turn in the six-week war the collapse, at least for now, of Russias initial attempt to seize Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, and the end of its hopes for the quick subjugation of the nation. Moscow has described the withdrawal as a tactical move to regroup and reposition its forces for a major push in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. While there are early indications that the military is following through on that plan, analysts say it cannot obscure the magnitude of the defeat. The initial Russian operation was a failure and one of its central goals the capture of Kyiv proved unobtainable for Russian forces, Michael Kofman, the director of Russian studies at C.N.A., a research institute in Arlington, Va., said in a telephone interview Saturday. Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian attacks continued unabated, and the Pentagon has cautioned that the formations near Kyiv could be repositioning for renewed assaults. In the south, an aid convoy organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross that had stalled on its way to bring some relief to the besieged city of Mariupol was on the move again. The hope, repeatedly frustrated by Russian shelling, was to bring emergency supplies to trapped residents and to evacuate hundreds of those who have endured weeks of bombardment that has left shortages of food and water. In the suburban towns north of Kyiv, the Ukrainian army was advancing through a tableau of destruction, with dozens of wrecked tanks on streets, extensive damage to buildings and the bodies of civilians still lying uncollected. Kyiv and its surroundings, which had echoed with artillery booms and gunfire for weeks, had gone quiet. Image Ukrainian soldiers from the Azov Battalion near the remnants of a Russian military convoy in the recently liberated town of Bucha on Saturday. Credit... Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times Ukraines military on Saturday moved into Bucha, a key town on the west bank of the Dnipro River which divides Kyiv days after Russian forces had sacked it on their way out. They went from apartment to apartment collecting televisions and computers, loaded them on their tanks and left, Svetlana Semenova, a retiree, said of the Russian departure, which she described as chaotic. They left in a hurry. A few dozen people who had been living mostly in basements for a month staggered outside to collect food bags of potatoes and bread brought by Ukrainian soldiers. Elena Shur, 43, an accountant for Ukraines national airline, said the first sign of the Ukrainian military came on Friday, when a civilian car carrying soldiers drove through town waving the countrys flag. We saw people on the street, and soldiers, Ms. Shur said. I cried. Reporters counted six bodies of civilians on the streets and sidewalks of Bucha. It was unclear under what circumstances they had died, but the discarded packaging of a Russian military ration was lying beside one man who had been shot in the head. As photos of casualties in Bucha emerged, a senior adviser to Ukraines president said on Saturday that some of the dead wearing civilian clothes appeared to have been bound and executed. The bodies of people with tied hands, who were shot dead by soldiers lie in the streets, the adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter. These people were not in the military. They had no weapons. They posed no threat. He included an image of a scene, photographed by Agence France-Presse, showing three bodies on the side of a road, one with hands apparently tied behind the back. The New York Times was unable to independently verify Mr. Podolyaks claim the people had been executed. Image Residents of Bucha walk past the body of a civilian left in the street on Saturday. Credit... Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times The town was the site of a major Ukrainian ambush of a Russian armored column in the first days of the war, and one street was blocked by dozens of incinerated tanks and trucks. Despite that setback, the Russians had captured Bucha and held it for about a month. They executed half a dozen members of the Territorial Defense Force the volunteer army many Ukrainians joined when the war started leaving the bodies in a heavily mined part of town, said Varvara Kaminskaya, 69. The Ukrainians have advanced at least another 15 miles to the northwest of Bucha, where they now fly Ukrainian flags over former Russian checkpoints. After their initial assault on the capital failed, the Russian army had dug into defensive positions outside of Kyiv, suggesting an intention to hold a front line near the city. In an artillery war, trenches afford soldiers the best chance of survival. Those were abandoned in and around Bucha on Saturday. On the northern edge of town were the abandoned berms that had sheltered Russian artillery emplacements, surrounded by green boxes and hundreds of empty shell cases. According to our information, they are running away from all areas around Kyiv, said Sgt. Ihor Zaichuk, the commander of the 1st company of the 2nd Azov battalion in the Ukrainian army, which fought in Bucha. They can say on their own television stations, if they want, that they are the second most powerful army in the world, he said. But they arent anymore. He cautioned, however, that the Russians might return. Only their commanders know if they will be re-equipped and return. Even as cars lined up on some roads, making their way back into Kyiv, workers were building new defenses from heavy logs. On the east bank of the Dnipro, Ukrainian forces were pressing forward in villages dozens of miles from the capital, according to an intelligence officer with the S.B.U., the Ukrainian domestic intelligence service, who declined to be identified for security reasons. Analysts said that Moscows stated decision to refocus its military on the Donbas in eastern Ukraine is likely to be accurate, but mostly because they had little option. The Russians are adjusting their goals to reality, Lawrence Freedman, emeritus professor of war studies at Kings College London, said in an interview on Saturday. I think they know theyre in trouble, so I dont think its a ruse to say theyre concentrating on the Donbas, because in reality thats all they can do. Mr. Kofman, the expert on the Russian military, said the Russian army had lost about 2,000 pieces of equipment that was either destroyed, captured or abandoned, including about 350 tanks. As the Russians retreated, they left mines and booby traps behind in an effort to slow the Ukrainians pursuit, according to Ukrainian officers in different towns. In the suburb of Irpin, which the Ukrainians had recaptured before Bucha, demining operations were in full swing on Saturday. Some civilian bodies had been booby-trapped to kill emergency workers, Ukrainian officials said. One group of military engineers, dressed in heavy blue Kevlar armor, had tied a rope to a body. They pulled on it, to see if the motion would trigger booby traps. By late in the day, however, the body remained there, with the engineers apparently unable to ascertain if it was safe to collect. In the village of Dmytrivka, west of the capital, there were signs of a hasty Russian retreat from a scene of carnage. On a forest road leading out of the village, nine tanks and armored vehicles lay destroyed and gutted by fire, the detritus of a tank battle three days earlier. The turrets and heavy guns of two tanks lay tossed aside. Inside one armored personnel carrier, the burned human remains of men were visible. Image Burned-out remains of Russian armored vehicles littered a forest road near Dmytrivka on Saturday. Credit... Ivor Prickett for The New York Times Valentina Yatsevich, 58, a villager walking past the wrecks toward her home, said, They did not leave, they were destroyed. In Russia itself, the retreat caused consternation among the wars cheerleaders, with state television having previously raised expectations that the Russian military would capture Kyiv. Semyon Pegov, a popular pro-Kremlin war blogger embedded with the Russian troops, posted a video to the social messaging app Telegram on Saturday describing the move as a withdrawal, not a flight. The retreat was necessitated, he said, by Russias stretched-out supply lines and the threat of further losses as its troops tried to survive in field conditions facing a much better supplied and fortified enemy. It was an effort, mirrored by other pro-Kremlin outlets, to explain why Russia seemed to have sharply scaled back its war aims in recent days, after taking painful losses in fighting for the Kyiv suburbs. Russian hard-liners calling for an assault on Kyiv saw the retreat as a disappointment. I dont know why this decision was made, Aleksandr Kots, a war correspondent for the Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda, wrote on Telegram. The war is only beginning. Well figure out later who was right and who was at fault. Image Residents of the recently liberated town of Bucha reach for food being distributed by Ukrainian soldiers with the Azov battalion on Saturday. The town had not received food, or had gas or electricity to cook, for more than 30 days while Russian forces fought in the streets. Credit... Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times The Kremlin maintained its defiance as state television released an interview with Dmitri S. Peskov, Mr. Putins spokesman, characterizing the United States as being at the root of Europes ills. He expressed confidence that European countries would renew relations with Russia once they sober up a little from the American bourbon. In Lithuania, President Gitanas Nauseda announced that his country would no longer import Russian gas starting this month. If we can do it, the rest of Europe can do it too, he wrote on Twitter. The European Union is looking for ways to reduce Europes dependency on Russian oil and gas. In other developments on Saturday, Pope Francis, visiting the Mediterranean island nation of Malta, edged closer to blaming President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia for the war in Ukraine than he had before. In an address to Maltese dignitaries and officials, the pope blamed a potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interests for casting dark shadows of war from Europes east. Francis has declined to explicitly blame Mr. Putin or Russia as the aggressor for various reasons, including the Vaticans hopes of playing a role in a potential peace agreement. But on Saturday, he clearly seemed to be speaking about Mr. Putin, who he said was provoking and fomenting conflicts. Image Russian forces retreated from Irpin, a strategic town just 12 miles outside of Kyiv, after weeks of heavy fighting and ceaseless bombardment. Credit... Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times Andrew E. Kramer reported from Bucha, Ukraine, and Neil MacFarquhar from New York. Reporting was contributed by Anton Troianovski in Istanbul; Carlotta Gall in Dmytrivka, Ukraine; Megan Specia in Warsaw; Steven Erlanger in Brussels; Maria Varenikova in Bucha, Ukraine; and Jason Horowitz in Rome. Some analysts believe that Mr. Putin is risking a similar fate. He will lose Russia because of Ukraine, said Mr. Fishman, who has just finished a book about why democracy failed to take hold in Russia after the Soviet collapse. Others are less emphatic, especially in the short term, and note the popular signs of support for him inside Russia. Still, they caution that Mr. Putin is uncharacteristically playing a poker game with an unpredictable ending. This has been a major failure in Europes biggest land war since 1945, and that is a big failure, said Clifford Kupchan, chairman of the Eurasia Group, a political risk assessment firm. I would not bet futures in Russian political stability over a five-year period. While Mr. Putin has publicly emphasized the security threat posed by a westward leaning Ukraine as a reason for going to war, others say his deepest concern is the possible political fallout from living next door to a boisterous democracy with decent economic prospects. Putins ultimate nightmare is a color revolution in Russia, and that is the lens through which he views people voting in Ukraine, said Mr. Kupchan. Because it is so close, culturally, the threat of contagion as he perceives it is even greater. Mr. Putins successes are legion, especially his entire career arc from an obscure, midlevel intelligence agent forced to drive a taxi to make ends meet after the collapse of the Soviet Bloc to becoming one of the longest-running leaders ever to occupy the Kremlin. Yet in Ukraine, Mr. Putin, 69, has taken repeated missteps. In 2004, he campaigned personally in the presidential election on behalf of his preferred candidate, Viktor F. Yanukovych, whom he twice congratulated on his win. But widespread accusations of voting fraud sparked a nationalist backlash and the Orange Revolution, with street protests culminating ultimately in the election of Viktor A. Yushchenko (who was poisoned during the campaign) as president in a Western-oriented government. MADRID Antonio Ledezma, a former mayor of Caracas, jokes that he sometimes forgets that Madrid is not the capital of Venezuela, from where he escaped five years ago. Whenever I walk around or take a bus, I probably bump into two or three other Venezuelans, he said of the Spanish capital. Its a bit strange, but this sometimes feels to me just like Sabana Grande, he added, referring to one of the main boulevards of Caracas. While people from Latin America have long sought work in Spain often in low-wage jobs as cleaners, waiters or on construction sites turmoil in the region in recent years has brought an influx of prominent and affluent exiles. Now, the Spanish capital is rivaling Miami as a haven for Latin Americans and often for their money, too, according to the new arrivals and others catering to them. A Ukrainian photojournalist who went missing over two weeks ago while documenting the Russian invasion of Ukraine near the capital, Kyiv, has been found dead, according to the office of Ukraines prosecutor general. The photojournalist, Maks Levin, 40, was a prominent freelancer who had spent years covering the conflict in Ukraine. There had been fears for his safety after he and a colleague went missing in mid-March while reporting near the front line of Russian fighting in the Vyshhorod area. His body was found in a village in the Vyshhorod district north of Kyiv on Friday, according to the Institute of Mass Information, a Ukrainian civil society organization focused on press freedom. He is survived by his wife, four sons and his parents. The prosecutors office said in a statement that based on preliminary information, Mr. Levin was shot by Russian armed forces with small arms fire, and that a criminal investigation into his death was underway. They went from apartment to apartment collecting televisions and computers, loaded them on their tanks and left, Svetlana Semenova, a retiree, said of the Russian departure, which she described as chaotic. They left in a hurry. A few dozen people who had been living mostly in basements for a month staggered outside to collect food bags of potatoes and bread brought by Ukrainian soldiers. Elena Shur, 43, an accountant for Ukraines national airline, said the first sign of the Ukrainian military came on Friday, when a civilian car carrying soldiers drove through town waving the countrys flag. We saw people on the street, and soldiers, Ms. Shur said. I cried. Reporters counted six bodies of civilians on the streets and sidewalks of Bucha. It was unclear under what circumstances they had died, but the discarded packaging of a Russian military ration was lying beside one man who had been shot in the head. As photos of casualties in Bucha emerged, a senior adviser to Ukraines president said on Saturday that some of the dead wearing civilian clothes appeared to have been bound and executed. The bodies of people with tied hands, who were shot dead by soldiers lie in the streets, the adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter. These people were not in the military. They had no weapons. They posed no threat. He included an image of a scene, photographed by Agence France-Presse, showing three bodies on the side of a road, one with hands apparently tied behind the back. The New York Times was unable to independently verify Mr. Podolyaks claim the people had been executed. VASYLKIV, Ukraine The accounts of resistance in the small garrison town of Vasylkiv have already taken on the sheen of legend. There are reports of Russian transport planes shot down, paratroopers hunted in the woods and even an unknown Ukrainian pilot nicknamed the Ghost of Kyiv defending the skies. Hyperboles aside, the people of this quiet provincial town of tree-lined streets and low-rise buildings dating back to the Russian empire managed to fight off Russian troops in the critical opening days of the war, preventing Russian forces from capturing strategic bases that could have allowed the nations capital, Kyiv, to be encircled. Vasylkiv home to an aviation school that has trained generations of pilots, a counterterrorism task force and an air defense command center that protects the capital and central Ukraine became one of the first targets of a Russian attack in the first hours and days of the war. Cruise missiles slammed into the air base, and then Russian airborne forces attacked in a series of ground assaults. They did not prevail. Accounts from residents, government officials, armed forces personnel and civilians who have enlisted territorial defense units described how Ukraine rebuffed the Russian assault and helped prevent Russias wider aims to seize control of the country. JERUSALEM Israeli security forces killed three Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank early Saturday morning, as they continued to scale up their operations in response to a wave of terrorist attacks in Israel. The Israeli police said in a statement that the militants had been intercepted while driving through the northern West Bank, after the authorities received a tip that they were about to carry out an attack. The three men were killed in a subsequent shootout that also left four Israeli soldiers wounded, the police said. The Islamic Jihad militant group later confirmed that three of its members had been killed by Israeli security forces on Saturday morning, but it did not comment on the claims about a potential attack. The episode brings the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli military operations in the West Bank this week to at least six. Three others were killed on Thursday morning during an Israeli raid in Jenin, a city in the northern West Bank, Palestinian health officials said. BEIRUT, Lebanon A two-month truce between the warring parties in Yemen went into effect on Saturday, providing some hope for a reduction of violence in a war that has roiled the Arabian Peninsula and caused a crushing humanitarian crisis. The truce, the first coordinated cease-fire in years, which was brokered by the United Nations, includes a stop to all attacks inside Yemen and outside its borders; the entry of fuel ships to a rebel-controlled port; and the resumption of some commercial flights at the international airport in Yemens capital, Sana. The aim of this truce is to give Yemenis a necessary break from violence, relief from the humanitarian suffering and, most importantly, hope that an end to this conflict is possible, Hans Grundberg, the United Nations special envoy for Yemen, said in a statement announcing the agreement on Friday. President Biden welcomed the truce. The cease-fire must be adhered to, and as I have said before, it is imperative that we end this war, he said in a statement. After seven years of conflict, negotiators must undertake the hard and necessary work to reach political compromises that can bring about an enduring future of peace for all the people of Yemen. Although the U.S. government is running low on money for medications, vaccines and testing, Senate Democrats and Republicans neared agreement to cut by more than half President Bidens request for $22.5 billion in emergency coronavirus relief aid. We need to secure additional supply now, Mr. Biden said on Wednesday, shortly before receiving his second booster shot. We cant wait until we find ourselves in the midst of another surge to act. Itll be too late. That sentiment seemed especially timely because the highly transmissible Omicron subvariant known as BA.2, which led to a surge of coronavirus cases in Europe and Asia, has become the dominant version of the virus in new U.S. cases, according to estimates that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on Tuesday. On Tuesday, federal regulators, concerned that the subvariant could lead to a surge in the United States, too, authorized second booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines for everyone 50 and older. From Wyoming to Maine, an outbreak of the highly contagious bird flu has swept across farms and backyard flocks in the United States this year, prompting millions of chickens and turkeys to be culled. Iowa has been particularly hard hit, with disasters being declared in some counties and the state canceling live bird exhibits in an order that may affect its famed state fair. Here is what we know about the bird flu. What is avian influenza? Better known as the bird flu, avian influenza is a highly contagious and deadly virus that can prey on chickens, turkeys and wild birds, including ducks, geese and eagles. It spreads via nasal secretions, saliva and fecal droppings, which experts say makes it difficult to contain. Symptoms of the virus include a sudden increase in the mortality of a flock, a drop in egg production and diminished consumption of feed and water. Russian leadership was deluded that Ukraine would collapse at the first sign of fighting, and that President Volodymyr Zelensky would flee, said Nick Reynolds, a military analyst at the Royal United Services Institute. That was a catastrophic failure to understand Ukrainian society and the Ukrainian state, Mr. Reynolds said. Even outnumbering Ukrainian fighters by 10 to one might not be enough to take the city, given Russias inability to coordinate its ground forces with intelligence, air power and engineering, some analysts said. You need to be good at this, said Scott Boston, an analyst at RAND who studies the Russian military and land warfare. And I dont think I have any real evidence that Russia has trained to do large-scale urban warfare. Food technology company Primeval Foods plans to launch an entire menagerie of exotic meats that didnt actually come from animals, including lion burgers, tiger nuggets or giraffe ham. As the meat-alternatives market becomes increasingly competitive, food tech companies are coming up with new and ingenious ways of making their products stand out. Primeval Foods, a London-based startup specializing in cellular agriculture, plans to start selling exotic meats cultivated in a laboratory. And were not talking expensive and hard-to-come-by beef either, but the types of meat most people never even imagined were edible, like lion or tiger meat. No animals are actually hurt in the process of growing these exotic meats in a laboratory, as they are actually grown from cultured cells, but the simple idea of consuming lion or tiger is just weird, if not downright offputting for a lot of people. Thats because theyre not the kind of meat were used to eating, but Primeval Foods considers this an opportunity worth investing in. The reason we consume traditional species like beef and chicken today is not they are the tastiest, healthiest, or most nutritious ones. Its because they are the easiest to domesticate. Since cultivated meat allows to go beyond domesticated species,, now we can explore the tastiest, healthiest and most nutritious options, Yilmaz Bora, Managing Partner at Ace Ventures (the company behind Primeval Foods) told Food Navigator. Cultivated exotic meat consumption might lead humanity to a new evolution for our brain and gut microbiome because of the unique protein and amino acid profile, without the downside, such as cholesterol and saturated fats, Bora added. We are envisioning a future where we consume cultivated jaguar meat to have better sleep and mood, or cultivated elephant meat to improve our cognitive performance. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Primeval is also betting on the fact that most people are always eager to try and experiment with new things, including new culinary experiences. And even though some of the meats on its menus might sound a bit weird at first, since they dont come at the expense of nature, people might be willing to at least try it. So how is the food-tech startup getting the cells it needs to grow its own exotic meats. Well, it sourced some of them from captive animals, like the big cats, and some come from exotic meat markets. In the coming months, we are planning to have a tasting event in London with one of our cultivated exotic meats, to give the world a taste of what the next chapter of food would look like, Yilmaz Bora said. Towards net zero emissions in Denmark Denmark has been a frontrunner in policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and now plans to cut emissions by 70% by 2030 from 1990 levels and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Such ambition induces halving emissions from 2019 levels and making the same emission abatement effort in ten years than the past thirty years. Cutting emissions at such fast pace will be challenging with substantial disruptions and macroeconomic consequences. A balanced mix of pricing policies, public investment, regulation and enabling policies should allow smoothing the potential economic and social shocks and accompanying the reallocation of resources. This paper investigates further sectoral climate strategies in Denmark. In the energy sector (electricity and district heating), past progress made to ramp up clean technologies provides a good blueprint to achieve further decarbonisation, but the focus will need to be put soon on lowering reliance on woody biomass. In the transport sector, emissions have continued to increase despite the shift to more fuel-efficient vehicles, highlighting the need for more transformative policies to expand alternatives to individual car uses. In agriculture, little has been done so far to cut emissions, especially from livestock. The sector is subject to leakage risks, but nonetheless should be encouraged to transform its practices. Helping farmers to monitor their GHG emissions should be combined with more stringent regulation. In series:OECD Economics Department Working Papersview more titles Gardai in Offaly are investigating two incidents of advance fee fraud where victims in Offaly lost sizable sums of money. The losses were from 1,000 to 4,000. Gardai in Tullamore say both victims thought they were dealing with legitimate loan and mortgage websites. Advance fee fraud requires individuals to pay a fee before receiving a promised sum of money which is never paid. Gardai say they have noticed an increase in this practice recently with a number of websites offering quick, easy, unsecured loans. The victim is required to fill in a short application that looks for their details. Once these details have been submitted a follow up phone call is received from what appears to be an Irish number. The victim is informed via the telephone call that their loan has been approved but they are required to make a payment in advance of the loan being paid into their account. Reasons for fees can vary but can include: Insurance fees Set up fees First instalment in advance The websites used in these scams look professional in nature but there are a number of Red Flags which the public should look out for. These include (but not limited to): 1. The common trend with all these sites is that they are offer quick and easy money. 2. No guarantor or security is sought and no checks on the individuals ability to pay will be made and no documents / proof of ID will be sought 3. The requirement that a fee is paid in advance of the service being provided. 4. The fraudster will put pressure on the victim to act quickly or the opportunity will be lost 5. The company offering the loans is not be regulated by the Irish Central Bank. Even though they may claim to be so regulated or will say they dont need regulation as they are experienced. An Garda Siochana advise the public to: Never apply for a loan from an entity that is not authorised by the Central Bank do your checks in advance of any agreement and before sending any money. ALWAYS check the official Central Bank website to see if the firm is authorised by the Central Bank. The register of authorised firms can be accessed at http://registers.centralbank.ie/ There may also be instances where a firm clones the details of an authorised entity by taking the details of an authorised entity and claiming to either be that entity or an associated entity. Further information in respect of unauthorised firms that have already come to the attention of the Central Bank is available on the Central Banks website at https://www.centralbank.ie/.../authori.../unauthorised-firms but please be warned that there may be scams out there that have not yet come to the attention of the Central Bank. Never allow your account to be used by another to move money or to hold money for any period (long or short) as this enables Fraudsters to complete their crimes, and deprives innocent Victims of their hard earned cash. Unfortunately there are no cheap easy loans available in the market and if the offer sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is too good to be true. Always report the matter to your local Garda station. Stop and think BEFORE ENGAGING Never give away personal data to people you dont know Always be fraud aware, particularly when you receive an unsolicited phone call, email, text or other communication that leads to a request for personal or banking information. Never click on a link in an email, text or other message unless you know the source Shoppers have been warned not to buy or consume Wonka branded chocolate bars due to concerns over fake products being unsafe to eat. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is warning consumers not to buy or eat Wonka branded chocolate bars, due to an increase in reports that counterfeit chocolate bars bearing this brand name are for sale on the market in Ireland. The counterfeit chocolate bars may be unsafe to eat, as there is a possibility that they may not have been produced in line with food safety, hygiene and/or food traceability legal requirements to protect public health. Some examples of the issues identified to date with these counterfeit Wonka branded chocolate bars include: * failure to provide an accurate ingredients list e.g., undeclared ingredients and allergens on the label * false business name and address on the label * the rewrapping of various shop bought or homemade chocolate bars in Wonka wrappers * unregistered food businesses selling products online Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI urges consumers to be aware of the possible risks posed by these counterfeit chocolate bars. "The FSAI is working closely with the food inspectors in the Environmental Health Service of the HSE to ensure any counterfeit Wonka branded chocolate bars where there is a known or suspected consumer health risk are removed from sale. Consumers have a right to safe food and counterfeit foodstuffs will be pursued using the legal powers available to us, Dr Byrne said. 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. She fled North Macedonia after she was assaulted, urinated on and almost raped. But German authorities have designated her home country as "safe" and now they want to deport her and her family. With each day of the invasion, the pressure grows on Western companies to shutter their operations in Russia. Businesses that continue to operate there will have to withdraw sooner or later, DW's Miodrag Soric writes. Pope Francis took an elevator to board his flight to Malta to "avoid unnecessary strain." The trip to Malta comes one day after he apologized to Canada's indigenous communities for abuses at residential schools there. Liverpool beat struggling Watford to complete a remarkable return to the top of the Premier League - for a few hours at least. As the contest at the top of the Premier League intensifies, will next weekend's Manchester City-Liverpool match ultimately determine the title? A United States official confirmed that Ukrainian helicopters attacked a Russian oil depot, an incident that could jeopardize peace negotiations. However, Ukrainian authorities have denied the allegations and said that what affected peace talks was Russia's continued attack on the mainland and its people. Officials from Russia and Ukraine met for another day of talks about a potential cease-fire, as fighting continued in Ukraine on Friday. (April 1) SeattlePI.com 20 Apr 2022 WARSAW, Poland (AP) After spending weeks with no electricity or water in the basement of her family's home in Ukraine,.. Biden was far from the first U.S. president to say what he thought about Russia or its leaders or to pay a price for it. President Joe Biden recently announced that the US would welcome up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine. MANISTEE -- Nothing is more exhilarating for a young author than to see the fruits of their labor published for the first time and appear in print on the shelves of a book store. Author and lawyer Logan Tomaszewski, who writes under the pen name T.C. Pendragon and has strong ties to the Manistee area, recently published his magic/fantasy thriller "Martin Blackbriar and the Necronomicon." Tomaszewski is the son of Randy and Kellie Tomaszewski, of Onekama. He grew up primarily in the Grand Rapids area, but also lived several other locations where his parents were working in their careers. However, he grew to love Manistee as a second home as a result of his frequent trips to this area to visit grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins over the years. My fathers side of the family has roots in Manistee and that is where he grew up, so we always had a connection to it as our ancestral home, said Tomaszewski. We would always vacation in Manistee to visit family. The 27-year-old author's book "Martin Blackbriar and the Necronomicon" is in the spirit of the "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Rings" type of books that were the favorites of his youth. This book really came from a mixture of a couple different things, said Tomaszewski. I grew up loving to read Lord of the Rings and all those fantasy things that came out. I also loved Stephen Kings work with It and The Dark Tower and whenever those books came out I realized it was possible to break with convention to write your story. Tomaszewski said the book is about a brother and sister finding magic and discovering a new world together. He said what also influenced this book was the close relationship he has with his sister, Olivia, who he considers his hero. That mirrors what comes out of this first novel with the interaction between the main characters Martin Blackbriar and his sister Ali, but he said other characters were also based on people and even pets that have been a part of his life. Olivia was always the strong one between the two of us and I admire her tenacity, bravery and ability to stand up for people when they need it, so I kind of based the characters off us he said. The book is about Martin and Ali and where they fit in the larger world of magic. Tomaszewski said the two careers of law -- he's a recent graduate of Cooley Law School -- and writing has made for an interesting journey in his life. He loves practicing law, but has always had the passion for becoming an author from the time he was young. I am working on the writing process and the act of publishing coming off the coattails of law school, he said. It was a very interesting process just learning the law and figuring out how to help people in a legal context, but what I was really passionate about doing since I was a kid is writing. He said what helped in his personal journey was finding a publisher -- Long Overdue Publishing in Chicago. When I first started looking for a publisher it was very difficult, said Tomaszewski. I was very lucky in having a dear professor of mine from my college days who said she knew someone who graduated from there who was publishing books in Chicago. They helped make the connection for me and it just worked out perfectly. Tomaszewski also explained the reason for and how his pen name came about. ... My name of Logan Tomaszewski never just felt right for the author of this book, he said. So I was writing the name of a character for a mystery book I am working on and wrote the letters T.C. and stopped. I thought that was a pretty good start to a name. Looking around the room I saw a book on Arthurian Legend and Pendragon came to me. He said the name T.C. Pendragon just felt right when it hit the pages and he knew it would work with this story. Tomaszewski also credits both of his parents for instilling in him a true love of literature from an early age by reading to him. It is something he said helped lead him down the path to becoming an author. "Some of my earliest memories are of my mother reading to me," said Tomaszewski. "It didn't matter what the book it was. I just remember pages turning, her smiling and me falling in love with literature. That is where the spark started for me, as I saw there was a lot of power in how people told stories." He said that concept about how stories can bring things to life really hit home with him as his late grandfather, Jerome Tomaszewski, died before he got to know him. I really came to know him, meet him and love him through the stories my family always shared about him, said Tomaszewski. His father, Randy, also opened his eyes to books like "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" and what they have to offer in the world of fantasy. My dad used to read me 'The Hobbit,' 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'Harry Potter' which I just loved hearing, he said. Tomaszewski has written several other books and hopes this one will be the first of many to follow in his writing career. I am working with my publisher going through the other ones, said Tomaszewski. We really hit it off and realized there is more to writing than just writing one book. I have always been interested in writing and improving my skills. He said suddenly many things are now possible for him in the world of writing and the other stories he wrote are no longer just a pile of dreams that may or may not get published. Now there is a chance that someday all of them could get into print. We have more works coming down the line that will hopefully get published this year and the following one, he said. There is a spinoff from the Martin Blackbrier book, but some of those books are very different. I also have one that is science fiction and looking at a future world kind of like the books 1984 or Brave New World. The young author said he tries to write something every day. Sometimes it will be more than other days, but the key is writing on a continual basis to keep the creative juices flowing. My dad always says that some days I get peanuts and other days I get shells, he said. There is nothing wrong with that. However, for now the writing career that he dreamed of since a child is off and running with the road ahead looking bright for more works by T.C. Pendragon coming in the future. You only get this far in the process with people behind you who love you, trust you and want to see your stories get told, he said. If you have a story you really want to tell, it is extremely rare that it gets done without someones help. It is something to revel in and appreciate. People can find the book locally at the Happy Owl Book Store in Manistee and at Studio 231 in Elberta. It can also be purchased online from Long Overdue Books at Longoverduebooks.com and on Amazon. MANISTEE COUNTY The following includes reports made to the Manistee County Sheriffs Office from March 4-7. All calls may not be reported. This is part of a lengthy report and is compiled by assistant editor Arielle Breen. March 4 A dog was reported to have been running at large at 8:44 a.m. in Marilla Township. A property damage crash and abandoned vehicle were reported at 6:05 a.m. in Springdale Township. A suspicious person was reported at 9 a.m. in Dickson Township. A verbal domestic incident was reported at 1:49 p.m. in Manistee Township. A Manistee County resident was reported to have a parole violation warrant at 10:55 a.m. in Otsego County. A vehicle-deer accident was reported at 8:22 p.m. in Springdale Township. Larceny was reported at 7:51 p.m. in Filer Township. A person was arrested in Manistee on a Mason County warrant at 9:21 p.m. A civil dispute and standby situation was reported at 9:40 a.m. in Manistee Township. A liquor inspection was conducted at 9:36 a.m. in Arcadia Township. A person was reported to have left the scene of a property damage crash and malicious destruction of property incident at 10:48 a.m. in Norman Township. A well-being check was conducted at 11:18 a.m. in Filer Township. A dog was reported to have been missing and running at large at 4:46 p.m. in Manistee Township. Deputies conducted a well-being check at 8:25 p.m. in Manistee Township. March 6 Deputies assisted a person and attempted to locate a persona at 1:30 a.m. in Arcadia Township. A vehicle-deer accident was reported at 6:20 a.m. in Springdale Township. Deputies assisted Michigan State Police at 11:41 a.m. with a domestic incident in Kaleva. Deputies assisted Michigan State Police at 4:53 p.m. with a breaking and entering in Stronach Township. A vehicle-deer accident was reported at 7:12 p.m. in Onekama Township. Deputies assisted the Manistee City Police Department at 11:06 p.m. in Norman Township. March 7 A property damage crash was reported at 7:19 a.m. in Filer Township. A dog was reported to have attacked a person at 9:53 a.m. in Manistee Township. Deputies assisted a person at 9:54 a.m. in Manistee Township. A property damage crash was reported at 10 a.m. in Manistee Township. A two-vehicle property damage crash was reported at 10:09 a.m. in Stronach Township. Truancy was reported at 10:30 a.m. in Dickson Township. Truancy was reported in Dickson Township. Truancy was reported at 10:30 a.m. in Dickson Township. Truancy was reported at 10:30 a.m. in Dickson Township. Truancy was reported at 10:30 a.m. in Dickson Township. Truancy was reported at 10:30 a.m. in Dickson Township. A private property damage crash was reported at 11:40 a.m. in Manistee Township. A person was reported to have been in possession of heroin at 11:10 a.m. in Manistee Township. A property damage crash was reported at 12:32 p.m. in Filer Township. Sexual harassment was reported at 4:57 p.m. in Springdale Township. Deputies assisted a driver at 7:15 p.m. in Filer Township. The following editorial was published in the Los Angeles Times: In recent weeks, revelations about political activity by Virginia Thomas, the wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, have evolved from alarming to beyond the pale. First came a New Yorker investigation in January that detailed numerous ways Thomas and her political-lobbying firm, Liberty Consulting, are linked to right-wing groups with high-stakes cases before the court on abortion, affirmative action and gun rights. In some instances, she was paid by groups filing amicus briefs that her husband would presumably read in the course of his deliberations. Then came a New York Times investigation showing how Thomas used her husbands relationship with then-President Donald Trump to try to influence policy and personnel decisions in the White House. It also reported that she helped unite various groups participating in the Jan. 6 rally that resulted in the deadly attack on the Capitol as Congress was certifying Bidens election. (Virginia Thomas rejected the report in an interview with the Washington Free Beacon, saying that she did not help organize the rally, but that she attended it until she got too cold.) Most recently, a Washington Post investigation revealed that after the 2020 election, Virginia Thomas repeatedly pressured Trumps chief of staff, Mark Meadows, to pursue efforts to overturn Joe Bidens victory. In a series of jaw-dropping text messages Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!! and The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History, among them Thomas spread falsehoods as she urged the presidents team to attempt to reverse the election results. All this was happening as Trump and his allies vowed to take their cockamamie allegations of election fraud to the Supreme Court. Those cases, of course, were so flimsy that they never made it to the nations highest court, preventing us from knowing if Justice Thomas would have recused himself from ruling on the matter in which he clearly had a conflict of interest. But in January, we got a glimpse of the justices frightful lack of judicial ethics. Thats when the Supreme Court rejected Trumps plea to shield his White House records which included communication with Virginia Thomas from the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. Only one justice sided with Trump and dissented from the ruling: Clarence Thomas. What a disgrace. Of course Thomas should have recused himself from that case. And he must, for the sake of fairness and public trust, recuse himself from any other Jan. 6 cases that may come before the court. Beyond that, the disturbing chain of events demonstrates that the Supreme Court desperately needs stronger ethics rules. Right now the nine justices of the Supreme Court the most powerful judges in the country essentially police themselves when it comes to ethics. While theyre supposed to be guided by the same code of conduct that other federal judges must follow, justices decide whether to recuse themselves in any given situation. That must change. The Supreme Courts power rests in the trust it earns from the public. Americans may not agree with every ruling from the court, but they need to trust that the justices decisions are fair, backed by integrity and driven by sound interpretations of the law. There is no room for personal favors from the bench. Its time for the Supreme Court to establish a code of ethical conduct and stick to it. Chinese FM meets with Uzbek deputy PM on bilateral ties Xinhua) 09:25, April 02, 2022 Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov on the sidelines of the third foreign ministers' meeting among the neighboring countries of Afghanistan in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province, March 31, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) HEFEI, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi Thursday met with Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov on the sidelines of the third foreign ministers' meeting among the neighboring countries of Afghanistan in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province. Wang said that, since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Uzbekistan 30 years ago, the two countries have trusted and supported each other, and cooperation in various fields has been continuously deepened, reaching an unprecedented high level. He said China will continue to support Uzbekistan in exploring a development path suited to its own national conditions and stands ready to work with Uzbekistan to jointly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state to promote the development of bilateral relations. China is willing to strengthen the docking of the Belt and Road Initiative with the plan to build a new Uzbekistan, enlarge cooperation on trade and investment and new energy, and foster a diversified and multi-dimensional cooperation framework, Wang said. For his part, Umurzakov said Uzbekistan firmly adheres to the one-China policy and is committed to deepening friendly bilateral relations. Uzbekistan appreciates China's development achievements and expects to draw on China's experience in governance, especially its experience in poverty reduction, Umurzakov said, adding that Uzbekistan is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in various fields. The two sides agreed to strengthen connectivity cooperation; explore the potential for cooperation on agriculture; advance cultural and people-to-people exchanges as well as cooperation at local levels; and deepen cooperation on health care and pandemic response. They agreed to strengthen communication and coordination in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Wang said that China fully supports Uzbekistan in hosting the SCO summit in the city of Samarkand and is willing to jointly oppose external interference and fight against the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism and separatism. The two sides also exchanged views on the Afghan issue. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov on the sidelines of the third foreign ministers' meeting among the neighboring countries of Afghanistan in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province, March 31, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Washington DC, US (PANA) - The United States has welcomed steps by the Government of Ethiopia and regional authorities to implement a cessation of hostilities in the country and commended them on the delivery of humanitarian assistance over recent days in the Tigray and Afar regions Photo: (Photo : Getty images ) The world is raving about a rare birth phenomenon on Wednesday in a hospital in Vinaros, Castellon Valencia Region in Spain. A Spanish twin was delivered in a one in 80,000 "mermaid birth" or was born while still inside an intact amniotic sac. The amniotic sac usually ruptures when a mother's water breaks before the labor begins. The Mirror reported that the twins were born with the amniotic sac intact and successfully delivered via caesarian section. Gynecologist and obstetrician Ana Teijelo, the medical team handling the C-section, ensured that the delivery went smoothly. She shared the photos and videos of the delivery on Twitter. The doctors posted the pictures of the twins with the parents' permission. She posted that this is the first veiled caesarian section she has seen, and she loves it. Las fotos preciosas, no os parece? La primera cesarea velada que he visto y me ha encantado, y no os digo nada a los estudiantes (aunque reconozco que la de los gritos soy yo). Pasa aproximadamente una vez cada 80000 partos y hoy nuestros estudiantes han tenido un dia de 10. pic.twitter.com/FSQiUdqJnQ AnaTeijelo (@AnaTeijelo) March 23, 2022 Mermaid birth or en caul A mermaid birth occurs when a baby is delivered wrapped in a soft, jello-like bubble called the amniotic sac. It is also called veiled birth or en caul birth. This birth takes place once in 80,000 times. The amniotic sac, according to Healthline, has two layers. It is filled with amniotic fluid in which the baby floats during the pregnancy. The sac protects the baby and keeps them warm throughout fetal development. The babies drink amniotic fluid, and it also aids in developing the lungs and other organs. It also helps the baby excrete for the first time after birth. Usually, the amniotic sac breaks when the mother goes to labor, hence, the "water breaking." But in en caul or mermaid births, they remain intact even after childbirth. Mermaid births are less common in vaginal births than caesareans, but they can still happen, especially if the baby is premature. The doctors can cut through the sac to give birth, but in some cases, doctors decide to deliver the babies fully contained in the sac. However, many babies have been seen slowly breaking open the sac they are covered in. Read Also: 87-Year-Old Wife Reunites With Wedding Ring She Lost in the 1960s With the Help of Neighbor Attributed to fame and fortune According to Beach Cities Midwifery, en caul births or mermaid births have been attributed to fame and fortune and are associated with magical and spiritual abilities. In Old Nordic beliefs, a child born en caul is believed to have the unique ability to navigate the world and foresee the future. In the 16th century, some physicians began to scorn any superstitious beliefs associated with en caul births. Nonetheless, being born en caul is good luck for both the baby and the parents. In some cultures, parents and midwives save and dry the caul as a good luck charm. In many parts of Europe, the amniotic sac or "caul" is often sold as a token of good luck and protection. One of the myths associated with en caul is that babies can never drown. Folklores also associate babies born en caul with being destined for greatness. Whether one believes in the myths associated with en caul birth, being born and witnessing an en caul birth is a rare and fortunate event. Most delivery doctors and midwives have never seen an en caul birth in their careers. Related Article: UK.'s Most Premature Twins Finally Comes Home After 5 Months in the Hospital and Given 0 chance of survival Photo: (Photo : ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images) The youngest group eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in the United States, children whose ages range from 5 to 11, is also the demographic with the lowest vaccination rate. CNN analyzed data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with the numbers showing that less than 10 percent of kids ages 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated in about half of the counties in the U.S. Majority of the counties with low vaccination rates against the coronavirus among children are in the South. Nearly two-thirds of counties that have vaccinated fewer than 10 percent of children ages 5 to 11 are from that particular region in the United States. Maldonado concerned with low vaccination rates for children Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, the current chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, is disappointed with the low vaccination rates in the 5 to 11 age bracket, saying, "This has been a constant concern for all of us." Maldonado added that it is very disturbing to see that families have not embraced vaccination. She told the New York Times that messaging on behalf of public health agencies needs to be more strategic. According to the study, about 1,500 counties in the United States have less than 10 percent of this particular age group vaccinated. The figures are even worse in at least 500 U.S. counties, with less than 5 percent of this age group vaccinated. According to the CDC, about 66 percent of the entire U.S. population is fully vaccinated overall, including nearly 90 percent of seniors and three-quarters of adults. The vaccination rate is higher than 50 percent nationally among adolescents ages 12 to 17. That makes the vaccination rates for children ages 5 to 11 hugely disappointing. Less than 28 percent of children in this age bracket are fully vaccinated in the U.S., even though these kids have been eligible for a vaccination against COVID-19 for nearly five months already. Of the more than 3,100 U.S. counties, only a few dozen have more than half of this age group fully vaccinated. Read Also: Lack of COVID Vaccines for Babies, Toddlers Leaves Parents, Teachers, Caregivers Frustrated COVID vaccine hesitancy seen in South Carolina The results were not a complete surprise to Dr. Brannon Traxler, the director of public health for South Carolina's Department of Health and Environmental Control. Traxler said that the overall vaccination rate in South Carolina lags behind the national average across all ages, more so with kids. She said that vaccinating children in South Carolina has been particularly difficult because several parents perceive COVID-19 as a disease that affects only the elderly. According to the CDC, no county in that state has fully vaccinated more than a third of children ages 5 to 11. According to a report by the Atlantic, it does not help matters that concerns have been raised about Pfizer's COVID vaccine for this age bracket. A recent study revealed that the vaccine did not protect kids ages 5 to 11 from disease or infection for as long as expected, even though the 10-microgram dose the children received had met the immunobridging benchmark set in the clinical trials. Related Article: Infant Formula Company Bobbie Raises $50 Million as California Startup Targets U.S. Expansion Photo: (Photo : LoboStudioHamburg from Pixabay) Over the years, social media has become an essential and somehow indispensable part of our everyday lives. It enables us to communicate and stay in touch with our loved ones despite the distance. Social media also plays an integral role in legal disputes, especially in custody battles. It is crucial for divorcing parents to use these platforms wisely and cautiously. Here are six social media usage tips that can help your custody case. Assess your social media profiles Before pursuing your custody dispute, take the time to evaluate all your social media accounts. Have a trusted loved one check and thoroughly scrutinize all your platforms. Make the necessary changes right away but never attempt to alter your social identity in the hopes of winning your case. Be careful of your direct messages While it is understandable to elicit support from your loved ones during this difficult period, avoid doing it online. Refrain from disparaging your spouse through direct messages, and have the mindset that the other party might gain access to your conversations no matter how private your accounts are. Discuss with your lawyer how to appropriately respond to someone asking about your custody case and make sure to hire a qualified family attorney such as Betsy A Fischer to represent you in court. Be wary of what you share Anything you share publicly can be deliberately taken out of context and put you in a negative light. Be wary of your posts, especially pictures and videos. Remember that images can easily be manipulated and used as evidence. Avoid engaging in activities that could destroy your social image and character. Refrain from making derogatory statements about your spouse as family courts disapprove of unhealthy behaviors that could negatively influence the children. Never delete your posts In child custody cases, deleting posts is synonymous with destroying evidence and admitting guilt. It can easily ruin your credibility and chances of receiving a favorable outcome. Regardless of how devoted you are as a parent, the court might see you as someone dishonest and unfit. Inform your legal team of any postings that can harm your case so that they can prepare in advance and handle them properly. Avoid online dating sites Dating websites are considered social media since they are designed to widen your social circle. It is highly important that you avoid these sites and withhold from changing your relationship status until your divorce and custody dispute are settled. Stay off social media if possible Unless you need social media for work, it would be best to stop using it altogether while your case is ongoing. The best way to digitally protect yourself is by removing your social media presence. Going offline may seem like an extreme move, but it will be well worth it if your custody case benefits. If not used properly, social media can significantly impact your child custody dispute. Always err on the side of caution, and don't let improper usage of these online platforms jeopardize your odds of winning your custody case. This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions As part of efforts to make health care delivery more sustainable and effective in Ghana, PharmAccess Group has launched the second phase of the Medical Credit Fund (MCF II), here in Ghana. The MFC II, which is a 32.5m loan facility, is intended to reduce the challenges faced by small and medium-sized healthcare companies in accessing loans and other credit facilities to widen their operations and expand their outreach. Speaking at the launch of the loan facility at the Asante Conference Hall, at the Alisa Hotel on Wednesday, the Country Manager of the Medical Credit Fund, Derrick Ewudzie-Odoom, explained that the essence of the facility is to deal with the bottlenecks associated with health care financing in Ghana. According to him, his outfit is aware of the unique challenges, which affect health care businesses in the country. He, therefore, stated that the loans from MFC II are designed to address these challenges, without demanding collateral from the loan applicants. 'Over the years, our work has not been only loans. We don't just give loans, but we accompany all the loans that we give with business support, quality support and training. And when we talk about business support, we help all the health SMEs design investment plans. A lot of the time, health businesses have ideas that do not culminate into plans, and we engage them and we design these plans so that they can go; and we also help them. We provide financial management advice to ensure that they manage their business finances well", Mr Ewudzie Odoom said. He also added that "We also help or we assist them in terms of their project planning. When they want to do construction, we help them with the construction management; how the patient flow is supposed to be and the design of the hospital so that it will be in tandem with modern trends". At the ceremony, the first MCF II loan was presented to the Emil Memorial Hospital in Wenchi. Prior to the presentation of a dummy cheque of three million Ghana Cedis, the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Dr Simon Koku Saku, testified of support of the Fund in the hospital's operations. In his delivery, he stated that since its establishment, the hospital has been going through some difficulties, in the course of rendering health care services to the locals in its environs. Dr Saku said that in order to widen its operations, the hospital agreed to construct some departments; an initiative which was made possible by the MCF II. "We approached several financial institutions, both local and international to help finance the project of completing a two-storey building to accommodate these departments. But unfortunately, none was ready to lend us a hand by giving us the credit required. We heard of Medical Credit Fund through PharmAccess and decided to approach them to help finance the project. After a careful evaluation of the project, Medical Credit Fund agreed to fund the project and also purchase medical equipment worth millions of Ghana cedis. The project is scheduled to be completed in June this year" he said. He, therefore, expressed his profound gratitude to the Fund, for helping the hospital realise its objectives. Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency Ambassador Jeroen Verheul, who was a keynote speaker at the event, expressed his delight about the launch of the Fund and stressed the impact of the initiative over the years. In his submissions, he recounted his familiarity with the Medical Credit Fund, during his years as an ambassador to Uganda and Tanzania respectively. According to him, he was also privy to the Fund at a conference in Nairobi in 2016, and therefore he is happy that the MCF II has come to Ghana. "So I have quite an extensive exposure to the product that we're discussing here, and I must say that I'm privileged and I feel it's a great pleasure to be able to launch the Medical Credit Fund II here in Ghana. And when say number two, that means that there must be a number one. Like with kings and queens, there's always a number one. And I think the one laid the foundation for the number two that we're launching here", the Netherlands Ambassador said. A Senior Policy Advisor at the Netherlands Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ms Anouk Aarts also touched on the significance of the Fund. She reiterated that "health is wealth", and therefore the package by the MCF II is a welcome idea. The launch of the MCF II was attended by participants and stakeholders from the health sector. The Diocesan Bishop of the Catholic Church at Keta-Akatsi, Most Reverend Gabriel Edoe Kumordji, was among the list of dignitaries who graced the occasion. Country Director of PharmAcces, Dr Maxwell Antwi, together with the Managing Director of Medical Credit Fund, Mr Arjan Poels, were also present at the event and shared a few words with the audience on the objective of the Fund and how it seeks to better the fortunes of the private health sector in Ghana. As part of the ceremony, a panel discussion was also moderated by the Chief Executive Officer of the Healthcare Federation Ghana and Franklyn Medical Centre, Dr Lynda Decker, to discuss the 'Financing Healthcare Businesses in Ghana'. The discussants included the President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, Pharm. Samuel Kow Donkoh; the Country Manager of GE Healthcare, Mr Daniel Amo-Korankye and the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Care Hospital in Sunyani, Mrs Evelyn Dzantor. The launch of the Fund was emceed by the Managing Director of the Koforidua Clinic and a Lead Consultant of A-League Consult, Mr John Affiadzi Appiah, amidst cultural displays by the Vivie's Dance Factory. About MCF II MCF recently announced the completion of a EUR 32.5 m fund-raise for its second fund (MCF II). The funding round was anchored by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which provided the first equity injection of EUR 7.5 million in January 2021, to cater to the demand for loans during the height of the COVID-19 crisis. Also participating in this funding round are international organizations such as CDC Group, FMO, SwedFund and Philips. In addition, MCF will benefit from a guarantee facility by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which was initiated by the Health Finance Coalition (HFC) with the support of the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) and USAID's Center for Innovation & Impact (CII). Through blended finance, MCF uses catalytic capital from both public and private sources and is targeting to grow to EUR 80 million in the next few years and will support EUR 400 million in loans to health SMEs in the next decade. The launch of MCF II marks the beginning of a new era. An era in which MCF will further grow its reach and impact. MCF II will deploy innovative digital finance solutions to increase investments in Africa's health infrastructure and improve access to better primary healthcare services in Africa. Starting in its current countries of operation (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda), and spreading its wings to other countries over time. Source: Josephine Acheampomaa/Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Founder and President of Charger Limited, Dr. Emmanuel Bortey Borketey, has rewarded four dedicated, loyal and hardworking employees with four cars a Nissan Rogue, a Hyundai Santa Fe, and two Corollas. The four employees of the prestigious company---- John Adotey, Opoku Agyemang, Bismark Bentil and Bugadam Rowland Daliwe expressed gross ecstasy when keys to the two Home used vehicles (Hyundai Santafe, Nissan Rogue) and two used Corollas were handed to them. In his address, Dr Borketey disclosed that dedication, hard work, and loyalty are virtues that every employee, no matter their level must endeavor to cultivate. He added that people with such virtues are admirable and must be rewarded in return, hence the gesture saying, Loyalty and dedication, they say, are two-way streets, and he who shows you loyalty and is dedicated to you deserves the same in return. The gesture was in fulfillment of a promise he made to the workers during the companys End of year Party last year where he promised that five cars would be presented as rewards to five individuals by the end of the year 2022. " . . this is just the beginning of great things management has in stock for workers who distinguishes themselves. TV personality and actor Akrobeto (Akwasi Boadi), who was present at the ceremony threw more light on the need to remain loyal to genuine employers saying, work with good intentions, clear conscience and your blessings shall be abundant. Source: Kofi Aduonum 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 A Nigerian woman broke down shedding tears profusely when an Accra Circuit Court sentenced her to five years imprisonment for luring her colleague to Ghana to engage in prostitution. Angel Ubah charged with the use of a trafficked person, pleaded guilty and the court presided over by Mrs Ellen Ofei Ayeh convicted her on her own plea but deferred her sentence to Friday. It further directed that Angel should be deported after serving her sentence. Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Isaac Anquandah, narrated that the complainant and the accused, now convict were Nigerians, and both reside at Obinim Guest House at Adjiriganor Junction, a suburb of Accra. The prosecution said in February 2022, Angel together with her syndicate in Nigeria known as Chizom and Adah conspired to recruit, transport and traffic the complainant (victim) from Nigeria to Ghana. He said the accused communicated to the complainant that there were jobs in Ghana. The prosecution said on her arrival, Angel went and picked her at Spintex to Obinim Guest House. Mr Anquandah said the following day, Angel made it known to the complainant that the job she promised her does not exist except to engage in prostitution. Prosecution said the complainant became frightened and told Angel that prostitution was a taboo in her culture of which the consequence was death or madness, but Angel insisted, gave her a condom, and forced her into prostitution for one week where she rendered an account of GH200.00 to her. It said the complainant realized that the job offered her by Angel was very risky and as a result, she managed to run away and became destitute for about a week until she was rescued by a good Samaritan who took her to the Police station to make a complaint, which led to the arrest of Angel. 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 chief executive of a political consulting firm has responded to a report alleging Meta paid his company to "undermine" TikTok. Internal emails, apparently seen by the Washington Post, allegedly suggested Targeted Victory's campaign aimed to show TikTok "as a danger to American children". Zac Moffatt tweeted that the Post's report mischaracterized their work and "key points are simply false". The BBC approached Meta for comment. A spokesperson said: "We believe all platforms, including TikTok, should face a level of scrutiny consistent with their growing success." Paper push The "bare-knuckle" campaign allegedly included placing opinion pieces and letters to the editor in US regional news outlets "promoting dubious stories about alleged TikTok trends that actually originated on Facebook", the Post journalists wrote. None of the opinion pieces or letters to the editor revealed that a Meta-funded group had been pushing them, the paper added. In response to the article, Mr Moffat tweeted that: "The story infers that the words of the letters to the editor were not the authors' own, nor did they know of Meta's involvement. That is false. They will confirm that." In internal emails, the paper claimed, Targeted Victory urged its partners to get stories into local media that linked TikTok to dangerous trends. "Dream would be to get stories with headlines like 'From dances to danger: how TikTok has become the most harmful social media space for kids'," one Targeted Victory staff member allegedly wrote in an email apparently seen by the Post. Challenges The paper alleged that Targeted Victory encouraged operatives to amplify reports of dangerous trends linked to TikTok. This included a purported Devious Licks challenge, which encouraged damage to school property, and reports of a rumoured Slap a Teacher challenge, which an investigation by news site Insider suggested did not in fact exist. But journalistic investigations, the Post said, suggested that stories about both challenges began to spread on Facebook. Following publication, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers - a large US teaching union - accused Facebook of fanning the flames of Devious Licks and terrifying "teachers, students and parents across America as a result". Those fears were echoed by TikTok itself. In response to the article, the company told the BBC: "We are deeply concerned that the stoking of local media reports on alleged trends that have not been found on the platform could cause real-world harm." Responding to the article, technology journalist Casey Newton wrote in his newsletter Platformer that the effect went beyond inconvenience, but it risked inspiring people to carry out the purported challenges. "Even the fact that Meta might have helped to inspire such copycats ought to have been enough to kill this project when it was still being white-boarded," he wrote. Mr Moffatt tweeted that The Post itself had reported on the purported TikTok challenges. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Member of Parliament for Effutu and Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, has gone to the defence of the Clerk of Parliament, Cyril Kwabena Nsiah. The clerk had come under attack from the leadership of the Minority caucus after it emerged that official Parliamentary records on March 29 recorded that eight opposition MPs were absent. The issue has become contentious because the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) Bill was passed on the said day amid a boycott by the Minority, a walkout that has partly been interpreted in some quarters as being due to failure to marshal all Minority MPs. Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu and Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed-Muntaka Mubarak, raised objections over the development on March 31 during a sitting. Afenyo-Markin differs with their harsh critique of the Clerk and Clerk attendants, whose actions he stressed could have been a genuine mistake. He described some of the critiques as unfair and called for parts of the submissions by the Minority to be expunged from the Hansard. Mr. Speaker, what I disagree with, is the argument that the Clerk and the Clerk attendants are being partisan. That statement coming from a leader of this House is not acceptable. "The Clerk cannot be heard and respond on the floor, so I think that the issue should be addressed by all. This is not a matter we should split hairs on. I think that this issue should be addressed by all. "This is not a matter we should split hairs on. I think that this is a matter we must sit in conclave to resolve. This part of the submission that accuses the Clerk must be expunged from the records, he stressed. What Muntaka said: Muntaka according to a GNA report interpreted the actions of the Clerk as an unforgivable error and a deliberate mistake such as the omission of the walkout staged by the Minority in the official Parliament document. "Mr. Speaker, I can say on record that, except for Hon. James Quayson, MP for Assin North, every single member on our side was in the house. All the other members claimed to be absent were in this house, he said. Mr. Speaker, with the greatest of respect to our Clerks, people indeed react to their party affiliations, but what we expect from them are fairness and accurate reporting. This partisan behaviour, we will not tolerate. Their action was deliberate and intended for a purpose, and unfortunately, that purpose has been achieved," he added. Source: ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has opined that he understands why the Minority leadership harshly critiqued Clerks of Parliament, accusing them of being partisan. According to him, such heat ought to be applied in order to get people to act. Despite being unhappy with the clerks being tagged as partisan, he recounted that as Minority Leader he used to mount spirited arguments in the quest to apply heat for an action to be taken. He made the assertion when the Minority side raised issues against the clerks for marking some of its MPs absent despite being present and also for not recording that their side staged a walkout when the E-levy bill was passed on March 29. We have such cases [partisanship accusations] pending before the Parliamentary Service Board and Parliamentary Service Board is handling them and will take disciplinary actions against the members of staff. I have utmost responsibility for the control, management of all the Parliamentary staff. The clerk is only the head [of table]. So Honorable Members, please lets take some time and go through these things well. The heat sometimes is necessary because some Ghanaians are like the tortoise. If you dont put heat under the tortoise, it wont move and so sometimeswhen I was a Minority Leader, I used to put this heat under so I understand why my colleagues are doing the same. In fact, the Majority Leader [Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu] when he was also Minority Leader did the same so we understand that and so I want to end up (by) directing that as we go through the corrections of vote and proceedings, these matters be captured properly in the votes and proceedings of the House of today [ March 31, 2022] as rectifying the errors that were committed on the votes and proceedings on the 29th of March 2022, Bagbin said. Parliament on March 29 passed the E-levy bill despite the Minority staging a walkout. Votes and proceedings of Parliament on the day indicate that 8 NDC MPs were marked absent with one NPP MP, Sarah Adwoa Safo marked as absent. With the exception of Assin North MP, James Gyekye Quayson, who the Minority has admitted was absent, it maintains that the other 7 MPs were present. Source: ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Calgary Police Service headquarters in Calgary, Thursday, April 9, 2020. The Calgary Police Commission says a union that represents city police officers has distributed countless thin blue line patches and pins in defiance of a recently announced ban against them being worn on duty. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh Youre seeing The Post and Courier's weekly real estate newsletter. Receive all the latest transactions and top development, building, and home and commercial sales news to your inbox each Saturday here. $50M active adult project planned for Carnes Crossroads through developer's new 55-plus division A Charleston apartment developer is adding a division for a rapidly growing demographic segment with plans to put its first project in the Lowcountry. Middle Street Partners will augment its multifamily business with new communities for the 55-plus sector of active adults. Plans are in the works for a 200-unit, four-story project in the developing Carnes Crossroads mixed-use community in Goose Creek. It will include amenities and concierge service for apartment residents. Middle Street's Adam Monroe estimates the as-yet unnamed development's price tag at $50 million. Monroe said some projects could include a mix of apartments and small rental cottages. The nearly 8-acre site, between Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital and Farmers and Merchants Bank in the northern section of the Carnes Crossroads development, could include some cottages if the site permits them, according to Chris McGuffin, who will be heading up the new 55-plus endeavor for Middle Street. McGuffin comes to Middle Street after 16 years at Charleston-based Greystar Real Estate Partners, the largest apartment management company in the U.S. McGuffin helped launch and spearhead Greystar's active adult platform. McGuffin said the active adult segment has outperformed other real estate sectors in recent years, calling it a testament to resiliency and growth potential. At the end of the day, its about providing a living option that meets growing market demand," he said. "This will provide an affordable rental option for the 55-plus segment." Middle Street is targeting the Southeast and Texas for its expansion efforts with the new division. Want to receive this newsletter in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up for free. Sign up for our real estate newsletter! Get the best of the Post and Courier's Real Estate news, handpicked and delivered to your inbox each Saturday. Email Sign Up! Richard's dive bar reduced to rubble; redevelopment plans in the works The iconic watering hole, Richard's Bar & Grill on U.S. Highway 17 in Mount Pleasant, was demolished during the past week after being closed since 2018. Plans to redevelop the property, part of a larger 8.5-acre project, are in the works. By the numbers 299,000: The median price of a home in South Carolina spiked in February to nearly $300,000 for the first time, $72,000 more than before the pandemic. 3.5: Millions of dollars spent on an expansion for a lawn care equipment distributor in North Charleston, where 131 new positions were added to the payroll. 3.5: Millions of dollars spent for a record-breaking home sale in the Cliffs at Glassy development in northern Greenville County. This week in real estate + Second helping: The owner of Island Provisions restaurant on Johns Island plans to open a second location on the Charleston peninsula in June. + Sister store: The owner of consignment and antiques shop Mount Pleasant Mall has launched a smaller version on King Street, called Charleston Mall. + On Target: Big-box merchandiser Target Corp. announced one year ago on March 31 it planned to bring a small-format store to King Street. It's not open yet, but window signs say it's "coming soon." A 150-room hotel and a 175-unit apartment building are in the works for the property in the foreground where vehicles are parked at 860 Morrison Drive. This image, from the top of the 12-story Morrison Yard office building that's under construction, shows Morrison Drive on the left and the Ravenel Bridge and 930 NoMo Apartments in the background. The land between the white building and the bridge is a separate parcel owned by the Commissioners of Public Works in Charleston. Did a friend forward you this email? Subscribe here. Craving more? Check out all of the Post and Courier's newsletters here. The Morrison Yard project already includes a 12-story office building and a 10-story apartment project under development near the Ravenel Bridge on the Charleston peninsula. The marshfront site will soon enter a third phase of construction with another large mixed-use project. Developers plan to build a 150-room hotel and 175-unit apartment building at 860 Morrison Drive, just north of the other two projects. Charleston-based Origin Development Partners, a partner in the office structure, paid $2.25 million for the roughly 2-acre parcel in December through separate affiliates, according to Charleston County land records. Origin will partner with Woodfield Development, which is developing the nearby 379-unit Morrison Yard apartment complex, on the as-yet unnamed 10- to 12-story multifamily structure, according to Zach Bearden, a principal at Origin. As for the hotel, Origin will partner with Roswell, Ga.-based DSM Real Estate Partners. The "soft brand" or "boutique" lodging will be eight to 10 stories, according to Bearden. The hotel flag has not been selected, but the site will include a few restaurant options as well. DSM is already acquainted with Charleston. It was involved in the expansion and rehabilitation of Hotel Bella Grace farther south on the peninsula on Calhoun Street. Bearden said, "The design will likely consist of two or more buildings that have unique features, but they will all have a similar architectural language." Renderings are under development, and the price tag has not been determined. Bearden pointed out the design will complement the buildings that are now under construction. "All residential buildings at Morrison Yard will incorporate attainable workforce housing and the proposed hotel will pay into the city of Charleston affordable/workforce housing account in order to increase the affordable housing stock in the city," Bearden said. Other planned improvements for the entire Morrison Yard development include a new waterfront park to be developed on the former Seaboard railway spur adjacent to Johnson Street, a quiet zone and improved rail crossing at Johnson. Also in the plans are sidewalks along both sides of Morrison Drive that do not currently exist, new crosswalks and a direct public bike and pedestrian connection to the Ravenel Bridge. The first units in the Morrison Yard Apartments now under construction are expected to be available by mid-summer while the office building next door is scheduled for completion in September. Developer Jeff Mixson said a delay in construction materials has pushed the opening back from the previous July target. Fewer units An apartment project planned for the north end of the Charleston peninsula has been pared down slightly since it was first presented to the city last fall. Sign up for our real estate newsletter! Get the best of the Post and Courier's Real Estate news, handpicked and delivered to your inbox each Saturday. Email Sign Up! The Darby by Fides Development of Atlanta originally was slated to have 365 units. Site plans now show the project with 329 units at Meeting Street Road and Greenleaf Street on a 3.32-acre parcel owned by Cooper River Corp. LLC. Plans also show a 428-space parking garage on the back side of the L-shaped, five-story apartment building. The property is south of The Refinery mixed-use building and north of the soon-to-be-redeveloped Pepsi bottling plant. New age A Charleston apartment developer is adding a division for a rapidly growing demographic segment with plans to put its first project in the Lowcountry. Middle Street Partners will augment its multifamily business with new communities for the 55-plus sector of active adults. Plans are in the works for a 200-unit, four-story project in the Carnes Crossroads mixed-use community in Goose Creek. It will include amenities and concierge service for renters. Middle Street's Adam Monroe estimates the as-yet unnamed development's price tag at $50 million. The nearly 8-acre site between Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital and Farmers and Merchants Bank could include some cottages if the site permits them, according to Chris McGuffin, who will be heading up the new 55-plus endeavor for Middle Street. McGuffin comes to Middle Street after 16 years at Charleston-based Greystar Real Estate Partners, the largest apartment management company in the U.S. McGuffin helped launch and spearhead Greystar's active adult platform. McGuffin said the active adult segment has outperformed other real estate sectors in recent years, calling it a testament to resiliency and growth potential. At the end of the day, its about providing a living option that meets growing market demand," he said. "This will provide an affordable rental option for the 55-plus segment." Middle Street is targeting the Southeast and Texas for its expansion efforts with the new division. "We see the growth of our new 'Active Adult' division as not only a solution for the markets clear demand, but also as an opportunity to directly address the needs of one of the largest demographics in the U.S.," said Johnson Bazzel, Middle Street's president of development. COLUMBIA Homebuilders claim new Richland County zoning proposals could leave 80 percent of the county undevelopable for new subdivisions. Paired with recently passed housing-density restrictions across much of Lexington County, the cost of buying a home across the Columbia metro area could rise sharply and drive builders into neighboring counties, industry analysts said. "Youre going to cut the number of houses built in half and they'll all be at a higher price," John Hunt, a Southeast housing market analyst with Atlanta-based Via Research, said of density restrictions. For example, when Lexington County made changes to its development rules, the head of the Building Industry Association of Central S.C., Allen Hutto, estimated it would add $50,000, largely in land costs, to the price of a home. While developers are still allowed to build, the increase in price makes it less desirable and less cost effective in an already expensive market. But neighbors see it differently, worried that new subdivisions, townhomes and apartments would be automatically allowed in parts of the county where they were previously only approved on a case-by-case basis. Governing bodies in fast-growing areas across South Carolina have turned to measures like lower density zoning in an effort to slow the rapid pace of development and the struggles, including increased traffic and more crowded schools, that come with it. "It is the exact wrong thing to do in a crisis," Hunt said of limits on density. "Who cares that we have the worst housing shortage in the history of this country; let's just say, 'Screw that,' and make it even worse." The latest data from the South Carolina Association of Realtors shows less than a months supply worth of homes available for sale. About 16,710 homes are sold in the Midlands annually. The Columbia area has long been known for a lower cost of living than South Carolina's coastal cities, but as zoning gets more strict, housing costs are likely to rise, Hutto said. But the restrictions are coming to a region struggling to hold on to its younger population. South Carolina's in-migration rate in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, was the second highest in the country behind Idaho's, said University of South Carolina economist Joey Von Nessen. But Columbia's prime working age population adults aged 25 to 54 grew by just 2.5 percent over the past decade. The same group grew by 15 percent in Charleston, 34 percent in Greenville and 64 percent in Rock Hill. "These counties are unwittingly shutting out the lifeblood of their community the young people," Hunt said, adding that millennials make up 37 percent of current homebuyers. "On one hand, some zoning laws can preserve the value of existing housing in an area, but that also can drive up the prices for new homes," Von Nessen said, which can cut some people out of the ability to own a home. Builders then go to farther flung places where land costs less and restrictions are fewer so they can build houses at a price people can afford, Hunt said. Von Nessen said that in South Carolina and across the country, the industry has been under-building, particularly in the last five years, as the nation came out of the Great Recession that flooded the market with foreclosed homes when people couldn't pay their adjustable rate mortgages. "Supply hasn't met demand, so what we're seeing now is an exacerbation of that trend," he said. Homebuilders insist supply will not get much better with Richland County's proposed zoning changes. That's because, while some property is being rezoned to allow for more density, the land requirements for development in other areas will rise substantially, halting any future growth. A typical subdivision has three to five homes per acre. But if new zoning maps are passed by Richland County Council, it will require between 1 acre and 3 acres to build a new home across the majority of the county. This is true particularly in the northwest part of the county, which Hutto said builders see as a logical direction for growth as the state prepares to widen Interstate 26. Builders point to the area around Dutch Fork High School in Irmo, a growing town that straddles Richland and Lexington counties. Surrounding the school on three sides, any new subdivision developed will have to have lots more than an acre in size, cutting the number of homes previously allowed on that land by 20 percent. But Kim Murphy, who lives in the area between Irmo and Chapin, is more worried about what will happen to the land south of the high school. That's because this is one of the chunks of land that, with the redrawing of the map, in one fell swoop will allow much higher density than before across several hundred acres of property. Previously, every time a builder wanted to put in a subdivision here, they had to go before council to get it rezoned. If the map changes, it would be allowed without the council's review. "County Council has the ability to weigh in now and decide whether the schools or roads can handle it," she said. While the development process is lengthier, she believes giving up that control is a mistake as the area grows, crowding schools, streets and sewer systems beyond their current capacity. Hutto said what neighbors don't have is an answer for where these subdivisions should go instead as more people come looking for a place to live. Members of Tanglewood Middle School's community gathered outside of a church across the street from the school to hold a vigil for Jamari Cortez Bonaparte-Jackson on April 1, the day after the 12 year old was shot and killed on school grounds. The quiet, empty middle school served as a backdrop to the somber event where members of the local community comforted one another in the wake of the horrific event. They lit candles and sang Amazing Grace as area pastors shared verses from the Bible and urged the community to look out for one another to prevent tragedy from striking again in the future. Henry Parks, who has lived in the community for more than 40 years, attended the vigil with his step-daughter and grandson. He wanted to attend the vigil at Grace Bible Church because despite the community's grief, he believed they should be there for each other. When kids start killing kids, somebodys got to step up, somebodys got to listen," he said. The vigil was held the night after Jackson was shot in the chest in a hallway at Tanglewood Middle School in Greenville. Jackson was transported to Greenville Memorial Hospital after he was shot, and was later pronounced dead. Greenville County Sheriffs Office deputies located and arrested a classmate of Jacksons a little more than an hour after the shooting. The boy, also 12, has been charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, possession of a firearm on school property and unlawful possession of a weapon by a person under the age of 18, according to the sheriffs office. The suspects name has not been released because he is a minor. An autopsy was completed on Jackson on April 1 and his body was released to the family. Bruce Wilson, a community activist representing the family, held a press conference a couple hours before the vigil and asked locals to not use Jackson's death to further their own agendas like advocating for metal detectors or more school surveillance. He said that now was the time to pray, not take action. Sign up for our Education Lab newsletter. Email Sign Up! Wilson attended the vigil on behalf of the family and said the family. We wanted to say we appreciate the support, Wilson said. Of course this familys going to need a lot of prayers. Donna Tillman, a first-year teacher at Tanglewood, said the shots were fired as hundreds of seventh graders were in the hallways changing classes. She heard the shots on the floor below her and ushered students into her classroom where they huddled in a corner of the room for more than an hour as deputies swept the building. Tillman said she was thankful no other students were struck by gunfire in the busy hallway and she urged the community to continue to support the students to make the school especially its hallways feel safe again. She said some students were in shock as they processed the tragedy and anything those around could do to help them feel safe would be welcome in the days ahead. The greatest way anyone can feel safe in an environment is to know those around you, Tillman said. Stephen Kidd, an assistant pastor at Grace Bible Church who counseled students after the shooting, said that the community needs to rally around the school and the kids. Let them know theyre not going to be left in this situation, Kidd said. Were going to be there. Were going to try to show up, were going to try to lean in to this matter. As darkness descended on the vigil and the lit candles burned low, a pastor urged the attendees to raise their candles high. He wanted them to be the light in a dark day. South Carolina had the highest amount of school shootings in 47 years in 2021, according to a Post and Courier analysis of Center for Homeland Security and Defense data. There were nine shootings in K-12 schools last year, up from three shootings in 2020 and one in 2019. Over half of the 2021 shootings occurred in the fall and winter. School shootings are in the spotlight after 12-year-old Jamari Jackson was killed by a classmate at Tanglewood Middle School on March 31. The alleged shooter, who is also 12, was arrested by Greenville County Sheriff deputies and charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, possession of a firearm on school property and unlawful possession of a weapon by a person under 18. The suspects name has not been released because hes a minor. The sharp uptick of school shootings in South Carolina is part of a broader national trend where K-12 schools across the country are seeing increasing levels of violence. According to the news outlet Education Weeks school shooting tracker, there have already been 21 shootings this year, including the incident at Tanglewood. There were 34 school shootings last year, the majority of which happened after August. Health and school safety experts attribute this increase in violence to the mental health crisis children are experiencing as the pandemic drags on into its third year. Childrens mental health issues have been on the rise for years, but the pandemic exacerbated these already existing problems. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Childrens Hospital Association all declared a national emergency in childrens health in October 2021 because the COVID-19 pandemic further worsened pre-existing conditions. Elizabeth Mack, spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics and MUSC pediatric critical care physician, said health care providers are definitely seeing a rise in both mental health crises and also firearm injuries. Obviously, a lot of kids were experiencing a lot of stressors prior to the pandemic, and then the uncertainty and isolation, and frank loss of a lot of peoples family members resulted in a surge of mental health concerns, Mack said. Sign up for our Education Lab newsletter. Email Sign Up! The Post and Couriers analysis found that a third of the 2021 shootings happened at an elementary school and approximately 56 percent happened at high schools. They all occurred outside of the school with two thirds happening in a parking lot and about 23 percent on school buses. In one incident at Chesterfield Elementary School an adult woman shot her son-in-law in the leg in the schools parking lot. During another at Forest Lake Elementary in Columbia an army trainee jumped the fence with a rifle and hijacked a school bus filled with students. One of the incidents, at Ware Shoals High School, was a suicide where a student got out of his car with a handgun and shot himself in the head. The data analyzed is from the Center for Homeland Security and Defenses K-12 School Shooting Databases. The database documents when a gun is brandished, is fired, or a bullet hits school property for any reason, regardless of the number of victims, time of day, or day of week. It looks at cases of more than 1,550 K-12 school shootings from the 1970s to the present. Donate to our Investigative Fund to support journalism like this Our public service and investigative reporting is among the most important work we do. Its also the most expensive reporting we do. We cant do it without your support. Donate Now This story is developing. Kingstree, SC (29556) Today Scattered showers and thunderstorms. High 88F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 61F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%. COLUMBIA A student project at Allen University opened to the public on March 31 with a symposium examining the important work of the late newspaper editor John Henry McCray as well as contributions by living Black media professionals. The day-long S.C. Black Press Institute Symposium is just one of several components of an ongoing project funded by a three-year $44,000 National Park Service grant secured by Allen University in 2020. The project, supervised by Kevin Trumpeter, the schools dean of arts and humanities, has taken advantage of the now-digitized archive of McCrays The Lighthouse and Informer newspaper, housed at the South Caroliniana Library in Columbia. The librarys McCray-related holdings include correspondence, photographs and other materials that describe his advocacy and activism. For the project, students at Allen University, an historically Black school affiliated with the AME Church, perform archival research, visit historical sites, collect oral histories and develop educational resources and programming, Trumpeter said. The grant enables him to award four fellowships a semester to undergraduate students. The fellowships provide tuition assistance, cover field trip-related expenses and secure copies of Sid Bedingfields book Newspaper Wars: Civil Rights and White Resistance in South Carolina, 1935-1965, which delves into McCrays contributions. The Lighthouse and Informer operated from 1941-54. During those year, McCray worked closely with Modjeska Simkins and the NAACP to challenge entrenched racism and discrimination. The newspaper was his mouthpiece. Bedingfield, one of the speakers, discussed how The Lighthouse and Informer took positions on the 1943-44 case about equalizing teacher pay; on the protest against all-White Democratic primaries; in support of Isaac Woodard, a returning World War II soldier who on his way home was assaulted and blinded by Batesville Chief of Police Linwood Shull. The newspaper also voiced support of the Clarendon County plaintiffs in the Briggs v. Elliott case, which prompted federal Judge J. Waties Waring to write his famous dissent asserting that segregation is per se inequality and, in so doing, set the stage for school desegregation in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. McCray's newspaper not only advanced the political causes of the day, it engendered a common purpose and cultural identity, Bedingfield said. The Society Notes feature included dozens of names of African Americans in every issue, referencing indirectly the Great Migration and providing a sense that (readers) are part of this larger community thats set to take action." On March 11, McCray became the first African American inducted into the South Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame. The office of The Lighthouse and Informer was located on Harden Street across from Allen University. The space is abandoned now, and Trumpeter would like to find grant money to renovate it and transform it into a media center or museum of some kind, he said. At the symposium, attendees also heard from Orangeburg-based photographer Cecil Williams, who has spent a lifetime documenting civil rights leaders and events in South Carolina; podcaster, entrepreneur and activist Tamika Gadsden; Free Times columnist Preach Jacobs; photojournalist Crush Rush; S.C. Rep. Wendy Brawley, publisher and CEO of Imara Woman magazine; and Bakari Sellers, CNN commentator and podcaster. It was the final day of debate on the Senates voucher bill, and Republican Leader Shane Massey was arguing that private schools should have to administer South Carolina's accountability test to students who receive the so-called education scholarships, rather than less-useful tests of the private schools' choosing. His effort succeeded, and the Senate went on to kill a bait-and-switch attempt to enlarge the program even before it started and to open it to wealthy kids if poor kids dont take all the slots. That is: Senators refused to make S.935 worse and even made it a little less bad by the time they sent it to the House on Thursday. But before those votes, Mr. Massey said something that piqued the interest of Sen. Ronnie Sabb, and the Williamsburg County lawyer asked a question to plant a seed for a future debate a not-uncommon tactic that sometimes generates productive harvests, and sometimes simply extends an already-endless debate. When the constitution talks about a minimally adequate education that the state must provide, I believe that it goes beyond just the curriculum to encompass buildings and equipment, Sen. Sabb said. Actually, Sen. Massey responded, The constitution doesnt say minimally adequate. A circuit judge included those words in there, he said, but the constitution doesnt say that. He was right on the first point, wrong on the second, and in any event the moment passed without any attention given to the actual significance of that wrongly maligned phrase. All three parts deserve our attention, particularly at this moment when the Legislature is poised to adopt a voucher plan that the phrases actual author once complained was distracting lawmakers from their most important job. As Sen. Massey explained, what South Carolinas constitution speaks of is a free public education. Article XI, Section 3 of the South Carolina Constitution says The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a system of free public schools open to all children in the State. But it wasnt some circuit judge who came up with the minimally adequate" language. Circuit Judge Thomas W. Cooper Jr. did use that term in 2005 when he ruled that South Carolina was meeting its obligation in some respects and not in others. But he was quoting Chief Justice Ernest Finney, who used the term in what he considered his most important decision, the S.C. Supreme Courts 1999 Abbeville v. South Carolina school adequacy order. Contrary to still-popular critique, the import of the minimally adequate ruling wasnt that it set a low bar: A constitutional requirement, after all, is by definition a minimum. What was important about the opinion was that it rejected a lower court ruling that "free public schools" meant just that and nothing more. In Abbeville, the high court established for the first time that it was the responsibility of the state of South Carolina and specifically of the Legislature to provide an adequate education, not just a free one, to all the kids in our state. The attorney for the 37 districts that sued the state did note at the time that the ruling meant "each child in South Carolina now has a constitutionally protected right to an adequate education, but "adequate" and even the underappreciated words that preceded that phrase about the "opportunity for each child" to receive that education were quickly overshadowed by the knee-jerk backlash to the word "minimally." Justice Finney would later tell The Post and Courier that he deliberately downplayed the magnitude of the ruling to get other justices to sign on, but he obviously smarted from how the very people who should have celebrated the landmark ruling instead attacked it, harrumphing about how S.C. children deserve more than the minimum. If he were still alive, Im sure he would be terribly disappointed that after 23 years, rather than providing that adequate education, we're still complaining that the ruling was itself inadequate and the phrase vague and undefined. It was not. The other crucially important thing about the ruling was that it defined adequate. As Justice Finney wrote: We define this minimally adequate education required by our Constitution to include providing students adequate and safe facilities (there's Sen. Sabb's point) in which they have the opportunity to acquire: 1) the ability to read, write, and speak the English language, and knowledge of mathematics and physical science; 2) a fundamental knowledge of economic, social, and political systems, and of history and governmental processes; and 3) academic and vocational skills. For too many kids in too many S.C. schools, that definition of adequate remains out of reach. Although legislators have made some modest reforms and are beginning to provide less-inadequate funding, they have not been willing to ensure that the schools that are failing those children get the funding they need and the leaders who know how to spend it well. They have not been willing to provide principals with the authority to attract the best teachers and force out the ones who arent up to the job. They have not been willing to give the state Education Department the power, resources and mandate to turn around all the districts and schools that arent delivering. And now, implicitly acknowledging their failure to meet their constitutional obligations, they seek to offload those obligations onto private schools that will never have the capacity, desire or, with rare exceptions, ability to ensure that all South Carolina children receive an adequate education. In a 2004 guest column in Columbias State newspaper, the then-retired Justice Finney warned that If we don't properly educate our young people, we don't stand a chance of moving up the economic ladder of this nation. Of course, he continued, there are issues on the fringes, such as charter schools and vouchers. The General Assembly seems more interested in those issues. If we aren't careful, they will diminish what we do for public education to our lasting detriment. Editorials represent the institutional view of the newspaper. They are written and edited by the editorial staff, which operates separately from the news department. Editorial writers are not involved in newsroom operations. There have been contradictions about our local government's strategy on COVID-19 testing and limitations for those who have come in close cont Read more Yale Law School has long been a disgrace. I was surprised, when I searched for YLS on our site, at how often we have commented on farcical events there. Way back in 2003, we wrote about Yale Law Schools disgusting treatment of military recruiters. That was followed by Yales lawsuit trying to have the Solomon Amendment declared unconstitutional. The Solomon Amendment provides that universities that receive federal funding must treat military recruiters in non-discriminatory fashion. The horror! Yale and its fellow left-wing institutions lost 8-0 in the Supreme Court. Elena Kagan was among those leading the anti-military charge. In 2014, we commented on a pitifully weak op-ed co-authored by the Dean of Harvard Law School and the Provost of Yale Law School complaining about the fact that police officers were not charged with homicide in the Michael Brown (a clear case of self-defense) and Eric Garner cases. Then there was the hysterical anti-Brett Kavanaugh letter signed by YLS students, alumni and professors. (Judge Kavanaughs nomination presents an emergency for democratic life, for our safety and freedom, for the future of our country. He is a threat to many of us, despite the privilege bestowed by our education, simply because of who we are. . . people will die if he is confirmed.) In 2021, we wrote about a controversy over whether the Yale Law Journal is racist, even though it accepts black and Hispanic students at rates far greater than whites. Later last year, Scott covered in a series of posts the story of Trent Colbert, a YLS student who apparently didnt get the memo. After sending classmates a jocular email inviting them to a party at his trap house, he was subjected to Kafkaesque torment by the law schools administrationtorment that he resisted, ultimately successfully. Finally, last month, a group of fascist Yale Law students successfully shouted down a Federalist Society program that featured a dialogue between a leftist and a representative of the Alliance Defending Freedom. The protest was rowdy enough that police were summoned to maintain order. Now, more than 400 Yale Law students, representing over 60 percent of the student body, have signed a pathetically weak letter to the law schools administration protesting the fact that law enforcement was called to keep the peace. The letter would be dumb if it came from a group of 7th graders. The fact that it comes from law students reflects the catastrophic decline of education in America. The letter isnt worth a lengthy deconstruction, but here are a few observations: We write as a coalition of queer students and allies deeply concerned with the presence of armed police at a peaceful protest of law students on campus this past Thursday. Right. 60 percent of the student body. Understandably, a large swath of YLS students felt that FedSocs decision to lend legitimacy to this hate group by inviting its general counsel to speak at YLS profoundly undermined our communitys values of equity and inclusivity at a time when LGBTQ youth are actively under attack in Texas, Florida, and other states. Not sure what is going on in Texas, but in Florida LGBTQ youth are actively under attack because teachers cant talk about sexany sexin the classroom until the kids are 9 years old. Which any sane person would say is way too soon. This is the kind of cause that left-wing students gravitate toward nowadays. And in any event, inviting speakers you disagree with hardly undermines any communitys values. This is what, in the old days, was known as free speech. Lawyers need to be good at evaluating evidence. These law students are terrible at it. For example: It is important to recognize that, nationwide, LGBTQ people are six times more likely to be stopped by the police than non-LGBTQ people. I dont know, maybe its just me, but I would say that the gays I know are less likely than most to be stopped by the police. So what gives? The students open letter includes a link for this purported statistic that takes you to a publication by a gay-oriented group called the Williams Institute. So how did the Williams Institute conclude that gays are six times as likely to be stopped by police as non-gays? By comparing two completely different surveys. One was a survey of gays by a gay organizationa national probability sample of LGBQ people (Generations study). The other was a survey of all Americans: We compare these findings to results from the Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS)a survey of the U.S. general population conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. You dont have to be an elite law student to understand that you cant compare findings from two completely different surveys of two different populations, using completely different methodologies. But these Yale Law School students are babes in the woods, intellectually. I find this statement from the Williams Institute post they rely on to be risible: Compared with the general population, almost six times as many LGBQ people were stopped by the police in a public space (6% vs. 1%) Really? How does that work? Hey, partner, the woman driving that minivan at 50 mph in a 35 zone looks like a lesbian to me. Lets pull her over. How dumb can a law student be? Pretty dumb. More from the open letter: The safety of a large contingent of YLS studentsa group of largely LGBTQ and BIPOC studentswas put at risk, possibly by our own administration. The risk was not just hypothetical: one of the officers called into SLB went as far as to try to move a trans student by physically pushing against them [sic] with his much larger body, despite the fact that the student was standing where OSA representatives had asked them [sic] to stand. The concept of safety has been distorted beyond all bounds by the Left. Generally it now means that leftists must be safe from learning that anyone disagrees with them. Here, safety means not being moved by a police officer when (s)he was disrupting a scheduled event. More to the point, though, what is striking is the complete disassociation of these law students from the justice system. Lawyerssome of them, anywayand police officers are part of a unified system that tries to maintain order and protect normal citizens from predators. But these law students dont see it that way. They see police officers as alien beings who have no role in their weird universe. This would not bode well if we assume, as many do, that these Yale Law School students are among Americas future leaders. I question that premise. These kids are not smart enough, nor do they have the requisite character, to lead anyone. And Yale Law School has always been an odd outlier. When I was a law student, the conventional wisdom was that Harvard Law School was where you wanted to go if you intended to be a lawyer. Yale was a much smaller law school, attended mostly by people who wanted a nice-sounding degree but didnt actually want to practice law. Bill Clinton is a good example. Of course there are a few honorable exceptions; Glenn Reynolds stands out as a Yale Law School grad. But in general, Yale Law School grads have had little impact on the legal profession. The dim-witted kids who signed the open letter protesting the maintenance of order at YLS may think they are on top of the world, but most of them will need to earn a living before long. That may prove harder than they expect. DC Circuit Court Judge Laurence Silberman has called for his fellow Article III judges to consider denying clerkships to those who participated in the YLS protest, and Steve has documented the fact that Yale law grads are losing out, already, on federal judicial clerkships. But the real action is in the law firms and in-house legal positions. I dont think Yale grads have ever been highly valued among practicing lawyers, for the reason stated above. My old law firm hired lots of Harvard Law graduates, but only a handful, at most, of Yale grads. I think that is pretty typical. The current generation of low-standards, high-self image Yale Law students may be in for a rude awakening when they go out into the marketplace and try to earn a living. Because bullying doesnt work well in a free market environment. The telecom company, MTN, has said it paid N757 billion in direct and indirect tax to the Nigerian government agencies in 2021. The company said it paid N618.7 billion in direct and indirect taxes to the FIRS in the 2021 tax year, making it the largest single biggest contributor to taxes in Nigeria. In a statement by the companys secretary, Uto Ukpanah, MTN Nigeria said its total tax contribution to all government agencies was 13.5% of FIRS total collection for the year. In 2021, MTN Nigerias total tax contribution to all government agencies including the FIRS amounted to N757.6bn while FIRS collected a total of N6.4trn tax revenue in the year, the statement said. Specifically, MTN Nigeria paid a total of N618.7bn in direct and indirect taxes to the FIRS in the 2021 tax year, representing approximately 13.5 per cent of the total FIRS collection for the year. The telecom company also disclosed that it was recognised as the most tax-compliant organisation and a part of the top 20 taxpayers in the nation at the National Tax Dialogue event organised by the FIRS. The Chief Financial Officer, MTN, Modupe Kadri, who received the awards on behalf of the company, said, I am delighted at our performance and recognition at this years National Tax Dialogue event. While the past 24 months have been challenging for our country and nations worldwide, we are committed to supporting the Federal Governments ongoing Economic Growth Recovery Plan. We will continue to invest heavily in network expansion with a focus on expanding access to under-served communities. We also plan to connect an additional 2,000 rural communities in 2022. The FIRS acknowledged MTN was one its biggest tax payers although a spokesperson did not immediately comment on the specific of its percentage contribution. At the tax dialogue event at the State House, attended by President Muhammadu Buhari, FIRS celebrated and rewarded Nigerias highest paying and most compliant taxpayers, including MTN, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, NOCACO, AIRTEL and CHEVRON. Call for Support The executive chairman of FIRS, Muhammad Nami, called for support for the tax system to make it function efficiently. Speaking at the tax dialogue event, Mr Nami urged politicians to treat tax revenue generation as an apolitical issue. While highlighting the revenue profile of the country in 2021, which showed that the FIRS contributed a monthly average of 59.45% of revenue shared by FAAC, Mr Nami stated that it had become clear that the survival of the nation is dependent on tax revenue. All hands must be on deck to support the tax system and make it function efficiently, he said. However, it is surprising that some people have begun to play politics with tax revenue generation. We humbly invite the President to step-in to dissuade political tax gladiators to sheath their swords. Tax revenue is an inherently apolitical issue; it should be treated as such by all, irrespective of their political leaning. The FIRS boss further highlighted how the agency was able to record an unprecedented feat in tax revenue generation in 2021, adding that it surpassed its target and collected N6.4 trillion, the highest collection ever in the history of the FIRS. Idowu Emmanuel, a father of seven, was excited when his wife delivered a set of twins 11 years ago. The twins, a boy and a girl, were born healthy and developing at a normal pace. Unfortunately, the excitement of the family was short-lived after they started noticing something unusual about the girl child four months later. One day, the mother gave her food and left her to me. All of a sudden, she started pouring out saliva and her eyes were turning, Mr Emmanuel told PREMIUM TIMES. He said that despite taking her to the hospital repeatedly for treatment, she continued convulsing on different occasions. One time we went back to the hospital again and after a series of tests and scans, the doctor gave us the saddest news that our child has autism, he said. Mr Emmanuel, a civil servant, said life has not remained the same for his family since their child was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This is a condition we have never heard of and all of a sudden, a doctor said my child may not be able to speak or even walk. It was too much to accept, he said. He said that although there are numerous challenges families dealing with autism encounter in Nigeria, the cost of treatment and therapy is the most challenging of them all. We spend at least N600,000 on treatment and therapy every three months. That means in a year, almost N3 million is required to take care of our child, he said. Autism is a condition rarely talked about in Nigeria. It is considered one of the most ignored health issues in the country. There is low awareness and inadequate provision for early diagnosis and management of the neurodevelopmental disorder. As a result, children born with autism are denied necessary care because their families cannot bear the financial implications that accompany such a health condition. Some persons with autism are also isolated and locked up by their families due to the stigmatisation attached to having a child with autism. Autism Spectrum Disorder ASD is a highly heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterised by different levels of impairment in social communication and interaction, repetitive behaviours, and restricted language ability. It is usually first diagnosed in early childhood and the effects and severity of symptoms are different in each person. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), people with autism often have co-occurring conditions, including epilepsy, depression, anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as well as other challenging behaviours such as difficulty sleeping and self-injury. The WHO also said the level of intellectual functioning among people with autism varies widely, extending from profound impairment to superior levels. Children with autism have problems communicating with other people and some of them may be non-verbal and some that are verbal cant speak well, an autism specialist, Doris Izuwah, told PREMIUM TIMES. Ms Izuwah said that when it comes to social life, persons with autism may have poor eye contact and may experience difficulty understanding the thought process of another person. For you to say a child has autism, the social aspects and communication must have been affected, she said. The autism expert said that although there are no known causes of autism, some predisposing factors contribute to a child developing the condition. She said autism is genetically influenced because of the gene of the child. We have other things like viral and bacterial infections, inability to digest certain foods, and exposure to chemicals which their bodies couldnt process, she said. Prevalence rate An increasing prevalence of ASD has been reported worldwide. Advertisements Data obtained from WHO indicates that one in 100 children lives with Autism globally. There are 135 million established cases of autism in the world. Although data on autism in Nigeria and Africa generally is sketchy, a 2014 research indicated that 54 of the observed sample of 2,320 children in Nigeria had autism. The research shows that the condition is relatively more common among boys as 45 males and nine females were identified with autism in the 2014 study. Despite the fact that there are no recent statistics on autism in Nigeria, the majority of persons with autism lack medical, psycho-social and financial support. So far, we have had a one on one session with close to 4,000 families and the number increases day by day and we begin to wonder if the Nigerian government has accurate data of children with autism, Francis Oko, the director of Ike Foundation for Autism (IFA), said. Costly treatment, therapy PREMIUM TIMES visited the Ike Foundation for Autism to ascertain the cost and categories of therapy that children with autism are expected to go through. Mr Oko said the cost of treatment and therapy for an average Nigerian family is punishing. He said the average cost of therapy alone for a child with autism ranges from N350,000 to N600,000 quarterly. He said some adults with autism would have made progress if they had the economic means but because they cannot afford interventions, they are forced back and locked up in their homes. A family that cannot afford three meals in a day, how can they afford thousands of Naira to cover intervention for three months, Mr Oko, a behavioural therapist, said. Stanley Effah, whose son was diagnosed with autism in 2010, said the cost of treatment is more draining than other factors associated with the condition. Mr Effah said his wife gave birth to Ferdinand, their third child and first son, in November 2008. He said they were taken aback by the slow development of the child. We noticed his growth and development was really slow compared to his older siblings and so we started visiting the hospital, Mr Effah said. He said his son was eventually diagnosed with autism at age two and this has changed their lives forever. I knew it wasnt going to be an easy task for me as a father and for us as a family because managing older children is difficult not to talk of children with special needs, he said. He said raising Ferdinand has been a struggle due to the financial implications of treatment and different therapy recommended for children with autism. We have been putting in all our efforts financially over the years. We spend lots and lots of money every month on his food, treatments and various interventions. In most cases, you are spending so much, devoting your time and sometimes, you think the specialists are exploiting you because it doesnt get better, he said. Similarly, Silvia Tagbo, who has a 12 years old son with autism, said the cost of managing the disorder is unending. Ms Tagbo said a child with autism requires more than one therapy to attain their full potential. It is very expensive because for you to get the best out of your child, one therapy isnt enough to fix all issues. You have to get different therapists for different purposes. If your child is interested in sports, you have to cover that, If its a child that doesnt socialise, you have to get a one on one intervention, if its art or piano, you have to do the same, she said. Subsidised cost Mr Oko, who is also the Vice- President of the Association for Behaviour Analysis Nigeria (ABAN), said many families suffer due to their inability to afford required therapy for persons with autism. He said the Nigerian government must intervene urgently to get more people diagnosed, managed and placed in therapy. He said this will help families live a more fulfilled life knowing that a condition did not make their child less human. The federal government needs to come in, they need to intervene urgently. The government can subsidise the cost of treatment, they can establish government owned centres at a reduced cost, he said. Assessment fees range from N45,000 to N75,000 at some centres, but as a way of supporting families, we charge N15,000 at this centre. But even with this, lots of people cannot afford it. He said this is not sustainable for privates centres as it is costly to pay one therapist per child. He said the government has the resources and capacities to fund and sustain autism management in the country. In developed nations, once a child is diagnosed with a spectrum, the government takes over that child. We have to put up a system to ensure this happens in Nigeria, he said. Ms Izuwah also said that if the government can find ways of subsiding the costs, more parents will present their kids for therapy. They can support NGOs at the forefront of autism by covering some costs, pay bills of children and even give these kids scholarships, she said. Late diagnosis, other challenges Every year, thousands of children are believed to be born with autism in Nigeria. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of autism is often delayed due to factors such as ignorance, inexperienced medical personnel, non-functional health facilities and lack of financial resources. Once children with autism are not diagnosed and managed on time, they become a burden to their families and society, experts said. A Senior Registrar at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Calabar, Olusola Attoe, said symptoms like impaired social interaction, communication skills and repetitive behaviour are seen in autism and can be noticed from an early age. Ms Attoe said it is important for autism to be diagnosed early and the diagnosis can be made before a child turns three years old. Early diagnosis is also important because the child will be checked for any other co-occuring medical conditions, she said. She said the management of autism requires behavioural modifications which are important at the early stages of the childs life. Ms Izuwah, the specialist and director of Our Lady of Guadalupe health foundation autism centre, said early diagnosis and interventions are key to getting good results in children with autism. She said the benefits of early intervention are enormous because the childs brain is still tender. She explained that it is always good to present children before the age of three to achieve the best result. She said they learn better and faster when they are young compared to when they are already grown and stuck in their attitudes. I recently diagnosed a 20 years old child of autism. This has deprived the child of the benefits that come with early interventions. These children just sit at home, not having access to education or health facility, she said. Stigma and discrimination Mr Oko, the behavioural therapist, said that asides from financial constraints, most families experience stigmatisation hence denying them emotional and psychological support needed from society. He said children with autism are rejected, abused and stigmatised within the family circles and society. He said the high rate of discrimination has prevented lots of parents from seeking help for their wards. Moses Ekuma, a lawyer and father of a 21-year-old with autism, shared his experience. Mr Ekuma said more awareness is needed for the world to accept people living with such conditions. He said people with autism suffer stigmatisation in various forms. When my child is stigmatised, I am also indirectly stigmatised but I know that this is my cross to carry, he said. People usually say all sort of things like we used our child for ritual purposes amongst others, he said. More awareness required Mr Izuwah said many Nigerians have poor knowledge about autism. Most people especially those in rural communities still do not know what autism is. They claim its a demonic disease or witchcraft, she said. She said if the awareness level is increased, the rate of stigmatisation will reduce. She explained the need to also sensitise religious and traditional leaders at the community levels. If there is no awareness, the understanding of autism will always be low and people will not know what to do or how to relate with people living with the condition, she said. A review of Nigerias health budget for 2022 shows there is no provision for the disorder. PREMIUM TIMES attempted to speak to officials at the health ministry on why this is so. The deputy director, media and public relations unit at the federal ministry of health, A.A.Chindaya, declined calls and failed to respond to messages sent by this reporter. However, an official at the ministry, who asked not to be named, said the government would soon pay attention to people living with autism. We just started a branch for children with special needs, it is still at its infant stage. As for autism, we havent done anything on it. We are just trying to reach out to partners so we can be able to have broader contact with persons with autism, the official said. World Autism Day The World Autism Awareness Day is marked on April 2 every year to encourage awareness about the existence of the disorder and remember millions of persons living with autism globally. Many advocates also see the annual event as an opportunity to act on behalf of affected individuals and lobby for more services, equal treatment and an individualised approach to just about everything. The theme for the 2022 World Autism Day is: Inclusion in the Workplace: Challenges and Opportunities in a Post-Pandemic World. The theme was adopted by the UN in 2021 to reflect on some issues highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) has declared an end to its sit-at- home order in South-east Nigeria, traditional rulers in the region said Saturday. The Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council said the group yielded to the appeal of the Anambra government and traditional rulers to pave the way for peace, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). Speaking at a one-day peace building and security meeting in Awka, the state capital, the chairman of the traditional rulers council, Nnaemeka Achebe, said IPOB took the stance after Igbo leaders, including religious leaders, declared their intention to find a lasting solution to the insecurity and the incessant sit-at-home directives in the region. Mr Achebe, who is the Igwe of Onitsha, said Igbo leaders have continually held meetings with the agitators on the way forward for lasting resolutions of the problem. He said after its meeting with the group on April 1, it was agreed that a call to release the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, would be a step to douse the tension in the state. He said that after the meeting, IPOB placed a call to all its members to put down their arms and accept dialogue. We call on all who had taken the way of guns to put down their guns and take up the olive leaf from the government to better themselves, Mr Achebe said. He said the state government has set April 4 for prayers aimed at seeking Gods face to restore peace in Anambra and South-east. NAN quoted Mr Achebe as saying that it was agreed that on April 4, all churches in Igboland and South-east would come together for prayers to seek Gods forgiveness and to restore peace. Igboland has lost so much in economic and social development. We are tired of the situation and want peace. It is agreed that on Sunday, April 3, all churches will announce the IPOB decision to their faithful to come out on Monday 11a.m. to their various churches to offer prayers to God for the restoration of peace and economic development, the traditional ruler said. Others at the meeting spoke in support of the decision. They included the speaker of the Anambra House of Assembly, Uche Okafor. Mr Okafor said the legislators would partner the state government to enthrone peace and economic development in the state and the region. The national vice president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Damin Ogene-Okeke, urged the public to embrace the decision to establish peace. He called on the governors of the South-east states to represent their people well and speak the minds of the citizens who elected them into office. IPOB introduced the sit-at-home order as a means of putting pressure on the Nigerian government to release its leader, Mr Kanu, who is standing trial for alleged treasonable felony and terrorism. Residents were forced to shut down their businesses, social activities, and stay indoors every Monday because of the order. Armed men reportedly enforcing the order have in the past killed several people and set ablaze buildings and cars in the region (NAN) Nollywood veteran actor Pete Edochie has said the APC Chieftain and presidential aspirant, Bola Tinubu, is too old to run for President. The 75-year-old thespian said this on Friday during a BBC Igbo Town Hall Meeting, monitored by PREMIUM TIMES. Mr Tinubu, who turned 70 on Tuesday, might be among the frontrunners to succeed Muhammadu Buhari, whose tenure as president ends in May 2023. He says he is in the race for the 2023 presidency to bring hope to Nigerians. Some of the panellists who spoke at the meeting were, The managing director and chief executive officer of Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS), Awka, Uche Nworah; UK-based Nigerian lawyer and human rights advocate Chinwendu Nduka: actor and writer Emeka Amakeze; President of the Council of Igbo States in Americas (CISA), James Ogbuka and Nollywood producer, actress and politician, Rita Daniel. Other issues addressed during the town hall meeting were the zonings system in Nigeria, Nnamdi Kanu continued incarceration and South-Eastern Nigeria politics. Too old to run Regarding the February 25, 2023, general elections, Mr Edochie cited reasons for saying Mr Tinubu is not strong enough to be Nigerias next President. He said: It has been a long time since Tinubu has been nurturing the ambition for that position. Right from the time APC was formed, there was something that seemed to be an agreement that after Buhari, he would be the next president. If you watch, this person is too old, lets be honest with ourselves, today I am 75, merely looking at me: I look healthy, but if I tell you how much I spend on drugs, you will pity me. So it will be a shame to say, okay, lets support this man for this position, and when he emerges, he will spend most of his time in foreign countries for medical treatment, he said. Igbo presidency Mr Edochie, who shot into prominence in the 1980s when he played the lead role of Okonkwo in an NTA adaptation of Chinua Achebes all-time best-selling novel, Things Fall Apart, also spoke on the need for a president of Igbo descent. He emphasised that an Igbo presidency would solve the problem of marginalisation, which has been a constant outcry of the Igbos. He said: The Igbos agitation today is for a chance for an Igbo man to rule this country, but anybody that says that Igbos are supporting Tinubu is doing it for his benefit. Generally, Igbos want an Igbo aspirant so that if he falls, we all fall together. If he is dancing, we will dance with him. He also lamented that Nigeria has yet to produce an Igbo president since the coup that led to Agunyi Ironsis death and the 1967-1970 Nigerian civil war. Why has the power not returned to the Igbo people? Is there a plot by the political elites to sideline the South-East? Ive lived in the North. I speak Hausa. But its long overdue for Nigeria to have a leader of Igbo extraction, Mr Edochie said. The National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, has directed that additional cybersecurity sensitisation against destructive/threatening cyber-attacks be carried out for government agencies and stakeholders. The NSA stated this on Thursday when chaired the 9th Meeting of the Cybercrime Advisory Council in Abuja. The NSA, according to a statement by his office spokesperson, Zakari Usman, said the directive was in a bid to contain cybercrimes and their impact on information and security infrastructure in the country. The directive comes as cybercrime activities have skyrocketed across the country, particularly amongst the youth. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested over 1,000 cybercrime suspects in the last year. While launching the Cybersecurity Toolkits for MSMEs at the event, the NSA charged relevant agencies on cybersecurity resilience and preparedness. The Cybercrime Advisory Council meeting updated members on activities and events since the 8th Meeting of the Council in compliance with the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy (NCPS) 2021 and the provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015. Read the full statement: NSA Chairs the 9th Meeting of the Cybercrime Advisory Council ABUJA, FCT, 1 APRIL 2022 The National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (Rtd) chairs the 9th Meeting of the Cybercrime Advisory Council, directs additional cybersecurity sensitization for stakeholders, launches Cybersecurity Toolkits for MSMEs, charges relevant agencies on cybersecurityresilience and preparedness. The Cybercrime Advisory Council meeting held Thursday, 31 March 2022, updated members on activities and events since the 8th Meeting of the Council in compliance with the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy (NCPS) 2021 and the provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015. The Council was briefed on the successful completion of 7 sector-based sensitization workshops by the Office of the National Security Adviser between September December 2021 and informed stakeholders of 2 additional sector-based sensitization workshops on the implementation of the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy for critical organizations scheduled between May -June 2022. The Cybercrime Advisory Council was also briefed on the launching of Cybersecurity Toolkits for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by ONSA in collaboration with United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) aimed at protecting MSMEs from cyber threats. The pilot launch of the toolkit in February 2022 was conducted with over 200 SMEs in attendance, while the main launch of the toolkit is scheduled for 5 April 2022. The Council was further informed that the toolkits will be available for use to protect online activities of over 41 million MSMEs that operate in Nigeria. On Protection Plan for Critical National Information Infrastructure, Council was briefed on measures to protect telecommunications assets and ongoing efforts to sensitize State Governments on emerging threats. Council was further informed of 2 workshops conducted on Critical National Information Infrastructure Protection in collaboration with the United Kingdom FCDO, and a capacity building workshop held from 31 January-1 February 2022 on the development of a National Cybersecurity Risk Assessment. The Office of the National Security Adviser informed members of ongoing gap analysis to identify capacity deficit amongst relevant law enforcement agencies pursuant to the Cybercrimes Act 2015 to guide future capacity building efforts. As part of measures to address emerging cyber threats heightened by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, ngCERT has increased its routine monitoring activities and advisories to relevant stakeholders and held sectoral Computer Security Incidents Response Teams meeting on 29 March 2022 to facilitate incident management coordination, enhance reporting and strengthen information-sharing mechanism. The meeting received several reports from sub-committees and the Council also approved the establishment of a committee to facilitate the amendment of the Cybercrime Act 2015. The National Security Adviser emphasized the need for collaboration, capacity building, (and) information sharing, to ensure a safe and resilient cyber ecosystem for Nigeria. SIGNED Zakari Usman Head, Strategic Communication Office of the National Security Adviser. The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali, has presented N9.3 million to families of 13 police officers who lost their lives in active service in Anambra State. The police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Friday. He said the Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Echeng Echeng, presented the cheques to the families on behalf of the IGP. The gesture is an initiative of the Inspector General of Police family welfare insurance scheme aimed at giving succour to the family of police officers who died in active service. Also, the gesture is aimed at spurring officers to greatness while discharging their statutory duties with the assurance that their welfare is of paramount importance to the administration of the force, he said. Mr Echeng thanked the IGP for the welfare of officers, Mr Ikenga said. The commissioner urged the beneficiaries to use the money wisely by investing it in a profitable venture that will improve the living conditions of their families. The IGP carried out a similar gesture three months ago in the state, the statement said. Police officers and officials of other security agencies have been the target of deadly attacks mainly in Nigerias South-east by gunmen believed to be part of the Biafra agitation in the region. The Indigenous People of Biafra, a group leading the agitation for the creation of an independent state of Biafra from the South-east and some parts of South-south, have been accused of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the two regions. Billionaire businessman, Tunde Folawiyo, has approached the Federal High court in Lagos seeking a stay of execution after a judge ordered the Asset Management Company of Nigeria to take over properties belonging to him. Mr Folawiyo, in a suit before the court, prayed the judge to restrain AMCON from execution of the judges order pending the determination of his suit. Lewis Allagoa, a judge of the federal high court in Lagos, on March 24 ordered AMCON to take over some of Mr Folawiyos assets over an alleged N727.9 million debt. AMCON had sought a court order to freeze Mr Folawiyos accounts in 18 banks and the interim forfeiture of his property at Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, Mr Folawiyo was allegedly instrumental to a N522.4 million loan from Spring Bank by Compagnie Generale de Logistique, where he is reportedly a director. A 2017 suit between AMCON and Compagnie Generale De Logistique & Others led to the judge granting an ex parte order in favour of the former. The interest payable on the N522.4 million totals the loan to N727.9 million. Mr Folawiyo argued he was not a party to the 2017 suit and was not served with the judgment on it. He also argued that he was not a director of Compagnie Generale De Logistique at the time of the suit and was not involved in the loan transaction with Spring Bank. Mr Folawiyo said as a result, he is not a debtor within the contemplation of Section of 61 of the AMCON Act as to warrant the interim forfeiture of his assets and freezing of his bank accounts on account of the 2017 judgment. He argued that a combined reading of Sections 49(2),50(2) and 61 of the AMCON Act would show that only current directors of a company fall within the definition of debtor as to warrant the freezing of their assets or accounts. The business man accused AMCON of failing to disclose his status in Compagnie Generale De Logistique, the principal judgment debtor in the suit. He also said the ex parte order obtained by AMCON is an abuse of court process, adding that the originating summons it filed is incompetent as it had expired at the time of the grant of the order. He complained about the impact the order would have on his employees and the reputation of the three-generational family business he has worked hard to maintain and grow over the years. Akan Okon recently resigned his appointment as Commissioner for Economic Development and Ibom Deep Seaport, Akwa Ibom State, to focus on his ambition to run for governor in 2023. In this post-resignation media briefing in Uyo, Mr Okon explained what he would do in Akwa Ibom if elected. PT: The governor, your former boss, has anointed someone as his preferred successor. Were you shocked by the choice? Okon: I was not shocked. You can observe that since the governor made the announcement, you have not heard me make any comment. I went about my business and going to work every day and delivering on all the assignments that I was given. At the appropriate time, I had to leave. The reason for leaving was very clear, which is to contest for the governorship in 2023. PT: Are you satisfied with your performance in the office? Okon: While in office God helping me, I discharged my duties and the various assignments given to me creditably. I joined Akwa Ibom State Government in 2013 and my first assignment was at the Ministry of Economic Development. I spent six months there as Commissioner and at the end of six months, I was moved to the Ministry of Finance where I served to the end of that administration led by Governor Godswill Akpabio. When Governor Udom Emmanuel won the election in 2015 and was sworn in as governor, I was reappointed into that office. That has made me keep the record as the only person to serve two governors as Finance Commissioner. I want to say that I served in that office with integrity. Why am I saying so? In Nigeria, the easiest way to have issues with EFCC is to be a finance commissioner. To the glory of God I served there and I left in December 2016. EFCC has never invited me and they will never invite me. From that office, I was sent to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Renewal, and later, the Ministry of Special Duties. My responsibility and key deliverable was the 21-storey building which I am sure all of us can see. Another project the Ministry delivered under my supervision was the Governors Lodge in Lagos. The lodge has since been completed and put to use. The airport was under my supervision. Being in that ministry gave me the opportunity to correct the anomaly that I notice at our airport. Before now, when airline passengers moved into the airport terminal building to check in or obtain a boarding pass, they will pass through security, for economic passengers you pay at the departure hall. When there was a need to use the convenience you will have to go out of the security checkpoint and then come back to be screened. In fact in those days of when there were flight delays, there was no place for people waiting to buy water, because the only place water was sold was inside the departure hall which they didnt have access to. That necessitated the construction of a new building attached to the existing terminal, where you have a restaurant, a gift shop, a pharmacy and convenience for members of the public. Today, if you are travelling, while waiting at the departure hall, if you have to come out of the security area, it wont be because you want to use the convenience. Now also, members of the public can have access to whatever thing they need at the airport. From that ministry, I was moved to Special Duties and Aviation Development. My responsibility was to ensure that we had Ibom Air flying and I am happy today to the glory of God, Ibom Air is flying and within a very short period of time, it has become the airline of the first choice for travellers in Nigeria. The high standards of professional service delivery offered by the airline have increased customers traffic to our airport and have rendered the existing terminal building inadequate, (and) that is what necessitated the move for the new permanent international terminal building which is under construction. When completed, the terminal will be one of the best in Africa. From that ministry, I was moved to the Ministry of Economic Development and Ibom Deep Seaport. The key deliverable there was to ensure that we obtain the approval for the development of Ibom Deep Seaport, an approval that eluded us for over 20 years as a state and by Gods grace on 16th December 2020, we obtained that approval and I want to thank Governor Udom Emmanuel, the Chairperson of the Technical Committee on Ibom Deep Seaport, Mrs Mfon Usoro, for their efforts and all the things they did to ensure that we obtained that approval. The question was if I am satisfied. In all that I have said, God helped me to deliver on those assignments and I am happy I was able to accomplish all the tasks and assignments given to me to that extent I am very happy I was able to do what I did. PT: What critical needs have you identified that you intend to meet if elected as Governor of Akwa Ibom State? Okon: To be successful in any vocation, you need to undergo a lot of qualification and proficiency training. At 34 years, Akwa Ibom State cannot afford to be an experimental field where people come to learn leadership in public service. We need someone who has been around and understudied the various sectors of the states economy and also understands the challenges that our people are facing so that from day one, he will hit the ground running in embarking on those policies and programmes that will lead to an improvement in the standard of living of our people. I want to thank Governor Udom Emmanuel for allowing God to use him to train me in public service. As you are aware, I have traversed many ministries, this was training and added advantage for me. A ministry like Economic Development gave me an opportunity to have in-depth knowledge on the workings of government. Whatever happens in the judiciary, legislature or the executive comes to that ministry. I have a good knowledge and understanding of what is required to be done so that Akwa Ibom State can continue to be on the path of development and growth. I want to say that why I am contesting is that I have the experience, I have been trained, I am prepared for this leadership position and you will agree with me that we need someone with experience. If you want to look at it, competence is important in leadership, capacity is also important in leadership, integrity is also important in leadership. Governor Udom Emmanuel has done well, he has embarked on projects that are legacy projects and some of these projects cannot be completed in the life of this administration, his successor must be someone who has full understanding of these projects so that he can continue with them and ensure that they are completed and put to use. If you observe, Governor Udom Emmanuels developmental focus is based on three gateways, land, water and air, and fortunately, I am the one who by the special grace of God supervised all three areas, so I am better equipped to continue with what Governor Udom Emmanuel has done so that Akwa Ibom can be what we all want it to be. Under the administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel, a lot has been done to create jobs. I believe we should continue to create jobs. We have a lot of intelligent and enterprising young men and women and all that they need is an opportunity to serve, I will create the needed opportunities for them. As a state, we have had our fair share of issues arising from inconsistency in policies and projects implementation and a disconnect between the past and present. An average Akwa Ibom person requires a conducive environment to function, I know this based on what I have observed. I believe I have what it takes to provide that environment. We will create business incubation centres to train and empower young people who have sellable and buyable ideas we will link them with business angels. By that, I mean investors who have funds to invest in their businesses that will help them grow and become sustainable. The state needs the right environment for our people and a lot has been done in terms of security, we believe that if it continues in this fashion, we will achieve a lot. PT: You are not the governors preferred candidate, dont you think you are swimming against the tide? Okon: We are all seated here because God has made it possible. God is leading me, I dont see myself swimming against the tide. There is no man on earth that is led by God that swims against the tide. PT: What shortcomings have you identified in Udom Emmanuels administration that you would want to correct? Okon: There is no human being that is perfect. There is no perfect government. I believe that the government led by Governor Udom Emmanuel has done well, and like it is always said, the government is a continuum. A state is like a book with different chapters and if you remove five chapters from a book with ten chapters that book can never be complete. Every successive administration since the creation of Akwa Ibom has contributed to the development of the state. Each one comes to take over from where the previous one stopped. I believe that whatever has been the positive things achieved by this government, it will be the responsibility of the next administration to enforce it for the good of Akwa Ibom people and the areas you believe are not properly done, we will together make modifications because the state belongs to us; we will ensure that we do those modifications in a way that will be acceptable to everyone. Advertisements PT: Looking at the quality of other aspirants seeking the governorship position, how do you intend to navigate your way through to become the next governor of the state? Okon: You (the reporter who asked the question) will be one of those who will help me navigate the way. (Laughs). As my friend, you have a duty to tell the Akwa Ibom people the qualities of who should be the next governor and what is expected of a good governor. If you can tell the Akwa Ibom people the lot you have known about my personality, performance, capacity and experience, they will decide that Akan Okon is the best for them in 2023. PT: We havent seen politicians, people from the PDP here with you. Do you have the support of the party to contest this election? Okon: If you want to see my supporters, you wait for the day I will declare. You cannot do things the same way and expect a different result. You might be seeing quite new faces in what we are going to do, I can assure you that when we are through you will know that one with God is a majority. PT: What is your relationship like with Governor Udom Emmanuel? Okon: Governor Udom Emmanuel is my friend. This is our 40th year of friendship and nothing will stand in the way of our relationship. I tendered my resignation on Monday 14th March 2022, and last Friday we were together, which should confirm to you that my aspiration cannot come between our relationship. The governor and I are interested in the development of the state, we are very passionate about it. I believe we have a very robust relationship and nothing can come between us. PT: It appears that the governor was intentional about the ministries he assigned you to head as his personal friend. Why was he not intentional about choosing you as his preferred successor? Okon: God rules in the affairs of men, and Gods ways are different from that of men. One of you asked if I had consulted the governor? Yes, I have. I consulted the governor on the 23rd day of September 2021. That is a significant day because it is the date of our states creation. PT: Do you support the agitation by Itu/Ibiono Federal Constituency that the governorship is zoned to the area? Okon: I believe in the demand for the governorship by Itu/Ibiono people. I also believe that God is not an author of confusion, and the reason for zoning is to reduce in-fighting. I believe that in Itu/Ibiono Federal Constituency we have competent people that can lead this state. I support that sentiment, but that shouldnt entirely be the yardstick competence, experience, capacity must also be considered apart from zoning. PT: Are you part of the emerging coalition that wants to stop Governor Emmanuels preferred successor? Okon: Life is evolving, we cant say for sure that there is a coalition. We cannot preempt that it will continue in the same fashion it used to be. However, lets keep our fingers crossed. Everything is in the hands of God. The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of seeking to profit from the killings in the country. The APC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, on Friday, alleged that the PDP seeks to ride on the tragedy facing the country to get back to power. Spokesperson of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, had said in a statement that the ruling party went on jamboree at its March 26 National Convention when the country was burning. He was referring to the recent attacks on the Kaduna airport and on a Kaduna-bound train. But responding, Mr Morka said it was insensitive and irresponsible for the opposition party to seek to politicise a terrorist attack. It is outright unconscionable, insensitive and irresponsible for the PDP to seek to politicize a terrorist attack that cut short the lives of our dear ones for its base interest. Granted that Nigerians have become accustomed to PDPs arrant flippancy, the occasion of a national tragedy is not exactly a good time for puerile rascality. He said. While the PDP digs deep in the mud trying to find electoral gold, President Muhammadu Buhari, in a swift response to this tragic event, met with Security Chiefs and directed the immediate conclusion of all processes for implementation of the integrated Security Surveillance and Monitoring System (ISSM) solution for Abuja-Kaduna Rail Line as well as the extension of the ISSM solution to cover the Lagos Ibadan Rail Line. Mr Morka said the President further directed the rescue of all kidnapped passengers, and ordered a manhunt for the perpetrators of these acts of terror, adding that the management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) was also directed to speedily repair the damaged lines and restore services without delay. The APC spokesperson said several senior administration officials visited and condoled with bereaved families and extended support and care to those injured in the attack while the PDP continues to engage in idle mudslinging. He said: APC mourns our dearly departed and our thoughts and prayers are with families and friends of our dearly departed and the injured and the unaccounted for. Our party remains committed to working with relevant authorities to bring perpetrators of these despicable acts to justice. Renewed attacks In the past couple of days, the country has witnessed renewed attacks by terrorists in the north and other militias in the South-east region. Last week, bandits attacked the Kaduna Airport killing a guard and also bombed a Kaduna-bound train, killing eight persons and abducting several others. Some communities in Kaduna State, particularly Giwa and Birnin Gwari local government areas have also in the recent past witnessed renewed attacks by terrorists. In the face of the renewed attacks, several lawmakers, under the ruling party, have also raised alarm about the general insecurity in the country. On Thursday, during a debate on a motion on killings in Kaduna, several APC lawmakers in the House of Representatives condemned the attacks, while some also called for the sack of the National Security Adviser, Babangana Monguno. The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, had also blamed his colleagues in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for blocking a proposal to procure surveillance equipment to monitor the trains. In addition, the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, also blamed the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) for not heeding the warning to stop evening train services. Adeyinka Shoyemi, a Nigerian living in west London, has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail for encouraging racial hatred and violence in Nigeria using inflammatory messages, Evening Standard reported. Mr Shoyemi, 45, of Powis Terrace in Notting Hill, first came to the attention of counter-terror police in March 2019 after members of the public tipped them off about the posts targeting particular ethnic groups in Nigeria. The messages, posted by accounts under the name Adeyinka Grandson, were assessed by a specialist group of officers in the Mets Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). They found that the posts, which had commentary encouraging attacks against certain ethnic groups, were in potential breach of the law and launched a probe. He was first arrested at his home address in August 2019, with officers searching three properties linked to him and seizing various digital devices. Mr Shoyemi was initially charged with six counts of inciting racial hatred and he was released on bail with a condition not to post any more social media posts which were threatening, abusive or insulting to any ethnic groups. But he flouted his bail conditions and was rearrested. Consequently, two more charges of inciting racial hatred were added. Mr Shoyemi was sentenced to four-and-a-half years behind bars on Thursday. He was found guilty on November 30 of eight counts of inciting racial hatred after a trial at Southwark Crown Court. Commander Richard Smith, head of the Mets Counter Terrorism Command, said: Our Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit the first of its kind to be established anywhere in the world was instrumental in identifying Shoyemi and his activity. Over the last ten years, the CTIRU has been at the forefront of getting harmful content removed from the internet, and detecting and investigating potential terrorist-related activity online. We continue to need the help and support of the public and I would encourage anyone who comes across material or posts that could be related to terrorism or violent extremist activity to report it to us, so that our specialist officers can take action where necessary. Mr Shoyemis controversial posts on social media Mr Shoyemi, on various social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, consistently made posts pitching the three major ethnic nationalities in Nigeria against each other. Mr Shoyemi, who described himself as the president of the Young Yoruba for Freedom group, would always make posts putting the Yoruba people against the Igbo and Fulani speaking people of Nigeria. In one of the videos he posted on Twitter, he said the Igbo speaking people were responsible for the 1966 military coup. He added that he believes in the use of force to get what he wants. Mr Shoyemi also made posts targeting popular Igbos and other nationals who do not agree with his ideology. For instance, on August 26, 2021, in a post titled cultural appropriation, he insinuated that Jason Njoku of Iroko TV was a trickster for using a Yoruba word as his business name. Cultural Appropriation: An Igbo, Jason Nkoju, went so far as to use th-e word Iroko TV to carve out his brand. He knew that using an Ibo word would be unprofitable, so he tricked Iroko TV subscribers who are mainly Yoruba, to think that they have signed up to a Yoruba platform, he wrote. We have a categorical duty to ask the Ibo to respect the dignity of the Yoruba people and not stop using our names as a means for even a good end, he said in a separate post. On July 30, 2021, he urged full blooded yoruba people to boycott a Nigerian newspaper, P.M. News, for alleged image laundering. P.M. News, a Yoruba newspaper is being used to whitewash the image of Abba Kyari, a Fulani fraudster and killer while Sunday Igboho is being destroyed by the Fulani. A disgrace to P.M. News. Full blooded Yoruba should boycott the newspaper, Mr Shoyemi wrote. Advertisements In one of his videos made in Yoruba, he said the Igbo and Fulani speaking people are the cause of the woes in Yorubaland. He claimed, without evidence, that they are killing the Yorubas and raping their children. He stated that he does not like the Igbos and if he ever gets into power, he would use them (Igbos) as an experiment. During the #EndSARS protests against police brutality, Mr Shoyemi claimed that most officers of the police unit were Fulanis and Igbos who used their positions to kill Yorubas. SARS do not kill people in the Hausa/Fulani region because the officers and men in the police force therein are people from the region. But SARS members are killing people in Yorubaland because the officers are mostly Igbo and Hausa/Fulani. #EndSARSBrutality. Mr Shoyemi went further to threaten any Yoruba female who got involved with an Igbo man. Yoruba women must end all sexual and marital relationships with Igbo men. Any Yoruba lady seeing with an Igbo man in public places will be disgraced. The Igbo are using intermarriage to infiltrate the Yoruba leadership, populate Yorubaland with their children and then dominate us, he tweeted on May 25, 2020. Gunmen Thursday night killed another operative of the Ebubeagu security outfit in Ebonyi State. A lawmaker identified the slain operative as Iboko Christian. The gunmen reportedly trailed him to his house in Nduogbuovu community in Izzi Local Government Area of the state. The member representing Izzi East State Constituency in Ebonyi House of Assembly, Anthony Nwegede, said the attackers robbed Mr Christian of some money and a motorcycle before killing him. The lawmaker condemned the killing. He said they had reported the matter to the police. The police spokesperson in Ebonyi State, Loveth Odah, confirmed the incident. She said the victims father reported the matter at the police station in the area. Policemen went with him to the victims house. They saw him in a pool of his blood, Mrs Odah said. She said the Ebubeagu operative was rushed to the hospital, where the doctor confirmed he was dead. The police have transferred the matter to its headquarters in the state for investigation on the orders of the Commissioner of Police, Aliyu Garba, Mrs Odah said. She said the police are on the trail of the killers. His death comes barely a week after a commander of the security outfit was killed in Ezza North Local Government Area. Another Ebubeagu operative, identified as Sunday Nwafor, was shot dead by gunmen and then beheaded in January in Ekpelu, Ikwo Local Government Area of the state. Another member of the security outfit, Ifeanyi Orogbo, was killed and his remains partially burnt by the assailants in January in Igweledeoha, Amagu, in Ikwo Local Government Area of the state. The South-east governors set up Ebubeagu to complement the job of the police and other security agencies in checking the rising crime rates in the region. Ebonyi and Imo are the only two states that have inaugurated the outfit out of the five states in the region. The security situation in the two states has, however, continued to deteriorate. Security officials and their facilities, as well as high-profile personalities, remain the targets of deadly attacks by gunmen in the South-east region. Several police stations were attacked in Imo state last week and many killed. Gunmen killed an officer last month when they attacked the National Drug Law Enforcement Agencys head office in Ebonyi. The country home of Ohaneze Ndigbos president was razed by gunmen in Imo last month. The separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is suspected to be behind the attacks in the region. IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is detained in Abuja. He is standing trial for treasonable felony and terrorism. Advertisements Hafsat Abiola-Costello, daughter of the presumed winner of the June 1993 presidential election, late Moshood Abiola, is to lead the presidential campaign organisation of the Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, as its director-general, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt. Also, the Director General of the M.K.O. Abiola Campaign Organisation and former Senate Deputy Leader, Jonathan Zwingina, has been named the national coordinator of the Yahaya Bello Presidential Campaign Organisation and a former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, as deputy national coordinator. The appointments were made ahead of the formal declaration of Mr Bello for the presidency on Saturday in Abuja. Mrs Abiola-Costello, 47, is a human rights and democracy activist and founder of Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), which seeks to promote democracy in Nigeria. The organisation was named after her mother Kudirat, who was killed in June 1996 during the struggle to actualize the presidential mandate of her husband. The Harvard-trained activist also served as Special Adviser MDGs in her home state, Ogun. Mr Zwingina, 68, hails from Adamawa State. He was at various times Information Committee chairman and Senate Deputy Leader while in the upper chamber between 1999 and 2007. Mr Fani-Kayode was the Director of Media and Publicity for the President Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation in 2015. He rejoined the APC last year. Zoning unconstitutional Bello Mr Bello, 46, will complete his second term in office as governor in 2024. He was first elected governor in 2015 but assumed office on January 27, 2016. He began his second term in office on January 27, 2020. Before now, supporters of the governor had been going round the country soliciting support for his presidential ambition. Mr Bellos party, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has not formally zoned the presidential ticket to any party of the country. It is not clear if the party will zone it to any particular section of the country or leave it open to all aspirants. Mr Bello hails from the North-central zone as the new National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu. It is being speculated that with the zone producing the national chairman, the APC may not zone the presidency to the north, comprising the north-central, north-west and north-east zones. The current president, Muhammadu Buhari, is from the north-west zone. Therefore, it is most likely that the party would favour its presidential candidate in the 2023 election coming from the south, which comprises the south-west, the south-east and the south-south. At present, most of the partys presidential aspirants are from the south. They include the partys National Leader and former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu; former Imo State governor and serving senator, Rochas Okorocha, and the governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi. Although they are yet to disclose their presidential ambitions, the posters and billboards of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi; former Abia governor and serving senator, Orji Uzor Kalu; and the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele adorn strategic places in some Nigerian cities. It is also rumoured that the Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, may join the race. However, it is also likely that the party may throw the position open by allowing any candidate from any zone to run for president. Mr Yahaya, the youngest state governor in Nigeria, is one of the aspirants seeking this position. APC has no zoning formula as far as the partys law is concerned, no zoning formula as far as the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is concerned. Poverty. Insecurity, lack of infrastructure has no zoning. These are the problems we are confronted with today, and they have no zoning. The party delegates would vote for me. I would prefer that we go by merit and vote for who can get these problems solved, he said in a recent media interview. Advertisements Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has frowned at the emergence of Iyiola Omisore as the national secretary of the APC at the partys just-concluded national convention. Mr Soyinka, a professor of Comparative Literature, said in a statement Saturday that Mr Omisores new position in the ruling party puts paid to any re-investigation into the murder of Bola Ige, a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. With the emergence of the said prime suspect as National Secretary of the Ruling Party, is the Inspector-General of Police equipped to confront political obstacles in a resumption of investigation? Is there any guarantee that the result will see the light of day? Mr Ige was shot dead in his home in Ibadan on December 23, 2001. He was 71. Last December, during the 20th anniversary of Mr Iges death, Mr Soyinka urged President Buhari to reopen his murder case and bring the perpetrators to book. Mr Omisore had been a key suspect in the murder, and the police detained him for months. He was later released. He has, however, consistently declared his innocence in the incident. Mr Soyinka noted that after his intervention in December, the president ordered the Inspector General of Police to re-open the case files and resume investigations. To this layman, that investigative revisit is already hamstrung and disrobed of credibility, Mr Soyinka continued. I think the nation should simply relieve President Buhari of his pledge. I am certain the Inspector-General of Police will be equally relieved and can now turn his mind and energy to the national accustomed posture Business as Usual. Read Mr Soyinkas full statement below: PERHAPS CLOSED FILES SHOULD REMAIN JUST THAT CLOSED? Barely three months have passed since the twentieth anniversary of the murder of the late Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Bola Ige, an occasion that I utilized to remind President Muhammed Buhari, of a subsisting election pledge. That pledge was to re-open the files on the spate of unsolved political assassinations that had plagued the nation in recent decades. Prominent among those cases was that of the Minister of Justice, murdered on his way to take up a prestigious position with the United Nations. Presidential response was swift. Buhari ordered the Inspector-General of Police to re-open those files and resume investigations. The nation has patiently awaited even a hint of Work in Progress. Most, I am certain, expect no less than a revaluation of prior investigative efforts. None, to my knowledge, has attempted to rush the Chief of Police and his team into judgment. We all take solace in the knowledge that the wheels of justice grind slowly, but they arrive. Eventually. However, an unusual turn of events has raised questions. The ruling party, headed by the same President, has just elected as its National Secretary one of the prime suspects of this most notorious of the nations unsolved murders. Not for a moment does one suggest that mere accusation, even trial, presumes Guilt. More than a mere verdict is involved in any trial, however. The process of arriving at that ultimate destination justice is integral to the very concept of democracy and equality under the law. That process is one of the structures of civic education. Unresolved till today were quite a number of untidy, even suspect aspects of investigation, prosecution and trials, aspects which revealed improper cell co-habitation by suspects under custody. That this led necessarily to recantations of earlier depositions is not thereby proven, but the fact remains that such U-turns did take place. One was so brazen that it induced a heart attack that proved fatal to the victims wife, another Justice Mrs. Atinuke Ige. That the prime suspect was privileged in a number of improper ways went beyond mere allegation. Political interventions, including pressure on the judiciary during bail hearings cannot be denied. A judge under such pressure kept a diary with accusations, pages of which he consigned to friends for safe keeping. With the emergence of the said prime suspect as National Secretary of the Ruling Party, is the Inspector-General of Police equipped to confront political obstacles in a resumption of investigation? Is there any guarantee that the result will see the light of day? How suspect, ab initio, will be the conclusions, given the present political ordering? I repeat: we are speaking of blatant, undeniable exercise of POLITICAL interventions during investigations and the arraignment of suspects. Prior incumbency of the position of National Secretary of a ruling party has demonstrated the potent interventionist clout that can be wielded from that office. The president has personally received, and thus anointed the new incumbent. Since he remains central to any re-investigation whatever form or direction it takes just what value of objective assessment can be placed on the presidential pledge? To this layman, that investigative revisit is already hamstrung and disrobed of credibility. I think the nation should simply relieve President Buhari of his pledge. I am certain the Inspector-General of Police will be equally relieved and can now turn his mind and energy to the national accustomed posture Business as Usual. Wole SOYINKA Four wanted kidnappers that terrorised the residents of neighbouring Kano and Jigawa States have surrendered themselves to the police, authorities in Jigawa State said. The police spokesperson in the North-west State, Lawan Adam, said the suspects were tracked, and lured by the police area commander in Ringim local government, MK Abdullahi, before they surrendered alongside their weapons. Mr Adam said the kidnap syndicates, led by Yusuf Wakili, 30, a resident of Ajingi council area of Kano, surrendered one AK 47 rifle and two shotguns On 26/03/2022 based on the credible intelligence gathering, the Area Commander Ringim, ACP M K Abdullahi, and his team were tracked and lured one of the most wanted notorious kidnappers, Yusuf Wakili Alias Rago m age 30yrs of Ajingi LGA Kano State He surrender along with four other gang members namely; Inusa Jibrin, 30, Tahir Zango, 27, all of Ajingi L.G.A. Sabo Abdullahi Alias Sabo Gara, 35, a resident of Gerawa Ringim council area of Jigawa and Suleiman Garba, Alias Manu Dogo, a resident of Wangara, in Dutse L.G.A of Jigawa, the police spokesperson said. The suspects were responsible for several kidnapping and robbery cases in Jigawa and Kano States, he added. Mr Adam said the suspects were transferred to the state criminal investigation department where they are being interrogate. He said they were cooperating and giving useful information to apprehend their accomplices. The suspects would be charged to court after an investigation, the police said. President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the renewal of the appointment of Abba Bello as the managing director of the Nigerian Export and Import Bank for a second and final term of four years. The president also reappointed Bala Bello, Executive Director (Corporate Services), and Stella Erhuvwu Okotete, Executive Director (Business Development). Mr Buharis decision was conveyed through a statement by the special adviser, Media & Communications to the Minister of Finance, Yunusa Abdullahi. The managing director and the two other management teams were appointed on April 10, 2017 and their first five-year term is due to expire on April 9. According to the statement, the team had over the first five years performed well by recording great increase in the operating profit of the bank and significantly reducing non-performing loans. Evidently, the operating profit, previously in the negative (N8.030billion) at the inception of the current management, has increased to N3.825 billion in 2021, and there is an improvement in returns on capital earnings from -15.31 in 2016 to 2.72 in 2021, the statement said. There is a reduction in non-performing loans from 94 per cent in 2017 to 29 per cent as at December, 2021, and there is an increase in the total assets of the bank by approximately N136.132 billion or about 222 per cent from inception of the current management in 2017 to 31st December, 2021. There is an enhanced liquidity position of the bank through additional funding totalling N103.755 billion from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), N3.936 billion from Federal Ministry of Finance, US$50 million from the Nigerian Content Development Management Board (NCDMB) and US$25 million from the African Export-Import Bank. The NEXIM has also made high growth in recoveries from N40.780 million in 2016, preceding the current management to an annual average recovery of N1.243billion between 2017 and 2020 and a total collection of N11.903 billion for the five years. The bank has made the disbursement of a total sum of N144 billion in loans to export-oriented entities in the non-oil sector while accounting for approximately US$375 million as export proceeds within the period under review. The NEXIM bank has been ranked among the best three Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and best five public institutions surveyed based on the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Anti-corruption Assessment Criteria A Guardian newspaper reporter, Julius Osahon, has regained his freedom after five days in the captivity of his abductors. Mr Osahons wife, Jessica, confirmed the development on Saturday to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). She said Mr Osahon was on his way to reunite with the family in Benin, Edo State. Mrs Osahon said her husband had informed her that he just left the police station in Ughelli after he was debriefed. Gunmen abducted Mr Osahon on Sunday with other passengers in transit to Ughelli, Delta State. They demanded N5 million ransom for his release. The kidnappers reportedly got angry at the media spotlight on the journalists abduction and increased the ransom to N50 million. It was not clear if ransom was paid for his release. The commercial bus which the journalist and others travelled in, has been recovered and kept at the companys terminal in Yenagoa. The bus has bullet holes all over its body, according to the News Agency of Nigeria. The Federated Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bayelsa State Council, had condemned the abduction of the journalist and other Nigerians. The chapel in a statement signed Messrs Chris Eze and Bassey Willie, chairman and secretary respectively, called the federal and state governments to ensure adequate security on the highways, especially the Bayelsa and Delta axes of the East-West Road. The security situation in our nation is becoming worrisome on a daily basis, innocent citizens are being killed, kidnapped and their valuables carted away by criminals. Journalists are not wealthy men in (the) society but just doing their duties to contribute to the growth and development of the nation, that is why we wonder where Mr Osahon will get N5 million demanded by the kidnappers to regain his freedom, the chapel stated. (NAN) The governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on Saturday, officially declared his interest in contesting the 2023 presidential election with a promise to create 20 million millionaires using crypto-related technology and the Igbo apprentice system. Mr Bello made the declaration on Saturday at the Eagle Square in Abuja. The event was attended by some dignitaries including his deputy. Edward Onoja, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, a former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode and Hafsat Abiola-Costello, the daughter of the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, late M.K.O. Abiola. PREMIUM TIMES had reported that Mrs Abiola-Costello was appointed the director-general of Yahaya Bello Presidential Campaign Organisation. By his declaration, Mr Bello, who will be concluding his second term in office in 2024, has joined other prominent APC members who have indicated interest in flying the partys flag in the 2023 presidential election. They include the National Leader of the party and former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu; Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State, and former Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State. Others speculated to join the race soon are Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi; former Abia governor and serving senator, Orji Uzor Kalu; and the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, whose posters adorn strategic places in some Nigerian cities. Mr Bello, who is from the North-central geo-political zone will also have to contend with the zoning arrangement of his party. The newly-elected National Chairman, Abdulahi Adamu is from Nasarawa State also in the North-central zone. It is believed that his party is leaning towards a southern candidate after the eight years of Mr Buhari, who is from Katsina State in the North-west geopolitical zone. 20 million millionaires by 2030 Mr Bello explained he was running for president because he saw a bright shining light at the end of the tunnel for Nigeria. I am running for president because I see a bright light shining at the end of the tunnel for our nation. I am not one of those who only see doom and gloom. It is my intention to take custody of that light to pierce the dark spot in our past and present by eliminating every gap in our nationhood and fixing them. I will ensure that the light is handed over in due course to successors who will be trustworthy of our great future which the Federal Government led by me will build, he said. The Kogi governor said, if elected, he would run a broad political philosophy of progressive activism through social action and political reform. He said, I will be running on the broad political philosophy of progressive activism through social action and political reforms. We are so blessed as a nation but yet he does not always seem so. I am running to restore hope by providing security, unity, and progress to all Nigerians. Our focus will be proper management of our great diversity so that it can really be an advantage. On insecurity, Mr Bello said he would never tolerate non-state actors who take up arms against the nation. But I will be willing to listen to all sides and address all agitations fairly, especially those borne out of genuine imbalances in the treatment of citizens by the system. I will put a stop to the existential mistreatment of any people among us. Despite the killings in the country, Mr Bello also lauded the federal government for the investment in the security sector. On how he would reduce poverty, Mr Bello said, According to a BBC report of February 13, 2012 over 100 million Nigerians lived in extreme poverty during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) era. In 2018, with APC in the saddle that figure has dropped to about 87m people yet Nigeria overtook India as the poverty capital of the world. Just this month, Nigeria through the effort of the president relinquished the title back to India and brought down the figure to about 70m people. It is therefore clear that our path to national prosperity lies in pulling millions of Nigeria out of poverty. The Buhari has a target of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by the year 2030. A Yahaya Bello administration or presidency will have an additional target of creating N20 million by the same year 2030 with the aim that each of them will empower five other citizens, the governor said. He explained that to achieve the 20 million millionaires pledge, he would set up the Igbo apprentice system and a National BlockChain Taskforce (NBT) to develop a trailblazing policy for the nation in cryptos, the metaverse, NFTs and blockchain technology. Advertisements On his administration in Kogi, the governor blamed undisclosed enemies for the bad press it is getting. According to him, these enemies control the press. He, therefore, challenged Nigerians to visit the state to see the unprecedented development there. It is well known that we offended powerful vested interests on our way to power in Kogi State. Moreover, since we took office we have committed the unpardonable political sin in Nigeria, that is, refusal to have godfathers and kowtow to them, he said. The Borno State police command on Friday paraded a 28-year old man arrested while trying to transport a large cache of ammunition out of Maiduguri, the state capital. The suspect, Clement Asuk, said he was helping to deliver the ammunition to a community in Cross River State, which he said is currently at war with fighters of the separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The police said the suspect was arrested at a popular Maiduguri motor park as he was about to exit the town with a heavy suitcase filled with high calibre bullets, including 126 anti-aircraft bullets. It was the biggest interception of illegal military weapons of ballistic capability ever recorded in the history of the decade-old Boko Haram insurgency, police said. The Nigeria Police and the military had in the past arrested and court-martialled soldiers involved in stealing and selling weapons and ammunition to criminals. Mr Asuk described himself as a Benue State-based businessman and graduate of Maritime Engineering. Acting on credible intelligence, the Borno state police Rapid Response Squad stormed the Kano Motor Park on time to prevent Mr Asuk who had already boarded one of the Luxurious buses heading for Southern Nigeria, from leaving with the ammunition. The Borno Commissioner of Police, Abdul Umar, said upon searching him, it was discovered that Mr Asuk had in his baggage a mini armoury capable of executing a small scale war. According to the commissioner, the suspect was found with 126 anti-aircraft munitions, 222 of 7.62mm of life ammunition, 517 of 7.62mm by 51 life ammunition, 7.62mm by 39 life ammunition, two empty magazines of Ak47, four rocket propelled grenades (RPG), one hand grenade, and one anti aircraft ammunition belt. The suspect, according to the police, confessed that he was on errand for a soldier serving in Operation Hadin Kai and one other civilian who he described as a notable figure in his community in Obubra local government area of Cross River State. PREMIUM TIMES recently reported communal clashes that claimed eight lives around Obubra, even though it was not linked with IPOB hostilities. Mr Asuk, who was paraded alongside 25 other suspects, said those who hired him for the weapon transportation trip wanted to use the consignment to arm themselves against harassment from IPOB fighters of Southeast Nigeria. He said his community in Obubra local government shares boundaries with communities in Ebonyi State where IPOB fighters had been pushing to force them into their war with the Nigerian state, triggering violent clashes from time to time. The suspect was also found wearing local charms, possibly worn with the belief it would help him to escape being noticed while transporting the ammunition. He said he took delivery of the lethal consignment a day after he arrived in Maiduguri. According to him, a soldier picked him up around the central business area of Maiduguri, known as the Monday market, and led him to where he was handed the baggage of ammunition. Mr Asuk told PREMIUM TIMES in an interview that his uncle, Joshua Akum, an engineer based in Chad, came to Maiduguri and linked him up with a soldier, Lance Corporal Samuel, who handed him the ammunition. There had been continued communal clash between a community in Obubra Local Government Area of Cross River State and a boundary community in Ebonyi State where the IPOB members had continued to kill our people, he said. So my uncle called me on the phone to come down to Maiduguri where I will be given ammunition to take back to the community in Cross River to defend our people. My uncle and the soldier gave me the ammunition and took me to a motor park in a tricycle before I was arrested by the Police. I was meant to take the ammunition to Makurdi before I will do a waybill to Cross River, the suspect said. The police commissioner said while the suspect is being kept in custody, an investigation team has been raised to fish out the soldier and the Chad-based accomplice. Bandits have killed at least 35 people including a village head after they raided five communities in Anka local government area of Zamfara State on Thursday evening and Friday morning. Local sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the bandits also rustled the livestock of the villagers. Zamfara State has become one of the epicentres of criminality in the country with armed men raiding villages. These gunmen have killed hundreds of residents. They have also kidnapped several others. The attacked villages were Kadaddaba, Rafin Gero, Babban Baye, Wanu and Daki Takwas. A youth leader in Anka, Shawwal Aliyu, said the village head of Wanu was killed during the attack. You know the communities are very close. When they stormed Wanu, they went straight to the traditional rulers house where some residents had also gathered and they started shooting sporadically. Its possible that he (village head) was not the reason for the attack because they were just shooting while people continued running. It was in the evening that the dead bodies were gathered, Mr Aliyu said. According to him, the armed men killed six people in Wanu, in Kadaddaba they killed four people while two were killed in Babban Baye and three in Rafin Gero. Those who escaped the bandits attack ran to Anka in the evening and despite that the villagers called security agents several times while they were being attacked, 15 people were killed just like that yesterday (Thursday), he said. Premium Times learnt that the displaced persons are being sheltered in primary schools and an unofficial IDP camp given by the Emir of Anka. On Friday, local sources said 20 people were killed in Daki Takwas in the same local government area. Daki Takwas is few kilometres from the main town and also not far from the Federal Government College Anka. Twenty people were killed in that, Ansar Aliyu said. They went into the town in the morning when local traders were getting ready to go to the Anka weekly market so, most of the 20 people killed were preparing to go to the market for business. The police command spokesman, Mohammed Shehu, didnt respond to calls and SMS sent to him during the attacks. Bandits have killed at least five people, wounded seven others and abducted an unknown number of persons during an attack on Friday when they stormed a weekly market in the Yantumaki community of Danmusa local government area of Katsina State. The police confirmed the attack. Danmusa which is on the boundary of Rugu forest, is one of the main hideouts for gunmen commonly referred to as bandits. A local source, Magaji Basiru, told PREMIUM TIMES that those killed include three traders and two children who were killed in the stampede that followed as people tried to run from the bandits. The bandits abducted traders and customers and escaped with them into the forest. They came around some minutes to 3 p.m. and went straight to the phone sellers part of the market. In a short statement confirming the attack to journalists, the spokesperson of the Katsina police command, Gambo Isa, said one person was killed while five were injured. Today (Friday) some terrorists attacked the GSM section of Yantumaki Market and started shooting sporadically. They came in their usual style; motorcycles, at high speed and wielding guns. The two small boys that died were pushed to the ground during the rush by people to escape the bandits bullets. The other three killed were traders while some of those wounded include traders and customers, he said. READ ALSO: Bandits kill 35 people including village head in two separate attacks in Zamfara Mr Basiru added that several people were abducted by the bandits during the attack and goods were carted away. We cant say exactly how many people have been abducted but theyre many of them. You know, the people of the areas involved need to be contacted to know who and who has not returned. As we speak, (Friday Kate late evening) wares and goods are still out there in the market although policemen have taken over the area, he added. They shot six people and stole many handsets. One died and five were taken to Danmusa General Hospital. Some of them were later transferred to Dutsinma and Katsina General Hospitals. The situation is under control now, he said. No fewer than 42 civilians were killed is various attacks by non-state actors in Jigawa State in the Month of March, the police in Jigawa State have announced. According to the Public Relations Department of the Jigawa State police command, the number is exclusive of unreported civilian death and security personnel killed in the line of action. Out of the 42 persons killed, eight were as a result of reoccurring violent clash between crops farmers and cattle herders in two restive local government areas of the state Guri and Kirikasamma. The figures in farmers, and herders clash is the highest toll in the past months. That has raised more fear as residents often reported the movement of strange armed persons across the state. In January the police confirmed the killings of two officers in Taura Local government Area by armed bandits. The police also announced the abduction the son-in-law to a government contractor in the state, Haruna Maifata. The police spokesperson, Lawan Adam, said in the month of March, the police received the report of two kidnap incidents and five armed robbery cases Mr Adam said the other deaths were unnatural, others due to road accidents mostly occurred due to overspeeding, overloading, and non-compliance and proper usage of road signs. The official said rape cases top the chart with 12 reported cases in the states crime statistics for last month. The police said that while 42 persons were killed in the month of march 28 other persons sustained injuries. Jigawa is relatively safe when compared to other states in the Northwest region where bandits and other armed groups regularly terrorise inhabitants. But reoccurring violent clashes between farmers and cattle herders in Guri, Kirikasamma and Birniwa in Jigawa North East with fertile land suitable for farming and grazing, have remained issues of concern with control of the land has led to bloody conflicts between the groups over the years. The incessant clashes between farmers and herders in the area have led critics to accuse the Jigawa government of handling the crisis with kids gloves. Police have repelled an attack by gunmen in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. The gunmen on Friday attacked the officers who were attached to a construction company working in the area, police said. Details of the incident were still sketchy at the time of filing this report but a source said the incident happened at Omege Noyo. The officers engaged the gunmen in a shootout and were able to repel them. One of the gunmen was killed during the shootout while an officer was injured and is in critical condition at a hospital. Police spokesperson in Ebonyi State, Loveth Odah, confirmed the incident but said she was yet to get details of it. She said the police were on the trail of the attackers and expressed hope they would soon be apprehended. The attack happened the same day some gunmen attacked and killed a member of the Ebubeagu security outfit in Ebonyi. The insecurity in the South-east has deteriorated. The police and other security agencies, including high-profile personalities in the regions, remain the targets of deadly attacks. The separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), is suspected to be behind the attacks in the region. IPOB is agitation for the creation of an independent state of Biafra to be carved out of the five states of South-east and parts of South-south region. The group leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is detained in Abuja. He is standing trial for alleged treasonable felony and terrorism. Another Nigerian has disclosed how some police officers forced him to wire N130,000 to them after the officers abducted him on an highway in Ibadan, Nigerias South-west. The incident happened on April 1 along the Ibadan expressway, close to Gurumaraji/Ibadan tollgate, according to information on a Twitter post that narrated what happened. The victims name is Babatola Ogundedina as shown in the transaction receipt posted on the microblogging site as evidence of the wired money. The money was wired through a Stanbic IBTC account to an OPAY account belonging to Festus Akele. Mr Ogundedina said he was driving his friends Toyota Venza car when the officers flagged him down on the highway. He said the officers questioned him, made a phone call and confirmed the car belonged to his friend. They also searched the car and found nothing incriminating, he said. Once he (an officer) finished talking to my friend who owns the car, he started going through my phone. He saw an email on the phone and thats when they started saying Im a Yahoo boy (internet fraudster), Mr Ogundedina said. The officer told their victim he must have been involved in an internet scam for him to be driving a Toyota Venza. Mr Ogundedina said the officers rejected his appeal that they should take him to a police station. He said they threatened to shoot him if he refused to cooperate with them. Mr Ogundedina said he was afraid of his life because the incident happened around 6 a.m. and that the area was quiet except for the cars that were driving past on the highway. So they entered the car and started driving me around and threatened that they will do different to me. I asked them what they wanted and they asked me to give them N500,000. I was shocked but due to the fact that they kept threatening me I had to beg them to collect N130,000 out of the N140,000 that was left in my account. They gave me an Opay account, which I did, the victim said. Police reaction The Complaint Response Unit of the police responded to the tweet. It requested the Twitter user who posted it, Emeria Godwin, to furnish them with his contact details. A similar incident happened on Wednesday when some officers abducted a Nigerian music producer in Lagos and forced him to wire N1.2 million to them. The officers were later identified and the money recovered and returned to the owner after Nigerians expressed outrage on social media. AdCellerant makes quality digital marketing accessible to every business. DENVER , April 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AdCellerant, an award-winning tech-enabled Services Company focused on bringing Madison Avenue-level digital marketing solutions to Main Street Businesses, announced today their rebranding efforts. Born in 2013, AdCellerant has become one of the fastest-growing companies according to Deloitte Technology and Inc Magazine 2021 rankings. In a note from the executive team, the rebrand comes from AdCellerant's evolution from a service company to a technology company. "With invested time, resources, and capital to rebuild Ui.Marketing-the company's sales enablement, order automation, order management, and reporting platform," said Brock Berry, CEO, and Co-Founder of AdCellerant. "The evolution of the company and the future we aim to tackle with our partners could only be captured in a new look, mission, and plan for AdCellerant." New look and feel, same company vision The company's vision is to provide small to medium sized businesses access to high-quality digital marketing technology and solutions through partnerships with media companies and agencies. Generating results and growth for businesses of all sizes, AdCellerant offers best-in-class advertising technology and software, award-winning customer service, expert education, and exceptional operational support to deliver unparalleled campaign performance for advertisers. Ui.Marketing makes the complex, simple and allows small businesses to compete with national brands like never before. "The future of advertising is quickly evolving and so are we. AdCellerant facilitates the value exchanged between the advertiser and the end consumer. In the future, that responsibility can only be fulfilled by a company that easily traverses cookieless, ever-changing privacy laws, conversion-focused campaigns, and automation," said Brock Berry & Shelby Carlson, Co-Founders of AdCellerant. "We take our role seriously. Small businesses are in a dog fight with national and big box brands. AdCellerant and Ui.Marketing levels the playing field between Madison Avenue and Main Street advertising through innovative planning, execution, and reporting." Behind the Rebrand The purpose of the AdCellerant rebrand was to show AdCellerant's efforts to become a tech-forward, and innovative company while driving revenue growth for the Partners they work with. "AdCellerant's new logo incorporates rounded edges and a custom typeface to embody the company's evolution, drive, and commitment through innovative technology and award-winning customer service," Lenae Myers, graphic designer at Techint Labs. This vision is what creates exceptional solutions and services for our partners and advertisers. AdCellerant keeps the following core values at the forefront of their business: Driving results for partners and local businesses Technology innovations to stay ahead of the curve Their team members' success and well-being Exceptional customer service for every single partner Conducting business in an ethical and sustainable way Making the local community a better place About AdCellerant AdCellerant provides businesses access to high-quality digital marketing technology and solutions through partnerships with media companies and agencies. Focused on generating results and growth for businesses of all sizes, AdCellerant offers best-in-class technology and software, award-winning customer service, expert education, and exceptional operational support to ensure campaign performance for customers. Leveraging proprietary technology Ui.Marketing, AdCellerant effectively connects businesses with their ideal customer at the right time. Harnessing an easy-to-use and nimble digital advertising tool users can manage the entire buyer's journey from quick and accurate comprehensive proposal creation, campaign launch, and campaign performance. All within a single platform. For more information or to book a demo, visit www.adcellerant.com. Contact information: Meghan Brito Senior Vice President, Marketing [email protected] SOURCE AdCellerant LLC NEW YORK, April 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of C3.ai, Inc. (NYSE: AI): (i) pursuant and/or traceable to the Offering Documents issued in connection with the Company's initial public offering conducted on or about December 9, 2020 (the "IPO" or "Offering"); and/or (ii) between December 9, 2020 and February 15, 2022, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important May 3, 2022 lead plaintiff deadline. SO WHAT: If you purchased C3.ai securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the C3.ai class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=3839 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than May 3, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, the Offering Documents were negligently prepared and, as a result, contained untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state other facts necessary to make the statements made not misleading and were not prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations governing their preparation. Additionally, throughout the Class Period, defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding C3.ai's business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, the Offering Documents and defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) C3.ai's partnership with Baker Hughes was deteriorating; (2) C3.ai's was employing a flawed accounting methodology to conceal the deterioration of its Baker Hughes partnership; (3) C3.ai faced challenges in product adoption and significant salesforce turnover; (4) C3.ai overstated, inter alia, the extent of its investment in technology, description of its customers, its total addressable market, the pace of its market growth, and the scale of alliances with its major business partners; and (5) as a result, defendants' public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the C3.ai class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=3839 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.rosenlegal.com SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. Cancer Therapies Market in Europe 2022-2026: Scope The cancer therapies market in Europe report covers the following areas: Cancer Therapies Market in Europe 2022-2026: Drivers and Challenges The increased prevalence of cancer is one of the key drivers supporting the cancer therapies market growth in Europe. The costs of cancer treatment are also expected to increase, as new and often more expensive treatments are adopted as standards of care. The rise in the number of cancer cases will lead to increased demand for and use of cancer immunotherapy, prompting vendors to develop advanced and upgraded therapies further. These factors are driving the market growth. The high cost of products is one of the factors challenging the cancer therapies market growth in Europe. Most cancers are incurable and require individual-specific treatments. Therefore, several sequential or combination treatments are given to individuals. The high cost of drug development, right from the preclinical stage to approval, leads to the higher cost of the final cancer drugs. Such factors are negatively impacting the market growth. Cancer Therapies Market in Europe 2022-2026: Segmentation By type, the market has been segmented into chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and others. The chemotherapy segment will have significant market share growth during the forecast period. Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells or to stop the growth of rapidly dividing cancer cells in the body. It is often given along with radiation therapy, called chemoradiation therapy, to increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy. By geography, the market has been segmented into Germany, UK, France, Italy, and Rest of Europe. Rest of Europe will have the highest market share growth during the forecast period. Find additional highlights related to the market. Download a Free Sample Cancer Therapies Market in Europe 2022-2026: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the cancer therapies market in Europe, including Amgen Inc., AstraZeneca Plc, Bayer AG, Bristol Myers Squibb Co., Eli Lilly and Co., F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Merck and Co. Inc., Novartis AG, and Pfizer Inc. among others. Subscribe to our "Lite Plan" billed annually at USD 3000 that enables you to download 3 reports/year and view 3 reports/month. Cancer Therapies Market in Europe 2022-2026: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2022-2026 Detailed information on factors that will assist cancer therapies market growth in Europe during the next five years during the next five years Estimation of the cancer therapies market size in Europe and its contribution to the parent market and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the cancer therapies market in Europe Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of cancer therapies market vendors in Europe Related Reports: Hyperkalemia Drugs Market by Type and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Cancer Biologics Market by Product and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Cancer Therapies Market in Europe Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 7.92% Market growth 2022-2026 USD 34.71 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 6.90 Regional analysis Germany, UK, France, Italy, and Rest of Europe Performing market contribution Rest of Europe at 34% Key consumer countries Germany, UK, France, Italy, and Rest of Europe Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Amgen Inc., AstraZeneca Plc, Bayer AG, Bristol Myers Squibb Co., Eli Lilly and Co., F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Merck and Co. Inc., Novartis AG, and Pfizer Inc. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for the forecast period, Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Table Of Contents : ***1. Executive Summary **1.1 Market Overview *Exhibit 01: Key Finding 1 *Exhibit 02: Key Finding 2 *Exhibit 03: Key Finding 5 *Exhibit 04: Key Finding 6 *Exhibit 05: Key Finding 7 *Exhibit 06: Key Finding 8 ***2. Market Landscape **2.1 Market ecosystem *Exhibit 07: Parent market *Exhibit 08: Market characteristics **2.2 Value chain analysis ***3. Market Sizing **3.1 Market definition *Exhibit 09: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition **3.2 Market segment analysis *Exhibit 10: Market segments **3.3 Market size 2021 **3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021 - 2026 *3.4.1 Estimating growth rates for emerging and high-growth markets *3.4.2 Estimating growth rates for mature markets *Exhibit 11: Global - Market size and forecast 2021 - 2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 12: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2021 - 2026 (%) ***4. Five Forces Analysis **4.1 Five Forces Summary *Exhibit 13: Five forces analysis 2021 & 2026 **4.2 Bargaining power of buyers *Exhibit 14: Bargaining power of buyers **4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers *Exhibit 15: Bargaining power of suppliers **4.4 Threat of new entrants *Exhibit 16: Threat of new entrants **4.5 Threat of substitutes *Exhibit 17: Threat of substitutes **4.6 Threat of rivalry *Exhibit 18: Threat of rivalry **4.7 Market condition *Exhibit 19: Market condition - Five forces 2021 ***5.Market Segmentation by Type **5.1 Market segments *Exhibit 20: Type - Market share 2021-2026 (%) **5.2 Comparison by Type *Exhibit 21: Comparison by Type **5.3 Chemotherapy - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 22: Chemotherapy - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 23: Chemotherapy - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **5.4 Targeted therapy - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 24: Targeted therapy - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 25: Targeted therapy - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **5.5 Immunotherapy - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 26: Immunotherapy - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 27: Immunotherapy - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **5.6 Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 28: Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 29: Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **5.7 Market opportunity by Type *Exhibit 30: Market opportunity by Type ***6. Customer landscape **6.1 Overview *Technavio's customer landscape matrix comparing Drivers or price sensitivity, Adoption lifecycle, importance in customer price basket, Adoption rate and Key purchase criteria *Exhibit 31: Customer landscape ***7. Geographic Landscape **7.1 Geographic segmentation *Exhibit 32: Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) **7.2 Geographic comparison *Exhibit 33: Geographic comparison **7.3 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 34: Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 35: Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **7.4 UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 36: UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 37: UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **7.5 France - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 38: France - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 39: France - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **7.6 Italy - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 40: Italy - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 41: Italy - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **7.7 Rest of Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 42: Rest of Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 43: Rest of Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **7.8 Key leading countries *Exhibit 44: Key leading countries **7.9 Market opportunity by geography *Exhibit 45: Market opportunity by geography ***8. Drivers, Challenges, and Trends **8.1 Market drivers *8.1.1 Increased prevalence of cancer *8.1.2 Introduction of combination therapies *8.1.3 Increasing awareness about effective therapies in patient population **8.2 Market challenges *8.2.1 High cost of products *8.2.2 Side effects associated with available medicines *8.2.3 Lack of skilled professionals *Exhibit 46: Impact of drivers and challenges **8.3 Market trends *8.3.1 Rise in R&D investment *8.3.2 Advent of gene therapy *8.3.3 Personalized therapeutics ***9. Vendor Landscape **9.1 Overview *Exhibit 47: Vendor landscape *The potential for the disruption of the market landscape was moderate in 2020, and its threat is expected to remain unchanged by 2025. **9.2 Landscape disruption *Exhibit 48: Landscape disruption *Exhibit 49: Industry risks ***10. Vendor Analysis **10.1 Vendors covered *Exhibit 50: Vendors covered **10.2 Market positioning of vendors *Exhibit 51: Market positioning of vendors *10.3 Amgen Inc. *Exhibit 52: Amgen Inc. - Overview *Exhibit 53: Amgen Inc. - Product and service *Exhibit 54: Amgen Inc. - Key offerings *Exhibit 55: Amgen Inc. - Key news **10.4 AstraZeneca Plc *Exhibit 56: AstraZeneca Plc - Overview *Exhibit 57: AstraZeneca Plc - Product and service *Exhibit 58: AstraZeneca Plc - Key offerings **10.5 Bayer AG *Exhibit 59: Bayer AG - Overview *Exhibit 60: Bayer AG - Business segments *Exhibit 61: Bayer AG - Key offerings *Exhibit 62: Bayer AG - Segment focus **10.6 Bristol Myers Squibb Co. *Exhibit 63: Bristol Myers Squibb Co. - Overview *Exhibit 64: Bristol Myers Squibb Co. - Product and service *Exhibit 65: Bristol Myers Squibb Co. - Key offerings *Exhibit 66: Bristol Myers Squibb Co. - Segment focus **10.7 Eli Lilly and Co. *Exhibit 67: Eli Lilly and Co. - Overview *Exhibit 68: Eli Lilly and Co. - Business segments *Exhibit 69: Eli Lilly and Co. - Key offerings *Exhibit 70: Eli Lilly and Co. - Segment focus *10.8 F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. *Exhibit 71: F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. - Overview *Exhibit 72: F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. - Business segments *Exhibit 73: F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. - Key offerings *Exhibit 74: F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. - Segment focus **10.9 GlaxoSmithKline Plc *Exhibit 75: GlaxoSmithKline Plc - Overview *Exhibit 76: GlaxoSmithKline Plc - Product and service *Exhibit 77: GlaxoSmithKline Plc - Key offerings *Exhibit 78: GlaxoSmithKline Plc - Segment focus **10.10 Merck and Co. Inc. *Exhibit 79: Merck and Co. Inc. - Overview *Exhibit 80: Merck and Co. Inc. - Business segments *Exhibit 81: Merck and Co. Inc. - Key offerings *Exhibit 82: Merck and Co. Inc. - Segment focus **10.11 Novartis AG *Exhibit 83: Novartis AG - Overview *Exhibit 84: Novartis AG - Business segments *Exhibit 85: Novartis AG - Key offerings *Exhibit 86: Novartis AG - Segment focus **10.12 Pfizer Inc. *Exhibit 87: Pfizer Inc. - Overview *Exhibit 88: Pfizer Inc. - Product and service *Exhibit 89: Pfizer Inc. - Key offerings ***11. Appendix **11.1 Scope of the report *11.1.1 Market definition *11.1.2 Objectives *11.1.3 Notes and Caveats **11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$ *Exhibit 90: Currency conversion rates for US$ **11.3 Research Methodology *Exhibit 91: Research Methodology *Exhibit 92: Validation techniques employed for market sizing *Exhibit 93: Information sources **11.4 List of abbreviations *Exhibit 94: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio PITTSBURGH, April 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia McCullough ordered 12th Congressional District Candidate Mike Doyle's name to remain on the ballot and awarded him costs and attorney's fees to be assessed to the individuals who filed the objection. The ruling follows a two day trial that included a line by line review of the signatures. Congressional Candidate Mike Doyle made the following statement: Together, working with an outstanding and committed group of volunteers, we collected just over 1300 signatures in two weeks. Today, efforts by a D.C. extreme left law firm, and the special interests behind them, had their frivolous attempt to challenge our petitions tossed by the court. I'm grateful that the court agreed that we filed with more than enough signatures to appear on the ballot and voters of the 12th Congressional District will have the ability to vote for an independent candidate who will bring a commonsense conservative approach to Washington, D.C. I'm looking forward to formally launching my campaign soon and bring my message of opportunity and leadership to every community in the district. Allegheny County Republican Chairman Sam Demarco made the following Statement: Left wing attorney Marc Elias couldn't help himself. The judicial activists on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court already chose Elias' gerrymandered congressional map intended to elect allies of President Biden's left wing agenda. Elias then sent his attorneys into the 12th Congressional district to suppress the voices of Republican voters who demand to have a quality candidate on the ballot. After drawing our congressional maps, Elias now wants to pick our candidates. I'm proud that Mike Doyle stood up to this attack. The Democrat's desperate attempt to knock Mike Doyle off the ballot is telling It shows they are scared. They know that Mike Doyle is well poised to defeat whichever of the far-left and socialist activists that the democrats put up as their candidate in the May Primary. Pennsylvanians don't appreciate these blatant attempts to disenfranchise the voices of the 1000 plus Republicans who signed Mike Doyle's petition. They are eager to send D.C. a message by electing Mike Doyle to Congress and firing Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Westmoreland County Republican Chairman Bill Bretz made the following statement: It is absurd that the democrats have abused the legal system to bring this frivolous challenge to Mike Doyle's candidacy. The arguments brought forward included the attempt to throw out the signatures of many voters because they felt the signature was illegible. Among the many unsuccessfully challenged signatures were a sitting County Commissioner and his spouse, two former County GOP Chairs, a Republican State Committeeman, and many other dedicated volunteers of our party. It is unlikely that the democratic operatives behind this fastidious review of petition signatures will carry over their recent epiphany on the significance of signature verification to join us in supporting the reinstatement of such security measures on mail-in ballots and universal Voter ID as cornerstones of election integrity going forward rather than just this cynical and opportunistic attempt to knock a rival off the ballot with frivolous litigation in hopes that the courts do what they can't do at the ballot box- defeat Republicans. For More Information- Ben Wren (724)-961-8180 or [email protected] SOURCE Friends of Mike Doyle BEIJING, April 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Five years after China announced the establishment of the Xiong'an New Area, a 1,770 square kilometer site in North China's Hebei Province about a two-hour drive from Beijing, the foundations of the new "dream city" are taking shape in a miraculous manner, with construction cranes dominating the skyline, new modern buildings springing up one after another, and a magnificent landscape created with trees, forests and wetlands that echo the city's focus on innovation and green development. When the blueprint for Xiong'an, which was described by the top leadership as "a strategy crucial for a millennium to come," was revealed on April 1, 2017, it attracted wide attention from around the world as many praised China's boldness in launching such a massive project, literally building a whole new metropolis from the ground up. Others wondered if China can make another miracle with its vision for future living and development, after two successful precedents, the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the Shanghai Pudong New Area, which led the whole country into where it is today. In many ways, Xiong'an represents China's vision of its next stage of development in several areas. It is expected to become a high-level socialist modern city that is green, low-carbon, intelligent, livable and relatively competitive, by the end of 2035. By the middle of this century, it should become an important part of the world-level Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei city cluster. In interviews with the Global Times, local residents, construction workers, companies, authorities and experts described the extraordinary changes Xiong'an has seen over the past five years despite a series of challenges. It is a sleepless construction site and a stunning view into futuristic urban living that embodies efficiency, strength, resilience and farsightedness of the Chinese system. Xiong'an speed Now, five years after the blueprints were finalized, numerous changes are taking place on this land that show to the world China's orderly but unswerving push to make of its dream city. Zhang Kun, a 35-year-old engineer at the China Railway 12th Bureau Group Co under the China Railway Construction Corp (CRCC), was one of the chief engineers for the project of the Xiong'an Railway Station. During his two years of work, from late 2018 to 2020, he sensed the transformation of Xiong'an from a rural-looking place into a modern city. "When I first came to Xiong'an from a previous project in Chongqing, I felt a big gap coming from a big city to a rural area. At that time, I saw mostly villages and agricultural land in Xiong'an. Now, roads are built, resettlement houses are built, assistant facilities and skyscrapers are also emerging. The changes are huge," Zhang told the Global Times. Ren Dakai, head of the Xiong'an New Area Digital Transportation Lab, recalled that the most obvious change in Xiong'an is the convenient transportation thanks to the increasing high-speed trains that are commuting between Beijing and Xiong'an each day. Besides, the accommodations are much better with buildings designed with modern concepts. Now, living in a relocated house in the east of Rongcheng, part of Xiong'an, Ren is quite satisfied with the community that is fully equipped with facilities like gyms and children's playgrounds. Within 3 kilometers there are educational facilities like kindergartens and elementary schools, as well as a large park, he said, describing Xiong'an as the "last place" for him to fight for a career although he just settled in the region about two years ago. What those people experienced are aspects of numerous changes that have taken place or are ongoing in the Xiong'an New Area. Since its establishment, Xiong'an has started 177 key projects with a total investment of 618.4 billion yuan ($97.4 billion). In peak times, more than 200,000 workers are employed on the construction projects, according to data from Xiong'an's management committee. Many landmark infrastructure projects have already been completed. Trains have begun to commute on the intercity railway line between Xiong'an and Beijing after the Xiong'an Railway Station was constructed and 939 of resettlement homes in the Rongdong area have been finished. The general formation of road network, ecological corridors and waterways have also taken form. As of March, central-level state-owned enterprises had established more than 100 branches in Xiong'an. Registered companies that show capital sources in Beijing amounted to 3,600, accounting for about 80 percent of the region's overall investment, according to media reports. A frequently mentioned characteristic of Xiong'an's construction is fastness, which people summarized with the phrase "Xiong'an speed." It is both correct and incorrect, experts said, as Xiong'an's overall planning has been very orderly and careful, while the actual realization of its blueprint has been faster than people's expectations, a reflection of not only China's efficiency in carrying out plans, but also a testimony of the country's technological strength which has helped shorten implementation times. Take the Xiong'an Railway Station as an example. It took only about two years for the 475,200 square meter station to complete construction, setting a record in terms of construction speed for stations of a similar scale. According to Zhang Kun, it usually takes three years for such a building to be constructed in China. That speed is not rare in the construction of Xiong'an's infrastructure. When building the Xiong'an Citizen Service Center, 5,000 workers from the China State Construction managed to complete 50,000 meters of welding work in just 20 days, while installing 12,200 tons of steel frames in more than three weeks, about two or three times faster than normal speed, the company said. According to experts and industrial insiders, the Xiong'an speed is made possible by careful planning and technological progress. For example, Zhang Kun revealed that when his team was constructing the Xiong'an Railway Station, they changed the norm of setting "five departments and one office" to "nine departments and two offices." What was added was the scientific division to push for technological upgrade and intelligent construction. According to Zhang Kun, the CRCC set up several technical workshops to apply cutting-edge technologies to the project's construction, such as welding robots, intelligent steel processing equipment, among others, which helped shorten the time of the project. Zhang Gui, secretary general of the College of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Collaborative Development under Nankai University, told the Global Times that Xiong'an's development is generally in line with its original plan. "Compared with many regions, Xiong'an's planning is complete and scientific and took a relevantly long time. This makes afterward implementation much smoother," he said. High-tech Xiong'an Apart from stressing speed, China is also pouring resources into the region to foster its high-tech industries, from 5G and autonomous driving, to cloud computing and blockchain. Since the establishment of the Xiong'an New Area, more and more 5G technologies have been implemented and application scenarios such as 5G smart robots, smart buses, and parks have been continuously enriched. For example, the parking lot alongside the Xiong'an Railway Station was built into a pilot zone of self-driving cars and Internet of Vehicles. According to Ren, autonomous driving technologies, which he is now dedicated to, have accelerated in Xiong'an from the initial test phase when tech firms like Baidu conducted its autonomous driving road test based on a 5G network environment in 2018. "Compared with other cities, Xiong'an is like a blank sheet of paper. New technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things are more feasible to implement. It can give full play to the advantages of these technologies and build a smart new city," Ren said. Zhang Gui also praised Xiong'an's planning as a vivid display of China's wisdom, as the country showed the world a "Chinese model" of what a modern city is like, as well as where China's future economic momentum lies. "Xiong'an's planning is a manifestation that China no longer just focuses on city scale, but is seeking establishment of new modern cities with features like low-carbon, intelligent, livable and high-quality development," he said. "It is an epitome of a new start for a new era." Also, the economist stressed that Xiong'an represents a model of China's modernization in an all-around way, instead of just focusing on certain city functions. Significance to the world Experts also noted that Xiong'an can play to their economic strength as the world's economic situation evolves, thus making contributions to China's economic growth as well as global industrial chains. According to Zhang Gui, the trend of regionalization is increasingly rising against the background of globalization development, such as forming of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade bloc. Therefore, Xiong'an should find its position in such new global economic pattern and strive to participate in relevant industrial chains. For instance, it will actively absorb and gather innovative factor resources in the world and lay out high-tech industries from a high starting point, after undertaking certain non-capital functions from Beijing, he said. Furthermore, as globalization is shifting from a model of bulk commodity trading to services trading, Xiong'an can explore the construction of a digital commerce development demonstration area, establish digital trade development rules in line with national conditions, as well as participate in the formulation of international trade rules and agreements for data assets both in China and abroad with its booming digital economy, Zhang Gui said. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202204/1257375.shtml SOURCE Global Times John Hope Bryant Discusses "Designing Government Taskforces for the Future" at Annual World Government Summit in Dubai Tweet this Bryant's session was titled "Designing Government Taskforces for the Future,' with a focus on the challenges and opportunities afforded by the global future, including shaping policies that drive progress and government development; designing the future of healthcare systems; actioning sustainability for positive impact; accelerating the global economic recovery; exploring next frontiers; building the cities of the future; enabling the future of education and work and empowering societal resilience. "A government that is prepared for the future is one that will successfully with clear goals, purpose, and an actionable plan meet the needs of its citizens," said John Hope Bryant, Operation HOPE Founder, Chairman, and CEO. "In the past two years, our collective global challenges have reminded us that preparation is key. As we reach new inflection points, my hope is that leaders and governments at all levels rise to the occasion and meet the moment to serve its citizens. Be it the lingering effects of the pandemic, economic shifts, social and political unrest, or any other driving force, together we can provide hope and a future that works for all." Bryant spoke about building government task forces for the future and his work preparing for the future of financial literacy in the US. He was instrumental in the creation of the presidential advisory councils on financial literacy, the FLEC Creation, and now President Biden's efforts around racial equity and agency prioritization. Bryant has advised multiple sitting US Presidents and led several global initiatives, resulting in policy changes that enhanced the relationships between the government and citizens. He has served as a member of the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. As a champion for financial wellness and economic equity, he has also advised President Bill Clinton. At Bryant's recommendation, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew renamed the former U.S. Treasury Annex Building the Freedman's Bank Building, which was established by President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, to help develop newly freed African Americans as they endeavored to become financially stable. For the past three decades, Bryant has also successfully created public-private partnerships to shift financial wellness outcomes in underserved communities through education and hands-on programming. ### About Operation HOPE, Inc. Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from civil rights to "silver rights" with the mission of making free enterprise and capitalism work for the underserveddisrupting poverty for millions of low and moderate-income youth and adults across the nation. Through its community uplift model, HOPE Inside, which received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine, Operation HOPE has served more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $3.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communitiesturning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors. For more information, visit OperationHOPE.org. Follow the HOPE conversation @operationhope on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. About The World Government Summit The World Government Summit (WGS), launched under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in 2013, is a global platform that brings together world leaders, ministers, senior officials, and policymakers to share experiences and ideas that contribute to the development of future governments and discuss the latest trends and innovative solutions for global challenges. The WGS 2022 convened this year and welcomed up to 4000 participants and 500 speakers, who are shaping the next generation of governments. For more information, visit worldgovernmentsummit.org. Media Contacts: Lalohni Campbell, Operation HOPE 404-593-7145 [email protected] SOURCE Operation HOPE, Inc. Download the Sample Report Now! Key Methanol Sourcing and Procurement Report Highlights: Market growth 2022-2026: USD 6.75 Billion Growth momentum & CAGR: Accelerate at a CAGR of 4.14% Top Pricing Models: Spot pricing model, Volume-based pricing model Key consumer countries: North America , Europe , and APAC Supplier Selection Scope: Capability of suppliers to provide efficient logistics, and Suppliers ability to ensure the constant supply of raw materials Top Suppliers: Methanex, Methanol Holdings ( Trinidad ), and SABIC Know More About This Market: Request for a Free Sample Report Now! Insights into buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers: Several strategic and tactical negotiation levers are explained in the report to help buyers achieve the best prices for the Methanol market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Methanol pricing levels, pros, and cons of prevalent pricing models such as Unit-based pricing, and Bundled pricing, category management strategies and best practices to fulfil their category objectives. For more insights on buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers, www.spendedge.com/report/methanol-sourcing-and-procurement-intelligence-report Key Drivers and Trends Fueling Market Growth: The pressure from substitutes and a moderate level of threat from new entrants has resulted in the low bargaining power of suppliers. Price forecasts are beneficial in purchase planning, especially when supplemented by the constant monitoring of price influencing factors. Identify favorable opportunities in Methanol TCO (total cost of ownership). Expected changes in price forecast and factors driving the current and future price changes. Identify pricing models that offer the most rewarding opportunities. To know more about various other market drivers, trends and challenges. Download our free sample report Smart Procurement Starts Here SpendEdge's procurement intelligence platform is the go-to tool for companies looking to access latest procurement research insights and supplier data on an easy-to-use platform. STARTER PACK Get 6 Full Reports, View 800+ report samples, Pre-order upcoming reports, Pre-order upcoming reports. Subscribe Now for FREE Want to know about various other Subscription packs? Click here Get the Details That You Are Looking for: Buy our detailed market analysis report to uncover: Changing market landscape with yearly forecast till 2024. Analyze the market's competitive and vendor landscape. How much marketing budget to set aside for geographical market expansion? Understanding the most adopted procurement strategies by buyers across industries. Download the FREE sample Report Now! Table of Content Executive Summary Market Insights Category Pricing Insights Cost-saving Opportunities Best Practices Category Ecosystem Category Management Strategy Category Management Enablers Suppliers Selection Suppliers under Coverage US Market Insights Category scope Appendix About SpendEdge: SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions. Contacts SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager Ph No: +1 (872) 206-9340 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us SOURCE SpendEdge The families of the victims represent a wide range of ages from all walks of life. Each of the victims purchased tickets for the food that had been prepared by numerous volunteers as part of the fundraiser. Unfortunately, the food is believed to have been contaminated with salmonella bacteria. Food safety attorney Ron Simon, who represents these families, stated: "the Diocese has already been in contact with its insurance company. We recommend that those who became ill seek legal representation to advocate on their behalf with the insurance company, and to make sure they get everything to which they are entitled." About Ron Simon & Associates Over the last 20 years, Ron Simon and his colleagues have prosecuted thousands of food poisoning cases for victims across the United States. His work has resulted in numerous upgrades to food safety procedures in Fortune 500 companies and in legislation designed to protect consumers from dangerous foodborne pathogens. Mr. Simon and his clients have been featured on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, and virtually all other major television networks and print media. Mr. Simon and his firm have collected over $700,000,000 for their clients. He regularly publishes articles about food safety and litigation at www.foodpoisoningnews.com which are read by viewers in over 180 countries. For more information visit Ron Simon's food poisoning website. Media Contact: Ron Simon 713-819-8116 SOURCE Ron Simon & Associates The drive-thru coffee company is kicking off festivities today with opportunities to sip, earn and score. Purchase a Cold Brew or Nitro Cold Brew with the Dutch Bros app for a chance to win: April 2-7 : up to 1,000 bonus points up to 1,000 bonus points April 8-14 : double points on Cold Brew purchases double points on Cold Brew purchases April 15-19 : free Cold Brew reward free Cold Brew reward April 20 : free Cold Brew for a month Cold Brew lovers can also celebrate with exclusive Dutch Bros app stickers with Cold Brew purchases - a new sticker every week plus a physical sticker on National Cold Brew Day! The app allows members to pay contact-free, earn points and score rewards! The National Cold Brew Day promotions lasts April 2-April 20. See official rules at DutchBros.com/national-cold-brew-day. The Dutch Bros app is available on the App Store and Google Play. About Dutch Bros Dutch Bros Coffee is a drive-thru coffee company dedicated to making a massive difference one cup at a time. Headquartered in Grants Pass, Oregon, where it was founded in 1992 by Dane and Travis Boersma, it's now sharing the "Dutch Luv" with more than 550 locations in 13 states. Dutch Bros serves specialty coffee, smoothies, freezes, teas, an exclusive Dutch Bros Blue Rebel energy drink and nitrogen-infused cold brew coffee. Its rich, proprietary coffee blend is handcrafted from start to finish. In addition to its mission of speed, quality and service, Dutch Bros is committed to giving back to the communities it serves. Through its Dutch Bros Foundation and local franchisees, the company donates several million dollars to causes across the country each year. To learn more about Dutch Bros, visit www.dutchbros.com , follow Dutch Bros Coffee on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , & TikTok , and download the Dutch Bros app to earn points and score rewards! SOURCE Dutch Bros Coffee New York, April 2 : In a deeply troubling move to Amazon's Jeff Bezos, workers at his warehouse in New York City have voted to unionise. It is a historic first. The US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) determined in January that unionisation efforts at the Amazon facility of 5,000 had "reached a sufficient showing of interest" to hold an election. Bezos-owned Amazon said it was "disappointed with the outcome of the election because we believe having a direct relationship with the company is best for our employees." The company is evaluating its options, a post said, "including filing objections based on the inappropriate and undue influence by the NLRB" that it claims it witnessed. It didn't specify what "influence" it was referring to. The ripples were felt far and wide. "The President was glad to see workers ensure their voices are heard...The Amazon workers in Staten Island made their choice to organise a grassroots union and bargain for better jobs and a better life," White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said. For two years, work has been afoot on unionising one of the citadels of modern capitalism. In October 2021, there was a filing with the NLRB to hold union elections for two Amazon facilities on Staten Island. This had to be withdrawn because there weren't enough signatures. A refilling was undertaken in December. The union is the personal project of one Christian Smalls, fired from the Staten Island site for organising a walkout. After Friday's tally was announced, Smalls taunted Bezos, second richest on the planet with net worth of $188 billion, thanking him, "because while he was up in space we were signing people up." In welcome news for Bezos, another union drive at Amazon's BHM1 facility in Bessemer, Alabama, where the NLRB had ordered a re-do of an election held in 2021 because Amazon was found to have interfered, the votes went against unionisation, with 933 against and 875 in favour. Since the final result is so close, there will be a hearing on 416 challenged ballots in the next few weeks, and both the union and Amazon will have the opportunity to file objections. Unionisation, a red rag for Big Tech in general, is publicly despised by the retail behemoth having a turnover of $386 billion in 2020. Friday's vote came barely twelve miles from Wall Street - to some the heart of global capitalism. It ratchets up growing unionisation efforts at Amazon, at 950,000 folks, the second-largest private employer in the US after Walmart. "We intend to fight for higher wages, job security, safer working conditions, more paid time off, better medical leave options, and longer breaks," Smalls' union has been saying, even as Bezos has been unapologetically fighting off labour organising. US rules require the organisers to submit signatures from 30 per cent of the workers they seek to represent. A change of guard from Bezos to Amazon old-timer Andy Stacey in July hasn't changed the party line. (Nikhila Natarajan tracks Big Tech and tweets @byniknat) Washington, April 2 : Sung Kim, US special representative for North Korea, will meet his South Korean and Chinese counterparts here in Washington next week to discuss North Korea's recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests, the US Department of State has said. Kim, who is concurrently serving as US ambassador to Indonesia, will arrive in Washington on Sunday, Yonhap news agency reported, citing the department. "US Special Representative for the DPRK Ambassador Sung Kim will travel to Washington, DC April 3-7 to participate in a series of meetings with US government officials and others on a broad range of DPRK issues, including the DPRK's recent ICBM launches," it said in a press release, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "He will meet with ROK Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Noh Kyu-duk to discuss the current situation on the Korean Peninsula. Special Representative Kim will also meet with PRC Special Representative on Korean Peninsula Affairs Ambassador Liu Xiaoming to discuss issues related to the DPRK," it added. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name. North Korea fired an apparent ICBM last Thursday, following its two missile launches on February 27 and March 5 that the US says had involved a new ICBM system. The latest missile launch also ended Pyongyang's self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile testing that had been in place since late 2017. Raichur, : April 2 (IANS) Karnataka Police on Saturday sent a team to look into the situation in Andhra Pradesh's Srisailam where a violent clash involving pilgrims broke out. According to the police, the decision to send the team of 14 policemen -- two PSI's, two ASI's, 10 constables -- was taken by the Karnataka state government. After the team returns to Karnataka on Sunday, they will submit a detailed report on the violence and assault which took place on March 30. At least two person from Karnataka were injured in the violence which which started as a verbal duel between a pilgrim and a local shop owner in Srisailam. Srishaila Varimath, a resident of Janamatti village in Bagalkot district who suffered serious head injury, has been shifted to Bengaluru for further treatment. The second injured person, Gopal, was sent by an ambulance to his village in Karnataka. Lakhs of pilgrims from Karnataka visit Srisailam during the Ugadi festival. They will return home after a religious fair scheduled to take place on Saturday. According to the pilgrims, the drinking water outlets established by the temple authorities on the main road of Srisailam were shut down on March 30 which created a scarcity. The delegation of state pilgrims have met the Kurnool District Commissioner Koteshwara Rao and submitted a memorandum to him in connection with the issue. The DC has assured of all cooperation and rectification of the problem. Kiev, April 2 : More than 6,000 Ukrainians have been evacuated from besieged cities via humanitarian corridors in the past 24 hours, according to a government official in Kiev. In a social media post, Deputy Head of the President's Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said a total of 6,266 people were evacuated on Friday, including 3,071 from Mariupol in the Donetsk region where Russian forces have continued relentless bombing and attacks, reports ukrayinska Pravda. Evacuations also took place in the regions of Zaporizhzhya and Luhansk, Tymoshenko said. However, thousands of people are still stuck in Mariupol, where continued Russian shelling for more than five week have led to shortage of food, running water and heat. In a statement, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said: "We know how much you want to be saved. Every day we will try and try to break through until you get a chance to leave the city, and most important, to live a peaceful life." Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Kiev, April 2 : Ukrainian authorities have said that Russia has launched three missile strikes on the strategic port city of Odessa, causing casualties. In a social media post, Maksym Marchenko, Head of Odessa Regional Military Administration, said the missiles were launched on Friday from the Russia-annexed Crimea, reports Ukrayinska Pravda. Without providing further details, including the number of casualties, Marchenko said the Russians "would regret every launch of missiles and every attack on our land". The Operational Command South of the Ukrainian military said that air-defences had prevented attacks targeting "critical infrastructure, which could endanger the civilian population". It went on to say that the situation is currently under control and that it has launched a probe into it. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Kuala Lumpur, April 2 : Malaysia has opened its borders for international travel, ending restrictions that have been in place since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020. Among measures adopted by the authorities to facilitate the travel of non-Malaysian nationals to the country are the abolishing quarantine requirements for vaccinated travellers, with only a pre-departure test and a test within 24-hours of arriving in the country, reports Xinhua news agency. There is already optimism that the move into the endemic phase will see economic recovery, especially for the country's hard hit tourist sector which has been largely closed off. Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Nancy Shukri said over 10,000 foreign travellers and Malaysians residing abroad were expected to arrive at airports nationwide on Friday and the Ministry is targeting over 2 million tourist arrivals within the year. "After two years, today is a historic moment and a huge relief for our tourism industry as we welcome international tourists, newcomers and regulars alike, back to Malaysia, supporting our economy again," she told reporters at an event to mark the reopening at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Malaysia attracted 4.3 million tourists in 2020 because of lockdowns following the pandemic, a sharp decline from the 26.1 million in 2019. Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong noted the influx of travellers moving across the bridge connecting Malaysia and Singapore, allowing families to reunite ahead of Ramadan, the Islamic fasting month, and Qingming, a traditional tomb-sweeping festival. "Some were on motorcycles or in cars, and some even walked. This is the result of good discussions between the Malaysian and Singaporean governments to benefit the people of both countries. "However, everyone is reminded to always take care of the health and safety of yourself and your loved ones. This is the first step towards a normal life," he cautioned. The relaxed standard operating procedures (SOP) and other measures must not mean that caution is thrown to the wind, according to Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) President Koh Kar Chai. He added that the coming weeks and months would be important, with health authorities being expected to keep a close eye on the rate of hospitalization of Covid-19 cases and the incidence of severe cases which are warning signs to look out for. Malaysia has so far reported 4,201,919 Covid-19 cases and 34,983 deaths. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) New Delhi, April 2 : Spacetech startup Pixxel has successfully launched its first fully-fledged commercial satellite called 'Shakuntala' with Elon Musk-run SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket. Being Pixxel's first fully-fledged satellite, 'Shakuntala' hosts one of the highest resolution hyperspectral commercial cameras ever flown to space, bringing it one step closer to building a 24x7 health monitor for the planet, it said in a statement. Launched on Friday aboard SpaceX's Transporter-4 mission from Cape Canaveral in the US, this launch puts the company within touching distance of its ambitious mission to assemble one of the world's most advanced constellations of low-earth-orbit imaging satellites. "From being one of the very few finalists in the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition in 2017 to now launching our own satellites as part of SpaceX's fourth dedicated rideshare mission, life has come full-circle for us," said Awais Ahmed, CEO of Pixxel. Weighing less than 15 kg, Shakuntala (TD-2) is capable of capturing orbital images in more than 150 bands of colour from the visible and infrared spectrum with a resolution of 10-metres per pixel, far exceeding the specificity of 30-metre per pixel hyperspectral satellites launched by a few select organisations such NASA, ESA, and ISRO. In just a few weeks from launch, Shakuntala will begin amassing information and uncovering the invisible changes wreaking havoc on our planet like natural gas leakages, deforestation, melting ice caps, pollution, and declining crop health. The launch came at the heels of Pixxel's $25 million Series funding from Radical Ventures, Seraphim Space Capital, Relativity Space co-founder Jordan Noone, Lightspeed Partners, Blume Ventures, and Sparta LLC, among others. It sets the stage for Pixxel's first commercial phase satellites, to be launched in early 2023. With six satellites flown in a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) around a 550-km altitude, Pixxel's hyperspectral constellation will be able to cover any point on the globe every 48 hours. Kiev, April 2 : Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced that the country has conducted a second prisoner exchange with Russia after the first took place late last month. Friday's "86 for 86" prisoner exchange took place on President Volodymyr Zelensky's order, Ukrayinska Pravda quoted Vereshchuk as saying in a statement. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, of the 86 prisoners that have returned home, 15 were women soldiers. Vereshchuk said that one of the principal positions of the Ukrainian side for the exchange was to include the 15 female soldiers. Also confirming the exchange, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidential office, said the exchanged captives were currently in Ukrainian government-controlled territory. On March 24, Ukrainian authorities conducted the first prisoners exchange on a 10-for-10 basis, while also rescuing 19 crew members of the rescue ship Sapfir captured by the Russian forces, reports Ukrayinska Pravda The authorities also exchanged nine Russian conscripts for the kidnapped mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov. On March 1, local authorities in the Sumy region exchanged a Russian commander for five Ukrainian fighters from the territorial defence forces. Ukraine has claimed that 24 local government officials have been abducted since the war began on February 24. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text China urges Britain to abandon colonial mindset, stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs Xinhua) 09:26, April 02, 2022 BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- China strongly condemns and firmly opposes a report on Hong Kong released by the UK government, urging the British side to stop interfering in Hong Kong's affairs and other internal affairs of China, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday. Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a daily news briefing when answering a relevant query. It is reported that the UK released the latest six-monthly report on Hong Kong, criticizing China's Hong Kong policy, especially the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Zhao pointed out that since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the Chinese side is committed to fully and faithfully implementing the policy of One Country, Two Systems under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy, and Hong Kong residents enjoy far more rights and freedoms in accordance with law than they did before 1997. "Since the implementation of the national security law, national security has been protected, rule of law and justice have been upheld, and the legitimate rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents and foreign nationals in Hong Kong have been better protected," Zhao said, adding that with the full support from the Central Government and the joint efforts of all communities of Hong Kong, the city will enjoy lasting prosperity and stability, and its status as an international financial, shipping and trading center will be further consolidated. "Any attack and smear against the national security law cannot hold back the trend of Hong Kong's transition from chaos to stability and prosperity," he said, pointing out that the British side's attempt to disturb Hong Kong residents will never succeed, whether by publishing reports, manipulating the BNO passports, or pressuring judges to resign. He emphasized that after Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the UK has no sovereignty, no jurisdiction and no right of supervision over Hong Kong. "And there is no 'historical responsibility' whatsoever," he added. Noting the British side has repeatedly raised the Sino-British Joint Declaration and passed judgment on Hong Kong affairs with the so-called semiannual report, Zhao said that the UK is hurting its own image by lecturing others and replaying its same old tune. "The UK should face squarely the fact that Hong Kong has returned to the motherland for nearly 25 years, abandon the colonial mindset, respect China's sovereignty and unity, stop interfering in Hong Kong's affairs and other internal affairs of China, and avoid making more troubles for China-UK relations," he said. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Thiruvananthapuram, April 2 : Strict action awaits some officials in Kerala Fire and Rescue department for imparting training to workers of the Popular Front of India(PFI)'s newly constituted Rescue and Relief Popular Front in Aluva in Ernakulam district this week. Officials attached to the Kerala Fire and Rescue Services, a department attached to the Kerala police, had trained the PFI activists on Wednesday in pulmonary resuscitation (resuscitation treatment) and fire rescue operations. Trouble started after the pictures of the training programme surfaced on social media and then came an encore from several quarters forcing the authorities to conduct a probe. Image Source: IANS News The probe was headed by the chief of the Kerala Fire and Rescue Services B.Sandhya and those in the know of things said that she has recommended action against those involved. Around five officials from the Ernakulam- Fire and Rescue department are likely to be suspended as Sandhya's report has now been submitted to the State Home secretary. Image Source: IANS News According to the rules, while this department engages in conducting training programmes to organisations, the reason for the 'action' is dereliction of duty by the officials as rules were violated. -- Syndicated from IANS Mumbai, April 2 : In a stunning development, Prabhakar Sail - a 'panch witness' in the infamous Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raids on the Cordelia Cruise ship last October - has died owing to a suspected heart attack, here on Saturday. Sail, in his mid-40s, suffered a cardiac arrest at his home in Mahul, Chembur, according to his lawyer Tushar Khandare. Soon after the October 2 raids aboard the cruiser, Sail had created a sensation accusing the then NCB Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede of various irregularities, allegations of extortion from Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan whose son Aryan was among those detained and later arrested. Besides Aryan Khan, around 19 others were nabbed and Sail - a personal bodyguard of an independent witness and Bharatiya Janata Party activist K. P. Gosavi - had later made several shocking revelations that raised questions on the raids. Incidentally, after the claims by Sail and later the serial exposes made by Minister Nawab Malik, Gosavi came under a cloud and was arrested by the Pune Police in a cheating case. Islamabad, April 2 : The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has prepared a strategy for dealing with the situation if the opposition succeeds in executing the vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan. Sources told The Express Tribune that the PTI is expected to vouch for early elections while playing its role in getting electoral reforms, including implementation of electronic voting and the right of vote for overseas Pakistanis, approved by the National Assembly (NA). They said that the ruling party will launch a mass protest movement against the future government and an election campaign to garner support to return to power. Public meetings will be held in all major cities and districts of the country and protests would be held at all levels, they added. They further said that senior and loyal party workers and leaders will be awarded tickets for the next elections and no dissenting member would be involved in the party's re-organisation. They added that an integrated structure would be made from the top to the Union Council-level, The Express Tribune reported. According to sources, lawmakers will not immediately resign from the provincial assemblies. Rather, decisions would be based on circumstances. They said that the PTI will embark on a campaign to inform the people about the opposition's role in view of the "foreign threat", and the government's performance during the past three-and-a-half-years. No deviant members and leaders will be re-involved in the organization. Khan will inform the people about the conspiracy against his government after possible removal, and the people will be asked to boycott dissenting members and "conspiratorial" characters at all levels. The sources said that the central leadership of the party is expected to approve this strategy. The public relations campaign and the protest movement will be announced after the outcome of the no-confidence motion, they added. They also disclosed that leading party workers have told the premier that their party's popularity has increased among the people after the issue of "conspiracy" against the elected government came to light, and if the government leaves, an immediate public outreach campaign will ensure a clear chance of the party winning the next election, The Express Tribune reported. New Delhi, April 2 : For all we hear of neuroscience's great advances, the field has generated more questions than answers. We know that the brain combines sensory input from all over your body into a single perception, but not how. We think brains "compute" in some sense, but we can't say what those computations are. We believe that the brain is organised as a hierarchy, with different pieces all working collaboratively to make a single model of the world. But we can explain neither how those pieces are differentiated, nor how they collaborate. Neuroscientist and computer engineer Jeff Hawkins argues that it's so hard to answer questions about the brain because our basic picture of how the brain works is wrong. In "A Thousand Brains - A New Theory of Intelligence" (Basic Books), Hawkins takes a radically new approach to the brain, with stunning implications. Hawkins' proposal, called the Thousand Brains Theory of Intelligence, is that your brain is organised into thousands upon thousands of individually computing units, called cortical columns. These columns all process information from the outside world in the same way and each builds a complete model of the world. But because every column has different connections to the rest of the body, each has a unique frame of reference. Your brain sorts out all those models by conducting a vote. The fundamental job of the brain, therefore, is not to build a single thought, but to manage the thousands of individual thoughts it has every moment. With this powerful new framework, Hawkins is able to reassess some of neuroscience's most stubborn problems, like why pain needs to be painful to be useful, how we can understand that our perspective of a thing changes as we move around it, and why we might be conscious but individual pieces of our body aren't. Once you understand how the brain works, it is a lot easier to make one yourself. Hawkins is, above all, an engineer, and "A Thousand Brains" outlines how a new understanding of intelligence could lead to truly intelligent AI. Hawkins explores how we might create machines that can learn on their own, why we need not fear super-intelligent systems, and how human and machine intelligence may someday merge. Combining cutting-edge theoretical neuroscience with an ambitious program for tomorrow's digital minds, "A Thousand Brains" heralds a revolution in the study of intelligence. It is a big-think book, in every sense of the word. Hawkins is the co-founder of Numenta, a neuroscience research company; founder of the Redwood Neuroscience Institute; and one of the founders of the field of handheld computing. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and author of "On Intelligence", in which he explains why computers are not intelligent and how we can finally build intelligent machines. New Delhi, April 2 : Love requires no words, and neither does love care about the shape and size. The adage perfectly sums up the bond between a human and an animal. Pets perfectly encapsulate the notion of unconditional love since the relationship with them is filled with endless hours of cuddling and joy. They give us affection, teach us responsibility, and are the best stress relievers. Nothing could ever match their pure sensation of sincerity. As a parent, who only wishes for the best for their child, what could be better than getting them a furry friend to help them grow and learn valuable life lessons? Here's a look at some ways in which pets can enrich your child's early years: Pets help in developing emotions and qualities in kids Animals rely on others for their needs, and caring for them is an excellent method for kids to learn nurturing and caregiving skills. When children see a dog running to the door when it wants to go outdoors, it makes them wonder about their needs, and how they can help. And, when a child is able to fulfil their pet's needs, they feel accomplished, and it also teaches them to care for someone other than themselves. Apart from that, pets also help the child learn basic emotions such as kindness, love, sympathy, responsibility, and respect. The kids learn key lessons from life Owning a pet is an excellent method to teach your child about responsibility and empathy. If you have a pet, it allows you to teach your children about the impact their actions have on the pet. For example, if the child is acting hyper around the pet, the dog may get uncomfortable. So, a child's interaction with a pet will help them understand that their actions have consequences, which can hurt someone. This life lesson will help children develop empathy skills, allowing them to protect others from abuse and make them better human beings. Furthermore, they will develop an intolerance to animal cruelty, and they will replicate the same behaviour under all circumstances. Interaction with pets improves the physical and emotional well-being of the kids The COVID-induced isolation and prolonged break from physical school is affecting a kid's physical and mental well-being. As a result, pets can make excellent companions for kids. Simply snuggling on the couch with their beloved puppy or kitten or an animal of their choice can improve a child's mood and reduce stress as feel-good endorphins are released while playing with animals. Moreover, children understand that animals provide unconditional affection, and they can be themselves with the pets. This sense of protection and security is essential for both their physical and emotional well-being. According to scientific research, human-animal interaction (HAI) has a good impact on children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Animals help reduce loneliness, improve social behaviour, reduces their stress levels and bridges the gap between the child and their family. Animals are true confidants Animals are great listeners; they never interrupt or judge you, making a child feel more comfortable with them. Children enjoy reading books to their pets, which helps them improve their reading skills while also boosting their self-esteem. Animals are also great at keeping secrets and loving you for who you are. Children often talk to their pets, telling them secrets or any other thoughts that come to their minds. Thus, the child finds true confidant in animals. Anatole France once said that "until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains un-awakened." Hence, it's necessary to think about creating a bond between kids and pets from an early age as it boosts self-esteem, heightens the sense of understanding, instils essential values, improves emotional intelligence, and prepares them for life. (Neha Jain, Author, Merlinwand, Online publishing platform offering personalised books for kids.) (IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in) Washington, April 2 : The US has "clearly distanced" itself from Pakistan, former American military chief Mike Mullen said as the White House and the State Department publicly rejected claims of their involvement in Islamabads domestic politics, Dawn news reported. "It is difficult, difficult to say," said Admiral Mullen when asked to describe Washington's relations with Pakistan. "I think we have clearly distanced ourselves from Pakistan over the last decade and Pakistan has more and more fallen under the umbrella of China," he told VOA Urdu Service in Washington. Admiral Mullen, who was chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 2007 to September 2011, was also named in the so-called Memogate controversy, which revolved around a memorandum, ostensibly seeking US support for preventing a feared military takeover in Pakistan that never happened. He noted that China was not only Islamabad's neighbour but it "has been supportive of Pakistan" as well. This closeness, he said, "suits China's global ambition" because Beijing would prefer to have a neighbour "closer to them and not close to the US". For these reasons, the US-Pakistan relationship "is going to be tense for quite some time", he added. Asked if he believed Pakistan helped the Taliban take over Kabul in August last year, Admiral Mullen said: "They did not do much to stop it for sure." He recalled that as the US army chief he had told a congressional hearing that Pakistani intelligence agencies were active in Afghanistan "and I still believe that connectivity is there. It sort of cuts both ways". The former US military chief reiterated a complaint that's often heard in Washington that Pakistan "played on both sides (the US and the Taliban)" in Afghanistan, Dawn reported. New Delhi, April 2 : Some unidentified people pasted a poster outside the US Embassy in the national capital following which the Delhi Police registered a case against unknown persons, an official said on Saturday. The poster read: "UNRELIABLE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION. STOP BULLYING INDIA. We do not need U... USA needs India against China. We are proud of all our disciplined and brave Indian forces. Jai Jawan Jai Bharat." Deputy Commissioner of Police Amrutha Guguloth said an information was received at around 10.15 p.m. on Friday about the said incident after which the police registered an FIR under section 3 (Penalty for defacement of property) of the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act. According to section 3 of DPDP Act, whoever defaces any property in public view by writing or marking with ink, chalk, paint or any other material except for the purpose of indicating the name and address of the owner or occupier of such property, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees, or with both. The DCP further informed that technical surveillance is underway to catch the culprit. The poster, which was stuck on a sign board near gate No 7 of the US Embassy, had a logo of Hindu Sena above it. The organisation also confirmed it through Twitter. The national president of Hindu Sena, Vishnu Gupta, tweeted two posters of which one was the same as pasted outside the US Embassy while the other one urged Indian Americans to stop funding and supporting 'democrat warmongers'. "Dear Indian Americans and Indian Citizens. Time to serve your motherland. Stop funding and supporting democrat warmongers. Biden Administration bullys dangerous to Indian interests. Bharat Mata ki Jai," the another poster tweeted by Gupta read. Vienna, April 2 : Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director-General of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said he would head an assistance and support mission to Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant "as soon as possible" to help ensure the facility's safety. In a tweet, Grossi said that the mission "will be the first in a series of such nuclear safety and security missions to Ukraine", reports Xinhua news agency He also told a press conference in Vienna that the IAEA mission would be in Chernobyl "very, very soon". The IAEA chief has just returned from his recent visits to Ukraine and Russia, during which he held discussions with officials on both sides about ensuring the security of the war-torn nation's nuclear facilities. The UN nuclear watchdog said on Thursday that Russian forces which had been in control of the Chernobyl plant were leaving the facility and had transferred control of the plant to Ukrainian personnel. At Friday's press conference, Grossi said he had not discussed with Russian officials why Russian forces left Chernobyl. Grossi said the IAEA was still unable to confirm reports that Russian forces were contaminated with radiation at the Chernobyl plant. He added that the general radiation level around the plant was "quite normal". "There was a relatively higher level of localized radiation because of the movement of heavy vehicles at the time of the occupation of the plant, and apparently this might have been the case again on the way out," he said. Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces had been in control of the plant since Moscow started its invasion on February 24. The Chernobyl plant, some 110 km north of the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, witnessed the worst nuclear accident in human history on April 26, 1986. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Los Angeles, April 2 : Actor Chris Pine regrets not starting the ballet classes "years ago" and described it as an "incredible" form of exercise. The 41-year-old actor told People magazine: "I love it. I wish I'd done it years ago. It's an incredible workout. I just find it so beautiful because you have to be so strong and kind of masculine, so to speak, but also very gentle and feminine with your arms and your hands. It's just a very difficult art form." Pine got the idea from watching a ballet dancer perform alongside the musician Hozier at a gig, reports femalefirst.co.uk. He said: "One, it's artistic, but a lot of vanity. I had watched this video of this great Russian dancer dancing to Hozier in this church. I was like, 'Who is this guy?' I was like, 'I want to look like that'. He's a ballet dancer. And I was like, 'I should take ballet.'" On Wednesday, 'The Contractor' star shared that he know only knows who Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend Pete Davidson are because he "just got an iPhone," and is already missing not having a smartphone - which he brands as a "crack machine". Pine said that he could "tell you everything about Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian", but "couldn't tell you a f****** thing about literature", lamenting that he read up to 15 books a month before getting the phone. He said: "I had a flip phone for four years or three years and then I just got an iPhone because I felt pummelled by how difficult being analog [was]. It was very difficult, but having just gotten this crack machine, it's really bad. "These things are really, really, really bad. I may immediately go back to a flip phone. I don't know if I can handle it. I don't know if my soul can handle it." Islamabad, April 2 : The people of Pakistan, including political leaders, were surprised when Prime Minister Imran Khan praised his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi's foreign policy before a crowd of thousands of supporters, The News reported on Saturday. Khan praised Modi's foreign policy while addressing a public rally in Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. "I would like to praise our neighbouring country Hindustan for its foreign policy. India's foreign policy is free and independent, and its only aim is for the betterment of its own people." "It is amusing to note that Imran Khan, who, at one point of time, used to deride Narendra Modi as Hitler and Nazi leader at international forums, has now praised his foreign policy, at a time when his government is on the verge of collapse," The News said in its report. "Modi established friendly relations with countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Jordan, which were traditional friends of Pakistan. Saudi Arabia has stopped giving loans to Pakistan, and UAE has stopped raising the Kashmir issue despite prodding from Pakistan. "Most of the Islamic nations have now changed their attitude towards India and the situation has come to such a pass that even opposition leaders in Pakistan have now started asking their Prime Minister not to give Modi's examples. These opposition leaders allege that the world is now laughing at Pakistan because of Imran Khan's incompetence," says the report. Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla reacted to Khan's remark by saying: "India has received across the board praise from different countries for its foreign policy, and our record speaks for itself. It would be wrong to say that only one leader has praised India's foreign policy." -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has highlighted the need for greater support for people with autism, particularly at the community level Thiruvananthapuram, April 2 : The CPI-M continued to have a grudge against Asianet TV channel anchor and senior journalist Vinu V. John. On Saturday, local CITU unit pasted posters at the house of Vinu John. The poster that has been stuck is in the name of the CITU Peroorkada Area Committee which gave a call for protests against John and to isolate him. On Wednesday, trade union workers of various political parties except BJP marched to the Malayalam TV news channel Asianet to register their protest against the comment made by their news anchor on Monday night's prime time news bulletin. John, who is known for his sharp and cryptic comments against wrongdoers, expressed his ire as Kerala witnessed a total bandh and workers taking part in the protests literally took over the streets of the state leaving innocent citizens running for shelter. John was peeved when a patient who was being moved in an auto rickshaw came under the ire of the protesters in north Kerala. In the news hour debate he made a statement if anyone did such a thing to the CITU general secretary Elamaram Kareem, a Rajya Sabha member and a top CPI-M leader, what would have happened. The cyber wing of the CPI-M soon latched on to it and it turned out to be a free for all with John coming under huge ire and Kareem himself said he will register a complaint with the State Police chief and also before the chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. "For a while, I have been coming under attack, threatening phone calls are there and today morning came this notice and it's been stuck on my gate and in and around the colony where I stay. I decided I will not register a complaint, but perhaps my company might give a complaint. One reason I am not giving a complaint is, I know it is not going to have any impact," said John, who added that his earlier complaint failed to evoke any response. The Congress led UDF and the BJP have registered their protests against the way John is being haunted by the CPI-M. Cape Town, April 2 : The South African Parliament said its committee on financial management has been updated on an independent assessment to the damage to Parliament buildings due to a massive fire in January. According to the assessment following the fire on January 2, the fire in the building of National Assembly, the lower house, caused significant damage to the central structural elements from the 2nd floor to the 6th floor, however, it is "not vulnerable to collapse", reports Xinhua news agency Basement floors are flooded, and investigators will inspect them once water is extracted to issue a final report, which will provide a detailed assessment to determine the extent of the damage for full restoration of the building, including providing a cost and time estimate for such works, Parliament in a statement. MPs were also told urgent work is required to make parts of the Old Assembly safe and that provide a temporary roof to prevent rain from causing damage to lower floors. South Africa has three capitals, including Cape Town that hosts Parliament. The fire that lasted more than 70 hours severely damaged the building of the National Assembly and completely burned down its chamber. It also caused extensive damage to the century-old Old Assembly building that houses the National Council of Provinces, the upper house. A 49-year-old Cape Town man Zandile Christmas Mafe, who is suspected of setting fire to Parliament, was arrested on January 2. His case has been postponed to May 12 due to delays of investigation caused by the "50 tonnes of water" in the basement which needs to be cleared. Hyderabad: Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, addressing the gathering at the Ugadi celebrations at Swarna Bharat Trust in Hyderabad on Saturday, April 02, 2022.(Photo:@VPSecretariat/Twitter) Image Source: IANS News Hyderabad: Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, addressing the gathering at the Ugadi celebrations at Swarna Bharat Trust in Hyderabad on Saturday, April 02, 2022.(Photo:@VPSecretariat/Twitter) Image Source: IANS News Hyderabad: Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, addressing the gathering at the Ugadi celebrations at Swarna Bharat Trust in Hyderabad on Saturday, April 02, 2022.(Photo:@VPSecretariat/Twitter) Image Source: IANS News Hyderabad, April 2 : Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said that some people are unable to digest India's growth. He said that while India is being respected and recognised, some of the western media carry propaganda against it on small issues. Naidu was addressing Telugu new year Ugadi celebrations at Swarna Bharat Trust at Muchintal on the outskirts of Hyderabad. "The entire world is looking to India. India is being respected, recognised and being realised. Though some of the western media may carry propaganda against India on small issues but larger public life, the value systems, the traditions and heritage of India are being respected everywhere," he said. Some people, he remarked, were not able to digest India's growth. The media in some countries write something which they feel is in the interest of their country but some people in India use the same content and try to tarnish the image of the country. The Vice-President also expressed concern over the decline in the conduct of some members in Parliament and state Assemblies. He said the kind of language being used was bringing bad name to the entire system. Naidu, who is chairman of Rajya Sabha, said some incidents in Parliament and state legislatures were painful. He also found fault with the media for giving importance to such incidents. He said if the legislators speak well on issues it's not news for the media but if somebody creates commotion, uses bad language or resorts to personal attacks on others it becomes news. "Good behaviour, good conduct and good delivery is not a news," he said and advised media to realise its responsibility. Naidu stressed the need to speak in one's own mother tongue. He said everybody should speak in their mother tongue at home and in the midst of those who understand that language and if he is with other Indians, he should speak in Indian languages. "There is nothing wrong with learning foreign languages. You can learn any foreign language but you should speak in your mother tongue. This is our address and identity," he said. Naidu also underlined the need for following the culture and traditions in daily life, including wishing others and the food habits. Addis Ababa, April 2 : The UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced that the first aid convoy in three months has entered northern Ethiopia's war-ravaged Tigray regional state. Late Friday night, WFP Ethiopia announced that "13 trucks have arrived safely in Mekelle, capital of Tigray regional state", reports Xinhua news agency "More trucks and fuel will follow in the morning," it said, noting a need for daily convoys to meet the needs of 5 million people in Tigray. The arrival of the aid convoy carrying 500 metric tonnes of food and nutrition supplies came a week after the Ethiopian government and the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) conditionally agreed to a cessation of hostilities and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid into the region. The TPLF and the Ethiopian National Defense Force, backed by allied forces, have been engaged in a nearly 18-month conflict that has reportedly left tens of thousands of people dead and millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The Ethiopian Parliament designated the TPLF as a terrorist organisation in May 2021. In a separate statement, Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said teams have also reached communities in the neighboring Afar region with desperately needed food assistance. "It is critical that we now see sustained deliveries of relief supplies, fuel and cash into Tigray, and the continued expansion of the response in conflict-affected areas in Afar and Amhara," Haq said. "Shortages of supplies, fuel and cash have severely undermined the ability of humanitarian organisations to respond to the increasingly acute situation in Tigray." In the months without convoys into Tigray, humanitarian organizations flew in some essential items, the spokesman said. Aid partners flew in nearly 40 metric tonnes of nutrition supplies to Tigray's regional capital of Mekelle, he said. Since late January, about 360 metric tonnes of primary medical and nutrition supplies have been flown in. "Every bit helps. But a single convoy of 20 trucks could bring in more than twice this amount," he said. Mumbai, April 2 : Actress Isha Koppikar Narang, who is known for her work in, 'Pinjar', 'Kyaa Kool Hain Hum' and 'Don', will be celebrating a working Gudi Padwa. The Marathi festival marks the new year and she will ring in the year by traveling to Mussoorie for a business trip and to start her new project. She maintains that the best way to start the new year is with lots of work on the plate. Sharing her plans for the day, Isha said, "Gudi Padwa has always been a very significant day for me. And while I celebrate it in my little way, this year I chose to do what I love the most - kickstart a new project. I believe the best way to start the new year is on a working note, because that's how I wish my entire year to be." For her, starting the new year on a working note is to seek more from the universe. "So this is my way of telling the universe to get me lots of work on the acting front. I wish health and happiness to all my loved ones, have a great year ahead. Thanks to the government this is good news that covid restrictions will be lifted & we will be celebrating our new year after 2 years, this is a good and positive start of the year." On the work front, Isha will be seen in two web shows & two feature films. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Chennai, April 2 : The Coast Guard and Marine Coastal police will be intensifying patrolling to prevent Indian fishermen from crossing International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), and Sri Lankan fishermen crossing into Indian waters. The crossing of Indian fishermen mainly from Tamil Nadu into the International Maritime Boundary Line into Sri Lankan waters has been a major issue of confrontation between the two countries with fishermen organisations protesting against the arrest of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan authorities. At present 92 Indian fishermen are in the custody of the Sri Lankan authorities. The mechanized boats of the arrested fishermen are also impounded by the Sri Lankan authorities. In a similar vein, the Indian authorities have also taken into custody Sri Lankan fishermen who waded into Indian waters crossing the IMBL. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has brought to the notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, the arrest of Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan authorities as well as the impounding of their mechanized boats. The Coast Guard on Friday commissioned a new interceptor boat, C-436, and is now based at Karaikal. This boat will be mainly used for surveillance along the coastline of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The boat will have one officer and 12 enrolled personnel as crew and the boat will also be used to watch the criminal activities in sea along with preventing fishermen from crossing IMBL, as the vessel has the necessary reach, sustenance, and modern equipment to prevent any crime at sea. The vessel is fitted with state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment. The boat can carry one high-speed inflatable boat for boarding, search and rescue operations, law enforcement, and maritime patrol. The Coast Guard now has a fleet of four boats with two interceptor boats -- C-435 and C-436 and offshore patrol vessels, 'ICSG Ameya' and 'ICGS Rani Durgavati'. New Delhi, April 2 : The open borders of India and Nepal should not be misused by unwanted elements, said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday during his statement after delegation level meeting with Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. Both the leaders also discussed various aspects of cooperation, reviewed the progress of various projects and also discussed the blueprint for the future. "Today we also discussed that the open borders of India and Nepal should not be misused by unwanted elements. We also stressed on maintaining close cooperation between our defence and security institutions. I am sure that our talks today will go a long way in setting ambitious goals for the future of India-Nepal relations," Modi said. In 2020, India and Nepal had a strained bilateral relationship over border row between the two countries. China which already had made aggression towards India at the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh region was making all efforts to amplify the row between India and Nepal relations. Talking about power sector, Modi said that both the countries must reap the benefits of the opportunities for cooperation in the power sector. He said that Nepal Prime Minister is an old friend of India. "As the Prime Minister, this is his fifth visit to India. He has played an important role in developing relations and friendship between India and Nepal," said Modi adding that such an example can't be seen anywhere else in the world. Modi also stated that India has been a firm companion in Nepal's journey of peace, prosperity and development, it will always be. "Our Joint Vision Statement on Power Cooperation will prove to be the blueprint of cooperation, in the future," said Modi adding that both the leaders have expressed agreement on more participation of Indian companies in Nepal's hydropower development projects. "It is a matter of happiness that Nepal is exporting its surplus power to India. This will make positive contributions to the economic development of Nepal," he said. Lauding the launch of the RuPay card in Nepal, Modi said it will add a new chapter to our financial connectivity. Deuba in his address said, "I truly admire your love and affection for Nepal and the Nepali people and my visit today will further enforce these sentiments." He appreciated India's effective management for battling Covid-19 and received first vaccine aid from India as well as medicines, medical equipment and logistics to combat the pandemic. "As Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned, we had friendly talks and fruitful discussions on various aspects of India-Nepal relations. We shared our perspectives on further strengthening our friendly ties," Deuba said. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepal counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba on Saturday jointly inaugurated cross-border passenger train services, RuPay payment system in Nepal and signed several Memorandums of Understanding. New Delhi, April 2 : Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that he discussed with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar about actively developing the Russia-India-China trilateral mechanism in the interests of stabilising international relations and ensuring "equity in international affairs". "This is especially true given that all the three countries - Russia, India and China - are now members of the UN Security Council. So we have a lot of plans," he said while responding to a query here on Friday over Moscow looking at Beijing and New Delhi to make up for a likely dip in its energy exports. "We are close partners with both countries. The three of us participate in a number of international formats... There is our 'troika' - RIC (Russia, India, China)," he said while talking about Moscow proposing an RIC summit earlier this year. Lavrov left for Moscow on Friday after his two-day visit to India. In Delhi, he called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi and held discussions with Jaishankar over the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, crude offer and arms deal. Lavrov briefed the Prime Minister on the situation in Ukraine, including the ongoing peace negotiations. Modi reiterated his call for an early cessation of violence, and conveyed India's readiness to contribute in any way to the peace efforts. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Bengaluru, April 2 : Halal ban controversy in Karnataka has taken a serious turn in the state. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said that he has directed all Superintendents of Police (SP) and Deputy Commissioners to initiate strict action against elements who try to create problems during the festival. Karnataka is celebrating Ugadi festival on Saturday followed by 'Hosa tadukua' on Sunday. The people especially in south Karnataka feast on non-vegetarian food en mass during this period. Hindutva activists are carrying out a full-fledged campaign that Hindus must not make purchase of halal cut meat. Answering a question, Bommai said that he has directed to conduct peace meetings between leaders of communities and ensure that the law and order system is not disturbed in the state. Meanwhile, Bhadravathi police in Shivamogga district arrested 7 persons for assaulting hotel staff demanding non-halal meat on Friday night. The arrested persons had gone to a chicken meat stall, abused and threatened the owner that he should not sell halal meat as 99 per cent of the population of the area follow Hindu religion. The same group went to the Janata hotel and demanded jhatka cut meat. They insisted that the hotel should not sell halal cut meat. They quarrelled with a customer and assaulted one of the hotel staff. The hotel and meat shop owners had lodged a complaint with the police. Shivamogga SP Lakshmi Prasad stated that based on two FIRs, Vadivelu, Savai Singh, Srikanth, Krishna, Gunda and other two persons were arrested. Meanwhile, Shashikala Jolle, Minister for Muzarai and Wakf, stated on Saturday, "we are with Hindu activists who are carrying out campaigns against halal meat. I have to learn about halal and jhatka cut. Once I gather information, will talk to CM Bommai and he will take a call on it." -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Mumbai, April 2 : Greater trade deficit is expected to widen India's current account deficit to 1.5 per cent of the GDP in FY22. Notably, India's current account was in a surplus of 0.9 per cent in FY21. The recent data showed that a wider trade deficit on the back of expensive commodities negatively impacted the current account. Resultantly, India's Q3FY22 current account widened to $23 billion. "Wider CAD in 3QFY22 was on account of a larger merchandise trade deficit, which stood at 7.2 per cent of GDP, following a deficit of 5.9 per cent of GDP (or USD44.5b) in 2QFY22," said Motilal Oswal Financial Services in a report. "A spurt in imports vis-a-vis exports led to a wider merchandise trade deficit. Excluding petroleum products, India had a current account surplus of 0.8 per cent of GDP, lower than 2.2 per cent of GDP in 2QFY22 and 1.9 per cent of GDP in 3QFY21." Besides, the report pointed out that excluding gold, India had a current account deficit of 1.1 per cent of GDP in 3QFY22. Furthermore, the report said that net foreign capital inflows into India amounted to $23.2 billion supported by other investments such as higher trade credit, advances, and receivables. "While FDI investments halved to $5.1 billion in 3QFY22 from $10 billion in 2QFY22, there was a net outflow of $4.7 billion in FPI investments in 3QFY22 from an inflow of a similar quantity in 2QFY22." "Accordingly, there were barely any FXR accretions in 3QFY22." In addition, the report said that GDS (gross domestic savings) was at a six-quarter low in 3QFY22. "With total investments decelerating to 28.6 per cent of GDP in 3QFY22 and CAD at 2.7 per cent of GDP, implied savings too moderated to only 25.9 per cent of GDP in 3QFY22 from 32.3 per cent of GDP in 2QFY22." New York, US (PANA) - The UN Security Council has expressed deep concern over the crash of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) helicopter on 29 March 2022 in North Kivu, which resulted in the death of eight peacekeepers from Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Serbia New Delhi, April 2 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said that they have filed prosecution complaint (Charge sheet) under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, (PMLA) against Luxmi Auto Industries and its partners Satish Kumar Gupta and Parminder Singh, and officials of the Central Bank of India. The ED has accused Central Bank of India officials Sharwan Kumar Singhal, then assistant manager, Avdhesh Kumar Gupta, then branch manager, for causing wrongful loss to the bank. The charge sheet was filed before District & Sessions Judge, Dehradun court. The court after examining the charge sheet took cognizance of the matter and posted it for the next date of hearing. The ED initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of the FIR and charge sheet filed by the the CBI, against the accused under various sections of the IPC. The ED learnt in the investigation that the accused persons in connivance with the bank officials availed loan to the tune of Rs 1.71 crore for establishing a manufacturing unit of nuts and bolts in the name and style of Luxmi Auto Industries on the basis of forged documents. The loan availed by the accused was not used for the specified purpose. Thus, by resorting to conspiracy and cheating, the accused persons caused loss to the bank and wrongful gain to themselves. Total loan fraudulently availed was Rs 1.71 crore and after initiation of money laundering investigation, accused did one time settlement of Rs 1.38 crore. "Accordingly, remaining proceeds of the crime of Rs 33 lakh was attached as per provisions of the PMLA," said the ED official. Further probe in the matter is on. Geneva, April 2 : The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a warning against a new mutant 'XE' variant of Omicron, that may be more transmissible than any strain of Covid-19 seen before. This new variant is a recombinant strain, meaning it is a mutant hybrid of the two previous versions of the Omicron variant, BA.1 and BA.2, which spread across the world when it first became a variant of concern, reports Express.co.uk. According to reports, the new variant is 10 per cent more transmissible than the BA.2 subvariant, which is already the most contagious. As per the WHO, BA.2, which is a subvariant of the Omicron strain, is the most dominant strain of the virus, being 86 per cent of all sequenced cases attributed to it. While XE only accounts for a small fraction of the cases, its extremely high transmissibility could mean that it becomes the most dominant strain in the near future. The WHO has recently issued a report outlining their initial findings of this potentially new variant of concern. "The XE recombinant (BA.1-BA.2), was first detected in the UK on January 19 and less than 600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since," the report said. "Early-day estimates indicate a community growth rate advantage of 10 percent as compared to BA.2, however, this finding requires further confirmation," it added. The global health body noted that until they can detect "significant differences in transmission and disease characteristics, including severity", XE will remain categorised as a part of the Omicron variant. "WHO continues to closely monitor and assess the public health risk associated with recombinant variants, alongside other SARS-CoV-2 variants, and will provide updates as further evidence becomes available," the report continued. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Hyderabad, April 2 : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday called for progress to develop 10 tonne multirole helicopters in India so that it can become a global leader. He said that while India has shown its strength in design, development and operation of helicopters in the 5 tonne category, there is now a need to make progress in the design of 10 tonne multirole helicopters. The minister was speaking at the diamond jubilee celebration of Chetak helicopter here. Indigenously designed and developed, Advanced Light Helicopter -DHRUV and its variants are the proof of India's capability in 5 tonne category, he said. "To become a global leader, we have to make efforts to progress in the design of 10 tonne Indian multirole helicopter," the minister said. Singh noted that there is a huge potential in the chopper market in India as the country needs more than 1,000 civilian helicopters and an equal number of helicopters in the defence sector. He observed that external conditions have impacted on the serviceability of India's critical weapons and equipment and therefore, efforts for self-sufficiency continue to be the need of the hour. Looking at the events of the last few years, the government has emphasised on self-reliance in defence production, and preparedness. "These days we have seen many challenges in ensuring supply lines. External conditions have affected the serviceability of critical weapons and equipment. Therefore, continuous increase in our efforts for self-reliance is the biggest need of the day," he said. "The burden of protecting a huge country like India cannot remain on the shoulders of other countries for long. We have to strengthen our own shoulders to protect ourselves," he added. Singh made it clear that India never had any intentions of aggression against anyone, and it has only picked up weapons to uphold civilisational values, peace and truth. "If peace is to be maintained in the world, then the security of the nations is of utmost importance, and for their security, they should be strong militarily. In the last few years, we have created such an environment, that our armies, scientists and defence makers, can think proactively," he said. He claimed to be getting positive response from services, research and development organisations, public and private sector industries. MSMEs, start-ups, innovators and academia together are exploring new avenues of defence production, he said. Attending the diamond jubilee of a helicopter is a unique opportunity for him. "We celebrate the diamond jubilee of institutions and organisations. I often attend them but our Air Force is celebrating the diamond jubilee of a helicopter. It's a symbol of our respect for this helicopter," he said and compared the chopper with Maharana Pratap's loyal and dependable horse. Stating that the helicopters have served the nation in war and peace for decades, he noted that Chetak is one of the longest-serving platforms in the defence forces. He said the helicopters not only targeted the enemies on the battlefield, but also saved precious lives by evacuation in case of emergency. "Chetak is one of the leading design and development projects in our country. Its success gave us the confidence that in the future we can also be successful in such projects. So far, about 700 Chetak helicopters have been produced in our country," the minister said. "Our country has faced several natural calamities from time to time. Even among them, our Chetak has always been ahead in humanitarian aid, and disaster relief work. Chetak has touched the hearts of people. Our country will always be grateful to this machine and the professionals who operate it," he added. Hyderabad, April 2 : The rift between Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao appears to have widened further with the latter staying away from Ugadi celebrations at the Raj Bhavan. Though the Raj Bhavan had sent invitations to the chief minister and his cabinet colleagues, none of them turned up at the celebrations hosted by the Governor on Friday evening. Raj Bhavan had also invited MPs, MLAs and MLCs to the event but no one from TRS turned up. Even the senior civil and police officials did not attend the celebrations. In another indication of deepening differences between the CM and the Governor, she has not received the invitation for the main official Ugadi event held at Pragati Bhavan, the official residence of the Chief Minister, on Saturday. The Governor said that she welcomes those who come at her invitation and doesn't bother about those who don't turn up. Soundararajan told reporters had she received the invite, she would have set aside the protocol and attended the event. While stating that she knows her limitations, the Governor made it clear that no one could check her. She said she did not have ego and she believed in maintaining good relations with all. She also announced that 'praja darbar' would be held at the Raj Bhavan from next month to hear public grievances. She maintained that the Raj Bhavan is meant for the public welfare and keeping this in view it set up a grievance cell to address the problems of the public by sending representations to the government. Soundararajan became Governor of Telangana in September 2019. The relations between the CM and Governor were initially cordial but differences cropped up last year after the Governor did not approve a file sent by the State Cabinet recommending appointment of P. Kaushik Reddy as a member of Legislative Council. She had told the media that since the nominated post falls in the category of social service, she is trying to get information about Kaushik Reddy's social service works. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government later had to send Kaushik Reddy to the upper House of the state Legislature under MLA quota. The CM and ministers had also not attended Republic Day celebrations at the Raj Bhavan. The rift was also visible when they had received President Ram Nath Kovind on his arrival in Hyderabad in February to unveil a gold statue of saint Ramanujacharya. The differences deepened further after the state government commenced budget session of the State Legislature last month without customary address of the Governor. Soundararajan had taken exception to this. However, the government argued that there was no need for the Governor's address as it was not a new session but continuation of the previous session. The Governor was also not invited for the reopening of Yadadri temple on March 28. The Chief Minister had attended the rituals to mark the reopening of the temple after renovation. She was also not invited to Medaram Jatra, the tribal fair held in February. She, however, visited Medaram but there have been allegations that the officials were not present to receive her. Chennai, April 2 : The Tamil Nadu labour department has commenced proceedings to issue 'release letters' and sanction interim compensation of Rs 20,000 each to the bonded labourers who were rescued from a Virudhunagar paper mill by activists in 2020. This is following the Madras High Court issuing notice to the labour department on a Public Interest Litigation filed by M. Arokiasamy Britto, a social worker who was instrumental in rescuing the bonded labourers. According to the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976 and the Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers, 2016, the state government must issue a 'release certificate' and an interim compensation amount of Rs 20,000 to the labourers 24 hours within their release. However, Arokiasamy Britto in his petition stated that he, along with the District Legal service authority officials and Virudhunagar police officials, had rescued 33 Chhattisgarh natives from a paper mill in Sivakasi, Virudhunagar district in December 2020 and had sent them home. The social activist, who is also the convenor of 'Shout For Freedom,' an alliance of several Non-profit organisations working against bonded labour, child labour and human trafficking, in Tamil Nadu said that to date the labour department has neither issued a 'release letter' nor have they paid any compensation to these labourers. While speaking to IANS, Britto said: "I have moved a Public Interest Litigation in the Madras High court against this matter and the court has served notice to the Tamil Nadu state labour department". The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court represented by Justices Paresh Upadhyay and Justice R. Vijayakumar had issued notice to the labour department on Friday and adjourned the case to April 18. The social workers had rescued 33 bonded labourers, including 29 men, 2 women and 2 children, from the clutches of the paper factory owner at Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district. Bengaluru, April 2 : The Karnataka government is all set to make guidelines for slaughter houses to adopt the 'stunning' method to kill animals. Though the government is presently giving a diplomatic statement, the party is preparing for implementation, say sources. This move is expected to create further furour in the state, which is already facing the heat due to call for ban on halal cut meat. Minister for Animal Husbandry Prabhu Chouhan on Saturday said that he would look into the demand made by animal lovers who have written to the department that 'stunning' should be made compulsory in slaughterhouses. 'Stunning' is a process which ensures that the animal is made unconscious to pain before being killed in the slaughterhouse. Prabhu Chouhan said he would take a call on making 'stunning' compulsory in slaughter houses. "Stunning has not been made compulsory as of now and no order as such is being issued from the department. The letter says not to permit halal cuts, I will verify," he said. Sources in the BJP said that the party is mulling to make the guideline mandatory as it would not allow halal and jhatka processes while slaughtering the animal illegal. If this happens, there would be a huge crisis like situation in the state as anything against halal would not go down well with minorities. The central government has recommended a 'stunning' method under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act for slaughter houses. Umapathy, Joint Director of Animal Husbandry Department has stated that the department has received many complaints by animal activists in this regard. Despite the guideline, the slaughterhouses are not following rules, he said. The case could be booked under IPC as well as the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act if slaughterhouses do not follow rules. Even the public could also book a case in this regard. The shop owners will be fined for the first and for the second offence, they can be jailed. Presently, the fine amount is Rs 50. It is being appealed to increase it to Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh. The present imprisonment period is 6 months to 3 years. It has also been demanded to increase the imprisonment period, he explained. New Delhi, April 2 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said that it has attached immovable and movable properties worth Rs 4.04 crore belonging to a conman, his family members and others in connection with a money laundering case. The ED official said that Chandrama Prasad Singh alias Tuntun Singh and his brothers, who are land mafias, have been accused of cheating innocent people, farmers and builders and have several FIRs filed against them by the state police under murder, attempt to murder, cheating, and extortion charges. Initially, the ED had begun the money laundering investigation on the basis of two FIRs lodged at Ramkrishna Nagar and Phulwari Sharif Police Station in Bihar's Patna. "Further, details of six more FIRs and chargesheets were obtained from the concerned police station. Total seven chargesheets and eight FIRs were filed on the basis of which we lodged a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), against them," said the ED official. Apart from Chandrama Prasad, the state police had also filed a case against Dablu Kumar, Bhonu Prasad, Jai Vir Kumar, Shivji Prasad and others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 27 of the Arms Act. During the investigation, the financial probe agency learnt that the accused had invested the proceeds from extortion, in acquiring various movable and immovable properties under his wife's name, so as to project these as untainted. "The proceeds of crime identified by us have been attached. We are working to identify more assets," the ED official said. Further investigation in the matter is underway. Chikkamagaluru, : April 2 (IANS) Karnataka police on Saturday took Naxal leader Savithri into their custody till April 8 for investigations. Savithri was produced before the Judicial Magistrate of First Class(JMFC) court of Sringeri town by the authorities and the court handed over her custody to police. Hailing from Kalasa in Chikmagalur district, Savithri was active as a Naxalite since 2001. She was wanted in connection with many cases. She was arrested along with another Naxal leader B.G. Krishnamurthy by the Kerala police. Both have been lodged in prison under judicial custody since then. Savithri a.k.a Rejitha, was operating as the Commander of the Kabani Dalam of the CPI (Maoist). Savithri was the wife of Maoist leader Vikram Gowda, who is also in the Kadani Dalam. They operated in Wayanad-Kozhikode region. She had separated from her husband. The arrest of Savithri and Krishnamurthy was regarded as a big price catch for the police. Krishnamurthy is known as BGK among Naxals and was elevated to the central committee of the party. BGK came from Sringeri town in Chikkamagaluru district and police claim that there are more than 50 cases against him. The arrests have been described as a heavy blow to Maoist network in south India. They were arrested by the Kerala police on November 9, 2021. Both are wanted by Karnataka police in connection with various naxal-related cases. Savithri was named in more than 20 cases in Karnataka. Krishnamurthy was part of a save Kudremukh forest campaign and other movements launched in the Malnad region of Karnataka since 2000. Srinagar, April 2 : One of the most prominent Sufi saints of Kashmir, whose message transcends the borders set by religion and birth, was Mata Rupa Bhawani also known by her birth name, Alakheswari. She was a 17th century Sufi saint born in 1621 in Kashmir. Married at an early age, she visited the Hari Parbat hillock at midnight for 'Sadhana' (Meditation). Among the people of average understanding, her nocturnal visits raised many eyebrows. Her husband and mother-in-law started mistreating her and she left the house of her husband in pursuit of God. Alakheshwari performed her Sadhana in solitude at Chashme Shahbi, in Manigam, Lar and Vaskura villages of Ganderbal district. All these three places and her birthplace at Safa Kadal in Srinagar city are famous as Ropa Bhawani Asthapanas. She died in 1721 on 'maag gattu pachh satam'. This day became known as Sahib Saptami and is observed by Hindus in Kashmir. Mata Rupa Bhawani like Lal Ded is one of the great female mystic poets of Kashmir. Rupa Bhawani was the second great mystic poetess of 17th century. She had a great and deep experience of ups and downs of life. In her poetry, we find the influence of both Kashmir Shaivism and Islamic Sufism. Kashmiris are basically one race of Saraswats, tolerance, cooperative understanding had to be spread far and wide. And for that Rupa Bhawani or Alakeshwari or Ropded appeared on the scene. Her father Madho Dhar, a staunch devotee of Bhagwati Sharika, whose sacred hill he went round every morning bare footed, would be seen holding discourses and discussions with the Muslim saint Thag Baba just across the river opposite his residence in Srinagar. Roopa was the Goddess Sharika incarnate, and thus she maintained the tradition that 'Yaiva Uma-Saiva Kashmira' (She who is Uma is Kashmir). Author T.N. Dhar has translated the verses of Mata Rupa Bhawani into English. Dhar says there are 146 'Vakyas' of Mata Rupa Bhawani and in translating her Vakyas, he has employed his intelligence, personal knowledge of a karmishta and scholarship. Dhar says the Vakyas are what they are and no one has the right or the authority to add to, alter or amend the Vakyas. They have their own metre, their own way of expression. Dhar has drawn a parallel between what Lord Krishna has said in the Bhagwat Geeta and has quoted from the English Literature to bring home the points made in various Vakyas, substantiating the interpretation provided by him. Each Vakya is explained first in a free verse followed by a supplementary comment. Dhar said, "My object has been to pull out, into a clear stream, content and meaning of each verse out of the tangled web of aphoristic, terse, riddling and suggestive and at places mutilated expressions". One thing that stands out whether it has been a Kashmir Muslim or a local Pandit Sufi saint is the universal message of amity, tolerance and cooperation among communities. For Kashmiri Hindu Sufi saints, it has been an amplification of Shaivism and its true understanding. For the local muslims, Sufism is a mystical form of Islam, a school of practice that emphasizes the inward search for God and shuns materialism. Kashmiri Sufism has produced some of the World's most beloved literature, like the love poems of the 13th century Iranian jurist Rumi. New Delhi, April 2 : India and Nepal on Saturday unveiled joint vision into bilateral cooperation in power sector and inked a few Memorandums of Understanding in this regard. Indian Oil Corporation and Nepal Oil Corporation have signed two Memorandums of Understanding on Saturday during delegates level meeting at Hyderabad House, said Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla. The delegation level meeting was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepal counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba. The Nepal Prime Minister is on three-day visit to India. The Memorandum of Understanding have been signed for the renewal of the supply of petroleum products for a period of five years and sharing technical expertise. The secretary said that a joint statement for power trade was unveiled together. Modi also conveyed to Deuba that their power export proposals have been cleared and it will contribute to Nepal's economic prosperity. "There was also a renewed commitment by both sides to move forward with Pancheshwar project," said Shringla during presser over both leaders' meeting. Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further deepen the timeless linkages and bonds of geography, history, culture, commerce and people-to-people ties between the two countries. In this context, both Prime Ministers noted the positive developments in each other's power sectors. India congratulated Nepal on its significant progress in the power sector including becoming a near power surplus country. Prime Minister Deuba appreciated India's recent cross-border electricity trade regulations that have enabled key partners like Nepal to access India's market and trade power with India. He also acknowledged with appreciation India's contribution to developing Nepal's power sector, through capacity building and direct support to infrastructure projects related to generation and transmission. Both Prime Ministers agreed that there are unprecedented opportunities for expanding and further strengthening mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation in the power sector including joint development of power generation projects in Nepal, development of cross-border transmission infrastructure, bi-directional power trade with appropriate access to electricity markets in both countries based on mutual benefits, market demand and applicable domestic regulations of each country, coordinated operation of the national grids and institutional cooperation in sharing latest operational information, technology and know-how. To expand such cooperation to include their partner countries under the BBIN framework subject to mutually agreed terms and conditions between all involved parties, said joint vision on power sector. The statement said that Indian investment into Nepal's renewable power sector, in particular the Hydropower sector, has the potential to benefit both the countries by strengthening their economies generating employment, enhancing export earnings and contributing to further development of industrial and financial capacities, and mutually agreed sharing of other benefits. Nepal invited Indian companies to invest in the development, construction and operation of viable renewable power projects, including in the Hydropower sector in Nepal, including storage-type projects, including through mutually beneficial partnerships. Recalling discussions during earlier high-level visits on the Pancheshwar Multipurpose project, including during the State Visit of Prime Minister of Nepal to India in August 2017, and recognizing the immense benefits for the people of both countries from this project, the two Prime ministers directed their concerned officials to expedite the bilateral discussions towards early finalization of the project's DPR. Both Prime Ministers agreed to prioritize expeditious movement on projects and initiatives on the basis of this joint vision. They agreed to continue supporting each other's national growth and prosperity guided by mutual respect and equality. The Foreign Secretary stated that the launch of RuPay in Nepal is a significant move to enhance financial linkages between the two countries. "It is expected to facilitate bilateral tourist flows and strengthen people to people linkages," Shringla said. He also stated that Nepal Prime Minister has extended invitation to Indian Prime Minister to visit Nepal. News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. Mumbai, April 2 : Taking serious cognisance of the death of Prabhakar Sail due to a suspected heart attack, the Maharashtra government on Saturday ordered the police to probe his sudden demise. After doubts were raised over the death of Sail -- a key 'panch witness' in the infamous Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raids on the Cordelia Cruise ship last October, Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil has directed Mumbai Police to investigate. Sail, in his mid-40s reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest at his home in Mahul, Chembur, according to his lawyer Tushar Khandare. His grieving and aged mother Hiravati Sail told mediapersons that her son had been incommunicado for the past few days, and leaves behind two minor daughters. Earlier, on Saturday morning, the ruling ally Nationalist Congress Party and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raised questions on the witness' death that stunned political circles on the auspicious Gudi Padwa Day (Maharashtrian New Year). Terming it as a 'suspicious development', NCP chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe. BJP legislator Atul Bhatkalkar wondered whether Sail had meted a fate similar to the Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran who was found murdered after the sensational case involving a SUV with 20 gelatin sticks was recovered near the home of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, erupted in February 2021. Soon after the October 2 raids aboard the cruiser, Sail had created a stir accusing then NCB Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede of various irregularities, and hurled allegations of extortion from Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan whose son Aryan was among those detained and later arrested. Besides Aryan Khan, around 19 others were nabbed and two are still in custody, while the NCB has been granted two months' extension to file its chargesheet in the Cordelia Cruise ship swoop case. Sail -- who was described as a personal bodyguard of another independent witness and a BJP activist K.P. Gosavi, had later made several shocking revelations that raised serious questions on the NCB raids and Wankhede. Incidentally, after the claims by Sail and later the serial exposes made by Minister Nawab Malik in the case, Gosavi came under a cloud and was arrested by the Pune Police in a cheating case. Los Angeles, April 2 : Chad Smith, the drummer of rock band 'Red Hot Chili Peppers', shared a special tribute video for his friend and 'Foo Fighters' drummer, Taylor Hawkins, who passed away on March 25 at the age of 50, Variety reports. As per Variety, the video is a compilation of Smith and Hawkins' most memorable moments together captured on camera, including many clips from touring. 'Foo Fighters' first opened for the 'Red Hot Chili Peppers' in 1999 on the latter's 'Californication' tour. During the tour, Hawkins and Dave Grohl pulled off a prank on Smith as they dumped pasta on his head while he was drumming. Ever since, the two drummers kept up a playful yet sincere friendship, which is displayed in the video. Smith can be heard during an interview clip at the beginning of the video as he says, "Taylor's my good buddy whom I've known forever." The footage shows Smith and Hawkins playing the same drum set and goofing around backstage as 'My Hero' by 'Foo Fighters' blasts off in the background. "I think we're going to make a lot of other rock bands a little jealous," Hawkins tells Smith in one clip. The video ends with Smith's tribute to Hawkins during the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony on March 31 where Smith said in his speech, "I have to give a shoutout to my brother Taylor Hawkins. I love you, Taylor. He would laugh and make a smart ass comment about this whole thing." The video was put together for Smith by Daniel Catullo, who directed the 2017 'Foo Fighters at the Acropolis' series on PBS that Smith hosted. Islamabad, April 2 : Pakistan Law Minister Fawad Chaudhry has ordered a commission to probe the foreign conspiracy behind the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, Samaa TV reported. Chaudhry, who is the minister for information and broadcasting, was given the additional charge of law minister on Friday. The commission will look into the foreign interference to topple the government in Pakistan and present its report. Chaudhry also ordered the transfers of at least a dozen key legal officers in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore. Earlier, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court to investigate the letter, which the prime minister waved at a rally, Samaa TV reported. The application filed by advocate Naeem ul Hasan requested the court to form a commission comprising top supreme court judges or the chief justices of provincial high courts. The applicant cited the commission formed by the Supreme Court to probe the memogate scandal in 2011, and requested for a similar commission. He urged the court to stop the vote on the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly until the commission concluded its investigation. Chaudhry got the additional charge of law minister after the resignation of Farogh Naseem was approved by PM Khan. Chaudhry announced Friday that he will use the position to go after Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz. PML-N leaders Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz have "become" self-appointed prime minister and chief minister while they are out on bail, he added "We will urge the court to start proceedings for the bail cancellations of both, Shehbaz and Hamza," he said. Noida, April 2 : Noida Police has busted a major IPL betting racket in the city and arrested six persons in this connection, an official said on Saturday. The accused, identified as Imran alias Nazir, Akhilesh Paliwal, Javed, Mohsin, Pravez and Tahir, all residents of Bulandshahr, were arrested from the area under sector 10 police station. Furnishing details, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Ranvijay Singh said the accused disclosed that someone from Dubai used to send them a link on their mobile phone. After clicking on that link, they used to put their mobile phones on mute and speaker mode. "They used to get ball-by-ball information about the match through that link," ADCP Singh said in a media briefing, adding the accused put bets when the match was in progress. In one day, they used to do betting of Rs 10 lakh. During interrogation, it was revealed that there is one main racketeer of the gang who is still at large. The senior police official further informed that the gang was also operating during the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election year 2022. "They had placed bets on the fate of the Chief Minister's chair and several other political parties," the official said. The police have registered a case under sections 3 and 4 of the Gambling Act at the Phase 1 Police station in Gautam Budh Nagar. The police have seized an amount of Rs 4 lakh from their accounts along with one laptop, 12 Mobile Phones, Rs 1,64,000 cash, a register, a pen and accounting details. New Delhi, April 2: Finally, Pakistan's "loser" Prime Minister, Imran Khan, admitted that he lost to the united opposition, but would not concede defeat. "I cannot even think about resigning and as far as the no-confidence vote is concerned, I believe in fighting till the end," beleaguered PM Imran Khan told ARY News of Pakistan, signalling that he would only go down kicking-and-screaming. Khan "confirmed" the reports that he was in touch with the top leadership of the military establishment headed by Pakistani army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the establishment had suggested three options. "They had given three options - resignation, no-confidence (vote) or early elections. I told him (Bajwa) that I am ready for early elections but I cannot even think about resigning and as far as the no-confidence vote is concerned," Khan told the channel. When he was asked if it was he who had approached the establishment for "face saving exit", Khan said ruefully: "As long as 'establishment' continues to settle matters, then who is the Prime Minister, what difference does it make." Khan's interview was like his address to the nation on March 31, full of rhetoric, and little substance. After blaming an international conspiracy to oust him, Khan himself has doubled down with public statements that he fears an attempt on his life. "Wrong things are being spread against my family. My wife's character is being assassinated and my life is also in danger," said Khan. Desperate times call for desperate moves. Knowing that he is to go down on Sunday, the egoistic Khan has been making a futile bid to remain in power. According to insiders, Imran Khan is considering resigning along with all his members from the Pakistani National Assembly on Sunday after losing the no-confidence vote. If Khan's 155 ruling party members resign from the National Assembly, the new government will be in "jeopardy". It will be difficult to hold such a large number of by-elections. The same exercise will be conducted simultaneously in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces where Khan's party is in power. The new government will have no other choice other than immediate elections and Khan thinks that going to the polls immediately will benefit him. Khan has already prohibited his members from participating in the no-confidence vote. But the question is, will his party members agree to his plan, for a mass revolt against a sinking Khan is not inconceivable? With the momentum building against Khan, most in his party may not be inclined to go to early polls. Many "disgruntled" members are apparently in touch with the opposition and may decide to rebel against Imran Khan. The Opposition claims that they have 199 members so far and there is no reason to believe they can't muster a bigger number on Sunday. The opposition leaders have also approached the various security agencies including the army to ensure the security of every parliamentarian irrespective of party affiliation when they go to the Assembly on Sunday. Referring to Khan's calls to gather 100,000 supporters outside the Assembly on Sunday when voting will be held on the no-confidence move, the opposition leader and the prime ministerial candidate Shehbaz Sharif, in his letter to chiefs of security agencies, said that any such gathering would be in blatant violation of order dated March 18 that prohibits gathering of five or more persons inside the Red Zone under Section 144 of the CrPC. He warned that any such gathering would inevitably provoke other parties to bring their own supporters for self-protection, which might lead to bloodshed and chaos in the capital. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative Mumbai, April 2 : Television actress Ankita Lokhande and her actor husband Vicky Jain celebrated their first Gudi Padwa as a married couple on Saturday. Given her Maharashtrian roots, Ankita shared that she will ring in the festival in traditional Maharashtrian style with authentic delicacies. While talking about the same, Ankita said: "I love celebrating Gudi Padwa, and this year it is even more special for me. I didn't have any elaborate plans for the occasion, but we had our Gudi and prepared Shrikhand Puri, like every time. We also decorated the house to welcome the new year. I am so happy to have Vicky with me on this day." A few weeks back, Ankita Lokhande threw an intimate Holi party with Vicky Jain. The inside pictures of the celebration took the internet by storm! Meanwhile, the couple is garnering a lot of positive response on television with their performance in show 'Smart Jodi'. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Hyderabad, April 2 : Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on Saturday celebrated Telugu New Year Ugadi with gaiety and traditional enthusiasm. People in both the Telugu states offered special prayers, decorated the entrances of their houses and shops with strings of mango leaves, tasted the traditional festival food and heard 'panchangnam' to usher in the New Year. The Chief Ministers of the two states attended the main official celebrations in their respective state capitals, where 'agma' pundits read the 'panchangnam' or the forecast of the coming year. Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao attended the official function at Pragati Bhavan, his official residence in Hyderabad while his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the celebrations in Vijayawada. Both the leaders wished that Ugadi, this year named as 'Sri Shubhakruth' would bring peace and prosperity for Telugu-speaking people living across the world. KCR, as the Telangana Chief Minister is popularly known, expressed hope that the New Year will usher in peace and prosperity. He said his government was working for the welfare of all sections of people and the schemes being implemented by it are being emulated by other states. KCR's cabinet colleagues and senior officials attended the celebrations. Jagan Mohan Reddy along with his wife Y.S. Bharathi Reddy participated in the Ugadi celebrations at his official residence. Attired in traditional dhoti and kanduva, the Chief Minister graced the event and extended greetings to all present on the occasion. The priests of Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams (TTD) welcomed him with Poornakumbham and festivities were held in a traditional way depicting Telugu culture. The Chief Minister paid floral tributes to the statue of former Chief Minister Dr Y.S. Rajashekar Reddy which was set up near the special stage. Later, he interacted with the children who were present on the occasion. The Chief Minister said the name of the year 'Subhakriti' has good in it and hoped that God's grace and people's blessings give more strength to the state government to do more good to the people of the state. Thousands of devotees thronged temples to pray for happiness and prosperity. Special prayers were held at Tirumala, Srisailam, Vijayawada and Bhadrachalam temples. People also attended special functions where pundits read out the religious almanac of the coming year. Literary discussions, poetry recitations, recognition of authors through awards and cultural programmes marked the day. Women prepared 'Ugadi pacchadi', a mixture of neem buds, raw mango, tamarind juice, pepper, jaggery and salt, which is a necessary part of the celebratory dishes. The mixture symbolises various hues of life. Ugadi celebrations were also held at the headquarters of political parties in both the states. Governors and Chief Ministers of both the state's greeted people on Ugadi. KCR said that the year of 'Shubhakrut', which wraps up the auspiciousness in the name itself, will bring good fortune to the people in all spheres. He said that Telangana is on the path of progress in a very short period of time. The CM expressed his happiness that with the blessings of God, Telangana was abuzz with plentiful water and green fields. KCR said Telangana government was giving maximum encouragement to the irrigation and agriculture sectors. The CM said the Telangana government is the only government in the country that gave the highest priority to the welfare of the farmers. The CM said that Telangana has achieved unprecedented development in the field of agriculture to make the country proud in its entirety. He said that Telangana is now challenging the Centre in procuring grain with the highest crop yield. He said the state government was working tirelessly to reach this level. The Telangana government is following the motto that 'all people will be happy when agriculture is good'. The CM said that the development of the agricultural sector has indirectly helped the employment opportunities in concerned productive and service sectors for the youth in Telangana. New Delhi, April 2 : Time and again, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has put the safety of women in the state as his government's topmost priority, and a step in that direction was the formation of 'Anti-Romeo Squads' at the beginning of his first term in 2017. Now with the BJP retaining power in the just-concluded Assembly elections and Adityanath retruning as the CM for a second straight term, the Anti-Romeo Squads are back on the streets. The Chief Minister on Friday directed the concerned officials to launch a special campaign for women's safety from the first day of Navratri. As a result, in neighbouring Noida and Ghaziabad, the police have intensified patrolling in all the vulnerable areas to make the women feel safe and secure. "From today, i.e., April 2, we have started an anti-Romeo drive at all the crowded places of the city like schools, colleges, Metro stations and several other vulnerable areas from where incidents of eve-teasing or molestation have been reported in the recent past," Assistant Commissioner of Police (Noida), Rajneesh Verma, told IANS. Under the said campaign, everyday from April 1 to April 15, a special campaign will be run by the women security team of each police station at all schools, colleges, markets, malls, Metro stations and other crowded places in Noida. "Strict legal action will be taken against those who drink alcohol in public places, and harass girls," another official told IANS. As a number of festivals are being celebrated on Saturday, including the beginning of the new year as per the Hindu calendar, the police along with female staff could be seen outside various temples, schools and colleges, talking to women and girls and apprising them about the women's helpline numbers in case they need it anytime. The Anti-Romeo Squads also gave warnings to the men and boys who were found standing outside schools and colleges without any reason. Verma was seen talking to the girls outside a school and sharing the details of women's helpline numbers. The senior officer spoke to the students about their problems and assured them that they can come to him without any hesitation. A similar intensified patrolling by the Anti-Romeo Squads could be seen in Ghaziabad. "With the aim to create an environment of safety for the women and girls in Ghaziabad district, the Anti-Romeo Squads of all police stations visited several crowded and market places. The women were made aware of the various schemes and helpline numbers issued by the government for their safety," an official said. (Ujwal Jalali can be reached at ujwal.j@ians.in) Gurugram, April 2 : Using a gas cutter, a gang of thieves broke open an ATM belonging to a private bank located in Sector 75A of Gurugram and made away with around Rs 13.28 lakh in cash, police said. "The accused after breaking the ATM, sprayed black paint on the CCTV cameras installed inside and outside the unmanned kiosk," the police said on Saturday. According to the police, the ATM kiosk was reportedly cut open from a side using the help of a cutter and the culprits decamped with Rs 13,28,000. A case under relevant sections of the IPC was registered against unidentified miscreants at the Kherki Daula police station based on a complaint by a payment service company on Friday. The incident has once again brought the security of ATMs under the scanner. "The probe is underway. We are obtaining CCTV footages of the area to ascertain the identity of the criminals. The accused will be nabbed soon," said Subhash Boken, PRO of the Gurugram police. New Delhi, April 2 : A 26-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped by two men in the national capital's Hari Nagar area, a police official said on Saturday. The accused duo has been arrested. According to the official, the incident took place on Tuesday night when the survivor was returning home from work. Sources said when the woman reached Hari Nagar area of west Delhi, she was confronted by two men who then took her to a nearby park and committed the heinous crime. After raping her in the park, the accused then took her to a slum-area where they again commited the crime for the whole night. The victim, in her complaint, alleged that she was also threatened and thrashed by the accused duo. Accordingly, the police registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code at the Hari Nagar Police station and arrested the accused duo. "Further investigation is underway," the official added. According to the data compiled by the Delhi Police, during the year 2021, as many as 1969 women were raped in the national capital, 21.69 per cent more than the previous year. In 2020, the figure stood at 1618. Not just rape, every figure of crime against women has an upward variation. The molestation of women rose by 17.51 per cent and eve-teasing by 17.51 per cent. However, the Delhi Police termed the rise in figures of crime as "due to conscious policy of Fair and Truthful Registration". But even as stringent laws are in place coupled with proactive approach of Delhi Police and a high solving rate of rape cases (95.48 per cent), molestation of women cases (90.98 per cent) and insult to modesty of women (85.75 per cent), the crime against women still isn't declining. One of the surprising reasons is that most of the time, the person committing a heinous crime is known to the victim woman, as was in the aforementioned case. Shockingly, during the year 2021, in about 98.78 per cent of rape cases, the accused were known to the victim while strangers were involved in only about 1.22 per cent cases. According to the Delhi Police, of all the rape cases reported last year, 13 per cent times the accused was a relative of the victim, 11 per cent times a neighbour, 46 per cent times a family or a friend and 1 per cent time an employee or a co-worker. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Thiruvananthapuram, April 2 : His latest letter to state secretary of CPI-M Kodiyeri Balakrishnan asking him to be left out of being a delegate to the 23rd CPI-M Party Congress to be held at Kannur from April 6, for all practical purposes, it's the end of the road for G. Sudhakaran, one of the topmost party leader in Kerala. A four time legislator and a two time Cabinet Minister, Sudhakaran who is known for his razor sharp tongue and for carrying himself in the most cleanest manner, since last year has been having problems in his party at his home district- Alappuzha. The 75-year-old veteran's stock started to decline when his feud with then Finance Minister Thomas Isaac also hailing from Alappuzha district, intensified and it took a turn for the worse ever since the present State Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian joined hands with Isaac. Things went from bad to worse when he expressed his desire to retire from electoral politics in early 2021, though he wished to get one more term. However, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who had a soft corner for him, did not come to his support and along with many who had contested three times in the past, he was also denied ticket. And when a new candidate, H. Salam was named by the party from his traditional seat - Ambalapuzha, Sudhakaran again came under fire and allegations surfaced that he was trying to defeat him and this became an issue in the party. A party panel, comprising CPI-M central committee member Elamaram Kareem and State secretariat member K.J. Thomas, probed into the alleged flaws in party's electioneering in the Ambalapuzha constituency and found him not rising to the occasion. In November, the party publicly censured him for his lapses at the election campaign 2021 and with it Sudhakaran found out that things are not that rosy and went silent. And ahead of the CPI-M state party conference, he made his intentions very clear when he wrote to Balakrishnan and Vijayan that he need not be considered for the powerful State Committee of the party, a post which he held. The party went by his wishes and now he saying that he is not taking part as a delegate at the 23rd Party Congress due to health issues. For all practical purposes, CPI-M in Kerala has lost a tall leader and from now on he will have no role in any major decision making body of the party and would be relegated to a committee of the party at his home district. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Chennai, April 2 : At least seven persons were killed and several others injured after a van they were travelling in toppled into a valley near Thirupathur in Tamil Nadu, the police said on Saturday. According to the police, the van was carrying about 30 persons from a village located in a hilly region. They were going to attend a temple festival. As the van was nearing Pudutnadu, it suddenly plunged into a valley. The police said that seven persons have lost their lives while several others have been injured. The police and fire service personnel are involved in rescue efforts. Bengaluru, April 2 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has expedited the probe in the murder case of Bajrang Dal activist Harsha after taking over from Karnataka police. Araga Jnanendra, Minister for Home on Saturday said that after finding about the background of the accused and the organisations behind them, it was felt appropriate to hand over the case to the NIA. "The state has conducted an in-depth investigation and it was found that it was intended to spark communal violence. Apart from this, I can't tell anything about the case as a Home Minister," he said. Lakshmi Prasad, SP of Shivamogga said that the local police have handed over all documents to the NIA and are cooperating in the investigation. Harsha was murdered by a gang in Shivamogga on February 20, triggering violence and the case made national headlines. The curfew was clamped in Shivamogga for 8 days to avoid violence. Later, the police arrested 10 persons in connection with the case and invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against them. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that it is more than a case of murder. Hindu organisations suspect the forces that got Harsha killed wanted to send a message to youth to desist from Hindutva activities. The state government has provided Rs 25 lakh compensation to the family and the public have also donated large money. Chennai, April 2 : India is expected to have a larger say in the International Chess Federation, commonly known as FIDE, if the incumbent management led by former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich wins the polls, chess officials said. The elections for FIDE Congress will be held in August this year on the sidelines of the 44th Chess Olympiad to be held at Mahabalipuram near here in July-August. It is learnt that the officials of the chess administration in the national federation normally get a relatively higher number of posts in FIDE. This time around, the All India Chess Federation (AICF) is on a stronger wicket to claim a better representation in FIDE. It was AICF that came to the rescue of FIDE to hold the Olympiad after the latter decided to shift it out of Moscow following Russia's military operation in Ukraine. Given the geopolitical situation, Dvorkovich's nationality and his past position in the Russian government, he and his team would prefer a neutral venue for holding the FIDE Congress. And Mahabalipuram near Chennai is an ideal location. On Friday, five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand had said: "I have agreed to support Arkady Dvorkovich. We have discussed this, but we haven't decided yet as to in what role or capacity I will be involved. The team led by Dvorkovich has done a lot for the sport." "We have discussed that Anand will be a huge part of our team," Dvorkovich said. Interestingly, Anand was appointed as Asia's Continental Assistant to FIDE President by Dvorkovich in 2019. A senior FIDE official told IANS: "The role to be allocated to Anand will be decided after the elections." Queried about AICF asking for a couple of critical posts for its nominees to contest, a senior FIDE official, not wanting to be named, told IANS: "I would assume you are right." "At the FIDE elections, the Olympiad hosting nation normally gets some additional posts," a former senior AICF official told IANS preferring anonymity. While some of the existing Indian officials will exit FIDE, more Indians are likely to enter the international chess body. "My term as FIDE Zone 3.7 President will come to an end in August. Similarly, D.V. Sundar's term as Vice President will also end," R.M. Dongre told IANS. Both Sundar and Dongre belong to the faction that unsuccessfully contested the elections against the present office-bearers of AICF. The AICF does not recognise Dongre as FIDE Zone 3.7 President. Last year, the AICF informed FIDE about nominating Gujarat State Chess Association President Ajay Patel as the country's nominee for the Zone 3.7 position when Dongre was holding the post. On receipt of the communication from AICF, FIDE had replaced Dongre's name with that of Patel's on its website as Zone 3.7 President. Objecting to FIDE's move, Dongre wrote to the global chess body. "I wrote to the FIDE President citing its own rules on the circumstances in which a person can be changed for a post. The FIDE then referred the matter to its Constitutional Commission which deliberated the matter and decided in my favour," Dongre had told IANS. Dongre said only the FIDE General Assembly can change a Zonal President and the AICF should have sufficient reason to recommend the change. Subsequently, FIDE amended its website uploading Dongre's name and picture in the place of Patel's. Dongre also said that he has two more years as the member of FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission. AICF President Sanjay Kapoor declined to comment when queried by IANS on the FIDE posts for which the Indian chess body would be nominating its nominees. (Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at v.jagannathan@ians.in) Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Srinagar, April 2 : Grand prayer meetings were held on Saturday by Kashmiri Pandits at the historic Durganag temple and the Mata Sharika Devi temple in Srinagar to celebrate 'Navreh', the first day of the new year, according to the Kashmiri Pandit calendar. Kashmiri Pandits held special prayers at the Mata Sharika Devi temple situated on a hillock called the 'Hari Parbat' in the middle of the old city. This was the first such prayer meeting held on Navreh at the Sharika Devi temple 32 years after the migration of the local Pandits from their native land. Before their exodus, local Pandits used to celebrate the beginning of the new year at this temple. Those who had gathered for the celebrations said the situation has improved Kashmir in the last couple of years, and the number of terror incidents have also decreased. People exuded confidence in the positive steps taken by the administration and the government and hoped to return to their homeland soon. A grand Puja was also held at the Durganag temple in Dalgate area in Srinagar where a large number of people joined the prayers held for peace, prosperity and development of humanity in general and Kashmir in particular. Murarji Kaul, trustee of the Durganag temple trust, said the main purpose of Saturday's Navreh prayers was to strengthen the traditional amity between the various communities of Kashmir. "Huge damage has been caused to this brotherhood of ours by political forces of different shades. Despite their worst doing, the bond between the Muslim majority community and the Pandit minority community remains strong and vibrant as ever, and now their is a renewed effort to further strengthen this bond," Kaul said. "Peace is gradually returning to the Valley and people are keen to safeguard the interests of the future generations. This year, Navreh coincides with the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan and this augers well for the entire population of the Valley," Kaul added. Hyderabad, April 2 : The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on Saturday announced a five-phase protest from April 4 against the Centre over its refusal to procure paddy from Telangana during the ongoing Rabi season. TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao said the party would stage protests in all mandal headquarters on April 4. In the second phase, the TRS will organise 'rasta roko' on Mumbai, Nagpur, Bengaluru and Vijayawada national highways on April 7. The next day, protests will be held in all 12,769 villages across the state. He called upon farmers to put up black flags atop their houses, take out protest rallies and burn effigies of the Central government. Under the fifth phase, state ministers and public representatives will stage a protest in Delhi on April 11. The TRS MPs will also raise the issue in the Parliament. KTR, as the TRS leader is popularly known, told reporters that despite repeated requests by the state government and the visit by a ministerial delegation to Delhi to meet Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal, the Centre refused to procure paddy from the state and was insisting on raw rice. He said the state had been demanding that the Centre should procure the entire paddy as it is procuring from Punjab. "When you can have one nation one ration, why can't you have one nation one procurement," he asked. The TRS leader slammed the BJP leaders for speaking in different tones in Delhi and Telangana. He recalled that last year in view of the Centre's refusal to procure parboiled rice, the TRS government had appealed to farmers not to grow paddy but the state BJP leaders provoked them and assured them that they will make the Centre procure every grain. KTR said Central minister G. Kishan Reddy, who comes from Telangana, had declared that whether farmers grow raw rice or parboiled rice, the Centre would procure the entire stocks. The TRS leader said responding to the state government's appeal, farmers have not cultivated paddy on 15 lakh acres during Rabi. They took up cultivation on 30 to 35 lakh acres, and it is now the responsibility of the Centre to buy the entire paddy, he added. New Delhi, April 2 : Consumer spending in mobile games declined 7.1 per cent Y/Y to $21 billion in Q1 2022, with both the App Store and Google Play seeing less revenue when compared to the year-ago period. Mobile games on Apple's platform saw about $12.9 billion, down 2.3 per cent Y/Y, while Google Play saw its mobile game revenue decline 13.8 per cent Y/Y to $8.1 billion, reports Sensor Tower. The top three highest grossing mobile games overall as well as on the App Store all came from Chinese publishers this quarter. Tencent's Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile including its Chinese localisation Game for Peace came in number one and number with $735.4 million and $643 million generated across both stores. MiHoYo's Genshin Impact came in third with $551 million in player spending. On Google Play, NCSoft's Lineage W was the top earner, followed by Moon Active's Coin Master and King's Candy Crush Saga. Worldwide downloads of mobile games grew 2.1 per cent Y/Y in 1Q22, climbing to 14.4 billion. This was driven mainly by Google Play, which grew 2.5 per cent Y/Y to 12.1 billion first-time downloads this quarter. App Store game installs remained flat Y/Y, holding at 2.3 billion. Garena's massively popular battle royale title Garena Free Fire saw the most downloads across App Store and Google Play as well as on Google's marketplace, with 71.2 million installs across both platforms. It was followed by Sybo Games' Subway Surfers, which saw 66.4 million installs across both stores and also topped the App Store chart. The third most downloaded title overall was Homa Games' Merge Master - Dinosaur Fusion, which reached 49.4 million installs. Islamabad, April 2 : Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday urged the country's youth to stage "peaceful protests" against a "foreign conspiracy" allegedly hatched against his government and said that he has "more than one plan" for Sunday's crucial vote on the no-confidence motion against him in the National Assembly, Dawn reported. The Prime Minister made these remarks during a live question and answer session, which was broadcast live on television, radio and digital media, and lasted roughly an hour. "Before taking your telephone calls, I want to talk to the people of my country for five minutes because right now Pakistan is standing on a decisive point," the prime minister said in his opening remarks. "This is a war for the future of the country. There's a conspiracy against the government right now and it has been proven that politicians are being bought like goats to topple the government. The conspiracy started abroad... "The history never forgets those. And I want Pakistan's history to not forget these traitors either. It is your responsibility. Don't let them feel that you have forgotten." The prime minister said he will take legal action against those who "betrayed the nation". "I met my lawyers today and we have a plan. We wont let them go free. All of them will be punished. We will decide by tonight the kind of legal action we want to take against them." The prime minister claimed that the "foreign conspiracy" against him has been proven. "The cabinet, NSC and the parliament's security committee have seen it. The official document says that if you remove Imran Khan, your relations with the US will get better." Addressing the youth of the country, Khan said: "You don't have to sit silently (because) if you stay quiet, you will be on the side of the bad. I want you to protest and speak up against this conspiracy -- not for me but for your future. Despite the opposition seemingly having accumulated enough MNAs to topple his government, Khan remained buoyant, saying: "Don't worry at all. A captain always has a plan, and this time I have more than one plan... God willing we will win tomorrow. I will defeat them in the Assembly. "The nation will see tomorrow... if they cast the vote tomorrow, they know they will be rejected by the public. You will see that we will win tomorrow," he said. Srinagar, April 2 : The seven-day Spring Theatre Festival organised by the Actors Creative Theatre concluded in Srinagar on Saturday. The festival was organised at the Tagore Hall in Srinagar by Actors Creative Theatre (ACT) in collaboration with the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL). A large audience, including renowned theatre personalities, watched the festival and appreciated the performers. Manzoor Ahmad, a noted theatre expert, likened the performers to NSD trained actors, and said, "The way they presented their play is a model for other Kashmiri theatre practitioners." Similarly, well-known broadcaster Himayun Qaiser said, "The performance of the students was truly a joy to behold." Sajid Reshi, the dramatics teacher, expressed joy at the performance of the students. He said, "The mandate of the school dramatic club is to use theatre as a vehicle of progressive thought by highlighting social issues like conflict victims, eve-teasing, acid attack, drug addiction, third gender discrimination and women's empowerment. "We already have a grand history of 'Band e Pather', which is a model of street theatre highlighting social and other issues." Congratulating the students, Principal Shafaq Afshan said, "We are delighted that the theatre group is making waves in the World beyond the school, and testifies to the immense belief and talent of our students and staff." The Chairman of DPS Srinagar, Vijay Dhar, congratulated the students for their stellar performance, saying, "At DPS Srinagar, we believe in holistic education, and revival of glorious traditions of the past. The cultivation of theatre is aimed at this revival and development of talent and we are immensely delighted that our efforts are paying dividends." The festival concluded with 'Eid Rouf', a Kashmiri chorus to welcome Eid at the conclusion of the fasting month of Ramadan. Patna, April 2 : Patna police have arrested two persons, including a man whose 8-year-old daughter was allegedly gang-raped and murdered by unknown persons, from outside Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's residence here on Saturday. The man and a woman activist demanded the police to allow them to meet Nitish Kumar, which they not only refused, but also misbehaved with them. The Chief Minister and his convoy came out of the residence and crossed the duo, but Kumar did not stop to meet them. The man, who came from Banka district, alleged that his 8-year-old daughter was kidnapped by unidentified persons from outside their house when she stepped out to celebrate Holi. The miscreants allegedly gang-raped the minor girl, removed both her eyes, and mutilated the dead body before dumped it in a drain near the village which falls under the Khandan police station, the man said. "We went from pillar to post seeking justice for my daughter, but the local police arrested my brother on charges of gang-rape and murder of my daughter," the man said. As no one was listening to his plight, a Delhi-based social activist -- Yogita Bhayana -- came to Patna and contacted him promising support. On Saturday, the man along with Bhayana demanded to meet the Chief Minister, but C.P. Gupta, the SHO of Sachiwalay police station, arrived there and threatened them. As per a viral video, the SHO threatened Bhayana to stay within her limits. "You are a woman and stay like a woman," he said while pointing finger at her. The man argued that since he was not getting justice for the heinous act committed against his daughter, the police should kill him as well. Following the arguments, the police picked up the man and the activist and put them in a police van on the direction of SHO Gupta. "They were protesting in a prohibited area. Hence it was a preventive measure to arrest them. They were taken to the office of the DGP, who has addressed the issue. The police released him later," ASP Kamya Mishra told IANS. "The victim has the right to protest, but you cannot protest in the prohibited area. There are so many places where anyone can protest. It is his democratic right and no one is taking his rights away. As far as meeting the Chief Minister is concerned, he organies 'Janta Darbar' where anyone can meet him. Even the DGP regularly meets people," Mishra said. "In the case of rape-cum-murder of the minor girl, four accused have already been arrested and a speedy trial is currently underway," Mishra added. Maharashtra CM UDDHAV THACKERAY flagged off two new Mumbai Metros - Line 7 & Line 2A - and took a ride on a train, along with Dy.CM Ajit Pawar, other ministers, officials, etc. Image Source: IANS News Maharashtra CM UDDHAV THACKERAY flagged off two new Mumbai Metros - Line 7 & Line 2A - and took a ride on a train, along with Dy.CM Ajit Pawar, other ministers, officials, etc. Image Source: IANS News Maharashtra CM UDDHAV THACKERAY flagged off two new Mumbai Metros - Line 7 & Line 2A - and took a ride on a train, along with Dy.CM Ajit Pawar, other ministers, officials, etc. Image Source: IANS News Mumbai, April 2 : Flagging off the two new Mumbai Metro corridors -- Line 2 and Line 7 -- Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday slammed the Centre for creating obstacles on projects related to Mumbai, and questioned the utility of the upcoming bullet train project. "The first bullet train (for India) should have been started between Mumbai and Nagpur, not between Mumbai and Ahmedabad... Tell me, how is the bullet train between Mumbai-Ahmedabad going to be useful to you?" Thackeray asked. While the Centre is eager for the bullet train project, it has taken over the land intended for the International Finance Centre in the prime Bandra Kurla Complex, he said of the pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "If you have love for Mumbai then why don't you give us the Kanjurmar (salt-pan) lands for the Mumbai Metro Rail project? Railway land is not being transferred for the Dharavi redevelopment project, land is not being given to us for a pumping station," Thackeray said here. He added how Maharashtra contributes the highest amount of GST in the country, yet the state's dues are still not cleared on time. "We are not begging, we are only firmly demanding our share of the taxes, but it is being consistently denied to us," rued the CM. Taking a swipe at the state Bharatiya Janata Party leader who accused him of claiming credit for the two new lines of Mumbai Metro, Thackeray retorted saying if they had so much concern for the city, then why are roadblocks being created for the state's important infrastructure projects. Earlier, Thackeray flagged off two new Metro Line 2A and Line 7, both in the suburbs - on the auspicious occasion of Gudi Padwa, the Maharashtrian New Year. Present were Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, other Cabinet ministers of Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress, senior officials and other dignitaries. The two new lines shall start operations daily 5 a.m.-11 p.m. from tomorrow (Sunday) for commuters, with fares ranging from Rs 10-Rs 40 for the air-conditioned rides at speed of around 70-kmph, said MMRDA Commissioner S.V.R. Srinivas. Both fully elevated, Line 2A runs from Dahisar East to D.N. Nagar in Andheri West via the new Link Road, and Line 7 runs from Dahisar East to Andheri East via the Western Express Highway - are partially complete. When fully completed, Line 7 will be 33.50 km long with 29 stations and Line 2A shall be 18 km long with 17 stations en route. Though the trains are equipped to operate with a driverless system, initially they will be operated by a contingent of around 60 male and female drivers. The development came after nearly 11 months of trial runs on these 2 lines since May 2021. It maybe recalled that the city got the 11.50 km long Mumbai Metro One - its first and only so far - elevated line on June 8, 2014, linking Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar in the east-west direction. The Line 2A and Line 7 were sanctioned in October 2015 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone during the erstwhile Bharatiya Janata Party-led government of the (then) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The entire corridors of the two new lines are expected to be ready in the next five-six months, officials said. Imphal, April 2 : The first edition of the 'Eikhoigi Imphal International Film Festival' began on Saturday at the Palace Auditorium of Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS), manifesting a new feather in the cap of Manipuri Cinema as it completes 50 years. The five-day non-competitive festival, supported by the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry, is being organised as part of the year-long golden jubilee celebration of Manipuri Cinema. Speaking as the Chief Guest at the inaugural ceremony of the festival, eminent Manipuri filmmaker, Aribam Syam Sharma emphatically pointed out that special financial assistance from the government is a must for success of the festival in its future editions. Syam Sharma, who has been associated with Manipuri cinema since its inception, lamented that the government had always exuded indifferent attitude towards the growth of Manipuri cinema. Nevertheless, he drew the attention of the government to make the Manipur State Film and Television Institute fully functional at the earliest to facilitate professionalism and production of good films in the northeastern state. MSFDS Secretary, Sunzu Bachaspatimayum, while delivering the keynote address, stated that the festival has been conceived to catalyse the amplification of motion picture storytelling in Manipur. He further expressed joy over realising the dream of an international film festival where one experiences world cinema which slices life and intrinsic cultural and political experiences beyond one's boundaries and transpires invaluable knowledge. Manipur government's Commissioner of Art and Culture Department, M. Joy stated that the Eikhoigi Imphal International Film Festival marks the new beginning for Manipuri cinema. He also exuded confidence that the festival will fill up the void of a voracious cinematic culture in Manipur. Deputy Director of Directorate of Film Festivals under the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Tanu Rai, Assamese filmmaker Utpal Borpujari, Khasi (Meghalaya) filmmaker Pradip Kurban among other prominent personalities also attended the inaugural function. Eminent filmmaker, Romi Meitei's award winning film "Eikhoigi Yum" (ours home), in its Imphal Premier screened in the opening day of the festival. Prior to the screening, contemporary dance performance aMeepao', a tribute to the pioneer filmmakers, choreographed by Surjit Nongmeikapam was also showcased. Manipur Film Development Society (MSFDS) Secretary Sunzu Bachaspatimayum said that in the 5-day long international film festival, 11 feature films, 8 non-feature films and one short film would be screened. Films including those from Iran, Germany, Korea, Philippines and Norway would be screened.He said that two Manipuri films -- Romi Meitei's "Eikhoigi Yum" and Haobam Pabankumar's "Nine Hills One Valley", acclaimed Khasi (Meghalaya) film, "Iewduh", directed by Pradeep Kurbah and Assamese film, "Ishu", directed by Utpal Borpujari will also be screened in the festival. Bachaspatimayum said that the festival being organised jointly by MSFDS and Manipur State Film and Television Institute (MSFTI), with financial aid from the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) under the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Bengaluru, April 2 : The Karnataka government is likely to issue a fresh guideline to make the 'stunning' process mandatory for slaughterhouses across the state, sources said on Saturday. The development comes amid a demand for ban on 'halal' meat. 'Stunning' is a process where an animal is rendered unconscious while being slaughtered. Reacting to the development, Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar told people not to get scared about the circular being issued by the Animal Husbandry Department. "If anyone troubles you, give us a call, our workers will be sent to the spot," he said. "Don't be scared of handbills distributed by the RSS and BJP activists in this regard. This is our responsibility," Shivakumar said. "I am getting calls from farmers from all over the state. They are saying there is no one to buy their chicken, sheep or goat," he stated. The BJP has created this situation with political motive, he alleged. "Since last week, peace in the society has been disturbed with political motive," Shivakumar said, referring to the ban on Muslim merchants in temples and religious fairs and the issue of halal meat. "Though the concerned minister is refusing, the circular to make 'stunning' compulsory in slaughterhouses has been released by the Animal Husbandry Department of Karnataka government. It instructs police and other officers to ensure animals are cut only after a stunning, which renders them unconscious," he said. "I have seen human beings rendered unconscious before they undergo surgeries. But I am coming across the 'stunning' process for the first time. In this country, the food habits of people have developed for thousands of years. People should continue with what they are doing, especially our farmers and business community. Don't destroy Karnataka," he said. "Do not snatch away people's livelihood. Let all communities live unitedly," Shivakumar said. Beijing, April 2 : Chinese president Xi Jinping's online rendezvous with European leaders in Brussels on Friday defied an undercurrent of tensions that have seeped into EU-China relations because of the Russia-Ukraine war. Xi tried to wiggle out of the geopolitical quagmire that Beijing finds itself in by telling EU leaders that China has its own way of pursuing peace. However, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned China not to let Russia bypass sanctions that have been imposed by EU nations and the US after Russian president Vladimir Putin's misadventure in Ukraine. Parts of Ukraine have been under the Kremlin's influence for years even before Moscow last month decided to send troops into the country, destabilising the region, sending ripples across financial markets and making oil markets nervous through the world. Xi's repertoire of statements in the summit which saw Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meet the leaders virtually before the main meeting began, included urging Brussels to form an independent policy on China. This assertion of an independent policy implies a break from what Beijing sees as Brussels' kowtowing to the requirements of the US strategy which China claims can ultimately lead to a decoupling between the world's two largest economies. Chinese state media quoted Xi as saying that the Ukraine crisis has come after a protracted Covid-19 pandemic and a stuttering global recovery. In this context, China and the EU, as two major forces, big markets and great civilisations, should step up communication on relations and on major issues concerning global peace and development, and play a constructive role in adding stabilising factors to a turbulent world, the Global Times quoted the Chinese leader as saying during the summit. Michel told a press briefing after the summit: "We called on China to help end the war in Ukraine. China cannot turn a blind eye to Russia's violation of international law." China has lent tacit support to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, refusing to condemn it but calling for a political situation to the crisis. Beijing finds itself in a tight spot as it cannot displease its traditional ally and chief US adversary. US and China have seen relations plummet over several bilateral issues, recently more so due to US stance over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Though the West-China divide has seen the entire Western hemisphere go ballistic at China over the Ukrainian invasion, Beijing does not want itself isolated over the geopolitical standoff that has seen Putin at the receiving end of worldwide criticism. Says a European academic who teaches EU law: "I won't call the meeting very good. They were threatening to slap sanctions if China supported Russia with money or arms. The problem is that China wants a GDP growth of 5 per cent which can only be reached if does not sever ties with Europe. On the other hand, the Covid situation in the business hub of Shanghai is bad." To keep the economy going at a steady pace, China needs the help of the West, a truth corroborated by von der Leyen who said on Friday that Beijing needed to defend the international order that has made China the world's second-largest economy. Therefore, Xi's European stance, though not capitulation to Brussels can be seen as a climbdown. China is afraid of Western solidarity, adds the European academic. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Mumbai, April 2 : Diversified group GHCL has completed the divestment of its home textiles business to lndo Count Industries effective Saturday, after obtaining all relevant regulatory and shareholders' approvals. The transaction entailed a total consideration Rs 608.30 crore. The group said that divestment of GHCL's home textiles business is a significant value unlocking exercise for all its stakeholders. In a statement, the group said that the total consideration for divestment of the home textiles business has been calculated at Rs 608.30 crore (subject to validation of customary closing date adjustment of working capital in terms of the definitive agreements). The move, it said, will enable the management to focus on the strategic growth pillars of chemical and spinning businesses. Besides, the group cited that the proceeds of the sale will be used for further initiatives such as Greenfield project, product basket expansion, clean energy and ESG initiatives, automation and exploring opportunities to enter into JVs. "The divestment of the home textiles business is a strategic move which we believe will unlock value for all our stakeholders," said R.S. Jalan, Managing Director, GHCL. "We have been able to complete the process seamlessly on time and with all relevant approvals in place," Jalan added. At present, GHCL has footprints in chemicals and spinning businesses. In the chemicals space, the company mainly manufactures soda ash which is a major raw material for detergents and glass industries and sodium bicarbonate. In textiles, its spinning unit at Madurai produces multiple varieties of fibre (yarn), which is sold to domestic consumers as well as exported worldwide. New Delhi, April 2 : The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has no jurisdiction in allocation of power from central generating stations by the Central government to the states, the Union Ministry of Power said on Saturday. "The power from the central generating stations (CGS) is allotted by the Central government to the states on their request. The DERC has no jurisdiction in the matter. If any reallocation is to be done, it is only on the request of the state government; and that also in case any other state is willing to take the surrendered power," the Power Ministry said in a statement. The ministry said that Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain vide a letter dated July 6, 2015 had surrendered power from 11 central generating stations which also includes Dadri stage-II thermal power plant of NTPC, with immediate effect, and to reallocate the same to other needy states, the statement said. The ministry added that the balance power from Dadri stage-II to an extent of 728 MW was available for reallocation and, accordingly, on March 28, 2022, the same has been given to Haryana based on their request. No request for withdrawal of the surrendered share had been received from the government of Delhi to the till March 28, 2022. It was only after reallocation of this power that the government of NCT of Delhi woke up on March 30 and wrote to the MoP to restore Delhi's share from Dadri stage II, added the Power Ministry. "It may also be noted that Delhi has relinquished its share of 756 MW from Dadri-I indicating that this power is surplus. Thus, if Delhi is really under crisis and have concern about their consumers, they should not have surrendered their share from Dadri-I," said the statement. As the reallocation to Haryana has already happened on March 28, any further reallocation can only be after hearing Haryana, as the state is now also an affected party and any withdrawal would impact its power adequacy plans, the statement said. --IANS avr/arm A Mumbai, April 2 : Actress and reality show judge Malaika Arora sustained a minor injury near one of her eyes after a road accident near Panvel on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway on Saturday evening. Malaika was returning home from a fashion event, about which she had even posted updates on her Instagram account, when her driver lost balance and her Range Rover bumped into three cars on the expressway. She was rushed to Navi Mumbai's Apollo Hospital, where she was said to be recovering well, although shaken by the incident, and was likely to be discharged on Sunday. Apparently, she was resting her head on a cushion, which softened the impact of the accident. The local police have registered an FIR and are investigating the matter. New Delhi, April 2 : The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) on Saturday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over incidents of harassment and violence against doctors. Requesting the PM for the implementation of a Central Act for Protection of Doctors, FORDA said, "Observing the alarming trends, we had submitted representations on multiple occasions requesting the implementation of a Central Act for Protection of Doctors as well as for setting up an Indian Medical Service (IMS) cadre to curb such incidents in the future. Unfortunately, there has been no positive response from the concerned authorities yet." Recently, the suicide of a lady doctor -- Archna Sharma -- in Rajasthan's Dausa district, who was accused of murder after one of her patient died, sent shock waves across the state and triggered protests even in the national capital. "The tragic incident of suicide by Archna Sharma in Dausa is one such incident wherein the doctor was harassed by local leaders and goons to an extent that she was compelled to take the extreme step. Subsequently, another incident of harassment by a bureaucrat was reported from Dehradun wherein Nidhi Uniyal resigned from her job at a government medical college," the letter said. The FORDA requested the Prime Minister to take necessary measures to prevent incidents of harassment and violence against doctors. New Delhi, April 2 : A fire broke out here at a restaurant in Connaught Place on Saturday evening, a Fire Department official said. No one, however, was injured. The official said the Department received a call about the fire at the Parikrama Restaurant at around 5.35 p.m. As many as six fire tenders were pressed into service. "The firemen doused the flames in just 20 minutes at 5.55 p.m., and even the cooling process was immediately completed," the official said. Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg told IANS that there has been no casualties. "It was a minor fire," he said. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. New Delhi, April 2 : The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change has said that approximately, Rs 2 crore has been spent on inventorisation of 40 sacred groves and phyto-diversity characterisation of multiple sacred groves etc. in Meghalaya. Sacred groves are community conserved land parcels with rich biodiversity, which usually have a significant religious connotation for protecting the community and can be notified as Community Conserved Areas under Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and Biodiversity Heritage Sites under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. Replying to a question by Lok Sabha MP Vincent Pala in March last week whether any study has been undertaken by the government to assess the potential of Sacred Groves in creating a sustainable future, Yadav said, over about last 8-9 years, the studies undertaken and completed for sacred groves in Meghalaya include inventorisation (Growing Stock Assessment) of 40 Sacred Groves; Phyto-diversity and Phyto-sociological characterisation of 10 Sacred Groves having an area of 216.76 Ha; preparation of management plans of 12 Sacred Groves and boundary survey for 133 Sacred Groves. Rs 30 lakh was spent on the inventorization (Growing Stock Assessment) of 40 Sacred Groves project (2013-14). Rs 40 lakh was spent on boundary survey for 133 Sacred Groves in 2013-14; Rs 9.36 lakh for the same in 2014-15 and Rs 10.50 lakh in 2019-20. Rs 20 lakh was spent on Phyto-diversity and Phyto-sociological characterisation of 10 Sacred Groves having an area of 216.76 Ha (2014-15) carried out by the Department of Environmental Studies NEHU, Shillong, the Minister said. The wildlife conservation activities in the Sacred Grove notified as community reserve amounted to Rs 101.59 lakh between 2013-2021, the Minister added. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Colombo, April 2 : Reliving thousands of those waiting in queues at fuel stations around the country and those hit by 13-hour-long power cuts, 40,000 MT of diesel under the Indian Line of Credit of $500 million arrived at the Colombo harbour on Saturday. As the shipment arrived, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) announced that 13-hour power cuts would now be reduced to nearly 2 hours from Sunday. Sri Lanka's power generation mainly depends on fuel and all except two plants have been shut down due to lack of diesel. For days, the country's economy has been suffering due to lack of transportation of goods, while mechanised farming and fishing have come to a standstill with no diesel in the fuel stations. The fourth consignment under the fuel Line of Credit from India followed three previous deliveries on March 16, 20 and 23. Over the last 50 days, India has supplied Sri Lanka nearly 200,000 MT including a consignment of 40,000 MT by Indian Oil Corporation outside the line of credit facility in February 2022. "In view of the urgent nature of Sri Lanka's requirement, India worked overtime to expeditiously finalise and implement both the lines of credit within weeks," the Indian High Commission said. Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay, who visited the Colombo harbour, observed that the fuel deliveries is a concrete manifestation of India's commitment to the people of Sri Lanka in the current circumstances in line with its 'Neighbourhood First' policy. Sri Lanka's Energy Minister Gamini Lokuge, who visited the harbour to welcome the shipment, thanked India for helping at a critical moment. Earlier, the Export Import Bank of India and the Government of Sri Lanka had signed a $500 million Line of Credit Agreement for the purchase of petroleum products on February 2. The agreement was signed by Treasury Secretary S.R. Attygalle from the Sri Lankan side and Chief General Manager of EXIM Bank, Gaurav Bhandari, from the Indian side. "In response to a separate and urgent request from the Government of Sri Lanka, extension of a credit facility of $1 billion for supply of essential items, including food and medicines, has been finalised and the first shipments of rice under this facility is expected to reach Sri Lanka soon," the Indian High Commission in Colombo stated. Earlier in January this year, India had provided financial assistance to Sri Lanka that included a credit swap of $400 million and deferment of an Asian Clearing Union payment of over $515 million. In cumulative terms, Indian support to the people of Sri Lanka in the first quarter of 2022 is in excess of $2.5 billion, the High Commission added. The High Commission also noted that the Government of India continues to encourage the efforts towards medium to long-term capacity creation through enhanced Indian investment in Sri Lanka in key sectors that include ports, renewable energy, manufacturing etc. New Delhi, April 2 : India on Saturday dismissed claims that New Delhi is sending its troops to Sri Lanka amid an emergency imposed in the island nation, saying it is a fake information. Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka "strongly" denied "blatantly false and completely baseless reports in a section of media that India is dispatching its soldiers to Sri Lanka". The High Commission also "condemned such irresponsible reporting and expects the concerned to desist from spreading rumours". To prevent unrest in the country, the Sri Lankan government has announced to impose a curfew from Saturday 6 p.m. to Monday 6 a.m. The worst economic situation that the island nation is witnessing, has been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in a fall in revenue from tourism and remittances. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declared a state of emergency in the country giving the security forces wide authority to arrest and detain suspects with immediate effect. Rajapaksa has issued the "Extraordinary Gazette" declaring a public emergency after hundreds of protesters gathered in the capital and many of them tried to storm the President's residence to protest against the government for "poor management of economic policies, which has created mess in the country". The President said he believed there was a "public emergency in Sri Lanka" that necessitated invoking the tough laws. Colombo, April 3 : Sri Lankan military and Indian High Commission have denied the claims that Indian troops have entered the island nation amid the growing crisis, with people taking to streets against the government. Defence Secretary Kamal Gunaratne on Saturday denied reports of the arrival of Indian troops which had been circulated on social media and added that the fake news contained official photographs of 2021's friendly India-Sri Lanka joint military exercise. The photographs of Indian troops in Sri Lanka taken during 2021's Sri Lanka-India joint military exercise 'Mitra Shakti' have been released along with the fake news, Gunaratne said. "Sri Lanka's tri-forces are capable of facing any situation to ensure national security and people should not be misguided by such misinformation," the Defence Secretary added. The Indian High Commission issuing a statement denied the alleged news. "The High Commission strongly denies blatantly false and completely baseless reports in a section of media that India is dispatching its soldiers to Sri Lanka," it announced. Troubled by public agitation on streets and ahead of planned Sunday's major island-wide protest, Sri Lankan government imposed a 36-hour long curfew from Saturday 6 p.m. A gazette which was issued "in accordance with the powers vested in the Head of State," the President under the Public Security Ordinance prohibited people from being on any public road, park, recreation or other grounds, railways, sea shores and other such public places during the curfew from Saturday 6 p.m. to Monday 6 a.m. On Saturday until the curfew was imposed people gathered at places around the capital Colombo and outstation demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign. On Thursday evening a public protest near the President's house turned violent with police attacking people and later arrested more than 50 of them. Some were released on bail while others were remanded. Both the police personnel and people were injured while a bus and several other vehicles which belonged to police were set on fire. New Delhi, April 3 : The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has sought remedial action by the statutory regulators following the report of a panel of experts set up by the tribunal, which flagged a series of environmental violations by an industrial unit in Gujarat's Surat. The bench of NGT Chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel was dealing with the grievance against the operation of Nova Dyestuffs Industries Pvt. Ltd which has been allegedly discharging chemicals in open and through drains, as well as dumping hazardous untreated solid waste in violation of environmental norms. As per the plea, the applicant made various complaints to the statutory regulators who have failed to take any action in the matter. Acting on the complaint, the green court on December 15, 2021, had directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Board to verify the allegations, take remedial action and file an action taken report. On submission of the committee's report, the tribunal said, "The report shows that treated effluent discharged by the unit is not meeting the inlet standards of common effluent treatment plant and there are other violations for which a showcause notice has been issued." It said remedial action needs to be ensured by the statutory regulators following due process, including accountability for the past violations of the 'Polluter Pays' principle. In the order dated March 29, the NGT directed for an action taken report before CPCB Chairman within two months for any further direction as may be found necessary in accordance with the law. The application has been disposed of accordingly. Guwahati, April 3 : The state-owned Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) in Assam on Saturday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Engineers India Limited (EIL) for increasing research activities, NRL officials said. NRL sources said the EIL holds a 4.37 per cent stake in it and this MoU will lead to greater synergy between these two reputed oil and gas public sector enterprises to develop and license indigenous technologies, contributing significantly to the vision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'. The deal was signed by senior Chief General Manager of NRL, N. Borthakur and Executive Director (Research and Development) of EIL, Rajib Aggarwal. The NRL also deposited the second interim dividend of Rs 95.63 crore to the Assam government for the financial year 2021-22 for its equity stake of 26 per cent in the company. The NRL paid first interim dividend of Rs 86.35 crore for the 2021-22 fiscal to the Assam government as a part of its equity holding of 23.48 per cent of the paid-up share capital of Rs 735.63 crore on November 29, 2021. The NRL, one of the four refineries in oil and gas-rich Assam, was set up at Numaligarh in Golaghat district in accordance with the provisions made in the Assam Accord signed on August 15, 1985. It was conceived as a vehicle for speedy industrial and economic development of the region. The NRL was dedicated to the country by former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee on July 9, 1999. Islamabad, April 3 : Pakistan is working with the Afghan caretaker government and other neighbours to ensure that terrorist groups are no longer allowed to use the territory of one country against another, Pakistani Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa said. "We are committed to preserving our gains against terrorism and a peaceful and prosperous West and South Asia is our goal," Bajwa added on Saturday at the Islamabad Security Dialogue. He said the conflict in Afghanistan for decades has created negative externalities and spillover effects, which have adversely impacted Pakistan's economy, society and security, adding that Pakistan continues to work closely with the international community to pursue peace and stability in Afghanistan. The Army Chief added that it is the collective responsibility of the international community towards the people of Afghanistan to ensure that timely and adequate humanitarian aid flows into the country, Xinhua news agency reported. Instead of imposing sanctions which have never worked, the world must incentivise Afghans for their positive behavioural change, he said. "Unfortunately, lack of financial flows and continued sanctions are creating a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan," he added at the two-day security dialogue. Pakistan believes that peace and stability in the wider region are prerequisites for achieving shared regional prosperity and development, Bajwa added. Regarding Pakistan-US relations, the Army Chief said Pakistan wants to strengthen ties with the US, but not at the cost of others. "Pakistan is positioning itself as a melting pot for a positive global economic interest through our focus on connectivity, development and friendship," he added. Peacekeepers salute at a memorial service in Goma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on April 2, 2022. UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo paid a final tribute Saturday to the eight peacekeepers who died during a Image Source: IANS News Peacekeepers attend a memorial service in Goma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on April 2, 2022. UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo paid a final tribute Saturday to the eight peacekeepers who died during a he Image Source: IANS News Bintou Keita (C), top UN envoy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), holds a candle at a memorial service in Goma, DRC, on April 2, 2022. UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo paid a final tribute Saturday to the ei Image Source: IANS News Goma : , April 3 (IANS) UN peacekeeping mission in Congo (MONUSCO) paid a final tribute to the eight peacekeepers who died during a helicopter crash in northeastern Congo. The helicopter crash took place on March 29, Xinhua news agency reported. The memorial service took place this Saturday in Goma, capital of North Kivu province, in the presence of the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix. "The remains of our departed peacekeepers are on their way back home. Once more we salute their courage and sacrifice in the service of peace," said Khassim Diagne, the Deputy Special Representative for Protection and Security at MONUSCO. The helicopter was on a reconnaissance mission in Tshanzu, near Goma, where there have been clashes between the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group and the Congo military in recent days. All eight peacekeepers who were on board the helicopter died after the chopper crashed. The Congo military on Tuesday said the UN helicopter was shot down by M23 rebels, which is yet to be confirmed by the UN. BEIRUT, Sept. 3, 2018 (Xinhua) -- Students walk into one of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency(UNRWA) schools on the first day of new academic year in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sept. 3, 2018. Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday called Image Source: IANS News Police stand guard on a street near the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 20, 2021. The General Debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly will kick off on Sept. 21. (Xinhua/Wang Ying/IANS) Image Source: IANS News Beirut, April 3 : UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Najat Rochdi has urged the Lebanese government to work to rebuild the country's education system. "For the future of Lebanon and its children, it is critical that the Lebanese government and all stakeholders work together to rebuild the education system," Rochdi said on Saturday in a statement, noting that UN agencies have provided significant support. "We are aware of the difficult situation that teachers are facing and are supporting the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in improving the conditions in schools for both teachers and children," she added. Together with the UNICEF, and with the help of EU and German funding, the UN mission in Lebanon is supporting 336,000 Lebanese children and some 198,000 non-Lebanese to enroll in formal public school, said the UN official. Lebanon has been facing an unprecedented financial crisis with a collapse in the local currency, plunging more than 74 per cent of the population into poverty, Xinhua news agency reported. Tehran, April 3 : At least 35 foreign nationals were injured in a car crash on the Khash-Saravan road in Iran's southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province, official IRNA news agency reported. The accident took place on Saturday. "Unfortunately, 35 people were injured when two Toyota vehicles carrying illegal foreign nationals collided," Fariborz Rashedi, a medical official at Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, was quoted as saying. The injured were transported to Imam Khomeini hospital in Khash city by seven ambulances, Rashedi said without providing details of nationalities, Xinhua news agency reported. The province, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, occasionally sees illegal immigrants entering the Iranian territory with the help of human traffickers. According to IRNA, the vehicles carrying smuggled fuel and illegal foreign nationals, with license plates usually removed or marred, often drive recklessly fast and overturn or collide with other vehicles. Luena Airport, Luena, Angola [ LUO / FNUE ] If you are planning to travel to Luena or any other city in Angola, this airport locator will be a very useful tool. This page gives complete information about the Luena Airport along with the airport location map, Time Zone, lattitude and longitude, Current time and date, hotels near the airport etc... Luena Airport Map showing the location of this airport in Angola. Luena Airport IATA Code, ICAO Code, exchange rate etc... is also provided. Luena Airport Info: Luena Airport IATA Code: LUO Luena Airport ICAO Code: FNUE Latitude : -11.7681 Longitude : 19.8978 City : Luena Country : Angola World Area Code : 502 Airport Type : Medium Luena Airport Address / Contact Details : Luena Airport (LUO), Luena, Angola Airport Type : Public Operator : Government Timezone : Africa/Luanda Luena Airport Timezone : GMT +01:00 hours Current time and date at Luena Airport is 17:55:44 PM (WAT) on Friday, May 6, 2022 Looking for information on Luena Airport, Luena, Angola? Know about Luena Airport in detail. Find out the location of Luena Airport on Angola map and also find out airports near to Luena. This airport locator is a very useful tool for travelers to know where is Luena Airport located and also provide information like hotels near Luena Airport, airlines operating to Luena Airport etc... IATA Code and ICAO Code of all airports in Angola. Scroll down to know more about Luena Airport or Luena Airport, Angola. Luena Airport Map - Location of Luena Airport Load Map Angola - General Information Country Formal Name Republic of Angola Country Code AO Capital Luanda Currency Kwanza (AOA) 1 AOA = 0.002 USD 1 USD = 405.654 AOA 1 AOA = 0.002 EUR 1 EUR = 429.26 AOA More AOA convertion rates Tel Code +244 Top Level Domain .ao This page provides all the information you need to know about Luena Airport, Angola. This page is created with the aim of helping travelers and tourists visiting Angola or traveling to Luena Airport. Details about Luena Airport given here include Luena Airport Code - IATA Code (3 letter airport codes) and ICAO Code (4 letter airport codes) Coordinates of Luena Airport - Latitude and Longitude (Lat and Long) of Luena Airport Location of Luena Airport - City Name, Country, Country Codes etc... Luena Airport Time Zone and Current time at Luena Airport Address and contact details of Luena Airport along with website address of the airport Clickable Location Map of Luena Airport on Google Map. General information about Angola where Luena Airport is located in the city of Luena. General information include capital of Angola, currency and conversion rate of Angola currency, Telephone Country code, exchange rate against US Dollar and Euro in case of major world currencies etc... LUO - Luena Airport IATA Code and FNUE - Luena Airport ICAO code "With the addition of Frontgate | Avon, East West Hospitality reinforces its position as the premier provider of vacation rentals in the Vail/Beaver Creek region." East West Hospitality, the award-winning operator of luxury short-term vacation rental properties and resorts, announced today that it has been selected to manage Frontgate | Avon. The new luxury residential enclave, designed for adventure and located adjacent to the entrance of Beaver Creek Resort, will resume construction in spring 2022 and deliver up to 75 condominium residences and nine townhomes. Expected completion of the project is winter of 2024. "We are thrilled to welcome Frontgate | Avon to the East West Hospitality family as our newest Vail Valley property, a prestigious complement to our growing portfolio of destinations that deliver exceptional experiences for travelers," said Colleen Weiss-Hanen, President and Chief Executive Officer, East West Hospitality. With the addition of Frontgate | Avon, East West Hospitality reinforces its position as the premier provider of vacation rentals in the Vail/Beaver Creek region. Frontgate | Avon is developed by BGV Avon, LLC. This development partnership has successfully developed and operated several of the most celebrated luxury condominium and resort properties in Eagle and Summit Counties over the last three decades, including the Grand Colorado and Grande Lodge in Breckenridge, Colo.. The companys proven track record of delivering progressive, multifaceted development communities includes successfully closing over $2.2 billion in transactions for over 23,000 owners. These resort communities have been built on the belief that success is determined by the projects positive impact on the lives and experiences of owners, guests, employees, and the local community. Frontgate | Avon is a modern community that will provide generous living space ranging from approximately 1,145 to 3,121 square feet in each residence, gracious nine-foot ceilings in their common areas and many floor plans offering an additional den and/or home office. Frontgate | Avon will feature myriad signature amenities throughout the property with an emphasis on excitement, including the Overlook Mountain Trail, a one-of-a-kind, yearlong outdoor aquatics experience that includes a large pool plunge and water slide, a private, state-of-the-art Technogym and an on-site movie theater to view the latest big-screen releases. Frontgate | Avon will raise the bar for mountain living in Avon, Beaver Creek and the Vail Valley, said Graham Frank, partner of BGV Avon LLC, Frontgate | Avons developer. We look forward to working side by side with the East West Hospitality team to bring vacation rental homes with a layer of unparalleled personal service. East West Hospitality, which manages a $2 billion portfolio of high-end resort properties from its headquarters in Vail, continues to grow its Colorado presence and was recently awarded several new Vail Valley management contracts. With Frontgate | Avon, and the recently signed The Aspen Mountain Residences, Fallridge, The Charter at Beaver Creek in Beaver Creek Village and the Lodge at Lionshead, East West Hospitality now manages 42 properties in Colorado, from condominiums and townhomes to luxury private residences and resorts. For more information about Frontgate | Avon, please visit here. About East West Hospitality East West Hospitality is a leading hospitality services company that actively manages a $2 billion portfolio of properties, including hotels, resorts, private luxury residences and vacation rentals, along with restaurant, spa, fitness, retail and commercial properties, in the most desirable leisure destinations. The company also provides in-depth asset and financial management services for more than 100 homeowner associations at high-end residential communities. With more than 35 years of experience managing hotels, resorts and private residences, East West Hospitalitys vacation rental, resort operations and asset management services are unparalleled. The company supports more than 3,400 residences with boots-on-the-ground teams in every location, enhanced by a 24/7 call center providing personal assistance and destination expertise to guests. Decades of experience managing hotels, resorts, vacation rentals and iconic private residences have earned East West Hospitality its reputation among guests and property owners as one of the most trusted names in the hospitality industry. East West Hospitality was named the Vail Valleys Business of the Year in 2018 by the Vail Valley Partnership, Colorados Best Property Management Company by ColoradoBIZ Magazine and honored as one of the Top 50 Best Places to Work in 2019 by Outside Magazine. For more information on East West Hospitality, please visit http://www.eastwest.com or call 970-763-7126. From April 1 April 30, 2022, during its 6th Annual Honoring Heroes Event, Olympic Hot Tub has chosen to honor and support the Ukrainian Association of Washington State. Funds from the Association will help deliver medical supplies to hospitals in Ukraine, support civilians in lifesaving tactical medicine, and will help internally displaced families and orphans. Don Riling, president of Olympic Hot Tub, launched the annual Honoring Heroes Event in 2017 as a way to give back to the community his company has been a part of for forty-five years. Each April, Olympic Hot Tub selects a beneficiary that honors or celebrates local heroes, first responders or teachers. Because of the heroic efforts of Ukrainian people in the headlines every day, Riling said, I felt compelled to look for a way we could offer support from within our own communities. We are proud to honor the Ukrainian Association of Washington State and the heroes they serve. Olympic Hot Tub will donate a portion of the purchase price for each Hot Spring Spa, Freeflow Spa, and Vita Spa sold in the month of April. They will also donate for every Vita Swim Spa and Covana Automated Gazebo sold. Funds raised will help replenish funds for the Associations critical program to support Ukrainian families devastated by war with comfort, aid, and lifesaving medical supplies. This years donation goal is a minimum of $18,000. Olympic Hot Tub also encourages community members to donate directly to the Ukrainian Association of Washington . http://www.uaws.org About the Ukrainian Association of Washington State Founded in 1971, The Ukrainian Association of Washington State has worked to preserve Ukrainian heritage and is the link that unites Ukrainian-American people. From cultural events to supporting the Fund to Endow a Chair of Ukrainian Studies at U.W., their focus is to bring out what is the best in the Ukrainian community. Today their homeland is under attack. And UAWS has these top support priorities: Deliver medical supplies to hospitals in Ukraine (in partnership with Medical Teams International and nonprofits in Oregon and California). Provide civilian territorial defense units defending their neighborhoods with body armor Support civilians in life-saving tactical medicine Help internally displaced families and orphans About Olympic Hot Tub Olympic Hot Tub, founded in 1977, pioneered hot tubbing in the Pacific Northwest. The company has six retail locations, including Seattle, Everett, Issaquah, Woodinville, Lacey, and Auburn. They have a warehouse and Service Center in Auburn. A seventh location is scheduled to open on the Olympic Peninsula, in Sequim, late Spring 2022. Olympic Hot Tub is dedicated to educating the public about the health and wellness benefits of frequent hot tub and swim spa use. They support their local community with consistent fundraising efforts benefitting Northwest-based first responders, military, teachers; as well as hunger, homelessness, the arts, and LGBTQ-related entities. Details at: http://www.olympichottub.com While food safety is much better today than ever before, its important that the Checkoff continues researching foodborne pathogens so that consumers can continue to enjoy their food without concern. In 1993, an E. coli outbreak happened at a national fast-food chain, sparking concerns about food contamination nationwide. After that outbreak, the Beef Checkoff began funding research that not only changed the beef industry, but also improved food safety across the board. "To understand why its so important, it's important to remember how the Checkoff research started and where it is today," said Torri Lienemann, Cattllemen's Beef Board (CBB) member and co-chair of the CBB's Safety & Product Innovation Committee. "While food safety is much better today than ever before, its important that the Checkoff continues researching foodborne pathogens so that consumers can continue to enjoy their food without concern." Back in 93, the Beef-Checkoff-funded Blue-Ribbon Task Force developed an industry blueprint for managing the food safety risks from E. coli O157:H7. The scientists and other professionals on this task force analyzed the beef industry supply chain, reviewed public and private research findings, and drew on their own to better understand E. coli O157:H7 and how to avoid contamination in the future. The task force published its report in 1994, recommending strategies to improve meat safety. Over the remainder of the decade, the Checkoff-funded Beef Safety Research Program filled the scientific gaps that the task force identified throughout the supply chain to make meat safer. During the 2000s, several ongoing Checkoff-funded studies evaluated interventions intended to reduce microbial contamination both on and inside animals. The Beef Checkoff's research identified specific areas where carcass contamination was most likely to occur. "Scientists were then able to evaluate the occurrence and prevention of pathogens throughout the processing chain," Lienemann said. "Large processing facilities throughout the country implemented these safety interventions and still use them when processing beef and other proteins today." In 2007, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) set a goal to reduce infections from foodborne E. coli O157:H7 by 50 percent in 2010. This Healthy People goal was met in 2009. "Achieving that goal would've been much less likely to happen without the beef industrys research," Lienemann said. "No doubt, the Beef Checkoff played a pivotal role in ensuring beef product safety, thanks to producers continued investment in the program." Research shows us that while beef safety is very important to beef stakeholders, its less relevant to todays consumers. In fact, according to beef safety research conducted by the National Cattlemens Beef Association (NCBA), a contractor to the Checkoff, 90 percent of consumers feel the beef they eat from the grocery store is safe. The same research found that only 23 percent of consumers worry about foodborne illness when cooking at home. Checkoff-funded research has helped an entire generation of consumers feel more confident about the safety of the food they purchase and consume. The Beef Checkoffs Beef Safety Research Program will continue to focus on every step of the supply chain, beginning with the producer, all the way to the restaurant. To anticipate issues before they escalate into a crisis, Beef Checkoff foodborne contamination research has expanded to include other pathogens and will continue to evolve to address emerging issues. With the support of this robust and comprehensive research program, the beef industry provides consumers worldwide with consistently safe beef products. "Today, USDA food availability data tells us the average American eats about 55 pounds of beef per year," Lienemann said. "Consumers great trust in beef safety combined with their overall enjoyment of beef has helped demand remain strong for decades. And that supports the Checkoffs primary purpose driving demand for beef. Its just another example of how the Beef Checkoff continues to use producer dollars for the good of the entire beef industry." To learn more about the Beef Checkoff's beef safety research program, visit BeefResearch.org. For more on the CBB and the Beef Checkoff, visit DrivingDemandForBeef.com. Miller Survey Group is a Houston-based land surveying firm that provides a full spectrum of professional surveying services to both public and private sector entities in Houston and surrounding areas. Their firm is known for the management, personnel, technology, and equipment resources to meet the demands of a wide range of projects. In acquiring Miller Survey Group, DCCM is expanding its existing partnership with industry veteran Jack Miller, PE, and engaging in partnership with Brian Wilson, RPLS, who will continue in their roles as Managing Partner and Partner/Director of Surveying of Miller Survey Group, respectively. "This is such an exciting growth moment for the DCCM family, and we're delighted to have found a company partner whose mission aligns with our vision for strategic growth, commitment to developing and investing in staff, and an unrelenting focus on client service," said James F. (Jim) Thompson, PE, DBIA, CEO of DCCM. "Given the extent of Miller Survey Groups' experience, adding them to the DCCM family will allow our team to continue to build the best surveying services for our growing customer base." "The investment by DCCM is great news for Miller Survey Group and its stakeholders," said Jack Miller. "I am very excited about the prospect of expanding my working relationship alongside Jim Thompson and DCCM to capitalize on the enormous potential we have to contribute to DCCM's expansion plans." "We were looking for the right fit, and I am confident that we have found it here," said Brian Wilson. "Becoming part of the DCCM family of companies and its culture of growth unlocks tremendous opportunity for our staff. We are looking forward to contributing to DCCM's growth here in Texas and nationally." Elie Azar, Managing Director of White Wolf, added, We are excited to welcome Miller Survey to the DCCM family and to further expand our surveying services throughout the Houston metro area. We look forward to partnering with the entire team and supporting them in their continued growth initiatives. **** About Miller Survey Group Miller Survey Group is a full-service, Houston-based land surveying firm that provides services to both public and private sector entities. Miller Survey Group has particular expertise in boundary, topographic/design, construction, and underground utility locations. For more information, please visit: http://www.millersurvey.com/. About DCCM DCCM is a provider of design, consulting, and program & construction management professional services focusing on infrastructure marketplaces throughout the public and private sectors. Through a family of complementary brand companies, DCCM serves a variety of end markets while offering a national reach. DCCM is aggressively hiring key industry professionals in all disciplines and is actively seeking further acquisition opportunities throughout North America. For more information, please visit: http://www.dccm.com. About White Wolf White Wolf is a private investment firm that began operations in late 2011 and is focused on management buyouts, recapitalizations and investments in leading middle market companies. In general, White Wolf seeks both private equity and private credit investment opportunities in companies that are headquartered in North America with $10 million to $200 million in revenues. Preferred industries include: manufacturing, business services, information technology, security, aerospace and defense, government services, and infrastructure services. For more information, please visit: http://www.whitewolfcapital.com. Life truly is full of magical moments, and this year we are excited to see it captured through students perspectives and artistic expressions, said David Kijek, WEA Member Benefits President and CEO. Life is full of magical moments is the theme of the seventh annual student art contest sponsored by WEA Member Benefits and the WEA Member Benefits Foundation, Inc. Young artists are invited to submit pieces that focus on capturing an uplifting moment. Through art, we are celebrating what makes lifes moments so magical. This could be a moment the student or someone witnessed or felt happiness, love, or joy, a moment in time they wish they could freeze or revisit, or a moment they look forward to or cherish. Monetary prizes from the WEA Member Benefits Foundation, Inc., will be awarded to ten student winners, and one student artist will receive the Loeymae Lange Best in Class award. The Best in Class award is named in memory of Loeymae Lange, a former art teacher at Cooper Elementary School in Burlington, Wisconsin. Her brother, Dr. Paul Lange, and his wife June continue to honor Loeymaes legacy and have recently established an endowment gift to the WEA Member Benefits Foundation, Inc. The Langes established the endowment in 2022 to honor Pauls sister, her love for the arts, and all she did to inspire students. Her legacy will live on through this generous gift in the form of monetary prizes for art contest winners. Life truly is full of magical moments, and this year we are excited to see it captured through students perspectives and artistic expressions, said David Kijek, WEA Member Benefits President and CEO. Its wonderful to be able to recognize and reward talented students and teachers in Wisconsin, and we thank the Langes for the additional financial support to be able to do so. We hope other individuals will join in donating to the Foundation to help fund future opportunities for budding artists. The deadline to enter the 2022 student art contest is Friday, May 6, 2022. Finalists will be announced in May. More information about the art contest, including contest rules, eligibility, and art submission information is available at weabenefits.com/studentartcontest. ### About WEA Member Benefits WEA Member Benefits has been helping Wisconsin public school employees achieve their financial goals for over 50 years by providing personal insurance and retirement and investment programs. We operate as a trust that reinvests any profits back into programs that benefit participants. We have no shareholders. This allows us to focus on meeting the needs of those we serve with high-quality products that are competitively priced. We have one of the highest customer retention and satisfaction rates in the industry. Learn more at weabenefits.com. About the WEA Member Benefits Foundation, Inc. The WEA Member Benefits Foundation, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity supporting public education through grants and charitable donations to public educators, public schools, and the communities they serve. More information can be found at weafoundation.org. The OpenCV Spatial AI Contest is sponsored by Intel and Azure is focused on enabling teams to build LEGO-scale industrial and manufacturing solutions with Edge AI hardware and software. OpenCV, along with sponsors Intel and Microsoft Azure, is pleased to announce the 50 finalist teams of OpenCV Spatial AI Contest, combining Edge AI with LEGO. These 50 teams are building LEGO-scale replicas of industrial and manufacturing solutions using artificial intelligence. The top 3 teams will be invited to present their projects on stage at Microsoft Build. 124 proposals were submitted by teams across the world, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Italy, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. A panel of reviewers chose 50 exceptional entries. As part of the finalist prizes, each team will receive an OAK-D-LITE (the latest model in the OpenCV AI Kit series of edge AI smart cameras) from Luxonis, credits for Microsoft Azure to train models on Intel's D32ds v4 hardware, and access to Intel DevCloud. From January 1st 2022 to April 4th, these finalist teams are documenting their build process through a series of interviews on the OpenCV blog, appearances on OpenCV Weekly Webinar, and posts by team members using the #OAKDLiteContest hashtag across social media and personal websites. OpenCV CEO Satya Mallick said, Combining the newest iteration of OpenCV AI Kit with the magic of LEGO to solve problems for manufacturing and industry is close to the heart of the OAK project. Congratulations to these excellent teams, and best of luck in the build phase. Brandon Gilles, CEO of OAK creators Luxonis, said Im just excited to see two of my favorite things put together into one competition: LEGOs and disruptive technology. I mean what else could be cooler? OpenCV hosted a panel discussion to kick off this momentous build phase featuring Ye Lu, CEO of Cortic Technology, the Grand Prize winners of OpenCV AI Competition 2021. Cortics fun and educational project is a great example of how OpenCVs collaboration with Intel, Azure, and Luxonis has already played a role in major adoption of privacy-safe, Edge AI solutions both large and small. A complete list of winners is available on OpenCV.org. The Grand Prize winners are scheduled to be announced April 21st on OpenCV Weekly Webinar. Follow along on the OpenCV Newsletter, and on social media with the #OAKDLiteContest hashtag. Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. About OpenCV.org OpenCV.org is a non-profit organization committed to serving a large and growing AI community by building an ecosystem of AI products and services. In addition to its flagship library, OpenCV.org and its partners create courses, design hardware, and provide consulting services for AI. OpenCV.org supports and informs the community through its forum and newsletter. United States Mint Seal Today, the United States Mint celebrates its 230th anniversary. The Mint is one of the few Federal agencies whose duties are specifically referenced in the Constitution, with Article I, Section 8 establishing that "The Congress shall have the power . . . To coin money." The current United States Mint was created by the Coinage Act of 1792, passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Washington on April 2, 1792. That first Coinage Act established the silver dollar as the nations unit of money and authorized the first national mint in the United States. Throughout our 230-year history, the men and women who comprise our workforce have taken great pride in rendering the story of our Nation in enduring examples of numismatic art, said Mint Deputy Director Ventris C. Gibson. Every coin manufactured by the Mint is the result of combined efforts of artists, engineers, production workers, and support staff who team up to transform an idea into a design, and then bring that design to life on a miniature canvas. I am proud to lead this organization that, since 1792, has connected America through coins. During the Colonial Period, monetary transactions were handled using foreign or colonial currency, livestock, or produce. After the Revolutionary War, the U.S. was initially governed by the Articles of Confederation, which authorized states to mint their own coins. In 1788, the Constitution was ratified by a majority of states, and discussions soon began about the need for a national mint. Congress chose Philadelphia, which was then the nations capital, as the site of our first Mint. President George Washington appointed a leading scientist, David Rittenhouse, as the first director. Rittenhouse bought two lots at 7th and Arch Streets to build a three-story facility, the tallest building in Philadelphia at the time. It was the first Federal building erected under the Constitution. Coin production began immediately. That same Coinage Act specified the following coin denominations: a copper cent and half cent; a silver dollar, half dollar, quarter, dime, and half dime; and a gold eagle ($10), half eagle ($5), and quarter eagle ($2.50). In March 1793, the Mint delivered its first circulating coins 11,178 copper cents. In 1795, the Mint became the first Federal agency to employ women when Sarah Waldrake and Rachael Summers were hired as adjusters. Learn more about the Mints history here. Today, the Mint enables Americas economic growth and stability by protecting assets entrusted to us, manufacturing coins to facilitate national commerce, and producing and selling coins and medals to the public as numismatic items. The Mint is the worlds largest coin manufacturer. In calendar year 2021, the Mint produced more than 14 billion circulating coins. Since Fiscal Year (FY) 1996, the Mint has operated under a revolving Public Enterprise Fund (PEF) (31 U.S.C. 5136), which enables the Mint to operate without an annual appropriation. The Mint generates revenue through the sale of circulating coins to the Federal Reserve Banks (FRB), numismatic products to the public, and bullion coins to authorized purchasers. Revenue in excess of amounts required to operate the Mint is transferred to the United States Treasury (Treasury) General Fund. The Mint operates six facilities and employs approximately 1,600 employees across the United States. Each unique facility performs functions critical to our overall operations. Manufacturing facilities in Philadelphia and Denver produce coins of all denominations for circulation. Both facilities also produce dies for striking coins. All sculpting and engraving of coin and medal designs is performed at the Philadelphia Mint facility. Production of numismatic products, including bullion coins, is primarily performed at facilities in San Francisco and West Point. All four production facilities produce commemorative coins as authorized by public laws. The United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox stores and safeguards United States gold bullion reserves. Administrative and oversight functions are performed at the Mint Headquarters in Washington, D.C. # # # Dr. Jeff Heatherington I am excited to have seen the development and expansion of the osteopathic medical school, COMP-Northwest, over the years. It continues to develop highly-qualified and desperately-needed physicians for the northwest every year, Dr. Jeff Heatherington said. Western University of Health Sciences (WesternU) will receive a 22.5-million-dollar donation from FamilyCare, Inc., the largest gift in the Universitys 45-year history. The donation will help WesternU expand the COMP-Northwest campus and launch a behavioral health college in Lebanon, Oregon. Dr. Jeff Heatherington, president of FamilyCare Health and president and CEO of The Heatherington Foundation for Innovation and Education in Health Care said the Heatherington Foundation will donate 150 acres of land to WesternU to build the new campus. On behalf of the WesternU Board of Trustees, Id like to thank FamilyCare and Dr. Jeff Heatherington for his service to WesternU and dedication to promoting health and creating healthy communities, said WesternU Board of Trustees Chair Elizabeth Zamora, MBA. WesternU and The Heatherington Foundation for Innovation and Education in Health Care share a common passion for enhancing equity in health care and offering transformational health care opportunities that unite communities and provide access to health care for all populations. It is an honor, pleasure, and privilege to partner with an extraordinary visionary such as Dr. Heatherington. This transformative gift and donation of land is timely for WesternU COMP-Northwest which is at an inflection point in our exceptional history, said WesternU President Robin Farias-Eisner, MD, PhD, MBA. We stand poised to build upon the legacy of our WesternU founders and upon our unique brand of humanism, whole body, mind, and spirit as applied to the unique and high-quality graduate education in a new college dedicated to behavioral health. I am excited to have seen the development and expansion of the osteopathic medical school, COMP-Northwest, over the years. It continues to develop highly-qualified and desperately-needed physicians for the northwest every year, Heatherington said. Their Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program is at capacity in its current location, and this gift will create a new and expanded Campus for COMP-NW and a behavioral health college to provide equally needed and critical behavioral health services. Dr. Heatheringtons companies have donated millions of dollars in grants and scholarships to WesternU COMP-Northwest, including the J. Scott Heatherington, DO and the Arthur Rott, DO Scholarship, the Medical Anatomy Center, research projects, and other programs. We are so grateful that Dr. Heatherington has provided longstanding support for COMP-Northwest. These gifts set the stage for innovation and education in health care that benefits the entire Northwest, said Paula Crone, DO 92, COMP-Northwest Dean and Vice President of WesternU Oregon. While the new campus is in its preliminary planning stage, we envision it emphasizing behavioral health, rural health, population health, and osteopathic primary care all critical health care needs. This generous gift will greatly enhance WesternUs presence in the Pacific Northwest and services for our students, alumni, and our communities. Window World Chairman and CEO Tammy Whitworth As a Wilkes native, I was born and raised in this beautiful county. Thats why I consider it an honor to be able to give back to the community. Window World, Americas largest replacement window and exterior remodeling company, confirms its commitment to the communities it serves with a significant donation to secure higher education opportunities for future generations. Window World Chairman and CEO Tammy Whitworth recently presented Wilkes Community College (WCC) in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, with a $1.5 million donation to the WCC Education Promise Scholarship Fund. In honor of the donation, the college renamed Alumni Hall on its campus Window World Hall. As a Wilkes native, I was born and raised in this beautiful county. Thats why I consider it an honor to be able to give back to the community, said Window World Chairman and CEO Tammy Whitworth. If we invest in our community, future generations will return the favor, and the effect will ripple out for generations to come making Wilkes a destination, not just for those who were born here but for anyone looking to relocate somewhere great. The WCC Education Promise fund ensures any qualifying high school graduate in Wilkes, Ashe and Alleghany Counties in North Carolina can get a college degree from Wilkes Community College tuition-free. Click here for more information about the WCC Education Promise program and its requirements. We consider Tammy Whitworth and the entire team at Window World as hometown heroes. They are generous donors, true community leaders and passionate advocates for education, said Wilkes Community College President Jeff Cox. We are grateful for your tremendous generosity and the continued support of our students and the future of Wilkes County. Window Worlds commitment to WCC continues next month with its title sponsorship of MerleFest, one of the premier music festivals in the country and the primary fundraising event for the college, funding scholarships, capital projects and other educational needs. The festival runs from April 28 to May 1, 2022. About Window World Window World, headquartered in North Wilkesboro, N.C., is Americas largest replacement window and exterior remodeling company, with more than 200 locally owned franchises nationwide. Founded in 1995, the company sells and installs windows, siding, doors and other exterior products, with over 21 million windows sold to date. Window World is an ENERGY STAR partner and its windows, vinyl siding and Therma-Tru doors have all earned the Good Housekeeping Seal. Through its charitable foundation, Window World Cares, Window World and its franchisees provide funding for St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. Since its inception in 2008, the foundation has raised over $13 million for St. Jude. Window World also supports veterans and the military through its Window World Military Initiative (WWMI). WWMI defines Window Worlds commitment to honor and serve Americas veterans, active military and military families across the entire franchise system by focusing on three pillars: Careers, Community Outreach and Partnerships. The Veterans Airlift Command has been a partner since 2008. During that time, Window World has contributed over $2.5 million in flights and donations to the organization. For more information, visit WindowWorld.com or call 1-800 NEXTWINDOW. For home improvement and energy efficiency tips, decor ideas and more, follow Window World on Facebook and Twitter. Following a week of harsh criticismincluding a Twitter firestorm and a petition circulated by school librarians, educators, and authorsFollett School Solutions has scrapped any plans for a potential parental control module for its Destiny Library Manager software, which would have apprised parents of their childs book selections and enable parents to limit student access to materials they deemed inappropriate. Britten Follett, CEO of content at Follett School Solutions, and Paul Isle, CEO of software, released a joint statement on April 1 announcing the turnaround. The company had been exploring the development of parental monitoring tools in recent weeks, at the request of customers looking for support in states where various types of censorship/parents rights bills are being introduced. Back in February, we were contacted by, at this point, its a list of about 30 customers, in districts across Florida, Texas, and Georgia, Britten Follett said. Librarians are highly concerned that the law that has passed in Florida [the Parental Rights in Education bill] and the potential legislation that is now facing 21 different states is putting a lot of risk on them when parents are asking for additional insight into what their students are checking out. Parents are requesting the option to get into Destiny and to block certain titles from being accessed by their students. Britten Follett said that those initial customer requests were the springboard for conversations with districts about Destinys current features and potential new tools that might be able to provide support. We had no roadmap, we had no product feature list, we had no go-to-market strategy," she said. "These were just conversations. But word of those conversations spread when the Forsyth County News in Georgia ran a story on March 11 about the local school districts efforts to help address community concerns about books containing sexually explicit content. During a school board meeting, district leaders outlined the changes, which including pursuing potential changes to Destiny, the software used in Forsyth County Schools. I understand why they did that, Britten Follett said. [District leaders] were trying to say, these are the things that were trying to do to help quell the concerns of the parents in our district and were talking to Follett. Librarians reactions to possible new Destiny capabilities mentioned in the Georgia story grew louder in recent days, with many of them taking to Twitter to passionately voice their concerns about student privacy and the harm that monitoring tools would pose for more vulnerable students, especially those in the LGBTQA community. Some threatened taking their business elsewhere. Follett responded to the outcry by posting a letter about the steps theyd been taking and scheduling a now-canceled webchat, which was to be held April 4. Of the mounting tension, Britten Follett noted: If we had put our message out there that this was something we were going to do, then you own it. But it really spiraled out of control prematurely, because these were literally internal conversations we were having with our customers to try to determine how we can help them navigate whats an extremely difficult time in education. Britten Follett mentioned that her company is sensitive to the fact that librarians are trying to defend the bill of rights that the signed up for when they became librarians. The librarians in those states that are going through this right now, they're scared for their careers. They dont want to do something wrong. They want to attempt to comply with what parents are asking for, but at the same time defend the students right to explore topics that they want to read or research in the library. After what she said was an extremely difficult week, Britten Follett said: I think whats abundantly clear is that these types of parental controls built into Destiny are not in the best interests of our customers at this point. She noted that numerous discussions with industry partners and librarians in states that are impacted and ones that arent led to the decision to not pursue any development of the of the module. Follett has been committed to supporting libraries for 150 years, she added. We have given our time and treasure to building up the role of the librarian. I would just hope that we turn all of this energy into something positive to change the conversation around getting books in the hands of kids, which is truly what all of our missions are. In the frantic moments after John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln in the back of the head on Apr. 14, 1865, the presidents unconscious body was carried to the bedroom of a townhouse across the street from Fords Theatre in Washington, D.C. As doctors worked through the night to relieve the pressure on Lincolns brain, his blood seeped into the pillows of the rooms single bedon which Booth himself had napped just a few weeks prior. Stranger still: months before the assassination, Lincolns eldest son, Robert, was at a railroad station in Jersey City, N.J., when he fell between the platform and a moving train. He was in mortal dangeruntil John Wilkes Booths brother Edwin reached down, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him to safety. Terry Alfords enthralling new history, In the Houses of Their Dead: The Lincolns, the Booths, and the Spirits (Liveright, June), unearths these and other uncanny associations between the families of the Great Emancipator and his assassin, including their shared interest in spiritualism, a quasi-religious movement whose followers believed they could commune with the dead. Speaking over Zoom from his home in Fairfax County, Va., Alford says he wasnt aware of all the connections between the Lincolns and the Booths when he started researching the book in 2017. But I put the antennae out, and when I saw them, I said, yesthis stuff fits together. Piecing together the odds and ends of American history has been a passion of Alfords since his grad school days at Mississippi State University, when he came across a document related to an enslaved African prince who was freed from a Mississippi plantation in 1828. After Alford moved with a group of 15 friendsincluding Earth Day cofounder Sam Loveto D.C.s Foggy Bottom neighborhood in 1970 to engage in antiwar activities and escape the Mississippi scene, he tracked down the million different little pieces of the princes story and turned them into his first book, Prince Among Slaves. Published in 1977, its never been out of print, Alford proudly notes, and was even made into a PBS documentary. That was a fun project, he says, breaking into a grin. We filmed it in HollywoodHollywood, Maryland. I told somebody, I always knew Id get to Hollywood sooner or later. Alford is full of such anecdotes, polished bits of personal history delivered with wry, understated charm. Discussing his youth in the Mississippi Delta town of Indianola (B.B. Kings hometown), he recalls his aunts tall tale about a great-grandfather in the Confederate Army at Vicksburg who was so starved that he snuck out and conked a Union mule on the head and dragged it back into the fort, where a Louisiana chef worked his New Orleans magic on this unfortunate animal. And heres Alford on how he landed a job at Northern Virginia Community College, where he taught history for 42 years before retiring in 2015: One rainy day, I got out the D.C. yellow pagesif anybody remembers what something like that isand I wrote the same letter to every college and university listed in the book, from schools that wouldnt even open a letter from me to some that might. But I thought, I dont knowand NOVA replied. At NOVA, Alford taught a class on great crimes in American history. Each week I would do a different case, he recalls, and hands-down, the Lincoln assassination was the one students liked the best. He soon expanded the subject into its own class and realized that no one had written a full-scale biography of John Wilkes Bootha paucity that Alford attributes both to the reluctance of Lincoln historians to make Booth some kind of antihero and to the irrationality of the assassination itself, which came like lightning out of a clear blue sky. So, Alford decided to give it a shot himself, and, after 25 years of research and writing, he published Fortunes Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth in 2015. The book went on to become a finalist for best biography with both the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award, as well as winning the Abraham Lincoln Institute Book Award. Though it was well known that Mary Todd Lincolnwho had already lost one child, Eddie, to pulmonary tuberculosis by the time her second-youngest son, Willie, died of typhoid fever in 1862held seances in the White House, Alford learned of the Booth familys interest in spiritualism through his research for Fortunes Fool. The entire clan was given to dreams and visions, he says. Patriarch Junius Brutus Booth, the nations leading dramatic actor, was so distraught by the death of his five-year-old daughter Mary from cholera that he dug up her corpse, opened a vein in her arm, and attempted to suck out the tainted blood. Edwin Booth was born on the night of the spectacular 1833 Leonid meteor showera sign interpreted by the familys servants to mean that he was gifted to see ghosts. Three decades later, Edwin was lying in bed one early morning in New York City when he felt a pair of ghost kisses on his cheek and heard a voice say, Come to me, darling. I am frozen. Two days later, his young wife Mollie died in Boston. In an era marked by the deaths of as many as 750,000 Union and Confederate soldiers, as well as countless others from fevers and infections, Mary Todd Lincoln and Edwin Booth werent unusual in seeking solace from mediums and clairvoyants. By one estimate, the spiritualist movement, which began in 1848, had 1.6 million followers by 1860. Despite the popularity of spiritualism, there were only about a dozen top-tier mediums, according to Alford, and their interactions with the prominent Booth and Lincoln families overlapped in tantalizing ways. Charles H. Foster, a hard-drinking, cigar-chomping oracle, brought messages from Willie Lincoln to his parents and, after entering into a deep trance, almost smothered Edwin with caresses from Mollie. Charles J. Colchester, a controversial British medium who stumped the president by causing odd noises in different parts of a room, became close friends with John Wilkes Booth in the months before the assassination. Though its unclear how much he knew of Booths plans, Colchester repeatedly warned Lincoln to be careful. When he set out to explore these and other links between the Lincolns, the Booths, and spiritualism, Alford didnt have a thesis or theory that I wanted to prove, he says. I just wanted to tell a story. Thats all Ive ever wanted to do as a writertell a story of interesting people. To help map how his subjects related to the inexplicable, Alford initially planned to make notes on the wall of his writing room, like William Faulkner did. Faulkners from Mississippi; Im from Mississippi, he says, so I thought it would be okay. But his family vetoed the idea, so he went to an art store and bought a poster-size sheet of paper for each key player in the book. He taped the sheets to the walls of his office and filled them up with notes. It was so satisfying, Alford says. After I finished a chapter, I could pull that sheet off the wall. Gradually I began to see the wall reappear as I went all the way around the room writing the book. The resulting narrative not only renders multidimensional portraits of John Wilkes Booth and Abraham Lincoln (who was both practically minded and embarrassingly superstitious) but also rescues lesser-known figures from obscurity. Adam Badeau, an ambitious drama critic who nursed an unrequited love for his friend Edwin Booth before becoming Ulysses S. Grants favorite staff officer in the Union Army, is one of the books brightest stars. Poet John Pierpont and U.S. Commissioner of Agriculture Isaac NewtonMary Todd Lincolns chief spiritualist companions in Washington, D.C.also make memorable appearances, as do mediums Nettie Colburn and Belle Miller, also known as the Georgetown Witch. Packed with eerie coincidences, amusing anecdotes, momentous twists of fate, and everyday human drama, In the Houses of Their Dead brings to mind a work of art that hangs on Alfords living room wall. Painted on a bed sheet by Texas folk artist J. Edgar Kimsey in 1920, it depicts a group of cowboys sharing a chuckwagon meal in front of a raging campfire. The promise of a good yarna ghost story, perhaps, full of interesting people and the spirits that haunt themhangs in the night air. Alford, who bought the painting on a cross-country trip during his hippie days, says its serves as an inspiration to everyone who comes over. But hes clearly the one whos taken it to heart. DEAL OF THE WEEK Riverhead Enters Vardiashvilis Forest Riverheads Sarah McGrath bought North American rights to Leo Vardiashvilis debut novel in an overnight preempt. The publisher said Hard by a Great Forest is about a Georgian father and son seeking asylum in Europe following the 2008 occupation of South Ossetia by Russia. Later they must return to their decaying but still beautiful homeland to rescue each other and make peace with the past. The author, a refugee from Georgia who has been living in London since he was 13, was represented by Sara OKeefe at the London office of Aevitas Creative Management. At press time, the novel had sold in preempts in Brazil, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and the U.K. Nguyens Sunshine Graces Atria For six figures, Loan Le at Atria Books, along with Sarah St. Pierre at S&S Canada, preempted world rights to Mai Nguyens debut novel Sunshine Nails. Nguyen, a National Magazine Awardnominated journalist, follows a Vietnamese family living in a gentrifying Toronto neighborhood who, Atria said, see their no-frills nail salon threatened by the arrival of a new Starbucks of nails salon. As they devise a series of ill-conceived plans, they risk losing not only their business but also the family ties keeping them together. Carly Watters at P.S. Literary represented Nguyen, and the book is slated for summer 2023. Fang Sells Three to Tundra Tara Walker at Tundra Books bought three picture books at auction by debut author-illustrator X. Fang. Fang, a visual artist in Philadelphia, was represented by Erica Rand Silverman at Stimola Literary Studio in the mid-six-figure North American rights deal. The first book under contract, Dim Sum Palace, is set for fall 2023 and explores, Silverman said, a small girls excitement about a dim sum meal, which spills over into her dreams. Broken, slated for fall 2024, is about a child who breaks her grandmothers teacup and discovers the beauty of broken things. We Are Definitely Human, scheduled for summer 2025, follows three strangers to a small town who are definitely human, despite all evidence to the contrary. Tor Takes a New Abercrombie Trilogy Joe Abercrombie (the First Law Trilogy) sold a new trilogy, The Devils, to Tor. Lindsey Hall took U.S. rights at auction to the epic fantasy, slated for 2025, from Ginger Clark at Ginger Clark Literary, on behalf of Robert Kirby at United Agents in the U.K. The publisher said the trilogy is set in a magic-riddled Europe under constant threat of elf invasion and follows the congregation of an underground church that performs unsavory tasks for the pope. The congregants include a self-serving magician, a self-satisfied vampire, an oversexed werewolf, and a knight cursed with immortality. Floyds Dream Unfolds at Little, Brown Jami Floyd, an ABC legal analyst and founder of New York Public Radios Race and Justice Unit, sold Dream Interrupted: Searching for Thurgood Marshall and the Struggle to Save the Soul of a Nation to Little, Brown. Pronoy Sarkar preempted North American rights from Laura Dail at Laura Dail Literary Agency. The book, Dail said, explores how the Supreme Courts first Black justice inspired the authors own life, as well as generations of Americans who continue to grapple with, embody, or complicate, his legacy, while illuminating the struggle for justice that continues to this day. Hogarth Nabs a New Arudpragasam Parisa Ebrahimi at Hogarth bought North American rights to a currently untitled novel by Booker finalist Anuk Arudpragasam. ICMs Anna Stein brokered the deal. Hogarth said the book follows an intense friendship between two young people who fled war in Sri Lanka as children... and meet for the first time as adults in New York. "When I first tried to get into publishing in my early 20s, said Nadxieli Nieto, executive editor at Flatiron Books, there just werent positions for people like me. As a result, she took an unconventional path into publishing. She began her career doing marketing for subsidiaries of the Economist. But Nieto, who holds an MFA in poetry and creative writing from Syracuse University, always knew that literature was her calling. She pursued art book publishing with various indie and university presses, working on books and illustrated anthologies with what she called a social justice through line. In 2004, she edited Carteles contra una guerra, an art book against the Iraq War that won the prestigious Premis Ciutat de Barcelona. Several of her collaborative artist books can now be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Brooklyn Museum. Nieto also began editing literary magazines, serving as managing editor of the annual Noon and editor-in-chief of the journal Salt Hill. The experience of working in small teams, on shoestring budgets taught her to wear many hats. You learn how to budget, how to create P&Ls, how to work with vendors and designers and negotiate across the process, she said. One of the most exciting aspects of working in the world of literary magazines was getting to work with emerging writers, many of whom are still getting their legs and finding their voice. Even now, she counts herself a big fan of lit mags. Nieto has also coedited three anthologies with author Lincoln Michel: Gigantic Worlds, Tiny Crimes, and Tiny Nightmares. Ive always been interested in playing with genre, she said, noting that she was eager to create an anthology series that allowed both genre and non-genre writers to play in the same sandbox. The all-star roster of writers who have contributed to Nieto and Michels anthologies includes Ted Chiang, Danielle Evans, Samantha Hunt, Jac Jemc, Stephen Graham Jones, Jonathan Lethem, Carmen Maria Machado, Amber Sparks, and Lynne Tillman. In 2017, Nieto joined PEN America as director of literary awards. During her tenure, the organization recognized such authors as Weike Wang and Sandra Cisneros, whom Nieto credited with inspiring a new generation of Latinx writers. Eventually, Nieto knew she would rather create books than just celebrate them. Giving big checks to writers at a party is fun, she said, but I found that I wanted to get back closer to the source of the art, to the making of it. In April 2020, Nieto left PEN America to join Flatiron as editor-at-large. Her appointment came shortly after Flatirons publication of American Dirt, the bestselling novel written by a white author about Mexican immigrants, sparked debate about racial equity within the industry. The decision to hire Nieto was praised by the organization #Dignidad- Literaria as a solid step in the right direction. Nieto said she was drawn to the position at Flatiron because it offered the opportunity to build a highly curated list that focused on and celebrated writers of color. She currently serves on the board of Latinx in Publishing, a network founded in 2015 that supports Latinx book publishing professionals and promotes Latinx literature. When you work in this industry, you quickly become aware of all the barriers to entry, she said, and so naturally I started to focus on advocacy. Nieto also hopes to mold Flatiron into a house that gives passionate support to authors of colordebut authors, as well as midcareer authors, who often dont receive the same kind of hands-on attention and encouragement from their publishers as new writers. Editing both literary fiction and narrative nonfiction, Nieto enjoys seeing the ideas Im interested in get teased out through different approaches. She has found that Flatiron gives substantial freedom to authors who like to play across genres, so that a novelist can also write an essay collection and vice versa. Nieto has several recent acquisitions that shes excited about. Monica Brashearss debut novel, House of Cotton, slated for winter 2023, blew me away from the first page, she said, with its incredibly sharp and imaginative take on the Southern gothic genre, refracted through a contemporary Black perspective. When you fall in love with a book, you move heaven and earth to get it. This fall will see the publication of My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson, a writer and producer for the TV series The Chi and Narcos. Nieto said the novel, a bildungsroman about a queer Black man in 1980s New York City, epitomizes the kinds of books that she likes working on best. Its both heavily researched and incredibly sexy, she explained, with a main character that just grabs you from the first page. Nieto also recently acquired Jean Craes debut memoir In My Remaining Years, Wendy Chin-Tanners debut novel King of the Armadillos, and Jessica Hoppes recovery memoir First in the Family. Though the decision to hire Nieto and the list that she is building are significant steps forward for Flatiron, Nieto feels theres a lot of work left to be done throughout the industry in increasing diversity. I believe I can still count on my fingers the number of Latinx editors acquiring for the adult fiction market, she said. There have been many new Latinx hires, but there have also been several departures, and when there are so few of us, every loss counts. She worries that without substantive changes like liveable wages, the industry will continue to lose Latinx editorial talent. Nieto believes that Latinx employees, and employees of color more generally, should be present at every state of the process, from editorial to marketing and publicity to sales. Without changes to the publishing infrastructure, the burden to improve the industry falls on the shoulders of individuals who will, inevitably, burn out. Many of the new comics publishers hitting the scene over the past few years seem to be fighting over the same audience: genre fans who have outgrown superheroes but not superhero-style comics storytelling. Z2 Comics, an independent graphic novel publisher that evolved into its current business model in 2019, is forging a different path to market while sticking closely to the aesthetics that hardcore comics fans know and love. Z2 has published more than 50 titles over the past two and a half years, almost all based on IP licensed from the music industry. This material ranges from prestige-oriented biographies of figures like jazz legend Charlie Parker to a just-announced collaboration with RZA from Wu-Tang Clan, and includes forays into rock, country music, EDM, heavy metal, thrash/punk, hip-hop, and more. In doing so, Z2 has opened the door to a new audience, a new distribution model, and new relationships between two pop culture cousinscomics and musicthat have rarely spent much time in each others company. To date, some of Z2s bestselling titles have been graphic novels featuring musical performers such as Anthrax, Gorillaz, King Diamond, and Machine Gun Kelly. In the first half of 2022, the house will bring out new graphic novels featuring Tori Amos, Melissa Etheridge, Gwar, Pantera, Spiritbox, and several others. The company hopes to have 25 new titles out by years end, expanding beyond music to include figures from sports, podcasts, television, and comedy. The company is also branching out into toys and collectibles, and has hired industry veteran Clint Weiller to spearhead a new line of merchandise aligned with the imprints focus on music. Z2 is the brainchild of four boisterous cofounders with a shared passion for music and comics: CEO Josh Frankel, publisher Sridhar Reddy, senior v-p Josh Bernstein, and chief counsel Kevin Meek. Frankel and Reddy are comics veterans who know how to bring creators into the fold, Bernstein has music industry connections, and Meek is instrumental in nailing down the licensing agreements that are fundamental to Z2s cross-media strategy. Z2 has around 30 employees, and while the privately held company does not disclose financials, it characterizes its growth as very strong, tripling annually since its inception. Z2 is guided by a rigorous data-based business strategy and a relentless search for content partners beyond the usual suspects that feed the comics industry. Doing great creative work is a big part of our strategy, Frankel said, but a lot of companies can package good story and art. We noticed when we started the company that there wasnt much interest in musicians in comics; there was actually kind of a stigma about it. But people have a real emotional attachment to music, stronger than that of almost any other media. Reddy added, There are common wavelengths between the worlds of comics and musicians. Were both forms of geek tribes, outcastsand if you bring up the idea of graphic novels to musicians, a lot of them get very excited, because its just another extension of the kind of storytelling they do through their music. Marketing and distribution are also key components of Z2s strategy. Weve built a really robust digital marketing apparatus, Frankel said. The company developed a direct-to-consumer channel as wellincluding deluxe limited editions only available via the Z2 online storejust in time to give homebound readers access to its titles as the pandemic set in. Z2 brings in fan-favorite artists to create its books and give the creators wide latitude to interpret aspects of the underlying music property. For example, to riff on Ronnie James Dios early 80s album Holy Diver, Frankel brought in writer Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) and artist Scott Hampson, whose attractive painting style has graced many mainstream books, with a cover by the ever-popular Bill Sienkiewicz (Moon Knight, New Mutants). Licensors do not subsidize the graphic novel projects and have only limited creative involvement. Our restrictions are generally more about avoiding superhero tropes or things that might be sales-averse, but we let our artists have final verdict and edits on the writing, art, marketing, and more, Frankel said. Their fingerprints on the projects make it all the more authentic and official. This approach helped Z2 gain a beachhead in direct-market comic stores to supplement its other distribution strategies. We have fairly decent sales at comic shops and bookstores, Frankel said. Direct-to-consumer is the core, but we have a very big retail component. Frankel said Z2s sales success has come in spite of adverse conditions: convention and concert shutdowns. We cant implement our most valuable marketing and retail strategy, which is having artists doing signings and tours and events, Frankel said. The company gave a little preview of the excitement that could generate by having hip hop legend Chuck D and the band Anthrax appear at their booth for NYCC. One of the biggest expansion points for us in 2022, Bernstein said, is to have a more robust retail strategy for pop-ups, conventions, retail, and presence at certain live concerts and locations. Z2 sees opportunities in marketing its graphic novels alongside T-shirts and other merchandise that bands sell at shows. Its a very exciting part of our business to get those musicians back on tour, Meek said. The next phase will be more of an experiential impact on our fans, the brands, and the celebrities and actors we work with. Once the live music scene gets going again, Z2 executives believe the companys growth will accelerate. We hear from a lot of music fans who dont usually buy comics but who love our books, Frankel said. Thats exciting, because thats a huge market that no one else is serving. Morgan Simianer, the star of Netflix's hit series "Cheer," has announced she is engaged to her boyfriend, Stone Burleson. ADVERTISEMENT "He stole my heart, so I'm stealing his last name," she wrote on Instagram alongside photos from their engagement on Monday. "I can't wait to marry my best friend. I love you unconditionally, Stone." Burleson shared similar pictures on his Instagram, writing: "On Saturday, the woman of my dreams blessed my entire world by saying, 'Yes.' Morgan Lyn Simianer, I can't wait for my life with you by my side." The couple told People that they got engaged over the weekend at the Hall Arts Hotel in Dallas. Simianer was brought to the hotel under the pretense that she was there for an interview, only to discover Burleson was there waiting for her. Burleson, who has dated Simianer since early 2021, proposed with a Kay Jewelers custom Neil Lane marquise diamond ring. The 2 and 3/4-carat diamond was set among a halo of diamonds on an 18K yellow gold band. FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! "After our first date, I knew I wanted to be with Morgan for the rest of my life, and this weekend, I asked her to be my forever," Burleson told the outlet. "She blessed me by saying yes." Simianer appeared on the first and second seasons of "Cheer" and quickly became a fan favorite. She has since graduated from Navarro College in Texas. Kim Kardashian says her controversial comments about work were "taken out of context." ADVERTISEMENT The 41-year-old appeared on "Good Morning America" this week, where she responded to backlash over her recent advice to women in business. In an interview with Variety earlier this month, Kardashian said the advice she'd give to women is to "Get your [expletive] up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days." Kardashian said on "GMA" that her comments "became a sound bite really with no context." She explained she made the remarks after being told that "After 20 years of being in the business, you're famous for being famous." "My whole tone and attitude changed with the previous question that went into that question about what advice would you give to women," the star said. "The advice that I would give is just that having a social media presence and being on a reality show does not mean overnight success. You have to work really hard to get there, even if it seems like it is easy," she added. Kardashian then acknowledged that people work hard. FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! "It wasn't a blanket statement towards women, or to feel like I don't respect the work or think that they don't work hard. I know that they do. That was taken out of context, but I'm really sorry if it was received that way," she said. Kardashian and her family came to fame on the E! reality series "Keeping Up with the Kardashians." Kardashian has since launched her own businesses, including her shapewear company Skims. The Kardashian-Jenner family will return to television in the new Hulu series "The Kardashians." Kardashian said in the Variety interview that she will "share all the details" about her relationship with Pete Davidson on the show. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 04/01/2022 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. couple Katie Thurston and John Hersey have announced their relationship has moved in a serious direction.Katie and John went Instagram official with their relationship in late November 2021, only three short weeks after Katie and her former fiance Blake Moynes -- who won 's seventeenth season -- announced in late October they had split and decided to end their engagement.Katie faced backlash for having moved on from Blake too quickly with a "rebound," but she and the San Diego bartender are still going strong and have taken their relationship to the next level."Spoiler alert: we live together!" Katie revealed during Tuesday's episode of the "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe " podcast in a joint interview with John.Katie shared how she and John began living together in February."[He moved] into my place," Katie said of her San Diego apartment.When asked what they've learned about each other's living habits, Katie confessed she's messy."She is MESSY!" John agreed.Katie joked she's "24/7 messy" and her bathroom is a disaster area."She leaves drawers open and cabinets open. And when you can't close them because of something, I'm like, 'You gotta -- you gotta clean that up,'" John said with a laugh.John said Katie had attempted to use "the one-touch rule," which means using something once and then putting it back, but that plan didn't work out."And I've learned that he really doesn't like staying home, and so we've now learned [John] needs to get out, with or without me," Katie noted."I wake up with the sun and then go out to go surf," John shared.Katie said she and John must end up in a place where there's always surf because that's one of his main passions in life.And on that note, Katie and John also bought a van together!"It's not totally finished yet. We're still building it, but we're very, very close," John said. "So the plan is to just go places... Why not?"John said he loves the idea of being able to travel around and not get stuck in one location permanently. One of their first stops is apparently going to be Nashville, TN.John dubbed the van -- which he wants to call "Leroy" against Katie's wishes -- "so cool," and Katie admitted Dean Unglert and Caelynn Miller-Keyes were her inspiration behind this idea."That's my biggest excitement with the van, is both my dog and my cat get to come with us as we go up north on the coastline!" Katie gushed.Blake admitted in a November 2021 appearance on the "Talking It Out with Bachelor Nation" podcast that he felt "flabbergasted," shocked and "speechless" upon finding out about Katie's romance with John.Blake also believed Katie must have been emotionally cheating on him with John in order to have moved on so quickly from their broken engagement, which both Katie and John have firmly denied in the press.Katie said on the podcast that she initially wanted to hide her relationship with John out of fear for how Bachelor Nation might react. She recommended they keep their distance from each other at a mutual friend's Christmas party."But John was like, 'I at least want to slow dance with you.' And then there's alcohol, and so I was like, 'Don't even try to kiss me in public,'" Katie admitted."We were already talking about how to not be [seen and] known. But it's also like, 'F-ck that.' I want to live our best life. I want to live in my happiness. I went through hell and back being on TV."Katie said she finally determined that she owed it to herself to be in her "truest, happiest form.""At the end of the day, I was like, 'Life is too short. I've gone through so much and I just want to be happy.' And so that's ultimately what we did; we owned our connection not knowing it would take us to this day," Katie said.Katie reasoned how "life is short" and "falling in love outside of the show is not that crazy.""Look at [ Clayton Echard ] and [ Susie Evans ]," she noted. "That's what happened to them, and I can sympathize with how that was when the cameras turned off and you had to figure out what works for you in your real reality."Katie concluded, "John makes me want to be a better person, and he challenges me... He's very energetic and he keeps me young. He says I have the potential to be adventurous... and he makes me want to go and try new things."Katie accepted Blake's marriage proposal when 's Season 17 finale filmed in April 2021, but the former couple's engagement didn't air until August on ABC.Katie previously hinted on social media that she and Blake had been fighting too much during their six-month relationship and decided to break up due to their different communication styles.The TikTok star and social-media influencer had suggested that Blake was unable to make her happy and vice versa.In defense of her connection with John and why she had dumped him so quickly on , Katie shared with an Instagram user in December, "It would have never worked for us on the show. He was too shy. A solid friendship first built an amazing foundation."Katie and John went public with their relationship in late November when Katie posted footage of John on her Instagram Story set to Taylor Swift 's "Begin Again," a song about falling in love all over again.The John dedication served as the conclusion of Katie's "12 Days of Messy" challenge in which she had been tasked with matching every song on Taylor's re-released "Red" album to one of her Season 17 bachelors.Blake initially called Katie's romance "a bomb drop" on him, but he has since come around and said he's ready to have a cordial conversation with his ex-fiancee if that's something she wants to do.Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group Chinese FM chairs "Afghanistan's neighbors + Afghanistan" foreign ministers' dialogue Xinhua) 09:27, April 02, 2022 Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi chairs the "Afghanistan's neighbors + Afghanistan" foreign ministers' dialogue in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province, March 31, 2022. Acting Foreign Minister of the Afghan Interim Government Amir Khan Muttaqi was in attendance alongside foreign ministers and representatives of member states of the mechanism of coordination and cooperation among Afghanistan's neighboring countries. Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi were invited as guests. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) HEFEI, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday chaired the "Afghanistan's neighbors + Afghanistan" foreign ministers' dialogue in Tunxi, Anhui Province in east China. Acting Foreign Minister of the Afghan Interim Government Amir Khan Muttaqi was in attendance alongside foreign ministers and representatives of member states of the mechanism of coordination and cooperation among Afghanistan's neighboring countries. Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi were invited as guests. "As neighboring countries to Afghanistan, we have witnessed tragedies and disasters caused by years of war and chaos to the Afghan people, and we have also experienced troubles brought about by the long-term chaos in Afghanistan. No country is more hopeful about the early realization of peace, stability, development and prosperity in Afghanistan than us," Wang said. "After the previous two meetings of foreign ministers of the countries neighboring Afghanistan, we have expressed the shared view, demonstrated the unique role, and guided the international community's perceptions on the Afghan issue," Wang added. He said that countries in the region should adhere to cooperation rather than confrontation, adhere to openness rather than isolation, treat each other as equals, and oppose bullying. He said the international community should avoid neglecting the Afghan issue due to their attention to the situation in Ukraine, and should continue to increase investment in Afghanistan to help the Afghan people. It is necessary to further gather consensus and synergy to help Afghanistan stabilize the situation, effectively fight terrorism, improve people's livelihood and develop the economy, Wang said. He said that the neighboring countries should fully implement the "Afghan-led, Afghan-owned" principle and work with the international community to support the Afghan people in creating a better future. Muttaqi thanked China for inviting Afghanistan to the dialogue, saying that Afghanistan prioritizes the concerns of all parties involved. He stressed that Afghanistan will never again allow external forces to occupy its territory, nor will it allow any forces to use Afghanistan's territory against other countries. Noting Afghanistan is committed to peaceful coexistence, friendly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation with neighboring countries, Muttaqi said Afghanistan has adjusted its governance priorities, with a stronger focus on achieving stability and promoting development. He said Afghanistan is willing to become a bond of regional connectivity and seek common prosperity with its neighboring countries, and eagerly anticipates the early diplomatic recognition of the interim government by neighboring countries. Muttaqi said that the United States has long undermined Afghanistan's political and economic sovereignty. He also spoke out about the U.S. hasty withdrawal from the country, which resulted in the destruction of facilities and huge consequences for Afghanistan. Noting Afghanistan urged the United States to immediately lift the freeze on its overseas assets and unreasonable sanctions, Muttaqi expressed his hopes for the international community to provide support and assistance to Afghanistan. All parties elaborated on their positions and propositions on the Afghan issue, calling on the Afghan interim government to be more inclusive, resolutely and thoroughly combat terrorism, and further protect the rights and interests of women and children. Muttaqi said Afghanistan has reopened schools and students have returned to classes, adding Afghanistan has never stated that girls' education is prohibited. "There are a large number of women in all sectors of Afghanistan, including health care and education," he said. The Afghan interim government welcomes all ethnic groups to participate in politics and will invite more professionals to participate in government work, Muttaqi added. It is hoped that the Afghan interim government will earnestly fulfill all the commitments it has made, Wang said, adding that it is believed that all neighbors of Afghanistan will continue to play a constructive role in the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan. The parties agreed to continue the "Afghanistan's neighbors + Afghanistan" foreign ministers' dialogue, which Wang said is beneficial. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi chairs the "Afghanistan's neighbors + Afghanistan" foreign ministers' dialogue in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province, March 31, 2022. Acting Foreign Minister of the Afghan Interim Government Amir Khan Muttaqi was in attendance alongside foreign ministers and representatives of member states of the mechanism of coordination and cooperation among Afghanistan's neighboring countries. Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi were invited as guests. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Subh-e-Kabul (translated by RAWA), April 2, 2022 "Nafisa worked at the Ali Chopan Clinic," said the source. Yesterday evening, she was on her way home from work with her sisters child and a colleague. "The Taliban said why did you get in a car with a non-mahram?" According to the latest information received by Sobh-e-Kabul newspaper, a young girl who was killed in Balkh province was first tortured by the Taliban and then shot dead. A source, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, said that the forces of the 7th Taliban constituency in Mazar-e-Sharif had killed Nafisa Balkhi for allegedly sitting in her colleague's car. The source added that after a discussion between the two sides, the forces of the 7th security district of Mazar-e-Sharif arrested the midwife and her colleague and tortured them. "At first she was severely tortured and flogged, then beaten again with a razor on his head and whole body, his flesh was cut off and one of his legs was amputated," he said. "They cut her into pieces with a knife, and finally fired 12 bullets." The source also said that her colleague was also brutally killed by the Taliban and that only the young child who accompanied them survived. "Today, the Taliban in their seventh district took the bodies to a civilian hospital and told them to call their families. "The Taliban themselves said, 'We took them and killed them because they had no family ties.' Meanwhile, forensic medicine at the civil hospital in Mazar-e-Sharif confirmed that the girl had been killed as a result of torture. Taliban security officials have not yet commented. However, the Taliban had previously ruled that women could not travel from one area to another without Mahram. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate HOUSTON (AP) During hours of relentless questioning, Melissa Lucio more than 100 times had denied fatally beating her 2-year-old daughter. But worn down from a lifetime of abuse and the grief of losing her daughter Mariah, her lawyers say, the Texas woman finally acquiesced to investigators. I guess I did it, Lucio responded when asked if she was responsible for some of Mariah's injuries. Her lawyers say that statement was wrongly interpreted by prosecutors as a murder confession tainting the rest of the investigation into Mariahs 2007 death, with evidence gathered only to prove that conclusion, and helping lead to her capital murder conviction. They contend Mariah died from injuries from a fall down the 14 steps of a steep staircase outside the familys apartment in the South Texas city of Harlingen. As her April 27 execution date nears, Lucios lawyers are hopeful that new evidence, along with growing public support including from jurors who now doubt the conviction and from more than half the Texas House of Representatives will persuade the states Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Greg Abbott to grant an execution reprieve or commute her sentence. Mariahs death was a tragedy not a murder. ... It would be an absolutely devastating message for this execution to go forward. It would send a message that innocence doesnt matter, said Vanessa Potkin, one of Lucios attorneys who is with the Innocence Project. Lucio's lawyers say jurors never heard forensic evidence that would have explained that Mariah's various injuries were actually caused by a fall days earlier. They also say Lucio wasn't allowed to present evidence questioning the validity of her confession. The Texas Attorney Generals Office maintains evidence shows Mariah suffered the absolute worst case of child abuse her emergency room doctor had seen in 30 years. Lucio still advances no evidence that is reliable and supportive of her acquittal, the office wrote in court documents last month. The Cameron County District Attorneys Office, which prosecuted Lucio, declined to comment. Lucio, 53, would be the first Latina executed by Texas since 1863 and the first woman since 2014. Only 17 women have been executed in the U.S. since the Supreme Court lifted its ban on the death penalty in 1976, most recently in January 2021. In their clemency petition, Lucios lawyers say that while she had used drugs, leading her to temporarily lose custody of her children, she was a loving mother who worked to remain drug-free and provide for her family. Lucio has 14 children and was pregnant with the youngest two when Mariah died. Lucio and her children struggled through poverty. At times, they were homeless and relied on food banks for meals, according to the petition. Child Protective Services was present in the familys life, but there was never an accusation of abuse by any of her children, Potkin said. Lucio had been sexually assaulted multiple times, starting at age 6, and had been physically and emotionally abused by two husbands. Her lawyers say this lifelong trauma made her susceptible to giving a false confession. In the 2020 documentary The State of Texas vs. Melissa, Lucio said investigators kept pushing her to say she had hurt Mariah. I was not gonna admit to causing her death because I wasnt responsible, Lucio said. Her lawyers say Lucio's sentence was disproportionate to what her husband and Mariah's father, Robert Alvarez, received. He got a four-year sentence for causing injury to a child by omission even though he also was responsible for Mariah's care, Lucio's lawyers argue. In 2019, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Lucios conviction, ruling she was deprived of her constitutional right to present a meaningful defense. However, the full court in 2021 said the conviction had to be upheld for procedural reasons, despite the difficult issue of the exclusion of testimony that might have cast doubt on the credibility of Lucios confession. Three jurors and one alternate in Lucios trial have signed affidavits expressing doubts about her conviction. She was not evil. She was just struggling. ... If we had heard passionately from the defense defending her in some way, we might have reached a different decision, juror Johnny Galvan wrote in an affidavit. In a letter last month to the Board of Pardons and Paroles and to Abbott, 83 Texas House members said executing Lucio would be a miscarriage of justice. As a conservative Republican myself, who has long been a supporter of the death penalty in the most heinous cases ... I have never seen a more troubling case than the case of Melissa Lucio, said state Rep. Jeff Leach, who signed the letter. Abbott can grant a one-time, 30-day reprieve. He can grant clemency if a majority of the paroles board recommends it. The board plans to vote on Lucios clemency petition two days before the scheduled execution, Rachel Alderete, the boards director of support operations, said in an email. A spokeswoman for Abbotts office did not return an email seeking comment. Abbott has granted clemency to only one death row inmate, Thomas Whitaker, since taking office in 2015. Whitaker was convicted of masterminding the fatal shootings of his mother and brother. His father, who survived, led the effort to save Whitaker, saying he would be victimized again if his son was executed. Lucios supporters have said her clemency request is similar in that her family would be retraumatized if shes executed. Please allow us to reconcile with Mariahs death and remember her without fresh pain, anguish and grief. Please spare the life of our mother, Lucios children wrote in a letter to Abbott and the board. ___ Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70 ___ This story has been corrected to show that Lucio would have been the first Latina to be executed by Texas since 1863, not ever. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TORRINGTON Norell Gaudaitis loves the police department and appreciates the work they do, every day. Over the decades she has lived in Torrington, she has been a staunch supporter and fundraiser for the good guys as she calls them. Last Sunday, a celebration marking Gaudaitis 94th birthday was held at Crystal Peak banquet hall in Winsted, and the police department were among the invited guests, which also included her two sons, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and many friends. Elena Sileo, a longtime friend of Gaudaitis, attended the celebration. It was a blast and there was tremendous turnout from the Torrington Police Department, she said. They made us so proud and Norell was so thrilled. Gaudaitis was escorted into the celeration by Officer Robert Guida, and was later presented with several pieces of her artwork. Other department members who attended were Chief William Baldwin, Lt. Bart Barown, Lt. Kenneth Broulliard, Sgt. Dustin Baldis, Officers Oscar Segui and Zachary Simpson, and former officer Willie Quarles. They were there to show their love for Norell and her devout appreciation for the police, Sileo said. According to Sileo, Gaudaitis calls and stops by the police department to check in, paints pictures for them, knits scarves and hats for them and led a police rally for them a few years ago. Gaudaitis said she had a beautiful time at her party. It was very nice, and I was surprised how exciting it was, she said. Everyone enjoyed themselves. I had a big crowd. Chief Baldwin presented Gaudaitis with a commemorative plaque in appreciation. I have a special place where Im going to hang it, so I can see it every day, she said. I have one from the mayor (Ryan Bingham) and now I have one from the police chief. She was also happy to have her family around her, she said. It was just a happy time, like a family reunion, Gaudaitis said. Norell and her late husband, Thomas B. Gudaitis, settled in Torrington in 1952 and raised their family. Thomas worked for a number of manufacturing companies in town. As a younger woman, before she married Thomas, Gaudaitis sang in clubs in Albany and around Connecticut. In 2014, she paid tribute to Cab Calloway with a concert at the Yankee Pedlar Inn on Main Street in Torrington. She met the performer, songwriter and actor when he was just getting started, at the age of 21, and she was a child living in Opelika, Alabama. Calloway was performing nearby and came to her home to visit, where she lived with her parents and 12 siblings. Gaudaitis has over the years shown her folk-art style paintings at local libraries and galleries. Her health has slowed her painting down, she said. I gave my paintings away at the party, she said. As soon as Im feeling better, Im going to take it up again. Sileo has known Gaudaitis since she was young through her parents, whose Night Moves Band performed in the area. She would always come out to sing and dance with my parents band, she said. Norell is an example of how everyone should be living in celebration, in happiness and appreciation of life. She has taught me to live every day to the fullest and have fun. Pottsville, PA (17901) Today Periods of rain. High 56F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch.. Tonight Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 48F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall possibly over one inch. The move is a violation of the country's election law, says a Candelight Party official. Members of Cambodia's opposition Candlelight Party gather in front of a party office in an undated photo. Cambodias National Election Committee (NEC) has removed more than 100 candidates from the opposition Candlelight Party from the list of those running in the countrys commune elections on June 5, the partys vice president said Friday. The party, which has threatened to boycott the vote because of political harassment of its members and activists by Prime Minister Hun Sens ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP), has accused the NEC of abusing election law. Candlelight Party vice president Thach Setha said NEC president Prach Chan on Thursday removed all candidates in Phnom Penh and Pursat and Kampong Cham provinces from the candidate list, and accused election authorities of not complying with the law by failing to call witnesses to be questioned amid complaints filed by CPP against the Candelight Party. He didnt make any mistake. It is a violation of the election law, Thach Setha said. Party officials say they have been falsely accused of using fake names for candidates and putting forward some candidates for election without their permission. CCP complains have accused Candlelight Party candidates of being illiterate and submitting documents without thumbprints or signatures. The NEC decision has left the CPP candidate without main competitors in the capital, Phnom Penh. The NEC also removed the name of the son of Eng Chhai Eang, vice president of the former opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) from the candidate list, Thach Setha said. The Candlelight Party, formerly known as the Sam Rainsy Party and the Khmer Nation Party, was founded in 1995 and merged with other opposition forces to form the CNRP in 2012. In November 2017, Cambodias Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP in a move that allowed the CPP to win all 125 seats in parliament in a July 2018 election. Election authorities based their binding decision on evidence and hearings after finding irregularities on the candidate lists, while some candidates during the hearing asked the NEC to remove their names from the lists, said NEC spokesman Hang Puthea. Upon receiving the complaints, we held public hearings, he said. Sam Kuntheamy, executive director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (NICFEC), said the NEC failed to present evidence and witnesses during the hearings. He also said the decision by the NEC a theoretically independent agency that supervises the countrys elections, but is believed to be influenced by the CCP to remove opposition candidates was an attempt to find weak points to prevent the Candlelight Party as the main threat to the CCP from participating in the elections. The party that has popularity draws attention, he said. I want [the NEC] to comply with the law. Meanwhile, Phnom Penh authorities arrested four Candlelight Party activists but later released three and sent one to Prey Sar Prison. Yok Neang, former leader of the CNRPs Women Movement who recently joined the Candlelight Party, was arrested Friday and sent to the jail, her son, Ouch Vannarith, told RFA. She was speaking with other political opposition activists when police arrested them and has been charged with treason over a failed attempt by exiled CNRP leader Sam Rainsy in November 2019 to return to Cambodia to lead nonviolent protests against Hun Sen. At least two other Candlelight Party activists are being detained in Pursat province. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Malaysian police have said human trafficking is widespread in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia. Cambodian authorities Friday denied media reports that Thai citizens are being held against their will in Cambodia by criminal gangs, but Malaysian police said human trafficking syndicates were running rampant across the entire Southeast Asian region. Chhoun Narin, police chief of the Sihanoukville Police Department, told RFAs Khmer Service that more than 100 Thais have crossed over the border between the two countries to illegally take jobs in casinos located in Sihanoukville province. We hear fake stories about detentions and torture, he said. There are no illegal detentions. The denial contradicts reports in the Bangkok Post and other Southeast Asian outlets that there are between 2,800 and 3,000 Thais working illegally in Cambodia who have been tricked by gangs to take positions as scammers, according to Thai police estimates. Despite the denial, Chhoun Narin said the police will cooperate with Thai officials in repatriating Thai citizens. But he declined to comment on whether Cambodia will charge Thais found to be in the country illegally. RFA was unable to reach National Police spokesman Chhay Kim Khouen for comment on Friday. After the Cambodian government opened up the company following COVID-19 restrictions, reports of criminal activities in Sihanoukville province flooded the offices of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, Cheap Sotheary, the groups Sihanoukville province coordinator, told RFA. She urged Cambodian authorities to work with their Thai counterparts to resolve complaints about kidnapping and detentions in Cambodia. There should be an investigation to see how many separate incidents there are. If Thai delegates come, there should be a cooperation to avoid any misunderstanding, she said. Police in Malaysia, meanwhile, have information indicating a human trafficking syndicate has trapped Malays as forced labor in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, reported. Since 2021, the Anti-trafficking unit of Malaysias Federal Criminal Investigation Department received six police reports of involving 26 victims 24 men and two womenin need of rescue from crime syndicates. The police believe that there are still many people in similar situations but have not lodged reports with authorities. Police say that the victims were duped by job advertisements offering relatively high salaries doing social media work as customer service officers in other countries. Interested job seekers were encouraged to contact agents via WeChat, WhatsApp or Facebook who then would arrange travel costs for the unsuspecting victims. Once they arrived at the destination, the syndicate would confiscate or destroy travel documents and mobile devices, leaving the migrants with no way to call for help or escape on their own. The victims then would be sent to specific locations such as Preah Sihanouk in Cambodia, Mae Sot in Thailand, Vientiane in Laos and Kayin State in Myanmar and forced to work in scams involving online gambling, fake investments and Bitcoin mining. They would not be allowed to return home if they did not reach the company's sales targets or they could pay between U.S. $7,125 and $11,875 for their release. The Royal Malaysian Police is working with Interpol and Aseanapol to seek help in tracking and rescuing Malaysian victims. RFA reported last month that dozens of Thais and hundreds of Lao citizens were duped into working in casinos in Laos Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone. If these victims failed to meet sales quotas, they were told they would be sold to employers at different companies, including for positions in the sex trade. Multiple groups of Thais escaped last month back to Thailand or were rescued and repatriated. Translated by RFAs Khmer Service and BenarNews. Written in English by Eugene Whong. As many as a dozen civilians were killed and 700 homes burned by junta troops last month. Myanmars military killed as many as a dozen civilians and arrested nearly 30 others in restive Magway region in the month of March alone, while junta troops torched more than 700 houses in 18 of the regions villages over the same period, residents said Friday. Sources in Magways Gangaw township told RFAs Myanmar Service that 10 deaths occurred from Feb. 28 to March 2 as troops raided the villages of Thindaw, Shwebo, Kone and Sann. The military set more than 200 homes alight in Kone and Sann over the three-day period, they said, while a joint squad of some 100 troops and pro-military Pyu Saw Htee militia fighters burned another 200 on March 2 while attacking nearby Pauk townships Leyar village. A villager who spoke on condition of anonymity called the violence and destruction unacceptable. Our houses are antiques, built by hand according to our traditions. Our house was built with five tree trunks as its pillars and the current market price is no less than 7-8 million kyats (U.S. $4,000-4,500), he said. They attack and destroy everything indiscriminately. How can they believe that destroying the lives and property of ordinary people is justified? The residents rice mill, which he valued at around 1.5 million kyats (U.S. $850), was also destroyed in the attack, he said. He said that more than 1,300 villagers were forced to flee the raids and have been living in the mountains ever since, unable to tend their farms. Other sources told RFA that junta forces raided Letpan Hla village on March 3 and burned down 50 of the villages 120 houses. A member of the anti-junta Peoples Defense Force (PDF) paramilitary group in Pauk Township said the raid came in response to an attack by his group on the military. We couldnt stand it anymore because they were causing so much trouble for the people, said the PDF member, who also declined to be named. They captured five of our comrades alive and they set them on fire. Three houses were also burned down. More than 470 residents of Letpan Hla fled the village during the military attack and have yet to return, he said. In another incident, sources said, troops killed a mother and her son in a March 5 attack on Inn-Nge-Daung village. They said 29 people were arrested, including 12 women and nine children, and all remain in military custody. Family detained Lwin Wai, of Yezagyo townships Taung Oh village, told RFA that authorities who came looking for him detained his mother and two other family members when they learned he wasnt there. Im worried about my family. My sister is only 14 years old now. She knows nothing about politics. She just likes watching movies and playing games, he said. My mother had a surgical operation only about four months ago. We all are suffering under this injustice. Im so furious that we are being bullied by people with weapons. I just want those who are innocent to be released unharmed. Lwin Wai said his family members were first detained by the 258th Infantry Regiment and are now being held at the Yezagyo Police Station on charges of defamation, with a court appointment set for April 4. He said he is wanted for alleged ties to the PDF because area youth regularly come to his electronics repair shop to use his Wi-Fi connection. But he believes the accusation is retribution by the junta-appointed village administrator, who he once had a dispute with. Other reported incidents included the killing of two villagers during a March 26 military raid on Yezagyo townships Kutote village, and the burning of more than 250 houses in four Gangaw township villages during joint raids by junta troops and Pyu Saw Htee fighters on March 23 and 24. Blaming the PDF Attempts by RFA to reach junta Deputy Information Minister Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment on the raids in Magway region went unanswered Friday. He has previously attributed arson attacks on civilian homes to the PDF, which the military regime has labeled a terrorist organization. In a recent statement, the military claimed that on March 13 a unit of 20 PDF members had attempted to detain the junta-appointed administrator of Yezagyo townships Gwaygyo village and burned down 17 homes when they could not locate him. RFA was unable to independently verify the junta claims. Chit Win Maung, a member of the anti-junta Magway Peoples War Committee, told RFA the junta intentionally harasses and kills civilians in the region because they cannot rule us. They have no people, no youth, supporting them, he said. We can see that they are trying to get rid of anyone who wants to stop their fascist movement. From a human rights point of view, they are oppressing the people. Magway is one of several regions where the junta has encountered particularly fierce resistance since it seized power in a Feb. 1, 2021, coup and launched a multi-pronged offensive against the PDF and armed ethnic groups in Myanmars remote border regions. According to Data For Myanmar, a group that researches the social impact of conflict, junta troops have burned at least 7,248 homes across the country since the coup. At least 1,148 of the homes were in Magway region, the group said. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. Chinas quota for those who can fast is pathetic and tragic, says a Uyghur rights advocate. A pair of shoes sits near an outdoor prayer area at the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, as seen during a government organized visit for foreign journalists, April 19, 2021. Chinese authorities in Xinjiang are restricting the number of Muslims allowed to observe the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, drawing heavy criticism from rights groups that see the government directive as the latest effort to diminish Uyghur culture in the region. For years, officials in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) have prohibited Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims from fully observing Ramadan including by banning civil servants, students and teachers from fasting. Some neighborhood committees in Urumqi (in Chinese, Wulumuqi) and some village officials in Kashgar (Kashi) and Hotan (Hetian) prefectures have received notices that only 10-50 Muslims will be allowed to fast during Ramadan, which runs from April 1 to May 1, and that those who do so must register with authorities, according local administrators and police in Xinjiang. Ramadan measures are being taken, said a village policeman in Kashgars Tokkuzak (Toukezhake) township. The purpose is to allay the fears of [Uyghurs] who are afraid to fast, in addition to security, because there should not be any misconception about the [Chinese Communist] Partys religious policy. The party never said to abolish religion, but to Sinicize it. A village administrator who oversees 10 families in Ghulja (Yining) county in Ili Kazakh (Yili Hasake) Autonomous Prefecture, said registration was already under way in his community and that the elderly and adults with no school-age children are allowed to fast. This system is designed to avoid religion to have negative effects on childrens minds, he said. There is a lot of propaganda about it right now. A cadre from the village is registering people who meet the criteria for fasting. Another administrator who oversees 10 families in the city of Atush (Atushi) in Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture said he received a notice about the fasting restriction from local authorities. Of the 10 families that I am in charge, two Tahir and Ahmet were identified as ones that can fast, he said. Both are elderly and have no children at home. A Uyghur employee at a hotel contacted by RFA on Wednesday said he could not say anything about Ramadan and hung up the phone. Tursunjan Mamat sets down a copy of the Quran during a government organized visit for foreign journalists to his home in Aksu prefecture, northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, April 20, 2021. Credit: Associated Press Painting 'a sham picture' In past years, authorities have warned Uyghur residents that they could be punished for fasting, including by being sent to one of the XUARs vast network of internment camps, where authorities are believed to have held up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities since April 2017. Authorities also have forced retirees to pledge ahead of Ramadan that they wont fast or pray to set an example for the wider community and to assume responsibility for ensuring others also refrain. It is pathetic and tragic to see Chinas notice that only certain people can fast, said Turghunjan Alawudun, director of the Committee for Religious Affairs at the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) in Germany. The Muslim world would laugh at Chinas actions and be astonished by the setting of a quota for those who can fast. The Washington-based Uyghur Human Rights Project issued a statement on Thursday showing solidarity with Uyghurs in Xinjiang who cannot hold iftar, the meal eaten by Muslims at sundown to break the daily fast during Ramadan, or pray without risking being labeled a religious extremist. There will be no Ramadan for Uyghurs in the homeland this year or any year until Chinas campaign of genocide is brought to an end, the statement said. The Campaign for Uyghurs, also based in Washington, also noted that Uyghurs in Xinjiang are once again being forbidden to worship and celebrate religious holidays. To add insult to this injustice, the CCP selectively deploys Islam to paint a sham picture, the group said in a statement issued Thursday. WUC president Dolkun Isa said China has turned Ramadan into a month of hellish suffering of genocide for the Uyghur people and called on Muslim leaders worldwide to condemn the rights abuses occurring in Xinjiang. Its your religious and moral duty to call on China to stop this ongoing genocide, he said. History will not treat you kindly if you continue to allow this genocide to continue under your watch. The U.S. and parliaments in some Western countries have declared Chinas actions against the Uyghurs and other Turkic people a genocide and crimes against humanity, though China has denied accusations of abuse. Translated by Mamatjan Juma and Alim Seytoff of RFAs Uyghur Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Russian forces have resumed their assault on a sprawling steel factory in the devastated Ukrainian port of Mariupol, using aircraft to pound Ukrainian fighters holding out there. A top Ukrainian official, meanwhile, said that a new effort to evacuate civilians from the grounds of the Azovstal steel plant has been hampered by Russian firing despite a UN-brokered cease-fire. An estimated 200 civilians are reported to be hiding in the complex, along with as many as 2,000 Ukrainian fighters. 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. Ukraine's General Staff said in its daily assessment on May 6 that Russians were using aircraft as part of the renewed assault on the plant. "There are many wounded, but they are not surrendering," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on May 5 in his nightly video address. "They are holding their positions." Mariupol itself has been largely razed to the ground by weeks of street-to-street fighting and heavy bombardment. Azovstal has turned into a last stand for the Ukrainians troops struggling to prevent a complete Russian defeat of the city. The fighting comes as Russia continues its offensive in the eastern Donbas, an offensive that has proceeded slowly and without major advances, as Ukrainian forces have blocked Russian movements and even regained territory. The fight for Azovstal also comes amid speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants a battlefield triumph that he can showcase on May 9 when Russia marks Victory Day -- the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. "The renewed effort by Russia to secure Azovstal and complete the capture of Mariupol is likely linked to the upcoming 9 May Victory Day commemorations and Putin's desire to have a symbolic success in Ukraine," the British Defense Ministry said in its May 6 daily assessment. "This effort has come at personnel, equipment, and munitions cost to Russia. Whilst Ukrainian resistance continues in Azovstal, Russian losses will continue to build and frustrate their operational plans in southern Donbas," the ministry said. Losing Mariupol would deprive Ukraine of a vital port on the Sea of Azov. It would also give Russia the ability to establish a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula and free up troops to fight elsewhere in the Donbas. The Ukrainians holed up in Azovstal's labyrinthine tunnels and industrial infrastructure have been posting videos and photographs to social media, appealing to the international community. Soldiers are "dying in agony" due to the lack of proper treatment, Captain Svyatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov Battalion, said in a video address on May 5. He pleaded for international help to evacuate the civilians and wounded fighters there. Andriy Yermak, a top adviser to Zelenskiy, said on May 6 that nearly 500 civilians had been evacuated from the city and the Azovstal plant as part of a United Nations-led effort. "The next stage of rescuing our people from Azovstal is under way at the moment. Information about the results will be provided later," Yermak said in a post on Telegram on May 6. Kyiv will "do everything to save all its civilians and military." However, Mariupol authorities later said that Russian forces had fired at a vehicle that was involved in the evacuation, killing at least one Ukrainian fighter and wounding six. Russia did not immediately comment. Russia's RIA news agency said its correspondent had seen a bus with 12 civilians leave the Azovstal complex, but the reports could not immediately be confirmed. Russia's renewed offensive in the Donbas -- now in its third week -- has been slow-going, amid stubborn defense from Ukrainian forces who are increasingly equipped with heavy artillery and powerful anti-tank and antiaircraft weaponry supplied from NATO members. Germany, which has come under pressure at home and abroad to step up its equipment supplies, said on May 6 that it would supply seven self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine after reversing its policy not to send heavy armaments to war zones. Earlier, Berlin announced it would also be sending "Gepard" antiaircraft systems. The Donbas offensive came after a thwarted campaign by Russian forces north of Kyiv in the early weeks of the war. The withdrawal of Russian troops from places like Bucha, near Kyiv, has led to a cascade of reports from witnesses who say Russian units committed atrocities that could amount to war crimes. Rights watchdog Amnesty International said on May 6 there was compelling evidence that Russian troops had committed war crimes, including extrajudicial executions of civilians, when they occupied an area outside Ukraine's capital in February and March. Civilians also suffered abuses such as "reckless shootings and torture, the group said. Russian troops had committed a "host of apparent war crimes" in Bucha, including "numerous unlawful killings," most of them near the intersection of Yablunska and Vodoprovidna streets, the report found. With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and AP After months of grueling negotiations, Iran and world powers appeared to be on the threshold of agreeing to restore a landmark 2015 nuclear deal. But several last-minute snags have threatened to derail efforts to revive the agreement, which curbed Tehrans sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. The biggest and most complicated stumbling block is Irans demand that the United States drop the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) -- a branch of the Iranian armed forces that plays a significant role in the economy -- from its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). Tehran has said that the IRGCs removal from the blacklist is a red line. Washington has not directly commented on the issue, although it said separate U.S. sanctions against the IRGC would remain in place under any agreement. Observers said there could be a tradeoff, although they warned that the sensitivity of the matter could scupper a compromise. In the United States, the issue is controversial given that American officials have accused the IRGC of creating instability and supporting militant groups in the region. The IRGC is also in charge of Irans controversial missile program. Meanwhile, for Tehran, the terrorist designation of the IRGC, a major center of power in the Islamic republic, is unacceptable. I think it's more likely than not that Washington and Tehran will find a way around this impasse to revive the JCPOA, said Henry Rome, a senior analyst at the Eurasia Group in Washington, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the formal name of the nuclear deal. This will require some creativity and political cost, but I think there's enough incentive on both sides to push through this obstacle. But it's clearly not guaranteed, Rome told RFE/RL. The FTO designation has attained a political significance that exceeds its practical implication, which makes compromise particularly challenging. 'Both Sides Are Prone To Miscalculation' In 2019, then-U.S. President Donald Trump designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization, marking the first time Washington had officially used that label on a foreign state institution. It came a year after Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and reimposed harsh economic sanctions against Tehran. Iran responded by gradually expanding its nuclear activities, shortening its so-called breakout period for developing nuclear weapons, a move that triggered alarm in Western capitals. Despite the high stakes, Iran and the United States have not shown any signs that they will compromise on the IRGCs blacklisting. Ali Vaez, the director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group (ICG), compared the situation to a Mexican standoff. Its very difficult to find a mutually acceptable formula and this is a situation like a Mexican standoff [in] that each side expects the other to concede because they think the other needs the deal more, Vaez said during an online panel discussion on March 29. The reality is that both sides need it and both sides are prone to miscalculation. Washington-based news outlet Axios, citing U.S. and Israeli sources, reported on March 16 that Washington was considering removing the IRGC from its terrorist blacklist in return for a public commitment from Iran to de-escalation in the region. Tehran is accused of supporting Yemens Huthi rebels, who have been fighting a deadly war against a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally and Tehrans regional foe. The Huthis have staged cross-border assaults on Saudi Arabia, striking key energy facilities. Meanwhile, Iranian-backed militias have been accused of launching attacks against U.S. security personnel and bases in Iraq. The U.S. presence in Iraq has long been a flash point for Tehran, but tensions spiked after a January 2020 U.S. drone strike near Baghdad airport killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani. The assassination infuriated Iran, which days later launched a ballistic missile attack on a military base housing international troops in Iraq that caused brain concussion injuries to some 100 U.S. troops. Iranian officials have threatened further retaliation, including targeting Trump administration officials. The State Department on March 12 said it was paying more than $2 million per month to provide 24-hour security to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a former top aide, both of whom it said faced serious and credible threats from Iran. A source close to the U.S. negotiating team in Vienna, the venue of the nuclear talks, told RFE/RLs Radio Farda this week that one of Washingtons main demands for delisting the IRGC was a commitment by Iran not to target Trump administration officials in retaliation for Soleimanis killing. In a written statement to Radio Farda, the State Department said it was not going to respond to specific claims about what sanctions we would be prepared to lift as part of a mutual return to full implementation of the JCPOA. 'The Most Absurd Of Obstacles' State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on March 30 that several issues remain unresolved in the nuclear talks with Iran, adding that the onus was on Tehran to make those choices. Irans Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on March 26 that the IRGCs terrorist designation was a key stumbling block in the talks. But he suggested some flexibility, saying senior IRGC officials had said that the deal should not be held up over the issue if the accord serves the nations interests. Amir-Abdollahian, however, later said on Instagram that red lines should not be crossed. He quoted Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic republic, who was quoted as saying, I, too, am a revolutionary guard." Vaez told RFE/RL that the FTO designation, which was seen as largely symbolic, has not done anything to curtail the IRGC's influence. In fact, he said, it had made the IRGC even more brazen. This is the most absurd of obstacles to restoring the nuclear deal, Vaez added. Keeping the FTO designation doesn't help the U.S. Lifting it won't help Iran. Before its terrorist designation, the IRGC had already been the target of numerous U.S. sanctions over its involvement in Irans missile program, its alleged human rights abuses and interference in Iranian elections, and its support for militant groups in the Middle East region. Even amid the ongoing nuclear talks in Vienna, Washington has continued to target the IRGC and its affiliates with new sanctions. On March 30, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against "an Iran-based procurement agent and his network of companies that procured ballistic missile propellant-related materials" for the IRGC. RFE/RL Radio Farda correspondent Reza Haghighatnejad contributed to this report. Three days after launching the biggest invasion of another European nation since World War II, President Vladimir Putin put the world on further notice: In a televised meeting, he ordered Russias nuclear forces on special combat readiness. In case anyone didnt get the first message, Dmitry Kisleyov, a bombastic host on state-run TV, hammered it home hours later: "Now Russia's entire nuclear triad has been placed on special alert. Putin has warned [the world]. Don't try to frighten Russia. Western officials took heed though privately they said they were less concerned with words than with actions. By the fourth week after the invasion, U.S. officials said there was no indication anything had changed for Russias silo-launched, submarine-launched, truck-launched, or air-launched nuclear weapons. Still, threat or bluster, Putins nuclear saber-rattling in the middle of a hot war in Europe has renewed focus on how Russia plans for the unthinkable -- the use of the worlds largest nuclear arsenal -- and how the nuclear policies of other countries, chiefly the United States, might play into that. Few if any wars have been launched with as much nuclear posturing as Russias invasion of Ukraine, said Olga Oliker, director of the Europe and Central Asia Program at the International Crisis Group, in an article published by the journal Foreign Affairs days after Putins announcement. I think the bottom line is that Russia's doctrine allows nuclear use in case of existential threat to the state, she said in a follow-up message to RFE/RL. Regime change is probably an existential threat to the state. But how useful nuclear weapons are for that isn't entirely clear. But there's a real danger there. Putins threat is unprecedented in the post-Cold War era -- and unacceptable, Daryl Kimball, head of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, said in a statement a day after Putins televised order. There has been no instance in which a U.S. or a Russian leader has raised the alert level of their nuclear forces in the middle of a crisis in order to try to coerce the other side's behavior. Existential Danger In 2020, Russias military planners released a new strategic document that offered more clarity on when Moscow could use nuclear weapons and what could justify it. The document, titled Foundations Of State Policy Of The Russian Federation In The Field Of Nuclear Deterrence, stated that the use of nuclear weapons was an option only as a retaliatory measure against the use of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction -- or if the very existence of the state is in jeopardy. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that guideline in comments to CNN on March 22. Refusing to rule out the use of nuclear weapons, he emphasized that Russian policy allows it in the case of an an existential threat for our country. On one level, that is highly unlikely: Moscow is on the offensive in Ukraine, after all, and neither Kyiv nor NATO is threatening any attack on Russia, let alone one so devastating. For many analysts, though, a problem arises if the Kremlin and military commanders equate the existence of the Russian state with Putins rule. And in Putins Russia -- where the parliament speaker has said there is no Russia without Putin, and senior officials offhandedly accuse the West of plotting the countrys demise -- thats not so far-fetched. On March 23, Dmitry Medvedev, the longtime Putin ally, former president, and current deputy head of Russias Security Council, suggested that escalating tensions could result in a nuclear disaster and alleged that Washington had engaged in a long-term plot to destroy Russia. The logic here is simple: if change of government is forced from the outside, the state is no longer sovereign, said Nikolai Sokov, a senior fellow at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation and former Soviet and Russian diplomat who participated in major arms control negotiations. Which is why I believe that the most risky period will be after the fighting ends and the West will have to decide on what to do with Russia. If it goes too far -- the Iraq scenario -- then I do not rule out nuclear use, he said. In the end, nuclear use does not have to be limited to military contingencies. It is possible to defeat a state by using nonmilitary tools, so (1) nuclear use is possible in peacetime and (2) policy should be very carefully calibrated, he said in an e-mail. Nuclear Doctrines In 2018, President Donald Trumps administration released a doctrine paper that spelled out both U.S. and Russian thinking about nuclear weapons use. Russian strategy and doctrine emphasize the potential coercive and military uses of nuclear weapons, the paper said. Moscow mistakenly assesses that the threat of nuclear escalation or actual first use of nuclear weapons would serve to de-escalate a conflict on terms favorable to Russia. These mistaken perceptions increase the prospect for dangerous miscalculation and escalation. Where Ukraine is concerned, said one prominent Russian expert on nuclear issues, the conflict remains strictly local. That is, beyond supplying weapons and intelligence, NATO and the United States have gone out of their way to stay out. They are taking necessary measures to keep it that way, and Russia, although with rather explicit nuclear signaling, acknowledges that, said the expert, who asked to speak anonymously due to growing concerns about government pressure on independent analysts and media. Moreover, Russia hasnt unleashed its full conventional arsenal: The footage of Mariupol or Volnovakha is extremely depressing, but it gives a hint of what is possible, and on a much bigger scale. Thus, there are no conditions for nuclear use, he said. A Russian nuclear strike would mean we arrive to the uncharted waters of nuclear warfighting. And a nuclear war can never be won, he said. New START, Old START Until the Russian invasion, arms control was one of a dwindling number of areas where United States and Russia could still talk to each other. Even as relations spiraled downwards -- over Crimea, election meddling, Syria, the Kremlins poisoning of dissidents, and other issues -- Moscow and Washington maintained caps on their nuclear arsenals. The Trump administration pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. But Trump did not pull out of New START, the sole remaining agreement limiting U.S. and Russian nuclear forces. Trumps successor, President Joe Biden, made it his administrations first priority to agree with Russia to extend the treaty for five years, and the former Cold War foes did so just days after he took office in 2021. For many Western experts, the Kremlins willingness to extend New START was an indication that Moscow was rational -- and pragmatic -- about its nuclear arsenal. But that treaty does not include tactical, or nonstrategic, nuclear weapons -- less powerful arms that are designed not for flinging at distant cities atop long-distance missiles, but for local battlefield use. U.S. intelligence estimates Russia has more than 1,500 of them. According to a Congressional Research Service report released this month, the United States has far fewer, around 230 in total. About 100 of those are deployed in Europe mainly gravity bombs that are designed to be dropped from jets -- something Moscow has complained about for years. Russian statements, when combined with military exercises that seemed to simulate the use of nuclear weapons against NATO members, led many to believe that Russia might threaten to use its nonstrategic nuclear weapons to coerce or intimidate its neighbors, the CRS report said. For the moment, fears of instability or confusion within the Kremlin or in the strategic command structure that oversees operations of Russias nuclear weapons have been nonexistent, according to Western officials, who say the command-and-control procedures and chain of authority overseeing launch decisions is robust and competent and professional. In recent days, U.S. and British officials have suggested publicly and privately that Putin was being misled by his closest advisers -- both about Russias capabilities in the run-up to the war and about ongoing operations. This makes it even more unlikely that nuclear weapons would be used, said Kimberly Marten, an expert on Russian foreign and security policy at Barnard College, Columbia University, in New York. It implies that there is a screen of presumably rational officers, who dont themselves want to experience nuclear war, who are serving as a filter between whatever emotional reactions Putin might have, and the battlefield, she told RFE/RL in an e-mail. "I wouldnt go so far as to say that nuclear use isnt going to happen, though," she said. "I remain concerned about a miscalculation or error that comes about through an inadvertent confrontation and escalation between Russian and NATO forces in a border area, for example." The other calculation for the Kremlin, experts say, is whether limited use of a nuclear weapon or chemical weapons in Ukraine would result in exactly what it has adamantly warned against: NATO intervention in the conflict, prompted, for example, by a radioactive fallout drifting into alliance member states. I think Russia would use nuclear weapons to keep the war from becoming existential for it, and any war with NATO is existential, Oliker said. So there's a real risk if NATO states get directly involved. Russian soldiers returning or redeploying from Ukraine frequently try to sell looted goods to Belarusians in southern border districts, according to interviews with multiple residents. The reports from the southeastern Homel region are the latest example of how Moscow has used the region bordering both Ukraine and Russia as a staging ground for troops rotating in and out of Ukraine -- and how thats disrupted Belarusians lives. Last month, residents of Homel, the regions main city, and other outlying towns reported how corpses of Russian soldiers killed in combat in Ukraine were overwhelming some of the regions morgues. Hospitals were also being filled to capacity with wounded Russian soldiers, and doctors and medical staff were being forced to work exclusively on treating them, according to residents. In recent days, Ukrainian and Western officials have reported that Russian troops have pulled back from frontline positions close to Kyiv, and redeployed elsewhere, including into Belarus. One man who lives in Mazyr, a town southwest of Homel, said the skies were filled constantly with Russian planes and helicopters, and Russian troops were constantly trying to sell goods to locals, including diesel fuel from military supplies. They take the trophies looted from Ukraine and offer to sell them to locals. Refrigerators, household appliances, tires, and whatever comes to hand, the man, who asked only to use his first name, Ilya, told RFE/RL. Even before the beginning of the war on February 24, Homel region residents had reported that Russian soldiers -- whose units had been deployed to Belarus ostensibly for joint exercises with Belarusian units -- regularly sought to sell diesel fuel to locals. Another Mazyr resident told RFE/RL how there were large groups of Russian soldiers who crowded into the towns bars and stores, surrounding and harassing people. The man, who asked to only use his first name, Maksim, said a male acquaintance who had long hair was harassed by soldiers who appeared to be from central Russia or as far away as Siberia. They also stink a lot. You can tell by the smell when you go to the store that they are here. After all, I dont think they bathe, Maksim said. The commanders live in normal conditions. Soldiers live in the woods, in tents and even in barns. The Russians, they behave like theyre masters of the universe, he said. In the Brahin district, which is just 20 kilometers from a major road crossing into Ukraine, residents reported lengthy columns of tanks, armored personnel carriers, and Ural troop transport trucks over the past week. One resident told RFE/RL that Russian soldiers gave him a leaflet in Russian that appeared to be a propaganda effort aimed at justifying the Russian invasion. "Dear comrades, friends, we do not need war! We are not going to attack and bomb cities. We came to fight not with the Ukrainian people, but with the nationalists, at whose hands peaceful people are dying, read the leaflet, which was shared with RFE/RL. In and around Naroulya, a town located on the banks of the Pripyat River, south of Mazyr, residents reported large troop encampments, as well as a field hospital where wounded soldiers were being treated. Soldiers corpses are being sent directly to Russia, they said, either by truck or by train. The field hospital is guarded from the outside by Russian soldiers to ensure that no one takes photographs, said one resident of Narovlya, who asked to remain nameless. There are lots of helicopters flying very low there. Many of them are circling over [the town]. Another resident, who also asked not to use his name, said soldiers were buying up all the alcohol in stores. Once, a Russian [soldier] grabbed vodka and wine, and then his [bank] card didnt work. So he went and put everything back, the person told RFE/RL. But mostly they just buy everything. And take a lot of vodka. Also sneakers, bread rolls, and cigarettes, he added. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar has said that the Kyiv region has been retaken from Russian troops. "Irpin, Bucha, Hostomel, and the entire Kyiv region have been liberated from the invader," Malyar wrote on Facebook on April 2, naming suburbs of the capital hard hit since Russia's war against Ukraine began in late February. The news came after Ukraine said earlier in the day that Russian forces were making a "rapid retreat" from areas around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv, near Ukraine's border with southeast Belarus. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that much of the Russian military equipment being moved into Belarus was damaged, and that Russian military personnel were taking stolen items, including civilian vehicles, into Belarus in order to ship them to Russia. Retreating Russian forces have also been accused by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of creating a complete disaster outside the capital and of planting mines across the country as they move toward Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. In his nightly video address to the nation, Zelenskiy said on April 1 that Russian forces were leaving mines, trip wires, and other obstacles in their wake. "They are mining homes, mining equipment, even the bodies of people who were killed, he said. In Bucha, a correspondent for AFP reported seeing the bodies of at least 20 people on a single street, including one with bound hands. The French news agency quoted Bucha Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk as saying that all of the victims had been "shot dead in the back of the head," and that 280 more bodies had been buried in a mass grave. Many of the bodies, he said, "had white bandages on them "to show that they were unarmed." Presidential aide Andriy Yermak said on April 2 that Ukrainian photographer and documentary maker Maks Levin had been found dead near Kyiv following his disappearance more than two weeks ago. "He went missing in the conflict area on March 13 in the Kyiv region. His body was found near the village of Huta Mezhyhirska on April 1," he said in a post on Telegram. Reporters Without Borders said in an April 2 tweet that Levin was unarmed and wearing a press jacket, and that he was the sixth journalist to be killed in the course of the war that began February 24. Zelenskiy warned during his address of difficult battles ahead as Russia redeploys troops. We are preparing for an even more active defense, he said, adding that he expected violent Russian attacks in the east of his country. "The Russian forces are accumulating in the Donbas, in the Kharkiv direction," he said. "They are preparing for powerful new blows." On April 2, the International Red Cross made its second attempt in two days to evacuate civilians from the southeastern city of Mariupol, a strategic port on the Sea of Azov that has been devastated by some of the heaviest urban fighting of the war. The humanitarian organization, which had to abandon an attempt to send a convoy to escort civilians out of the city the previous day, said late in the evening of April 2 that the effort was ongoing, but the situation on the ground was volatile. Russia's Defense Ministry blamed the Red Cross for any failure to evacuate civilians from Mariupol on April 2, saying its team had left too late to reach Mariupol in time, according to Russia's state-run RIA news agency. 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. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced on Telegram, however, that 765 civilians had managed to flee the city in their own vehicles. A further 500 civilians fled the nearby city of Berdyansk, and evacuations were expected to continue on April 3, Vereshchuk said. Roughly 3,000 people reportedly managed to escape Mariupol on April 1, and 3,000 had been evacuated from other cities, according to Ukrainian officials. In his April 1 address, Zelenskiy did not mention the latest round of talks with Russian negotiators that took place earlier that day by video. However, a Ukrainian negotiator was quoted as saying on April 2 that Russia had indicated that negotiations had advanced enough for direct consultations between the countries' presidents. Interfax Ukraine quoted David Arakhamia as telling Ukrainian television that Russia had accepted Ukraine's overall position with the exception of its stance on Crimea. The Ukrainian peninsula was annexed by Russia after its 2014 invasion of Ukraine, and Moscow has insisted that it be recognized as Russian territory. Ukraine has said it will not accept the loss of any of its sovereign territory. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by Russia's RIA news agency on April 2 as saying that it was important for talks to continue, but that Kyiv had rejected Moscow's desire to hold more talks in Belarus. With reporting by RFE/RL's Russian Service, Reuters, AP, and AFP Valentyn seems to have been the last resident of Teterivske, a village west of Kyiv, who stayed in his old wooden house as Russian shells hit his deserted neighborhood. With artillery detonations still dangerously close on March 31, Ukrainian soldiers managed to persuade the elderly, frail, and frightened man to let them take him to safety away from his already heavily damaged house. Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to recreate the Soviet Union, an aspiration that also threatens Central and Eastern Europe, Ukraines former prime minister said. Yulia Tymoshenko's remarks, made in an interview with Current Time, were some of the most extensive comments shes made since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.. Vladimir Putin deeply believes that he has a historic mission to recreate the Soviet Union, she said in the interview published on April 1. To return European countries to some past century with all those aspects of prison that were part of the Soviet Union. 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. And his sense of his historic mission is so deep that he is ready to achieve this not only politically, but also economically, using the energy tools that he has, she said. Now a lawmaker in parliament and the head of an opposition political party, Tymoshenko is a fiery and sometimes divisive figure in Ukrainian politics. She served as prime minister twice, under President Viktor Yushchenko, before challenging Viktor Yanukovych for the presidency in 2010. She was jailed during the Yanukovych presidency for nearly 2 1/2 years until the February 2014 Maidan revolution, which culminated in violent street clashes and in Yanukovych fleeing Ukraine for Russia. She finished a distant second to Petro Poroshenko in the 2014 presidential election, and finished third in the 2019 presidential election, trailing both Poroshenko and Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who won the vote. In the 2019 parliamentary vote, her political bloc -- called Fatherland announced that its position would be in opposition to Zelenskiys Servant of the People bloc, which held a majority in the Ukrainian parliament. Among other things, the party opposed legislation backed by Zelenskiy to allow the sale of farmland -- a controversial move in Ukraine, where agriculture plays a traditional and important role in the countrys economy. Tymoshenko was also a key player in Ukraines oil and gas industry, and negotiated directly with Putin and top Russian industry officials in the 2000s amid a series of crises over Russian gas supplies to Ukraine. We must understand that this mistaken idea of Putin's mission in the world could disfigure the lives of not only those in Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova, but it could affect every European country where he sees his interest in one way or another, she said. You can read this, among other things, in the ultimatum that he delivered to the Western world, the United States, and NATO. This is madness, this is some incredibly perverted perception of reality. Does this mean that the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic countries should be thrown out of the Western world, from the NATO system, collective security? She said the Russian invasion had only bolstered her support for Ukraine joining NATO eventually. The Kremlin vehemently opposes Ukrainian membership, and has demanded that the Zelenskiy government foreswear it for the future. No one can tell us from the outside, especially the aggressor country, how we should build our lives, how we should form our constitution, how we should build the government of our country and the management of our army, she told Current Time, a Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. No one has the right today to set conditions for Ukraine, that we ought to surrender part of our territory in exchange for the withdrawal from our country of someone carrying around dirty weapons. Ukraine's membership in NATO is the most powerful guarantee, second only to having a strong army, which can once and for all stop any attempts by the Russian Federation to seize Ukraine, she said. And such attempts will not stop. We should not be in any way naive, thinking that today's events, that peace talks will stop the aggressor's plans to seize Ukraine. KOMOROW, Poland -- When the Russian bombing got too close to their home near Kyiv, the Pavlenkos quickly decided it was time to flee Ukraine. In their desperate rush to get out, besides some clothing, the family grabbed three otherwise ordinary items: a giraffe keychain, a packet of buckwheat, and a desk lamp. Now, living as refugees in Poland, the Pavlenkos cling to those three mementos of everyone they left behind, their lives shattered when Russian leader Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of their homeland on February 24, triggering the largest exodus of refugees ever since World War II. Alyona, 45, and her husband, Viktor, 48, have five children: Nadia, Vika, Yana, Andriy, and Myroslava -- aged from seven to 24. Before the invasion, Viktor took odd jobs here and there and Alyona did cleaning on the side, but mainly she managed the family home, complete with a cow, chickens, a cat, a dog, as well as a fruit orchard. Nadia, 24, was teaching Ukrainian in a private school in Kyiv. Vika, 22, was working as a nurse in Zhytomyr. But as the Russian attack creeped closer, Alyona Pavlenko said life became unbearable for the family in their hometown of Vysoke, southeast of the capital, Kyiv. "Since we first heard the explosions on the Kyiv-Zhytomyr highway, we had been sleeping with our clothes on. [There was the sound of] missiles, explosions, planes," she told RFE/RL. "The house was shaking. I was scared and scared for our children: one was in Kyiv, one in Zhytomyr, and three at home with me. My husband was in the territorial defense. If we were in the house at the time, we'd run to the basement, or hide under a window or in the bathtub. My hands were shaking." In the early hours of March 2, with the sound of rocket fire very loud and very close, Alyona rushed outside and ran to the neighbors, who were readying to leave themselves and had space for the Pavlenko family if they wanted to come. They took up the offer and soon found themselves driving away from their homes, not sure when they would return and where exactly they were headed. According to Alyona, they quickly decided to veer toward Poland, given its proximity, a decision taken by more than 1 million Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. In total, more than 4 million Ukrainians have left the country. They eventually reached and crossed the Ukrainian-Polish border at Medyka in southeastern Poland, where Polish border guards have struggled to process the huge procession of people leaving Ukraine. Alyona said that, while they were relieved to have reached the sanctuary offered by Poland, they were wary as well, hearing stories that some had preyed on refugees rather than help them. There have been reports of Ukrainian woman and girls being raped after fleeing Ukraine. "We were told that not all people are to be trusted. Two girls were lost at the station and everyone was looking for them," Alyona recounted. Two days after crossing into Poland, the family's journey came to an end in Komorow, a leafy town on the outskirts of Warsaw with many large, spacious homes. They were welcomed by Aneta Stremazalska in her three-story home, where she lives with her partner, two children, and mother. "At first I thought very rich people lived here. But now I understand this is a middle-class family," said Alyona, adding that, as she and her family adjusts to their new digs, the question of 'how long will it last?' is always in the back of her mind. "We're still taking advantage of their hospitality. It's clear we are a burden. This can't go on forever," said Alyona as she rummaged through the documents and other items taken from home, including a few articles of clothing stuffed in backpacks. "I have the children. That's all that matters, nothing else is important." She realizes that documents from home, however, are necessary to secure work in Poland, although she clings to the hope she won't need to and dreams of returning home soon. "Every day, I think about going back. One day we watch the news and it looks safe to go back, and then the next day everything is different. I also understand, it can't go on like this. I need to make a decision. If not for the kids, I would have gone back," Alyona explained. Alyona is also struggling to convince her disbelieving father living in Russia of the death and destruction that Putin's invasion of Ukraine has caused, a similar story told by other Ukrainians with relatives in Russia where state-controlled media speak only of a sanitized "special operation," or of destruction caused by "Ukrainian nationalists" or "Nazis." "Despite the fact that his daughter and grandchildren have fled the bombings, he says, 'This is your fault, you [Ukrainians] started it all. When this is all over, I will drive with you around Ukraine myself and show you that all you've been shown is a lie. Why did you leave anyway?'" Alyona said. As Alyona rummages through the documents and other family items, teacher Nadia is wrapping up another online lesson. Some of her students remain in Kyiv, but most are scattered across Europe, refugees like her, finding what they hope will be temporary homes from Greece to Norway. Nadia explained her students are quickly adapting to their new surroundings, noting one student "already knows how to count to 10 in Greek." Nadia, who teaches Ukrainian, says her students seem especially eager with their language lessons now. "They're happy to have classes and always get their homework done. The Ukrainian language is now an important thread that ties them to home," Nadia explained, adding that her efforts to find work as a Ukrainian teacher in Poland have so far come up short. "There are lots of teachers like me here." Asked to pose for a photo with something of value that she managed to take from home, Nadia pulls out a package of buckwheat, a food staple for many Ukrainians. "My boyfriend, Artem, packed this for me, when I left Kyiv, to remind me of home, and also for that so-called rainy day. I'm not thinking about opening it yet. I do love buckwheat though," she said, laughing. Nadia said Artem was now in a territorial defense unit in Kyiv and regretted she was not with him, split apart by the Russian invasion. "It feels so unfair that my whole life that I planned for myself is in doubt now. In the end, I decided my teaching skills would be more useful for children right now. So I teach online every day for free," she said. Twelve-year-old Yana, 10-year-old Andriy, and seven-year-old Myroslava are facing the additional challenges of a new school with teachers and students speaking a foreign language. "I didn't like school back at home either," joked Andriy, asking if "I must go back again tomorrow." Although in good spirits now, Andriy suffered greatly during the conflict in Ukraine, Alyona explained, throwing up nearly everything he ate. His deteriorating physical and mental health is what convinced Alyona that the family must leave. As they scrambled to pack what they could, Andriy grabbed one small keepsake -- a keychain giraffe that he gave to his sister Vika. She has carried it everywhere since. Andriy is not alone in his dislike for school. Yana is struggling as well. "It's boring, I can't get my head into it. I'm drawing in classes, look," she said, showing the doodles of hearts and stars in her notebook. Asked if she took anything from home that is especially important to her, Yana happily answers "yes," a family lamp, and runs out to retrieve it. "I know which lamp she's talking about," Nadia said. "It's a lucky charm of our family." RFE/RL Ukrainian Service correspondent Maryan Kushnir spoke with Ukrainian soldiers in the Kyiv region on March 31. They told him about their situation on the front line and also described details of a battle that took place the day before, in which they say they managed to recapture some territory and take advantageous positions. By SA Commercial Prop News Malibongwe Ridge is an extension to Cosmo City and will incorporate the informal settlement of Itsoseng and will be a mixed use, sustainable integrated development. Basil Read Developments a division of JSE-listed construction group Basil Read, on 11 March 2013 broke ground on a R1,85 billion Malibongwe Ridge mixed-use development, close to Cosmo City in northwest Johannesburg. The mixed-use development, adjacent to the groups Cosmo City development, would comprise affordable housing for over 5 500 families, as well as churches, clinics, parks, schools, commercial and retail opportunities. The entire development is expected to be completed within five years. The R1.85 billion affordable housing project is being developed for the Gauteng department of local government and housing and the City of Johannesburg by Codevco, a Basil Read subsidiary. Codevco's scope of work includes constructing 3,240 low-income housing units with rental rooms, as well as 244 low-income freestanding houses, 669 finance-linked, partially subsidised houses, 604 bonded houses and 754 rental or "social" housing units. In February, Basil Read Developments concluded another major sale at its Klipriver Business Park for R15 million to Chinese Investor, New Hope South Africa (Pty) Limited. The R390 million Klipriver Business Park is located on the farm Waterval and comprises a gross land size of 143ha and development land size of 118.9ha with 96 saleable erven which will be developed in four phases. The Klipriver Business Park covers the entire R59/R550 interchange and is accessible to all major road networks (N1 and N3) and rail network. It is considered to be the new major growth node of Gauteng Basil Read was awarded a road contract worth R279m by the South African National Roads Agency Limited, to rehabilitate the national route 5, section 4, between Vaalpensspruit and Winburg in North West. The 2020 business report on the performance of FDI companies released by the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Planning and Investment, shows that FDI companies have all kept their capital safe, increased their equity, and even expanded their businesses. Therefore, the reported losses by FDI companies is false, when instead they have made many gains. Increase in revenue Based on the 2020 financial statement of 25,171 companies, which make up 90.6% of governing FDI companies and 78.7% of all FDI companies, the Ministry of Finance said that FDI companies earned a total revenue of more than VND 7.5 mn bn in 2020, an increase of VND 340,000 bn, and up by 4.8% over 2019. The equity was almost VND 3.5 mn bn, rising by nearly VND 390,000 bn, and up by 12.4% over 2019, with the owners' investment capital being more than VND 2.3 mn bn. In 2020, 10,125 companies reported profits, which means that 40.2% of the companies turned in their financial statements. Gross profits shown were over VND 406,000 bn, growing by VND 37,000 bn, or up 10% over 2019. Five sectors that made the greatest contribution towards gross profits were industries for electronic components, computers, computer peripheral devices and optical devices; food processing, brewery and beverages; chemicals, plastic and cosmetics; assembly industry of automobile, motorcycles and other engines; and the leather and footwear industry. On the other hand, reports on losses in 2020 came from 14,108 companies, making up 56% of the companies that submitted their financial statements, with losses upto VND 151,000 bn. The total assets of the companies showing losses were over VND 2.4 mn bn, up 22% compared with the total assets of the companies with losses in 2019. The revenues of the companies with losses were nearly VND 1.1 mn bn, increasing 27% over 2019. By the end of 2020, 16,164 companies had reported accumulated losses in their financial statements, accounting for 64% of the companies, with total accumulated losses of more than VND 620,000 bn, or 44% of their equity. The total assets of the companies with accumulated losses were VND 2.9 mn bn, up by 8.1%, and the revenue was over VND 1.3 mn bn, increasing by 5.2%. Of the 4,250 companies that lost all their assets, 466 companies still added investment capital worth more than VND 5,400 bn. The domestic revenue of FDI companies was VND 206,000 bn in 2020, dropping by more than VND 6,000 bn over 2019. This was the first time during the 2016 to 2020 period that a year-on-year fall had been recorded in FDI payments to the state budget. The Ministry of Finance says that revenues and gross profits have increased every year, but there has been no positive sign of companies' reporting on losses, accumulated losses, and losses of original investments. This actually indicates some sign of transfer and tax evasion, causing losses to the tax revenue and adversely affecting the investment environment and fair competition. Proposed criteria The Ministry of Planning and Investment says that one of the hindrances in attracting and managing Foreign Direct Investment in the last few years has been the inefficient use of land at many investment projects and the small scale of projects. The technology used at FDI companies is not considered remarkably superior to domestic businesses. The number of projects applying advanced and modern technology from Europe and the US is only 5%, mainly medium technology, of which 30% to 40% originate from China. Low and outdated technology comprises 15%, which has led to risks and challenges for greater energy consumption and depletion of resources. In particular, technology transfer in Vietnam has been done mainly through capital contribution and procurement of machinery and equipment. This kind of technology transfer only takes place between parent companies overseas and their subsidiaries in Vietnam, rather than making any significant change in expertise, capacity, innovation and technology creation. Upto 85% of FDI companies in Vietnam are wholly foreign-owned companies. This has severely hampered FDI companies' efforts to transfer and spread technology. Currently, the localization rate in Vietnam is 20% to 25% on an average. The rate is 40% to 45% in the textile, leather and footwear sector; 30% to 35% in household electronics; 30% to 40% in synchronous equipment; 7% to 10% in car assembly; 55% in truck assembly; 40% in bus and specialized car assembly; 15% in information technology and electronics industry; and 5% to 10% in the high-tech industry. The report by the Ministry of Planning and Investment says it has proposed seven criteria for attracting Foreign Direct Investment, having learnt from experience over the last thirty years. The criteria for carefully selecting Foreign Direct Investment includes investment rates; labor; technology; technology transfer; connectivity; pivotal effects; environment; national defense and security. In this selection process, environmental criterion plays a key role. The Ministry of Planning and Investment says that this is an important criterion for achieving the goal of sustainable development, attracting further foreign investments, and conserving energy sources. Over the last few years, FDI projects in heavy industries, such as cement, steel, coal powered energy, and petrochemical refining, have caused huge emissions, that have negatively affected the environment. In order to comply with this criterion, the Ministry of Planning and Investment says it is necessary to abide by Article 44 of the 2020 Investment Law, and Decree 31/2021/ND-CP, which has detailed guidelines on enforcement of the Investment Law. These two documents prohibit expanding and extending operations for FDI projects with outdated technology, potentially causing environmental pollution and resource depletion. When their operating term expires, FDI projects that wish to extend their projects must meet the relevant technology and environmental criterion. Quang Minh Rebeccah Glisson will never forget the day in 2010 when her dad and brother showed up at the San Diego preschool where she worked with the news that her sister was dead. Glisson, then 17, said her goodbyes to her co-workers, picked up her things and walked out to the parking lot. Then she collapsed to her knees in grief. It was horrible, she said. Earth-shattering. It was also the experience that started Glisson down the path she walks today as a volunteer group facilitator for The Elizabeth Hospice Childrens Bereavement Centers in Escondido and Mission Valley. Grief is not something you outgrow, she said. There are days when I dont have the energy to put my feet on the floor. What helps is that I have the skills to get me through those kinds of days. I want to use my story to help kids cope with their grief when they have days like that. Advertisement Group facilitator Rebeccah Glisson, 25, talks with siblings Emily Roberts, 7, left, and Nathan Roberts, 10, before a childrens grief support group at The Elizabeth Hospice Childrens Bereavement Center in Escondido last week. The childrens father died two years ago. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) Over the past year, the 25-year-old San Diego State University psychology student has spent six hours a week helping facilitate peer-to-peer grief support groups for children ages 3 to 18. Shes one of 45 volunteers who help run the evening group sessions, which serve more than 200 children countywide. But Melissa Lunardini, childrens bereavement manager for The Elizabeth Hospice, said Glisson is one of the best facilitators shes seen in her 15 years in the business. Beccah is so genuine and authentic but still tied to her grief, Lunardini said. When you talk about gifts and instincts, shes just universally good at reaching even the most nonverbal kids. They will always fold to her and let her in. Glisson said she hopes one day to open her own center for youths recovering from all forms of trauma, including the deaths of loved ones, abuse, gang violence and sex trafficking. On Tuesday evening, Lunardini and Glisson toured visitors through the Childrens Bereavement Center in Escondido. Theres a room with low-to-the-ground couches for group talking sessions, an arts-and-crafts area, a game room, a music room filled with instruments and a fully decorated hospital room. Lunardini said some children find great comfort role-playing their stories in the hospital room because for many thats the last place they saw their loved one before they died. Theres also a newly opened volcano room, filled with colorful thick foam cushions, a punching bag and padded walls decorated with a big embroidered erupting vocano. Its the big energy room, Lunardini explains. Kids who arent as comfortable verbalizing, particularly boys, can deal with their rage, frustrations and anxiety in there without getting hurt. Group facilitator Rebeccah Glisson, left, plays in the volcano room with siblings Nathan Roberts, center, and Emily Roberts at The Elizabeth Hospice Childrens Bereavement Center. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) The centers walls are lined with childrens art projects. Theres one wall of photos of lost loved ones and another wall featuring Before/After drawings showing how childrens lives were changed by death. One Before drawing shows a smiling stick figure mother holding her childrens hands. In the After, the mother is in a coffin and the children are weeping. Theres also a wall of childrens stories titled How I Found Out ... One explained how the childs mother found her husband hanging from a computer cord in the closet of their home office. His suicide, the child wrote, didnt come as a surprise to anyone. Before a group session for grade school-age children on Tuesday, Glisson played with siblings Nathan Roberts, 10, and Emily Roberts, 7, of Rancho Bernardo. Their dad, Scott Roberts, died two years ago from a heart attack at the age of 49. Teresa Roberts said her children handled their fathers death in different ways. Emily is an exuberant child who processes her grief through talking. But Nathan, whos more introspective, wouldnt talk about it all. A year after Scotts death, Roberts brought the kids to the bereavement center in Escondido, where theyve both made dramatic progress, particularly Nathan. Theyre able to express themselves more now in words and pictures, she said. Talking about their dad isnt just about his death anymore, its about love and memories. Glisson said she tries to meet kids where theyre at by reflecting their behavior at the meetings. If they arrive like Emily, full of energy and enthusiasm, Glisson does the same. If theyre angry and sit silently with their arms crossed in a corner, shell sit beside them and we can just be angry together. Beccah has the get it factor, Lunardini said. She knows how to use her story to help kids tell their story and shes really cool. Kids love her. They flock to her. One of the Before/After drawings created during group grief therapy meetings at The Elizabeth Hospice Childrens Bereavement Center in Escondido. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) Glisson said she knew from an early age she wanted to work with kids, though initially thought it would be in the field of early childhood development. After high school, she was working full-time at the preschool and mulling a move to Boca Raton, Fla., where she could live with her 29-year-old sister Chasity Glisson while she attended college. But then her sister died from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. A few years later, Glisson also lost her father, who had multiple sclerosis and Parkinsons disease. Over the years, she said she has lost more than three dozens other family members and friends to age, illness, accidents and suicide. We all have our paths of hardship, she said. We dont get to choose our cards. I feel l can use all of those experiences to help children have an opportunity to heal. The Elizabeth Hospice Childrens Bereavement Center opened four years ago and now serves more than 500 children through group sessions, school programs and a summer camp. The sessions are free, with all costs supported through donations and grants. After undergoing an assessment, children are separated into age groups (3-6, 6-12, 10-13 and 13-18) and attend 90-minute evening meetings twice a month. These begin with a 30-minute group talking session followed by an hour of activities. Each group has 10 to 15 children, one paid staff member and six to seven facilitators. While the children are in private sessions, their parents and caregivers have their own support meetings. Lunardini said the children learn coping tools from adults and use them to help each other through heavy patches of grief. Boys tell other boys in group that its OK to cry. And at her grandfathers funeral, 7-year-old Emily Roberts gave her mourning uncle a notepad he could use to write down his feelings. Children usually attend the program for two years, though some have stayed for less and some for longer. The program mirrors the school year, running September through May. Glisson said her greatest reward is seeing how the children transform to help themselves and each other. Sometimes, Ill meet my mirror when I see someone going through what I went through, she said. I end up crying my eyes out when I see the support that comes from their peers. For information on The Elizabeth Hospice Childrens Bereavement Center, visit elizabethhospice.org. pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com Covid-19 patients commonly report having headaches, confusion and other neurological symptoms but doctors do not fully understand how the disease targets the brain during infection. And now, researchers have found severe brain inflammation and injury consistent with reduced blood flow or oxygen to the brain, including neuron damage and death. The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, is said to be the first comprehensive assessment of neuropathology associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in a nonhuman primate model. The study also found small bleeds in the brain. Surprisingly, these findings were present in subjects that did not experience severe respiratory disease from the virus. "Because the subjects didn't experience significant respiratory symptoms, no one expected them to have the severity of disease that we found in the brain," said lead investigator Tracy Fischer from Tulane University in the US. "But the findings were distinct and profound, and undeniably a result of the infection," Fischer added. The researchers said that the findings are also consistent with autopsy studies of people who have died of Covid-19, suggesting that nonhuman primates may serve as an appropriate model, or proxy, for how humans experience the disease. Neurological complications are often among the first symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection and can be the most severe and persistent. They also affect people indiscriminately -- all ages, with and without comorbidities, and with varying degrees of disease severity. Taking serious cognisance of the death of Prabhakar Sail due to a suspected heart attack, the Maharashtra government on Saturday ordered the police to probe his sudden demise. After doubts were raised over the death of Sail -- a key 'panch witness' in the infamous Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raids on the Cordelia Cruise ship last October, Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil has directed Mumbai Police to investigate. Sail, in his mid-40s reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest at his home in Mahul, Chembur, according to his lawyer Tushar Khandare. His grieving and aged mother Hiravati Sail told mediapersons that her son had been incommunicado for the past few days, and leaves behind two minor daughters. Earlier, on Saturday morning, the ruling ally Nationalist Congress Party and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raised questions on the witness' death that stunned political circles on the auspicious Gudi Padwa Day (Maharashtrian New Year). Terming it as a 'suspicious development', NCP chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe. BJP legislator Atul Bhatkalkar wondered whether Sail had meted a fate similar to the Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran who was found murdered after the sensational case involving a SUV with 20 gelatin sticks was recovered near the home of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, erupted in February 2021. Soon after the October 2 raids aboard the cruiser, Sail had created a stir accusing then NCB Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede of various irregularities, and hurled allegations of extortion from Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan whose son Aryan was among those detained and later arrested. Besides Aryan Khan, around 19 others were nabbed and two are still in custody, while the NCB has been granted two months' extension to file its chargesheet in the Cordelia Cruise ship swoop case. Sail -- who was described as a personal bodyguard of another independent witness and a BJP activist K.P. Gosavi, had later made several shocking revelations that raised serious questions on the NCB raids and Wankhede. As Pakistan's political situation continues to twist and turn with Prime Minister Imran Khan trying his level best to retain his premiership, repeated claims of a foreign conspiracy to oust his government has raised major concerns over the countrys relations with the US and Europe along with the future of diplomatic ties via foreign policy. Imran Khan has claimed that the US and other western countries have facilitated and planned a plan to oust his government through the no-confidence motion, voting on which will be done tomorrow in the National Assembly of Pakistan. The premier said that foreign powers are using his opposition political parties to oust him because of his trip to Russia and refusing to US and Europe for supporting their position on the Russia-Ukraine crisis against Moscow and condemn the invasion, a demand that Pakistan refused. Khan had waved a letter, claiming it to be a direct threat of dire consequences if he succeeds to tackle the no-confidence motion, adding that all will be forgiven if the incumbent PTI government is thrown off power. While the Prime Minister seems to be using the foreign conspiracy tactic to his benefit among the masses and declared all those who have joined hands against him as "traitors" and "conscience sellers", the claims have been outrightly denied as baseless allegations. Khan's claims raised major reservations over Pakistan's future course of its relations with the US and European Union, which can cause major setbacks to Islamabad's cash-strapped economy. However, it seemed like the Pakistan Army chief took it upon himself to do some damage control as he details Pakistan's future intentions towards its engagements with global powers. Addressing a gathering in Islamabad, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa said that Pakistan does not believe in camp politics. "I believe today more than ever we need to inculcate and promote spaces of intellectual debate and discourse where people from around the world come together to share their ideas about the future of their country and world at large. "Pakistan, as a country located at the crossroads of economic and strategic confronts, is navigating these shared challenges in our immediate region and through our partnership in the international community," he added. Bajwa said Pakistan's first National Security Policy (NCP) highlights that safety, security, dignity and prosperity of its citizens is the nuclear focus of the country's larger interest policy. "It (NCP) recognises the symbiotic relationship between the economic, human and traditional security, placing economic security at the core." Talking about Pakistan's relations with the US and other countries, Bajwa said that Pakistan said Islamabad does not believe in bloc politics. "Pakistan enjoys close relationship with China, demonstrated by our commitment towards the Pakistan China Economic Corridor (CPEC). "Equally we share a long history of excellent and strategic relationship with the US, which remains our largest export market. We seek to broaden and strengthen our ties with both countries without impacting our relations with the other," he added. The COAS also stated that relations with European, Gulf and Southeast Asian countries are also vital for Pakistan's development and progress. The statement holds value because it seems that while Khan may be putting Pakistan's global position in jeopardy, the military establishment has come as a major guarantee to the country's policy and outreach plans moving forward. The Sri Lankan government has imposed an island-wide curfew from Saturday evening to Monday morning ahead of a plan for a massive apolitical public protest on Sunday. The Government Information Department announced that the curfew will be effective from 6 p.m. (Saturday) to 6 a.m. (Monday). A massive public protest is being planned over severe economic crisis including lack of fuel, LPG, electricity and food in Sri Lanka. Ahead of Sunday's protest, on Friday night, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa also imposed the emergency law allowing police to arrest any suspect without a warrant. The civil rights groups and legal experts have criticised the move by Rajapaksa. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka -- an independent body, comprising almost all judges and lawyers, condemned the introduction of emergency law and urged the President to revoke it. The agitated people were determined to get on to the streets despite introduction of the tough law. Opposition parties have said they would support Sunday's protest but disowned giving leadership to it claiming it was a "genuine people's uprising". On Thursday night, the public protest blocked the way to the President's residence, and it turned violent with police attacking protesters. Over 50 protesters were arrested, and over 30 policemen and protesters were injured. During the clash, a bus and several other vehicles belonged to the police were torched. The President's office alleged that the violence at the protest was introduced by an 'extremist' group which wanted enforce an Arab Spring in Sri Lanka. Marilyn Nieves/Getty Image A Los Angeles County judge ruled on Friday that a state law requiring company boards to have at least one director from an underrepresented community is unconstitutional. The law, approved by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September 2020, sets quotas for public companies headquartered in California, mandating that they have at least one board member who self-identifies as Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian, or Alaska Native, or who self-identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. A San Francisco private school teacher was indicted this week on charges that he received sexually explicit images from two minors in 2013, officials said. Charles Richard Barrett, 33, of San Francisco appeared in federal court on Friday, accused of having sent sexually explicit images of himself to two 16-year-old boys and requesting and receiving similar images from them in return, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of California said in a statement. Between December 2013 and February 2014, Barrett, then 24 years old, sent one of the boys sexually explicit images of himself via text message. The boy told Barrett that he was 16, but Barrett encouraged him to respond with his own images and the boy complied, sending nine photos. The conversation also included salacious descriptions of the images that were exchanged, according to the complaint. Barrett had a similar text exchange with another teenage boy in 2013. The boy told Barrett that he was 16 and a high school student in San Francisco. Barrett encouraged the boy to send him sexually explicit photos of himself, and he received at least four photos, officials said. Evidence of the exchange of images was discovered recently when federal agents searched a computer in Barretts home as part of an investigation into his partner, officials said. Barrett teaches at a private elementary and middle school, officials said without naming the school. It wasnt clear whether he is still employed or whether he was a teacher at the time of the text exchange. The U.S. Attorneys Office did not immediately respond to a request for additional information. 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 charge of receipt of child pornography could land Barrett in prison for five to 20 years if he is convicted. He could also face fines, assessments and supervised release. He remains in jail pending a detention hearing, which has been scheduled for Tuesday, officials said. Andy Picon (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: andy.picon@hearst.com Twitter: @andpicon Families with children struggling with addiction or lost to overdoses are putting up a colorful billboard in San Franciscos Union Square shopping district Monday calling attention to the citys dirt cheap fentanyl and arguing the officials should close down open-air drug markets. Its the latest salvo from a group thats held protests in the nearby Tenderloin at the center of the crisis and is now trying to get the attention, not only of San Franciscos elected officials, but also the tourists, office workers and visitors the city is hoping to lure back to the area. It comes weeks after the end of Mayor London Breeds Tenderloin emergency, meant to curb an alarming spike in overdoses in the struggling neighborhood over the past few years, many from the super-powerful opioid fentanyl. The billboard features a glowing nighttime photo of the Golden Gate Bridge with the message Famous the world over for our brains, beauty and, now, our dirt-cheap fentanyl above the span with the words Its time to close open-air drug markets below, along with name and logo of the sponsor, Mothers Against Drug Deaths and its hashtag, #maddtoo. Group co-founder Jacqui Berlinn, the Livermore mother of a homeless fentanyl addict who sometimes lives in the Tenderloin, said the billboard seeks to inform visitors that fentanyl has overrun the city and to pressure city leaders, including Breed and the Board of Supervisors, to take action to stop open drug sales and use. Breed had promised to crack down on drug dealers and open-air drug use and flood the Tenderloin with police as part of the emergency, declared in mid-December. But its only been in the past few weeks that more police have arrived. While some residents and business owners say daytime drug use and sales have quieted, they argue that after nightfall, the open-air drug markets resume. Berlinns group raised $25,000 to post the billboard at the corner of Geary and Stockton streets, overlooking Union Square. It seeks to use tourism, a key to the citys economy, as leverage to force the city to take a more aggressive approach to halting open dealing and use of fentanyl and other illegal drugs. We just want to discourage tourism until the city is able to get this under control, especially the open drug markets, Berlinn said. The message she wants to deliver to San Francisco visitors: Tourists, be aware. You might come and have great clam chowder and see beautiful views but youre also going to see needles on the ground, feces on the ground, open-air drug markets and very sick addicts. Berlinn criticized Breeds recent tourism-promoting trip to Europe and the end of her declared state of emergency in the Tenderloin. The police have said they are trying to address drug dealing but are understaffed. Breed has touted her push to open more housing for the homeless and more beds for addiction and mental health treatment over the past few years, including opening a linkage center in U.N. Plaza to direct people on the streets to services. Breed said reviving San Franciscos struggling tourism sector is vital to maintaining the citys fiscal health and that without a robust budget, the city cant pay for expensive programs to help those struggling with addiction. Before the pandemic, the city filled hotels, restaurants and its convention center with tourists from around the country and the globe. But Berlinn argues that tourists should probably visit another city, not San Francisco, right now because San Francisco should still be in a state of emergency. Mothers Against Drug Deaths is raising money, Berlinn said, for a possible international billboard campaign spreading that message. While the billboard targets tourists, Berlinn said the group of about 200 members is trying to get the city to shut down open fentanyl dealing and the tolerance toward the drugs open sale and use, which she said is the real reason San Franciscos economy is suffering. 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. She expects people to ask about whether the billboard and campaign will hurt legitimate businesses in San Francisco, who are not responsible for the crisis. No, the open-air drug markets are whats hurting the economy in San Francisco, she argued. When Breed decided not to continue the emergency, she acknowledged that the state of the Tenderloin is not what it should be, we know, but its going to get better as we continue the pressure. She added that her goal is to improve the conditions, but most of all to improve safety for the people who live there and work there. Berlinn wants to keep up the pressure and said the group realizes the boldness of the billboard and its message. You could say were feeling desperate, she said. Thats why were doing this campaign. The billboard will be up for a month. Michael Cabanatuan (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported Jacqui Berlinns city of residence. A Bay Area elementary school has restored its mask mandate after reporting a sudden increase in COVID-19 cases. Since March 22, Coleman Elementary School in San Rafael has confirmed 23 total cases of the coronavirus across the school 17 in students and six in employees the district said. In response, the school informed families that it would be reinstating an indoor mask mandate through April 15. Marin County schools aligned with state guidelines that allowed lifting indoor mask mandates on March 12, though face coverings were still strongly recommended. This has not been a time for alarm, but for us to implement the recommended public health strategies to respond to an uptick in cases and decrease risk of transmission, Christina Perrino, a spokesperson for San Rafael City Schools, said Friday. Our community has displayed patience and support as we continue to make decisions in the best interests ... of our entire Coleman community. In the past few days, the number of new cases has also decreased significantly, said Perrino. At this point, Coleman Elementary appears to be the only school in the county to reinstate a mask mandate, but Bay Area infectious disease experts say that going forward, similar backtracks may occur across other schools, in other districts. This is to be expected, said UC Berkeley infectious disease expert Dr. John Swartzberg, referring to the spike. We still have circulating virus in our community, albeit at a much lower level than weve had since last year ... but its not like theres no virus here. Swartzberg and other infectious disease experts said that its more likely that individual schools could make choices to reinstate mask mandates versus districts, which would probably only make that decision if COVID-19 case counts started to increase rapidly both across the district and within their counties at large. Nearly three weeks have passed since school districts in the Bay Area dropped their indoor mask mandates, and case counts are quite low. Still, its unclear how the arrival of the new BA.2 subvariant of omicron which experts say is anywhere from 30% to 80% more transmissible will play out in the Bay Area. BA.2 now makes up roughly half of cases nationally and 60% of COVID cases in the Western region, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is definitely a dress rehearsal for whats going to happen once BA.2 becomes more prominent and spring break continues to fuel cases, said UCSF infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Chin-Hong. Again, most people are not worried about our hospital capacity, but were worried about disruptions in the community. Bay Area experts noted that while the school is returning to using one of the most powerful risk mitigation tools in our disposal masking it might not make much of a difference if the rest of the community isnt masking. Having individual mask mandates in the schools when the rest of the community isnt (masking) doesnt necessarily make sense, said Chin-Hong. Its porous. Nevertheless, this particular spike should still be looked at for what it is: one particular spike, said Swartzberg. 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. Perrino said that the district isnt aware of other Marin County schools restoring the indoor masking requirement, and that the district overall has seen a very minimal, if any, number of cases. The county has not given us any guidance about reinstating the mask requirement for all San Rafael City Schools, nor do we anticipate doing so in the near future, given our low numbers of cases at all our other schools, Perrino added. Mike Grant, director of the Marin County Office of Education, said that across all of the countys schools, things seem to be going well. There hasnt been an alarming increase in cases, and some students and staff are continuing to wear masks, said Grant, adding that with spring break a day away, students and staff have also been issued optional rapid tests to take upon their return. Annie Vainshtein (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avainshtein@sfchronicle.com A coalition of port workers, truckers and cargo terminal operators is filing a lawsuit against Oakland and the As over the environmental review of the Howard Terminal waterfront project the first legal challenge that could potentially throw a curveball at the teams $12 billion ballpark and development. The forthcoming lawsuit comes more than a month after the City Council certified the environmental review of the ballpark and surrounding development. Certifying the environmental review, a nearly 3,500-page report, meant that the council agreed the city adequately studied the environmental impacts of the project and potential mitigation. The As and the city expected opponents to sue. The certification kicked off a 30-day window which ends Monday for legal challenges. The As are expected to benefit from a state law that says lawsuits related to the project must be resolved within 270 days, shortening any potential delay. The East Oakland Stadium Alliance; Schnitzer Steel, a metal shredding facility in West Oakland; Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, which represents port workers; the Harbor Trucking Association; California Trucking Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union filed the lawsuit in Alameda County Superior Court. The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) certified by the City of Oakland for the Oakland As proposed project at Howard Terminal did not adequately disclose, analyze, or mitigate all of the significant adverse impacts this massive and disruptive redevelopment on the working waterfront will cause, said Mike Jacob, the vice president of Pacific Merchant Shipping Association and spokesperson for the entire group. Jacob said the As proposal will have major disruptions and impacts to both the surrounding community and the operations of the Port, yet the EIR did not fully address these concerns or mitigate these well-known issues. Jacob and the group have been urging the city and the As to develop a ballpark at the Coliseum. The As have said the Coliseum is off the table. The Howard Terminal ballpark and development would be one of the largest real estate projects in California bringing needed housing, jobs, tax revenue and economic development to Oakland. Dave Kaval, the president of the As, said Friday the state law that limits the lawsuit timeline doesnt guarantee a win for the team, it just means youre going to know sooner. Kaval said the legal challenge puts a cloud over the project and obviously demonstrates why we need to be on parallel paths with Las Vegas. If you look at the people who filed the suit, you have the largest polluters in probably the state using an environmental bill, CEQA, to stop a project that is going to clean up the environment, improve air quality and provide access to the water, Kaval said. Its absolutely crazy that thats happening. City officials couldnt immediately be reached for comment. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. In March 2021, the As sued the California Department of Toxic Substances Control over alleged pollution at Schnitzer Steel and won. The settlement required Schnitzer to pay penalties and fund environmental cleanup projects that help the surrounding neighborhoods. Schnitzer was also ordered to make changes to its Oakland facility to control toxic emissions. CEQA challenges have been used by anti-development forces for decades. Opponents have argued that a new waterfront ballpark is incompatible with the port. Last month, a state committee recommended against eliminating maritime use at the Howard Terminal site a major setback for the team. The committees decision isnt final but its vote is a recommendation to the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, a state agency that protects the bay. The agencys approval is needed for the As to build at Howard Terminal. The As, Mayor Libby Schaaf and port officials have argued that a new ballpark and a working port can coexist. Sarah Ravani (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani Provided by Gran Electrica Gran Electrica, an upscale Mexican restaurant in downtown Napa that was beloved for its playful atmosphere and original margaritas, announced Friday that it will close its doors permanently. The news comes roughly three months after the restaurant shuttered temporarily for an extended winter break and almost four years to the day after it opened in 2018. Tamer Hamawi, co-owner of Gran Electrica with his wife Blaire Scheibal, said that the challenge of finding staff was ultimately the reason for closing following a difficult few years due to COVID-19 and wildfires. The restaurant was in a constant state of hemorrhaging staff, particularly over the past year, Hamawi said. Gran Electrica lost two key employees in 2021: opening chef Ignacio Beltran (formerly of Thomas Kellers Ad Hoc and the Restaurant at Meadowood) and longtime general manager Kat Weis, who departed to spend more time with her family. Staffing struggles also caused the restaurant to cut its menu in half, and it stopped serving main courses. California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis made national news on Thursday by becoming the first woman in history to sign a state measure into law. The bill she ratified, Assembly Bill 2179, extends statewide eviction protections through June for renters who have applied for a state relief program - protections that would have expired this past Thursday had action not been taken. Feel good story? Unfortunately, no. Seemingly lost (arguably by design) in the national fanfare over Kounalakis historic first is the fact that the bill she signed contained a poison pill. Embedded in its text is a preemption clause that prevents jurisdictions like San Francisco from enforcing their own local eviction moratoriums, while allowing moratoriums in some places - like Los Angeles to survive. There is no policy rationale for overriding local eviction protections in San Francisco, etc., while allowing other cities to protect their renters, State Sen. Scott Wiener D-San Francisco and Assembly Member Phil Ting D-San Francisco, both of whom voted against the bill, said in a joint statement this week. We shouldnt be playing favorites by allowing some cities to protect their renters while prohibiting other cities from doing so. Cities must have the ability to protect their residents from eviction and homelessness. San Francisco is a city known for its political excesses. Trying to help its residents from being tossed into the street amid a deadly pandemic that continues to cause chaos in the global economy, however, isnt one of them. And arbitrarily stripping the city of its ability to do so reeks of an ugly backroom deal. Data compiled by The Chronicle show that nearly 21,500 households in San Francisco County were behind on rent as of February. Collectively, these households owe nearly $199 million. More than $5 billion in federal funds has been made available to make the households whose back rent stems from COVID and the landlords they owe whole. But the state rental relief program charged with distributing most of these funds has been clouded by bureaucratic failures. Upwards of a year after California began accepting applications, not even half of the more than 507,000 households who have applied for the program have received aid. Those numbers dont include more recent applications sitting on desks, waiting for the machinery behind this program to process them. This is why flexible local eviction moratoriums remain so essential. And yet California didnt just eliminate the ability of places like San Francisco to protect its residents, it cut off new relief applications as of March 31 - even as it actively pursues funding sources to expand the programs pot. The state requested an additional $1.9 billion in federal funds last November, money that it is still seeking. And legislators recently passed a law to streamline the relief process to make it easier to quality. It still wasnt easy enough. In the wake of the bills signing, many lawmakers expressed concern that non-English speakers and some other groups had struggled to navigate the process and had been left behind. We urge these and other lawmakers to take stock of the systems failures and aggressively move to remedy them before a wave of evictions swells the ranks of the states homeless population. Its not as if California lacks the capability to put money in peoples pockets in a hurry. Gov. Newsom is lobbying for an $11 billion rebate that would give $400 debit cards to car owners including electric vehicle owners to combat the rising costs of gas. Payments could conceivably go out as soon as July. That Tesla owners could see direct relief from a momentary gas price hike, as thousands of struggling renters are thrown out of their homes due to bureaucratic bungling, is an injustice that cant be allowed to occur. Landlords are right to insist that tenants cant be allowed to forgo rent payments in perpetuity. Blanket eviction moratoriums have to end eventually. The quickest and most ethical way to get to this place, however, is for California to more efficiently use the massive pot of funds at its disposal to make those with COVID debt whole. If were prepared to clear the way to put cash in the pockets of Tesla owners, we can do the same for those at risk of eviction and homelessness. 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. Commentary: Building China's "city of future" with grit, perseverance Xinhua) 09:29, April 02, 2022 BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Five years after ground was broken on Xiong'an New Area, this sustainable, modern, and innovative urban model is well beyond the "blueprint" stage. A "city of the future" is on the horizon and with it, a future of infinite possibilities. A plan of this magnitude requires grit and perseverance unseen in a generation, as evidenced by the sweat and ambitions of the thousands of construction workers helping to build this project up from an idea to a livable city. Everything -- from its initial plans to construction on the ground -- has been designed to relieve Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as the national capital. Each stage advanced with the highest standards, ensuring both quality and efficiency. According to official statistics, with the financial backing of 618.4 billion yuan (97.2 billion U.S. dollars), construction has begun on 177 key projects. Among these priority projects, 60 -- accounting for over half of the investment to date -- have been completed. Since 2021, Beijing-based universities, hospitals, and centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have been brought into the project to assist the area's construction. SOEs have already set up more than 100 subsidiaries and branches across Xiong'an. The building drive, however, has not come at the cost of the environment. From the very beginning, authorities have been firm that Xiong'an's beautiful and tranquil surroundings should be equally essential elements of the project. About 30,000 hectares have been regreened since November 2017, increasing the forest coverage rate from 11 percent to 32 percent. The water quality of Baiyangdian, the largest wetland ecosystem in northern China, is now significantly higher than before the project began, and wildlife populations have similarly benefited. The progress of the new area, a microcopy of China's high-quality development, has been well observed by global watchers closely following the rebalancing of Chinese economic development. Xiong'an, therefore, is not only critically important for China's transition but is also relevant for the rest of the world, given the role that economic interdependence plays in the future of the global economy. As a commentary by the U.S. Brookings Institute put it in 2018, a successful Xiong'an may profoundly change China's geo-economic landscape and contribute to the rebalancing of Chinese economic development. Xiong'an -- both a symbol of and a challenge to China's ongoing economic transformation -- thus deserves careful attention now, and in the years to come. China will continue to adhere to its people-centered philosophy and proceed to realize green and low-carbon development with proper population density and return the environment to its original state. Only by providing a livable environment and quality public services will Xiong'an accommodate people's growing needs for a better life on China's great course toward modernization. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Attempted to Embezzle $332,027 During the Purchase of a New Embassy Building WASHINGTON A former ambassador for Sri Lanka pleaded guilty today to diverting and attempting to embezzle $332,027 from the government of Sri Lanka during its 2013 purchase of a new embassy building in Washington, D.C. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Raymond Villanueva, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBIs Washington Field Office Criminal Division. Jaliya in red shirt Jaliya Chitran Wickramasuriya, 61, of Arlington, Virginia, served as ambassador for the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the United States and to Mexico from 2008 to 2014. He pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The charge carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and potential financial penalties. The Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan scheduled sentencing for July 20, 2022. According to court documents, from in or around late 2012 through November 2013, Wickramasuriya devised a scheme to defraud the government of Sri Lanka during its 2013 purchase of a new embassy building in Washington, D.C. by inflating the price of the real estate transaction by $332,027 and, at closing, diverting those funds from the government to two companies which had no role in the real estate transaction. At and after the January 2013 closing, Wickramasuriya directed these payments. Later in 2013, Wickramasuriya ultimately had an equal amount of funds redirected back to government accounts, leaving the Sri Lankan government with no loss. In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Graves, HSI Special Agent in Charge Villanueva, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jacobs commended the work of those who investigated the case from Homeland Security Investigations and FBI. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who handled the prosecution of the case, including Paralegal Specialists Brian Rickers and Angela DeFalco, Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Grisier, Alejandra Arias and Steven Brantley, of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the Department of Justice, Assistant U.S. Attorney Arvind Lal of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia, and Christian A. Levesque, Acting Deputy Chief of the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions (HRSP) Section of the Departments Criminal Division. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance of the Justice Departments Office of International Affairs. ( US Justice Department) Just weeks after the George Floyd protests began in earnest in May 2020 and protesters calls to rein in police power and funding made their way into the mainstream a reactionary movement to refund the police was already beginning to take shape. An experiment was taking place, it told us. And in short time that experiment had already failed with deadly results. Of course, the vast majority of cities did not cut police funding, and the handful that did almost immediately backtracked. But that didnt stop a torrent of media coverage from echoing the burgeoning refund movement talking points, insisting that rises in crime sometimes real, sometimes imagined proved these cuts had failed. More definitive rises in crime in early 2021 were then paraded as further proof that police needed more money, not less. These days, American media is flooded with very concerned articles and takes about how cities are rethinking defunding the police amid spikes in crime. (Note: for the purposes of this piece, Im accepting the mainstream, state definition of crime. It is one that has been contested for centuries, but I will not here). Perhaps not surprisingly, police departments across the country have in turn received even more funding. Defunding was, in reality, incredibly rare. And yet crime continues to rise. New York City boosted its Police Department budget by $465 million from 2021 to 2022, an increase of 4.7%. As of March 5, according to CNN, overall crime reported in New York, compared to the same period last year, has gone up 41%, including a 54% increase in robberies, a 56% increase in grand larceny incidents and a 22% increase in rape. Chicago increased its 2022 police budget by $147.3 million, or 9.2%, and has seen a sizable spike in crime in 2022 as well, with an overall reported crime increase of 36% from 2021 to 2022 and a 29% increase in killings from pre-pandemic March 2020 figures. Meanwhile, a Third Way study from March 15 showed that tough on crime red states, not allegedly lenient blue states, were seeing the highest increase in homicide rates. Weve heard plenty about the alleged rise in crime under San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudins watch, but relatively little about nearby Sacramento County, where its district attorney, Anne Marie Schubert, is running for California Attorney General under a tough on crime banner. She frequents Fox News to bash far left Soros progressive prosecutors, and has made lowering crime by throwing the book at criminals her primary campaign theme. In service of this approach, the city of Sacramento increased its police budget a whopping 22% from 2020 to 2022. Yet, despite these increased funds and all the tough posturing from Schubert, Sacramento saw a sizable increase in reported crime from 2020 to 2021: a 31% increase in killings and a 12% increase in robberies. Early 2022 statistics arent fairing any better, with six killings; 25 non-fatal shooting incidents; 20 robberies involving guns or knives, assaults or violent threats; 13 assaults and two car-jackings in the first 18 days of the year. So where are the calls to examine and reconsider the refund the police movement? Where are the front-page stories about cities rethinking the policy of pumping millions more into police in the face of increasing crime rates? Where are the hand-wringing takes about tough on crime prosecutors proving ineffective against spikes in crimes under their watch? About how much their approach is failing? There wont be any because this line of criticism only goes one way. When street crime increases under soft on crime prosecutors or police budget cuts (even if these cuts are largely a phantom), its the fault of cutting resources and not throwing the book at enough bad guys. But when street crime increases under the watch of conservative prosecutors, and amid massive police budget increases, its proof that the public simply needs even tougher laws and enforcement, and even more money for the police. Its a rigged game. Carceral ideology, like all dogmas, cannot be disproven: It cannot fail, it can only be failed. This all speaks to a central contradiction at the heart of the U.S. approach to street crime. For decades the U.S. has had the highest homicide rate and one of the highest crime rates, in general among rich countries. It has also had, far and away, the highest incarceration rate. Using 2010 data culled long before any recent criminal justice reforms, one study found that the average American was 25 times more likely to be shot and killed by another American than those in other wealthy nations. Yet, at the same time, the U.S. had (and still has) the largest incarceration rate in the world. Not just among rich countries, but among any country. And its not even close, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. If all U.S. police budgets were combined, they would make the third largest military budget on Earth, behind only the U.S. and China, according to Security Policy Reform Institute. And with another $32 billion in federal funds recently proposed by the Biden administration, this number will no doubt balloon even more in 2023. And yet, the U.S. continues to have uniquely horrific levels of violence compared to other developed nations. U.S. police budgets, collectively, are almost double the size of the Russian military. Yet more is always needed. More tools, more money, more power, more criminalization. The U.S. incarceration rate is five times more than most countries in the world, but to solve this particular surge in crime, the carceral ideologues insist, it has to tick up to six times. None of this makes any moral or common sense, but its not supposed to. No experiment in history has failed more at its nominal goals, with higher human stakes, than carceralism. There is no actual correlation between counties with progressive prosecutors and high crime, or tough on crime district attorneys and low crime, according to one analysis. Indeed, Sacramento shows the opposite. But it doesnt matter: A narrative has been cemented, and it feels vaguely true that throwing more people in our prison system will make us safer. In our increasingly austerity-obsessed post pandemic economy, approaches to crime that focus on reducing inequality, staging community interventions and providing robust social welfare seem more distant than ever. More police and longer sentences are seen as the best option available because, just as throughout our countrys history, its the only option weve been offered regardless of how many times it fails at its nominal goal of actually making us safer. Adam Johnson is co-host of the Citations Needed podcast and writes at his Substack, The Column. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Matt Gonzalez, long one of San Franciscos leading progressives, understands better than most the political headwinds District Attorney Chesa Boudin is facing in the June 7 election to recall him. Gonzalez, the chief attorney in the San Francisco Public Defenders Office, supports his former colleague and opposes the recall. That said, Gonzalez said Boudin faces one big political challenge: Is the paint already dry in terms of what people think of him? That dynamic is shaping the nationally watched recall: How much will San Francisco voters pin their frustrations about crime, homelessness and life in general on Boudin? Will voters listen to him plead his case, or will he be made a scapegoat for the citys bigger problems? The anti-recall campaign understands this and is trying to depersonalize the campaign. Just look at how its signs have changed. The anti-recalls early signs read: Reject the recall in small letters above the words Chesa Boudin in large letters. On the bottom of the signs was the phrase Stand up for justice. The new campaign signs: Dont Get Conned in large red type above the smaller, Stop the Republican recall. No mention of Boudin until the tiny disclaimer type at the bottom: Ad paid for by Friends of Chesa Boudin Opposing the Recall. We are running against the recall, said Jim Ross, a veteran Democratic consultant advising the campaign. Ruth Bernstein, a longtime San Francisco pollster, recently published a poll that showed that 68% of likely voters will vote to recall Boudin. I wondered how there could be few undecided voters. Bernstein said she, too, was initially shocked by that aspect of the survey, which was paid for by the pro-recall campaign. But other questions on the poll showed that even after only two years in office, Boudins name recognition is very, very high. ... It is rare that an elected official has that much name ID and awareness. In other words, the paint is drying. Boudin isnt cowed. While his name might be off the signs, hes considered the campaigns strongest in-person asset as he explains his positions better than anyone. Over the past few weeks, hes been everywhere, headlining rallies, popping up at house parties and campaigning door to door from the Fillmore to the Excelsior neighborhoods. His tone is defiant and a bit defensive at times. He points out that the pandemic-related lockdown took place two months after he took office and hes had to try to impose reforms while his office like most conducted business via Zoom. Despite that, he points to his successes, like eliminating cash bail. He, too, is running against the recall. He points out that when he ran in 2019, the four candidates engaged in dozens of debates, forums and neighborhood meetings. Here, its a very different dynamic where voters are being asked to say yes or no, without any process, or frankly, discourse about what comes next, Boudin told me. Thats a really, really problematic process for deciding something especially in the middle of a first term, after two years where COVID-19 has turned the world upside down. Recall leader Brooke Jenkins, who left the District Attorneys Office last year over what she calls Boudins incompetent leadership, is frustrated that Boudin hasnt taken enough responsibility. Its either the mayor, its the police, its the pandemic, its poverty, its a host of other issues or agencies who are the issue and not Chesa, said Jenkins, one of dozens of attorneys who have left the office. Recall leaders such as Mary Jung, a former chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party, said Boudin continues to behave like a public defender, and thats not the way its supposed to work. Here are some things to watch as the campaign unfolds: Not the school board recall: Forget comparing the Boudin recall to the February ouster of three San Francisco school board members. The school board race was off the traditional election calendar. with roughly one-third of registered voters casting ballots. Boudins judgment day will be part of the statewide June primary ballot and a much larger pool of largely Democratic electorate not single-issue voters. Plus, the school board members on the ballot didnt raise much money and barely campaigned to defend themselves. Boudin will have plenty of money and a strong campaign. Democrats largely back Boudin: Unlike what happened during the school board recall, when San Franciscos top Democrats split, leaders are lining up against Boudins ouster. The San Francisco Democratic Party Central Committee composed of the citys top party leaders opposed the recall in February by a 20-2 vote. Many of the citys top Democratic clubs are opposing the recall. On Monday, the Noe Valley Democratic Club will announce that it voted to oppose the recall. Plus, hes got support from top unions, including the California Nurses Association, the Service Employees International Union and labor groups representing teachers and hotel workers, Recall supporters counter that more than 80,000 San Franciscans signed the petition to put the recall on the ballot a not-so-silent majority of roughly 10% of the citys residents. Can Boudin campaign? It is fair to wonder about how a relatively inexperienced campaigner like Boudin will perform under the hot lights of a recall; hes run for office only once. Boudin works a room like a seasoned pro, from chatting voters up in Spanish to showing photos of his 7-month-old son. He hands his business card to people he chats up, telling them to email him about their concerns. Motorists honked in support as they passed him campaigning along Fillmore Street last week, and several people stopped him to offer praise. Rich Celis, a retired San Franciscan, buttonholed Boudin last week at a breakfast honoring labor leader Cesar Chavez. Celis thanked him for defending his nephew when Boudin was a public defender. I cant believe it. He remembered every detail of the case, Celis, who opposes the recall, told me moments after they spoke. Hes a trusted guy. Enough time to explain? Boudin said a public education campaign is needed to explain what exactly district attorneys are responsible for and what they arent. That will be tough lesson to teach over the remaining two-plus months until election day, especially when there is so much frustration in the city about its many problems. Take what happened when Boudin appeared at a town hall at Mannys, a well-known political community space in the Mission District. The first audience question was about conservatorships the process of compelling those with mental illness to go into treatment. Good question but thats not the district attorneys turf. That didnt stop a handful of others from posing similar questions. Asian vote is key: Longtime Chinatown advocate Vanita Louie was inspired to volunteer for the pro-recall campaign after the death of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, which became a powerful symbol of the increase in anti-Asian violence. Louie lives in the Anza Vista neighborhood, where Ratanapakdee was fatally attacked. Anti-Asian hate and violence continues to rise, our seniors dont feel safe, violent criminal action is not being prosecuted correctly, Louie told me. Boudin has two more years of office. We cant wait that long. This is why recalls have become popular, because the people of San Francisco cant take much more, are not satisfied with what is going on within the schools and with crime. If pro-recall forces can rally Asian American voters to support Boudins recall in the same numbers as they backed the school board recall, the D.A. could be in trouble. The Republican factor: The anti-recall corps points out that hedge fund manager William Oberndorf gave $602,722 to recall backer Neighbors for a Better San Francisco Advocacy. Hes also been a major donor to Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. The blame-the-GOP-for-the-recall strategy worked for Gov. Gavin Newsom last year in part because there were Republicans on the ballot to replace the governor if voters booted him. Newsom warned voters that if he were recalled, the leading vote-getter to replace him was conservative talk radio host Larry Elder, who held many views that were far out of Californias mainstream. But Boudin doesnt have an Elder to scaremonger about. Hes running against himself even if his name isnt on the campaign signs. Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli Parts of downtown San Francisco may never be the same. The area roughly bounded by Kearny and Market streets, Pacific Avenue and the Embarcadero is no longer the boarded-up ghost town from the darkest days of the pandemic, when shelter-in-place orders and remote work emptied the citys economic heart. But the rivers of people that used to stream through the narrow, windy streets of the Financial District have not yet come back in full force. While some employees are starting to return to offices a few days a week, there are still vastly fewer people hopping trains and buses to head downtown for work. That means less money spent on lunches and after-work drinks, and less tax revenue for the city. But while some long for a return to the busy pathways and full offices of the past, others are realizing the area may have to evolve into more of a neighborhood to survive and thrive. Which is why downtown booster groups want the district to draw crowds as an events and dining destination, instead of relying on crammed trains of commuters pumping money into the area like in years past. That is partly why San Francisco business districts are using technology like collecting cell phone location data to analyze movement trends or street-level sensors that register human outlines and count each person that strolls by to closely watch how many people are returning to the downtown area, and when. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle We cant be known as just the Financial District anymore, said Robbie Silver, the executive director of Downtown SF, the nonprofit community benefit district funded by voluntary assessments on property owners that covers the roughly 43 blocks of the Financial District and Jackson Square. Silver said as more people return, getting away from the image of a downtown where all we have are banks and people walking around in suits is crucial to the areas long-term recovery, and to avoid a return to the pandemic days that saw the area emptied out and seemingly abandoned. One event from last year called Lets Glow SF saw local artists project light displays onto the areas historic buildings. Silver said it drew about 40,000 people, including many families, to the downtown core despite the pandemic, and at a time when the area would otherwise be mostly empty. Part of how Silvers group knew how many people were at the event and are going downtown these days is through data collected by sensors placed throughout the district, made by a company called Springboard, that count how many people are walking by, and by Placer Labs, which uses anonymized cell phone location data it gets from third-party apps to estimate the movements of large numbers of people over time. The four Springboard sensors on and around Montgomery Street between California and Market streets found pedestrians in the areas where they are set up nearly doubled from about 46,000 during the first week of the year to more than 88,000 during the second to last week of March. That is a shift from the slightly more than 36,000 people the sensors counted during the first full week in September 2021, shortly after they were first installed. The Placer Labs location data showed that more than 39,000 people visited San Franciscos downtown from Jan. 1 to March 15. Thats up from about 23,000 during the same period last year but still far below the more than 100,000 people who showed up in that period in early 2020, right before pandemic lockdowns took hold. The Placer data also looks at how long a particular cell phone spent in the area on average, called dwell time. That metric ticked up for people going downtown to nearly seven hours during the first six weeks of 2022 compared with last year, indicating people are not just headed downtown but staying there for most of the workday. The numbers are estimates and not exact counts, said Ethan Chernofsky, the companys vice president of marketing. The company receives anonymized cell phone location data from other apps that people have agreed to share their location data with, and uses an algorithm to draw insights about peoples locations in a given area. All those data points help Silver see when people are in the area and where, to help inform the search for ways to keep them coming and sticking around for a meal or event. Silver said a poll run by Downtown SF that reached more than 830 people showed cultural events and more food and beverage options topping respondents downtown wish lists. Downtown SF has also hired Sitelab Urban Studio, a strategic design firm, to develop a plan to build the area into more of a neighborhood and not just a business district. Our North Star is to become a 24-hour neighborhood, Silver said. Sitelabs plan is scheduled to be released at the end of June and will focus in part on the revitalization of public spaces. But the obstacles to realizing that vision were partly outlined in a report released Thursday, which showed city economists expect about a third of workers to telecommute long-term, more than double the 15% projected in a previous five-year plan. That is likely to hurt the citys business tax revenue by about $64.6 million, or 7%, in fiscal 2022-23, because where people are physically working can determine how much tax their companies pay to the city. Fewer people heading into commercial districts could also mean less sales tax revenue, the report found. Silver said the community benefit district also looks at other statistics like transit data and office swipe-ins reported to the city to get a sense of how close to a pre-pandemic normal the area is. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle The latest report from the city Controllers Office showed that while BART exits at downtown San Francisco stations increased from January to February, they were still only about 20% of February 2019 levels. Office entrance data from Kastle Systems also showed attendance rebounding in the San Francisco metro area as the omicron surge abated earlier this year, but the city was still behind other areas such as Los Angeles, New York and San Jose. The San Francisco area is still only seeing about a third of people showing up to offices each week compared with before the pandemic, although that number is trending up. The San Jose metro is seeing a similar trend, while Los Angeles is closer to 40%. Those numbers partly reflect the city pushing hard to get many of the areas largest employers on board with a return to in-person work. Google and Uber are among the companies going along with Mayor London Breeds plan to bring workers back, which goes a long way to persuading others to do the same, said Alex Kaplan, a Downtown SF board member who works at real estate investment firm Tidewater Capital. 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. Messaging is really critical, Kaplan said. It sets the right tone that San Francisco is coming back. The Financial District is not the only area of the city whose boosters are watching, and monitoring, the crowds as they trickle back. The Union Square Alliance, formerly the Union Square Business Improvement District, uses Springboard software installed in seven of the more than 450 cameras that surveil the roughly 27-block neighborhood, said Stacy Jed, the groups director of marketing and events. That is up from about 350 cameras in 2018. Those sensors use technology to determine a human outline and count people as they enter and exit the area, but dont use facial recognition technology, Jed said. In an email, she said the sensors are installed along Powell, Market and Stockton streets and Grant Avenue, but declined to say where exactly they are located, saying only, It is not in the publics best interest for us to disclose this. Those sensors counted close to 164,000 pedestrians moving through the area during the week of March 21, about double the same period the previous year and more than four times that same week during March 2020 when pandemic shelter-in-place orders had just taken effect. Back downtown, Silver said he hopes to use all the data his group is collecting and to combine it with other sources like transit ridership into an online dashboard to help businesses understand where and when people are heading downtown. If Im a restaurant and Im hearing good news about people coming back to work, I want to have a one-stop shop for all of that data, Silver said, alluding to one example of how the data could help businesses and event planners adapt to a changed downtown. Even without that information at his fingertips yet, the Placer Labs data are already showing other trends, including the days of the week Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays when people are more likely to visit downtown. Were finding (people) are coming back for full work days, during the middle of the week, Silver said, although the data still show far fewer visits compared with the same period during the first six weeks of 2020. But compared with the darkest days of the pandemic when people wondered whether offices might be gone for good and the fortunes of places like downtown with them, data showing more people heading to work midweek gives Silver a sliver of hope. Monday and Friday arent far behind, he said. Chase DiFeliciantonio is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: chase.difeliciantonio@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ChaseDiFelice In 2009, high school friends Michael Vincze and Colin Louis Dieden traveled from Calabasas to San Francisco on a whim. One night, while staying in a cheap motel, the pair stayed up late to pen an energetic musical homage to the city, featuring a chorus where its subject loses their head in San Francisco / Waiting for the fog to roll out. They didnt know it then, but Vincze and Dieden who later formed alt-rock band the Mowglis had just written what would become todays most popular San Francisco song, at least according to Spotify data. The infectious 2013 hit has now been streamed over 70 million times, propelling the band to a respectable level of indie stardom. To determine the most popular San Francisco song, The Chronicle searched Spotify for tracks with the term San Francisco in the title, combing through nearly 1,000 songs to curate a playlist of about 250 songs with the citys name in their titles, but excluding songs recorded live in San Francisco. There are a number of songs that dont have San Francisco in the title but are clearly about the city, like Grace Cathedral Hill by the Decemberists and 16th & Valencia Roxy Music by Devendra Banhart. Thus, our list might not be the the most comprehensive set of San Francisco songs, but at least the methodology is consistent. Although the total number of streams isnt available for all of these songs, Spotify does offer a popularity index for every song, which is based on how often and how recently it has been streamed. It is based on this metric that the Mowglis come out on top. Songs by Mac Miller, Foxygen and Train also make it into the top 20. While most of the popular songs are relatively new, some, including (I Left My Heart) In San Francisco by crooner Tony Bennett, have stood the test of time 60 years, to be precise. The nostalgic standard, first recorded in 1962, has also served as the victory theme song from the San Francisco Giants, and has been covered dozens of times by artists ranging from Brenda Lee to Bobby Womack. Also featured is the hippie-era hit San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair), sung by Scott McKenzie in 1967. In addition to tracking current popularity, Spotify also offers data on the musical characteristics of every song in its library. One of those characteristics is a songs danceability, which is based on how upbeat and consistent its tempo is. This data is collected based on data collected by the music intelligence company Echo Nest, which Spotify purchased in 2014. The single most danceable San Francisco song, according to the algorithm, is a bit of a surprise pick: titled San Francisco Office Music, by the ambient artist Morning Jazz, at first glance it doesnt seem like the kind of song that would get your feet tapping. But see if you can stop yourself from swaying when it comes on. Other especially dancy San Francisco songs include the mellow, pleasing San Francisco Street by Sun Rai; San Francisco Hustle by the 70s-era disco band Silver Convention; and San Frandisco by Australian techno artist Dom Dolla. Of course, no San Francisco playlist would be complete without Andre Nickatina. The celebrated local rapper makes it into most danceable category, with San Francisco Bay off the album Booty Star Glock Tawk. The artists lyrics reflect his love for the city and its landmarks, though we cannot endorse his speeding: As my driver goes 90 over da Bay Bridge // It's like smokin' weed all up in heaven. Echo Nest also created a valence metric for each song, which essentially measures how happy a song feels. The company had a music expert rate the positivity level of some sample songs and their characteristics, and then applied machine learning techniques to extend those rules to other songs. The most high valence, or positive, San Francisco song is San Francisco, a relatively unknown but undeniably pleasant tune by the lo-fi pop artist Jude Shuma. Other top positive songs include the thrilling Streets of San Francisco by film composer Henry Mancini and Save Me, San Francisco by Train (of Drops of Jupiter fame). If your energy is less marvel at the view from Bernal Hill and more fume at how the tech industry has driven my favorite bars out of business, try playing San Francisco '' by the country-rock band Lucero. The songs energy is perfect for a rage-filled walk through your neighborhood as you listen to frontman Ben Nichols accuse the waves and the fog of dooming his romantic relationships, and think about moving somewhere sunnier and cheaper. While the valence metric may capture certain attributes of songs, it does not encapsulate everything. For instance, one of the most positive songs about San Francisco according to the algorithm is San Francisco Bay Blues as performed by Paul McCartney, likely due to its catchy, upbeat rhythm. But the songs lyrics are actually quite depressing: Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. I got the blues from my baby left me by the San Francisco Bay, The ocean liner's gone so far away. Didn't mean to treat her so bad, she was the best girl I ever have had, She said goodbye, I can take a cry, I want to lay down and die. But even if the data isnt perfect, it still yields a fun musical grab bag of San Francisco tunes that will make you fall in love with the Golden City all over again. And if you want to pick your own favorites, check out the complete playlist with all the songs The Chronicle analyzed here. The 20 most popular songs can be found in the playlist below: Susan Neilson (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: susan.neilson@sfchronicle.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A slew of controversial bills in Texas and Florida that opponents say discriminate against LGBTQ people and infringe on abortion rights is drawing a mixed response from some of the states biggest employers: Major tech companies and entrepreneurs, many of which moved their headquarters out of California to the states. Despite the ostensibly liberal ethos of Silicon Valley, some companies that have relocated or deepened their ties in each state have stayed mum on whether they support the controversial legislation or not. Others, like Founders Fund venture capitalist Keith Rabois, who have touted the business-friendly aspects of Florida say it doesnt make them reconsider their moves, while some tech transplants feel motivated to become more politically active in their adopted states. Tesla and Charles Schwab, which moved Bay Area headquarters to Texas in recent years, didnt respond to requests for comment on the states bill restricting abortions and Gov. Greg Abbotts order to investigate gender-affirming care of youths as child abuse, which has been blocked by a judge until a trial set for July. Ilana Panich-Linsman/Special to The Chronicle Tech giants Google, Apple and Facebook parent Meta have major expansion efforts in Austin, Texas, and signed a public letter denouncing the order. They were also among more than 200 businesses that signed a letter opposing anti-LGBTQ legislation in all states. Two recent Silicon Valley transplants also signed the letter: Austin-headquartered Oracle and Houston-headquartered Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Companies react to Texas, Florida bills or stay out No comment: Tesla, Charles Schwab, Fast, Verkada, Opsway, TrustLaye Oppose anti-LGBTQ bills: Disney, Apple, Google, Meta, Oracle, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Adobe, Affirm, Airbnb, Box, Dropbox, Gilead, HP Inc., Intel, Levi Strauss & Co., Lyft, Microsoft, Amazon, PayPal, Salesforce, SAP, Splunk, Twitter, Uber, Wells Fargo, Yahoo, Yelp, Zendesk, Zoom, Zynga See More Collapse Google and Meta declined to comment further, while Apple and Oracle didnt respond to a request for additional comment. As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, I am deeply concerned about laws being enacted across the country, particularly those focused on our vulnerable youth. I stand with them and the families, loved ones, and allies who support them, Apple CEO Tim Cook, a gay man, tweeted on March 10. Politico reported that Apple has lobbied against anti-LGBTQ legislation and took a lead role in calling for other companies to sign a letter opposing the Abbott order. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which was spun out of Palo Alto firm Hewlett-Packard in 2015, has publicly advocated for unconditional inclusion for the LGBTQ community for many years, and we oppose efforts to discriminate against the transgender community in any form, said Adam Bauer, a company spokesperson. The consumer-electronics-focused HP Inc., once part of the same company, also signed the letter. On another hot-button issue, Hewlett Packard Enterprise hasnt taken a position. Weve not taken a position as a company on the issue of abortion, in Texas or anywhere else. HPE does cover abortion through its medical plans, including out-of-state care and certain costs associated with lodging and travel if its necessary to go out of state for care, Bauer said. Last month, some employees at the Walt Disney Co.s massive Orlando theme park protested Florida legislation that bars sexual orientation or gender identity topics from being taught between kindergarten and third grade. Opponents have dubbed it the Dont Say Gay bill. After weeks of silence, Disney later said it would seek to repeal the bill and that it never should have passed, signing onto multiple open letters along with a long list of other companies that oppose the measures. In response, Republican lawmakers in Florida are now threatening to repeal the 1967 law that empowers Disney to essentially self-govern at its theme park. Last month, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Disney crossed the line and has lost any moral authority to tell you what to do. The entertainment juggernaut that was founded in California continues to deepen its investments in Florida. Last year it was moving about 2,000 corporate jobs from its California headquarters to the Orlando area. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has recently urged the company giant to rethink its Florida expansion. Fewer California companies have relocated their headquarters to Florida, but Miami has become a much-hyped pandemic-era destination for tech entrepreneurs, a trend spurred on by its tech- and business-friendly mayor. That movement started in 2020, before the Florida Legislature passed the Dont Say Gay bill; the controversial Stop Woke Act, which bars education around critical race theory; and banning most abortions after 15 weeks. While that kind of legislation may run counter to the socially liberal image that Silicon Valley has fostered over the years, it hasnt caused any prominent companies or founders to visibly reverse course away from Florida. Lucy Guo co-founded Scale AI in San Francisco and now runs Backend Capital from Miami, where she has become a booster for tech moving to the city. She said that while she doesnt agree with some of the recent legislation, it hasnt directly affected her life. As a bisexual woman Im not happy about it, but no state is perfect. The pros outweigh the cons for me, and Ive never felt discriminated [against] in Miami, Guo said in an email. In fact, its the most welcoming city Ive lived in. Ive never felt so comfortable with stating my opinions and being open about my sexuality. People here are open minded and dont see things as black and white. Instead of abandoning their newly adopted states altogether, some Bay Area tech veterans see socially conservative legislation as a clarion call to become more involved in state and local politics. Alfonso Duran / Special to The Chronicle Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Melanie Ensign, CEO of cybersecurity startup Discernible, moved to Miami partly to get away from what she described as the insular culture of Silicon Valley and to spend more time indulging her love of scuba diving. A registered Democrat, she said, These hateful laws that weve seen enacted by our state elected officials dont actually reflect what Floridians want. Nobody really wants a big brother government that tries to police our personal lives. Instead of relocating away from the state, she said she donates to Democratic political causes and voting against candidates who support the kinds of socially conservative policies the state has been enacting. It hasnt made me rethink my decision [to move here] in the sense that Im second guessing it, Ensign said. Its made me rethink what it is that I need to do while Im here. Tech transplants to Florida havent solely focused on Miami. Companies including Opswat and TrustLayer that were formerly headquartered in San Francisco have relocated their main offices to Tampa. Neither responded to emailed requests for comment. Financial tech company Fast and surveillance camera and software maker Verkada also opened offices there, and Fast CEO Domm Holland also moved to Tampa with his family. Neither company responded to emails seeking comment about the controversial state legislation. A spokesperson for Tampas mayor also did not respond to a request for comment, but Craig Richard, phe President and CEO of the citys Economic Development Council, called the legislation concerning in an email. However, in Tampa we celebrate our diversity as a strength, Richard said. For companies thinking about relocating or expanding to the Tampa area, I assure you that we are an inclusive community that is welcoming and accepting to everyone. The group also pointed to the city electing an openly gay woman as mayor and being rated highly for LGBTQ equality by Human Rights Campaign as proof the city could not easily be grouped in with other parts of the state. Rabois, the Founders Fund venture capitalist, has continued to preach the benefits of Florida, which he sees as more business friendly than California. Rabois, who is gay, was succinct when asked in an email whether he was rethinking his decision to relocate to Florida, writing: Nope. Roland Li and Chase DiFeliciantonio are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com, chase.difeliciantonio@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf, @ChaseDiFelice The world loves Point Reyes for its beaches, its trails, glorious birdwatching, baby elephant seals and even its cheese. And every weekend, thousands of cars bomb down Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to revel in all it has to offer. But what many folks dont realize as they zip over the road from Fairfax, and past Lagunitas-Forest Knolls, is that they are passing right by some very fine hiking trails while en route to the Bay Area regions gem of a national seashore. One such trail is the hike to the top of Mount Barnabe, which is not only a lovely walk, but its summit offers unforgettable vistas in every direction. In fact, the vistas are so sweeping that this is one of two working lookout stations remaining in Marin County. I came upon the Mount Barnabe hike while scouring various guides for something new and different in the West Marin area. After flipping past the usual 5-star spots such as the Coastal Trail on Mount Tamalpais or the Estero Trail at Point Reyes, there it was: a BEST rating for a hike Id passed countless times driving down this road. In fact, Id camped right by it during weekends spent at Samuel P. Taylor State Park, one of the Bay Areas most popular camping destinations. So why would a person go to Mount Barnabe if its so close to a place like Point Reyes that lures hiking enthusiasts from all over the world? Well, one big reason is because its NOT Point Reyes. As youre probably aware, on a busy weekend, trails at Point Reyes can give some in Yosemite Valley a run for their money. A walk down the Bear Valley Trail or out at Tomales Point can feel as overrun as a day at the mall when people actually went to malls. David Curran David Curran David Curran David Curran Views and vistas from Mount Barnabe, along the Marin Coast (Photos by David Curran/SFGATE) Views and vistas from Mount Barnabe, along the Marin Coast (Photos by David Curran/SFGATE) By contrast, the average number of hikers per day on Mount Barnabe is between 15 and 25, according to Natasha Gilchrist of California State Parks, and this is spread over a few different trails to the top. Another reason is the aforementioned view. At 1,466 feet in elevation, Mount Barnabe towers high enough to offer sweeping vistas of Tomales Bay and beyond to the north. You can see Mount Diablo 42 miles to the east, and to the west, you can stare out at Inverness Ridge and Point Reyes. Not far to the south, there is Kent Lake, shimmering and (currently) full, surrounded by forest. And then there is the trail itself. As you ascend Mount Barnabe, the path is so well maintained and such a gentle grade you barely realize youre going up. If ever there was a hike that defined moderate difficulty, this is it. Getting to the Mount Barnabe trailhead is so simple you can give your Google Maps a day off. Head west on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and travel 0.8 mile past the turnoff for the Samuel P. Taylor State Park Campground. At this point, you will see a sign for Devils Gulch. Across the road from here is a large turnout with room for about 15 cars to park. On a sunny Saturday afternoon, this may seem like frightfully few, but this is also a reason the hike never gets too crowded. You can also park in the Samuel P. Taylor daytime parking lot, which will cost you $8. Then you walk down through the park and get here. There are other routes up Mount Barnabe without starting at Devils Gulch, but today we are focusing on this one. As you begin your walk, youre heading north along Devils Gulch Creek. Stay on the paved section and then peel off onto the trail to the right adjacent to the creek. Within 5 minutes or so youll cross a bridge where you can go left or right. Go left. Here youll see a sign for Bills Trail and Stairstep Falls. In the other direction is the Deadmans Gulch Trail, which seems a little hyperbolic for such an unperilous trail, except for one thing: this trail actually passes a dead man. Yes, in 0.3 mile in this direction, you can see the grave of Samuel P. Taylor himself. David Curran Resist the temptation. Taking this route will get you up Mount Barnabe but only via a steeper and less pleasant fire road. Those looking for a cardio workout may get excited by this. But if its the grave site thats attracting you, you can pay your respects to Mr. Taylor on the way down. Instead, proceed up Bills Trail, which is 3.7 carefully maintained miles long and a dream for those needing an assured path underfoot. It is also so full of switchbacks it can be a little hypnotic, especially since the rise is so gently graded youll barely break a sweat while climbing more than 1,000 feet in elevation. But Bills Trail isnt just gentle; its a beautiful forest hike. The sweeping branches of bay laurels bend over the trail that is also lined with plenty of oaks and old mossy Douglas firs while ferns cover the hillside. It also just recently reopened a few days before April 1 after a winter closure that is typically from November to April due to flooding. So go on this trail soon and be among the first for 2022. I first took this hike on a sweltering summer day in 2021 and remained cool all the way up. It is a highly recommended heat-wave hiking destination. And while the trees offer shelter, the downslope direction has views out into a canyon and a grassy slope across the way. This is that perfect combination of a shaded forest hike with plenty of light. After 0.6 mile on Bills Trail, there is the option to turn off to see Stairstep Falls. It is a brief diversion, but, given the current lack of water, it is not much of a cascade and only recommended for the most die-hard waterfall seekers. David Curran From here to the top of Bills Trail, the hike enters a period of very long, gently graded switchbacks. It was only near the top of this mesmerizing back and forth that I realized Id lost complete sense of how long Id been walking it was about an hour and 45 minutes and soon after this, the trail ended, popping me out onto a fire road. Once on the fire road, you are instantly greeted with your first sweeping view, looking northwest toward Point Reyes and Tomales Bay. Now you will proceed along the fire road to the top of Mount Barnabe. This is only a quarter of a mile long but steeper than any part of Bills Trail. But it is actually not that steep, as I was reminded upon reaching the top, where I was met by eight toddlers who had walked up there with their dads. Now at the summit, you can take in the breathtaking views in every direction. Returning from Mount Barnabe, you can retrace your steps down Bills Trail, which means a 3.7-mile descent. Or, you can take the express route, the fire road, which is about half the distance. Since it is also much steeper than the gentle Bills Trail, those with knee troubles might want to bring along their hiking sticks. David Curran Walking down the fire road offers opportunities to glance up at this mountain which was incidentally named for the donkey of Samuel P. Taylor and see how far you climbed. And then, as you near the bottom, you can stop for a visit to the grave of Mr. Taylor, putting the capper on an altogether pleasant hike you otherwise may have just passed right by while heading to that more famous destination down the road. This article, Google: Bye-Bye, Bidets. Employees: Not So Fast., originally appeared on CNET.com. Googlers upset by the company's decision to remove bidets at its California offices may soon have a new option. Tushy, a bidet specialist company, stepped into the steaming pile of controversy earlier this week, offering in an open letter to send Google its travel bidets to help employees "wash away those pesky poop particles." The portable bidet, which looks like a squeezable water bottle, is handheld. The obvious PR stunt comes amid swirling discord at the search giant, which annoyed its staff by removing bidets, toilet attachments that offer a strategically targeted stream of water to clean behinds, from its facilities. Posts to Twitter indicate that removal of the bidets, made by Japan's Toto, began in March. That set off an emotional response from Googlers, who are returning to the office after two years of pandemic. Google is requiring employees to come into the office three days a week beginning on April 4. In a now-deleted tweet, Yasmine Evjen, a developer relations lead at Google, expressed her frustration in a message punctuated with emojis. Technology publication Protocol reported earlier that Googlers upset by the removals had posted their discontent to an internal meme page at the company. "The removal of bidets in the office is my #2 issue with RTO," one employee reportedly posted. Disappearing bidets are another item on a growing list of complaints employees have lobbed at Google leadership. An internal survey showed employees are dissatisfied with compensation and the potential for promotion. A recent lawsuit alleges that Google shows bias against Black employees and the company recently settled a separate suit with six employees over workplace activism. Last month, 500 employees signed a petition for "unjustly retaliating" against a product marketing manager for criticizing a contract with the Israeli military. Google didn't respond to a request for comment. A maintenance ticket regarding the bidet removal seen by Protocol included a reply from a facilities manager at Cushman & Wakefield, a real estate services firm that's contracted by Google. The facilities manager reportedly said removal of the bidets would help Google meet an environmental target that includes switching to recycled water systems, which aren't compatible with bidets. Cushman & Wakefield didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. While Googlers may miss their bidets, research has delivered both positive and mixed results about their use. Some research suggests that bidets can lead to components being contaminated with bacteria, raising the risk of cross infection. Anecdotal evidence suggests it helps patients with mobility issues, such as Parkinson's disease or arthritis. "There's no evidence that bidets increase or decrease the risk of urinary tract infections,'' said Dr. Shyam Sukumar, an assistant professor of urology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Attachable bidets can be found on Amazon for as little as $29. Google, however, opted for units manufactured by Toto, a company known for luxurious toilets that can cost more than $1,000. Images posted online suggest Google was using Toto Washlet C2 seats, which are fitted to an existing commode. The heated seats include a dryer and deodorizer. They retail for $405 on Amazon. Tushy's portable bidet is a less elegant lavatory accoutrement. But the company says it "won't throw a wrench" in Google's recycled water system as it can use potable water. Zac Bensing, associate director of product development at Tushy, said in an email that filters can be used to make recycled water all the safer. "Based on our experience, filters can easily be installed with most bidet attachments to prevent damage typically caused by minerals and other deposits found in varying water systems." Kevin Boutwell/Getty Images Remote valleys in Hawaii have become far and few between, but in the 1950s, when Dr. Bernard Wheatley wandered from Europe to the U.S. and, finally, to Hawaii, he found isolation in what is now the Napali Coast State Wilderness Park. Wheatley began living in Kalalau Valley in 1957, when he was about 38 years old, living off of taro, fruit and fish. He became known locally and nationally as the Hermit of Kalalau. It was an unlikely move for a man who had been a brilliant student and doctor, according to those who knew him. Wheatley was born in 1919 in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, one of 10 children. He graduated from Meharry Medical College at the top of his class in 1945, but because of racism Wheatley was Black he was rejected from a top Boston hospital despite earning the highest score during the application process, a December 1959 Ebony Magazine article reported. This was the real blow that crushed him, said Dr. John W. Parker, a Brooklyn surgeon and Wheatleys college roommate, according to the article. He had a different outlook after that. He simply lost interest." Wheatley began practicing in Sweden after a return to the Virgin Islands. But just six years later, for reasons that are still unknown, he left his medical practice, gave away all his money and personal belongings and arrived in Hawaii. Wheatleys home became a large cave on the beach, at the end of the Kalalau Trail, about 100 yards wide and 40 yards deep, which he kept impeccably clean. Westend61/Getty Images/Westend61 Located on Kauais Napali (the cliffs) coastline, the Kalalau Trail weaves in and out of five valleys and along the cliffs edges high above the sea. The trail is most widely known for its first 2 miles to Hanakapiai Beach, but backpackers with permits can continue to Kalalau Valley and its beach including the cave where Wheatley lived at the end of the 11-mile trail. Native Hawaiians lived in the Napali Coasts various valleys, and remnants of this history can still be seen today, such as rock wall shelters found in Hanakapiai Valley, agricultural terraces in Hanakoa Valley, and heiau (traditional Hawaiian place of worship) situated on cliffs. The Kalalau coastal trail wasnt built until the 1800s, and Hawaiians largely traveled the coast by ocean in a canoe or by land, climbing over the cliffs. Its believed Hawaiians left Kalalau Valley in the early part of the 20th century. From then through the 1950s, it was a largely uninhabited coastline. People may think I am a fool, said Wheatley, in a 1961 Honolulu Star-Bulletin article, but I have found real happiness and above all real peace of mind in the valley. There are conflicting reports about why Wheatley left his life behind to become a hermit. A heart attack in 1951 may have caused him to take a long look at his life, Ebony magazine reported. Another report says that he had lost his wife and son in an automobile accident. When he arrived in Hawaii, Wheatley didnt immediately hike to Kalalau. He lived in a Honolulu hotel, without means of support or a way to pay his hotel bills. He was arrested and jailed, until someone paid them and he was released. "My guess," a friend of his said, according to Ebony magazine, "is that these experiences are what finally drove him out of the world and into Kalalau. To a man of his sensitivity, I should think an arrest and appearance in court with attendant publicity would be a sort of final stamp of social disapproval in his mind." Whatever the reason, Wheatley talked of his time in isolation as a time for thinking, writing and immersing himself in the teachings of Christ. He was also vocal of his disdain toward modern society and medicine. He says the delights he found in civilization were bitter, the men he knew were dull and the medicine he practiced was spurious. He says the legendary Kalalau Valley is the only place he has found where a man can be honest 24 hours a day, Ebony reported. On the outside, Wheatley said, I constantly feel limitations around me. The instinctive reaction to a new situation is fear. There is so much that is negative in the world, so many people say, Thats impossible. Here in the valley I feel no fear or limitations. Here there is more than just quietness. There is a big peace. It is true that foreign exchange inflow due to tourism in Sri Lanka has severely fallen due to two years of pandemic. Sri Lankan government could do nothing about this. by N.S.Venkataraman All said and done, millions of Sri Lankans living in Sri Lanka and in several countries abroad as well as those who admire the Sri Lankan culture and traditions for various reasons and millions of tourists who have visited Sri Lanka and enjoyed the beautiful landscape of the land and local hospitality, are shocked and surprised that economic crisis in Sri Lanka has been allowed to become so severe now,. This is particularly so , since Sri Lankas human development index value for the year 2019 puts it in the high development category. More than one reason : There are more than one reason for Sri Lankas present crisis. While some reasons are beyond the control of the Sri Lankan government, there are other reasons which could have been prevented or anticipated and the intensity of the problem could have been reduced by implementing pragmatic forward planning measures. Factor beyond control : It is true that foreign exchange inflow due to tourism in Sri Lanka has severely fallen due to two years of pandemic. Sri Lankan government could do nothing about this. Factor due to faulty decision on farming operation : The decision of Sri Lankan government to switch over to organic farming and import organic fertilizer from China has resulted in disastrous consequences. The efficacy and overall advantages of organic fertilizers over chemical fertilisers is still a matter of debate all over the world. Organic fertilizer has a low shelf life and has to be stored , packed and transported in low temperature and sealed conditions and the farmers need to be trained adequately well in handling organic fertilizers. None of these precautions seem to have been adequately taken care of by Sri Lankan government. No country in the world has switched over to organic fertilizer in a massive way like what Sri Lanka has done. Further, the organic fertilizer supplied by China was declared as sub standard and was rejected by the testing laboratories in Sri Lanka. However, China rejected the complaint that the quality was bad and insisted that Sri Lanka should make the entire payment. Obviously, to keep China in good humour, Sri Lankan government paid huge money to China for organic fertilizer that was not used. Due to the use of organic fertilizer, production of crops such as tea came down severely and the export of such agro products declined , that were contributing to Sri Lankas foreign exchange earnings earlier. Certainly, the present government of Sri Lanka should admit this mistake. But,it has not done in the way that it should be done. High interest loan from China : Sri Lankan government has been availing loan from China which amount to around 10 to 15% of its total debt , at high interest Since the year 2000, China has become the leading provider of commercial loans to Sri Lanka for infrastructure projects including the Hambentota port. About half of Sri Lankas foreign debt was owed to capital markets. While taking such loans, the repaying capability and the capacity to serve the debt by paying interest was not adequately planned or calculated. All the past Sri Lankan governments in the last decade or so are responsible for making Sri Lanka debt ridden. Unproductive investment of loan amount Several of such loan amount were utilized for projects such as construction of stadium, Mattala airport, Lotus Tower in Colombo and others which are non revenue yielding projects. The Rajapaksa government is largely responsible for such wasted investment. What way out now ? Individuals can declare themselves as insolvent and run away. But, countries with millions of people do not have this option and have to find a way out. If such crisis are not sorted out by good planning and governance, the consequence would be very severe and the mass protest will start and violent incidents will take place, as it has started happening in Sri Lanka. With the debt burden of more than 35 billion US dollar, there is no way that Sri Lanka can repay such debt or service the debt for the next several months. Obviously , Sri Lanka need the support from friendly countries to tackle the present crisis. While India has responded with great speed by providing shipload of diesel and other credit , there is a limit beyond which India cannot assist Sri Lanka to overcome the crisis. In such situation, Sri Lankan government should give up the prejudice that it has developed with regard to IMF and some countries, which are rich enough to help Sri Lanka at this stage. Sri Lanka should realise that its relation with China has only resulted in a scenario , where Sri Lanka has been forced to surrender Hambentota port to China and got into a debt trap. There is little common between China and Sri Lanka , as Sri Lanka is a democratic country and China is a totalitarian regime . Sri Lanka is a country with people devoted to religion such as Buddhism, Hinduism , Christianity etc. China does not have such regime ,which accepts religion as way of life. As a matter of fact, in the relation between China and Sri Lanka, Chinas gain is much larger than that of Sri Lanka, as location of Sri Lanka provides several strategic advantages for China in military terms and transportation . Alliance with countries that share value system : Obviously, Sri Lanka has to become closer to countries like USA, Canada ,Japan and European countries , that advocate liberty and freedom in the way that Sri Lanka also does and practice democracy in the way that Sri Lanka does. In todays conditions, Sri Lanka certainly need financial and technological support which only countries like USA and Canada and European countries as well as Japan can provide. Obviously, this requires that Sri Lanka has to move away from depending on China and cast its eyes elsewhere. Focus on economics and growth rather than politics in external relations is the only option for Sri Lanka . Of course, Western countries have been accusing Sri Lanka of human rights violation unjustifiably. This issue can be sorted out by skillful diplomatic move by Sri Lankan government in dealing with USA and European countries. Form national government for one year : There is accusation that Sri Lankan government is being governed like a family concern by Rajapaksas. This impression should be removed. What is needed now is cooperation between all political parties realizing that entire Sri Lanka is now caught in an extremely difficult situation and political up manship by one political leader or the other would be counterproductive for the whole country. Let a national government be formed and a taskforce appointed to guide the country to overcome the economic crisis in one year period . Let there be election after this. Since the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan last August and Russias invasion of Ukraine in February, the White House has been desperate to showcase U.S. strength on the world stage. But the Biden administration has struggled to rally traditional Middle Eastern allies against Russia, raising questions over U.S. influence in the region. by John P. Ruehl For decades, U.S. policy in the Middle East has relied on coordination with the Saudi-led Gulf states, Israel, Egypt and Turkey. Since the Obama administration, however, relations between Washington and its core regional allies in the Middle East have floundered, confounding the United States ability to manage Middle Eastern crises and formulate consensus in the region. Washingtons troubled relations with its Middle Eastern allies have become particularly pronounced since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. Though all the Middle Eastern countries that are American alliesSaudi-led Gulf states, Israel, Egypt and Turkeycondemned Russia at the UN Resolution in March for starting a war with Ukraine, only Israel has implemented sanctions, albeit minimally. The reluctance to impose sanctions by the United States allies in the Middle East reflects their intention to avoid antagonizing Russia, which is increasingly influential in the region, and also reflects their dissatisfaction with Washington and confirms the perception that its influence in the region is waning. U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia began to deteriorate notably in 2015. The Iran nuclear deal implemented by former President Barack Obama caused considerable alarm in Riyadh, while Saudi Arabias intervention in Yemen, which also began that year, received only lukewarm U.S. support. Obamas successor, President Donald Trump, took a more pro-Saudi approach upon entering the White House in 2017, traveling to Saudi Arabia on his first foreign trip as president and increasing weapons sales to the country. President Joe Biden, however, adopted a hard stance against Saudi Arabia during his 2020 presidential campaign. He declared he would make Saudi Arabia a pariah if elected, criticized Saudi policies in Yemen and called for the country to take accountability for the 2018 assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. These foreign policy stances taken during Bidens presidential campaign continued after he became president. Weeks after entering office in 2021, Biden released a 2018 U.S. intelligence report on the assassination of Khashoggiwhich concluded that the assassination in Turkey was carried out on behalf of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who considered the regime critic a threat to the kingdompaused weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, announced an end to U.S. support for the Saudi campaign in Yemen and removed Yemens Iran-backed Houthi rebels from the U.S. terrorism list. Bidens intent to downsize the U.S. presence in the Middle East, part of an ongoing trend seen since the Obama administration, has also caused alarm in Riyadh. The Saudis have long relied on the U.S. presence to deter threats in the Middle East, from when Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq to Iran today, and Bidens remarks spelling out the United States diplomatic stance in the Middle East have further enhanced Saudi fears over its own security. In 2021, more than 300 Houthi drone and missile attacks hit Saudi Arabia, and there have been recent attacks on the United Arab Emirates by the Houthi rebels as well. The UAE has also joined the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen. The Gulf States deteriorating security situation and the belief that the U.S. is unwilling to provide satisfactory assistance to them have instigated Arab attempts to diversify their security guarantors. In August 2021, for example, Saudi Arabia and Russia signed a military cooperation agreement aimed at developing joint military cooperation between the two countries. The UAE agreed to purchase dozens of French Rafale jets and helicopters in December 2021 and signed a multibillion-dollar contract with South Korea for an air defense system (based on a Russian design) in January 2022. It was also revealed in December 2021 that Saudi Arabia was building its own missiles with Chinese assistance, while a suspected Chinese military base under construction in the UAE was shut down in November 2021 following pressure from the U.S. Leaders of both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have recently declined calls from Biden to discuss the Ukraine crisis soon after Russia attacked the country, while Riyadh also rejected U.S. calls to increase oil production and help lower oil prices in mid-February 2022. And in March 2022, Saudi Arabia and Qatar criticized the West for the resolute response to Russia in Ukraine while neglecting crises in the Middle East. Israels relationship with the U.S. has also fluctuated in recent years. Obama and former Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu shared a strained relationship over Palestine as well as the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. U.S.-Israeli ties were revived under Trump, who moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and took a more forceful approach against Iran (including canceling the Iran nuclear deal). But the Biden administrations renewed efforts to reimplement the Iran nuclear deal, coupled with warnings over Israels expansion of settlements in the West Bank, have complicated U.S.-Israeli relations again. Russias influence over Iran and Syria has also made Israel cautious of condemning the Kremlin, lest it may need Moscows assistance to alleviate future crises with both these countries. Perceptions persist in Egypt that the U.S. abandoned former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 after he faced nationwide protests as part of the wider Arab Spring. Following his downfall, the Muslim Brotherhood under Mohammed Morsi led the country for more than a year until a military coup, denounced by the White House, deposed him in 2013. Biden has taken a tepid approach to build back the United States relationship with Egypt under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has led the country since 2014. While the U.S. has maintained its military assistance to Egypt, it cut $130 million in military aid to Egypt in January 2022 over human rights concerns in the country. The move blunted Egyptian enthusiasm for a tough response against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine the following month. Raising tensions with Russia over Ukraine will also have drastic consequences for Egypts food security. Ukraine and Russia are both major food exporters to Egypt, and the spike in grain prices in 2010-2011 played a major role in raising public frustration that culminated in the Arab Spring. Cairo will not jeopardize its fragile food situation further by sanctioning Russia. Moreover, increasing military and energy ties between Egypt and Russia since 2014 have also helped cement positive relations between the two countries. The degradation of the U.S.-Turkish relationship over the last decade has also become increasingly obvious. President Recep Erdogan has faced U.S. criticism over his domestic policies, while many in Turkey have accused the U.S. of involvement in the attempted coup that almost removed Erdogan from power in 2016. In 2018, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Turkeys aluminum and steel exports following rising tensions between the two countries. The following year, in 2019, Turkey agreed to purchase Russias S-400 air defense system, leading to Turkeys removal from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program with the U.S, and more U.S. sanctions were imposed on Turkey in December 2020. Turkey has also increased its economic relationship with Russia through energy deals, tourism ties and trade. Russia is Turkeys largest importer, and their burgeoning economic relationship has continued to develop despite the shooting down of a Russian bomber by Turkish jets while it was flying over Syria in 2015according to Russiaas well as their opposing sides in proxy wars in Libya, Syria and the former Soviet Union countries. So far, Turkey has opposed sanctions on Russia, and has called on the West to avoid isolating Russia and, instead, look at focusing on dialogue as the way forward in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Clearly, Russias strained relations with major U.S. allies in the region, notably Turkey and Saudi Arabia, have not prevented the Kremlin from leveraging its power in the Middle East to prevent greater regional blowback for its invasion of Ukraine. The United States dismissal of Egypts Mubarak in 2011, alongside the Biden administrations current rapprochement with Iran, has again underlined the bipolar nature of U.S. foreign policy in an already unstable region. In comparison, Russias support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war has shown the Kremlin is willing to consistently back its allies even when they themselves are under intense pressure. The belief that the U.S. cannot offer its traditional Middle Eastern allies meaningful support means their allies are naturally wary of upsetting Russia, which, thanks to its more coherent strategy in the Middle East in recent years, has greatly increased its regional influence. With nothing new to offer them, the Biden administration risks seeing American allies continue to drift away in the region. This article was produced by Globetrotter. John P. Ruehl is an Australian-American journalist living in Washington, D.C. He is a contributing editor to Strategic Policy and a contributor to several other foreign affairs publications. He is currently finishing a book on Russia to be published in 2022. 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Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Maggie Drews dad sent her to Circle of Hope Girls Ranch in Missouri in 2007, hoping strict Christian teachings would stop his 14-year-old daughters teenage rebellion. Instead, Drew said, she found herself in a nightmare, sexually abused by one of the boarding school's founders and left with permanent spinal injuries after a fall from a hay barn for which she received no medical attention. Just 25 miles away at another Christian boarding school, Brett Harper says he endured abuse that included staff members stomping on his back. He said his injuries required two spinal surgeries and left him disabled. They are among dozens of people who say they were abused at either Circle of Hope or Agape Boarding School allegations that helped prompt a new Missouri law aimed at reining in religious boarding schools that for decades went without any oversight by the state. I still have nightmares about these people and the things they did to us, Drew said. The founders of Circle of Hope face around 100 charges, some alleging sexual abuse. Agape's doctor is charged with child sex crimes and five employees are accused of assault, though Missouris attorney general thinks many more workers should have been charged. The schools are unrelated and are not affiliated with any particular Christian denomination. But both opened in southwest Missouri under a 1982 state law that gave religious boarding schools free rein and the state no way to monitor how kids were educated. Even the health department had no oversight, including for schools that claimed to address mental health, behavioral and addiction issues. The new law approved last year followed extensive reporting from The Kansas City Star that found that several faith-based boarding schools, including Agape, relocated to Missouri after being investigated or shut down for abuse or neglect elsewhere. Legislators heard testimony from former students such as Chanel Mare, who told of girls at Circle of Hope being forced to eat their own vomit; and James Matthew Lawson, who said he was raped at Agape and called seizure boy because of his epilepsy. The Associated Press generally does not name victims of sexual abuse, but Lawson and Drew both came forward publicly to discuss the allegations. Supporters of religious boarding schools say they provide structure to troubled young people. Megan Stokes, executive director of National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs, said the wrongdoing alleged at Agape and Circle of Hope is exceedingly uncommon. Yet unlike Missouri and many other states, her trade association requires state licensing for all of its 150 member schools, including the religious ones. Agape is not a member, nor was Circle of Hope. Boyd and Stephanie Householder opened Circle of Hope in 2006 in the remote town of Humansville. We use the BIBLE to teach (girls) that they are to obey their Parents and the authority over them, the schools website, which has been taken down, stated. The school closed amid a 2020 investigation; 25 girls were removed. In March 2021, Boyd Householder, 72, was charged with 79 crimes and Stephanie, 56, was charged with 22. Sixteen former residents alleged they were restrained with handcuffs, whipped with belts, and punched. Nearly two dozen counts against Boyd Householder accuse him of sexual contact with girls. Messages left with the Householders' attorney were not returned. In an August interview with the Star, the couple said the accusers made up their stories. Drew, now 29, said her life was upended when her brother died in a car wreck in 2007. Her grieving father joined a church in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Drew said that when she refused to wear a skirt and her grades dropped, church leaders persuaded her dad to send her to Circle of Hope. It was absolute torture, said Drew, who also accused the Householders of stealing a $25,000 inheritance from her. James Clemensen, a retired California trooper, and his wife, Kathy, started Agape in Stockton, Missouri, in 1990. He told a reporter in 2002 that he picked Missouri because of its lack of regulation. He died in October. Agape serves 120-150 boys ages 12-17. Its website says it's a nonprofit school "designed to show Gods love to teen boys struggling with behavior issues that can threaten their future. The school remains open. Five staffers were charged in September with abusing students. In December, Dr. David Smock was charged with sexual abuse. He pleaded not guilty in March. Phone messages left with Agapes director and Smock's attorney were not returned. Harper was 14 when he was sent there from his rural Oregon home in 1999. Now 36, he recalled long hours moving large rocks from one pile to another, toting lumber by hand and clearing land. Harper said his injuries have left him unable to keep a job. What I went through at Agape primed me for abusive relationships with people, it primed for being an ignorant young man not knowing the way the world worked, it destroyed my family relationship, Harper said. Missouri's new law sets minimum health and safety requirements for boarding schools, which still don't have to be licensed. The law mandates background checks for employees; requires adequate food, clothing and medical care for students; and says parents must be allowed access to their children at any time without prior notice. After a state investigation last year, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt recommended charges against 22 Agape employees. But in Missouri, only the local prosecutor can file charges, and Cedar County Prosecuting Attorney Ty Gaither does not plan to file more. The attorney general has his agenda, Gaither said. Im an experienced prosecutor and I filed what I believe are the appropriate charges. James Clidence, who taught math at Agape from 2012 to 2015, said he left after witnessing abuses so concerning that his wife contacted federal, state and local authorities. None would investigate, he said. Im for religious liberty. Im a pastor. But at this point were talking about children's well-being, Clidence, who now leads a Baptist church in Maryland, said. Harper is among those who question whether religious boarding schools will get real scrutiny in Missouri. How many things have to happen before they act? he asked. ___ This story was first published on April 2, 2022. It was updated on April 7, 2022, to correct the last name of a former student in one reference. The former student is James Matthew Lawson, not Larson. G4OBK 1000 SOTA activator uniques Congratulations to Phil Catterall G4OBK from Pickering, North Yorkshire who has activated his 1000th unique summit for SOTA - Summits on the Air. His 1000th summit was Knock of Crieff GM/SS-264 in Perthshire, Scotland, activated on 21st March 2022. Phil concentrated on 60m CW and SSB on this activation, but he has covered most of the main bands and modes over his 17 years as a SOTA activator so far. As well as being a SOTA Mountain Goat, Phil is also an avid chaser, leading the UK honour roll with over 190,000 chaser points. In order to reach 1000 unique activated summits, Phil has travelled far and wide. he has completed successful SOTA activations on mountains in no less than 23 associations - including VK2! For more information about SOTA - Summits on the Air - please visit http://www.sota.org.uk Congratulations to Phil Catterall G4OBK from Pickering, North Yorkshire who has activated his 1000th unique summit for SOTA - Summits on the Air. His 1000th summit was Knock of Crieff GM/SS-264 in Perthshire, Scotland, activated on 21st March 2022. Phil concentrated on 60m CW and SSB on this activation, but he has covered most of the main bands and modes over his 17 years as a SOTA activator so far. As well as being a SOTA Mountain Goat, Phil is also an avid chaser, leading the UK honour roll with over 190,000 chaser points. In order to reach 1000 unique activated summits, Phil has travelled far and wide. he has completed successful SOTA activations on mountains in no less than 23 associations - including VK2! By Bay City News Joel Bartlett, the former longtime meteorologist for Bay Area television stations KPIX and KGO-TV for more than three decades, died late Thursday evening at his ranch in Sonoma County. He was 81 when he died, surrounded by family and friends and all of the animals he loved. Bartlett was a familiar face to millions of Bay Area television viewers, appearing on KPIX from 1974 to 1989. That year, he left the station to join KGO-TV, where he remained until he retired, at age 65, in 2006. On Wednesday, the day before Bartlett died, San Francisco Mayor London Breed proclaimed the day "Joel Bartlett Day", honoring him with an official city proclamation highlighting his career achievements and involvement in the Bay Area community. Copyright 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Copyright 2022 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. By Bay City News A lawsuit has been filed in Alameda County Superior Court against the city of Oakland and the Oakland Athletics over the environmental review of the $12 billion Howard Terminal waterfront ballpark project. The lawsuit, filed by a group of opponents who argue that a new waterfront ballpark would not meet environmental requirements, claims non-compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. The opposing coalition is made up of the following organizations: East Oakland Stadium Alliance; Schnitzer Steel, a metal shredding facility; Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, which represents port workers; the Harbor Trucking Association; California Trucking Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union. "We think it's absolutely crazy," said Oakland A's team president Dave Kaval Friday evening. "We think they should drop the lawsuit. It's an odd way to use an environmental law to prevent the environmental review from being completed." Kaval added he spoke with Oakland city staff Friday about this lawsuit. "We are disappointed collectively about this." The A's president also said "we will be very forceful to have this rescinded." "We are at the bottom of the ninth inning, and we need to get the Howard Terminal ballpark approved." Copyright 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Copyright 2022 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. The nation's housing market has been a cascading series of crises for the past several years, and renters are feeling the pain. With rents skyrocketing across the country, even in previously affordable Sun Belt cities, more people in the market for a reasonable amount of space at a reasonable monthly fee are feeling like they are running out of options. A new study from RentCafe tracked how much space $1,500 a month gets for renters in the 100 largest cities. (Apartments only in buildings and complexes with at least 50 units were included using Yardi Matrix data.) The clear winner? Wichita, KS. The Kansas city of nearly 400,000 was the only metro that promised more than a square foot per dollar. So $1,500 nets renters a 1,597-square-foot apartment, the equivalent of a four-bedroom house. Weve had a lot of people moving here from other coastal-type states because of the cost of living versus cost of housing, says Jeffrey Schnell, managing broker of Keller Williams Signature Partners in Wichita. People get here and are extremely shocked at how much space their money buys them. Joining Wichita on the most affordable side of the list were other cities in the country's big middle: Oklahoma City; El Paso, TX; Toledo, OH; and Memphis, TN. At the other end of the spectrum was Manhattan in New York City. A typical $1,500 rental would net just 262 square feet of living space. (You'd better sell the sectional.) Overall, the coasts were heavily represented in the bottom 20 metros for overall apartment space. Chicago was the only metro to buck the trend of relatively affordable Midwest cities, butstill offering more than double the amount of space as Manhattan, which landed in the worst metros for square footage alongside San Francisco and Washington, DC. The unprecedented spike in housing costs has been driven by an extreme surge in demand over the past year during a nationwide housing shortage. Vacancy rates on rentals are lower than theyve been in three decades, and thats driving up the cost of available rentals as seekers scrap for space. Millennials are renting longer. They want larger apartments, says Doug Ressler of RentCafe parent company Yardi. Cost of housing has gone up, and it forces millennials to rent longer duration. And if you have a family, youre looking for more square footage. That demand comes from a multitude of factors, including would-be homeowners waiting out the overheated housing market, the rebounding economy pushing more people back toward their jobs, and former homeowners selling during the upturn in prices to become renters. Some in-demand cities have seen as much as a 50% jump in rental prices in just the past year. All of this is exacerbated by a shortage of supply. Last year, the gap between households and new homes grew to 5.8 million. While a pandemic slowdown in new households might help builders catch up with demand, similarly pandemic-spurred kinks in the supply chain complicate matters. Anywhere between 4 [million] and 5 million houses are required in the next two years, says Ressler. We know that that amount of housing is not being built for either rentals or houses. The post Where Renters Can Score the Largest, Most Affordable Apartments Right Now appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com. Can a failed State be resurrected by the same wine in different bottles? by Raj Gonsalkorale If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools - Plato The phoenix is an immortal bird associated with Greek mythology (with analogs in many cultures) that cyclically regenerates or is otherwise born again. Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor. Some legends say it dies in a show of flames ... Wikipedia Today, the countrys debts are more than the value of what it produces. The income cannot pay for the expenses and the budget deficit has steadily climbed over the years. Expressing the deficit as a percentage of the GDP is misleading considering that the countrys debt exceeds the GDP. The country keeps borrowing to bridge this gap. It even borrows from Bangladesh now. There is no power for half the day and indications are that this will get even worse. Besides the damage to the economy, the impact of these power cuts on the health of people and their basic economic needs is ignored. There is a gas shortage and shortages of food and medicines. The cost of living has reached heights it never has. The devaluation of the rupee against the US Dollar has been more than 50% in two weeks and it is falling further. The current trajectory is frightening, and it will not be surprising if there is a flood of people from Sri Lanka seeking refuge elsewhere. In this climate, Sri Lanka is witnessing a Phoenix experience with some political leaders. Rejected by the people for their inability to have led the country when they had the opportunity and having been drubbed at elections, they have risen to lecture the country about what it should do to overcome the current unprecedent economic crisis. Consider the recent history of the UNP and the SLFP. The UNP had an unheralded and unprecedented demise. Failing to win a single seat in any district, it secured a dismal 2% of the total vote, or approximately 250,000 votes country wide and only approximately 30,000 odd votes in Colombo District, signalling that the UNP is now a historical monument rather than an electorally viable political force Ground Views 7th August 2020 While it is no personal reflection on past leaders of political parties and of the country, those who had opportunities to introduce essential economic structural reforms, and did not do so, it would be unwise for them to be brought back to be part of a process to introduce the vital economic reforms that are critical at this juncture. One leader who managed less than 249, 000 votes for his party at the last election, a colossal party at one time, and only one national list seat for himself, and who had several opportunities to show his mettle as the Prime Minister of the country, is now heralded as an intelligent leader who should play a major part in the resurrection of the country. It is the height of cheek for this leader to rise from the ashes like the mythological Phoenix and lecture to the country about an economic solution for the country. It is even more insulting for him to be given a platform to do his lecturing by the media. Some in the media may believe a dead Donkey is clever in the company of Morons. Joining him is the leader of the SLFP who as the President of the country, after four and a half years of substandard and ineffective leadership, led his party to an equally dismal ending and managed to get a few members elected to the Parliament thanks to its alliance with the SLPP. The SLFP on their own polled 66, 579 votes nationally and won one seat in the North. He too has begun lecturing the country on economics! At the same time, those currently in government, also having had prior opportunities and the current incumbency to structure the economy for it to meet unforeseen situations and at least have measures to mitigate a fall out, continue to manage the economy without a restructuring plan that has immediate, medium, and longer-term measures. While the serious impact of Covid cannot be understated, one cannot also understate the degree of inefficiency and ineffectiveness of measures taken by the government to alleviate the hardships being experienced by the people. To make matters worse, rumors that are circulating in social media about the level of corruption within government ranks including at high levels is shocking. The government could have taken the lead to strictly enforce the requirement for all Parliamentarians to file tax returns and disclose their assets and liabilities every year to the department of inland revenue. Buying luxury houses, substantial company shares, even rare and expensive paintings, and other unsavory information have been doing the rounds in social media. Disclosure of ones income, assets and liabilities would have been a way to dispel these rumours, indeed, if they were just that, rumours. Collectively, politicians have failed the country over the last 74 years and the voters have failed the country as they have repeatedly elected politicians who have failed. In the circumstances, the President, who prided himself in saying that he is not a politician has the opportunity, maybe his last, to demonstrate he is not. If he seriously wishes to get the country out of the morass it is in, he will have to take some drastic steps and distance himself from partisan politics. It is high time that he enlisted the support of leaders in industry, business, academia, and professionals who have demonstrated their abilities not just in Sri Lanka but also in international bodies, and in other countries, to take a greater interest in Sri Lanka and its future and to get engaged in the process of resurrecting the country. If he is not willing to do so, then he may have to, or may be forced to, relinquish his office. Sri Lanka and its future generations have no hope if failed politicians are given a new lease of life to lead them out of the mess created by these very politicians. If this happens, falling from the cliff into the precipice is certain. The blind may lead the blind and fall into an abyss, but those who can see should not allow the blind to lead them to that abyss. One can only hope that the public are not blind. A five-point fundamental structural revision of governance to overcome the perilous situation in the country and plan for the future is suggested for public consideration. What is mentioned are not measures for the immediate period but more for the medium and longer term. Firstly, it is time to bring in competent technocrats as cabinet ministers from outside the Parliament and give them the task of developing an economic plan and executing it. The appointment of new people with new ideas to chart the future economic direction of the country. Todays politicians are not capable of doing this nor should they be entrusted the task of doing it unless there is some strange desire to jump into the fire from the frying pan. The economic plan should be based on an export oriented, import substitution footing, energy self sufficiency through renewable energy sources and hydro power, and measures that ensure food security. Secondly, accompanying such a change should be the restoration of the independence of the public service and entrusting Secretaries of ministries the task of executing the plans developed by the new cabinet of ministers without the interference of politicians. Thirdly, and very importantly, establishing a clear distinction between monetary policy and fiscal policies and the central bank made independent of the government through necessary legislation and assigned the responsibility for monetary policy, to act independently and free from political involvement or interference. Fourthly, changing the constitution to incorporate all above, and devolving peoples representation to the grass roots. A strong local government structure that brings people closer to governance, a regional council governance model with peoples representatives not exceeding 100 members each for a maximum of three regional councils, and a central governance model, a national parliament, with not more than 100 members elected by the people. A President elected by a council of peoples representatives comprising of the members of local government councils, members of the regional councils and members of the national parliament, should head the cabinet. The President and the cabinet of ministers should report to the national parliament every three months and to the council of peoples representatives every six months. In this structure the post of a Prime Minister becomes redundant. Fifth and perhaps the most important, a police service and a judiciary service totally independent of the government and reporting to a Judicial Service Commission and a Police Commission respectively. The importance of this independence cannot be stressed again and again considering the level of corruption found within these two services. The blatant disregard to the rule of law, to law enforcement, and the notion that some are more equal than others and the unethical societal value, its who you know and not what you know pervading to all levels in the country, has made Sri Lanka one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Introducing whatever constitutional changes, whatever governance structural changes will be of no benefit for the country unless there is a rule of law applicable equally to anyone and everyone in the country and the law enforcement agencies and the justice system functions impartially and are allowed to act impartially. In the latest air travel developments, Delta travelers can expect to see a brand-new aircraft on the carriers key transcontinental routes in the months ahead; the Transportation Security Administration is adopting gender-neutral procedures at airport checkpoints; theres more transatlantic service at SFO from United, Virgin Atlantic and Level; more international route news from United, Delta, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM and other carriers; Air Tahiti Nui adds a West Coast route and a U.S. partner; Cathay Pacific plots a 10,000-mile route from the U.S.; as travelers return to the skies, airport screeners are finding tons of prohibited items in their carry-ons; TSA starts to phase in acceptance of passenger IDs stored in Apple Wallet; and Delta cuts the ribbon on phase one of its big terminal redevelopment at LAX. Delta is reportedly planning to deploy factory-new planes for its key transcontinental routes like San Francisco-New York and Los Angeles-New York as it begins to take delivery of new Airbus A321neos, the first of which joined Deltas fleet last week. The airline has ordered 155 A321neos, and according to Airline Weekly, it plans to fit out 21 of them with a special 148-seat configuration, including 16 lie-flat suites in the Delta One cabin, as well as 12 premium economy, 54 Comfort Plus extra-legroom economy and 66 regular economy seats. Thats a much more front end-loaded configuration than Deltas standard domestic A321neo layout and is designed to protect the carriers market share on those highly competitive transcontinental routes against rivals American, United and JetBlue. Deltas standard domestic A321neos will have 194 seats 20 in first class seats, 42 in Comfort Plus and 132 main cabin seats, but no premium economy option. Delta said this week it will introduce the A321neo between San Francisco and Boston on May 20, Seattle-Boston Aug. 11 and San Diego-Boston and Denver-Boston Aug. 20 (the latter two routes are new ones that start July 11), but it indicated those aircraft would have the standard domestic configuration. The older aircraft that Delta currently uses on those routes do offer lie-flat front cabin seating, but many travelers consider the product dated and in need of an update, Airline Weekly commented. Delta said it will take delivery of 26 A321neos this year. Note: The A321neos, manufactured in Alabama, are not to be confused with Deltas existing fleet of A321ceos, which are built in Germany. By the time all its A321neos are delivered, Delta said, it will have a total of 282 A321 aircraft of both types. Will Waldron/Albany Times Union The Transportation Security Administration said it will adopt new gender-neutral airport screening standards for the benefit of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming airline passengers in the coming months. What does that involve? The agency said it plans to update the algorithm for its Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) passenger scanning units to make them more accurate, efficient and gender neutral. By replacing the current, gender-based AIT system, this new, more accurate technology will also advance civil rights and improve the customer experience of travelers who previously have been required to undergo additional screening due to alarms in sensitive areas, TSA said. The updated AIT devices should be deployed later this year. The agency also will retrain its airport screening officers to permit less invasive screening procedures for certain passengers who trigger the AIT scanner in a sensitive area. This change will reduce pat downs for TSOs and the traveling public without compromising security, the agency said. TSA noted that in February, it changed screening procedures by removing gender considerations when validating a passengers identity. When travelers appear at the travel document checker podium for identity verification, gender information is irrelevant in determining that a traveler may proceed into the screening area, TSA said. The agencys PreCheck program is also getting an update, allowing applicants to select X as an alternative gender category. Starting early this month, TSA said, it will permit PreCheck members to select their gender based on self-attestation, regardless of the gender on the persons identification documents. Existing PreCheck members can change the gender identity on their account by calling 855-347-8371 and speaking with a customer service rep. TSA has updated its website with a page explaining all the changes at www.tsa.gov/transgender-passengers. As the calendar moved from March to April, airlines started to phase in their peak season schedules, adding new routes and resuming suspended ones, and adding more flights to existing schedules. At San Francisco International, for instance, both United and Virgin Atlantic this week increased their service to London. United introduced a second daily nonstop to London Heathrow and plans to add a third frequency to the schedule May 28. Virgin Atlantic boosted its SFO-LHR schedule from seven flights a week to 11 and is due to increase that to twice daily departures May 6. And on April 14, United is slated to resume flying its suspended San Francisco-Amsterdam route. South of the border, United this week expanded its SFO-Mexico City schedule from nine flights a week to three a day. Level, the low-cost affiliate of British Airways/Iberia parent International Airlines Group, this week resumed service between San Francisco and Barcelona, and added Los Angeles-Barcelona flights as well. The San Francisco flights depart SFO on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The LAX service operates three days a week, increasing to four on June 1. Level already flies from New York to Barcelona and plans to add Boston-Barcelona service on May 1. Level is a code-share partner of both American and Alaska Airlines. At Uniteds Newark hub, the carrier this week resumed service to Berlin with six weekly flights, increasing to daily on May 5. But instead of flying into Berlins Tegel Airport, United flights now land at the German capitals new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER). We use the term new advisedly: Brandenburg opened in late 2020, many years later than originally planned. Uniteds flight is the only nonstop service from the U.S. to Berlin. Also this week, United restarted flights from Newark to Porto, Portugal a route also served by TAP Air Portugal. Delta this week ended its two-year hiatus on New York JFK-Brussels service, operating five flights a week and increasing to daily service on May 10. On April 12, Delta plans to resume Detroit-Frankfurt operations, offering five weekly flights and increasing to daily service May 2. And American Airlines this week revived seasonal service from its trans-Atlantic hub at Philadelphia to Lisbon, offering daily flights through Oct. 29. Airbus At San Diego, Lufthansa this week introduced service to its Munich hub using an Airbus A350-900. The German carrier previously operated pre-pandemic San Diego-Frankfurt service but switched to Munich where many of its fuel-efficient A350s are based. The Swiss leisure carrier Edelweiss this week revived service between Las Vegas and Zurich with twice-weekly flights, increasing to three a week in June. Theres plenty of trans-Atlantic action in Texas. At Dallas/Fort Worth International, Delta partner Air France returned this week after a two-year absence, operating five weekly flights to Paris CDG. Finnair, a member of the American/British Airways trans-Atlantic joint venture, started a new route from Americans DFW hub to Helsinki, offering four weekly flights with an A350-900. And Delta partner KLM kicked off a new Texas route this week from Amsterdam to Austin, its 12th U.S. destination, with three 787-9 flights a week. Looking farther ahead, Turkish Airlines said this week it will start flying its newest U.S. route on May 27, when it introduces Seattle-Istanbul 787 service four times a week. The carrier also plans to add U.S. service to Denver and Detroit but hasnt yet said when they might start. And Qantas has announced a new U.S. route from Dallas/Fort Worth to Melbourne beginning Dec. 2 with an initial schedule of four weekly 787 flights. Qantas, a member of Americans global Oneworld alliance, already flies from DFW to Sydney. Alaska Airlines has announced another international partner in its network: Air Tahiti Nui, which announced this week it will start flying a 787-9 nonstop twice a week from Papeete to Alaskas Seattle hub on Oct. 4. That carriers only existing U.S. service is from Papeete to Los Angeles and from LAX to Paris. Beginning April 1, Alaska said, members of its Mileage Plan loyalty program can earn miles on Air Tahiti Nui flights, and mileage redemption on the French Polynesian carrier will be coming later this spring. Cathay Pacific will operate the worlds longest nonstop flight beginning April 3 as it reroutes its New York JFK-Hong Kong flight to avoid using Russian airspace. The new routing will take the Cathay A350-1000 across the Atlantic and Europe, then veer to the south to avoid Russia, for a total distance of 10,357 miles and an estimated flight time of 17 hours 50 minutes. The Hong Kong-to-New York segment flies east across the Pacific and North America and takes about 15.5 hours. So someone booked for a round trip on the route gets a true round-the-world experience. The flights proceed in a generally eastbound direction on both segments to take advantage of prevailing tailwinds instead of flying into the wind from New York to Hong Kong. Singapore Airlines has claimed the longest-flight record with its service from Singapore to New York, which takes about 18 hours but is shorter in terms of distance flown at 9,534 miles. As U.S. passenger numbers continue to approach or exceed pre-pandemic levels this year, TSA is warning travelers to be careful about what they put in their carry-on bags. TSA said this week its airport officers have reported that passengers are bringing literally tons of prohibited items to the checkpoints. The biggest problem continues to be firearms; record numbers of guns many of them loaded were detected in carry-ons during the pandemic even though passenger numbers were much lower than normal. Guns are allowed only in checked bags, TSA said, and must be properly packed and declared at check-in. A gun found in a carry-on can mean a big fine and possible arrest. Besides real guns, TSA said, An item appearing more often in passengers bags are lighters which are cast as a metal gun and if brandished inside the aircraft cabin could appear to be one of the small guns on the market which can discharge ammunition. Other commonly found prohibited objects include knives, martial arts items and large tools. If you wouldnt want the person sitting next to you to have a similar knife, hatchet or ax, then you should leave it at home, the agency said. Click here for a complete list of prohibited items: www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/all. TSA recently placed $781 million in orders for new computed tomography X-ray systems to be used at airport checkpoints. The equipment is slated to be installed at airports around the country starting this summer. The new CT technology gives TSA officers a better view of the contents of carry-on bags by creating a three-dimensional image that can be rotated on three axes. Last August, the agency placed a $198 million order for similar systems that are currently being installed at TSA checkpoints around the U.S. Kiichiro Sato/Associated Press Apple and the TSA have started phasing in the acceptance of Apple Wallet as a new way for travelers to present their drivers license or other state ID at airport checkpoints. Arizona has become the first state where that option is available, with others expected to follow soon, including Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, Utah, Colorado, Hawaii, Mississippi and Ohio. Once a drivers license or other ID is loaded in Apple Wallet, the user can simply tap their iPhone or Apple Watch at the checkpoints identity reader. On their iPhone or Apple Watch, users will be shown which information is requested by the TSA, and can consent to provide it with Face ID or Touch ID, without having to unlock their iPhone or show their ID card. All information is shared digitally, so users do not need to show or hand over their device to present their ID. The TSA will also capture a picture of the traveler for verification purposes, Apple said. To add an ID to Apple Wallet, the user can tap the "plus" button at the top of the screen in Wallet, select drivers license or state ID, and follow the on-screen instructions, which involve taking a selfie and scanning the document. As an additional fraud prevention step, users will also be prompted to complete a series of facial and head movements during the setup process, Apple said. At Los Angeles International, LA city officials and Delta executives cut the ribbon this week on the new centralized headhouse for the airlines Terminals 2 and 3; it is expected to open to the general public April 20. The headhouse will offer consolidated ticketing, check-in, baggage claim and security screening facilities for flights out of both terminals. The new four-story, 770,000-square-foot headhouse building is the first completed portion of a larger $2.3 billion project that will give Delta a consolidated 27-gate complex at the two terminals. It will eventually include a new T3 concourse and a post-security corridor to LAXs Bradley International Terminal. Travelers using the new headhouse will see 46 check-in stations and 32 self-service kiosks as well as seven TSA security lanes, which will increase to 14 by late summer, Delta said. Also opening this month is a completely renovated 30,000-square-foot Delta Sky Club with an indoor/outdoor bar, year-round outdoor Sky Deck, showers and other facilities. The Pennsylvania State Police are investigating an incident where tires were slashed in North Union Township. According to Troopers from the Frackville Barracks, sometime overnight from Tuesday, March 15th, 2022 to Wednesday, March 16th, 2022, someone slashed two tires on a vehicle on Main Street in Nuremberg. Before fleeing, the suspect slashed another tire on a different vehicle.Both vehicles in the incident were owned by the same person.Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Trooper Tomko at the Frackville Barracks by calling (570) 874-5300. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! When Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed parliament last Thursday, Australian filmmaker George Gittoes and his musician wife Hellen Rose were just waking up in their new home in Kyiv, a few hundred metres from central Maidan square. George Gittoes in Maidan square, Kyiv. Credit:Hellen Rose Normally Maidan square, also known as Independence Square is like Martin Place in Sydney or Federation Square in Melbourne is completely packed with people but now there is barely anyone on the streets except for soldiers, said Gittoes in a video interview from his bed. Missiles zooming overhead could be heard in the background, and the old Soviet-era built apartment where he and Rose and have taken refuge on the fifth floor could be seen shaking. We have had queries from our friends and families in Australia asking what people on the streets think about their President Zelensky addressing the Australian Parliament this week. On every corner we are pulled up by Ukraine soldiers asking to see our passports and press accreditation once they realise we are Australian they smile, relax and welcome us. They are surprised and heartened that we have come all the way from Australia to support the Ukraine people, Gittoes says. But they are all aware Australia is not a member of NATO and has not sent military advisers or helped supply weapons. Our government has committed to trade and banking embargoes, but as a country, we have little economic connection to Russia and do not depend on it as much as others for oil or gas. Next weekend Jake ONeil and Lou Hay will finally say I do after first getting together in high school and rekindling their romance after years apart. Jake is the second eldest son of Denis and Charlotte ONeil, multimillion-dollar superyacht broker and owner of the Rose Bay Marina. While Hay is the daughter of Bi and the late Donald Hay, brush pioneer and founder of Hayco. Lou Hay at her French-themed bridal shower last weekend. Credit:Instagram Lou and her bride-tribe that including sister Simmie Hay, sister-in-law-to-be Poppy Tzaneros (nee ONeil), Deborah Symond ONeil and Alyce Tran arent shy about showing off photos from their friends five-figure hen party hosted last weekend at Palladio estate in Arcadia for a Paris themed lunch followed by a Euphoria-themed dance party. With the impending wedding only days away and being planned by celebrity wedding planners After The Rock, Emerald City is told guests are sworn to secrecy about leaking details of the event to protect the media-shy couple. Guests include Vaucluse property developers Michael and Barbara Coombes, celebrity stylist Caroline Tran and her newly engaged London-based cousin Hermione Underwood. If the writers of the dark but deliciously hilarious American comedy The Righteous Gemstones, currently screening on Foxtel and featuring a dysfunctional family of televanglists, are looking for inspiration for upcoming storylines, they need look no further than Baulkham Hills and our very own Houston dynasty of Hillsong fame. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny with Hillsong Church Pastor Brian Houston. While the Gemstones are a source of much humour, these days the laughs around the Houston household, a palatial gated multi-million-dollar spread in nearby Glenhaven, have been somewhat muted thanks to a string of scandals. So dire is the once untouchable familys current position it has left many of us to wonder if Team Houston - comprising husband and wife Hillsong founders Brian and Bobbie Houston and their three adult children - has entered its own End of Days? Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Daniel Airey doesnt recognise the person he was at 16. It was the year he survived the worst months of his life: he was suffering from panic attacks up to three times a day and his mind was plagued by suicidal thoughts. Its almost a feeling of losing control of everything like someone else has control of you, your actions and everything thats in your mind. Daniel Airey, 22, has come a long way since 2016. Credit:Simon Schluter Airey had been bullied over elements of his identity having a stutter and being gay through high school, which took a toll on his mental health. His inner self-critic would roar that he was mucking everything up. He gradually began to avoid social situations and attending school. For a while he would only communicate by writing on paper. It was just this sense of everyones watching me, everyones thinking about what I look like and all negative things, Airey says. In year 8 I just didnt talk because it was so bad. Airey, now 22 and living in the outer Melbourne suburb of Sunbury, recalls that experiencing suicidal thoughts and panic attacks was particularly frightening. I opened up to my mum and my partner and I said I dont know whats happening to me. Advertisement Airey, who tells his story for The Age and The Sydney Morning Heralds youth mental health podcast Enough, was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in 2016, and placed on suicide watch. For several months he stopped going to school and his mum stopped working. I felt like a burden, he says. Having her always there made me feel like I wasnt able to survive on my own, which looking back was true but when I was fighting all these demons inside me, it was overwhelming. I remember saying to Mum youll be much happier if Im gone, Airey says. Through a combination of medication and cognitive behavioural therapy, things slowly improved. He returned to school and was accepted into university. He hasnt experienced suicidal ideation since he was 17. It feels like your life is over in that moment Airey can relate to the many young people who struggled during COVID-19. Hes disturbed by the finding of a recent survey of Australians aged 16-24 that a quarter had experienced suicidal thoughts during the pandemic. That figure is about double the number of adults aged 25 and older whod felt suicidal. Advertisement There isnt enough help for all those individuals out there, Airey says. It feels like your life is over in that moment. Airey is relieved he didnt feel suicidal during the pandemic, but his panic attacks returned after he lost work. Without his usual support networks through multiple lockdowns, he had to find new ways to cope. Running became a big outlet for him. Beyond Blues chief clinical adviser Dr Grant Blashki says suicidal thinking is complex, but it commonly occurs with grief, break-ups, drug and alcohol use, unemployment, isolation and coming to terms with your identity. I remember saying to Mum youll be much happier if Im gone. Daniel Airey He says that suicidal ideation which is often associated with symptoms of depression should always be taken seriously. People who suffer from persistent suicidal thoughts are more likely to end their lives. Mental Health Australia this week called on the federal government to set a target to reduce suicide by 25 per cent by 2025. The latest available data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that in 2020, there were 480 youth suicides, the same as in 2019. Advertisement Blashki says that while its a relief the rate didnt go up that year, its clear that the pandemic has had a substantial impact on young peoples mental health. He adds that as society we have to do much better to bring down the suicide rate. Its just unacceptable that its higher than the road toll. Daniel and his partner, Andrew, have recently opened up their home to foster children. Credit:Simon Schluter Key to Aireys recovery was becoming OK with asking for help whenever suicidal thoughts returned. Theres no way I would ... even contemplate it [now]. Blashki says that people who are worried about a loved one should not be afraid to ask if theyve had thoughts of self-harm or taking their life. Theres no evidence that you put the thought in their head, he says. Pick a good time and place to open up the conversation and listen then you can point them to the right supports. Airey says that he does this with his friends who are struggling mentally. Advertisement I just ask them outright, are you experiencing suicidal thoughts?, he says. It helps to talk about it when youre in that place, and it reminds them that there are people who care about them. Loading Airey says that creating more awareness of speech impairments is a big motivator for his involvement in the Enough podcast. Growing up, he lacked role models he could relate to. Having a stutter throughout my schooling, I was really put down as stupid or not as capable as the other kids, Airey says. But now Im just like well, its a part of who I am. As his anxiety around his speech diminished, his stutter improved too. For Aireys partner of seven years, Andrew Grey, the transformation has been life-changing. We had times where his mum and I had to pin him down to stop him from harming himself, Grey says. Hes a different person ... Im really happy. Late last year, Airey and Grey became foster parents two of only six foster carers with Anglicare Victoria who are under 25. Advertisement When we realised wed be meeting up with my parents in Santorini in two weeks, we knew that was our opportunity to have the wedding we wanted and still have Mum and Dad there. I booked a celebrant on the spot. The wedding day itself was beautiful; I can still remember how breathtaking the scenery was as we said our vows and the way the locals clapped and cheered when we kissed. The celebrant could hardly speak English and we couldnt quite understand him, so we ended up laughing all the way through the ceremony. I discovered I was pregnant three days later. We returned to Australia to mixed reactions. Our friends understood that this was our wedding, but some of my family took the news hard. One aunt actually sat me down and said I would regret what I had done for the rest of my life. I dont know about that: six years and two children in [the couple have a five-year-old and three-year-old], were happier than ever. From left to right: Sara Layoun Ruri and Micah Ruri; Tahlia Gregori and Jackson Walkden-Brown; Angela and Loic Lemaitre. I chose our wedding destination by closing my eyes and dropping a finger on the page A red tape bungle led to an impromptu wedding for Angela Lemaitre, a 45-year-old DJ and spruiker, and Loic Lemaitre, a 48-year-old chef. Loic and I met in the funniest of ways. It was in 2000, and I was visiting the restaurant in Noumea, New Caledonia, where he was working, when he took issue with my order of a chocolate mousse topped with lemon sorbet. He came over to check my dessert choices and we ended up talking and talking. By the time I flew back to Sydney a week later, we knew we didnt want to be apart. In the months that followed, there was a little flying back and forth between Noumea and Sydney, but just as I was about to travel to Japan for work, Loic rang and asked me to marry him. He said, I know Im here in Noumea but I dont know why Im here without you. Lets get married. My friends and I joked that he must have been drunk, but I was thrilled. He quit his job and flew to Sydney so we could begin our lives together. He said, I know Im here in Noumea but I dont know why Im here without you. Lets get married. Loic and I spent two months getting the appropriate visa paperwork together so we could live as an engaged couple and organise a wedding later. I was due to fly out on a Tuesday for work in Japan, but on the Friday before, we went to Immigration to find wed been given the incorrect paperwork and Loic would have to leave the country within days. Right away we said, Nope, were getting married this weekend, and since you have to file your intention to marry one month and one day before the wedding date in Australia, we decided to elope overseas. I had a wedding magazine, and picked our destination by closing my eyes, flipping to a random page and dropping my finger on a spot: Navini Island Resort, Fiji. We booked a flight for the following day but the hours leading up to our departure were stressful: trying to find wedding rings, doing more paperwork and organising for a witness (our housemate) to fly with us. After we touched down, however, we embraced the island spirit. We spent our wedding day snorkelling and turned up to the sunset ceremony sunburnt but blissed out. When we flew back to Sydney the following morning, Loic went straight to Immigration to file the correct papers and I flew to Japan. Our spontaneous wedding took our families by surprise but they understood as many had relatives overseas. To make everyone happy we had a traditional church wedding in Sydney a year later. This year well be celebrating our 22-year anniversary with our three beautiful children by our side. Love always finds a way. It wasnt the wedding we planned but we loved it Border restrictions and lockdown wreaked havoc on Sara Layoun Ruri and Micah Ruris original wedding plans, so the 43-year-old marketing manager and 37-year-old FIFO worker chose Plan B. I dont know that Micah and I have taken the most traditional route to marriage. For a start, weve known each other for over 20 years as family friends but our relationship only became romantic in 2012 after we reconnected at a party. We had our son in 2017 and although Micah proposed in 2020, COVID-19 was overruling every plan we made so we didnt ever feel we could just say, Yes, this is what were going to do and this is how and when were going to do it. Micah and I both come from large families so we knew early on that if we were to have a traditional wedding, it would be very large and very loud. At first we toyed with the idea of eloping and getting married quietly in Fiji or Taormina [in Italy], but then we decided you only get married once so why not have all the bells and whistles? We set the date for October 2021 and booked the reception venue, ordered the dress and locked in everything from photography to the flowers. Then we sat through the 2021 lockdown not knowing how to proceed, or if we even should, with the wedding. It was so stressful not knowing if the borders would reopen and if family would be able to come, or even if my dress would be ready in time since everything was being held up by the pandemic. I dont know that anyone grows up thinking theyre going to one day get married with loved ones watching online, but despite the heavy rain on the day, it was a beautiful, relaxed occasion full of love and laughter. Finally, Micah said he didnt want to wait any more and that we should just get married at home. As soon as he said that, I agreed. For me, its all about marrying Micah, not about having a wedding. We quickly organised our celebrant, called my parents over and sent family and friends a message which more or less read, Surprise! Were getting married at 2pm this afternoon. Heres the Zoom link, wed love it if you want to join in. Loading I dont know that anyone grows up thinking theyre going to one day get married with loved ones including Micahs immediate family, who are in New Zealand and Perth watching online, but despite the heavy rain on the day, it was a beautiful, relaxed occasion full of love and laughter. We were aware of our friends and families watching in their homes (we were all still in lockdown), so we tried to include them as much as possible by speaking with them after the ceremony before we had a meal with my parents. We love being married and were happy we made the decision to marry when we did. But since wed already paid for everything that we had to put on hold, were still going to go ahead and will have our traditional wedding in May minus the ceremony. After the two years of lockdown weve just been through, it will be nice to finally be able to kick up our heels and have a good time. And who knows, maybe our loved ones overseas and interstate will be able to join us by then. Police say they have smashed a transnational ice importing syndicate with the arrest of the alleged ringleader and a freight forwarding worker who allegedly used his role to help import the drug and its precursor. Federal Police and Border Force were tipped off to a commercial dough mixer allegedly containing 100 kg of methylamphetamine secreted inside by their North American counterparts in October last year. Yuan Long Yang, 37, is arrested at his Punchbowl Home Royal Canadian Mounted Police seized the chemical, replacing it with an inert substance and sending the mixer on to its original destination, Wentworthville in Sydneys west. That day, Yuan Long Yang, 37, was arrested at his Punchbowl home. Police allege he was the mastermind of the importation plot and have charged him with attempting to import and possess a commercial quantity of methamphetamine. He remains before the courts. But when her break from Mormonism came, it called everything into question, including the origin stories of this 19th-century American religious movement, the institutionalised homophobia and the hefty time and financial commitments. Each year the Church reports to the charities regulator that it raises close to $100 million in Australia through a charitable trust fund, with nearly all of that thought to be income from tithes. It is an impressively large sum for a religion with only about 60,000 adherents in Australia, according to the Census. Yet it is not all it seems. An investigation by The Age and Sydney Morning Herald has revealed that the Church may have engaged in a tax evasion, allowing its adherents to collect exemptions not lawfully available to followers of other religions. Australia is unusual among English-speaking countries in that it does not allow tax deductions for tithing or church donations. Instead, it allows generous deductibility for charitable giving. The church appears to have structured itself to maximise that tax benefit through payments of $70 million a year through a charity with no paid staff. It has meant Mormons have been able to draw on $400 million in tax write-offs since 2015. There are serious questions about whether this is permissible, although a Church spokesman insists it complies with Australian tax laws and runs the charity from Australia, as required by the law. That $70 million a year in donations is completely out of step with what Mormons give in other countries, including the United States, where it has more than six million followers. It is also in stark contrast with what the Church said they had given previously from Australia, a total of $900,000 between 1985 and 2010. Givens experience of the LDS Church - along with other senior ex-Mormons interviewed for this piece - was one where charitable giving was limited. As far as helping people who were actually in need, theres just not a lot of that happening. The Mormon Church isnt providing soup kitchens, homeless shelters and the kind of aid which some other churches do, she says. A Church spokesman said it had been able to boost charitable spending from Australia as there was a desire and the ability to significantly increase the support. They did not elaborate further. Around the world the Church has extensive business interests, including shopping malls and some of the biggest farms in the United States. In 2020, it also emerged that the Church ran an investment fund, Ensign Peak Advisors, with more than $US100 billion ($133 billion) in assets, generating substantial tax-free returns. It was not always so. In the 19th century the Church was chased out of much of the United States and took up arms against the federal government. It settled, after a great migration, in frontier Utah, where it supported polygamy. University of Tampa sociology professor Ryan Cragun. University of Tampa professor of sociology Ryan Cragun, an expert on Mormonism who grew up in the religion, said the Church was vastly different then than it is today. Nineteenth-century Mormonism has polygamy, they still drink alcohol, they had all sorts of weird practices that all shifts with the end of polygamy, and then kind of the formalisation of the Word of Wisdom, which is, you know, no drinking coffee, no alcohol, no tea, no smoking, all of that, he says. By the mid-20th century - and till today - it represents a kind of all-American wholesomeness with its fresh-faced, clean-cut, suited missionaries. And if you look at it, its very much like a middle-class corporate church in an American Salt Lake City kind of way. Cragun says Church leaders live comfortably but all this wealth - the $US100 billion investment fund, the tax minimisation - is not about personal enrichment. Rather, he suspects, its about long-term corporate planning. Many of its current leaders - called apostles - have backgrounds in senior positions from the corporate world and run the Church as a business, he says. My sense is they know whats coming. As far as secularisation goes, theyre losing young people in droves. Theyre not really getting any converts in Australia or New Zealand, or most of Western Europe at this point. Even Eastern Europe, theyre not getting anybody, Africa, OK, theyre doing OK there. But even in South America, theyve kind of mined that, he says. My sense is theyre reading the tea leaves saying that donating members are going to begin to shrink. How are we going to maintain all the properties that we own, all the stuff that were doing? He surmises that the massive war chest is designed to allow them to just live off the revenue from that indefinitely into the future, thats my best interpretation. Cragun says Mormons were unusual in how much they paid in tithing. A North American study showed they paid more than 7 per cent of their income in tithes - slightly less than they are meant to, but a stunningly high amount compared to other religions. There are no comparable figures for the Church in Australia, but its financial accounts indicate that local Mormons are paying a high rate of tithing. There is considerable pressure on Mormons to pay tithes, he says, and once a year, they are required to meet with their bishop. This tithing settlement is important, determining, essentially, whether they are in good standing and can be recommended to go to Temple, an important step in the path to the afterlife. Despite the large financial commitment, another feature of Mormonism, Cragun claims, is how little the Church spends on charity; less than 1 per cent of its income (based on its own previously publicly released figures). It makes a situation like Australia - where tithing is not tax-deductible - tricky for the Church. Without the tax benefit, individual Mormons here would be substantially worse off financially than Mormons in the US, Britain or Canada. Cragun suggests that the Church may milk the system for every tax deduction they can, which is why youre seeing this. Getting a spokesperson to admit that is probably impossible... because that makes them look very ungenerous. Mike Perritt was born into the Church and became its national emergency response coordinator, working with the Red Cross and other agencies. Hed regularly work 25 hours a week on Church activities. To retain its tax status as a charity or religion it has to give money to charities, but it doesnt like to do that, he says. Now in his sixties, he left the Church in 2015 as he believed its origin stories were based on fraudulent claims. He had paid almost $400,000 in tithes. Perritt says he saw many people on low incomes struggle to afford the tithes and that tithing dropped off when tax deductibility was reduced to 75 per cent for a time. The Church is very focused on its wealth, it always has been, he says. The Churchs tax practices have resulted in a complaint being lodged last year with the Australian Charities and not-for-profits Commission. The regulator is legally prevented from providing information on the status of its response - if any - to complaints. Senior ex-Mormon, Dr Simon Southerton, has made a complaint to a regulator about the Churchs tax practices. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Senior ex-Mormon Simon Southerton alleges that the Church is involved in tax evasion through its practices. He is quick to note that it is the Church hierarchy and not ordinary Mormons who are to blame for any claimed tax evasion. Mormons are encouraged to be honest and truthful in their dealings. Its just dishonest, to make it look like the Church is so extremely charitable when its not, he says. I dont blame ordinary Mormons here this smacks of US lawyers exploiting legal loopholes to pull the wool over the eyes of the Australian government. Barrister Neville Rochow, QC, was until 2018 the Churchs representative to the European Union and served as a bishop and in stake (similar to an archdiocese) and missionary presidencies. He converted in his teens and served in missions in Tasmania and later Germany, where he met his wife. The church had many positives for him: I came from a fairly dysfunctional childhood and was really looking for a way to have a happy family. Dr Neville Rochow, QC, says the Church has structured itself to minimise tax. Rochow says he was so bloody faithful and was seen as a repository of all knowledge on doctrine. I was their pin-up boy; I was respectable and had letters after my name. The Church would trot me out when they needed someone respectable that could talk with anyone about anything. He spoke at the House of Lords, the European Parliament and the European Court of Human Rights. [The Church] opened a lot of doors for us, we derived a lot of benefit from it. Nice try, John Alexander (Too much pork barrelling, says MP, March 27), but youve been comfortably ensconced on government benches for 11 years without too much jumping up and down about a federal anti-corruption commission. Its a bit rich on exiting the hallowed halls to include Labor in your blame game for the absence of one. Labor has been in whats called opposition for three terms of government, which means it doesnt have the majority of seats. It was your government, Mr Alexander, and yours alone responsible for mandating an effective federal ICAC. You failed. Alison Stewart, Riverview Departing MP John Alexander is spot on with his observation that politicians are addicted to infrastructure spending to buy votes and called for projects to be assigned to an independent authority. My, how the wheel turns. Ninety years ago, wise statesmen of the time brought about the creation of the NSW Department of Main Roads to be just such an independent authority. Sadly, subsumed recently within TfNSW and whats left would be struggling to be heard. Decades upon decades of engineering expertise, built up over the years, lost forever essentially overnight, at the hands of tawdry, mediocre politicians, and at the expense of the people of NSW. Were all unnecessarily paying for too much ad hoc planning (an oxymoron). The horrendous overspending on big projects beggars belief. Denis Sullivan, Greystanes We should listen carefully to the informed advice of John Alexander at his exit interview with the Australian people. An independent authority responsible for the long-term planning for nation-building projects is the only way I will see an Australian inter-city, high-speed rail system in my lifetime. With the major parties not even remotely likely to give up the pork-barrelling opportunities such an authority would remove, perhaps it falls to the outstanding women independents to fight for it? The potential benefits to climate policy and integrity, two of their major policy platforms, are enormous. Graeme Stewart, Palm Beach Integrity more than skin deep I suggest Jacqueline Maley overestimates the value of physical appearance in politics (Beauty is a form of power that only male politicians can wield, March 27). She highlights the physical attributes of some male politicians as their defining appeal, but that is worthless without integrity, respect for others and good communication skills. Female politicians dont need to look like movie stars. Their most engaging qualities are intelligence, courage, empathy and femininity. The problem with some of the ladies in politics is that they try to emulate the worst characteristics of their male counterparts. Graham Lum, North Rocks A Queensland lawyer who was previously disqualified for creating a sham diamond trade to evade consumer credit laws and sell payday-style loans to vulnerable people has had his appeal for the renewal of his practising certificate rejected. Robert Legat, former director and legal counsel of Fast Access Finance (FAF) in Queensland (which operated in Burleigh, Beenleigh and Beaudesert), has been embroiled in court battles for years after he was banned from engaging in credit activities by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in September 2017 for his role in devising the scheme. Queensland solicitor Robert Legat was banned by ASIC for five years. Credit:LinkedIn Previously slammed by Administrative Appeals Tribunal deputy president Bernard McCabe as being arrogant, supercilious and obtuse, Mr Legat had his ban extended from three to five years for reasons including not showing remorse. His matter has since been moved to Queenslands Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which published its decision this week that he was not a fit and proper person to continue to hold a practising certificate. The Liberals bid to retain the formerly blue-ribbon seat of Wentworth has hit a snag, with the local council requesting the removal of Dave Sharmas billboard in Edgecliff. While the federal election is yet to be called, unofficial campaigning is well under way in the seat where Mr Sharma faces a high-profile challenge from independent candidate Allegra Spender, as well as Labors Tim Murray, and Dominic Wy Kanak from the Greens. Wentworth MP Dave Sharmas billboard on the side of the Edgecliff Centre. Woollahra Council has ordered the building owner to remove it because no advertising is permitted on the building. Mr Sharmas billboard went up in early March on the side of the Edgecliff Centre, near the train station and metres from both his and Ms Spenders campaign offices. In a letter obtained by The Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age, Woollahra Council wrote to the owner of the building on March 16, giving notice of intention to issue an order for removal of the billboard because it did not comply with council regulations. Once council formally issues the order, the owner will have 14 days to comply. Nine minutes. That was all it took for a first-home buyer couple to snap up a four-bedroom home in Epping for $790,000. The home at 23 Greenview Court sold $140,000 above the top end of the advertised price range of $595,000 to $650,000, after the winners competed with one other bidder for the property. Ray White Bundoora director and auctioneer Andrew Mizzi at the quick auction in Epping. Credit:Joe Armao Bidding opened at $600,000 and the two buyers mostly traded $10,000 advances in quick succession. A crowd of at least 10 young families watched on, unable to get a bid in during the fast-paced sale. Ray White Bundoora selling agent Rayni Jerram said the home sold well above the vendors expectations. Medical entrepreneur Dr Glenn Haifer has made a grand return to the Sydney Harbour trophy home market this week, paying more than $60 million for the Darling Point residence of Lisa Allen, former wife of yachtie Matt Allen. Haifer hasnt owned a piece of the prized waterfront housing market in more than four years, when he sold his half-completed home, Deauville, on Point Pipers Lady Martins Beach for $39 million to luxury car importer Neville Crichton and his wife Nadi. The modernist-style residence was renovated in 2017 and listed for sale soon after. It was about that time that the Allens listed their Darling Point home for sale with hopes of more than doubling their $32 million purchase price of 2013 from the estate of industrialist Sir William Tyree. Alison Coopes, who listed it exclusively about six months ago after it was an open listing with a multitude of agents, declined to reveal the result, leaving it to sources to suggest it is in the low-$60 million range. Sydneys entry-level house prices have soared 127 per cent in a decade, new figures reveal, leaving first-home buyers struggling to keep up with the growing deposit hurdle. That is only likely to become harder, experts say, as the most affordable homes will soon be fielding extra demand from the expanded Home Guarantee scheme announced in the federal governments final budget prior to the election. The scheme allows Sydneysiders to buy their first home with a deposit as little as 2 per cent as a single parent, or 5 per cent as first-home buyers, rather than the usual 20 per cent, for a home worth up to $800,000 with the government acting as guarantor. But Sydneys property market has outpaced the schemes cap due to house prices in the bottom quarter of the market jumping 25.9 per cent to $900,000 in 2021 alone. London: The Prime Minister of Antigua has reacted angrily to Jamaicas decision to challenge for the role of Commonwealth secretary-general, saying it is a monumental error that could split the Caribbean and divide the Commonwealth. Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne told the Caribbean Media Corporation that Jamaica had broken its pledge by challenging incumbent Patricia Scotland. Jamaica was party to a recent Caribbean Community (CARICOM) consensus endorsing the re-election of Baroness Scotland, he said. I think Jamaicas proposed candidature for Commonwealth secretary-general is a monumental error, which could only serve to divide the Caribbean. He said the Dominican-born Scotland was being hounded out of the job. When Ukraines khaki-clad President Volodymyer Zelensky addressed the Australian Parliament on Thursday and raised his fist in victory, I couldnt help but feel a bright yellow sunflower bloom in my heart. When he told Australians that Russia had brought back the worst pages of the 20th century and the evil that humanity thought they had forgotten about a long time ago, it reminded me of the spirit of the Ukrainians I have met in their country and the world over. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky receives a standing ovation after addressing a special sitting via videolink in the House of Representatives. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Thirty years ago I was sent on assignment to Ukraine. It was less than a year after the 1991 referendum that formalised Ukraines departure from the Soviet Union. The Balkan war was raging in not far off Bosnia, and I was reporting on the Hungarian-speaking minority in western Ukraine. As with post World War I and II, eastern European nations were remaking themselves: literally, as their boundaries were redrawn, and metaphorically, as they established new identities, free from the yoke of Russian domination. Often this resulted in a rise of local nationalism. Jerusalem: Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank early on Saturday, an operation that fuelled persisting fears of a flare-up of violence between Israel and the Palestinians in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Tensions have soared in recent days after Palestinian assailants killed 11 Israelis in separate attacks across the country. Israeli forces have stepped up security and launched arrest raids in the West Bank, killing two Palestinians during a gun battle on Thursday. Another Palestinian was killed on the same day, after stabbing and wounding an Israeli on a bus in the West Bank. Palestinian Hadeel Abu Atiyeh, cries during the funeral of her brother Sanad Abu Atiyeh, 17, in the refugee camp of Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Credit:AP The Israeli police said the three militants were members of a cell that was involved in recent attacks against Israeli forces and were planning another attack that was thwarted during the early Saturday joint operation with the military and intelligence. Live videos by witnesses on social media showed a crowd of Palestinians inspecting the scene of the clashes near Jenin city after the Israeli troops withdrew. The street was covered with blood stains and the men chanted slogans calling for revenge. The man behind a decade-old maple syrup heist, the subject of an episode of Netflixs Dirty Money show, will have to pay millions in fine, Canadas top court said, upholding an earlier ruling by a lower court. A group of people in the province of Quebec siphoned off maple syrup worth over C$18 million from a storage tank and replaced it with water, before authorities discovered the robbery in 2012, in what has been dubbed the great Canadian maple syrup heist. Amber goodness: Quebec holds the worlds only strategic reserve of the sweet topping. Credit:AP Richard Vallieres, who was among the 16 people arrested by police, was found guilty of fraud, trafficking and theft and sentenced to eight years in prison and fined more than a C$9million ($9.5million) by the Quebec Superior Court. Vallieres had successfully appealed that ruling, getting his fine lowered to about C$1 million - the amount Vallieres says he profited from the robbery. ~ Young man returns home safely.~ PHILIPSBURG:--- On Friday afternoon April 1st, 2022, a report of Missing person was filed at the Philipsburg Police Station by the Father of the man Kevanne Richard Alex TENNANT, born in Jamaica on February 8th, 2000, and residing at 9 Fringe tree drive, in Cole Bay. Kevanne Richard Alex TENNANT is about between 5-6 and 5-8, slim build, brown skin complexion, with black eyes and black hair and is 22 years old. He was last seen wearing a dark blue t-shirt blue and red shorts. He was last seen leaving the residence at about 07.00 pm on March 31st, 2022, and has not returned home, nor contacted his parents or any other family member in the last 24 hours. The police department is seeking assistance from the community to help locate Mr. Kevanne Richard Alex TENNANT If you have any information about the whereabouts of this person, please contact the Police Force: 54-22222 or the emergency number 911. The father of Mr. Kevanne Richard Alex TENNANT, (Mr. Desmond Richard Tennant) can also be contacted via the cell numbers +1721-5267163 or 17215597424. UPDATE: Missing man returns home The Sint Maarten Police Force would officially like to inform everyone that young man Kevanne Richard Alex TENNAT has returned home safely. He was found in the area of cay-Bay beach. Personnel from detective department are currently taking a statement from him in order to find out the reason why he was not heard from over the last 24 hours. We would like to especially thank the media and the community for the quick sharing of the police press release on social media. Together we can always make a difference. KPSM Press Release. The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia April 2, 2022 Passing on the corruption torch The formulation and expected evolution of anything that is intended to last far beyond its simple beginnings must be built upon footings that are supported by a solid base that is far larger and more embedded than that which it supports. No organization can survive the rigidity of time if it entirely relies upon an individual to guarantee its longevity. Man is here for a limited time; Liberia is here forever! How can we guarantee the continued wellbeing and development of Liberia if we entirely entrust national aspirations to the limitations of one flawed human being and not to institutions? The issue of governance is a very simple and straightforward affair. It is only made complicated when people stray far away from time-tested principles that strengthen the governance process. For example, relying on self-indulgent men/women and not institutional guidelines. There must be a defined platform upon which any organization can build that platform must be futuristic in nature; but most importantly, it must be rooted in the belief that it is bigger than any one person, the idea of continuity and robust enough to confront and overcome future challenges. In this light, a government that will succeed must stand on the foundation of institutions. Liberia, on the other hand, did not begin with institutional intentions; it was begun as a temporary outpost with no solidifying, national ambition. Google Restart Liberia and Build a New Foundation (https://frontpageafricaonline.com/opinion/commentary/restart-liberia-and-build-a-new-foundation/) to learn how we can reorient Liberia and begin rebuilding that foundation that will propel us forward with an institutional approach that takes future generations into account, and guarantee country-wide, developmental results. Furthermore, institutional processes and regulatory provisions that force a particular outcome must be calculated, planned, organized in a targeted faction, and aggressively enforced. The governmental approach must be holistic in nature; it should be open, effective, and move to make positive, life-changing differences for citizens, the economy, and society. Effective public sector governance and developmental finance can promote economic transformation that strengthens the institutional process. For a society to grow and move in the direction of true development, its public sector governance must be institutionally grounded in strengthening core state functions such as accountability and transparency, justice, equity, and responsible public administration. There is no other way if controlled continuity and sustaining the process are the ultimate objectives! A countrys fiscal health can only be guaranteed if there exist strong public sector arrangements, adequate financial management, a developed procurement system, a judiciary that uncompromisingly administers justice, and an educated citizenry that understands and takes its role seriously. Your governing process must be designed to make sure all of this is systemically synced and aligned to the institutional processes know that part of your institution formulation must incorporate positive aspects of local cultures and traditions to further solidify the base. In so doing, appreciate that governance is a combination of processes and a broad reach to implement, manage and monitor the entire operation of government, be it infrastructure, national policy, or the desired citizen action. Understand that governance is a means through which national aspirations are determined and executed. The best way to actualize national vision is through organized means and a process that looks at issues with a broader lens that scrutinizes the public agenda through the institutional process. Conversely, the all-powerful presidency is hurting Liberia in more ways than one cares to describe; couple this with an absent legislature and a dormant judiciary. Liberia is going nowhere. The only solution lies in aggressive political agitation and non-negotiable demands for strong government institutions from the people. We must revisit the Liberian Constitution with purposeful intent and push to set stringent guidelines for political office. Our new institutions must weed out harmful mediocrities that continue to hurt us in so many ways. Organizational and structural guidance must direct our public, governance processes and determine national outcomes, not vagrants with personal corrupt agendas. On the other hand, governance is not a childs plaything. The actions of those who lead can make or break a society. It is a very serious matter that must be viewed with a heightened sense of responsibility, both by the voters and those positioned to check officials of government. There must be a concerted effort to provide the framework to govern our organizations and build our institutions on good governance principles such as inclusive participation, rule of law, consensus building, equity, responsiveness, transparency, and accountability. Anything outside these measures will continue to widen the developmental gap between us and the rest of the world. Effective governance requires that implementation strategy goes through the full wringer of the institutional process, ensuring all compliance, laws, and regulations are met; making sure public sector financial performance standards are in line with policy cut no corners. To fully benefit from the structures of institutions, the reporting standards, and organizational financial performance requirements must be strictly followed - apply penalties and punishments without hesitations. Audit without season and make public records public. Hide nothing from the people except justified national security issues. Arm and protect the press to check the system. Your goal should be to strengthen our institutions are all levels, both publicly and privately. In this age of all things on camera social media, it is in the best interest of the government to get ahead of this and govern responsibly, respond to the peoples needs, and quit being neglectful about governance. Shoulder the peoples trust with the highest degree of care and reverence. The reason is simple: You can no longer continue to cheat the people out of a quality standard of living when they can now see for themselves what good governance looks like around the globe. Soon, corrupt and financially irresponsible government officials like ours will have nowhere to hide; they will either have to turn the corner, built institutions to guide our governance process, or be forced to taste the wrath and power of the people. About the Author: Mr. Dualu is the author of a series of articles that focus on finding solutions to some of Liberias pressing national issues. Some of those papers include The Liberian Dilemma, A Guide to Increasing Liberias $500M National Budget to Over $2B in Ten Years and Why Diaspora Liberians Matter. The author works as a financial professional out of Massachusetts. STAMFORD The day part of a terrace collapsed at the Allure high rise building, developer Building and Land Technology never called for emergency help. In fact, by the time Stamfords fire department found out about the partial collapse by a call that appeared to be about a blocked entrance BLT already had engineers in place shoring up the damage, according to city public safety officials. It almost sounds like they were more concerned about solving the problem and possibly covering it up than following the proper procedure, Board President Jeff Curtis, D-14, said during a meeting Thursday of the citys Public Safety Committee where the information was revealed. BLT spokesperson Rob Blanchard rebutted Curtis in a statement, arguing that once BLT ownership was alerted of the incident, it opted to assess the site with its engineers. BLT ownership was made immediately aware of the incident and deployed to the site with our team as well as contractors and engineers, Blanchard told The Stamford Advocate. The site was secured and made safe, the city was informed, and we worked proactively with the city to inspect both the Allure and our other buildings. Blanchard went on to say that it was collectively discussed and determined after surveying the scene, that the situation was not life threatening, no one had been harmed and the occupancy of the building was deemed safe, and there was no need for additional emergency resources or evacuation. The fifth-floor damage on Feb. 1, which temporarily left parts of the parking garage and building amenity spaces underneath the terrace unusable, left the city Representatives undivided on where blame should be focused: on BLT for not calling 911. No one was injured, and there was no damage to personal property at Allure, which is one of BLTs Harbor Point high rises. However, the presentations from Director of Public Safety Ted Jankowski and members of the city Fire Department prompted a rancorous back-and-forth between the fire representatives and some board members who argued that public safety officials should have responded differently to an event which has prompted a months-long investigation from the city. The response by the state of Connecticuts third-largest fire department is unacceptable to me, because this is a situation where there could have been a lot of people that were hurt, Rep. Nina Sherwood, D-8, said during the hours-long discussion on Allure. And we didnt even deploy emergency vehicles. Jankowksi explained that the Allure partial collapse likely occurred at 1:10 p.m. Feb. 1, nearly four hours before emergency responders visited the site. Neither a BLT employee nor a resident phoned in an emergency complaint. Information obtained by The Stamford Advocate show that Allure management sent an email to building residents explaining that part of the fifth floor outdoor terrace had collapsed at 2:55 p.m. The Fire Department received a complaint from a residents mother inquiring over the crumbling terrace at 3:22 p.m., according to the citys memo. Around that time, a reporter identified by Jankowski Thursday to be from News 12 asked the 911 dispatch center whether public safety officials had responded to a partial collapse in a garage. A March 1 memo sent from Mayor Caroline Simmons to board President Jeff Curtis says that Fire Department headquarters received a message from an acquaintance of an occupant at 850 Pacific Street for a crumbling ceiling and a blocked exit at that location. This was the first official report received regarding the incident. The citys official timeline puts Assistant Chiefs Miguel Robles, Robert Morris and Fire Marshal Walter Seely at the scene by 3:55 p.m., the records state. When Robles, Morris and Seely arrived on-site, engineers from BLT were already present, shoring up the collapsed region and fencing it off. The company that services BLTs fire alarms was also present, fixing the alarms. Robles told representatives that, when his team arrived, he asked one question to the present engineers: Can someone assure me that nothing else is going to collapse here? Engineers assured the Fire Department team that the property was stable and that it was the only part of the building with this type of construction. We went over there; we inspected it; we looked at it, Robles said. It looks secure, it was shored up from underneath... We believed that it was safe, that it wasnt going to move anywhere. There was no further danger, immediate danger, that would require a fire department response. Shot back Sherwood, We should have been the ones shoring up the situation, not a private entity. If 911 was called when this happened, you would have had that response, Robles stated. Thats what would have happened. But it wasnt called to us as a collapse. The Fire Departments automated system would have sent three different fire companies along with an EMS unit and an incident safety officer, according to documents read by Rep. Jeffrey Stella, D-9, at the meeting. But the three men responded to the situation as a Life Safety Code violation, which Fire Chief Trevor Roach characterized Friday morning as the proactive side of what the department does. The safety code governs characteristics of the building that make it safe for people during an emergency, Roach said to the Advocate. They run the gamut from broken sprinklers and fire detectors to blocked exits, like the report made about Allure. Because a caller alerted fire officials of a blocked exit, the response did not trigger emergency units on site, he said. When Sherwood argued that trusting an agent of the owner rather than examining the situation firsthand, Robles argued that the situation required no further emergency action; Jankowski backed him up. If youre alluding to the fact that, if a rescue company was on scene, something would have been different, I beg to disagree, he said. Jankowski said that all the bases were covered by engineers on site, and dispatching more staff to the scene could have strained the departments resources. veronica.delvalle@hearstmediact.com Chinese premier calls on China, EU to enhance dialogue, coordination, deepen cooperation Xinhua) 09:32, April 02, 2022 Chinese Premier Li Keqiang holds the 23rd China-EU leaders' meeting with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen via video link at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday called on China and the European Union (EU) to enhance dialogue and coordination, deepen practicalcooperation, maintain peace and tranquility, and stabilize the world economy. The pledge came as Li held the 23rd China-EU leaders' meeting with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen via video link. Noting China and the EU are respectively the largest developing country and biggest union of developed countries, Li said a stable China-EU relationship is crucial for world peace, stability and development. China has always viewed its relations with the EU from a strategic and long-term perspective, and attaches importance to this meeting, Li said. He stressed that China firmly follows the path of peaceful development, adding China hopes that the two sides will enhance understanding and mutual trust, step up dialogue and communication, deepen practical cooperation, properly address differences and disagreements, and make joint efforts and contributions for world peace and development. Li also expressed the hope for the meeting to send a signal of steady development of China-EU relations and active pursuit of the bilateral cooperation. Li stressed that China and the EU are each other's biggest trading partners and important forces for building an open world economy. "Under current circumstances, dialogue and cooperation remain the mainstream of China-EU relations, and mutual benefit the keynote of China-EU cooperation," he said. Li called on the two sides to build on the existing mechanisms to enhance policy coordination on COVID response, climate change and the digital economy, and foster new cooperation highlights. He also called on the two sides to work together to safeguard energy and food security, preserve the stability of industrial and supply chains, meet risks and challenges, and promote a sustainable recovery of the world economy. Pointing out that reform and opening-up is China's fundamental national policy and China's door will open still wider, Li said China will continue to foster a market-oriented and law-based business environment up to international standards, and treat enterprises of all types of ownership as equals. Li expressed the hope that China and the EU remain open to each other, steadily expand market access, protect fair competition and promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. "China hopes that the EU will also provide a sound business environment to Chinese businesses investing and developing in Europe," Li added. For their part, Michel and von der Leyen noted that both the EU and China are important members of the multilateral system and China is an important stakeholder. The two sides need to enhance dialogue, deepen cooperation, uphold multilateralism, ensure world peace and stability, and work together to tackle global challenges, they said. They expressed the EU's will to engage in close cooperation with China in such areas as COVID response, economy and trade, investment, and protection of geographical indications, and expand cooperation on the digital economy, energy transition, cyber security, humanitarian efforts and climate actions. The EU looks forward to a successful second part of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, they added. The EU side laid out its views and position on the current situation in Ukraine. Li stated China's principled position. He stressed that China follows an independent foreign policy of peace, and stands for observing the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, upholding international law and widely-recognized, basic norms governing international relations, including those on sovereignty, territorial integrity and equality between countries different in size, and settling disagreements and conflicts through dialogue and negotiation. China has been promoting talks for peace in its own way, and will continue to work with the EU and the international community to play a constructive role for early easing of the situation, cessation of hostilities, prevention of a larger-scale humanitarian crisis, and the return of peace at an early date, Li said. The two sides also had an in-depth exchange of views on other international and regional issues of mutual interest. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang holds the 23rd China-EU leaders' meeting with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen via video link at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) Chinese Premier Li Keqiang holds the 23rd China-EU leaders' meeting with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen via video link at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia April 2, 2022 Princess Cooper Photo: Courtesy of FPA When the people themselves become judges, juries, prosecutors, Executioners, Lawyers, and police; fearless of the rules of the laws, gangsterism, mysterious death, and mob violence become the order of the day. Let me begin by extending my deepest condolences to families, friends, and loved ones of the victims and to everyone who has lost a loved one under mysterious circumstances without redress The perpetrators have been allowed to walk with impunity. How did we get here? l don't know what our country has turned into. Many unsolved and Mysterious deaths have engulfed this Sweet Land of Liberty and it has increased fear, insecurity, and heightened panic amongst the general citizenry. Our people are living in a state of fear and rising crimes No responsible Government would sit and allow its citizens to gallop in rising fear without any sense of restoring the lost hope and peace her citizens are yarning for when the guns are silent! The Government of the day is a Mafia one, their actions and inactions have shown how irresponsible, and reckless they're in executing their responsibilities responsibly, they do not care about our People They're pretty good at looting the state's resources, living an extravagant lifestyle in the pool of arrogance and bigotry while the majority wanton in backwardness, and the Nation retrogress in the abyss of the Septic-tank and economic decadence. The mysterious deaths of Princess Cooper, 25, and Melvin Togba, 36, both of which occurred on March 24, 2022, have joined the long list of unsolved cases in recent times. We must accept that in every country Citizens die mysteriously. Murders do occur. But the governments have a sacred duty in solving it to apprehend the murders and ensure that speedy Investigations are out and if found guilty, he/she can be punished as per crimes committed to serving as precedence and deterrence to those who tomorrow might want to commit crimes they will be on the alert and cautious! But in LIBERIA, Perpetrators are encouraged to do more only because of the big hands that are always behind such actions. With that, yet still, we don't trust the Weah led administration with this they've no history of bringing perpetrators to book. They've lots of Untrained and salaries delayed Police! And the question is "How did we get here" from my research, I have understood that since the inception of this government, there have reportedly been more than 20 mysterious deaths, gruesome murders still unsolved, ritualistic killings, and disappearances, with little or no reasonable information to the public on the results of announced investigations, if any. These include the deaths of: 1. John Hilary Tubman, son of former Pres. William V.S Tubman, 2. Baptist prelate William R. Tolbert III, son of former Pres. William Tolbert, 3. Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) official, Matthew Innis linked to the missing L$16 billion 4. CBL driver Kollie Ballah. 5. Immigration officer, Ms. Maude Elliot, 6. Head of the Internal Audit Agency Emmanuel Barten Nyesuah Liberia Revenue Authority Auditors 7. Gifty Asmah Lama 8. Albert Peters and 9. George Fanbutu. 10. Alexander Yeahnur of Rivergee, 11. Ms. Eliza Robert of Maryland, 12. Mr. Mordicious Nyemah A student of Pleebo High School who was ritualistically killed in Maryland County 13. Ms. Hawa of Grand Cape Mount County 14. Mulbah Kunyon, also of Cape Mount. 15. Afoa Williams of District Nine, Montserrado County, 16. Ma Nowai of the Johnsonville area, 17. The St. Moses Funeral Parlor case- Siafa, Robert, Blamo, and Blama; and amongst others not named. However, Police authorities are said to be investigating the most recent murders but we await, without any certainty, that it would not be business as usual. Already, so-called preliminary reports from the police are stating no signs of foul play in Princess death. This is heartbreaking and although said to be preliminary is already conclusive at times. The growing number of unexplained deaths, mysterious murders, and disappearances threaten our peace and security and undermine prospects for economic recovery. No serious investor will look to invest in a country with rising crimes with a government unwilling or unable to solve mysterious deaths, murders, and disappearances. Where there is no guaranteed security of individual citizens and a strong commitment to the rule of law, the economy will collapse further and recovery will be stalled. Economic conditions will worsen and the hardship on our people will continue. Solving murders and stopping crimes are indispensable to job creation, economic recovery, and development. We can no longer gamble on the safety and security of our people. Our Constitution provides for the security of all persons and yet the government has failed to do so. The time, resources, and energy that this government spends on political persecutions should be spent on finding the culprits of these egregious crimes against our people and giving relief to our scared, shaken, and despondent citizenry. We call on this government to strengthen our security sector to prevent the occurrences of these wanton killings, speed up investigations, and bring to justice those culpable for these heinous crimes. We want our sweet Land of Liberty back. This Sweet Land of Liberty that has transformed Into a Fearful Land of Terror must be restored. The lost hope must be restored. Overall, our people Deserves Better. The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia April 2, 2022 It is hard to describe the excruciatingly painful destruction Putin is inflicting on Ukraine. However, whereas NATO should provide Ukraine with active defensive military equipment, it should not directly join the war which could ignite a major European if not world war. There are growing voices from academia, the military, and former and current American and EU officials calling on the Biden administration to heed Ukrainian President Zelenskys appeal to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Beyond a no-fly zone, they raise a legitimate question do the US and its allies have a limit as to how far and for how long Russias President Putin can indiscriminately bombard Ukrainian cities, killing thousands of innocent men, women, and children, before NATO intervenes to end the slaughter? Indeed, everyone with a conscience feels the horror of this unprovoked and utterly unjustified war. However, if we want to prevent an all-out war in Europe, we have to be extraordinarily prudent and not allow our sense of outrage about the war to succumb to our compassion and moral obligation, albeit it should be the right thing to do. There are many reasons why we should not confront Russia directly, especially now that we are taking many non-military measures, including crippling sanctions while remaining united and resolved to indirectly inflict heavy military losses on Russia and render it a pariah state. In addition, once they become aware of the unspeakable horror Putin is inflicting on the people and cities of a peaceful neighbor, the Russian people would rise against their corrupt and brutal leader who is misleading them and subjecting them to nothing but more pain and misery. Here are several reasons why NATO should not get directly involved in this horrific war and what it must do to inflict indirectly the heaviest toll on the Russian army while exposing Putin as a war criminal. First, introducing a no-fly zone would pit NATO directly against Russia, as it will require an extensive campaign against Russian jet fighter planes, as well as destroying Russias S-300 and S-400 air defense systems, which Russia would certainly use to intercept NATO missiles enforcing a no-fly zone. This move would escalate and draw NATO into a broader war. Second, at the present, the Russian people are demonstrating in growing numbers against the war as the public is becoming increasingly informed, with nearly 5,000 arrested at protests. However, if NATO intervenes and expands beyond Ukraines borders, and NATO begins to attack numerous targets inside Russia, it would doubtless galvanize Russians against Western powers, when in fact the precise opposite is what the NATO alliance wants to realize. Third, several European countries who are not NATO members, especially Sweden and Finland, do not want NATO to go to war with Russia, fearing that they would eventually be dragged into it without having NATOs protection, such as in the case with Ukraine. They prefer to see Putin suffer from the consequences of his ill-fated misadventure. Fourth, while most military analysts agree that Russia will lose any conventional war against NATO, given Russias history and imperial mindset, losing a conventional war against NATO will be a recipe for the next war between them. This would destabilize Europe for decades, which should be avoided unless Russia attacks any NATO member state first. Fifth, by avoiding direct military involvement, NATO will spare the lives of tens if not hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians on both sides. And so long as the West continues to supply Ukraine with military equipment while Russia is sustaining crimpling sanctions and heavy military losses, NATO should continue with this strategy which may precipitate a coup inside Russia itself. Sixth, a direct confrontation with Russia could deliberately or accidentally escalate and engulf many countries beyond the European theater. This will essentially put us at the precipice of World War III. This must be avoided by any means possible unless Russia attacks first and leaves the West with no choice other than to wage an all-out war against Russia. Seventh, prior to escalating the conflict with Russia, NATO must consider where China stands. As Putins atrocities are exposed, the Chinese may well heed the US call to play a constructive role by using its influence on Putin to end the war without further catastrophic losses. Given however the closeness between Putin and President Xi, the latter would not do so if NATO engages Russia militarily. Eighth, given that Russias conventional weapons are still limited and considerably inferior to the combined forces of NATO, and given Russias considerable losses, Putin may resort out of desperation to using tactical nuclear weapons which is the mother of all catastrophes. This is the worst of all possible scenarios. The US and its allies must spare no effort to prevent it. Finally, regardless of how distasteful it would seem to make any concession to Putin to end the conflict, we need to weigh the consequences of a prolonged war on the Ukrainian people. To avoid that, it will be necessary to offer Putin a face-saving way out, bearing in mind that there are no other realistic alternatives. This may include Ukraine becoming a neutral country and committing not to join NATO, to which President Zelensky has already conceded. And instead of recognizing the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, as Putin is demanding, Zelensky could offer to declare these two provinces semi-autonomous and also agree to acknowledge Russias sovereignty over Crimea, which in any case Russia is unlikely to ever relinquish. An agreement along these lines would make Ukraine a buffer zone between East and West as long as its independence, national security, and territorial integrity are guaranteed by both Russia and the US. This general framework for a solution is neither fair nor morally correct, but it must be weighed against the potential continuing massive destruction and loss of lives in the tens, if not hundreds, of thousands. Moreover, the prolongation of the war could escalate and pit NATO against Russia with the potential of introducing weapons of mass destruction, which will be catastrophic and of unprecedented scale and must be avoided at any cost. Any war, regardless of causes and circumstances, is tragic. Though the Ukrainians have and continue to suffer unimaginably, the big loser is Russia and Putin in particular. The Russian people, who are acutely suffering from the sanctions, will sooner than later find out the scale of destruction and death that Putin has inflicted on a peaceful neighbor, which many Russians believe to be historically, culturally, and linguistically part of Russia. It is incomprehensible to many how their leader, who has been invoking this affinity to Ukraine, would wage such merciless war against innocent men, women, and children, and decimate their cities to a degree unseen since World War II. Putin knows that; he is boxed in and desperately needs a way out. Putin will be watching carefully what comes out of the summit between NATO heads of states. The message Putin should receive must be unequivocal, clear, and absolutely credible. He should be warned that NATOs response to the use of any kind of weapons of mass destruction will be quick, decisive, and painful, which would render Russia a bankrupt, pariah, and failed state, and he will personally be charged with war crimes. Putin will be remembered as the Russian despot who not only failed to restore his pipe dream of the Russian Empire but savagely destroyed Russias international standing, from which it will take decades to recover. The West must learn a cogent lesson from this gruesome war and remain united, vigilant, militarily prepared, and become energy independent from Russia. They should know that the Russian bear will still be lurking in the dark for years if not decades to come, but will dare not threaten the West knowing that only a humiliating and costly defeat will await him. 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Maybe not the harrowing part, the beginning when explosions lit up the sky and the decision to leave their home country was made. But the hopeful part. Thats the part you see in the smile on Khrystynas face as she plays with her sibling. As the historic events of the past two weeks unfolded with Ukrainian families brought from Poland to St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, a colleague, Tory Burnside Clapp, gave me a new perspective on that photo through our global humanitarian mission. We are all links in a chain, she said. Tory, on the ground in Poland to help facilitate the evacuation of kids with cancer, including Khrystyna, was quoting Malgorzata Dutkiewicz, director of St. Jude Global partner Herosi Foundation. The Polish organization has been coordinating the triage and movement of children and their families to oncology clinics throughout Europe, Canada and the U.S. Herosi means heroes an apt name for the unbelievably courageous, round-the-clock work being done by a foundation with only two employees. And links in a chain an apt description of what its taken to undertake this global endeavor. Each one of you, our generous supporters, is a link in that chain. Without you, nothing that has happened over the course of the past two weeks could have happened. Your support has helped get more than 730 childhood cancer patients from the warzone to safety, even bringing eight patients and 21 family members to St. Jude. Though theyre safe now, the war follows them. One mom, Natalia, doesnt sleep well. She and her son left her husband and two teenage daughters behind. The phone app warning of an imminent air raid still dings, connecting her with home and fear. My soul is hurting, she said. My heart is breaking for my children back at home. Another mom, Roksolana, here with her 20-month-old daughter, said its hard to move and walk in the open. We know we have come to a safe place and still we feel truly scared. As the only World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Childhood Cancer, St. Jude has the goal of improving global survival rates for six of the most common forms of childhood cancer from less than 20 percent as it is now, to a goal of 60 percent by the end of the decade. For the past month, that has meant working with 182 partner organizations like Herosi Foundation 182 links in a global chain to help coordinate the SAFER Ukraine humanitarian effort moving families to safety and a continuance of treatment. Kids like Khrystyna with her big smile. Moms like Natalia who scrambled into her basement with her family when the explosions began. And like Roksolana, who fled Ukraine early in the conflict, an urgency to keep temperature-specific medicines for her daughter viable. Its a humanitarian mission unimaginable in 1962 when St. Jude first opened. But one which, thanks to our millions of supporters, we are uniquely positioned to help coordinate. Continuing a tradition of visits by presidential families from both parties since the 1970s, First Lady Jill Biden met with the Ukrainian patients last week at St. Jude. We often hear that the measure of a society is how we treat our most vulnerable members, she said. We know that we have a responsibility to care for children. As the war in Ukraine rages on and more and more families are displaced and separated, were reassured that the St. Jude mission to care for the most vulnerable children of all races, religions and economic status can and does unify us like links in a chain. We hear it in the voice of Natalia: I am here with one purpose, to cure my son. Her voice, and the smile on Khrystynas face a face that so recently gazed upon the devastation of war are reminders that, regardless of the circumstance and no matter how dire the situation, children should be allowed happiness and health and safety. Were humbled by the support of donors and volunteers around the world who believe, just as our founder did, that no child anywhere should die in the dawn of life. ST. LOUIS Police on Friday released the name of a woman shot alongside two men in the Central West End. Nineteen-year-old Kayla Washington was pronounced dead early Thursday at the scene of the shooting, along with one of the men who was also shot. Police said another man survived the shooting and was taken to a hospital. St. Louis police said the shooting happened just before 2:30 a.m. in the 4000 block of Laclede Avenue, near the campus of St. Louis University. Officers found two people who had been shot sitting in a car and a third person lying in a nearby alley, reports said. One of the people in the car survived, the other did not. Police did not say whether Washington was found in the car or alley. An incident report noted officers have not identified either man who was shot, nor have they named a suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 314-444-5371, or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS (8477). The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia April 2, 2022 Background In 1983 and 1984 I was a chief reporter with the Liberia News Agency (LINA), and I had the privilege of covering various activities of the constitutional drafting commission and the constitutional advisory assembly, the two national bodies that spearheaded the writing of a new Liberian constitution in the 1980s, as well as activities of the special elections commission (SECOM), the electoral body that conducted the 1984 constitutional referendum and the 1985 general elections. The drafting commission not only solicited the views of people from across Liberia for inclusion in the draft constitution but also organized and conducted elections of delegates to the advisory assembly in each of the existing nine counties and six territories of Liberia at the time. I covered the delegate elections in Bomi, Bong, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Gibi, and my native Rivercess, and the formal opening of the Advisory Assembly in Gbarnga, Bong County in August 1983 and related activities for weeks thereafter. I also covered activities of the advisory assembly after it relocated from Gbarnga to the Unity Conference Center in Virginia, near Monrovia, as well as the 1984 constitutional referendum conducted by SECOM. Now, after the April 12, 1980 coup in Liberia, the incoming military Peoples Redemption Council (PRC) government suspended the then 133-year-old 1847 Liberian constitution and replaced it with military decrees as the new legal instruments of the state. Then in 1981, amid repeated local and international calls for the soldiers to return to barracks and turnover state power to civilian care, the military government promised the Liberian people a swift return to civilian rule by 1985, but not under the 1847 constitution. The 1847 Liberian constitution had itself been kept for so long in the dark, in the vase of libraries, far away from the public sphere, that many Liberians were not familiar with it, so replacing it with a new constitution from scratch rather than amending it did not seem to matter at all. Accordingly, the PRC Chairman and Head of State appointed a 25-member constitutional drafting commission in 1981 to draft a new constitution from scratch, while in 1983 a 59-member constitutional advisory assembly was elected by people in the various Liberian political subdivisions to review the 1983 draft constitution and submit the revised draft to the Liberian people in a national referendum for approval or rejection. In January 1983 the drafting commission completed the original draft of the new Liberian constitution (i.e., the 1983 draft constitution) and presented it to the PRC government, which later handed the draft constitution to the advisory assembly for review. On July 3, 1984, the Liberian people voted in a constitutional referendum and approved the version of the 1983 draft constitution reviewed by the advisory assembly. The referendum-approved draft constitution became the new and current 1986 Liberian constitution as of January 6, 1986. Unfortunately, prior to the 1984 referendum, rumors began to circulate in Monrovia and other parts of Liberia that the advisory assembly had in connivance with leaders of the PRC butchered the 1983 draft constitution in unsavory ways in attempts to placate the sitting Head of State. The allegations against the advisory assembly not only became an instant mantra of opposition political rallies in the 1980s, but also still dogged a whole generation of Liberians, and it has taken deep roots in Liberian public discourse and political life since 1983. In a 2010 listserv exchange on the role of the advisory assembly during the writing of the new Liberian constitution in the 1980s, a colleague inferred that the advisory assembly was guilty of the perception of rubber stamping the directives of the Head of State (see excerpted passage below). Yet, no one has really bothered over the years since 1983 to examine the roles of the drafting commission and the advisory assembly in the writing of the new Liberian constitution. Hence, in this article, I seek to revisit the controversies surrounding the 1983 draft constitution in order to help put to rest the general misconceptions that the constitutional advisory assembly was less patriotic and less trustworthy than the constitutional drafting commission during the drafting of the new Liberian constitution. I will base my arguments straightly on personal eyewitness accounts as a news reporter and my reading of many of the controversial provisions inserted in the 1983 draft constitution by the drafting commission. Perception of Rubber Stamping Perceptions are subjective individual renderings in particular situations, and it could very well be that once perception is formed it is difficult to erase. Yet, in the passage below, the poster amplifies the perception that the advisory assembly was less prudent than the drafting commission in the discharge of its duties during the writing of the new Liberian constitution in the 1980s: There are those who want us to believe that the Assembly worked diligently without any pressure from Head of State Samuel Doe who was clearly bent on running for President and winning, of course. Twenty-five years later, people remember that there was a travel ban imposed on members of the Commission to go anywhere near Gbarnga. This indicates clearly that there was pressure, in the most militaristic way, as politics was conducted in those days. Of course, whatever the Assembly did, it could hardly remove the perception of rubber stamping, either to enforce Doe's directives or accept at face value what the Commission put in the draft-Constitution. Lots of people still believe that Dr. Kesselly did certain things because he was under pressure - either because of Doe's promise to make him a running-mate or the fear factor. (Dukule) The passage text, There are those who want us to believe that the Assembly worked diligently illustrates the degree of individual perception and suspicion that befell the advisory assembly in the 1980s, let alone the inferences about travel ban, pressure and running mate. The issues of whether the PRC imposed a travel ban on members of the drafting commission, or whether the advisory assembly chairman was targeted as a vice running mate are not discussed in this article, since they do not directly relate to the functions of the advisory assembly. But I know for sure that the chairman (Dr. Amos Sawyer) and public affairs officer (Mr. Tom Kamara) of the drafting commission attended the formal opening of the advisory assembly in Gbarnga in August 1983 and that in the 1980s all segments of Liberian society, including the PRC, religious leaders, civil society leaders, student groups, women groups, etc. had vested interests in the final shape of the new constitution and prevailed on the two bodies, especially the advisory assembly, to include certain provisions in the draft constitution that aligned with their respective interests. The PRC demanded and got blanket amnesty from prosecution for the 1980 coup (see immunity clause under Article 114 of 1983 draft constitution and Article 97 of 1984 revised draft constitution), and the right of all Liberians of voting age, including police and military personnel, to join political parties and vote in public elections in Liberia (see Article 80(c) of the revised draft constitution). Civil society advocated for and got enhanced freedom (see Articles 11 to 22 and 77 of the revised draft constitution), while the religious leaders advocated for and got freedom of worship with no imposition of a state religion (see Article 14 of the revised draft constitution). And, acting either under group pressure or group interests, the two bodies also made a number of controversial insertions and deletions to the 1983 draft constitution that remained a bone of contention up to this day. Hence, the two bodies were susceptible to tremendous pressure in the 1980s not just from the PRC government, but also from all other segments of Liberian society. Interestingly, only the advisory assembly was authorized to make final changes to the 1983 draft constitution prior to the 1984 referendum, so the various segments of Liberian society unceasingly mounted pressure on the assembly to consider their various demands. The drafting commission sought to prevail on the advisory assembly to retain (i.e., keep intact or rubber stamp) all the provisions it had embedded in the original draft constitution, while the PRC sought to prevail on the advisory assembly to retain the immunity clause in the final draft constitution and to reverse the prohibitive clause regarding the voting rights of police and military personnel. The advisory assembly equally sought to serve its self-interest by extending the tenures of the president and legislators, since many assembly members had ambitions to participate in the pending 1985 elections as presidential and legislative candidates. And the chairman of the advisory assembly actually ran as one of four presidential candidates in the 1985 general elections, as did a large number of advisory assembly and drafting commission members as legislative candidates. The chairman of the drafting commission was the presumptive presidential candidate of the Liberian Peoples Party (LPP) except that SECOM disqualified LPP. Amid these waves of competing interests and maneuvers, however, tempers flared up and soon the advisory assembly became the natural target of political scorn and discredited by those who wanted the new constitution to look and feel the way they wanted it, and by those who wanted to render the assemblys review of the 1983 draft constitution useless in the eyes of the Liberian people. This is why until now no one has been able to explain why and how the appointed commission was perceived to have performed its duties diligently and independently under the military government but not also the elected assembly. Yet, like poster Abdoulaye W. Dukule who believed that the advisory assembly had the responsibility to counterbalance any perceptions that others had formed against it, poster Mohamed Sherif makes several assumptions below about the advisory assembly that are not supported by the historical facts: Nat, I don't think there was any need for a constitutional advisory assembly other than the military junta's ambition to hang on to power. So, therefore, some of the key provisions were changed to conform to the likings of the Junta. For example, instead of a 4-year presidential term, we have six long years. Why? Do our presidents really need six years to accomplish what they cannot achieve in four? (Sherif) During my coverage of activities of the drafting commission and the advisory assembly, it never came up one day that the advisory assembly was intended to bolster the military junta's ambition to hang on to power. The advisory assembly was one of two independent bodies that spearheaded the drafting of the new Liberian constitution, and it was the only body whose members were elected directly by the people. And this was so because the Liberian government and people wanted an independent body to checkmate the draft constitution produced by the drafting commission. Besides, when Liberians chose in the 1980s not to amend the 1847 Liberian constitution but to write an entirely new constitution from scratch, they never contemplated particular markers like key provisions from which to choose. Therefore, any and all provisions inserted in or deleted from the 1983 draft constitution by the two bodies were deemed essential to the successful and timely completion of the final draft constitution. Moreover, the general presumption among Liberians in late 1983 and early 1984 was that the planned return to civilian rule in 1985 would not be possible without timely completion and approval of the new constitution, so the people opted to approve the draft constitution during the 1984 referendum in whatever form it was in, in a sort of a collective will to facilitate the transition to civilian rule. Hence, it did not matter much to the Liberian people back in 1984 if provisions of the 1983 draft constitution were bloated, disjointed, lean, or severely altered. As to the presidential term of office in Liberia, there was no sentimental or ornamental value attached historically to a four-year presidential term in Liberian electoral politics to render inclusion of a six-year presidential term in the revised 1983 draft constitution an act of naughtiness. The presidential term of office in Liberia changed in 1907 from two to four years, and in 1935 from four to eight years. In 1944 President William V. S. Tubman began his one-time eight years term which ended in 1951, but the president modified the law to allow for his successive four-year reelection bouts in 1951, 1955, 1959, 1963, and 1971. In 1975, President William R. Tolbert, Jr. reinstated the eight-year presidential term, and he was serving his own one-time eight years term when the 1980 coup occurred. The official presidential term of office prior to the 1980 coup was eight years and not four years, so the inclusion of a six-year presidential term in the revised 1983 draft constitution was still shorter than it had been before. Unconstitutional Overreach Several controversial provisions inserted in the 1983 draft constitution by the drafting commission can best be described as an unconstitutional overreach. One of those provisions (Article 80) not only barred police and military personnel from joining political parties and voting in public elections in Liberia but also prohibited voters from changing their original constituency of registration except every ten years. A second provision (Articles 92-106) created five new autonomous public agencies within the Liberian governing structure with enormous power. A third provision (Articles 56 and 57) created the Committees of County Leaders as de facto clearinghouse for the appointment of county superintendents, while a fourth provision (Article 29(b)) granted dual citizenship rights to natural born female Liberians who acquired a foreign citizenship through marriage. A fifth provision (Article 30) elevated to constitutional status the controversial 1973 Alien and Naturalization Act relating to natural born Liberians acquiring other citizenships, and also made it easy for a Liberian circuit court judge to revoke the citizenship of a natural born or naturalized Liberian, upon application by a qualified government bureaucrat. In particular, the power and authority of the Committees of County Leaders and the five autonomous public agencies rivaled the appointment power of the President of Liberia (see Articles Article 56, 58, and 59), and related administrative, executive, legislative, and judicial powers exercised across the three branches of the Liberian government. For example, under Article 97(a) and (b) the drafting commission empowered the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to recommend candidates for a judicial appointment along with their qualifications to the President of Liberia, inclusive of justices of the Supreme Court, judges, magistrates, and justices of the peace, and to make similar recommendations to the Chief Justice of Liberia regarding appointment to other posts in the judiciary. The JSC was also empowered under Article 97(c) to recommend to the House of Representatives the impeachment of judicial officers appointed by the President and the removal from office by the President of magistrates and justices of the peace, as well as recommend to the Chief Justice the punishment or removal of other judicial personnel. Likewise, under Article 105 of the 1983 draft constitution, the drafting commission not only empowered the Ombudsman Commission (OC) to investigateany alleged misconduct in office by a public official or employee, whether involving action taken or omitted to be taken by any Government agency, public corporation, authority or institution set up or substantially funded by the Government, but also elevated the OC to a new legal superstructure in Liberia with authority above the courts and the entire judicial branch of government. Specifically, Article 105(b) empowered the OC to investigate administrative acts of arbitrariness, unfairness, aggressiveness and inconsistency which have resulted into sufferings and injustices upon a party, and for which there appears to be no reasonably available judicial remedy (underline by author). Here, it seems strange that an autonomous public agency could be empowered to intercede in a case where no reasonably available judicial remedy by even the Supreme Court of Liberia might be possible in Liberia. The drafting commission provided no explanation on how such a superstructure could operate in Liberia under the circumstances. Consequently, these constitutional insertions by the drafting commission amounted to acts of unconstitutional overreach than can be allowed by any misnomer about constitutional reforms. Advisory Assembly Deletions The advisory assembly played a pivotal role in the writing of a new Liberian constitution in the 1980s, as sole official reviewers of the 1983 draft constitution. Yet, the idea that the advisory assembly botched its historic responsibility during the review process still stands out as true and real to many intellectuals and politicians in Liberian society today. However, during the review process, the advisory assembly deleted or modified several articles it found to be unfair and objectionable. These included Articles 92 to 106 on the descriptions and functions of five autonomous public agencies; Articles 56 and 57 on the Committees of County Leaders; Article 80 on voting and constituency rights for all Liberians; and Articles 29 and 30 on citizenship rights, and so on. Specifically, under Articles 92 to 106, the advisory assembly completely deleted or abolished the ombudsman and judicial service commissions and renamed the others (i.e., electoral commission as the elections commission ; the auditor general as the national auditing commission ; and the public service commission as the civil service commission ). But, unlike the drafting commission which embedded the functions of the autonomous agencies in the draft constitution, the advisory assembly instead empowered the National Legislature of Liberia to define the functions of any and all proposed autonomous public agencies in order to prevent a potentially bloated bureaucracy and legal nightmare that might be set in motion in any future attempts to amend the Liberian Constitution to effect changes in the functions of any of the autonomous public agencies. Hence, under Article 89 of the revised draft constitution, the advisory assembly established three autonomous public commissions (i.e., civil service commission, elections commission, and general auditing commission) with the proviso that The Legislature shall enact laws for the governance of these Commissions and create other agencies as may be necessary for the effective operation of Government. The assembly also deleted Articles 29, 30, 56, and 57 altogether, with no modified replacement The advisory assembly, however, modified Article 80 to grant all Liberian citizens 18 years and older, including police and military personnel, the right to join a political party, to register to vote, and to vote in any public elections in Liberia. The assembly also allowed voters to register at any constituency and to vote thereat in person or by absentee ballot, and to change registration as may be prescribed by the National Legislature of Liberia. Moreover, the drafting commission inserted other provisions in the 1983 draft constitution that the advisory assembly removed or modified, including the tenures of the president and legislators. While the public perception has been that the drafting commission favors a four-year presidential and legislative term of office, this has not really been the case. In the 1983 draft constitution, the drafting commission prescribed a four-year term for president (Article 52) and representative (Article 50), but an eight-year term for senator (Article 47). The drafting commission stated under Article 52 that a president could serve only two consecutive four-year terms but be eligible to run as president anew after the first term of his or her successor in office. Yet, the drafting commission stipulated under Article 110 that The limitation of the Presidential term of office to two consecutive terms, each of four years duration, is entrenched in this Constitution, and neither that limitation nor this Article is subject to amendment, as if there was something magical about a four-year term for which a future constitutional amendment was being prohibited. The advisory assembly modified the provision to allow for amendment (Article 93). In addition, the advisory assembly, modified Articles 47, 50, and 52 in the 1983 draft constitution to extend the tenures of president and representative to six years each and a nine-year term for senator (Article 45). Equally, the advisory assembly allowed the president to serve only up to two six-year terms without the possibility of seeking the presidency again for the third time (Article 50). Finally, the drafting commission was not entirely against the terms of public officials in Liberia extending beyond four years. Under Articles 93, 96, 99, and 104 of the 1983 draft constitution, the drafting commission stipulated a five-year tenure for commissioners on the public service commission, the judicial service commission, the electoral commission, and the ombudsman commission. The term of office for senator was set at eight years (Article 49) and a nine-year term for the auditor general (Article 101), along with related eligibility requirements of up to ten years for service on the autonomous public agencies. But, as mentioned earlier, the terms of office for president and legislators of Liberia have changed so many times since independence in 1847 that a four-year presidential term no longer has any special significance for which it must be kept. Conclusion Writing a new Liberian constitution in the 1980s was not an easy task. Not only that Liberia was still emerging from a century-old one-party state, but also that Liberia was still grappling with military rule. And there were still many gory details out there in 1981 about the coup and its impact on the Liberian people, let alone the general distrust that the military would make good on its promise to return to the barracks and turn state power over to a new civilian administration by 1985. The 1847 constitution was also such an obscured public document that many Liberians became nervous and quite doubtful that writing a new Liberian constitution could make any real difference in the political life of the people. Hence, much anxiety surrounded the writing of the new Liberian constitution in the 1980s. However, amid all of these anxieties and uncertainties about the shape of the constitution and the future of Liberia came the controversy about the advisory assembly making unauthorized changes to the 1983 draft constitution to placate the powers-that-be. Interestingly, hidden beneath the theatrics about insertions, deletions, and unauthorized changes to the 1983 draft constitution is the historical fact that both the drafting commission and the advisory assembly agreed on basically every provision of the 1983 draft constitution, except for the few areas on presidential and legislative tenures; the creation of five autonomous public agencies; individual voting and citizenship rights; and constituency registration requirements. Accordingly, I have come to realize over the years that talks about the advisory assembly butchering the 1983 draft constitution to placate the powers-that-be were merely a political ploy that lacks historical accuracy. The advisory assembly and the drafting commission agreed on the general structure of the state, the general principles of national policy, fundamental rights, including free speech, and citizenship rights, minus Articles 29 and 30. The two bodies even agreed to grant general amnesty to the PRC using identical wordings originally written by the drafting commission and kept verbatim by the advisory assembly. And, in some ways, the two bodies had the same limitations, including the lack of direct representatives of civil society, youth groups, women groups, labor unions, traditionalists or adherents of customary law, the Liberian Council of Churches, and the Liberian Muslim Council. Article 5(b) gives the legislature the prerogative to pass laws to preserve, protect and promote positive Liberian culture, insofar as the traditional values of the so-called positive Liberian cultureare compatible with public policy. The absence of a direct representative of customary law on the NCDC, coupled with the notion of a positive Liberian culture in need of preservation and development only pointed to the politics of the 1983 constitution. Notwithstanding, under Article 68 of the draft 1983 constitution, the drafting acknowledged the co-existence of customary law and statutory law in Liberia by the reference that The judicial power of the Republic shall be vested in a court system which shall apply both statutory and customary laws in accordance with standards enacted by the Legislature. This provision was excised from the final draft of 1984 revised draft constitution by the assembly without any tangible reasons, however. In hindsight, the two bodies were given the benefits of doubt by the people, as the general yearnings and public expectations of the Liberian people at the time were that members of the two bodies would leverage their experiences and expertise to craft and deliver a new constitution that was fair and balanced in light of the socio-economic and politico-cultural dynamics of Liberia. And that is exactly what the two bodies did in the 1980s, in spite of any possible disagreement in strategy or content. We now need to review our past in order to adjust our present for the sake of posterity but not to dwell on it. References Constitution of the Republic of Liberia [Liberia], 6 January 1986, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3ae6b6030.html [accessed 13 February 2022] Draft Constitution of the Republic of Liberia. 28 January 1983. Constitutional Drafting Commission, Monrovia. Category: Constitutional referendums in Liberia. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 July 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Constitutional_referendums_in_Liberia#mw-head Dukule, Abdoulaye W. Re: Why Should Archie Bernard Write A Book Now? OnLiberianMedium Forum. 24 June 2010. OnLiberianMedium@ yahoogroups. com Sherif, Mohamed. Re: Why Should Archie Bernard Write A Book Now? OnLiberianMedium Forum. 26 June 2010. OnLiberianMedium@ yahoogroups. com Updated at 8 p.m. with the age of the juvenile who was shot. ST. LOUIS A 9-year-old boy was one of two people wounded Friday afternoon in a shooting in north St. Louis, police said. The child was wounded in the thigh, but was conscious and taken to a hospital for treatment. A man in his 20s received a graze wound to his head. The wounding of the 9-year-old adds to a grim tally of shootings involving young people in St. Louis recently. In March alone, there have been three fatal shootings involving children 16 or younger, and additional incidents in which youths were wounded. In Friday's shooting, police were working to determine the exact location, as several incidents were reported in the area within a short period of time. Police said the incident began just after 4 p.m. in the 4500 block of Clarence Avenue, in the city's O'Fallon neighborhood, but police said unspecified incidents in the 4200 block of North 21st Street, at Prairie and West Florissant avenues and Ferry and North Florissant Avenue were also related. The scene involving the 9-year-old was listed as 4300 North Florissant Avenue, which is south of the original location, but police said it "was a result" of the incident at Clarence Avenue. No other details were available. On Tuesday, a 12-year-old died after being accidentally shot by his 10-year-old brother with a gun they were playing with inside a north St. Louis home. In the overnight hours on March 25, a 12-year-old girl and her 14-year-old male cousin died when the girl fired a gun at him before shooting herself. The family said they believe it was an accidental shooting. And on March 11, a 16-year-old was shot dead late at night in the lobby of the Ely Walker lofts at 1520 Washington Avenue. Congressional Republicans have finally shown that, yes, there actually is a limit to what they will tolerate from their fellow right-wingers: They are furious at Rep. Madison Cawthorn for his apparently false allegations of cocaine use and orgies among his colleagues. But even if Cawthorn were telling the truth, the misbehavior he alleges would pale next to what some other GOP members did (and most of the rest are still abetting) regarding the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and other outrages all of which have drawn a collective shrug from their party. Cawthorn, the freshman North Carolina Republican and member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, made his incendiary if vague allegations in a recent podcast interview when he was asked whether real-life Washington is anything like the pit of debauchery portrayed in the cable series House of Cards. The sexual perversion that goes on in Washington all of a sudden you get invited to come to an orgy, answered Cawthorn, who at 26 is the youngest person ever to serve in Congress. Some of the people [are] leading on the movement to try and remove addiction in our country, and then you watch them do a key bump of cocaine right in front of you, he added. Cawthorn is something of a known fabulist on multiple topics: his disputed accounts of the car crash that left him paralyzed, his misleading claims about having been accepted to the U.S. Naval Academy before that happened, and about training for the Paralympics, and about his education and business background. So its no surprise that he ended up somewhat walking back his orgies-and-cocaine story when pressed by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy says Cawthorn has lost my trust now, and there is talk of expelling him from the Freedom Caucus. These are reasonable responses to what appears to be the maligning of House Republicans with lies from one of their own. But its also an interesting window into what offends these folks and what, apparently, doesnt. You know who isnt getting blackballed by McCarthy and threatened with expulsion from the Freedom Caucus? Members in good standing like Republican Reps. Paul A. Gosar and Andy Biggs, both of Arizona, and Mo Brooks of Alabama, all of whom have been implicated in laying groundwork for the Capitol insurrection. And Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., who in a bigoted video rant last year alleged that Muslim Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is a terrorist sympathizer. And Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who not only agreed to speak at a white-nationalist rally recently but stayed and spoke even after the crowd chanted its support for Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The message is clear: Attack your fellow House Republicans, and youre in trouble. But attack tolerance, decency and democracy itself, and the GOP still has a place for you. If anyone remembers a fun-filled social studies lesson, it probably involved a student-driven activity built around a controversial subject. Most people do not remember the dry curriculum found in text materials or teacher-centered lectures. Why is this relevant? Because were currently living through a period when our elected state representatives, most of whom have never taught a single class in a public school, are attempting to eliminate the teaching of race in the classroom. In the editorial As Holocaust teaching expands in Missouri, racial discussion is being muzzled (March 28), the Editorial Board makes a compelling argument that it doesnt make sense for legislators to support the creation of a Holocaust Education Week and then turn around and virtually scrub any discussion of race from public school curricula. There is a simple explanation behind this hypocrisy. The Holocaust was a sin committed by Germans, not Americans. It was American soldiers who helped to liberate the death camps. Slavery and Jim Crow racism, on the other hand, occurred on American soil. According to many bills pending in the Missouri Legislature, teachers should not teach these subjects because it would create discomfort, guilt, anguish, or psychological distress. As a recently retired teacher, I believe the solution is obvious. Trust the certified professionals hired to teach social studies in our public schools. They should continue to have the academic freedom to teach the truth about the past. This will not lead to guilt or anguish; it will produce better-informed citizens. Joe Regenbogen St. Louis County Australia has decided to increase the size of its military by 30 percent over the next eight years. Currently the Australian military has 59,000 active-duty personnel and 29,000 in the reserves. A 30 percent increase would mean 77,000 personnel by 2030. Australia has a population of 27 million. The proposed increase would give Australia a force that is similar, adjusting for population differences, to the U.S. armed forces. Australias defense spending is equally large and similar to the United States. The same can be said for the use of conscription which, as in the U.S., was never popular and only tolerated during wartime. Like the Americans, Australia has relied on volunteers since 1972. The current military expansion is seen as possible because of the military and economic threat China has become in the last few years. China sought to coerce Australia to support policies, like ownership of the South China Sea, that Australians opposed. That led to a trade war with some Australian exports reduced. Australia is the nearest source of many raw materials, including food, that China required starting in the 1990s. As the Chinese economy rapidly expanded, Australia experienced a record period of economic growth and low unemployment. This caused problems for the volunteer military, which could not compete in terms of pay levels and living conditions, with civilian jobs. The current trade war with, and military threat from, China has made it easier to recruit and then came two years of covid19 economic shutdowns. That was a major boost for recruiting, especially when it came to obtaining people who could handle certain military jobs that required skills that have been difficult to fill. The current situation is similar to what happened after the last worldwide recession when higher unemployment made it easier to recruit. There were still problems, particularly in the navy. In 2009 The Royal Australian Navy's recruiting woes continued despite the unemployment rate going from 4.4 to 5.8 percent over the previous two years. It was believed that the recession would bring in more recruits, but that didn't happen. The number of civilians inquiring about joining rose by over a third, but very few of those additional prospects actually joined. Part of that was because the 2007 recession did not hit Australia as hard as it has the rest of the world. That meant the military, especially the navy, was still unable to get the skilled personnel it needed. For the navy the basic problem was that being a sailor is a tough job, partly because of geography, with Australia so isolated, and partly because the Australian navy is a very professional force. You get that way through hard work and lots of training. Combine that with the physical isolation, and you have sailors spending lots of time at sea, working their butts off. For recruiters, that's a tough sell. The hardest hit branch of the navy is the submarine service. This is a small community, with less than eight percent of the active-duty strength of about 15,000 sailors. Of the 44 ships and boats in the navy, only six are submarines. These are seen as the most powerful vessels in the fleet, at least against enemy ships. Because of that, Australia was planning to expand its submarine fleet to twelve boats. But in 2009 it was discovered that only one of the six current subs was available for service. Four of the boats are undergoing maintenance, and another one is undergoing several months of repairs to fix a problem with its batteries. Even if all six boats were ready for service, there are only sufficient crews available to send three of them to sea. The navy did everything possible to remedy the staffing problem. For example, the number of sailors required to stand watch when a sub was in port was cut. Crew sizes were increased 25 percent, to cut the workload. Internet access on the subs was improved and on-shore housing upgraded. Meanwhile, re-enlistment bonuses of up to $60,000 were offered to keep key sailors in. The navy also had a program of recruiting foreigners, who possess needed technical skills. Australia is a nation of immigrants, and the admirals point out that recruiting a foreigner is cheaper than training an Australian to do these tasks. Another problem was the submarine bases. They are on the west coast, which is hot, dry, thinly populated, and far away from most Australians, who live on the east and southeast coasts. Despite all these problems, fourteen years ago Australia decided to make the submarine the key component of its fleet in the near future. The plan was to double the number of subs in service, from six to twelve by 2019. This would mean that more than half (12 out of 23) of their major warships would be subs. The purpose of this shift was to provide a naval force more capable of dealing with any Chinese moves into Australian waters. The Chinese fleet was undergoing rapid expansion which posed a potential threat to Australia. It did, but the navy was unable to expand its submarine force because the wrong supplier (France) was selected to provide the new subs. That deal has been canceled and Australia is depending on the United States and Britain for help in this area. That is complicated by the fact that these two nations have no diesel-electric subs and nukes are more expensive and take longer to build than non-nuclear subs. To make this new expansion strategy work, Australia has to fix the problems with recruiting, and retaining, sufficient highly skilled personnel, especially sailors to man the submarine fleet. For the navy the problems are numerous. The principal one is the relative isolation of the submarine sailors within the Australian navy. Because of that, and the smaller crews of subs, few submarine officers achieved high rank in the navy. But the admirals have come to recognize, for all that, the submarine is the best warship for Australia's needs; defense against a superior surface fleet, or enemy subs seeking to blockade the nation. Currently, the Australian Navy has six Collins class subs, and the sailors who serve on these boats are not happy. This has been a problem for years. Less than a decade after the Collins class entered service (1996-2003), the navy surveyed the submarine sailors and were told that the submarine crewmen felt unappreciated and overworked. Half of them were getting out of the navy as soon as their current enlistments were up. Many found the work boring, and felt they spent too much time at sea. As a result, only enough qualified sailors are available to provide crews for three of the six Collins class subs. Each boat required a crew of 45 highly trained sailors, eight of them officers, but that was increased to 54 sailors by 2009. It was still a tough job, and you have to be highly skilled and disciplined to run a sub. The Australian navy has been suffering from a serious specialist shortage for nearly two decades. With a total strength of 15,000, being short a few dozen people in some job categories can have serious repercussions, and that's what happened to the submarine force. For example, at one point the navy was short about a third of the marine engineering officers it needed. There are less serious shortages in officers specializing in electrical systems and weapons systems. Australian warships were active in the war on terror, resulting in many crews being away from home for up to six months at a time. There are shortages of both officers and sailors with technical skills. All Western navies had similar problems, and applied similar solutions, with some degree of success. U.S. subs have the advantage of being larger because of the nuclear propulsion and with crews nearly three times the size of the Collins class boats. This apparently helped. Other nations have small, modern, diesel-electric boats like the Collins class, but do not send them off on long voyages. Australia can't avoid the long voyages, because Australia is surrounded by vast oceans that require a lot of time to traverse. It is boring to transit all of that, and that was exactly what the dispirited sailors reported when asked. The navy leadership has, in deciding to double the size of its sub fleet, agreed to either fix the morale and recruiting problems, or risk seeing most of those boats rarely going to sea, and manned by inexperienced crews when they did. The solution appears to be a combination of more pay, and using larger crews, so that everyone does not have to spend so much time at sea, or carry more people on cruises and reduce the workload for each. Another option is having two crews for each boat, a practice long used for American SSBNs (ballistic missile subs) and some surface ships. Another solution is the larger size of the next class of subs, that will provide, literally, more living room. This played a role in Australia seriously considering acquiring nuclear subs. But before you can make military life more attractive for sailors, you have to get enough civilians to volunteer to be sailors in the first place. Until recently, the Royal Australian Navy was still a recruiting problem in search of a solution. Now there are more people volunteering and the navy is seeing more submarine quality applications than ever. The rest of the military is experiencing the same flood of applicants and most are turned away because the military does not need that many new people and is being very selective. CoinMENA, a digital assets exchange based in Bahrain, has partnered with Beyon Money to give users across the kingdom the chance to earn up to 5% cashback when depositing money into their CoinMENA crypto assets wallets, a first of its kind service in the region. The Beyon Money is a financial service super app launched in January 2022 by Batelco Financial Services, a subsidiary of Batelco and the first telecommunications subsidiary in the GCC to be licensed to operate a financial service by the Central Bank of Bahrain. It is the first fully digital financial super app to deliver direct open banking access to consumers in Bahrain, connecting all the banks across the Kingdom in one app. Under this offer, Beyon Money Classic and Platinum cardholders can earn 3% and 5% cashback, respectively, for using their cards to deposit into their crypto wallets on CoinMENA, said the company in a statement. Beyond the financial benefit, Beyon Money users will now have access to all the benefits and alternative investment solutions offered by CoinMENA, the fastest growing cryptocurrency exchange in the Middle East, averaging a growth rate of 140 percent month-on-month since its establishment, it added. "This offer is attractive for existing and prospective crypto assets investors as it will encourage further investments and participation in the industry. In addition, it will help address the challenge that investors face when shifting their investment from fiat to crypto and back, ensuring their experience and journey is smooth," said CoinMENA cofounders Talal Tabbaa and Dina Saman in a joint statement. "This is what differentiates us as a brand and what we intend to build on as we partner with fintech providers like Beyon Money moving forward," they added. CoinMENA and Beyon Moneys partnership will further solidify Bahrains position as a leading crypto hub in the region. The kingdom was the first country in the GCC to offer onshore regulations for cryptocurrencies, allowing established banks and financial institutions to work with crypto exchanges for customers to be able to withdraw and deposit their investments easily. On the future outlook, CoinMENA co-founders said they have set sights on expanding the company's current portfolio of cryptocurrencies with an eye on becoming a leading global crypto financial services provider. "In the near term, we will also start offering financial services built on Web 3.0 and crypto rails, including borrowing, lending, and staking," the duo stated. "This is the future of finance as we see it and are determined to be at the forefront of this exciting development," they added. HALIFAX, NS / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2022 / Namibia Critical Metals Inc. ("Namibia Critical Metals" or the "Company" or "NMI") (TSXV:NMI OTCQ:NMREF) today announced it has closed the non-brokered private placement announced on February 23, 2022 the amount of which was increased from $500,000 to $750,000 as a result of investor interest ("Private Placement"). A total of 3,750,000 units were issued at a price of $0.20 per unit. Each unit consists of one common share and one warrant. Each whole warrant is exercisable for one common share at a price of $0.35 until March 31, 2024. A maximum of 7,500,000 common shares of Namibia Critical Metals will be issued pursuant to the Private Placement (assuming full exercise of all warrants). The proceeds of the Private Placement will be used primarily to fund gold exploration and general corporate purposes. The common shares and warrants of the Company issued pursuant to the Private Placement are subject to a four-month hold period expiring August 1, 2022. Finder's fees of 6% were paid to Wellington Altus Wealth Management. ($3,000), Canaccord ($900), Haywood Securities ($6,000), GloRes Securities ($4,800) and BMO Nesbitt Burns Corp. ($1,500) in respect of $270,000 of units subscribed for. About Namibia Critical Metals Inc. Namibia Critical Metals Inc. holds a diversified portfolio of exploration and advanced stage projects in Namibia focused on the development of sustainable and ethical sources of metals for the battery, electric vehicle and associated industries. The most advanced stage project in the portfolio is Lofdal. The Company also holds significant land positions in areas favourable for gold mineralization. Figure 5: Location of Namibia Critical Metals' projects Heavy Rare Earths: The Lofdal Dysprosium-Terbium Project is the Company's most advanced project being fully permitted with a Mining Licence (ML 200) issued in 2021. The project is being developed in joint venture with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation ("JOGMEC"). About Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) and the JV JOGMEC is a Japanese government independent administrative agency which among other things seeks to secure stable resource supplies for Japan. JOGMEC has a strong reputation as a long term, strategic partner in mineral projects globally. The mandated areas of responsibilities within JOGMEC relate to oil and natural gas, metals, coal and geothermal energy. JOGMEC facilitates opportunities with Japanese private companies to secure supplies of natural resources for the benefit of the country's economic development. Rare earths are of critical importance to Japanese industrial interests and JOGMEC has extensive experience with all aspects of the sector. JOGMEC provided Lynas with US$250,000,000 in loans and equity in 2011to ensure supplies of the Light Rare Earths metals suite to the Japanese industry. Namibia Critical Metals currently owns a 95% interest in the Lofdal project with the remaining 5% held for the benefit of historically disadvantaged Namibians. The terms of the JOGMEC joint venture agreement with the Company stipulate that JOGMEC provides $3,000,000 in Term 1 and $7,000,000 in Term 2 to earn a 40% interest in the Lofdal project. Term 3 calls for a further $10,000,000 of expenditures to earn an additional 10% interest. JOGMEC can also purchase another 1% for $5,000,000 and has first right of refusal to fully fund the project through to commercial production and to purchase all production at market prices. The collective interests of NMI and historically disadvantaged Namibians cannot be diluted below a 26% carried working interest upon payment of $5,000,000 to JOGMEC for the dilution protection. The JV Agreement is structured such that no NMI equity will be issued and it is totally non-dilutive to NMI shareholders. To date, JOGMEC, has approved funding Term 1 and 2 expenditures totaling $6,600,000. Gold: The Company's Exclusive Prospecting Licenses ("EPLs") prospective for gold are located in the Central Namibian Gold Belt which hosts a number of significant orogenic gold deposits including the Navachab Gold Mine, the Otjikoto Gold Mine and more recently the discovery of the Twin Hills deposit. At the Erongo Gold Project, stratigraphic equivalents to the meta-sediments hosting the recent Osino gold discovery at Twin Hills have been identified and exploration is progressing over this highly prospective area. The Grootfontein Base Metal and Gold Project has potential for magmatic copper-nickel mineralization, Mississippi Valley-type zinc-lead-vanadium mineralization and Otjikoto-style gold mineralization. Interpretation of geophysical data and regional geochemical soil sampling have identified first gold targets. Tantalum-Niobium: The Epembe Tantalum-Niobium-Uranium Project is at an advanced stage with a well-defined, 10 km long carbonatite dyke that has been delineated by detailed mapping and radiometric surveys and over 11,000 meters of drilling. Preliminary mineralogical and metallurgical studies including sorting tests (XRT), indicate the potential for significant physical upgrading. Further work will be undertaken to advance the project to a preliminary economic assessment stage. The common shares of Namibia Critical Metals Inc. trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "NMI" and the OTCQ under "NMREF". Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For more information please contact Namibia Critical Metals Inc. Darrin Campbell, President Tel: +01 (902) 835-8760 Fax: +01 (902) 835-8761 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.NamibiaCriticalMetals.com The foregoing information may contain forward-looking information relating to the future performance of Namibia Rare Earths Inc. Forward-looking information, specifically, that concerning future performance, is subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the appropriate securities commissions. SOURCE: Namibia Critical Metals Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: HONG KONG, April 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MADworld announced today a partnership with iconic Japanese fashion brand A Bathing Ape, known as BAPE, to venture into the Metaverse . BAPE has been among the world's most iconic streetwear brands since its founding in Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan in 1993. BAPE's line up of labels includes A Bathing Ape, AAPE, Baby Milo, BAPE Black, and Mr. Bathing Ape, which are sold in stores across Asia, North America and Europe. Recently, BAPE launched (B)apetaverse, its first non-fungible token (NFT) project, consisting of 10,000 unique, high-quality 3D NFTs. MADworld, a venture backed by Animoca Brands, is dedicated to bringing the best of Global Culture to Web3. MADworld seeks to use Web3 technologies and its UMAD token ($UMAD) to promote its mission of delivering Connectedness, Culture and Community to the masses. In partnership with BAPE, MADworld will create a one-of-a-kind, cohesive approach to tie together streetwear, gaming, tokens, and Multi-Metaverse experiences for the global BAPE fanbase and beyond. BAPE x MADworld has some MAD plans in the works and we cannot wait to share it with the world. Stay tuned! About A Bathing Ape (BAPE) Since the brand's establishment in 1993, BAPE has remained as a symbol of street fashion for more than 28 years. The brand has created globally iconic designs and street fashion trends since its founding, including designs such as "APE HEAD", "BAPE CAMO", "BAPE STA", "SHARK HOODIE" and "BABY MILO". BAPE has also developed successful collaborations with global brands and artists. The brand is committed to providing a customer experience that blends premium fashion apparel with an entire lifestyle. BAPE's apparel and brands are carried throughout stores in Japan, the US, Europe, China and various markets in Asia. About MADworld - the Multiverse Artist Defender (MAD) MADworld offers an NFT Origination Platform and an NFT Marketplace that use blockchain technology to defend the artists, artwork, creators, and content that enter the untraversed multiverse. MADworld supports NFT minting to validate ownership and provenance of physical art, collectibles, and products and original content developed from live concerts, sporting events, artist battles, and other modes of creative expression. MADworld is designed to give creators complete control over their NFT strategy, supporting them by maximizing the income and impact from their intellectual property in perpetuity. For more information and updates about MADworld, visit: Website | Twitter | Medium | Discord | Telegram CONTACT: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/madworld-and-bape-join-forces-to-build-ground-breaking-online--offline-experience-in-web3-301515858.html SOURCE MADworld (Tribune News Service) Boeing this month discovered the latest in a long line of glitches on its KC-46 aircraft: Some trim hanging down above the over-wing emergency exit doors prevents them from opening. Though the KC-46 is designed as a troop transport as well as an air-to-air refueling aircraft, Boeing somehow missed this basic exit flaw in the tanker's emergency egress system. Every commercial airplane Boeing designs, including the 767 that is the basic airframe for the KC-46, is tested during certification to make sure all passengers can evacuate in an emergency within 90 seconds. For this defect-plagued military variant, which entered service in 2019, no such test was run. "We are carefully examining our processes to determine why this issue was not identified sooner," said Boeing in response to Seattle Times questions. The timing of the discovery is awkward. At a media roundtable last Friday, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told reporters that the Pentagon will likely not allow Airbus to compete for the next tranche of Air Force tankers, as had been expected, but will instead opt to stay with Boeing and ask only for "a modified KC-46." Fixed with Velcro The newly discovered door trim problem affects all KC-46 tankers previously delivered, including the 57 already being flown by the U.S. Air Force and the two tankers in service with the Japanese military. Boeing will have to retrofit all those tankers once it comes up with a permanent fix. In the meantime, Boeing released a service bulletin to the Air Force with instructions to unscrew the piece of trim that interferes with the doors and attach it with Velcro instead. Boeing said this provides "a temporary solution to ensure continued safe operation of the aircraft." In a statement acknowledging the problem, the Air Force said, "This change removes the associated emergency risk until a permanent modification can be made." Boeing said it identified the problem on March 17 "and immediately notified the Air Force." The service letter with the temporary Velcro fix was issued on March 21. The KC-46 is primarily an air-to-air refueling tanker. For that mission, it has only a flight crew aboard and they have their own emergency exit doors in the forward section of the aircraft. However, the plane can also be configured in the rear cargo cabin for an aeromedical mission carrying injured personnel or with passenger seats installed as a troop transport. "There have been missions with passenger or aeromedical configuration," Boeing said. The exits over the wing are there to help quickly evacuate from this area of the plane. The Air Force statement said the door trim problem could "hinder egress during an emergency." It wouldn't entirely prevent passengers exiting because there is one other pair of emergency exit doors in the aft area not affected by the door trim obstruction. Boeing said no event has arisen in service that would have tested the over-wing exit doors. "In the more than 7,000 sorties the KC-46 has flown there have been no emergencies requiring use of the over-wing emergency door," Boeing said. Series of tanker problems The company said it doesn't yet have a cost estimate for developing the fix and retrofitting the tanker fleet. The military has not characterized the door trim issue as a serious deficiency, as it has for multiple previous design and manufacturing problems that have plagued the tanker program and for which costs have mounted. Boeing has since 2014 written off a total of $5.4 billion on the tanker. In 2019, Boeing was forced to ground the KC-46s it was then flight testing after the Air Force expressed concern about loose tools and other debris found inside the completed airplanes. The most serious outstanding problem is with the remote vision system used to operate the plane's refueling boom. That requires a complete redesign, a project expected to take several years. Airbus, in partnership with Lockheed Martin, had hoped to take advantage of Boeing's troubles and offer its A330-based tanker for the Pentagon's pending second big tanker contract. And yet last week, Air Force Secretary Kendall indicated Airbus may not even get the chance to compete for that contract. "As we ... look further out, the requirements start to look like a modified KC-46 more than they do a completely new design," Kendall told reporters. "I think there's still a possibility of a competition out there, but as we've looked at our requirements, the likelihood of a competition will come down." ___ 2022 The Seattle Times. Visit seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A U.S. Navy reservist and his brother were released by the Taliban on Friday after a monthslong campaign by the Biden administration to secure their freedom, the State Department said. Safi Rauf and Anees Khalil, a U.S. green-card holder, were detained in December. The former Afghan refugees founded the Human First Coalition, which worked to evacuate people fleeing the country after the Taliban took over Kabul last year. The group later shifted to providing humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged country. In a statement, Rauf credited officials in the British, Qatari and U.S. governments, along with our family and loved ones and our team at Human First Coalition, and countless friends in country, in the region, and all over the world. The two brothers are in Qatar, pending travel to the United States, said State Department spokesman Ned Price. We are grateful for the efforts of all those who worked to secure their release, but more work remains, Price said. Unjustly holding Americans captive is always unacceptable, and we will not stop until every American who is being unjustly held against their will is able to hug their families once again. Rauf enlisted in the Navy Reserve in 2017 and serves as a hospital corpsman, according to his service recorded provided by the Navy. He is assigned to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. CNN first reported the release of the brothers. The Biden administration also is seeking the release of Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran, who has been detained by the Taliban since before the Trump administration struck a deal with the militants in February 2020 to end the 20-year war. The New Yorker published a video of Frerichs pleading for his freedom on Friday. The Washington Posts Alex Horton contributed to this report. "It was a foggy morning, March 25. I could see a line of soldiers in long coats. And then they came and said, 'Get ready to go . . ." "And the teacher came and said, 'Please don't take the children.' In 25 minutes, it was all done. And we were taken in 11 trucks . . ." Thus spoke two survivors of Operation Priboi, the code name for the forced deportation by the Soviet authorities of more than 40,000 Latvian men, women and children on March 25, 1949. Those nightmarish memories might also have issued from the hundreds of thousands of Estonians and Lithuanians who were likewise swept up that day by flying squadrons of Soviet troops and dispatched to Siberia. A total of half-a-million residents of the three Baltic states were deported between 1941 and 1952. Now, in light of reports of similar behavior by Russian troops in the newly occupied territories of Ukraine, the peoples of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, including the surviving deportees and their families, are reliving that nightmare. "It is unconscionable for Russia to force Ukrainian citizens into Russia and put them in what will basically be concentration and prisoner camps," Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told CNN, noting that she could not confirm the widespread reports of thousands of people being taken against their will from the besieged port city of Mariupol. Assuming the reports are true, Russia would be in violation of international law, particularly the Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of civilians in wartime. Survivors of the earlier Baltic abductions have no trouble believing the reports. The fact that they coincide with last week's regionwide commemoration of the mass deportations of March 25, 1949, makes the news all the more haunting. "Today, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are commemorating the victims of mass deportations effected by the Communists," Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said last week, before joining the annual commemoration of the March genocide, as it is called here, by laying a wreath at the Freedom Monument in Riga. "Present-day Russia commits crimes against humanity in Ukraine." "We Baltic people are well aware of what Chekists are capable of," Rinkevics continued, using the name of the original Soviet secret service, which carried out the first wave of deportations in the 1940s, along with their indigenous communist collaborators. "The method and the mentality" of the Russian occupation troops "are the same," agreed Karen Jagodin, director of the Museum of Occupations and Freedom in Tallinn, Estonia. "I don't think anyone who hasn't lived through the same thing in their country's history can understand what the current events in Ukraine awake in us," she added. "It is very sad," concurred Milda Jarusaitine, senior museologist at the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fighters in Vilnius, Lithuania, "but we can see many parallels between what is happening then and now." In fact, the Soviets undertook two mass deportations from the Baltics, one in 1941, after the U.S.S.R. occupied the region at the start of World War II, then again in 1949, five years after Moscow reoccupied the three neighboring nations after defeating the Germans, who had occupied the three countries in the interim. The objective of the first expulsion, which took place on the night of June 14, 1941 - less than a year after Moscow first occupied the Baltics and a week before Nazi Germany attacked the U.S.S.R. - was principally political, aimed at purging the region of anti-Soviet forces. Most of the estimated 60,000 Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian "enemies of the people" who were swept up in that lightning operation and herded aboard Siberia-bound railway wagons were the men of the Baltic elite, including educators, writers, lawyers and other professionals, along with their families. More than 10% were Jewish; that expulsion could be considered the first phase of the Baltic Holocaust, which ultimately saw the virtual extermination of the Jewish population in the Baltics after the Germans kicked the Soviets out. During the operation, the men were separated from women and children and sent to hard labor or prison camps, where an estimated 50% were shot or died because of the horrific conditions, while the women and children were sent to farms. Operation Priboi, the 1949 deportation, was even broader in scope. Its principal aim was to overcome the native farmers' resistance to incorporating their homesteads into collectively controlled farms. Meanwhile, a parallel, regionwide armed rebellion known as the Forest Brothers had also sprung up. Operation Priboi aimed to eliminate support for those rural guerrillas by uprooting the populace where they operated, including their families and potential recruits. An estimated 150,000 people were deported in Operation Priboi, or 2% of the population of the three Baltic republics. But unlike in 1941, 70% of those deportees were women and children, who were sent to farms to work, and a much smaller share of the deported died. The bulk of the deportees were eventually able to return home in the late 1950s under the de-Stalinization program initiated by Nikita Khrushchev. Efforts to commemorate the victims of the two deportations were seen by Moscow as a threat, and with good reason: They became bound up with the Baltic peoples' desire to reclaim their independence. "It is no coincidence that the first anti-Soviet public demonstrations in the Baltic States took place in Riga with a wreath-laying at the Freedom Monument on June 14, 1987, the anniversary of the 1941 genocide," said Pauls Raudseps, an American-born journalist who has been working in Riga since the 1990s. "In 1987, this demonstration was extremely risky - glasnost was still not very advanced and public discussions of the deportations and the Soviet occupation really only started a year later," said Raudseps, whose great-uncle and his wife and 1-year-old daughter were among the first wave of deportees. (They survived.) But the surprised Soviet authorities allowed the demonstration to proceed. Four years later, the U.S.S.R. dissolved. The annual observances of the two deportations are now national days of commemoration in the three Baltic nations. "The fear, anger, destruction of lives, families, homes and careers have always stayed in our cultural memory," said Jagodin, the director of the Museum of Occupations and Freedom, which opened in 2003 to preserve the memory of the two Soviet occupations of 1940-41 and 1944-1990, as well as the intervening German one. Now, with the news of the reported abductions 1,200 miles away in Mauripol, those preserved memories have been stirred up once again for many Estonians, as well as their Latvian and Lithuanian neighbors, Jagodin said. "I don't know if currently in Ukraine they are selecting deported people by ethnicity, language, education or social status," said Jagodin, "but in both 1941 and 1949, one of the Soviets' main goals was to execute the elite and people who would keep Estonian culture, language and identity alive." Both deportations were "targeted attacks against the Estonian nation," she said, which sounds like what the Russians are reportedly doing in Ukraine. Thus the added fervor and emotion that accompanied last week's commemorations of the March deportations in Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius, as well as around the Baltics. In the shadow of Ukraine, those deportations no longer seem so long ago or so far away. "Commemorations like the one last week promote the idea that national independence is an existential matter," said Gints Apals, director of public history at the Latvian Museum of Occupation in Riga, "as well as a guarantee against the repetition of similar events in the future." - - - Gordon F. Sander is a journalist and historian based in Riga. He is Nordic/Baltic correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor. He is also a visiting lecturer in history at the Latvian Academy of Culture. The Pentagon notified Congress on Friday that it is sending Ukraine an additional $300 million of warfighting equipment that includes laser-guided missiles and drones. The Defense Department is providing the equipment under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a news release Friday. This decision underscores the United States unwavering commitment to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity in support of its heroic efforts to repel Russias war of choice, Kirby said. Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 and has pummeled some of its major cities with missiles and artillery attacks, triggering a mass exodus of refugees from the country. Ukrainian forces, however, have largely stymied the Russian advance, and in some locations the defenders have even regained territory lost earlier in the conflict. The new package of assistance for Ukraine that Kirby described includes laser-guided rocket systems, Switchblade tactical drones that in some cases are capable of taking out armored vehicles, Puma drones for surveillance and intelligence gathering, small and large caliber ammunition, night-vision devices, machine guns, communications equipment, medical supplies and other items. The U.S. has provided Ukraine $1.6 billion in security assistance since the invasion began, Kirby said. Under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, supplies and equipment are procured directly from defense industry contractors rather than drawing from Defense Department stocks, Kirby said. Some Republican lawmakers have criticized the Biden administration for taking too long to get warfighting equipment to Ukraine, claims the Pentagon pushed back on earlier this week. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., during a House Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday, chided top military leaders that deliveries were not being made fast enough. Kirby disputed that notion during a news conference Thursday, saying that the first delivery of an $800 million military aid package approved by Biden on March 16 arrived in Ukraine four days later. That entire package should be fully delivered by mid-April, Kirby told reporters. UAE-based Dulsco said its Outsourcing & Permanent Placement Solutions (OSS) division has signed a channel agreement with Target Recruitment & HR Solutions (Target HR), one of Egypts largest human resources companies, to facilitate the placement of candidates. A leading provider of outsourced staffing solutions in the region, Dulsco said as per the agreement, the two organisations will be able to outsource services on behalf of one another in their respective countries. Target HR commands more than 50% of the HR outsourcing market in Egypt. The endeavour holds myriad benefits for both companies, as well as for job seekers, including enabling the companies to establish a presence in untapped markets, allowing for the provision of outsourced staffing services across geographic regions, and sharing valuable insights into regional job seeking trends, it added. On the partnership, Tiago Costa, COO (Outsourcing and Permanent Placement) at Dulsco, said: "Our partnership with Target HR fortifies our strategy for international expansion and to supply customers with a diverse range of quality staffing solutions that best meet their requirements." "We believe that the agreement offers tremendous potential for both parties to expand their reach. This is another solid step towards strengthening relationships and building a robust partner network," he added. Target HR Chief Executive Mohamed El Derwy said: "We are delighted to enter into this partnership with Dulsco and to leverage their experience and longevity in the industry. With the sets of goals in common, Dulsco & Target will strive to work towards achieving the best results and provide tailored solutions for our clients through up-coming collaboration offerings." "This partnership will pave the way for strategic and comprehensive solutions for our clients," stated El Derwy. "Together, the duo will use their expertise and versatile HR offerings to deliver end-to-end staff management solutions across the UAE and Egypt," he added.-TradeArabia News Service When the New York Post reported on Oct. 14, 2020, that it was in possession of emails between a Ukrainian businessman and Hunter Biden, son of the then-Democratic presidential nominee, it would have been hard to predict what followed. This was less than three weeks before the election itself, and the content of the report was soon subsumed to the odd way in which the paper obtained the information. Mainstream outlets and social media companies balked at elevating the storys claims, triggering frustrations on the right that remain to this day. New reporting has re-elevated questions about how the story emerged and was handled. In light of that resurrection, it seems useful to articulate exactly why there was suspicion about the storys origins - suspicion that itself has not entirely been resolved. Was the sourcing for information sufficiently dubious to justify caution by mainstream outlets? The answer, it seems clear, is yes. Hunter Biden allegedly showed up at a computer repair shop with three water-damaged laptop computers. According to John Paul Mac Isaac, the proprietor of that shop, one of the three computers was beyond repair, one simply needed an external keyboard and one required data recovery. Mac Isaac recovered the data, but no one ever came to pick the machine up. Eventually the data from the computer made its way to Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trumps personal attorney. It was Giuliani that gave it to the Post. That summary excludes a lot of detail, some known at the time the Post story broke, some that only emerged afterward. Here, in the form of a timeline, is detail that seems salient to our current consideration of how the Post got the material from the laptop as well as what was known at the time. Its critical to remember what happened in the 2016 election cycle. Then WikiLeaks published two large clusters of documents stolen by Russian hackers from the Democratic National Committees network and from John Podesta, a top aide to the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. The Podesta material in particular was released in tranches for days beginning Oct. 7, 2016. It was real information, understood even then to have been a product of Russian efforts, that became fodder for criticism of Clinton. After the election, the coverage of the WikiLeaks material took on a new light: It was stolen by a foreign government to try to influence U.S. politics. Media companies reconsidered their coverage; should there have been more caution about playing into the hands of a foreign influence campaign? This question was very much on peoples minds in the months before the 2020 election - particularly given indications that Russia was again hoping to aid Trumps election. The other overlapping factor coloring the release of the Post story was the investigation into Trumps effort to leverage Ukrainian aid to damage Biden the previous year. Giuliani was central to that effort. In late 2018, he began exploring the idea that Biden, as vice president several years before, had improperly tried to influence Ukraine to block an investigation of Burisma, a company for which Hunter Biden served as a board member. This story, promoted by an investigator targeted for termination by the U.S. government, was later debunked, but it seemed a promising line of attack. On April 1, 2019, a writer named John Solomon wrote the first of several stories about the allegations. On April 12, the laptops were dropped off at Mac Isaacs repair shop. Mac Isaac is legally blind and was not able to identify Hunter Biden by sight. One of the laptops, though, bore a sticker for the Beau Biden Foundation, an organization dedicated to Hunters late brother. At some point in the middle of this month, Hunter Biden left Burismas board. Presumably he was by that point aware that questions were being asked about his role. If not, it became very clear on May 1, when the Times elevated the Burisma question in its coverage. In the meantime, Volodymyr Zelensky had been elected president of Ukraine, and efforts to pressure him to announce an investigation into Biden began. In early May 2019, Giuliani planned a trip to Ukraine to dig up information that might damage Biden - a plan that was covered in the press. After broad outcry, he scrapped the trip. But the signal was sent: Giuliani was seeking information deleterious to Biden. Later that month, someone in Kyiv was approached about buying Hunter Bidens emails. This was not reported until Oct. 21, 2020, a week after the Posts story about the laptop. The two people who said they were approached with Hunter Bidens alleged emails last year did not know whether any of them were real and they declined to identify who was behind the offers, Times Simon Shuster wrote. ... The two people said they could not confirm whether any of the material presented to them was the same as that which has been recently published in the U.S. At least one, though, said the material in the Post was familiar-looking. Its not clear what this was or what the source was. It could have been from Bidens business partners in Ukraine. It could have been from a hack of Bidens account; his primary email address was an Apple iCloud account, meaning that emails and photos probably sat online where hackers might be able to access them. In mid-September 2019, the other person who spoke with Shuster was offered similar material. When the Post first reported on its possession of material from Hunter Bidens laptop, it shared a PDF of an email included in that material. That PDF carried metadata indicating that it was created on Oct. 10, 2019, meaning that either it was created on a machine that had the wrong date set or that it was created after the laptop came into Mac Isaacs possession. Its possible that Mac Isaac himself created the PDF, as the beginning of the impeachment investigation into Trump for his interactions with Ukraine had begun the previous month. Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Bender reported in his book Frankly, We Did Win This Election that Mac Isaac, hearing Hunter Biden come up as part of the impeachment investigation, asked his father for advice on the laptop. Eventually, a connection was made to the FBI and, on Dec. 9, the FBI appeared with a subpoena for the laptop and for a hard drive. Its not clear what was on that hard drive, though it may have been a backup made by Mac Isaac. At the time, incidentally, Giuliani was in Ukraine looking to dig up dirt disparaging Joe Biden. That included meeting with a member of the Ukrainian parliament who was later sanctioned by the Treasury Department as a Russian agent. In spring 2020, Joe Biden secured the Democratic presidential nomination. At some point, Giuliani came into possession of the material from the laptop. The Daily Mail reported in December 2020 that the material was turned over to Giulianis lawyer no later than May of that year. According to Benders conversation with the lawyer, Robert Costello, that didnt happen until August - purely by chance. In August 2020 - on a whim, as Costello described it to me - he asked Giulianis assistant to keep an eye out for any strange political tips coming into the email boxes for Giulianis various companies. Costello had a couple of dozen emails within a few days, including one from J.P. Mac Isaac, Bender wrote. By September 2020, Stephen Bannon, another ally of Trumps, was bragging about having it. On Sept. 28, he gave an interview with a Dutch television network hyping his possession of the laptop. There were already strange rumblings about Hunter Biden at the time. Earlier that same month, someone was passing around a lengthy dossier of allegations about Hunter Bidens business dealings with China, created by a nonexistent entity. That document was shared, among others, by an employee of the Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui. Guo is also the owner of the boat on which Bannon had been arrested for fraud in August 2020. After the Post report on Hunter Bidens laptop, the Daily Beast uncovered claims promoted by outlets linked to Guo focused on a Hunter Biden laptop. 3 hard disk drives of videos and dossiers of Hunter Bidens connections with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have been sent to Nancy Pelosi and DOJ, one tweet read. Big money and sex scandal! That was published Sept. 28, the same day as Bannons interview with Dutch TV. Similar allegations had been made days before. The first time the Post saw the material was on Oct. 4. By Oct. 11, Giuliani had handed over the entire duplicated contents of the hard drive and the newspaper began debating how to handle it. The Times would later report that this was contentious even at the conservative publication. Fox News had already passed on it, apparently in part because of the questions about provenance. A number of Post employees questioned whether the paper had done enough to vet the material. Speaking to the Times, Giuliani insisted that this was exactly why the Post was given all of it: either nobody else would take it, he said, or if they took it, they would spend all the time they could to try to contradict it before they put it out. After the story came out, the Post didnt share the material with other outlets for them to do their own investigations. In other words, coverage necessarily depended on taking the Posts word for things, which is by itself a disincentive for other outlets. After the story published Oct. 14, media outlets tried to assess its credibility, without luck. Mac Isaac gave a lengthy, odd interview to reporters that same afternoon in which he repeatedly gave evasive answers and appeared to change his explanations for how he knew whose laptop it was and how it got to the FBI. In the days that followed, the Time and Daily Beast reports reinforced questions about how the material was obtained and how it was being used explicitly to aid Trumps campaign. Even today, the full story isnt clear. Is the story straightforward - Mac Isaac obtained a laptop, thought it might be relevant to national politics and then found only one taker, Giuliani, for the material? Was the material reportedly circulating in Ukraine the same stuff? Nonexistent? Obtained from an iCloud hack independently? Did Guo learn about the laptop from Bannon, with mentions of the material in September following from there? It is of course always easy to ask infinite questions when youre skeptical, but that the answers to this arent known now reinforces the reasons for skepticism 18 months ago. The reticence to aid possible Russian interference probably had one unintended effect: It made the contents of the drive itself as reported by the Post seem more important than it would likely have been considered otherwise. But that is a subject for a different article. WASHINGTON Early intervention with veterans is crucial in preventing them from joining violent extremists groups, veterans and advocates said Thursday during a hearing of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. Prevention of radicalization is always better than treatment, said Chris Buckley, an Army veteran and former Ku Klux Klan member. We need to prepare our troops not only for being soldiers but also for the civilian life. We need preventive solutions to help our soldiers deal with the trauma of active duty in healthier ways. Some of the methods offered during the hearing for helping veterans avoid such groups included improved screening of violent extremist beliefs in the military, increased civic engagement among veterans, and provide resources and support for veterans wanting to leave extremist groups. Joe Chenelly, national executive director of American Veterans, said veterans do well when they have a positive group of fellow veterans in their lives. Since at least the Civil War, veterans have joined and organized groups that generally look to serve their fellow veterans and their communities, he said. In some ways, veterans are changing how they join groups, and there are often more options available that focus on specific interests. The hearing is the second in a series that looks into domestic violent extremists and their efforts to target veterans for recruitment into their groups. A week before the hearing, Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., chairman of the committee, released a staff report entitled, "Report On Domestic Violent Extremist Groups And The Recruitment Of Veterans that focused on the key findings presented by expert witnesses from the first hearing held last October. Right-wing attacks and plots account for the majority of all terrorist incidents in the United States since 1994, and the total number of right-wing attacks and plots has grown significantly during the past six years, according to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank based in Washington, D.C. The think tank also reported 67% of terrorist plots and attacks in the U.S. in 2020 were connected to far-right actors, which included anti-government and white supremacist groups. Whereas left-wing extremists were responsible for one-quarter of domestic terrorist plots or attacks since 1994. The CSIS report also stated there was scant evidence on whether left-wing extremists prioritize veteran recruitment. However, the case was the opposite for far-right extremists. Moreover, the report revealed experts in domestic terrorism and law enforcement have estimated 15,000 to 20,000 individuals with military backgrounds associated with 300 right-wring militias in 2020. Those members made up at least 25% of the groups' membership. The House VA Committees first hearing on domestic extremist groups came 10 months after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump as Congress attempted to certify the election results of President Joe Bidens November 2020 victory. The mob included members of several right-wing and anti-government groups, including the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters, the Justice Department has said. Among the more than 620 individuals who have been arrested and charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack, at least 66 were military-affiliated veterans, active-duty service members or reservists, lawmakers said at the October hearing. Joe Plenzler, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel and board member of We the Veterans, a nonprofit group based in Denver, called it shocking that veterans, who make up about 6% of the U.S. population, comprised at least 10% of those charged in the assault. Takano said the initial hearing examined the threat of veteran radicalization and recruitment by domestic violent extremist groups. The committee also learned why violent extremist groups target veterans in their recruitment efforts. Some of the reasons for this may seem obvious, he said. These groups value the leadership skills, the combat experience, and the weapons training that veterans possess. Having veterans among their ranks also gives these groups an air of credibility and allows them to project a false appearance of patriotism and duty that belies their true anti-government views and racial, ethnic, and religious hatred. Takano said Thursdays hearing was held to understand why a growing number of veterans have been drawn to violent extremism in recent years, as well as whats being done to address the issue. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., said free speech must be protected but violence cannot be tolerated. However, he said Takano was furthering a false and dangerous stigma of veterans being violent and a danger to their communities. "The chairman is more interested in advancing his own political interest by painting veterans as radical and violent than he is about moving beyond partisanship to figure out the actual help veterans need, Bost said. William Braniff, co-founder of We the Veterans, said the organization has found that mental health concerns were more prevalent among veterans who go on to engage in extremist crimes versus others who engage in extremist crimes. While it appears to be a particular risk factor in the veteran community, its not the only risk factor, he said. Veterans and military families hold a revered station in American culture. Americans recognize the value of their service, especially in the context of an all-volunteer military over the past 20 years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, Braniff said. And beyond that, veterans and military families are highly active in community service and serve to strengthen our social fabric. Americans look to veterans and military families as leaders of character and, often, as arbiters of truth. John Horgan, a psychology professor at Georgia State University, said he has studied violent extremism for more than 25 years, though hes not an expert of veterans affairs. He said he believes his research would help them understand why some veterans become involved in terrorism and what they can do about it. We know something valuable about who violent extremist groups want, Horgan said. They dont seek out the misguided, the troubled, the broken, the easily manipulated. In certain situations, these groups might take anyone they can get their hands on. The deadlier and more organized terror groups will find a role for everybody. But what they want, what they prize above all else is the recruit who is competent someone who doesnt just talk, but is willing to act, and can be counted on to do a job. They want people who are resilient, who can cope with the pressures of facing down an enemy. Additionally, Horgan said violent extremists groups sought potential recruits willing to risk their lives for something bigger than themselves. The perfect terrorist recruit is someone who will take notice, stand up and fight while others look away, he said. This might sound strange, but terrorists want people who have the capacity to care about the plight of others. Moral outrage at some gross injustice is one of the common themes we see in radicalization narratives the world over. Vidhya Ramalingam, CEO and co-founder of Moonshot, a global-based company focused on monitoring threats, online harms, and counter-messaging campaigns, said her company found a 66% increase of suicide references in conspiracy-theory communities online in November 2020. Ramalingam said violent extremists take advantage of popular disinformation narratives as well as exploit those expressing mental health needs online to incite violence. However, she said ongoing efforts by the Department of Veterans Affairs, such as the development of digital apps to assist veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health needs, are the kind of efforts that can be enhanced to reach veterans on online where extremists seek to recruit them. Buckley spoke about his experience on how he joined the Ku Klux Klan after he left the service. When Buckley was deployed to Afghanistan in 2008, he said what shook him was the loss of his best friend, Daniel Wallace, who died in his arms after he was hit by a bullet under his left eye. His psychological pain was accompanied by a physical injury when he returned to the United States. Buckley, then a sergeant in the 201st Engineer Battalion of the Kentucky Army National Guard, was on a humanitarian mission when the axle on his Army vehicle broke and he injured his back. While he received workers compensation, he was never given a line of duty determination despite still suffering from his injury almost 13 years ago. A line of duty determination is an administrative means used to determine a soldiers duty status at the time of an injury, illness, disability, or death, which would have made Buckley eligible for benefits and entitlements. Buckley was prescribed opioids for the pain and he became addicted. He said he also became resentful toward his growing list of enemies -- Muslims, gays, Blacks, and Jews. He also said his trauma unleashed other wounds that he had repressed, such as when he was sexually abused as a child. Buckley said when he was discharged from the Army he did not receive treatment for his PTSD from the VA. Buckley told the committee about when he was suicidal, he drove six hours from his home in Birmingham, Ala., to the nearest VA facility in the region, which was in Georgia. Buckley took a loaded .38 handgun with him and kept it in the glove compartment of his car, which he left unlocked. He told the front desk at the VA, If you dont help me relieve what Im going through, Im going to kill myself. Buckley said he told the woman at the front desk not to send him home. Two hours later, he was given medication and sent home. No one checked for his gun. Since then, Buckley has never returned to the VA. After he left the KKK, he sought treatment for his opioid addiction after his wife intervened and sought out Parents for Peace, a nonprofit based in Memphis, Tenn., focused on helping families and friends of those involved in any form of extremism. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., told Buckley that he understood where he came from and where he was going. Gallego is a Marine combat veteran. Yours is a hopeful story, Takano told Buckley. In his closing remarks, Takano said the witnesses that they helped the committee put into context various factors that place a small but growing number of veterans at risk of radicalization. By better understanding these factors that facilitate the radicalization process, we can begin to identify possible solutions to mitigate the threat of domestic violent extremism, he said. A follow-up hearing has not been scheduled, according to the House Committee of Veterans Affairs. Comvita has partnered with conservation organisation, Save the Kiwi, in a significant sponsorship agreement that will ultimately provide more safe habitat for the iconic birds across the North Island. Starting with Makino Station, home to one of Comvitas manuka forests in the lush Manawatu-Whanganui region where kiwi already reside, the ambition is that over time Comvitas properties will become kiwi-safe habitats. The partnership will see the implementation of predator management plans on land managed by Comvita that will enhance biodiversity and provide kiwi safe habitats to help the endangered population and other native flora and fauna thrive. Michelle Impey. Supplied photo. Save the Kiwi executive director Michelle Impey says partnering with Comvita is a new and exciting approach for kiwi conservation. Effective predator control is central to successful kiwi conservation, and creating sanctuaries that are free of stoats, ferrets, and other predators is extremely intensive work." Comvita owns a number of properties, many of which are already home to kiwi, and its so exciting to work alongside and educate them about how we can help the taonga species thrive in the future, says Impey. Comvita will provide annual support for these initiatives, including the purchasing and oversight of traps at its properties. In addition, it will provide opportunities for its staff to personally connect with Save the Kiwi as part of its focus on supporting communities and nature in need - a key cornerstone of Comvitas Harmony Plan. The Harmony Plan is Comvitas contribution towards creating a planet in which bees and people thrive together, with sustainability goals to restore the balance in nature, address climate change, and support communities. The company is committing one per cent of gross earnings to Harmony partnerships that hold a natural connection to its purpose, and work to create connections between people and the natural world. Comvita has already committed to $151,000 towards Harmony partnerships in the first half of 2022. The lenses Comvita uses to guide its partnerships are biodiversity protection, climate and bees, product efficacy and impact for indigenous people. Comvita has also partnered with For the Love of Bees, Saving the Wild and more locally, supported the roll-out of Wasp Wipeout in Hawkes Bay as part of its Harmony Plan. David Banfield. Supplied photo. Comvita chief executive, David Banfield, describes how the partnership takes meaningful steps towards fulfilling Comvitas responsibility as a business. Everything we do at Comvita is guided by our founding principle of Kaitiakitanga, or guardianship and protection over nature, and this underpins our work to create these sanctuaries that will, in time, enable kiwi to flourish, says Banfield. Whats more, Save the Kiwi brings balance to our other Harmony projects, and we aim to keep building our Harmony partnerships with these sort of conservation efforts and communities at its core. We believe we have a contribution to make, and that by undertaking these initiatives we are living our values and fulfilling the steps needed to be the kind of business that we want to be, he concludes. Manuka Forest. Supplied photo. Building apprentices from across the Bay of Plenty will battle it out at the New Zealand Certified Builders Apprentice Challenge on April 9. Competing for the title of the Bay of Plentys NZCB Apprentice Challenge winner and a spot in the national final, the apprentices will be tasked with completing a challenging project over eight hours that will put their skills to the test. After the 2021 NZCB Apprentice Challenge saw a record number of entries across the country, anticipation is building for this years competition. This years challenge will see each apprentice build a park bench, the design plans for which are revealed one week ahead of the competition, says a spokesperson for the competition. "The day-long challenge requires proficiency in a raft of carpentry skills, with a focus on attention to detail and time management. "To decide the winner, a judging panel of building practitioners and industry educators will assess each apprentices technical skills and technique, the quality of their workmanship, precision of measuring and cutting, assembly and ability to work to a detailed plan all while working against the clock. "Each park bench must meet minimum safety standards, and competitors will be provided with durable, trade-quality timber and materials from ITM to complete the project." The event will be held at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, 70 Windermere Drive, Poike and is open to the public to attend and support local building talent. The event begins at 8am and the best time to attend is from 3pm onwards, with the Bay of Plentys Apprentice Challenge 2022 winner being announced around 5pm. The Bay of Plenty event is one of 20 regional NZCB Apprentice Challenges being held around the country on the day. These events are sponsored by ITM and held in conjunction with the Industry Training Association Building and Apprenticeship Scholarship Trust. The winner of each regional event will go on to represent their region in the national NZCB Apprentice Challenge Sponsored by ITM Final, held at the NZCB Annual Conference and Expo in Hamilton. The vast majority of people dying with Covid in New Zealand are over 70, and our oldest residents are dying at higher than expected rates. Fridays cases take the total number of active community cases to 99,185 and the total number of confirmed cases in New Zealand to 671,254. There are 13,475 new community cases of Covid-19 and a further 17 deaths, the Ministry of Health released in an update on Friday afternoon. Forty-nine cases were identified at the border. There are 764 people in hospital with the virus, 31 are in an intensive care or high dependency unit. Vaccination rates As of 11.59pm on March 31 , more than 2.5 million booster shots had been given nationally. Of the eligible people aged 12 and over, 96 per cent have had their first dose , 95 per cent their second, and 72 per cent have had their booster. For Maori, aged 12+, 91 per cent have had their first dose, 88 per cent their second and 57 per cent the booster. For Pacific peoples, aged 12+, 98 per cent had their first dose, 96 per cent their second and 59 per cent their booster. Global toll Data from Johns Hopkins University shows more than 489 million people have been infected with Sars-CoV-2, and more than 6 million have died. Vaccination efforts are continuing with 10.9 billion doses administered around the world. What should I do? During phase 3 act as if you have Covid-19, Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield says. Free rapid antigen tests can now be ordered online from a new Ministry of Health website. Anyone with symptoms can order a test on the RAT requester site and collect it from 146 sites nationwide. Anyone who wants to get tested can find their local testing centres by visiting the Ministry of Health website. If you are sick, call your GP before you visit, or Healthline on 0800 358 5453. To avoid contracting and spreading the virus, wash your hands properly, cough and sneeze into the crook of your elbow and throw tissues away immediately. Reach out, find support from people who care, connect with your community or help a neighbour in need. The Ministry of Health is reporting 11,560 new community cases of Covid-19, 678 hospitalisations and 23 deaths. There are 30 people in ICU. There are 650 new community cases in Bay of Plenty and 285 new community cases in Lakes DHB region. There are 32 people in Bay of Plenty hospitals and 17 in Lakes hospitals with Covid. Today we are sadly reporting the deaths of 23 people with Covid-19, says a Ministry of Health spokesperson. The deaths being reported today include people who have died over the past five days. Delays to reporting can be associated with people dying with Covid-19, rather than from Covid-19, and Covid being discovered only after they have died. These deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 to 378 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 18. Of the people whose deaths we are reporting today, one was from Northland, seven from the Auckland region, two from Lakes DHB, two from MidCentral, seven from the Wellington region, one from Nelson Marlborough, one from Canterbury, and two from Southern. One person was in their 30s, two were in their 50s, one in their 60s, one in their 70s, 13 in their 80s, and five were over-90. Twelve were male and 11 were female. Out of respect, we will be making no further comment, says a Ministry of Health spokesperson. The seven-day rolling average of case numbers continues to decline. Today's seven-day rolling average is 13,751, while the seven-day rolling average of cases as at last Saturday was 16,943. At this point in the outbreak, we are continuing to report people dying with Covid-19 on a daily basis despite the number of community cases declining in many parts of the country. Sadly, this is not unexpected, and our thoughts are with the families of these people. As has occurred with Omicron overseas, while Covid-19 cases are usually seen in higher numbers among younger people early in the outbreak, over time the more severe and fatal consequences of the virus fall disproportionately on our older and more vulnerable populations. Among the deaths we are reporting today are people with pre-existing conditions and older people living in aged care facilities, says a Ministry of Health spokesperson. Getting boosted continues to be one of the most important ways people can protect themselves against severe illness and can be lifesaving. 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 if eligible. Vaccinations administered in New Zealand Vaccines administered to date: 4,025,746 first doses; 3,974,784 second doses; 34,370 third primary doses; 2,586,376 booster doses: 259,156 paediatric first doses and 85,530 paediatric second doses Vaccines administered yesterday: 60 first doses; 176 second doses; 23 third primary doses; 2,121 booster doses; 120 paediatric first doses and 2,832 paediatric second doses People vaccinated All Ethnicities (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 4,055,171 first dose (96.3%); 4,002,593 second dose (95.1%), 2,584,304 boosted (72.7% of those eligible) Maori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 520,363 first dose (91.1%); 502,887 second dose (88.1%), 229,388 boosted (57.6% of those eligible) Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 281,534 first dose (98.2%); 276,393 second dose (96.4%), 136,578 boosted (59.3% of those eligible) 5 to 11-year-olds all ethnicities: 257,203 first dose (54%); 83,652 second dose (17.6%) 5 to 11-year-olds - Maori: 40,364 first dose (34.9%); 9,352 second dose (8.1%) 5 to 11-year-olds - Pacific Peoples: 23,271 first dose (47.1%); 4,426 second dose (9%) 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 (69.4%) Auckland Metro DHB: first dose (97.2%); second dose (96.1%); boosted (71.2%) Waikato DHB: first dose (95.1%); second dose (93.5%); boosted (68.3%) Bay of Plenty DHB: first dose (95%); second dose (93.3%); boosted (67.9%) Lakes DHB: first dose (93.2%); second dose (91.3%); boosted (68.4%) MidCentral DHB: first dose (96.5%); second dose (95.2%); boosted (74.1%) Tairawhiti DHB: first dose (93.2%); second dose (90.9%); boosted (68.3%) Whanganui DHB: first dose (91.9%); second dose (90.4%); boosted (73.4%) Hawkes Bay DHB: first dose (97.1%); second dose (95.4%); boosted (72%) Taranaki DHB: first dose (94.6%); second dose (93.2%); boosted (70%) Wairarapa DHB: first dose (96.4%); second dose (94.9%); boosted (74.8%) Capital & Coast DHB: first dose (98.5%); second dose (97.8%); boosted (81.1%) Hutt Valley DHB: first dose (96.6%); second dose (95.6%); boosted (76.9%) Nelson Marlborough DHB: first dose (96.4%); second dose (95.1%); boosted (75.4%) West Coast DHB: first dose (92.6%); second dose (91.1%); boosted (73.3%) Canterbury DHB: first dose (99.7%); second dose (98.7%); boosted (75.9%) South Canterbury DHB: first dose (94.9%); second dose (93.8%); boosted (76.3%) Southern DHB: first dose (98.3%); second dose (97.2%); boosted (74.8%) 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 678: Northland: 14; North Shore: 109; Middlemore: 135; Auckland: 106; Waikato: 76; Bay of Plenty: 32; Lakes: 17; Tairawhiti: 4, Hawkes Bay: 36; Taranaki: 17; Whanganui: 3; MidCentral: 18; Hutt Valley: 20; Capital and Coast: 20; Nelson Marlborough: 9; Canterbury: 33; Southern: 29 Average age of current hospitalisations: 58 Cases in ICU or HDU: 30 Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region only, excluding Emergency Departments): Unvaccinated or not eligible (49 cases / 33.3%); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (7 cases / 1.9%); double vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (74 cases / 20.3%); Received booster at least 7 days before being reported as a case (110 cases / 30.1%); unknown (125, 34.3%) Cases Seven day rolling average of community cases: 13,751 Seven day rolling average (as at Saturday last week): 16,943 Number of new community cases: 11,560 Number of new community cases (PCR): 317 Number of new community cases (RAT): 11,243 Location of new community cases (PCR & RAT): Northland (521), Auckland (1,931), Waikato (1,004), Bay of Plenty (650), Lakes (285), Hawkes Bay (588), MidCentral (663), Whanganui (293), Taranaki (428), Tairawhiti (141), Wairarapa (97), Capital and Coast (820), Hutt Valley (479), Nelson Marlborough (480), Canterbury (1,866), South Canterbury (248), Southern (995), West Coast (71) Number of new cases identified at the border: 41 Number of active community cases (total): 96,243 (cases identified in the past 7 days and not yet classified as recovered) Confirmed cases (total): 681,044 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 Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. carrerastrax BHPian Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Bangalore Posts: 145 Thanked: 205 Times Re: Impact of the Russia-Ukraine war I thank this thread and all of its contributors - because of whom I was able to switch to alternate media/information, which in my opinion is far more logical, truthful and very grotesquely painful too. Of course, only the leads are available on this thread and if one is interested in peeling away the surreptitious agendas and shallow coverage of mainstream media, dig further through the links and you can decide what's the "truth". I think the real game has just started. At this moment, Putin most likely is turning out to be the grandest master. Let's take stock of all the things that have started to/are turning upside down 1. Mainstream media companies - whammy after whammy- no talk about NATO's expansionism. Story only starts from Russia's invasion Nothing about neo nazism and its existence. Nothing about Biden Jr's laptop until recently. etc. etc. 2. Social networking platforms - their claim of being 'only a platform' is now being openly debunked by themselves. They chose to allow violence or the propagation of it. Sort of impunity we see from the classes that wield power. 3. Dollar/US Treasury bonds - Backed by military might and someone else's energy reserves. Their sanctions have always attacked their very own charter of being a global reserve and Russia is no Venezuela or Afghanistan. Freezing assets is akin to stealing. Now why would I park my savings with a thief?! 4. Euro - Poor choices of friendship, against their very principles of 'individualism'; like being a shady wingman that will the viewers don't care 5. Democracies - Diabolically being killed by its own custodians 6. Nazism/Racism - I was raised and spent more than half of my life in multiple countries. I'm proudly classless (monetary, religion, caste, creed) and free (unreserved travel standing for 12 hours to commuting in the back seat of a Mercedes, I'm ok to go with the flow). But the photographs and videos of their deeds and in general their ideologies, mankind collectively might avoid patronizing this philosophy. For a few moments, I felt very happy that I'm an Indian. The sun shines perfectly and rightly in this part of the world. 7. The current most powerful man on this planet - (family and their friends too) - if you tune into the right (right as in -where info is freely available without governmental or corporate censorship) channels, there's documentary evidence of misuse of 'biological research' and the research of Turkish drones to disperse them. No need to mention the other decadently degenerate contents of that laptop. 8. Globalism and capitalism - This makes me sad. Many a nation are exploring towards autarky and reduced inter-dependence. Mother earth is going to pay a heavy price 9. The American way of life - Now I get it fully. A Corolla always costed about 18K - 24K USD for 30 years or so and we've seen it multiply itself by 3-4 times 10. Zelenskyy - This man had my heart and vote at the beginning. And this thread took me elsewhere! Now I don't have a great opinion of him. What's getting resurrected? 1. Ruble - Being constructed on the foundations of real assets and trust. I still feel it's a steeply uphill task of 'selling' its merits. Success and merit are always divided by chance/luck and to some extent preparation. Let's see how it pans out. Gas is the starting point - Putin agreeing to accept Euro is akin to scaling down operations in Kyiv and Chernihiv. I think it's just a move. The story is yet untold. Also, gas extraction cannot be fully turned off, so he can't waste it until alternate customers are found. Oil extraction can be turned off, though it would require extra effort and investments to re-start. But not gas; you can reduce the extraction to a minimum quantity though. Stopping supplies will go against the charter of 'trust', so it won't be turned off. Also, NordStream 2 is another card that being held back for the moment. If you read its story - Russia owned it up and completed it when its partners backed out. The war started after it's operationally ready. Coincidence? Or, well timed? Let's see how it unfolds. 2. Rules based world order - This was always a moving goalpost by the realms of 'might makes right'. It appears mankind is fixing the fallacies of the existing rules. The Matrix - Revolutions? If this happens, our External Minister's statement at the Munich Security Conference - "Principles and interests are always well balanced" will cease to be true :-) 3. Mutual respect (w.r.t race) - after the dust settles and along with #2, this is going to be a good consequence. This is my hopeful inference. At this point, the current global reserve and their backers will do anything and everything to keep it relevant. And they have crossed all lines of morality in the past, in this endeavour. This is the scary bit. If the threat of the Ruble turns out to be indomitable, I hope they sportingly concede. Else, we might risk the spreading of the conflict. This is solely my view. I tried my best to limit the political and controversial pieces of information. I love this forum a lot more now - without which, I would've been consuming the main stream media. PS - Now that I've proof read my lengthy post, it appears to me that I also have an opinion on politics and geo-politics, which is not the usual me. Time for me to reflect and dial down on the time I've spent on this. Let me focus on what's real for me ;-) Last edited by carrerastrax : 31st March 2022 at 22:52 . WHO revealed a new mutant Omicron COVID-19 variant that is more contagious than the most infectious variant (Omicron BA.2) right now. This is not an April Fools' Day joke but is a new health threat that government officials should be prepared for. The World Health Organization warned that the new Omicron XE strain is more transmittable than the existing coronaviruses. The health agency explained that the new is a combination of the two sub-strains of Omicron, which are BA.1 and BA.2, meaning that the new variant has the characteristics of the older Omicron strains. WHO Reveals Mutant Omicron COVID-19 Variant According to Express UK's latest report, the new Omicron XE variant is 10% more infectious compared to BA.2 sub-strain. Also Read: New UV Light Can Kill Microbes in a Room and Can Prevent Another Potential Pandemic From Spreading This is currently alarming since the BA.2 variant is considered to be the most contagious COVID-19 virus up to date. Now, imagine how transmittable XE really is. As of the moment, infected cases involving XE are still not that high. But, WHO said that the mutant coronavirus might lead to more infections in the near future. "The XE recombinant (BA.1-BA.2), was first detected in the UK on January 19 and less than 600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since," said the World Health Organization. As of the moment, WHO is still monitoring the cases of Omicron XE. The international health agency is also working with other medical experts to learn more about the new mutant COVID-19 strain. Omicron BA.2 Becomes Most Dominant Variant in US Since the new Omicron XE still hasn't infected a lot of people across the globe, BA.2 is still the most dominant strain in the United States. Fortune reported that the contagious sub-variant of Omicron is 60% more transmittable than BA.1 (the original strain of Omicron). On Mar. 31, WHO announced that BA.2 now makes up 86% of the newly reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. Because of its high infectivity, this sub-strain of Omicron is considered to be the COVID-19 "Stealth Variant." Hopefully, the new XE will not follow the infection trend of BA.2. Right now, the best thing you can do is follow your authorities' COVID-19 safety measures to avoid getting infected. Recently, free COVID-19 antiviral pills were announced to be rolled out in the United States. Meanwhile, previous research claimed that COVID-19 face masks have dangerous titanium dioxide particles that can cause cancer. For more news updates about COVID-19 and other health topics, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Pfizer 4th COVID-19 Vaccine Shot Data: Findings Show Booster's Efficiency Disappears After Four Months This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google patient reviews are actually a HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) violation. This means that doctors and other health experts are not supposed to leave online reviews for their patients. For those who have no idea what HIPAA is, this law is specifically created to protect patient's personal details from being shared without their consent. Right now, many people are still confused about HIPAA violations. Asking if someone is vaccinated or not is not a HIPAA violation. But, sharing a patient's name, medical complications, and other sensitive details is already violating HIPAA's rules. Google Patient Reviews Violate HIPAA? According to The Verge's latest report, a dentist in North Carolina was already fined $50,000. Also Read: Google Docs' New Feature Will Notify You If You Need to Make Changes and Improve Your Writing "Does he deserve any rating as a patient? Not even one star," said U. Phillip Igbinadolor. The dentist left a patient review back in September 2015. However, the Department of Health and Human Services said that he provided his patient's full name, medical history, as well as the dental problem he is suffering from. The issue started after the individual left a negative review for Igbinadolor. Since the health expert wants to explain his side, he also reviewed his patient to explain the scenario. The dentist shared that his patient was experiencing "excruciating pain." This forced him to conduct a root canal operation. But, it seems like the individual was dissatisfied. HIPAA Patient Review Violation Not Uncommon The issue with the North Carolinian dentist is really not that common. A similar HIPAA violation also happened back in 2016. ProPublica reported that some doctors, dentists, and chiropractors also violated HIPAA after they provided their patients' sensitive information via Yelp. HIPAA violations are quite serious. Some of them can also lead to criminal charges, jailing those who bypass the health act. For example, if a person sells PHI (Protected Health Information) to another individual, they will be jailed up to 10 years and fined up to $250,000. So, if you are a health expert and want to avoid any HIPAA violation, the best thing you need to do is keep your patients' personal information. Recently, some rumors claimed that Google abuses app developers. Because of this, the tech firm was fined by France $2.2 million. On the other hand, the new Google Chrome 101 Beta version is now available. For more news updates about Google and other tech giant firms, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Google Changes the Way Product Reviews Come Up in the Search Results So Only High-Quality Ones Are Seen This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Photo : Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Staff at Activision Blizzard offices were notified of an impending change to internal Covid-19 vaccination policies at the company's head offices on Thursday, Mar. 31. Brian Bulatao, Chief Administrative Officer under Activision Blizzard, sent a company-wide email explaining the new workplace conditions, wherein specifically proof of vaccination is no longer being enforced. It has no sooner become a wide sweeping effect over businesses set across the country as the ongoing Covid-19 crisis seemingly diminishes. Work from home conditions are slowly being phased out as in-office policies gear towards reenacting the traditional workplace standard felt before the pandemic's start in early 2020. Bulatao himself relays these very same sentiments at the start of the email, highlighting how US Covid-19 cases are slowly diminishing and companies are now folding on in-office standards surrounding vaccinations. He writes, "Over the past several weeks, we've seen businesses and other indoor venues across the U.S. lift vaccine requirements, and we feel it is important to align our site protocols with local guidance." LEAKED: Brian Bulatao emailed all of ABK to talk returning to office in June. They will not be enforcing proof of vaccination. Im sure the benefits of in person collaboration is actually so employees organizing can be followed and monitored closely. Do not die for this company pic.twitter.com/MSOwWVYBR3 Jessica Gonzalez is a chair (@_TechJess) March 31, 2022 Related Article: Activision Blizzard Shareholders: Not Happy with Microsoft's Acquisition-Not In the Best Interest, Files Lawsuit Although businesses are reshaping various policies around the workplace and Covid-19, it still doesn't address the fact that the vaccinations and boosters are not fully protective against every strain, which has been consistently evolving over time, witnessed via the now ever-rising count of Omicron BA.2 subvariant case numbers. China's Shanghai only recently went back into lockdown as a surge of cases arose, proving that the pandemic is still present despite its somewhat limited reach. Activision Blizzard's altered in-office policies seem more than a bit hasty, especially in the eyes of its many employees. Critical reception and various outpourings of woe online prove once again that ActiBlizz's worst aspect is in its own internal ecosystem. Fears of potentially catching Covid-19 aren't the only base concerns for current employees, as those living with or who are immunocompromised are the most at risk and those who are disabled. Despite the myriad concerns, Activision Blizzard is still trying to save face. Bulatao relayed in his email that the company "will continue to monitor the risks for Covid-19 in all areas where we operate." Given the changed procedures, Activision Blizzard is making all staff report their vaccination status, thus highlighting how best to potentially "pivot" if yet another "spike" arises. However, this doesn't assist those in-office who are disabled or immunocompromised, thus making the vaccination protocol's alteration all the more disheartening for loyal staff members. Returning to work unknowing of the potential danger in coworkers not vaccinated is a terrifying thought, yet Activision Blizzard seems adamant about the change. The company stated that full in-office work would begin again in June. Read Also: Activision Blizzard Lawsuit Filed by EEOC Ongoing, Department Files for Appeal After Judge's Decision 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Meta will now no longer require its employees to get a COVID vaccine booster to return to the office. This was confirmed by a company spokesperson writing to CNBC, who said that the previous mandates have been "updated in early March to align with CDC guidance." But even if booster shots will no longer be required, they're still "strongly recommended" by the tech giant. Furthermore, the initial vaccination requirement consisting of the first two shots remains. As of late, Facebook's parent company has had a good majority of its employees vaccinated. 71% of the workforce in Meta's California HQ have been vaccinated, but only 35% of them got their booster shots. For the unaware, this was a massive change from Meta's COVID booster requirement, which was announced back in early January (via The Verge). Back then, the decision was made due to a quick surge in US coronavirus cases. But now, things have started to ease just a little bit. But while this is certainly a big change, Meta didn't provide an explanation for it. For now, what is certain is that the social media giant, alongside other Big Tech companies, has been trying to "lure in" their workers to return to the office after almost two years of having to work offsite. Some of these companies are doing so by things such as relaxed vaccine mandates, better perks, etc. But not all of them are doing it. Apple, for example, still requires its employees to show proof that they've received a COVID vaccine booster before they go back to the office. Anyone who doesn't comply with Apple's requirements will have to provide the company with numerous rapid antigen test results. These must be done before the aforementioned non-compliant employees are allowed to enter the Cupertino giant's facilities. There were no indications of harsher penalties. Read Also: Meta Removes Anti-Vaccine Trucker Protest Groups and Pages Meta's Return To The Office: How The Social Media Giant Prepared Meta officially had its employees go back to onsite work last March 28th. But before that day, the social media giant had to finish some major preparations, which included big changes in workplace perks. Among these changes include a "slight downgrade" in work perks that all employees had. According to CNET, perks like free laundry and dry cleaning are out, and free dinners for all workers are delayed half an hour from its original time of 6 PM. Furthermore, this delay coincides with the last free shuttle ride from company premises, which also keeps people from taking home their free dinners. Another big, recent change is Meta's decision to adopt a "work from anywhere" scheme even if employees are already coming back to the office. In an article by HCA Mag, this was evident with even head honcho Mark Zuckerberg working more hours out of the Menlo Park-based HQ. He's been known to spend more time recently in his Hawaii residence, alongside his other homes located outside Silicon Valley. Other company executives have also been doing the same thing. Related Article: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Highlights the Importance of Short-Video Products Following Billion-Dollar Revenue Loss This article is owned by Tech Times Written by RJ Pierce 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Turla hacking group might be the culprit behind the deployment of notorious spyware that hit Android devices. According to the latest report, the experts believed that it came from Russian state-sponsored hackers. Aside from using this malware for espionage, it can also gain access to the other features of your phone, including the internet, camera, messages, and more. Android Spyware Linked to Turla Group Prior to a recent case connected to Turla, the notorious group of cybercriminals was once involved in the controversial SolarWinds supply chain attack that took place in December 2020. However, the Lab52 cybersecurity researchers have found out that the same group is operating Android spyware, which is used to track the location of a device. The findings led to the detection of the "Process Manager," an APK which is believed to be emulating the said malware. According to a report by Bleeping Computer, the experts have not yet uncovered the distribution process of the spyware. However, they discovered that the Process Manager has the ability to keep itself concealed from unaware users. This makes it even hard to recognize if you're not paying close attention to your system component. Moreover, it should be noted that this suspicious application can trigger 18 permissions in your Android device, which include: Access coarse location Access fine location Access network state Access WiFi state Camera Foreground service Internet Modify audio settings Read call log Read contacts Read external storage Write external storage Read phone state Read SMS Receive boot completed Record audio Send SMS Wake log If all permissions are allowed on your device, the users are exposed to a high risk of being tracked. Additionally, the hackers can know more private information about them, including details about their bank accounts, email addresses, passwords, and more. Once the permissions have taken effect, the Android spyware will continue to operate in the background. You will only know that it's running because of its "permanent" notification. As of press time, the security analysts have not yet determined how the APK is distributed in the system. If the Turla group is indeed behind this incident, it could deploy many methods, including phishing and social engineering. Related Article: Viasat Hit with Russia's Wiper Malware called 'AcidRain,' Affecting European Services Android App Used in Cyber Espionage The Lab52 team also discovered that there's an app that is abused for profit. The so-called "Roz Dhan: Earn Wallet Cash" can be searched on the Google Play Store, Portuguese tech site TugaTech reported. The application sounds too good to be true since the user could gain money via a referral system. According to cybersecurity researchers, it's quite strange to pull off this gimmick since the main focus of hackers is to spy on their victims. Per experts, Android users should always be careful about the apps that they are downloading. They should also regularly review the app permissions to avoid security and privacy risks. Read Also: US Warns of Russian State-Sponsored Hackers Using Exploits of 'PrintNightMare,' MFA Defaults This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joseph Henry 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Four US Senators have called out Bobby Kotick ahead of the FTC's probe of the $68.7 billion Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal. According to Windows Central, Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Sheldon Whitehouse have all written FTC chairwoman Lina Khan to "consider" the company history of ActiBlizz in its deliberation of the Microsoft deal. Aside from that, the senators have also called on the FTC to take a closer look at Microsoft's statement of "not standing in the way" of unionization. The letter was sent in lieu of the controversy surrounding Activision Blizzard, punctuated by the toxic workplace lawsuit filed last year by the state of California. Aside from that, the senators are also concerned about the potential "anticompetitive effects" that the deal could produce. Axios gaming reporter Stephen Totilo posted the letter's text on his Twitter account if you want to read it in its entirety: Among the things that the lawmakers have called out is the accusations against embattled ActiBlizz CEO Bobby Kotick. In the toxic workplace lawsuit, Kotick is accused of covering up any accusations of sexual misconduct within the company, while also being well aware of other similar incidents. The senators say that Kotick's apparent "lack of accountability" despite the constant clamor for his removal is an "unacceptable result" of the multibillion-dollar Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal. If you're unaware, the aforementioned deal is not expected to push through until 2023. And as a result, Kotick will remain as CEO for the foreseeable futureto the obvious dismay of disgruntled employees and some investors calling for him to step down. Read also: Activision Blizzard Workers Are Optimistic About Being Bought Out By Microsoft Does This Mean That The Microsoft-Activision Blizzard Merger Is In Trouble? When news broke out that the "stricter" FTC will be handling the probe on the $68.7 billion deal, there were concerns that it might not push through. And now, the urging from four US lawmakers is adding even more fuel to the fire. This is due to FTC chairwoman Lina Kahn, who's been known as a staunch critic of anticompetitive Big Tech practices in the past. She has gained a bit of notoriety for her strong desire to rein in the influence of Big Tech companies, despite apparent intimidation from these said giants-Facebook and Amazon, in particular-as reported by CNBC. There's a good chance that Kahn will definitely consider the concerns outlined in the letter from the senators during the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal probe. But some analysts are confident that there might not even be that big of a pushback from the FTC, considering the deal's nature as a "vertical transaction." This type of transaction, according to analyst Atty. Kellen Voyer, involves a big company (in this case, Microsoft) buying up a smaller one which offers a very different service or product from what it sells. Atty. Voyer argues that this kind of merger tends to experience "less scrutiny" from an antitrust probe. Either way, this is a developing story, so check back here at Tech Times for updates. Related: Microsoft Isn't Going To Block A Future Activision Blizzard Union This article is owned by Tech Times Written by RJ Pierce 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A new Norton phishing scam has been spotted trying to steal victims' personal info in order to later use to get their money. The UK Action Fraud Body has announced a warning regarding the ongoing scam. Consumers Warned Regarding the Ongoing Scam According to the story by TechRadar, consumers are now being warned regarding an ongoing scam that uses fake emails posing to be an authentic Norton antivirus. The scam aims to steal the information of users to be later on used to steal their money. The official Action Fraud body of the UK has just announced the new email phishing scam that pretends to be the Norton brand to steal victims' personal information. With that, Action Fraud notes that they are already getting 110 reports in seven days. UK Action Fraud Body Announces Fake Emails Pretending to be Antivirus Company Norton The reports come from cautious individuals revealing the fake emails pretending to come from Norton. An article posted on TechRadar said that the number of reports shows the scale of the current phishing threat. The Action Fraud tweeted that the widespread fake emails are claiming that the victim's subscription to the Norton antivirus service subscription has either expired or is now due for renewal. Watch out for these fake Norton emails, we have received 110 reports in seven days. If you receive a suspicious email, you can report it by forwarding the email to - report@phishing.gov.uk #PhishyFridays pic.twitter.com/lFGbylSohq Action Fraud (@actionfrauduk) April 1, 2022 Email Urges Victims to Contact Fake Support Team Once stumbling upon the email, victims are then made to contact a "fake support team in order to cancel the non-existent subscription." The number, however, was just a scam with operators just trying to get the person's personal or financial information. The email also directs users to a fake website where victims would then be pried of their personal information, potentially leading to the victims' bank accounts being drained. The email itself uses the official branding of Norton with the email address that also starts with the company's name. What to Do When You Receive the Fake Norton Email As per Action Fraud, users that receive this suspicious email can forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk. The Action Fraud body highlights that users, banks, or official organizations will never ask their users for personal information through email or texts. TechRadar notes that email phishing campaigns remain extremely popular among online users as criminals pretend to be legitimate businesses with logos and branding to match to try and trick certain people into showing their information. Read Also: Blockchain Security Audit Beosin to Track $615M Ronin Hackers: Advice Given to Cross-Chain Bridge Projects PayPal Phishing Scam Leads Victims to a Fake Website Recently, scammers were spotted using the PayPal branding in a phishing scheme to steal information from victims. The scam even set up landing pages that looked very similar to the original PayPal login page. The email also closely resembled the PayPal newsletter, notification email, and even the official warning emails from PayPal itself. The catch, however, is that users won't be taken to PayPal but instead to a fake landing page where hackers could steal their passwords. Related Article: 100K Fake Accounts Controlled by Five Robot Farms Destroyed for Spreading Panic in Ukraine This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Urian B. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Russia officially suspends its ISS cooperation with NASA and ESA. Roscosmos' head, Dimitry Rogozin's head has already hinted that he is planning to end their cooperation at the International Space Station. Now, his threats are coming true as he announces that the Russian space agency will no longer work with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the European Space Agency. "The restoration of normal relations between partners in the International Space Station and other joint projects is possible only with the complete and unconditional lifting of illegal sanctions," said Rogozin via his official Twitter announcement. Russia Suspends ISS Cooperation According to Business Insider's latest report, Roscomos will suspend its partnership with ESA, CSA (Canadian Space Agency), and ESA. Also Read: Roscosmos To Bring Back Longest ISS-Staying NASA Astronaut! Here's Where You Can View Vande Hei's Return Before Roscosmos' head announced this decision, he first sent a letter to its space partners, asking them to lift the sanctions imposed against Russia. Although NASA and other Roscosmos partners responded to Rogozin's demand, lifting the sanctions for Russia's rocket engine sales is not included. , . "" (@Rogozin) April 2, 2022 Dimitry explained that the restrictions affect his country's rocket and space industry. The Russian space agency official added that the sanctions implemented by the United States and other countries are bringing Russia into despair since it affects the Russian economy. What NASA, ESA, CSA Sent To Russia Rogozin said that NASA, CSA, and ESA had already sent their responses to his sanction lift request. Dimitry even spotted that all the letters sent by Roscosmos' partners are carbon copies of one another. This means that all their statements are the same. In the letter of NASA, the international space agency said that the U.S. will continue to support the space cooperation of Russia, Canada, Japan, and Europe at the International Space Station. NASA added that it would work with relevant U.S. federal agencies and departments to maintain the ongoing cooperation. But, the current sanctions against Russia were not mentioned at all. You can view his official Twitter thread if you want to see further details about Rogozin's latest announcement. On Feb. 22, Rogozin warned that the U.S. sanctions might affect Roscosmos ISS cooperation . On the other hand, space experts showed what would happen if Roscosmos left the International Space Station. For more news updates about Roscosmos and its ISS cooperation suspension, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Russia Calms Roscosmos ISS Abandonment Rumors-Saying US Astronaut Will Return To Earth as Scheduled This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Diagnosed without my knowledge? "The number of infected is four times higher than the count" Narrowing the list of possible sites for a new bridge across the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge has triggered more questions, including the pace of the planning and how motorists will get to the bridge from Interstate 10. Consultants for the state last week unveiled 10 possible crossings, from about five miles south of the existing new Mississippi River bridge in Port Allen to one about five miles north of the Sunshine Bridge near Donaldsonville. They said they plan to have the list trimmed to three by mid- or late-May amid calls by legislative leaders for faster action since Gov. John Bel Edwards has proposed allocating $500 million to help make the new structure a reality. Seven of the bridge sites are in Iberville Parish, two would connect East Baton Rouge and West Baton Rouge parishes and one would be in Ascension Parish. All of the alternatives envision using La. 1 to get to the bridge from the west side and La. 30 on the east side. But a seven-member state panel in charge of finding a site, including leaders of East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Iberville, Ascension and Livingston parishes, are concerned about the timeline. "The biggest question we get asked through this whole study is 'What's taking so long?'" said Kara Moree, project manager for Atlas Technical Consultants LLC, which is working with the Capital Area Road and Bridge District to find a location. "The state is going to be making a very large investment in this new bridge," Moree said. "They are trying to do their due diligence." Atlas has a $5 million contract with the state to do the work. Jay Campbell, Edwards' appointee on the panel and chairman of the group, said he is unclear on why the list of possible sites cannot be trimmed to three now after Moree said officials "absolutely" could do so but need to hold public gatherings starting April 25 to let taxpayers review all 10 options. The 2022 regular legislative session ends June 6, and West Baton Rouge Parish President Riley "Pee Wee" Berthelot, said only trimming the list to three by May could put the $500 million proposal at risk. No brainer or waste of money? $500 million Baton Rouge bridge plan headed for heated debate Political battle lines are already forming on Gov. John Bel Edwards' proposal to spend $500 million for a new bridge across the Mississippi Ri Earlier consultants had 20 possible sites but 10 were eliminated, in part because of concerns by river pilots and officials of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "We then decided that navigation was basically a show stopper," Moree told the board, meaning navigation problems could keep the state from getting a permit to build the bridge. Other factors in narrowing the options include estimates on how many motorists would use the new bridge, toll revenue, impact of residential and business property, environmental impact and difficulties doing the construction, which can add costs and time. The price-tag ranges from $1.3 billion to $1.9 billion for the 10 possibilities. U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, said he appreciates that Edwards proposed $500 million for the bridge. But Graves said the timing issue goes deeper, and that Edwards was touting the need for a new bridge during his first bid for governor in 2015. The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up "Here we are seven years later, seven years later, and we still don't even have a project identified to fund," said Graves, who is a member of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. +3 Louisiana roads, bridges to get $300M-a-year boost; backers say its biggest investment in decades In something of a surprise, Gov. John Bel Edwards on Friday signed the biggest transportation bill in 37 years when he endorsed a measure that Another $1 billion or so would be needed for "connectors" that allow motorists to get to the bridge from I-10 a wider La. 1 on the west side and a wider La. 30 on the east, which is likely to be even more expensive. Officials of both East Baton Rouge and Ascension parishes said they have questions on exactly how motorists will get to and from the interstate, especially on the east side. Fred Raiford, director of transportation and drainage for East Baton Rouge Parish, said the bridge is badly needed but access is an issue. "I certainly have concerns about using our roads as a corridor to get to the interstate," Raiford said at the meeting when the sites were announced. "I don't want to have people dropping off the bridge, come onto La. 30 and be using Bluebonnet as an exit to I-10. "I have enough traffic problems already in my parish," Raiford said. Where should a new Mississippi River Bridge go? Officials want public to choose 3 options. Under pressure from the Legislature, officials said Monday they plan to let taxpayers review 10 possible sites for a new bridge across the Mis John Diez, chief administrative officer for Ascension Parish, said he has concerns about a flood of cars and trucks swamping La. 30 near Gonzales. "We are very interested in a regional solution," Diez said. "Just concerned about La. 30. It is our economic engine." How much work would be needed on La. 30, which is Nicholson Drive in Baton Rouge, would depend on where the crossing goes, with more work needed the further north it is. Shawn Wilson, secretary for the state Department of Transportation and Development and a member of the panel, said connectors to and from the bridge will be scrutinized, apart from costs of the bridge itself. "Once you narrow the options where this will be, we will be in a better position to calculate those costs, to get from I-10 to I-10 on the two different approaches on La. 30 and La. 1," Wilson said. While Edwards has called his $500 million plan a historic opportunity, House and Senate leaders said they are concerned about the lack of a site and how long environmental and other reviews will take. Sen. Rick Ward III, R-Port Allen, noted that disagreements on where a possible loop would go around Baton Rouge, along with a lack of funding, killed that idea. "I don't want us to come this far and fail because we cannot agree," Ward said of the bridge location. "It might not be the place I am most happy with, but for our region as a whole it is very important as things are narrowed down we come to an agreement on that and get behind it." China pledges stronger support for foreign auto firms: official Xinhua) 09:33, April 02, 2022 BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- China will tend to the needs of foreign firms in the auto industry and help tackle their difficulties in a timely manner, according to Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen. Wang made the remarks while chairing a Thursday symposium attended by representatives from 17 foreign-invested auto and auto parts manufacturers, alongside officials from authorities such as the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. Noting that the auto industry is a critical arena where China actualizes foreign investment, Wang said the country has been broadening its market access and improving the business environment for foreign firms in the sector in recent years. Wang called on foreign firms to grasp the opportunities presented by China's transition toward innovation-driven and green growth, and expand their footprints along the industrial chain. Representatives of foreign firms at the meeting said they consider China to be one of their most important overseas markets, and will increase investment in areas including new energy vehicles, power batteries, hydrogen energy, and research and development. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) People carry an injured man to a hospital after a bomb attack in Herat, Afghanistan, April 1, 2022. At least two people were killed and eight others wounded in a car bomb blast in Afghanistan's western province of Herat on Friday, a provincial public health official confirmed. (Photo by Mashal/ Xinhua) HERAT, Afghanistan, April 1 (Xinhua) -- At least two people were killed and eight others wounded in a car bomb blast in Afghanistan's western province of Herat on Friday, a provincial public health official confirmed. "Based on initial information, two were killed and eight wounded in the car bomb blast. The injured were admitted to a regional hospital in provincial capital Herat city...," Mirwais Jalali, physician-in-chief of Herat Regional Hospital, told Xinhua. The wounded were receiving treatment in an intensive care unit, he said. The incident occurred in Jebraheel locality of Herat city around Friday evening, a provincial security source told Xinhua earlier. He said the Taliban security forces have cordoned off the area for precautionary measures. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Afghanistan's Taliban-led administration has vowed to crack down on the outlaws and criminals to ensure law and order in the Asian country. People carry an injured man to a hospital after a bomb attack in Herat, Afghanistan, April 1, 2022. At least two people were killed and eight others wounded in a car bomb blast in Afghanistan's western province of Herat on Friday, a provincial public health official confirmed. (Photo by Mashal/ Xinhua) Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles has called on the Morrison government to decide before the election whether it will fund 50 per cent of the assistance grants to flood victims. The state government has so far paid more than $5.7 million to 437 small businesses, $838,000 to primary producers, $135,000 to 13 NGOs, and $16.6 million to 89,000 people after their homes and businesses were destroyed in the south-east Queensland floods. Deputy Premier Steven Miles expects the federal government to help Queensland flood victims, but wants it to hurry up and say so. Credit:Getty But amid speculation the federal election will be called either this weekend or next, Mr Miles urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to decide on the recovery package before flood victims get caught up in caretaker provisions. He said it had now been two weeks since Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk wrote to Mr Morrison, but unfortunately we still dont have an answer. Certainly, with most Victorians at least double-vaccinated, for most (but, crucially, not all) the risk of serious illness is low. But it is also increasingly apparent, as more of us are exposed to the Omicron variant, that even the much-touted mild symptoms are still no walk in the park. Its typical to suffer severe flu-like fever and fatigue for several days, and then to require several days recuperation. (And when we say flu, we mean the deadly illness influenza, not the common cold people often describe as flu.) Case numbers are continuing to creep upwards, with 9149 positive results reported in Victoria on Saturday and 41,621 nationally, numbers that would most likely be higher if all double-bar rapid tests were reported. Nor does catching it guarantee a great deal of immunity from subsequent infection, which appears to remain something of a popular misconception. In the UK, Reinfections are currently rapid and frequent, far more than previous waves, Professor Danny Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College, told The Guardian. Estimates vary, but some 800,000 people in England may have already caught COVID twice. If we do, then, decide to drop the remaining restrictions, we will all have to accept the consequences of that decision. The state government is vowing to keep Victorias very minimal COVID-19 restrictions in place including seven-day isolation rules for household contacts as it braces for a surge in hospitalisations over coming weeks. Health Minister Martin Foley has said hospitalisations will rise this month. Credit:Justin McManus Health Minister Martin Foley on Saturday warned that the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant could lead to several hundred extra hospitalisations a day in Victoria, with new modelling suggesting case numbers would peak later this month. The advice is that it will probably increase over the course of April, potentially by several hundred people a day in hospital, and we will monitor that very carefully, Mr Foley said. Our hospitals have been working very hard to prepare for that. His comments echoed the latest advice prepared by national cabinets panel of experts the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee on the health systems ability to cope with the double impact of the more transmissible Omicron BA.2 sub-variant and the winter flu season. The newly minted Australian Values Party, headed by former special forces veteran Heston Russell, has all the appearances of a well-funded operation. In a sense, it is. Mr Russell, the partys founder and lead Senate candidate for Queensland, has revealed he has taken out a $600,000 loan to fund his campaign. Former special forces commander Heston Russell formed the Australian Values Party earlier this year. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The move was a leap of faith for the political novice, who said he needed to attract 4 per cent of the vote to be eligible for public funding, which would help pay off the interest-free loan. Mazda Reports March 2022 Sales Results IRVINE, Calif. (April 1, 2022) Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today reported total March sales of 33,023 vehicles, an increase of 3.2 percent compared to March 2021. Year-to-date sales totaled 82,268 vehicles; a decrease of 1.2 percent compared to the same time last year. With 27 selling days in March, compared to 26 the year prior, the company posted a decrease of 0.6 percent on a Daily Selling Rate (DSR) basis. CPO sales totaled 4,660 vehicles in March, a decrease of 41 percent compared to March 2021. Sales Highlights Best March sales ever of the CX-5 with 21,645 vehicles sold. Best March sales ever of the CX-9 with 4,148 vehicles sold. Mazda Canada, Inc., (MCI) reported March sales of 5,810 vehicles, a decrease of 15.7 percent compared to March last year. Year-to-date sales decreased 14.1 percent, with 12, 919 vehicles sold. Mazda Motor de Mexico (MMdM) reported March sales of 3,878 vehicles, a decrease of 17.8 percent compared to March last year. Year-to-date sales decreased 10.8 percent, with 11,359 vehicles sold. Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts, and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States, Canada, and Mexico through approximately 780 dealers. Operations in Canada are managed by Mazda Canada Inc. in Richmond Hill, Ontario, and operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at News.MazdaUSA.com. A heaven for migratory birds. More and more migratory birds have flocked to NE China's coastal wetland city of Panjin thanks to local ecological restoration efforts. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Mitsubishi Motors Reports Strong First Quarter Sales Q1 2022 retail sales up 44.7% year-over-year All-new 2022 Outlander continues setting sales records with largest total quarterly tally since launch last year, up 218.2% year-over-year, and best-ever quarterly retail sales for the nameplate Recently refreshed 2022 Eclipse Cross total sales up 152.2% for the quarter, achieving best-ever retail sales quarter and month since the nameplate launched in 2018 Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) today reported strong sales across the first quarter of 2022, building on momentum set in 2021 that saw the brand end the year as the fastest-growing non-luxury company in the industry. Total quarterly sales for the brand in Q1 were 26,400. When considering retail sales alone, the brand saw an increase of 44.7% over the same period in 2021. MMNA's flagship vehicle, the all-new 2022 Outlander, continued to lead the brand's sales success for the quarter, with 13,065 total vehicles sold, a 218.2% year-over-year increase. Q1 2022 also represented the best-ever retail-only quarter for the nameplate since launch in 2002. Meanwhile, on the strength of its best-ever retail sales month in March, sales of the recently refreshed 2022 Eclipse Cross totaled 3,992 for the quarter, a 152.2% year-over-year increase. As with Outlander, Q1 2022 also represented the best-ever retail-only quarter for the nameplate since launch in 2018. Demand continued to outstrip supply across the lineup, especially on the fast-moving Outlander. As the entire auto industry is experiencing, MMNA's inventory remains far below ideal levels and well below customer demand. News and Notes MMNA closed Fiscal Year 2021 in conjunction with Q1 of calendar year 2022, with sales totaling 100,206 representing an increase of 25.17%. The all-new 2022 Outlander, picked up two more awards during the quarter, being named Crossover Utility of the Year by the Hispanic Motor Press and "Latin Flavor" SUV of the Year by Puros Autos. Outlander was previously honored as a Wards 10 Best Interiors winner, "Vehicle of the Year" by Victory & Reseda and earned a TOP SAFETY PICK+ designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Even as the 2022 Outlander continues to set sales records and earn awards, MMNA is preparing to launch an all-new plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variant with North American sales planned for the second half of 2022. The vehicle, which historically has been one of the best-selling PHEVs worldwide, underscores Mitsubishi's environmental commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and achieve a net-zero carbon footprint by 2050, also announced this year. As previously announced, Mark Chaffin ascends to the role of MMNA CEO effective April 1, 2022, as the company opens its new fiscal year. MMNA recently announced Santander Consumer USA, Inc. as its new preferred finance partner, offering customer and dealer financing to help make the Mitsubishi Motors buying experience fast, fair and fun. MMNA and its dealer partners improved 10 points in the 2022 JD Power 2022 CSI, ranking fourth among the 19 non-premium brands across the industry. Q1 2022 Q1 2021 YTD 2022 YTD 2021 Mirage 4,917 6,932 4,917 6,932 Outlander Sport 3,707 15,356 3,707 15,356 Outlander 13,065 4,106 13,065 4,106 Outlander PHEV 719 254 719 254 Eclipse Cross 3,992 1,583 3,992 1,583 TOTALS 26,400 28,231 26,400 28,231 # # # About Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. Through a network of approximately 330 dealer partners across the United States, Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc., (MMNA) is responsible for the sales, marketing and customer service of Mitsubishi Motors vehicles in the U.S. MMNA was the top-ranked Japanese brand in the J.D. Power 2021 Initial Quality study, ranking third overall and tied with Lexus. In its Environmental Targets 2030, MMNA's parent company Mitsubishi Motors Corporation has set a goal of a 40 percent reduction in the CO2 emissions of its new cars by 2030 through leveraging EVs with PHEVs as the centerpiece to help create a sustainable society. With headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee, and corporate operations in California, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, Texas, Florida and Virginia, MMNA directly and indirectly employs more than 8,000 people across the United States New Superintendent of Public Instruction Brian Schroeder told the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce on Friday that students should be taught how to think. He said that Wyoming must follow two pillars of education, the purpose of education and the priority of education. Schroeder said the purpose of education was to teach children to learn to think. He cited an example from Nazi Germany, saying that many SS officers had masters degrees, but lacked a conscience. The Superintendent listed three priorities. The first is the parents, and Schroeder said they must be actively involved in their childrens education. The second priority is the teachers, who Schroeder said were underpaid and underappreciated. The third one is the students themselves. Schroeder said his vision for education in Wyoming is to prepare students who are well grounded, culturally literate and career ready. He spoke highly of the liberal and fine arts, especially reading and writing. Literacy is the key to success, Schroeder said, and reading is the foundation. Schroeders speech reflected the themes in his biography on the Wyoming Department of Education website. Driven by the arts and the sciences, its about learning from others and thinking for oneself. In math, the learning side of it means computation while the thinking side means application. In history, learning is about what happened while thinking is about who told you what happened. In science, learning involves observation, thinking involves experimentation. The process of educating a child, however, has never just been about training the mind, but also cultivating the heart prizing the value of virtue and prioritizing the importance of character, according to the Department of Education website. Schroeder also said that what happens in the classroom can have long term impacts. Abraham Lincoln once said the philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation becomes the philosophy of government in the next. In that timeless piece of social prophecy, Lincoln provided us with both a reminder and a warning. Every classroom, every teacher, views life through a certain philosophical lens, a certain worldview. Lincoln was saying world views matter, ideas have consequences, he said. Schroeder said that offering students job and career training was essential. Students are not aware of all of the options and possibilities open to them, and he called for that to change. It's about young people who are well grounded, culturally literate, and career ready. That's the goal, that's the plan, that's the vision, Schroeder said. BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- A working group sent by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board arrived in China on Saturday to help investigate last month's crash of a China Eastern Airlines aircraft, said the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The seven-member panel, consisting of authorized representatives and technical advisors, will participate in the investigation organized by the CAAC. The group's main responsibility is to provide technical support in investigating and analyzing the cause of the accident from the perspective of aircraft design and manufacture. The Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming in Yunnan Province for Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, crashed in Tengxian County of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on March 21. All 132 people on board were killed. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to reporters about the truce agreement in Yemen, at the UN Headquarters in New York, on April 1, 2022. Guterres on Friday welcomed the agreement by the parties to the conflict in Yemen on a two-month truce, which comes into effect on Saturday. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua) UNITED NATIONS, April 1 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday welcomed the agreement by the parties to the conflict in Yemen on a two-month truce, which comes into effect on Saturday. Guterres said the truce opens the door to addressing Yemen's urgent humanitarian and economic needs, and creates an opportunity to restart Yemen's political process. "This truce must be the first step to ending Yemen's devastating war," said Guterres. UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg has just announced the breakthrough in Amman, Jordan. Grundberg said the parties have agreed to halt all offensive military air, ground and maritime operations inside Yemen and across its borders. They have also agreed for fuel ships to enter into Hodeidah ports and for commercial flights to operate in and out of Sanaa airport to pre-determined destinations in the region. Grundberg said the parties have further agreed to meet under his auspices to open roads in Taiz and other governorates in Yemen. The truce can be renewed beyond the two-month period with the consent of the parties, said Grundberg. Guterres commended the Yemeni government, the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis in Yemen for the agreement, and urged all parties to make the necessary arrangements to support the successful implementation of the truce. A halt to the fighting, coupled with the entry of fuel ships, and the easing of restrictions on the movement of people and goods in, out and within the country, will contribute to building trust and creating a conducive environment to resume negotiations for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, he said. Guterres urged the parties to cooperate "in good faith and without preconditions" with Grundberg in the latter's efforts to resume an inclusive and comprehensive Yemeni political process. "The ultimate aim must be a negotiated political settlement which addresses the legitimate concerns and aspirations of all Yemenis." For more than seven years, war has devastated the lives of millions of Yemeni women, children and men, and the war has fueled one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, brought state institutions to the verge of collapse, reversed human development by two decades, and threatened regional peace and security, said Guterres. "Today must be the start of a better future for the people of Yemen," he said. Guterres cautioned that such agreements are always fragile. "So now, we must take profit of the momentum in order to make sure that this truce is fully respected and that it is renewed and, with that renewal, that a true political process is launched in Yemen." He also expressed the hope that the truce agreement in Yemen will inspire other peace deals. "I think that this demonstrates that even when things look impossible, when there is the will to compromise, peace becomes possible.... And I hope that this agreement will inspire others, in Ukraine and other parts of the world, in order to make sure that we address the dramatic conflicts that are undermining the well-being of so many people around the world." UN Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths, who has been tasked by Guterres to pursue a humanitarian cease-fire in Ukraine, will be flying to Moscow on Sunday. And after that, he will be going to Kiev, said Guterres. The UN chief said both Russia and Ukraine have agreed to meet Griffiths to discuss a humanitarian cease-fire. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to reporters about the truce agreement in Yemen, at the UN Headquarters in New York, on April 1, 2022. Guterres on Friday welcomed the agreement by the parties to the conflict in Yemen on a two-month truce, which comes into effect on Saturday. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua) Fifteen firefighters from the same California district have made headlines for adding daddy duties to their roster. The crew has welcomed 15 bundles of joy, one baby born to the family of every firefighter, within the span of just one year. In early March, Chino Valley Fire District (CVFD) shared pictures from an adorable photoshoot, featuring the 15 crew members and their babies at the fire station, on Facebook. CVFD is excited to share with you the newest additions to our fire family! reads the caption. At the time of the shoot, the babies were aged between 3 weeks and 12 months old. Many of the babies were born to proud first-time fathers during the tough times of the pandemic. Photos show the fire crew holding their babies aloft, and balanced on their knees. Dressed in matching navy-blue onesies, the babies gurgle, grin, and coo at one another as the photographer snaps away. In another photo shared with The Epoch Times, the babies lay on the ground in a row, snugly propped up on corresponding fire jackets emblazoned with their family names. Comments from netizens offered well-wishes to all crew members. Congrats to all of you! And kudos to who thought this up, wrote one social media user. Thats a lot of proud papas! Happy for them and their families! wrote another. Its an unofficial record baby boom for Southern California firefighters. In 2019, Rancho Cucamonga Fire District crew members welcomed nine babies between March and July of that year, Fox 11 reported. 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 This combination of images provided by the Harris County Sheriff's Office in Houston, shows Fredarius Clark, left, and Joshua Stewart, who have been charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of a Texas deputy sheriff. (Harris County Sheriff's Office via AP) 3rd Person Arrested in Texas Deputys Fatal Shooting HOUSTONAuthorities in Texas say a 17-year-old boy has been arrested on a capital murder warrant in the fatal shooting of an off-duty deputy sheriff on the northern outskirts of Houston. The teenager was arrested Friday for the shooting death of Deputy Darren Almendarez, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office. KTRK-TV reported that the 17-year-old did not reply to questions as he was taken into the Harris County jail. Almendarez was shopping for groceries with his wife on Thursday night for a cookout the next day for his sisters birthday celebration, when he interrupted three people apparently trying to steal the catalytic converter from his vehicle, according to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. Almendarez told his wife to leave the area. As he approached the vehicle, the three people began shooting at him and he returned gunfire, Gonzalez said. Almendarez was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The other two suspects, Joshua Stewart, 23, and Fredarius Clark, 19, were wounded. They were arrested on capital murder charges at the hospital where they later sought treatment. Court documents do not list attorneys who could speak on behalf of Stewart or Clark. Containers are seen on a container ship at Port Botany in Sydney, Australia, Nov. 4, 2021. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) Australia and India to Ink Trade Deal Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has praised an historic new trade deal with India as being good for producers of seafood, wine, and other produce and resources as the country inks a deal. This is great news for lobster fishers in Tasmania, wine producers in South Australia, macadamia farmers in Queensland, critical minerals miners in Western Australia, Morrison said. He said the agreement builds on the two countries security partnership and their joint efforts to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, along with Quad partners America and Japan, in the face of Beijings aggression belligerence and ambitions to reshape the region. The Australia-India trade deals comes after more than a decade of negotiations which began in 2011, and were paused in 2015 and resumed in 2021. Minister for Trade Dan Tehan at a press conference to launch Australias Nation Brand and tagline at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Feb. 18, 2022. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) The deal will see more than 85 percent of tariffs removed on Australian goods exported to India, currently worth more than $12 billion a year. At the same time, 96 percent of Indian goods coming into Australia will be duty-free. It is a significant win for our exporters, Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on April 2. We get access to the largest, fastest growing economy in the world. By tying our two economies together, it does help provide an important ballast for the geo-strategic competition we are seeing in the Indo-Pacific. The more we can tie ourselves with India the better for our long-term future and the better for stability in the Indo-Pacific. The deal will be signed virtually on April 2 with Tehans Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal. Two-way trade between the countries has grown in recent years to more than $24 billion in 2020. Indias Minister of Textiles, Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal waves to media as he arrives to attend the winter session of the parliament in New Delhi, India, on Nov. 29, 2021. (Money Sharma/AFP via Getty Images) Among the first tariffs to be eliminated will be tariffs on sheep meat and wool, while over the next seven years additional tariffs will gradually be removed including on products like avocados, onions, nuts, and fruits. Tariffs on wine will also be be reduced, while the resources sector will see tariffs on products like coal and metallic ores eliminated on entry. Tourism and education are also set to benefit, with both countries agreeing to recognise each others professional qualifications, licensing, and registration procedures. Australia has also agreed to set aside 1,000 places for Indian working holiday visas, with the federal government having two years to implement the measure. India will also assure the best treatment for Australia services suppliers across more than 30 sectors in relation to any other trade deal India enters into. Australian journalist Cheng Lei in Beijing, China, in this still image taken from undated video footage. (Australia Global Alumni-Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade/Handout via Reuters) Australian Journalist Cheng Leis Trial Casts Spotlight on Foreign Prisoners in China After being held in Chinese custody for 18 months, Chinese-Australian journalist Cheng Lei will appear in court on March 31, according to a statement by Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne on March 26. Cheng Lei was formally arrested by CCP authorities in February 2021, and prior to that was under residential surveillance for six months. She is rumored to have been involved in the case of Sun Lijun, Chinas former vice-minister of Public Security, who had been indicted for severe violations of party discipline and law. Cheng once worked as host of the English Channel at Chinas state-run Global Television Network (CGTN). On Aug. 13, 2020, Chinese National Security Police arrested Cheng at her apartment in the Dongcheng District of Beijing. The next day, the Australian government received notice from Chinese authorities that Cheng had been placed under residential surveillance and was subject to a criminal investigation. Eight months later, in April 2021, when members of the Australian consulate went to see Cheng, she was blindfolded, wearing a mask and handcuffs, and was led into the room by four guards. After Cheng sat down, a wooden restraint was tied to her knees before the guard took off her blindfold and mask. She was last visited by Australian officials on March 21, and Australian Foreign Minister Payne said in a statement on March 26 that the Australian government is seriously concerned about Chengs detention conditions and her health. Cheng immigrated to Australia with her parents when she was young and returned to China as an adult for her career development. She is a single mother with a son and a daughter aged 10 and 12 respectively. In early 2020, when classes were suspended in Beijing because of the COVID-19 outbreak, Cheng sent her children to her mothers home in Melbourne. Foreign Prisoners In China Another Chinese-Australian, government worker and novelist Yang Hengjun, has been detained by Chinese authorities for two years. Yang studied at the University of Technology in Sydney. The Epoch Times spoke to Yangs doctoral supervisor at the University, Professor Feng Chongyi, on March 29 to ask his opinion about the two prisoners likely prospects. Prof. Feng said that to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) both Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun are political prisoners. The CCP often imposes extrajudicial punishments on political prisoners and does not strictly enforce Chinas criminal law or criminal procedure law. The charges, treatment, handling, and sentencing are different, Prof. Feng said. He explained that in China, the law has two functions. One is social security, but the other is a more important political function, that is, protecting the security of the regime, eliminating or reducing political opponents, and suppressing dissident forces. Chinas armed police force is one to two million strong and is used to suppress political opposition. Regarding the six months of residential surveillance in designated locations that Cheng underwent, Prof. Feng said that this period doesnt count as formal detention. However, this is the most difficult period for political prisoners as it consists of solitary confinement, no lawyers allowed, and no contact with the outside world. Usually there is also the use of sleep-deprivation, exhausting interrogations, and various tortures to get the prisoner to plead guilty while being physically and psychologically broken down. After that, they enter the legal process. However, after entering the legal process, the authorities can use additional materials and investigations to delay a court date as suits their needs. After political prisoners are tried, they are usually not sentenced on the same day, and often encounter further delays. What Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun have experienced is typical of the CCPs process of dealing with political prisoners, Prof. Feng said. Comparing the two cases, Prof. Feng said that, based on the lengths of their residential surveillance, one can predict their sentences. Cheng underwent 18 months of residential surveillance before being given a court hearing, while Yang Hengjuns residential surveillance lasted two and a half years. This can mean that Cheng may get better treatment than Yang Hengjun. Furthermore, while it is troubling to the international community, the CCPs judiciary regards personal confession of guilt and acceptance of punishment as very important. By confessing guilt and accepting punishment, the punishment may be more lenient. He believes that Cheng Lei, the mother of two children, bears more pressure than Yang Hengjun at this point, and needs to be released from prison more urgently. Links Between the Two Cases Both Cheng and Yang are foreigners, and the CCP has accused them of crimes such as leaking state secrets and espionage. Regarding online rumors that Cheng was somehow involved in Sun Lijuns case, Prof. Feng said that its a reasonable assumption. First, look at the background, he said. Cheng first settled in Shanghai and eventually worked for CCTV. Sun Lijun also started out in Shanghai and later worked for the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing. At the same time, Sun Lijun also studied in Australia. While in Shanghai, Cheng and Sun Lijun had overlapping careers. Moreover, the political status of CCTV anchors is special, especially a female anchor, Prof. Feng said. If there is no behind the scenes person who recommends her, no matter how capable she is, its unlikely she could become an anchor. Cheng grew up in Australia and had no connections in China, so Sun Lijun was likely her backstage person. Finally, there is the time frame, Prof. Feng said. Chengs arrest happened after Sun Lijun was arrested. This is how the CCP handled similar cases. After arresting someone, find out who they have connections with, and then arrest the that person. If Cheng had any connection with Sun Lijun, she would have fallen into this net. Political cases must obey the political needs of the CCP, Prof. Feng said. They are not about having committed any crime, but about charging you as needed. Cars sit in heavy traffic on Highway 101 in Corte Madera, Calif., on Oct. 24, 2021. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Biden Admin Reverses Trump Fuel Efficiency Rules, New Vehicles Must Average 49 Miles per Gallon by 2026 The Biden administration announced on April 1 it is raising requirements for fuel efficiency, reversing a rollback by the Trump administration. New vehicles sold in the United States will have to travel an average of at least 49 miles per gallon of gasoline in 2026 under the new federal rules. The requirement would have been at 32 mpg if going by rules under the Trump administration. Specifically, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said fuel efficiency requirements will increase by 8 percent annually for 2024 and 2025 model years, and 10 percent annually for model year 2026. The Trump administration had in March 2020 rolled back fuel efficiency requirements to 1.5 percent annual increases through 2026. The Obama administration had required 5 percent annual increases. The new regulation (pdf) marks a slightly bigger increase than the proposal outlined in August 2021 by the NHTSA in a joint rule-making process with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of efforts to improve gas mileage and reduce tailpipe pollution. The EPA announced similar rules (pdf) in December 2021. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the new rule means that American families will be able to drive further before they have to fill up, saving hundreds of dollars per year. NHTSA estimates (pdf) that under the rule, consumers could save $1,387 in fuel costs over the life of a vehicle. but the average cost of a new vehicle would also increase by almost that much$1,087. Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report. A boy receives a free COVID-19 test at a St. Johns Well Child & Family Center mobile clinic set up outside Walker Temple AME Church in South Los Angeles amid the coronavirus pandemic in Los Angeles, Calif., on July 15, 2020. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) California Lawmakers Seek to Implement Regular School COVID-19 Testing Plan SACRAMENTOCalifornia could potentially pass legislation that will require all schools to create a COVID-19 testing plan to prevent case surges and school closures. Senate Bill 1479, introduced by Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), advanced to the state assembly Education Committee following a March 31 Health Committee meeting, where the bill passed in a 92 vote. The proposed bill requires all schools, on-site afterschool programs, and childcare centers to create regular testing plans. Case surges in COVID threaten schools when theyre not prepared to test for COVID-19 and parents need to know if cases are spreading in their childs school. We need more safeguards to prevent future school closures and case surges, Pan said while claiming the virus is one of the top ten causes of death for children. Ana Vasudeo, the Director of the Safely Opening Schools programa program to help test unvaccinated students and staffurged the bill would keep students safe and in school. The most successful districts that have navigated the pandemic are the ones with robust COVID-19 mitigation measures, Vasudeo said. One speaker spoke in support of the bill while hundreds in opposition either appeared in person or called in. A few opponents of the legislation argued that testing was unreliable and can create false positives that will send students home for days when they arent sick. Mass testing children will not benefit an asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic child [and] will inevitably result in learning loss, a pediatric emergency physician said while citing other countries that have either halted school testing requirements or enforce testing for only those who have COVID-19 symptoms. Sen. Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore), who sits on the committee, urged her colleagues to stop their obsession with kids when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its to the point of absurdity now what were doing to these kids, Melendez said. You cannot keep removing them from the classroom environment and expect them to be learning in a way thats going to help them succeed and thrive and be able to pass their tests. While some questioned the cost of the program, the bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal committee. A date for the legislation to be heard in the Education Committee hasnt been set. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly speaks at the House of Commons in Ottawa in a file photo. (The Canadian Press) Canadas Foreign Affairs Minister to Visit Europe for Meetings on Ukraine OTTAWACanadas foreign affairs minister is travelling to Europe for meetings to address the response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. Melanie Joly announced Saturday that she will visit Finland, Germany and Belgium. Joly is to meet with her Finnish counterpart Pekka Haavisto in Helsinki, where she says they will work to strengthen the CanadaFinland bilateral relationship. The pair is also to discuss ways to coordinate efforts on Arctic issues and to further support Ukraine. While in Berlin, Germany Joly will attend the conference of the Moldova Support Platform where discussions will focus on assistance to Ukrainian refugees forced into that country as a result of the Russian invasion. In Brussels, Belgium the minister will attend G7 and NATO foreign ministers meetings, where discussions will examine continued coordination to enhance regional security in Eastern Europe. The war in Ukraine affects us all, and we must work together with the international community to respond to Vladimir Putins egregious acts, Joly said in a news release. Ukraines security isnt just important for Ukraine, but for the world. On March 8, Canada announced the renewal of its multiyear commitment to Operation Reassurance, the Canadian Armed Forces support to NATOs assurance and deterrence measures in Central and Eastern Europe. Capitol Report (April 1): Doubts on Legalizing Weed Remain in GOP The unemployment rate is nearing pre-pandemic lows, but business owners are struggling to hire qualified workers. The labor force added 430,000 new jobs in March. Some states have already legalized marijuana, and Friday, lawmakers on Capitol Hill took action to legalize it on the federal level. Weve reached a new milestone on our road to recovery from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, with the lowest hospitalizations in the United States since the pandemic began. But the threat of false information from China continues as the country now locks down again. Joining us to discuss this is doctor and Congressman Brad Wenstrup. Following high-profile prosecutions of Chinese spies in the United States, lawmakers are urging the Biden administration to crack down on Beijings espionage. But first, they say something needs to be changed. President Joe Biden has announced a major energy plan this week, using the Defense Production Act for clean energy and releasing a historical amount of oil from our emergency stockpile. How will this impact your gas price and the energy sector as a whole? Theres a redistricting tug-of-war between the two parties in New York state and Maryland. The initial maps were struck down by judges. Follow CapitolReport on social media: Twitter https://twitter.com/capitolreport Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CapitolReport/ Gettr https://gettr.com/user/capitolreport Students arrive for in-class learning at an elementary school in Mississauga, Ont., on Jan. 19, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette) Children and the Impact of COVID Restrictions: Helping Kids Ease Back Into Normal Life COVID-19 restrictions have significantly affected children in their formative years, imposing a secluded form of education and socialization that parents and health professionals say has had a negative impact on kids mental health and their learning experience and progression. As COVID rules gradually relax and children ease back into a more normal life, parents and teachers have an important role to play in facilitating this transition. Lindsay McBride, a registered psychologist in Vancouver, said that flooding young children with negative news and scare tactics, as has been done over the past two years, ultimately affects their core development. Since March 2020, we have spent this very significant amount of time telling kids that the world wasnt safe, McBride told The Epoch Times. Consequently, when we do that on an ongoing basis, we rewire the brain and we change the fundamental structure of the nervous system. So what ends up happening is that the kids have a more automatic reaction to a fight-or-flight response, higher levels of anxiety, less ability to access their frontal lobe, and it shifts the way in which they function. McBride said small check-ins from parents and teachers can help a great deal, noting that children need to have a safe place to go to where they can communicate their feelings and know theyll be listened to and validated. She added that kids will benefit from having tools and strategies that can help them cope in difficult situations. Another [way to] increase resilience is for kids to have a toolbox of coping skills that they can turn to when they are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, she said. This toolbox can be developed with a parent, teacher, or mental health professional. Finally, routines, as much as possible, can be beneficial for children that are feelings anxious and overwhelmed. Taking Care of Mental Health Alexandra Brunner, a registered nurse who works for Ottawa Public Health, echoed McBrides observations and advice. Brunner said her 9-year-old son, Jakob, like many other children, became quite stressed due to not being able to see his friends, and it was a struggle to get him to focus for a full day of online school. I saw a decline in his mental health, and many other parents that I know found the same thing, she said. I feel like the restrictions were more dangerous for children than the actual virus because it caused children to have no interactions amongst each other in person. Brunner said awareness and support from teachers and parents can go a long way toward helping children who may be struggling to readjust or adapt as they go back to in-person learning and interactions with peers. Teachers should have a meeting or discussion about what to look for in a child that could be suffering from mental health conditions. Parents can inform themselves and speak to their children about mental health problems and have an open conversation about how to seek help if needed, she said. Making sure kids know they can speak to an adult or health-care professional can make all the difference between a healthy transition and a stressful one, Brunner added. And teachers and educators can also help to undo the damage done by social restriction, including disproving the stigmas behind talking about mental health issues. Allaying Fears Candice Benoit, an educational assistant in Hamilton, Ont., who has two elementary school children, said she sees the dangers of the COVID restrictions from both a professional and a familial standpoint. It has inhibited my children [from] gaining and building social skills, she said. They are lacking in personal and interpersonal connection. Theyve lost the connections with peers that they have had for years because they were no longer able to interact due to cohorts. In the school context during the pandemic, a cohort referred to a small group of students who were kept together and interacted mainly with one another during the school day. The goal was to minimize the number of people each student has contact with, thus limiting the spread of COVID-19. Benoits daughter also suffers from generalized anxiety, and the restrictions and fearmongering exacerbated her symptoms. Shes afraid to be too close to kids for fear of getting sick, Benoit said. Shes been told to constantly sanitize her hands, and now its created what I consider unhealthy patterns of behavioura worry of what will happen without sanitizing in every scenario. Academically this put her back. Emotionally and mentally, the back-and-forth of in-person to remote was taxing on her mental health. As the provincial governments move classes back to the in-person format, the risk of contracting COVID-19 is indeed generating various levels of worry among parents and students. Brunner put those concerns into perspective by noting that children who become infected with COVID-19 will usually have mild symptoms and recover fairly quickly. And if a child is immunocompromised, then I would say to continue wearing a mask [along with following other] protective measures, as they were doing before the pandemic started, she added. The Long March-2F rocket carrying China's manned Shenzhou-10 spacecraft blasts off from its launch pad at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on June 11, 2013 in Jiuquan, Gansu Province, China. Manned space flights have been the public face of China's push into space, which has also included secret efforts to build anti-satellite weapons. (ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images) China Developing Comprehensive Arsenal of Space and Counterspace Capabilities: Expert Western nations are responding to the growing threat of space-based warfare from China and Russia, although much work remains to be done to mitigate risks to vital infrastructure, according to one expert. We recognize that space is a critical domain for military operations. Its an operational environment, Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told EpochTVs China Insider. Its not some sort of peaceful sanctuary that sits serene and untouched, above geopolitical rivalries on Earth below. Space is a contested domain, where authoritarian nations are vying for control of terrestrial systems through extraterrestrial means, according to Davis. Its contested in the sense that you are seeing countries like China and Russia and others developing counterspace capabilities to attack and interfere with Western satellites and to deny us space support, he said. Numerous systems that are required for the daily operation of modern society are space-based. These include everything from GPS and telecommunications relays to military equipment such as early warning systems designed to defend against missile attacks. In each case, if key satellites were to be targeted, the system itself could fail. Davis said China in particular was developing its capabilities with the aim of better attacking Western space infrastructure, which many believe would be the first step in a war with the United States and its allies. Gen. David Thompson, the U.S. Space Forces second-in-command, said in November that China and Russia were launching reversible cyberattacks on U.S. satellites every single day. China is developing a range of comprehensive space and counterspace capabilities, including both hard-kill and soft-kill systems, Davis said. Soft-kill being systems that are designed to disable or deny, rather than physically destroy a target in space. Space is a critical domain in future war, both for ourselves and for the Chinese. So there will be competition on that, in that domain, by both sides, in terms of deploying and sustaining space support forces, and also deploying and use of utilizing counter-space capabilities. Davis says Western nations are working to counter the threat by creating more resilient systems, such as distributed space architecture, in which satellite systems are decentralized through many satellite clusters, rather than being built out of only a few major satellites. What we have to do is build resilient space capabilities whereby we can augment existing space systems in a crisis to increase our ability in space to be able to have greater numbers of satellites to support terrestrial military operations, he said. We can disaggregate space support across a greater number of platforms, satellites, so that were not having so much essential capability concentrated on just a few very large, very complex satellites that are more easy to kill. Likewise, U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in January that Western nations would need to develop offensive space-based capabilities to adequately deter emerging threats, whether those new capabilities be electronic platforms, kinetic weapons, or both. Closer collaboration and joint efforts between allied nations would also unlock the potential of future warfighting capabilities and help to render space a more peaceful domain to prepare for the proliferation of humanity beyond planet Earth, according to Davis. The future is wide open in terms of whats possible, he said. There are huge opportunities out there if we can work together and if we can get past some of this international tension. The possibility of humanity going back to the moon, learning how to develop a multi-planet species, [interplanetary] civilization, how we utilize space resources, to go on to Mars and beyond. All of that is in front of us. Andrew Thornebrooke Reporter Follow Andrew Thornebrooke is a reporter for The Epoch Times covering China-related issues with a focus on defense, military affairs, and national security. He holds a master's in military history from Norwich University. GENEVA, April 1 (Xinhua) -- China and a group of countries on Friday called for eliminating the gap of inequality when realizing people's economic, social and cultural rights amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Introducing a draft resolution on behalf of Bolivia, Egypt, Pakistan, South Africa and China at the 49th session of the Human Rights Council, China's permanent representative to the UN Office in Geneva Chen Xu said the pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to the economic and social development of all countries, especially developing countries. "It has further exacerbated existing inequalities within and among states, with the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, including the rights to health, food, education and work, seriously affected," he said, adding that the pandemic has again highlighted the importance of strengthening the work on economic, social and cultural rights by multilateral human rights institutions. The resolution stresses the importance of strengthening international cooperation to promote and protect economic, social and cultural rights and address inequalities. It requests the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to convene a workshop to discuss practical ways. The Chinese envoy called for investing in economic, social and cultural rights. "We call on the Human Rights Council to hear the call of all countries, especially developing and least developed countries, and to respond to the aspiration of peoples of all countries, by helping people of all countries to better enjoy economic, social and cultural rights and addressing inequalities and building a better future in the recovery from the pandemic." "It is the common aspiration of people of all countries to eliminate the gap of inequality and to benefit from the outcome of development more directly and fairly, with the realization of all human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights," Chen said. The high-speed train that runs on the new 2,298 kilometer (1,425-mile) line between Beijing and Guangzhou runs into Xuchang East Station, Xuchang, central China's Henan Province on Dec. 26, 2012. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) China High-Speed Rail Line Ordered to Urgent Halt En Route Due to Chief Conductor Diagnosed With COVID A running high-speed rail line in southern China was called to suspend service after receiving a notice announcing that its manager had been diagnosed with COVID-19. At around 16:00 local time on March 30, Chinas railway authorities ordered Train G2190 to immediately interrupt its trip, citing that its chief conductor surnamed Tang tested positive, according to a March 31 notice by the command center for novel coronavirus control and prevention in Loudi City, southern Chinas Hunan Province. The rail line traveling from Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, to Shanghai had to halt at Loudi South Station in Hunan. Afterwards, all close contacts within the train were placed under quarantine. Additionally, the authorities required all passengers on board to undergo nucleic acid tests at the nearest locations and report to their communities, employers, or hotels they were scheduled to stay, according to an emergency notice by the provincial CDC in Sichuan. As the country is hit by an outbreak of a new coronavirus, a woman wears a mask as she travels on a high-speed train near Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, China, on Jan. 29, 2020. (Thomas Peter/Reuters) This is Chinas latest effort to curb COVID-19 as the regime adheres to a zero-COVID policy despite doubts and criticism. And such an intervention is not an isolated incident. On Oct. 28, 2021, the Beijing Railway Administration ordered Train G14 heading to Beijing from Shanghai to immediately abort its ride after one of the on-duty conductors was identified as a close contact to a confirmed infection. The train had to pull over at the city of Jinan, northern Chinas Shandong Province, with 212 passengers and crew placed under control. On the same day, the administration called off another train G108 traveling from the city of Jiaxing, eastern Chinas Zhejiang Province, to Beijing, when it reached Cangzhou City, northern Chinas Hebei Province, 212 km (131 miles) away from its destination, citing the same reason. One hundred and thirty-four people on the train were put into control. Since the outbreak of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, the regime has been adopting a harsh zero-COVID strategy. A limited number of infections may trigger immediate closures, lockdowns, quarantine, and mass nucleic acid testing. Data show that COVID-19 restrictions have significantly undermined the Chinese economy. In March, the Caixin China General Manufacturing PMI fell to a 25-month low of 48.1 from Februarys reading of 50.4, missing the market consensus of 50. Shanghai has been among the most hard-hit in the latest wave of COVID restrictions. In the district of Lujiazui, also known as Chinas Wall Street, more than 20,000 bankers, traders, and other workers had to bed down in office towers amid local curbs, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, frustration and anger have grown among residents over prolonged restrictions in the affected cities. There are reports of protests on Chinas social media, describing stories of some senior citizens under stay-at-home orders, who are running out of food but cannot successfully shop online. Patients with other diseases struggle to survive when the local hospitals have announced closure amid lockdowns. There have also been a handful of tragic reports of residents stuck at home who committed suicide, some by jumping from high-rise apartment buildings, due to food shortages, unavailability of help, and despair, among other problems. Beijing has implemented hard lockdowns on Shanghai. Inside a city of 26 million is an internal fight between factions. Power politics among communist leaders are playing with the lives of those who live there, as virus cases surge in the financial hub of China. We discuss the political competition between Chinese leader Xi and his rivals. Shanghais COVID trend is fitting too well into statistical data. An internet user finds a trend in Shanghais daily COVID cases, amid underreported cases of elderly death in Shanghai in the hard lockdown. Australia now has a space command. Malcolm Davis from the Australian Strategic Policy Insitute explains why the country is making the move into space and what the China threat means to Australia and the United States. Follow David on Twitter: @DavidZhangEET Follow EpochTV on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EpochTVus Twitter: https://twitter.com/EpochTVus Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/EpochTV Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/epochtv Gab: https://gab.com/EpochTV Telegram: https://t.me/EpochTV Parler: https://parler.com/#/user/EpochTV A farmer operates a tractor with a seeder on a wheat field in Nanyang, Henan province, China, on Oct. 13, 2021. (Aly Song/Reuters) Chinas Farmers Face Fertilizer Crunch as COVID-19 Measures Hamper Deliveries BEIJINGChinas COVID-19 curbs are disrupting the supply of fertilizer to the countrys northeastern bread basket just a month away from spring planting, threatening this years corn and soybean crops if not resolved soon. Farmers typically have fertilizer prepared in early April before applying to fields later in the month during planting. But Chinas worst outbreak of COVID-19 since the pandemic began two years ago have triggered strict controls on movement of people and goods, sharply slowing deliveries. Fertilizer producers, dealers, analysts, and associations said rules requiring truck drivers to take COVID-19 tests every 24 hours, a need to obtain special passes to deliver goods and factory suspensions due to local COVID-19 cases are all contributing to tight supplies. Production of nitrogen fertilizer and fertilizer preparation for spring planting has been greatly affected, the China Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry Association said this week. Jilin, Chinas second-largest corn-growing province, is among the hardest hit after local authorities banned movement of people across the provincial border, and within, from March 14 as COVID-19 cases surge. Fertilizer supply here couldnt be tighter, said a Jilin-based dealer surnamed Yan, who is short more than 2,000 tonnes of the critical crop nutrient for his customers. The bottleneck comes on top of record fertilizer prices, driven up by strong global demand, high energy costs, and sanctions on major producers Russia and Belarus. Chinas wholesale fertilizer index (CFCI) is 40 percent higher than a year ago. That had discouraged many dealers from building stocks in recent months, catching them short in their busiest sales period. Yao, a dealer in Liaoning, said hes short about a third of his needs. The transport curbs are especially problematic for the northeast, which does not have enough local fertilizer production and relies on deliveries from other provinces. The northeasts Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces and Inner Mongolia region produce more than 40 percent of Chinas corn and half its soybeans. Prices of corn and soybeans are hovering at record highs. Top fertilizer producer Sinofert Holdings still had about 80,000100,000 tonnes of product waiting to be shipped, executive director Ma Yue told reporters on an earnings call last week, even after getting about 1,000 green passes for trucks. The special passes to deliver critical goods take time to process and must be renewed daily. It has also become increasingly difficult to find drivers willing to work under the restrictions, dealers said. Police officers goose-step carrying the Chinese and Hong Kong flags during a flag-raising ceremony to mark the 24th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from Britain in Hong Kong on July 1, 2021. (Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images) Chinese Regime Further Eroded Freedom in Hong Kong: US State Department Freedom continues to deteriorate in Hong Kong as the Chinese regime tightens its grip on the global financial hub, directly threatening U.S. interests in the city, the State Department said in the annual report released on March 31. Over the past year, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) has continued to dismantle Hong Kongs democratic institutions, placed unprecedented pressure on the judiciary, and stifled academic, cultural, and press freedoms, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. As the 25th anniversary of Hong Kongs handover to Beijing approaches, Hong Kongs freedoms are diminishing, Blinken said. For the third year in a row, Blinken reaffirmed in the report that the worsening condition in the former British colony does not warrant the special treatment it had enjoyed under U.S. law. Media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, founder of Apple Daily (C) is detained by the national security unit in Hong Kong on Aug. 10, 2020. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters) The communist regime in Beijing eliminated the ability of pro-democracy opposition parties to participate in Hong Kongs governance and criminalized peaceful political expression, read the report. Pro-democracy groups, associations, and media companies have continued being targeted by authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong, creating a chilling effect and forcing them to shut down, according to the report. Stand News, a nonprofit online media outlet, ceased operation last December, shortly after 200 national security officers raided its office, froze its assets worth roughly $7.8 million, and arrested six current and former executives. In June 2020, Apple Daily, which was frequently critical of the citys government and the communist regime in Beijing, printed its last edition after 500 police raided its newsroom, arrested five executives, and froze key assets. The State Department noted the shutdown of the citys two largest independent media outlets as a hit to the citys freedom of the press, which was protected under the Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration. But the citys authorities continued to use the national security law to undermine rights and freedoms with the support of the communist regime in Beijing, the report said. A Falun Gong information booth is vandalized by people believed to have ties to the Chinese regime in Mong Kok in Hong Kong on Dec. 20, 2020. (Song Bilung/The Epoch Times) Among other concerns highlighted by the report was reduced freedom of religion. The State Department criticized authorities for curtailing activities of Falun Gong practitioners, including banning their street kiosks for allegedly violating COVID-19 protocols. Related Coverage Beijing Sentences Falun Gong Practitioner to 8 Years in Prison Ahead of Olympic Games In July 2021, several lawmakers urged the Hong Kong government to ban the Falun Dafa Association under the national security law, an attempt to extend the regimes persecution of the spiritual practice outside the mainland. The report comes a day after two senior UK judges resigned from Hong Kongs highest court, citing concerns over the national security law. On Thursday, the UK also released the six-monthly report on Hong Kong in which it details the citys diminishing freedom. In response, the Hong Kong government, in a Friday statement, said it opposed unfounded and ridiculous allegations and demanded other countries stop interfering in Chinas internal affairs. At Fridays daily briefing, Chinas foreign ministry spokesperson said that Beijing was strongly dissatisfied with this and firmly opposed the report. The differences between Hong Kong and cities in mainland China are shrinking due to ongoing repression from the PRC, Blinken said in the statement. Families depart Hong Kongs Chek Lap Kok international airport on March 6, 2022. (Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images) Beijing will ultimately force many of the citys best and brightest to flee, tarnishing Hong Kongs reputation and weakening its competitiveness, Blinken said. Hong Kongs position as a free, global financial center will continue to suffer as a result. The State Department report estimated some 15,000 U.S. citizens left Hong Kong last year due to the citys strict COVID-19 rules and other factors. The report noted that a U.S. citizen was arrested last January under the national security law. It warned that U.S. citizens who are publicly critical of the Chinese regime could be subjected to a heightened risk of arrest, detention, expulsion, or prosecution in the financial hub. The United States recommended its citizens not travel to Hong Kong, citing the risk of parents being separated from children due to the local governments COVID-19 restrictions. A display model of coronavirus during the 3rd World Health Expo held in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on April 8, 2021. (Getty Images) COVID-19 Trial Indicates Symptoms Dont Impact Transmission The participants were deliberately infected The COVID-19 clinical trial where scientists purposefully infected volunteers showed that the symptoms an infected person experienced did not indicate how likely they were to pass on the virus that causes COVID-19, researchers behind the trial said. There was no correlation between the amount of viral shedding by qPCR or FFA and symptom score, researchers with Imperial College in London said in a paper published by Nature Medicine expanding on the findings. Some key findings from the trial were announced in February. FFA stands for focus-forming assay, or a way to quantify viruses like SARS-CoV-2; qPCR refers to quantitative polymerase chain reaction testing. Both were used to test viral load, the amount of virus present in an individual that could lead to transmission. SARS-CoV-2, also known as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, causes COVID-19. Our data clearly show that SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding occurs at high levels irrespective of symptom severity, thus explaining the high transmissibility of this infection and emphasizing that symptom severity cannot be considered a surrogate for transmission risk in this disease, researchers added. The trial involved 36 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 29 with no signs of previous infection or COVID-19 vaccination. Eighteen ended up getting infected following exposure. Two were excluded from the analysis because they tested positive for antibodies between screening and inoculation. Patients spent time, following infection, in negative pressure rooms inside a quarantine unit at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. They were monitored 24 hours a day while there. Researchers found that viral shedding seemed to start within two to four days of inoculation and peaked four to five days following infection. The virus was first detected in the throat, then the nose, before peak symptoms in most cases. Researchers also found no difference between the patients who were given remdesivir, a COVID-19 treatment, and no treatment. All symptoms, regardless of treatment regimen, were mild to moderate, with symptoms peaking at 112 hours after inoculation. None of the infected volunteers suffered disease in their lungs. Many experienced disturbances to their smell, with nine suffering from complete loss of smell. Partial smell disturbance lingered for some 28 days post-infection. Limitations of the study include its small sample size. The United States has not started a similar study. Emails obtained by The Epoch Times showed Dr. Francis Collins, the head of the National Institutes of Health when the trial started, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, both expressed confusion about why the trial would be conducted. I am not sure I understand the approach, given that laboratory infections are typically not felt to be equivalent to community infections and there is currently abundant community spread, Dr. Clifford Lane, a deputy director at Faucis agency, told the pair in an Oct. 20, 2020 email. Collins and Fauci did not respond to requests for comment. Due to the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, the vast majority of the scientific questions we need answered can be addressed by studying those who were naturally infected with the virus through human contact, Lane told The Epoch Times in a recent email. Furthermore, obtaining the proper informed consent of interested volunteers remains challenging because of the significant gaps in knowledge about the long-term sequelae of the virus. A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. (Kacper Pempel/Reuters) Dark Web Trade in Personal Data on Rise in Australia Notifiable data breaches are on the rise in Australia but most people dont know where their stolen personal details end up or how much theyre worth, a cyber expert says. To crooks, its the new gold: data in the form of Medicare numbers, bank account details, and social media passwords they can onsell. Marketplaces have even been created on the encrypted portion of the internet known as the dark web to traffic personal information from as little as $20 for PayPal accounts to $4,500 for certain medical records. Almost one thousand notifiable data breaches were reported in Australia last year. The increase over the second half of 2021 alone was six percent, according to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Contact details are most commonly stolen (85 percent), followed by date of birth, passport and drivers licence information (40 percent), and financial data like bank account and credit card particulars (39 percent). Almost 18 percent of all breaches target the health sector, with medical records the hottest commodity. A further 12 percent occur in finance and 11 percent in legal, accounting, and management services. However most people dont realise where their personal data ends up or how much its worth, says cybersecurity expert Lawrence Patrick from security firm Zirilio. Its most commonly stolen via a process called phishing, where hackers trick people into giving up access to company customer databases and then steal multiple personal files. Once the data is stolen, hackers sort the information into what is most valuable including details such as names, emails, passwords, personal identifiers, phone numbers, and addresses, Patrick said. The data is then repackaged and sold to other hackers on the dark web on marketplace websites. Healthcare records sell for $400 or more, crypto account details up to $550, drivers licences about $200, and even Facebook or Instagram log-ins $50 to 60. Most of the data appearing on the dark web is thought to be harvested from hacks of large companies. According to IBMs 2021 Cost of a Data Breach Report, it takes organisations an average of 212 days to realise theyve been hacked and 75 more to contain the breach. This means your personal information is out in the wild being bought and sold and traded by hackers for almost a year before the problem is fixed, Patrick said. So what to do? Change passwords, Patrick says. It is likely your existing password has already been compromised and is being sold. Use strong passwords on your accounts and dont re-use the same password everywhere. To check whether someones details are already in the hands of hackers, they can search haveibeenpwned.com/ or check support.apple.com/en-au/HT212195. Phones or browsers can also issue alerts when details are leaked, while both Apple and Google have free built in password managers and there are several pay options with extra features. Ohio Gov. DeWine Faces More Decisions Regarding Gun Rights With the May 3 primary a month away, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine continues to face more decisions regarding gun rights. On March 14, the Republican governor signed a bill that makes concealed carry permits optional in the state. While that decision joined the Stand Your Ground legislation that took effect in 2021, critics point out that DeWines track record on gun rights issues has been inconsistent since he took office in January 2019. Pro-gun organizations in Ohio are working to advance more laws that will protect the Second Amendment. Senate Bill 21more widely known as constitutional carry or permitless carrywill become law on June 12, meaning that state residents 21 and older can legally have a concealed firearm without training or permits, starting that day. The bill also eliminated the requirement for gun owners to inform police that theyre armed if theyre pulled over; law enforcement officers will have to ask. Individuals who lie about a concealed weapon will face a misdemeanor offense. We kind of view it as a down payment on the interest that Republicans owe the gun vote in Ohio, said Chris Dorr, executive director of Ohio Gun Owners. Its a good start, but we have a lot more work to do. Gun owners in Ohio have been treated so unfairly for so long by Republican supermajorities that gun owners elected, he said. Passing bills like constitutional carry is only the start. Representatives from the Buckeye Firearms Association and Ohio Gun Owners are shifting their focus to additional proposals they hope will become law. In January 2021, DeWine signed a Stand Your Ground law, which ended the requirement for a person to retreat before he or she could shoot someone in self-defense. The longtime politician also announced multiple gun reform proposals after a 2019 mass shooting in Dayton, although those recommendations havent been embraced by the Republican-controlled Ohio legislature. DeWine faces challenges from former U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, farmer and restaurant owner Joe Blystone, and former state Rep. Ron Hood in the GOP gubernatorial primary. All three of his opponents are outspoken about preserving gun rights. DeWine has an F rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA) at a time when GOP voters are more likely to own guns and less likely to support gun restrictions than their Democratic peers, according to a Pew Research Center survey. The same poll also indicated that DeWine has more support from Democrats (47 percent) than Republicans (46 percent). The Buckeye Firearms Association, the Ohio Gun Owner, and the NRA have yet to make an endorsement in the governors race. Another gun-rights bill could land on DeWines desk before the primary. House Bill 99, which would give local school boards the ability to allow teachers to carry firearms in the classroom, received its first Senate hearing on March 30 after winning House approval last November. GOP state Rep. Thomas Hall provides testimony on House Bill 99, which he is sponsoring, in Columbus, Ohio, on March 30, 2022. (Courtesy of the Ohio House of Representatives) At the end of the day, what we are talking about here is empowering our local schools to make the best decision for their students and educators so that our children feel safe and are safe in Ohio schools, said GOP Rep. Thomas Hall, the bills sponsor. We have worked tirelessly on this bill to do our part in protecting our schools and our communities. HB 99 would require a school employee to complete concealed carry weapon training to carry a firearm on school grounds and finish 20 initial hours of training, along with four recurring hours of training. If the bill is signed into law, staff members would have to meet set range requirements, and school boards would have to notify the public if it chooses to allow staff members to be armed. Hall believes the bill is especially essential in rural areas, where there are fewer first responders. DeWine hasnt said if he will sign the legislation if it reaches his desk. While the House approved HB 99 on a party-line vote by Republicans, the measure encountered significant opposition from law enforcement, education, and parental groups among other organizations. If a school employee, regardless of her position, is carrying a firearm, they are considered on duty according to the Ohio Revised Code, Mike Weinman said as he testified on behalf of the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio. When armed, the teachers primary responsibility is no longer teaching but an armed first responder. She will be required to abandon her students and respond to whatever threat may be in the building at a moments notice. Two county sheriffs departments and six school districts expressed their support for the bill. Trust the locally elected officials to do their jobs and govern on behalf of the people who elected them and put them in their positions. Trust that they care for the safety and well-being of their students and staff, Ira Wentworth, superintendent of Indian Valley Local Schools, said in testimony. The school boards and those staff members who are selected and volunteer to conceal and carry are not the bad guys; they are the good guys wanting to protect others from the bad guys. Put your trust in the good guys. State Rep. Stephanie Howse, a Democrat from Cleveland, said she believes the bill likely wouldnt be welcomed at predominantly black schools, and by individuals who must pass through metal detectors to enter. Ask our black boys how safe will they feel knowing that they have armed teachers, Howse said. When you look statistically, our children, black babies, are overcriminalized. There are more proposed bills in Ohio awaiting their next step. House Bill 325, sponsored by Republican State Rep. Scott Wiggam, and its companion legislation, Senate Bill 185, sponsored by GOP Sen. Tim Schaffer, would prevent state and local governments from restricting gun possession and limiting firearms businesses from operating when there is a declared state of emergency. HB 325 passed the House on Feb. 16 and was referred to the Senate Veterans and Public Safety Committee on March 2. SB 185 was approved by the Senate on Oct. 20 of last year and arrived in the House Government Oversight Committee on Oct. 26. Co-sponsored by GOP Reps. Mike Loychik and Diane Grendell, House Bill 62 is called the Ohio Second Amendment Safe Haven Act. Referred to the House State and Local Government Committee on Feb. 4, 2021, the proposal would designate Ohio as a Second Amendment protective state. Under the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, HB 62 would assert the power of states rights over the federal government regarding Second Amendment rights. The measure also confirms that the courts and law enforcement agencies are duty-bound to protect Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Ohioans. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine speaks to mourners at a memorial service in the Oregon District held to recognize the victims of an early-morning mass shooting in the popular nightspot on Aug. 4, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) After a mass shooting in Daytons Oregon District that left nine people dead on Aug. 4, 2019, DeWine was encouraged to do something by gun control advocates. He announced multiple proposals designed to reduce gun deaths. Among the ideas included the creation of a voluntary state-level background check process for gun sales between private sellers, stricter state penalties for illegally selling a firearm, and the expansion of an existing pink-slip law that allows authorities to send people with drug or alcohol issues to a psychiatric hospital, where they arent legally able to have guns. DeWine also recommended a red flag law that permits family members or police to request the removal of firearms from individuals if they are deemed to be a danger to themselves or others. Known as the STRONG Ohio bill, Senate Bill 221 includes the recommendations that DeWine announced after the mass shooting. The proposed legislation remains in the Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee, where it was sent on Oct. 23, 2019. Pro-gun organizations have their work cut out for them in continuing to advocate for gun rights legislation, said Dorr, who said hell continue to keep DeWine and his career support of gun control under the microscope. Its a good start, but I think DeWine has a lot of work to do in order to convince conservatives and gun owners that hell be pro-gun. Containers carrying goods from the United Arab Emirates, which entered Israel on an MSC cargo ship, are unloaded with a cargo crane bearing Israeli and Emirati flags at Haifa's port, northern Israel, on Oct. 12, 2020. (Amir Cohen/Reuters) Israel, UAE Finalize Milestone Free Trade Deal JERUSALEMIsrael and the United Arab Emirates have concluded negotiations for a free trade agreement, Israels Economy Ministry and the UAE foreign trade minister said on Friday after formally establishing ties in 2020. The UAE and Israel have between $600 million and $700 million in bilateral trade, UAEs economy minister Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri said in September. The UAE and Israel formally established relations in 2020 as part of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords that also included Bahrain and Morocco. The latest agreement included 95 percent of traded products, which would be customs free, immediately or gradually, including food, agriculture, and cosmetic products, as well as medical equipment and medicine, the Israeli Economy Ministry said in a statement. The agreement included regulation, customs, services, government procurement, and electronic trade and would come into effect when signed by the countries economy ministers and ratified, the statement said, though no timetable was given. A separate UAE statement said the agreement would substantially reduce or remove tariffs on a wide range of goods, enhance market access for services, and promote investment flows. It would also create mechanisms for small-and-medium enterprises expansion. This milestone deal will build on the historic Abraham Accords and cement one of the worlds most important and promising emerging trading relationships, United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi said on Twitter. Israeli Forces Kill Three Palestinians in West Bank Gun Battle JERUSALEMIsraeli security forces killed three members of the Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad in a shootout in the occupied West Bank on Saturday. This is a terrorist cell that has been involved in terrorist activity against security forces recently, and was apparently on its way to another attack, the police said. Four Israeli officers were wounded. Islamic Jihad claimed the three Palestinians as members. Tensions have risen over the past week after a string of deadly Arab attacks in Israel. Officials have warned about a potential surge in assaults in the run-up to Saturdays start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a period during which violence has surged in the past. On Tuesday, a Palestinian shot dead five people in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak before he was killed by police. The shooting raised to 11 the number of people killed by Arab attackers in Israel within a week. Israeli forces shot dead three Palestinians in West Bank clashes on Thursday and Friday and a Palestinian stabbed a passenger on an Israeli bus near a Jewish settlement and was shot dead by another passenger. Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida answers questions from reporters regarding the response to the Omicron COVID-19 variant at his office in Tokyo on Nov. 29, 2021. (JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images) Japan Will Not Exit From Oil and Gas Project With Russia, Kishida Says Japan will not pull out from the Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Russia despite the withdrawal of other companies over Russias invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday. It is an extremely important project in terms of energy security as it has contributed to the long-term, stable supply of inexpensive liquefied natural gas, Kishida said in a parliamentary meeting, Kyodo News reported. Kishida added that Japan would increase efforts to reduce reliance on Russian energy in coordination with the Group of Seven (G7) advanced countries plan. Russia is Japans fifth-largest LNG supplier, accounting for about 8 percent of the countrys consumption. The Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project in the Russian Far East was one of Japans main LNG supply sources, with an annual capacity of 9.6 million tons. Japans Mitsui and Mitsubishi each hold 12.5 and 10.5 percent stakes in the Sakhalin-2 project, while Russias state-run Gazprom PJSC owns 50 percent. Shell, which holds a 27.5 percent stake, exited the project in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. U.S.-based ExxonMobil has also pulled out from the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in Russia, following the footsteps of Western companies BP and Equinor. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a decree requiring foreign companies from unfriendly countries, such as Japan and the United States, to pay in rubles for Russian gas beginning April 1 in retaliation to Western sanctions imposed over its war on Ukraine. Putin said that buyers will need to set up ruble accounts in Russian banks to transfer payments, and that contracts will be terminated if they fail to make payments. The G7 nations claimed that it would be a clear breach of existing agreements. Japans trade minister Koichi Hagiuda said Friday that the government will monitor the situation closely, though he believes that the decree will not immediately impact Japan, Nikkei Asia reported. Japan has increased sanctions on Russian individuals and organizations over the war in Ukraine. The country has also restricted exports of certain goods to Russia and banned Russian banks from the SWIFT global interbank network. Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa said at a G7 meeting on March 23 that Japan has been reviewing possible measures to implement the revocation of Russias most favored nation, which will result in higher taxes on Russian goods. Meanwhile, Russia has put Japan on its unfriendly nations list and suspended peace treaty talks with Japan in retaliation for Tokyos sanctions against its invasion of Ukraine, a decision Japan strongly condemned. BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, exchanged on Saturday congratulatory messages to celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In his message, Xi pointed out that China and Azerbaijan are partners of traditional friendly cooperation. Over the past 30 years, Xi noted, China-Azerbaijan relations have maintained a sound and steady momentum of development, saying that their political mutual trust has been deepening, cooperation in various fields is moving forward with substantial progress, and their collaboration in global and regional affairs is growing increasingly close. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi said, the two nations have stood together and helped each other, a demonstration of their traditional friendship. Xi stressed that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Azerbaijan relations, saying that he is ready to work with President Aliyev to take the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to push for more accomplishments in bilateral ties and in cooperation in various areas for the benefit of both countries and their people. In his message, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan-China relations have continued to develop on the basis of mutual trust. The two sides have carried out high-level mutually beneficial cooperation in politics, economy and trade and other areas, and multilateral cooperation has also achieved fruitful results. He also said that the Azerbaijani side supports the Belt and Road Initiative, adding he believes that the traditional friendly Azerbaijan-China relations will continue to deepen and benefit the people in both countries. Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell as the guilty verdict in her sex abuse trial is read in a courtroom sketch in New York City on Dec. 29, 2021. (Jane Rosenberg/Reuters) Judge Rejects Ghislaine Maxwells Bid for New Trial Onetime Jeffrey Epstein girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in late 2021 on sex trafficking charges, including sex trafficking of minors, saw her bid for a new trial turned down on April 1. Weeks after the trial, Maxwell, 60, asked for a retrial, pointing to a juror who revealed after the trial that he was sexually abused when he was a child and informed fellow jurors of the fact. The juror, known as Juror No. 50 and was later granted immunity, provided inaccurate information during jury selection, Maxwells lawyers said in a motion in January, adding that the defendant contends the jurors presence on the jury violated her Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury. In a more recent filing, Maxwell also noted that Juror No. 50 said in interviews that another juror also disclosed that he or she had been sexually abused as a child. Prosecutors opposed the move for a new trial, asserting that defendants are entitled to a fair trial but not a perfect one, for there are no perfect trials, quoting from a 1984 ruling. They said Juror No. 50 repeatedly told the court before the trial he could be fair and impartial and noted that he maintains this position in his post-verdict interviews, while alleging he believes he answered the juror questionnaire honestly. Maxwell has not established that the juror deliberately lied about his history, the government said. The record actually indicates he did not, since he revealed the childhood abuse after the verdict. U.S. Circuit Court Judge Alison Nathan, a Biden nominee, sided with prosecutors. While the juror failed to respond accurately during the jury selection process to a question on a written questionnaire about his history of sexual abuse, Nathan wrote in her ruling, the defense did not prove the court would have struck him due to actual, implied, or inferred bias. During a recent hearing, the juror testified credibly, added Nathan, who found his tone, demeanor, and responsiveness gave no indication of false testimony. Further, questions probing his possible bias indicated he wouldnt have been sent home due to his history. The requirements for a new trial under McDonough are not satisfied, Nathan ruled, referring to McDonough Power Equip., Inc. v. Greenwood. Maxwells sentencing hearing remains scheduled for June 28. Kremlin Says Britain Wont Get Any Russian Gas Due to Sanctions The Kremlin has said that Londons sanctions of Moscows Gazprombank, through which payments are to be made under Russian President Vladimir Putins rubles-for-gas scheme, mean that Great Britain wont be able to buy Russian gas. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state-backed news agency Tass on Saturday that British sanctions against Gazprombank mean that the UK faces the prospect of being cut off from Russian gas supplies. London wants to be the leader of everything anti-Russian. It even wants to be ahead of Washington! Thats the cost! Peskov said, according to an RT translation of his remarks. The Epoch Times has reached out to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office with a request for comment. As part of a recent wave of sanctions against Russia, the UK added Gazprombank to its sanctions list (pdf) in late March, with British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss saying at the time that there would be no let-up in measures to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. Putin should be under no illusionswe are united with our allies and will keep tightening the screw on the Russian economy to help ensure he fails in Ukraine, Truss said on March 24. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss at Admiralty House, in Sydney, Australia, on Jan. 21, 2022. (Bianca De Marchi/Pool/Getty Images) Gazprombank has been a key channel for payments for Russian energy, made all the more critical due to Putins rubles-for-gas scheme. Under a decree signed by Putin on Thursday, European buyers of Russian gas must open an account at Gazprombank and make payments in euros or dollars, which the bank will then convert into rubles and settle the transactions in line with Putins order. Putin stipulated an April 1 deadline for the start of the rubles-for-gas arrangement, though Peskov said Friday that payment for deliveries of gas wouldnt be due until mid April or early May. Peskovs remarks eased fears that Russia might immediately cut off energy supplies to any buyer that did not pay in rubles. Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on aviation via a video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, on March 31, 2022. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images) Multiple European buyers of Russian energy have so far refused to pay in the Russian currency, saying that Putins rubles-for-gas demand breaches existing contracts. Governments in Europe, which relies on Russia for more than a third of its gas, are in discussions with their energy companies about how to settle the transactions and are looking to come up with a common approach. British imports of Russian gas account for less than 4 percent and Russian oil for 8 percent of Britains total supply, according to UK government data. UK authorities have said they plan to phase out Russian oil imports completely by the end of the year and are working to end the UKs dependence on Russian hydrocarbons entirely in response to Russian aggression in Ukraine. Russia says its engaged in a special military operation to disarm its neighbor and topple its government, which it describes as neo-Nazis. Putin has said Russias military actions in Ukraine were also motivated by what he described as genocide against ethnic Russians living in Donbass, the location of the separatist-controlled so-called peoples republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. A picture taken on March 21, 2022, shows a view of the damage at the Retroville shopping mall, a day after it was shelled by Russian forces in a residential district in the northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. (Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images) A long list of historians and academics said in an open letter published in the Jewish Journal that Putins characterization of Kyiv as a pro-Nazi regime and his claims of genocide in Donbass are false and a cynical abuse of terms meant to justify unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. This rhetoric is factually wrong, morally repugnant, and deeply offensive to the memory of millions of victims of Nazism and those who courageously fought against it, including Russian and Ukrainian soldiers of the Red Army, the scholars wrote. Ukraine and its Western allies describe the Kremlins actions as an unprovoked, unjustified, and illegal war of aggression. The conflict has driven millions from their homes and killed thousands, according to the United Nations. LA County Launches $1,000 a Month Guaranteed Income Pilot LOS ANGELESQualifying Los Angeles residents can now apply to the countys new basic income pilot program, which will provide $1,000 per month for the next three years to aid those suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures. The county will select 1,000 random applicants who meet certain requirements regarding the size of their household and their annual income, ranging from making less than $56,000 per year for a single-person household to $216,000 per year for a family of four. Residents must also reside within the county, be 18 years of age or older, be negatively affected financially by the pandemic, and not be enrolled in other county, city, or private income programs. Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who co-introduced the motion with Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, said its time for such a program to be in place locally for the millions of our constituents living with financial uncertainty and poverty. Across the country, guaranteed income has already proven to reduce poverty, improve the long-term well-being of families, and give residents living on the edge of a fiscal cliff the support to breathe a bit easier, Mitchell said. But amid an ongoing employee shortage, some small business owners say they fear basic income will further deter people from returning to work. The program will negatively impact the local economy, whether its temporary or permanent, Roozbeh Farahanipour, president of the West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, told The Epoch Times. In the county of LA, we are hardly finding employees, and nobody wants to work, he said. Not only restaurants, but small businesses. They are struggling with staffing and a shortage of employees. Farahanipour, who owns Delphi Greek Restaurant in Westwood, said that since the pandemic restrictions have lifted and employees have been able to return to work, hes had to take on multiple roles in his restaurant to overcompensate for the lack of labor. Lets say a small group of people working and the rest are taking the fruit of that stuff, that is not going to be fair, he said. The program will be overseen by an arm of the county, as well as by a research team from the University of Pennsylvania, which will measure its long-term effects. There is so much we still do not know about the power of unconditional cash over a longer period of time, said Dr. Amy Beth Castro with the universitys Center for Guaranteed Income Research. With a three-year pilot, it opens up the possibility for families to set larger goals than we have seen in other experiments, and it also gives policymakers a chance to learn how unconditional cash functions alongside other programs over time. The City of Los Angeles, for its part, put forth more than $27 million for the program in addition to another $4 million for the pilots program research. The deadline to apply for the program is April 13. LA County Report Calls for Central Department to Address Homelessness Los Angeles County has significant gaps in its strategy to address homelessness and needs to make changes to adequately provide services to its homeless population, according to a recent county-commissioned report. We have not evolved at the pace required to meet the vast needs on our streets, reads the March 30 report by The Blue Ribbon Commission on Homelessness, which was created last year to assess the homeless response in the county. Now is the time to reject the status quo and bring new life, new ideas, and new partners into the arena to support those that work to improve our system every day. The report states that the main issue is that theres no designated county department or authority exclusively responsible for leading on homelessness, and it recommended that Los Angeles County establish a lead county entity on homelessness thats directly accountable to the Board of Supervisors. Assessment of Current System Up until now, the county has relied on the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)which was co-created by the mayor, county supervisors, and city council in 1993 to coordinate joint county and city homeless programs. In 1995, LAHSAs role expanded as the agency was tapped to lead the disbursement of federal funds for homeless programs. In 2017, the passage of Measure H meant LAHSA was now responsible for overseeing $250 million annually in local funds for homeless service programs. Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority workers join the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department in assisting homeless individuals in Malibu, Calif., on Sept. 24, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) While the report credits the agency with its handling of homelessness thus farparticularly during the COVID-19 pandemicit states that the agency is operating beyond its intended capacity, and this raises several issues with the countys dependence on the program. Many have commented that LAHSA has struggled in its expanded role, the report reads. The report recommends that the region decide what LAHSAs role will be going forwardwhether it will only deal with the disbursement of federal homeless funds and housing as originally intended or it will be a service provider, policymaker, advocate, and contracting agent that administers federal, state, and local funds, all in one as it is now. If LAHSA is to engage in all lines of business, some question whether LAHSA, as it exists today, is designed to handle an operation of the complexity and size those roles demand, the report reads. In addition, the report states that LAHSA has too many governing bodies within the organization, without clear lines of authority as to final decision-making. Homeless tents sit on the park lawn in front of the Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library in Venice, Calif., on Feb. 18, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Recommendations The report recommends that Los Angeles County establish a new county entity on homelessness with a new leadership position, along with additional infrastructure and workgroups created in different regions. LAHSAs operations would be streamlined, and its role possibly redefined to focus on rehousing efforts. The agencys decision-making responsibilities would be defined and designated to a specific entity within the department, and an embedded Ops Team of experts would be created to improve LAHSAs operations. The report also recommends that LAHSAs commission board maintain its 10 seats, but change who sits on them to county department heads, individuals with lived homeless experience, or city representatives to better represent the needs of unhoused people. However, the report isnt clear on who would choose the new commissioners. LAHSA commissioners are now appointed by the mayor, county supervisors, and city council members. There were 66,433 unhoused people in the county in 2020, according to LAHSAs 2020 homeless count. LAHSAs 2022 homeless count is expected to be released in the coming months. A LAHSA team member gives a homeless man a tent and a sleeping bag in Malibu, Calif., on Sept. 24, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who co-authored the motion creating the Blue Ribbon Commission, commended the report in a March 30 statement and called on her fellow supervisors to adopt the reports recommendations. The recommendations proposed are pragmatic and visionary, Barger said. Im a firm believer that to effectively manage a crisis, there must be a lead entity at the helm. We are in desperate need of a single and accountable County entity that is empowered to lead homeless services coordination and is resourced to do so. Thanks to [the commissions] efforts, our Countys Board of Supervisors can now deliberate and take action. We cant afford to miss this window of opportunity to create change and embrace reform. Rev. Andy Bales, CEO of the Union Rescue Mission on downtowns Skid Row, said in the same statement released by Bargers office that the county needs to reform its system at a governance level. LAHSA, the county and city of LA have hampered their effectiveness by limiting themselves to a narrow scope of homelessness solutions, Bales said. Whats sorely missing is the opportunity to creatively coordinate immediate triage care, mental health support, innovative affordable housing, and the creation of recovery communities. Thats how well be able to dig ourselves out of the mess were currently witnessing and living in. A spokesperson for Supervisors Janice Hahn, Holly Mitchell, Sheila Kuehl, and Hilda Solis didnt respond to a request for comment by press time. A spokesperson for LAHSA also didnt respond to a request for comment by press time. Russia's President Vladimir Putin (front) and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attend a session of the Council of Heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Sochi, Russia, on Oct. 11, 2017. (Maxim Shemetov/AFP/Getty Images) RussiaUkraine War (April 2): Kremlin Says Talks With Ukraine Not Easy, Important That They Continue The latest on the RussiaUkraine crisis, April 2. Click here for updates from April 1. Kremlin Says Talks With Ukraine Not Easy, Important That They Continue Russias talks with Ukraine have not been easy, but the main thing is that they are continuing, RIA news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Saturday. He also said Russia would like to continue talks with Ukraine in neighboring Belarus but Kyiv opposed the idea. Russia and Ukraine held several rounds of talks in Belarus last month before their delegation met in Istanbul last week. RIA said Peskov had been speaking in an interview with Belarus television which is due to be shown later on Saturday. ___ Ukraine Regains Control of Whole Kyiv Region The Ukrainian armed forces have retaken the whole Kyiv area, Ukraines Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on Saturday. Irpin, Bucha, Gostomel, and the whole Kyiv region were liberated from the invader, she wrote in a Facebook post. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier in the day that Russian armed forces are withdrawing from northern Ukraine in a slow but noticeable mode and being accumulated in Donbas, a disputed area. The UK Ministry of Defense confirmed that Ukrainian forces are retaking territory on the outskirts of Kyiv. Read the full article here ___ Breakaway Area Denies Russian Troops Massing Authorities in the tiny breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova denied absolutely untrue claims Saturday by Ukraine that Russian troops based there are massing to conduct provocations along Ukraines border. Earlier Saturday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Russian troops already in Transnistria were preparing for a demonstration of readiness for the offensive and, possibly, hostilities against Ukraine. The information disseminated by the General Staff of Ukraine is absolutely untrue, Transnistrias Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that leaders have repeatedly declared the absence of any threat to Ukraine. Moldovas Foreign Ministry also said Saturday there is no information to confirm the mobilization of troops in the Transnistrian region and that state institutions are closely monitoring the security situation in the region. Transnistria is a Russia-backed region of Moldova that broke away after a short civil war in the early 1990s, and is unrecognized by most countries. An estimated 1,500 Russian soldiers are stationed there. ______ Anti-Russian Sanctions Dont Work: Polish PM The recovery of the Russian ruble indicates that the sanctions on Moscow are not serving their purpose, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Saturday. A large number of states, including EU members, imposed sanctions on Russia after it attacked Ukraine in late February. I must say this very clearly: the sanctions we have imposed so far dont work. The best evidence is the ruble exchange rate, Morawiecki said on Saturday. The ruble exchange rate, this litmus test, has returned to the level it was before the Russian aggression against Ukraine. What does it mean? It means that all economic, financial, budgetary, and monetary measures have not worked as some leaders wished. It needs to be said very loudly, he added, speaking at a center for Ukrainian refugees in Otwock near Warsaw. _____ A Series of Explosions Took Place in Energodar Nearby Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant A series of blasts has torn through the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar nearby the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Ukraines state nuclear agency reported about Saturdays attacks on its official Telegram channel. Both the city and the plant, which generates over a fifth of Ukraines electricity and is one of the largest nuclear facilities in Europe, have been under Russian control since March 4, according to Interfax Ukraine. A video clip accompanying the Telegram post by Ukraines Energoatom appeared to feature loud blasts and flying debris. A second post on the state enterprises channel claimed that explosions and mortar bursts could be heard in the vicinity of the Sovremennik cultural center, where residents held a rally in support of Ukraine. As protesters began to disperse, the invaders arrived in police vehicles, and began to force local residents into them, the post read. A few minutes later, the city was rocked by massive explosions and shelling. The agency claimed that four people were injured and received medical assistance. Energoatom also claimed that Russian forces began to jam phone and internet communications throughout Enerhodar. The agencys claims could not be immediately verified. _____ Thousands Evacuated from Mariupol Thousands of people were successfully evacuated by buses from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Friday, according to Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who called the situation there a humanitarian catastrophe. Zelenskyy said in a video address early Saturday that a humanitarian corridor was operational in Zaporizhzhia, allowing for the evacuation of 3,071 residents from Mariupol. Tens of thousands of people have been trapped in the besieged city, with scant access to food and water. Read the full article here ____ Finnish Government to Discuss Potential NATO Membership in Spring Finlands prime minister says her country should make a decision on NATO membership during this spring after the government and lawmakers have carefully assessed the pros and cons of joining the military alliancea topical issue in the Nordic nation after Russias invasion to Ukraine. Prime Minister Sanna Marin said Saturday that both joining (NATO) and not joining are choices that have consequences. We need to assess both the short-term and long-term effects. At the same time, we must keep in mind our goal: ensuring the security of Finland and Finns in all situations. Marin said Finlands relationship with neighboring Russia has changed irreversibly after Moscows invasion of Ukraine last month, and it takes a lot of time and work for confidence to be restored. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia, the longest by any European Union member. _____ Italian Foreign Minister Visits Azerbaijan Amid Energy Crisis Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, visiting Azerbaijan, has described his talks there as laying the bases for even stronger cooperation on energy, as Italy seeks to quickly reduce its heavy reliance on Russian gas. In comments to reporters in Baku on Saturday, Di Maio described Azerbaijan, which is Italys largest supplier of oil and third-largest supplier of gas, as a priority partner in Italys quest to diversify its sources of energy. Di Maio arrived in the South Caucasus country on Friday, following previous energy-focused missions to Algeria, Qatar, Angola, and Congo. Italy is eyeing the possibility of increasing the supply of natural gas from Azerbaijan through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, or TAP, which transported its first gas in 2020. _____ Russian Troops Disperse Pro-Ukraine Rally in Occupied Town, Local Authorities Claim Local authorities in the occupied Ukrainian town of Enerhodar claimed Russian forces had violently dispersed a pro-Ukrainian rally on Saturday and detained some participants. Residents had gathered in the center of the town in the south of the country to talk and sing the Ukrainian national anthem when Russian soldiers arrived and bundled some into detention vans, the local administration claimed in an online post. The occupiers are dispersing the protesters with explosions, it said in a separate post on Telegram, sharing a video of what appeared to be multiple stun grenades landing in a square and letting off bangs and clouds of white smoke next to the towns main cultural center. It also accused Russian forces of shelling another part of the town on Saturday and said as a result four people had been wounded and were being treated in hospital. Reuters could not immediately verify the video or the local administrations reports. Enerhodar lies on the Dnipro river in southern Ukraine and is home to workers of the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europes largest, which has also been occupied by Russian troops. _____ Ukrainian Journalist Killed in Combat Zone A prominent Ukrainian photojournalist who went missing last month in a combat zone near the capital has been found dead. Ukraines Prosecutor Generals office claimed in a statement Saturday that Maks Levin was killed with two gunshots, fired allegedly by the Russian military. Levins body was found in the Huta Mezhyhirska village on Friday. Levin, 40, worked as a photojournalist and videographer for many Ukrainian and international publications. Levin has been missing since March 13, when he contacted his friend from Vyshhorod near Kyiv to report on the fighting in the region. An investigation into his death has been launched. _____ Russian Missiles Strike Several Ukrainian Cities: Local Officials Russian missiles hit two cities in central Ukraine early on Saturday, damaging infrastructure and residential buildings, the head of the Poltava region claimed. Poltava. A missile struck one of the infrastructure facilities overnight, Dmitry Lunin wrote in an online post. Kremenchuk. Many attacks on the city in the morning. Lunin later said at least four missiles hit two infrastructure objects in Poltava while, according to preliminary information, three enemy planes attacked the industrial facilities of Kremenchuk. Poltava city is the capital of the Poltava region, east of Kyiv, and Kremenchuk is one of the areas major cities. There was no immediate information about possible casualties, Lunin said. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. In the Dnipro region in southwestern Ukraine, missiles hit an infrastructure facility, wounding two people and causing significant damage, Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the region, claimed in an online post. In the city of Kryvyi Rih a petrol station has been shelled, causing fire, he added. _____ UK Wont Get Russian Gas: Moscow British energy major Shell will not be able to buy Russian gas due to Londons anti-Russia sanctions, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin, told the media on Saturday. London wants to be the leader of everything anti-Russian. It even wants to be ahead of Washington! Thats the cost! Peskov outlined. He was referring to the fact that the UK is the only country to have imposed sanctions on Russias Gazprombank, through which payments for Russian natural gas are made. The measure effectively denies Britain the ability to pay for the commodity. ____ Ukraine Recaptures City of Brovary Near Capital Kyiv, Says Official Ukrainian officials claim their forces have recaptured the city of Brovary, 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of the capital Kyiv. Brovarys mayor said during a televised address on Friday evening that Russian occupants have now left practically all of the Brovary district. He added that the Ukrainian forces would begin working to clear the region of remaining Russian soldiers there as well as military hardware, and possibly from mines. The mayor claimed that many Brovary residents had already returned to the city, and that shops and businesses were reopening. Earlier on Friday, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that satellite towns northwest of Kyiv were being targeted after Ukrainian fighters pushed back Russian troops, and that fighting had also taken place in Brovary. ____ Turkey Offers to Evacuate Civilians From Ukraines Mariupol City Turkey has offered to help evacuate civilians from the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol by ship. The Turkish defense minister said Saturday that we can provide ship support for the evacuation of civilians and injured Turkish and other countries citizens in Mariupol from the sea. State-run Anadolu Agency reported that Hulusi Akar said Turkey was coordinating possible evacuations with the authorities of the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov, has seen some of the worst suffering of the war. The International Committee for the Red Cross is attempting to remove some of the 100,000 people who are believed to remain in the city. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Friday that some 30 Turkish nationals were still in the city. ____ The Netherlands Urges Its People to Save Energy The Dutch government has launched a campaign urging people to turn down their central warming and take showers to save energy amid spiraling energy costs and reduce the countrys dependence on Russian imports. The government took the lead, announcing Saturday that it will turn down the temperature in 200 of its office blocks from 21 to 19 degrees Celsius (7066 degrees Fahrenheit) in the winter and use less air conditioning in the summer. The government also is setting aside 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) to help fund moves by home owners, social housing corporations, and municipalities to improve insulation of houses in coming years. ____ Death Toll From Mykolaiv Strike Keeps Growing At least 33 people have been killed and 34 injured in a Russian rocket strike on the regional government building in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv, Ukrainian officials claimed in a statement Saturday, updating the numbers of the deadly strike that hit Mykolaiv on Tuesday. Rescuers sent by the State Emergency Service have been searching the wreckage for survivors since Russian forces struck the building, which housed the office of regional governor Vitaliy Kim. The governor, who was not on the premises at the time of the attack, later posted social media images showing a gaping hole in the nine-story structure. Mykolaiv, a strategically important city en route to Ukraines largest port of Odesa, has withstood weeks of shelling by the Russian forces. _____ Ukraine Says Seven Humanitarian Corridors Planned for Evacuations on Saturday Seven humanitarian corridors to evacuate people from Ukraines besieged regions are planned for Saturday, Ukraines Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. The planned corridors include one for people evacuating by private transport from the city of Mariupol and by buses for Mariupol residents out of the city of Berdyansk, Vereshchuk said. _____ Red Cross Plans Fresh Evacuation Effort From Ukraines Mariupol A Red Cross convoy will try again to evacuate civilians from the besieged port of Mariupol on Saturday as Russian forces looked to be regrouping for new attacks in southeast Ukraine. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent a team on Friday to lead a convoy of about 54 Ukrainian buses and other private vehicles out of the city, but they turned back, saying conditions made it impossible to proceed. They will try again on Saturday to facilitate the safe passage of civilians, the ICRC said in a statement on Friday. A previous Red Cross evacuation attempt in early March failed. An advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was hopeful about the Mariupol evacuations. Russia and Ukraine have agreed to humanitarian corridors during the war to facilitate the evacuation of civilians from cities, but have often traded blame when the corridors have not been successful. Seven such corridors were planned for Saturday, Ukraines Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, including one for people evacuating by private transport from Mariupol and by buses for Mariupol residents out of the city of Berdyansk. In an early morning video address, Zelenskyy said Russian troops had moved toward Donbass and the heavily bombarded northeastern city of Kharkiv. I hope there may still be solutions for the situation in Mariupol, Zelenskyy said. Before dawn on Saturday, as sirens sounded across Ukraine, the Ukrainian military reported Russian air strikes on the cities of Sievierodonetsk and Rubizhne in Luhansk. In that eastern region and neighboring Donetsk, pro-Russian separatists declared breakaway republics that Moscow recognized just before its invasion. The Ukrainian military also said defenders repulsed multiple attacks in Luhansk and Donetsk on Friday and that Russian units in Luhansk had lost 800 troops in the past week alone. Reuters was unable to verify those claims. _____ Russian Official Says Future of ISS Uncertain Russias top space official says the future of the International Space Station hangs in the balance after the United States, the European Union, and Canadian space agencies missed a deadline to meet Russian demands for the lifting of sanctions on Russian enterprises and hardware. The head of Russias Roscosmos state agency told reporters on Saturday morning that the agency was preparing a report on the prospects of international cooperation at the station, to be presented to federal authorities after Roscosmos has completed its analysis. Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin implied on Russian state TV that the Western sanctions, some of which predate Russias military action in Ukraine, could disrupt the operation of Russian spacecraft servicing the ISS. He stressed that the Western partners need the ISS and cannot manage without Russia, because no one but us can deliver fuel to the station. Rogozin added that only the engines of our cargo craft are able to correct the ISSs orbit, keeping it safe from space debris. Later on Saturday, Rogozin wrote on his Telegram channel that he received responses from his Western counterparts vowing to promote further cooperation on the ISS and its operations. He reiterated his view that the restoration of normal relations between partners in the ISS and other joint (space) projects is possible only with the complete and unconditional lifting of sanctions, which he referred to as illegal. Responding to Western sanctions on Telegram last month, Rogozin warned at the time that without Russias help, the ISS could fall down into the sea or onto land, and claimed that the crash site was unlikely to be in Russia. Space is one of the last remaining areas of cooperation between Moscow and Western nations. U.S.Russian negotiations on the resumption of joint flights to the ISS were underway when Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine last month, prompting unprecedented sanctions on Russian state-linked entities. ____ Ukraine Expects Good News Over Weekend Regarding Mariupol Evacuations: Presidential Adviser Ukraine expects good news over the weekend regarding evacuations of people from the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelesnskyy said on Saturday. Our delegation has reached an agreement in Istanbul (during Ukraine-Russia peace talks) to provide evacuations, Oleksiy Arestovych told Ukraines television. I think that today or maybe tomorrow we will hear good news regarding the evacuation of the inhabitants of Mariupol. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent a team on Friday to lead a convoy of about 54 Ukrainian buses and other private vehicles out of the city, but they turned back, saying conditions made it impossible to proceed. They were due to try again on Saturday. Encircled since the early days of Russias five-week-old invasion, Mariupol has been Moscows main target in the southeastern region of Donbas. Tens of thousands of people are trapped in the city with scant access to food and water. ____ Ukraine Continues to Advance Against Russian Forces Near Kyiv, UK Claims Ukrainian forces continue to advance against withdrawing Russian forces in the vicinity of Kyiv, British military intelligence claimed on Saturday. Russian forces are also reported to have withdrawn from Hostomel airport near the capital, which has been subject to fighting since the first day of the conflict, Britains Ministry of Defence claimed in a regular bulletin. In the east of Ukraine, Ukrainian forces have secured a key route in eastern Kharkiv after heavy fighting, the ministry added. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. _____ Ukraines Economy Could Contract 40 Percent in 2022, Ministry Says Ukraines economy shrank 16 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year and could contract 40 percent in 2022 as a result of Russias invasion, the economy ministry said in a statement on Saturday, citing preliminary estimates. Areas in which remote work is impossible have suffered the most, it said. _____ US Cancels ICBM Test Due to Russia Nuclear Tensions The U.S. military has canceled a test of its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile that it had initially aimed only to delay in a bid to lower nuclear tensions with Russia during the war in Ukraine, the Air Force told Reuters on Friday. The Pentagon first announced a delay of the test on March 2 after Russia said it was putting its nuclear forces on high alert. Washington said at the time it was important both the United States and Russia bear in mind the risk of miscalculation and take steps to reduce those risks. But it had publicly stated its intent only to delay the test a little bit, and not cancel it. Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek said the decision to cancel the test of the LGM-30G Minuteman III missile was due to the same reasons as when it had been first delayed. The next Minuteman III test is scheduled to take place later this year. Altering the test schedule for Americas ICBM force can be controversial. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed disappointment in March at the delay of a test he said was critical to ensure Americas nuclear deterrent remains effective. Jeffrey Lewis, a missile researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), played down the impact of the cancelation. Theres a value to doing the tests but I dont think missing one test in the grand scheme of things is a really big deal, said Lewis, adding the Minuteman III was extremely reliable. The nuclear-capable Minuteman III is a key part of the U.S. militarys strategic arsenal and has a range of 6,000-plus miles (9,660-plus km) and can travel at a speed of approximately 15,000 miles per hour (24,000 kph). Russia and the United States have by far the biggest arsenals of nuclear warheads after the Cold War that divided the world for much of the 20th century, putting the West against the Soviet Union and its allies. ____ EU Says It Eyes Further Russia Sanctions That Will Not Affect Energy Sector The European Union is working on further sanctions on Russia but any additional measures will not affect the energy sector, the EUs Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said in Cernobbio on Saturday. The 27-nation bloc will be faced with a growth slowdown caused by the war in Ukraine but not a recession, he added, saying the 4 percent growth forecast was too optimistic and the EU would not reach it. ____ Japan Will Not Exit From Oil and Gas Project With Russia, Kishida Says Japan will not pull out from the Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Russia despite the withdrawal of other companies over Russias invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday. It is an extremely important project in terms of energy security as it has contributed to the long-term, stable supply of inexpensive liquefied natural gas, Kishida said in a parliamentary meeting, Kyodo News reported. Kishida added that Japan would increase efforts to reduce reliance on Russian energy in coordination with the Group of Seven (G7) advanced countries plan. Russia is Japans fifth-largest LNG supplier, accounting for about 8 percent of the countrys consumption. The Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project in the Russian Far East was one of Japans main LNG supply sources, with an annual capacity of 9.6 million tons. Read the full article here ____ Russia Trades Accusations With Ukraine on Drifting Black Sea Mines Russia accused Ukraine on Thursday of laying hundreds of mines near its coast and said some were drifting into open waters of the Black Sea and creating dangers for merchant shipping, a day after Kyiv said Moscow was responsible for planting mines. The Black Sea is a major shipping route for grain, oil, and oil products. Its waters are shared by Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, and Turkey as well as Ukraine and Russia, which have been at war since President Vladimir Putin invaded his southern neighbor on Feb. 24. Ukraines foreign ministry claimed on Wednesday that Russia was planting naval mines in the Black Sea as uncontrolled drifting ammunition, turning them into a de facto weapon of indiscriminate action. Russias defense ministry claimed on Thursday that from Feb. 24 to March 4, the remnants of the Ukrainian navys mine-sweeping forces had placed about 420 sea anchor mines370 in the Black Sea and 50 in the Sea of Azov. As a result of storms in the Black Sea and due to unsatisfactory technical condition, cables with bottom anchors broke on about 10 Ukrainian mines, the defense ministry said. Since then, under the influence of wind and surface currents, Ukrainian mines have drifted freely in the western part of the Black Sea in a southerly direction. No one can know where the remaining Ukrainian mines are drifting today. Earlier this month Russias main intelligence agency accused Ukraine of laying mines to protect ports and said several hundred of the explosives had broken from cables and drifted away. Kyiv dismissed that account as disinformation. In recent days Turkish and Romanian military diving teams have been involved in defusing stray mines around their waters. Turkeys defense ministry said it had not yet identified the source and number of drifting mines and had been in contact with Ukrainian and Russian counterparts over the issue. Five merchant vessels have been hit by projectileswith one of them sunkoff Ukraines coast, with two seafarers killed, shipping officials say. _____ Germany Looks to Buy Israeli or US Missile Defence System Berlin is considering buying a missile defense system from Israel or the United States to defend against threats including Russian Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad, German weekly Welt am Sonntag reported on Saturday. The Iskander missiles can reach almost all of western Europe and there is no missile shield in place to protect against this threat, Germanys chief of defense Eberhard Zorn told Welt am Sonntag in an interview published on Saturday. The Israelis and the Americans possess such systems. Which one do we prefer? Will we manage to establish an overall [missile defense] system in NATO? These are the questions we need to answer now, Zorn said. He did not specify the names of the systems but was most likely referring to Arrow 3 built by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and the U.S. system THAAD produced by Raytheon. Russia said in 2018 it had deployed Iskander missiles to its Kaliningrad exclave, a slice of Russia wedged between Poland and Lithuania. A mobile ballistic missile system, the Iskander replaced the Soviet Scud missile and its two guided missiles can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads. In a landmark speech days after Russias invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Berlin would hike its defense spending to more than 2 percent of its economic output by injecting 100 billion euros ($110 billion) into the military. Zorn belongs to a group of high-ranking officials consulting with Scholz on how to spend this money. So far, only one thing is clear: We have neither the time nor the money to develop these [missile defense] systems on our own because the missile threat is known to already be there, Zorn said. Referring to Germanys lack of a short-range missile defense, which can be used to protect troops on the move or under threat while deployed, he said Berlin had started looking into the purchase of such systems and it now had to make a decision. ____ US Investigators Find Evidence Russian Oligarchs Trying to Evade Sanctions: Official U.S. prosecutors have found evidence that Russian oligarchs are trying to evade sanctions put in place to pressure Moscow to stop its invasion of Ukraine, the head of a new Justice Department task force claimed on Friday. Andrew Adams, a veteran prosecutor tapped to lead the KleptoCapture task force established last month, told Reuters in an interview that in some cases, even oligarchs who have not yet had sanctions imposed on them are trying to move assets ahead of potential future sanctions. But even as they try to hide yachts, planes, or other mobile property in countries they believe to be secretive, Adams claimed that oligarchs trying to evade sanctions are facing an all-time high level of international cooperation to track the ill-gotten gains of Russian elites. The task forces goal is to put the finances of Russian oligarchs under strain in a bid to pressure President Vladimir Putin to cease his weeks-long assault on Ukraine. The United States and its allies have imposed several rounds of sanctions targeting Putin, many of his wealthy friends, and dozens of Russian businesses and government agencies. Tracing oligarchs assets is often difficult because they are hidden behind layers of shell companies scattered around the globe, Adams said. U.S. prosecutors are receiving information from places previously thought to be safe havens, Adams said. He declined to provide details of specific jurisdictions that have provided the task force with information, or to name specific people under investigation. He said targeting assets located overseas was a major component of the units work, adding that the United States has not been an attractive country for supporters of Putins government since around 2014 due to a series of sanctions over Moscows annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. European countries have already found and detained the yachts of a number of wealthy Russian businessmen. Adams said that criminal charges and asset seizure warrants could come in the early days of the unit, which was also prepared for lengthy legal battles by oligarchs seeking to prevent the United States from permanently confiscating their assets through civil forfeiture. Those cases can allow the department to take ill-gotten property in cases where people are outside the country and cannot be extradited. Criminal forfeitures, meanwhile, can accompany an indictment against the property owner. _____ Allen Zhong, Tom Ozimek, Aldgra Fredly, Reuters, and The Associated Press contributed to this report. A woman holds a smartphone with the Meta logo in front of a displayed Facebook's new rebrand logo in this illustration picture taken on Oct. 28, 2021. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters) Meta Removes COVID-19 Booster Shot Requirement for American Workers Facebook-owner Meta Platform will stop requiring its employees to get COVID-19 booster shots in order to enter offices in the United States, a spokesperson for the company said on Friday. We updated our requirements in early March to align with CDC guidance, and now COVID-19 boosters are no longer required for entry, though strongly recommended, said Tracy Clayton, a spokesperson for the social media company, Reuters reported. Clayton further noted that the primary COVID-19 vaccination requirement, either Johnson & Johnsons single-dose shot or a double-dose shot, remains in place. Meta previously required every employee who is returning to the office to present proof of their booster shots while the company monitored the Omicron variant situation. The Meta spokesperson did not provide an explanation for the change, though vaccine mandates have sparked employee shortages across various industries and many companies are struggling to meet consumer demand. Meta was one of the first major U.S. companies that previously announced all returning employees have to receive at least one booster shot. The social media company has flip-flopped on its return to office dates and requirements over the past two years with a series of inconsistent messages. In December 2020, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that employees do not need a vaccine and there were plans to reopen offices in July, which was then changed to May, and then a host of new regulations were passed in June. Meanwhile, Alphabet Incs Google is preparing for employees to return to its Silicon Valley, California, workplaces from April 4, with the company expecting most employees to be in offices about three days a week. Employees who are not prepared to return on April 4 can also seek a remote-work extension, the tech company said. The Bay Area is one of the U.S. locations where Google will adopt the hybrid model that combines office and remote work. The tech giant currently employs around 45,000 in the region. Employees returning to offices must be fully vaccinated or should present an exemption approval. In the Bay Area, fully vaccinated employees need not wear masks, unlike unvaccinated individuals, who would also be required to test regularly. Those who are not vaccinated and do not have an exemption will be given a chance to apply for permanent remote work. Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report. From NTD News Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Results Not Strong Enough to Warrant Authorization for Children: Experts Company says substandard results of COVID-19 vaccine trial expected Regulators in the United States and elsewhere should not clear Modernas COVID-19 vaccine for children based on a clinical trial that found the shot under 50 percent effective in preventing infection, experts say. Moderna is pushing for emergency authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its jab for kids as young as 6 months of age, based on the results of the trial. The decision to authorize would mean some 20 million of the youngest children in America could get a COVID-19 vaccine for the first time since the pandemic started. Some parents and experts want that to happen sooner rather than later and are willing to accept less than ideal results. But others arent convinced that most of the age group needs a vaccine, especially a shot that doesnt perform well against emerging variants. While some children have died or gotten seriously ill from COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2also known as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virustheir vulnerability is much smaller compared with older people, and most youth experience mild or no symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A recently published study found T-cells, a form of protection, worked better against the virus in infant mice than in adult mice; while another concluded infants and toddlers who contract the virus have a superior immune response when compared to adults. The very low risk of severe COVID-19 for children presents a much different risk-benefit calculus, experts say. Particularly for children, youve really got to show the benefits markedly outweigh any risks, Dr. Peter Collignon, an infectious diseases physician at Canberra Hospital, told The Epoch Times over Zoom. In 5- to 11-year-olds, for instance, a British government panel determined that 2 million vaccine doses would prevent as few as 17 hospitalizations due to acute COVID-19. Amid a less severe future variant, some 4 million doses would be needed to prevent a single intensive care unit admission. No prospective clinical or epidemiological data that I am aware of has been provided to show that younger age groups [tested] in the Moderna study would fare any differently, Dr. David Gortler, an FDA policy oversight fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center who used to work for the FDA, told The Epoch Times in an email. Does the Trial Meet Regulatory Standards? The trial from which Moderna announced interim results is called KidCOVE. It involves two groups: children 6 months of age to under 2 years, and children 2 years of age to 5 years. The U.S.-based company, on March 23, released a summary of interim data, announcing the trial met its endpoint, which was a certain threshold of neutralizing antibody response in both age groups after receiving a two-dose series of the vaccine. The results were so positive that we are working with the U.S. FDA and regulators globally to submit these data as soon as possible, Stephane Bancel, Modernas CEO, said in a statement. But the actual clinical impact was substandard. During the wave driven by the Omicron virus variant, the vaccine was just 43.7 percent effective in the youngest group, and 37.5 percent effective in the other children. Both measures are lower than the 50 percent bars established by the FDA and the World Health Organization for emergency authorization. Thats not acceptable by the FDAs own standards, Dr. Steven Hatfill, a virologist who advised the Trump administration, told The Epoch Times. Our approach has always been to conduct a regulatory review thats responsive to the urgent public health needs created by the pandemic, while adhering to our rigorous standards for safety and effectiveness. While we cannot comment on any submissions pending before the agency, we remain committed to conducting a timely and thorough evaluation of the available data and information on the use of COVID-19 vaccines in the youngest children, Alison Hunt, an FDA spokeswoman, told The Epoch Times in an email. Moderna did not respond to requests for comment. Rival Fails to Generate Adequate Results Pfizer, another large vaccine maker, planned to ask the FDA for emergency clearance for young children in October 2021, but interim results from a clinical trial showed the two-dose regimen did not produce an adequate immune response in some of the children. The U.S.-based firm and its partner, Germanys BioNTech, turned to a three-dose regimen, hoping that would prove more successful. U.S. regulators soon solicited updates from the companies, after Omicron became the dominant variant in the country, driving a wave of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. The U.S. government was ready to ship millions of doses for young kids by the end of February. But just before a February meeting with its panel of expert advisers, the FDA delayed the decision, saying the data from the trial showed the vaccine did not meet the agencys standard. The data that we saw made us realize that we needed to see data from a third dose, as in the ongoing trial, in order to make it the determination that we could proceed with doing an authorization, Dr. Peter Marks, the official in charge of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, told reporters on a call at the time. Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, now a Pfizer board member, said the decision stemmed from a low number of COVID-19 cases in both arms of the trial. It remains unclear whether Pfizers jab returned results similar to Modernas. A Freedom of Information Act request for documents and presentations from Pfizer and other outside parties sent to the FDA for the abruptly-canceled meeting was rejected. Officials said they had not received any such documents. A request for FDA-produced documents was denied, with officials alleging they contained trade secrets. The Epoch Times has appealed the determination. A view of the Food and Drug Administrations White Oak campus in Silver Spring, Md., on Dec. 17, 2020. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images) Vaccine Effectiveness Waning In recent months, a growing amount of data show that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines provide little protection against infection from Omicron in all recipients 5 years and older, undermining earlier risk-benefit calculations, though the shielding against severe disease has held up better. The FDA said in June 2020, before authorizing any vaccines, that trials supporting COVID-19 vaccines should set a primary efficacy endpoint of disease prevention or severity reduction of at least 50 percent. The World Health Organization has set the same threshold. But the FDA later provided a loophole for companies wanting to get clearance for children. The agency said vaccine effectiveness in children may be inferred through immunobridging, a technique that compares an immune response in pediatric recipients to the immune response triggered in older age groups for which effectiveness of the vaccine has already been demonstrated. Our trial actually was powered on immunobridging, Jacqueline Miller, a senior vice president at Moderna, told investors in a recent call. The idea was to infer effectiveness. At the end of the day, thats the objective weve been asked to meet by regulators, and we committed ourselves to meet, which is, can we demonstrate a dose of the vaccine that provides the same benefit to children, in this case under the age of 6, that is provided to older adults, added Stephen Hoge, Modernas president. Moderna executives say the less than ideal efficacy against infection was expected since the vaccine does poorly in shielding against the virus in adults. That theme was picked up by some other experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The average efficacy may seem like a low number, but in the era of Omicron this is actually quite comparable to the efficacy against infection in what were seeing now with other vaccines, he said during a recent briefing. The interim trial results did not include an estimate of effectiveness against severe disease or hospitalization, because no severe COVID-19 was observed in the vaccinated or unvaccinated cohorts. Executives claimed that efficacy against severe disease could be assumed. We believe the benefit that weve been able to demonstrate scientifically herewith immunogenicity and even efficacy that is consistent with adultsgives us every reason to believe there will be an ability to extend that to severe disease, hospitalizationall the outcomes that we desperately want to preventwhich although much rarer in children, and therefore harder to observe in a clinical trial, do in fact happen, Hoge said. Low Uptake Among Kids Prompts Caution On a recent call with reporters, Marks, the FDA official, said that he is pestered by family members regularly about vaccines for the youngest children. We at FDA really understand the urgency that people feel about wanting to get the youngest children vaccinated. We also understand that this is the age range when people are most concerned about potential side effects and potential safety of vaccines. And we know that in this population, we have to do our job extremely well to make sure that we ensure that there is very good evaluation of the safety and effectiveness, so that when we make our recommendation, people will trust that recommendation [and] parents will pick up and go vaccinate their children, he said. Lagging vaccination rates among the 5- to 11-year-olds emphasize the need to make sure a vaccine is properly evaluated before being cleared for the younger kids, Marks said. Just 35 percent of children in that age group have gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine since it was cleared in the fall of 2021. Surveys indicate parental concerns include potential long-term side effects. Regulators plan to consult the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, a panel of outside experts, before making a decision. They have increasingly bypassed the panel during the pandemic, including when authorizing fourth shots for many Americans, after members pushed back against a government effort to pre-clear boosters for all American adults. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said he thought the Moderna results would be received with favor by the panel. There will be the notion that, as with older populations, the effectiveness of the vaccine will be better against severe disease than relatively minor infections, Schaffner, a liaison for the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions advisory panel, told The Epoch Times. Still, Schaffner was among the experts hesitant to make a judgment about whether the vaccine was effective enough to warrant clearance. They said they wanted to see more data first. Other experts were adamant that regulators should not assume adequate efficacy against severe disease. The problem with those presumptions is they may be correct, but theyre presumptions. And children do not behave the same way as adults with vaccines. So to actually license a vaccine for millions and millions of children based on a pretty small study, and on a presumption that children will behave the same as adults, I think is not doing science properly and not doing the regulatory approach properly, Collignon, the Australian expert, said, urging further trials to focus on clinical outcomes, particularly hospitalization and death, rather than measures like a certain level of neutralizing antibodies. Safety Concerns and Natural Immunity Moderna said its trial did not show any new safety concerns. That wording alarmed some experts. That does not address existing safety concerns, said Gortler, the former FDA medical officer. Post-vaccination heart inflammation has been detected at higher than expected rates in many pediatric age groups. A recent case study of 16 adolescents ages 12 to 17 diagnosed with the inflammation after a second dose of Pfizers vaccine found that despite the patients showing clinical improvement, many still had persistent cardiac MRI findings three to eight months later, raising concerns for potential longer-term effects. Moderna vaccine recipients are at higher risk of post-vaccination heart inflammation, according to the CDCs safety surveillance. Other side effects from the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, both built on messenger RNA, have also been detected. Vaccine supporters say the benefits, primarily the prevention of severe disease, outweigh the risks, but that cannot be said about the shots for young children at this time. Long-term issues could crop up, as with various vaccines over the years. The H1N1 flu vaccine, for instance, was shown to cause an increased risk of narcolepsy among children. We dont know the long-term effects of any of these vaccines. We know that it does disturb natural immunity, said Hatfill, the virologist, referring to studies that indicate people with natural immunity are more prone to side effects and re-infection after getting a vaccine. Another concern is the continued lack of incorporation of infection-induced immunity, also known as natural immunity, by federal agencies in the United States and many other countries, despite a growing effort to get regulators to recognize it. A majority of American youth have recovered from COVID-19, giving them strong protection from severe disease if they contract the CCP virus, according to serology data. Passenger planes owned by Russia's airlines, including Aeroflot and Rossiya, are parked at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, on March 1, 2022. (Marina Lystseva/Reuters) Moscow Says All Foreign Leased Aircraft Will Remain in Russia All foreign leased aircraft still in Russia after the termination of Western leasing contracts will remain in Russia, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said on Thursday. Sanctions imposed by Western powers in response to Russias military campaign in Ukraine forced Western firms to terminate leasing contracts with Russian airlines for over 500 aircraft. Russia has said 78 of these planes were seized while abroad, meaning that well over 400 remain. The entire fleet, meaning foreign aircraft, will remain in Russia, Borisov said on Russian television. Some were impounded(abroad) as sanctions were being introduced, (but) the vast majority of Boeing and Airbus (planes) remain in Russia. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov attends a press conference in Damascus, Syria, on Sept. 7, 2020. (Omar Sanadiki/Reuters) Moscow has passed a law allowing the aircraft, worth almost $10 billion, to be entered on its own register, in contravention of international rules. Bermuda and Ireland, where most of the planes are registered, have suspended airworthiness certificates, which usually means they should be grounded. Russian airlines have thus been hesitant to use the law, fearing that they might jeopardize ties with foreign partners. But Borisov said all the leased foreign aircraft had been entered into the Russian register. The sanctions also prevent Russian airlines buying aircraft parts or maintenance services from Europe or the United States, adding to the pressure on the worlds 11th largest aviation market from a ban on using North American and European airspace. President Vladimir Putin said he had instructed the government to work out measures to ease the burden of leasing payments on Russias airlines. As for leasing payments, let me remind you that a significant part of them were supposed to be paid to companies from so-called unfriendly countries, and they violated their contractual obligations, Putin said in televised remarks after a meeting with representatives of airlines and airplane manufacturers. He said Moscow would provide domestic airlines with 100 billion roubles ($1.25 billion) in support to help them deal with the consequences of the sanctions, and that domestic flights would receive government subsidies in 2022. ($1 = 80.1250 roubles) New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy gives a victory speech to supporters at Grand Arcade at the Pavilion in Asbury Park, N.J., on Nov. 3, 2021. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images) New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy Tests Positive for CCP Virus New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy tested positive for the CCP virus following a regularly-scheduled testing regime, his office confirmed on Thursday. This afternoon, as part of a regularly-scheduled testing regime, [Murphy] took a rapid antigen test that came back positive for COVID-19, Mahen Gunaratna, a Murphy spokesman, said in a March 31 statement on social media. He subsequently took a PCR test, which also came back positive, Gunaratna added. He is currently asymptomatic and feeling well. The Democrat governor, who is fully vaccinated and boosted, will isolate for five days and all in-person events will be canceled. This is in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. The contact tracing process has begun to notify everyone who may have come into contact with [Murphy], Gunaratna said, also noting that the governor will continue to monitor for symptoms before taking an additional PCR test. New Jerseys CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus case counts have fallen significantly since late last year. Murphy, 64, who started his second term in January, lifted major COVID-19 restrictions in early March, including the lifting of the indoor mask mandate, social distancing in most public spaces, and indoor gathering capacity limits. With COVID-19 moving into an endemic, the time has come to move toward normalcy, Murphy said in a March 4 statement. Judith Persichilli, the commissioner of health in the state, touted the governors decision to drop most COVID-19 restrictions, saying it does make sense to relax restrictions as conditions continue to improve and cases drop. The governors wife, Tammy Murphy, tested positive for the CCP virus earlier this year. The governors office said the rest of the family tested negative. Murphy also underwent surgery to have a cancerous tumor removed from his kidney in March 2020, just as the first cases of COVID-19 surfaced in the state. His office has said the surgery was a success. According to an Associated Press tally, Murphy is at least the 15th U.S. governor to test positive for the CCP virus. From NTD News Newport Beach Mayor Kevin Muldoon speaks with Newport Beach Police Officers at an appriciation breakfast within the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Newport Beach, Calif., on March 31, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Newport Beach Honors Its Police at Full-House Event NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.Newport Beach Police officers gathered at the Hyatt Regency John Wayne Airport Hotel March 31 for an appreciation breakfast sponsored by the Commodores Club of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber recognizes the Newport Beach Police Department in an effort to show how much residents and local businesses appreciate the work these men and women do for Newport Beach, the Chamber said on its website. A file photo of a Newport Beach Police officer in Newport Beach, Calif., on Oct.25, 2021. (John Fredricks, The Epoch Times) Former NBC Dateline journalist Keith Morrisonwho has reported in nearly every corner of the world during his long careerwas the events guest speaker. Newport Beach Mayor Kevin Muldoon spoke directly to the many police in attendance thanking them for their hard work. Several officers, and one volunteer, were honored during the event for their outstanding roles in saving lives and working to prevent and stop crime. Those honored for saving the life of another, called the Lifesaving Award were: Officers Kyle Cameron, Adam Daymude, Tyler Machado, Benjamin Arnett, Austin Laverty, Brian Park, Tyler Eisenhauer, Isaac Furnari, and Steven Oberon. Merit Awards were also given to those who exemplified service above and beyond and were awarded to: Officers Kyle Markwald, Christine Maroney, Court Depweg, Michael Dugan, Michael Fletcher and Bryan McMahon. Other awards were: Volunteer of the Year: Laird Hayes Civilian Employee of the Year: Rangemaster Vincent Kyzer Civilian Supervisor of the Year: Senior Dispatcher Joseph Horton Sworn Supervisor of the Year: Sgt. Brandon Rodriguez Officer of the Year: Homeless Liaison Officer Cynthia Carter The event, open to the public, sold out with ticket prices ranging from $55 for singles to table sponsorships for $650. A freight train bound for Hamburg, Germany, is ready to depart at the Shijiazhuang international land port in north China's Hebei Province, on April 17, 2021. (Photo by Zhang Xiaofeng/Xinhua) BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Despite a weak global recovery hobbled by the protracted pandemic, economic cooperation between China and the European Union (EU) has demonstrated strong resilience and vitality with deepening connections in various fields. Official data showed China's trade with the EU in 2021 amounted to 828.1 billion U.S. dollars, up 27.5 percent year on year, hitting a record high. In the first two months this year, bilateral trade between China and the EU jumped 14.8 percent, year on year, to 137.1 billion U.S. dollars, making the EU the largest trading partner of China during the period, official data showed. The Business Confidence Survey 2021, published by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China last year, shows that since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Chinese market has become the most important haven for European enterprises. Most surveyed European enterprises saw their profits in China above their global average, and around 60 percent of them plan to expand their business in the country. The business performance of Chinese enterprises in European countries also defied headwinds. According to an annual report released by the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU, Chinese enterprises recorded a total turnover of 150.3 billion euros (166.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the 27 EU member states in 2020, up 1.4 percent year on year, creating 320,000 job opportunities. The trade of agri-food products is a vital area of China-EU cooperation. March 1 this year marked the first anniversary of the entry into force of the China-EU agreement on geographical indications, a treaty inked to improve bilateral trade of agri-food products and strengthen China-EU economic ties. By 2021, over 240 China-EU geographical indications have been mutually recognized and protected, setting a milestone for bilateral trade ties and cooperation of intellectual property protection between the two parties. At an online seminar on EU-China agri-food trade relations Thursday, Yu Jianhua, China's international trade representative and vice minister of commerce, said the two sides should expand trade volume, enhance cooperation, and jointly provide a favorable environment for agri-food products trade. As two primary markets dedicated to boosting green and digital transformation, China and Europe are also in sync with their commitments to promote low-carbon development. Equipped with wind turbines manufactured in Denmark, Fuxin City, a former highly coal-dependent city in northeast China's Liaoning Province, has embarked on a green development path. After being connected to the grid, the wind turbines are expected to send about 29 million kWh of electricity to the power grid annually, saving 9,000 tonnes of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 24,000 tonnes a year. On the other end of the Eurasian continent, China is also helping Europe save energy and reduce emissions. Electric buses from BYD, China's electric automaker, can be seen in more than 100 cities in more than 20 European countries, accounting for about 20 percent of the market share of European electric buses. "China and the EU have made massive contributions to the green shift of global energy consumption and economic recovery," Zhang Jianhua, head of China's National Energy Administration, said at the 10th China-EU energy dialogue Thursday. Under shifting global circumstances, both sides will further enhance cooperation and inject more positive energy into the global energy market, said Zhang. Then-NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins holds up a model of the coronavirus as he testifies before a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee looking into the budget estimates for National Institute of Health (NIH) and the state of medical research, on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 26, 2021. (Sarah Silbiger/Pool via AP) NIH Concedes It Suppressed Wuhan Lab Genetic Data, But Disputes Watchdogs Deleted Label Sequence data was removed from public access A National Institutes of Health (NIH) spokesperson is disputing a nonprofit watchdog groups claim that the agency deleted genetic sequencing data on the CCP virus from a Chinese lab, although the same official acknowledged the data was suppressed. The headline says the sequences were deleted, which is inaccurate. They were not deleted. This is a really important point, and Ive highlighted what did happen from what we provided to you earlier this week, NIH Media Branch Chief Amanda Fine told The Epoch Times in a March 31 email. Fine was referring to a March 29 Epoch Times story, headlined NIH Deleted Info Received From Wuhan Lab on CCP Virus Genetic Sequencing, Watchdogs FOIA Finds. The information that Fine referenced as having been provided to The Epoch Times by NIH earlier in the week was included in the published story. In June 2020, in response to a request by the same researcher, NCBI gave the sequence data the status of withdrawn, which removes sequencing data from all public means of access but does not delete them, the spokesperson said at the time. NCBI subsequently reassigned the status of the sequence data to suppressed, which means that sequence data are removed from the search process but can be directly found by accession number. This action to reassign the data was identified as part of NLMs ongoing review into the matter. We are working to make more information available. The biotechnology center, which is part of the institutes National Library of Medicine (NLM), is the U.S. component of the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration. The Epoch Times story was prompted by a report published on March 29 by Empower Oversight Whistleblowers and Research (EO), which was based on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) responses the group received from the NIH. On June 5, 2020, a Wuhan University researcher requested that NIH retract the researchers submission of BioProject ID PRJNA637497 because of error. The Wuhan researcher explained Im sorry for my wrong submitting,' EO said in a statement (pdf) on March 29. BioProject ID PRJNA637497 is also referred to as Submission-ID SUB7554642. Three days later, on June 8th, the NIH declined the researchers request, advising that it prefers to edit or replace, as opposed to delete, sequences submitted to the SRA. SRA refers to the Sequence Read Archive, a data resource made available by NCBI that stores raw sequencing data. On June 16, 2020, NIH officials reversed themselves and deleted the genetic sequencing data, as requested by the Wuhan researcher. That researcher was quoted by EO as explaining to NIH: Recently, I found that its hard to visit my submitted SRA data, and it would also be very difficult for me to update the data. I have submitted an updated version of this SRA data to another website, so I want to withdraw the old one at NCBI in order to avoid the data version issue. After some discussion about what would be deleted, the NIH concluded the discussion by reassuring the Wuhan researcher that it had withdrawn everything. Asked for a response to Fines claim the information wasnt deleted, EO founder and President Jason Foster told The Epoch Times that NIHs actions ensure that the CCP virus genetic sequencing info is only available to the few individuals possessing its accession number, which effectively deletes the data from open access and research. NIH documents released with Empower Oversights report demonstrate that the sequencing data was deleted from public view by the NIH at the request of the Wuhan researcher, he said. Our report also details emails between professor Jesse Bloom and the NIHs Steve Sherry from October 2021 that clearly indicate NIH retained copies for archival purposes. Yet the emails demonstrate that NIH refused to share that data in an open, transparent scientific process sought by professor Bloom. The NIH should make more information available about each and every time it reassigned the status of sequence data and any information potentially relevant to the origins of COVID-19 should be made available for scientific inquiry. Fine didnt respond when asked by The Epoch Times about who has access to all of the genetic sequencing information provided by the Wuhan researcher and which was requested by that researcher to be removed. The Epoch Times also asked that because NIH must know who in fact has accessed the data who did so and when since the Wuhan researcher requested the informations removal? Ohio Court Upholds Family Bakerys $32 Million Libel Verdict Over False Racism Accusations An Ohio appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that awarded over $32 million to a family-owned bakery that was almost pushed out of business because of false accusations of racial profiling. A panel of three judges on Ohios 9th District Court of Appeals on Friday unanimously ruled in favor of Gibsons Bakery, which was initially awarded by a county judge more than $40 million in punitive and compensatory damages in its defamation lawsuit against Oberlin College. The amount was later reduced to $25 million with $6 million for lawyers fees. The lawsuit stems from a shoplifting incident at Gibsons Bakery, a 5th generation family business that has been serving the college town of Oberlin, Ohio, since 1885. In November 2016, store clerk Allyn D. Gibson caught a black Oberlin student stealing wine bottles from the store. He was joined by two other black Oberlin students in the ensuing confrontation before police arrived and arrested them. The students pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in 2017 and acknowledged in court that the clerks actions were not racially motivated. But that didnt stop Oberlin officials and students from organizing protests outside the bakery, during which protesters demanded customers to shop elsewhere. According to court filings, Oberlins Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo, along with other staff, were involved in the distribution of flyers that were handed out at the protests. The flyers, titled DONT BUY, urged a boycott of the bakery, asserting that it was a RACIST establishment with a LONG ACCOUNT OF RACIAL PROFILING and DISCRIMINATION. The colleges supplier of food for its dining halls was also told by Raimondo to halt ordering from the Gibsons. The Gibsons sued Oreblin in 2017, alleging significant financial and emotional damages caused by the colleges actions, including repeated vandalism, property damage, and harassment over the months following the shoplifting incident. In June 2019, a Lorain County jury found Oberlin acted inappropriately toward the bakery, a decision the college appealed. Oberlin argued that the flyer contained only opinions that the Gibsons were racists, which would have been protected by the First Amendment. The appeal court dismissed the argument, saying that the flyer included much more than just opinions. Given the publics lack of knowledge of what had happened at the bakery and the ongoing tension on campus about racial injustice, these statements would convey to a reasonable reader that the arrest and alleged assault at the bakery were racially motivated, that the Gibsons had a verifiable history of racially profiling shoplifters on that basis for years, and that those facts were a reason to boycott the bakery, the judges wrote. The trial court did not err in concluding, as a matter of law, that these were actionable statements of fact, not constitutionally protected opinion, they added. Owen Rarric, an attorney for the Gibsons, applauded the ruling. The Gibson family appreciates the Court of Appeals thorough and thoughtful analysis which rightly rejected all of Oberlin Colleges and Dean Raimondos challenges on appeal, he said in a statement. Meanwhile, Oberlin College said they are obviously disappointed and are reviewing the courts opinion carefully to determine their next steps. Two of the cases leading plaintiffs didnt live to see the appeals court verdict. David Gibson, the bakerys owner, died in 2019 of pancreatic cancer. Allyn W., father of David and grandfather of Allyn D. Gibson, passed away this February at the age of 93. After the 2019 court victory, Allyn W. Gibson said he hoped people understand that his family had nothing against Oberlin students. I have been here my whole life and I love the students and the energy they bring to our community, and people who know me know I always love being with them, the family patriarch told conservative news site Legal Insurrection. Students can be great people or they can be bad, just like all of us can be, but they need guidance at that age, and they werent getting it when this all started. National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin poses for a portrait at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, Calif., on Oct. 24, 2013. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Oldest US Active Park Ranger Retires at 100 RICHMOND, Calif.The National Park Service (NPS) announced Mar. 31 that Betty Reid Soskin retired after more than 15 years at the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California. She celebrated her 100th birthday in September 2021. A middle school in El Sobrante honored her by renaming the school after her. To be a part of helping to mark the place where that dramatic trajectory of my own life, combined with others of my generation, will influence the future by the footprints weve left behind has been incredible, Soskin said in a statement. Betty Reid Soskin, the oldest full-time National Park Service ranger in the United States, holds a challenge coin that was given to her by former U.S. President Barack Obama in Richmond, Calif., on Sept. 21, 2021. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) In 2011, she became a permanent NPS employee. There, she has been leading public programs, while sharing her personal remembrances and observations at the park visitor center. The National Park Service is grateful to Ranger Betty for sharing her thoughts and first-person accounts in ways that span across generations, said Naomi Torres, acting superintendent of Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park. She has used stories of her life on the Home Front, drawing meaning from those experiences in ways that make that history truly impactful for those of us living today. Soskin was a civil rights activist and took part in meetings to develop a general management plan for the Home Front park. She was named California Woman of the Year in 1995. Betty Reid Soskin speaks onstage at the 2018 Glamour Women Of The Year Awards: Women Rise in New York City on Nov. 12, 2018. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for Glamour) In 2015, she received a presidential coin from Barack Obama after she lit the National Christmas tree at the White House. In June 2016, she was awakened in her home by a robber who punched her repeatedly in the face, dragged her out of her bedroom and beat her before making off with the coin and other items. Soskin, then 94, recovered and returned to work just weeks after the attack. The coin was replaced. She also was honored with entry into the Congressional Record. Glamour Magazine named her woman of the year in 2018. Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park will celebrate Soskins retirement on Saturday, April 16 in Richmond. Ilene Eng contributed to this report. Orange County Businesses Shocked Over Surprise Electric Bill Increase IRVINE, Calif.Some business owners were shocked to learn their electricity bill was set to increase beginning April 1 amid the launch of service from the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA). After forming the agency in November 2020, the power authority will be the countys first community choice energy program that seeks to provide greener energy to residents and businesses in the county. Power authority officials will take over Southern California Edisons role as the buyer and seller of electricity, though Edisons facilities will still be transporting the power authoritys energy to homes and businesses. Irvine, Huntington Beach, Fullerton, and Buena Park are part of the OCPA, and businesses in these cities will see their energy bills rise unless they opt out of the program and rejoin Edison, which they can do at any time effective at their next billing cycle, according to the OCPA. The cleaner energy comes with a higher price tag, with large commercial businesses in cities that chose OCPAs 100 percent renewable energy option to be paying 7.3 percent higher rates compared to Edison. Every member city opted for the 100 percent renewable option, except for Fullerton, which chose the 69-percent middle tier. Every commercial business in member cities was automatically opted into the OCPA or would have needed to call the agency prior to the March 25 deadline to opt out for the first billing cycle starting in April. The OCPA also was required to send two notices to each business to inform them of the new program, but many business owners said they had never received one. Joe Rosati, owner of The Night Owl coffee shop in Fullerton, said he didnt receive any mailers and had no idea he was going to automatically incur increased electricity prices. This is news to me, Rosati told The Epoch Times. As a small business owner, its really kind of pathetic. I didnt hear anything. They didnt send me any mailers or contact me whatsoever. Rosati said he was absolutely going to opt out of OCPAs program. This is why small businesses are running out of the state; its like the saying death by 1,000 cuts. They just bleed you slowly to where you dont even realize until youre dead, Rosati said. The Night Owl Coffeeshop owner Joe Rosati stands in his coffee shop in Fullerton, Calif., on Aug. 12, 2021. (John Fredricks) The Irvine Unified School District, which spends around $5.5 million annually on electricity, said it was opting out of its 41 school sites and district facilities due to the extra $400,000 annual increase they would have to pay under the OCPA. We need more time to thoroughly vet the Orange County Power Authoritys plan and as such we have extended our decision to June 1, Irvine Unified spokeswoman Annie Brown told The Epoch Times. We will continue to engage in discussions with the OCPA. Brown noted that the district did not receive any notifications, and only learned about the matter after seeing the item on the Irvine City Councils agenda, and then contacted the city for further information. Ed Laird, the owner of Laird Coatings Corp. in Huntington Beach, said he was aware of the switch but did not receive any notifications. Its a real power grab, and its just creating another government bureaucracy, he told The Epoch Times, saying he intends to opt out. Irvine Ranch Water District also decided to opt out, noting in a March 15 staff report that it had not received a single notification from OCPA regarding the program or how to opt-out. Signs displaying no outside food or drink are located on several walls of The Night Owl Coffeeshop, in Fullerton, Calif., on Aug. 12, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) In regard to the reportedly missed notifications by some businesses, OCPA said they sent two mailers to customer accounts where they currently receive their Edison bill. OCPA has not received any returned mail from these two mailings, OCPA CEO Brian Probolsky wrote in an email sent to The Epoch Times. We are confident that the mailings have been delivered to the mailing addresses associated with these accounts. Instead of opting out, OCPA customers can opt down to the basic rate, which will cost the same as Edisons rate. OCPA customers can choose to move up and down between tiers, every single month if they like. Those options remain forever. Being able to move within the OCPA structure gives customers a lot of choice and flexibility. At the April 1 launch, OCPA said it will be supplying power for 38,000 commercial businesses. Residents within the four member cities will be receiving power from OCPA starting in October. Removing Irans IRGC From US Terror List Becomes Sticking Point in Nuclear Talks Experts say delisting would be a 'symbolic win' for Iran The Iranian regime has insisted that the United States remove its terror designation on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in exchange for a revived nuclear deal. The Trump administration added the IRGC to the foreign terrorist organizations (FTO) list in 2019, the first time a state entity had been designated as such. The IRGC is a powerful faction in Iran, consists of elite military and intelligence branches. It also runs an industrial empire and carries significant political clout. The Biden administration has been trying to revive the 2015 nuclear pact with the Iranian regime, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Talks have been going on for 11 months in Vienna. U.S. media recently reported, citing unnamed Biden officials, that the administration was considering removing the IRGC from the terror blacklist in exchange for commitments from Iran to de-escalate in the region. Irans chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani and members of the Iranian delegation wait for the start of a meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission in Vienna, Austria November 29, 2021. (EU Delegation in Vienna/Handout via REUTERS) U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley stressed at the Doha Forum on March 27 that separate sanctions will remain over IRGCs missile development program and for its alleged human rights violations, irrespective of what happens to its FTO status. A state department spokesperson, when asked by The Epoch Times whether the Biden administration was considering removing IRGC from the terror blacklist, did not directly answer the question. The spokesperson said that Washingon will use appropriate tools to confront IRGCs destabilizing role in the region, regardless of whether the nuclear deal is revived. Our current Iran-related sanctions remain in effect unless and until they are lifted, and we will address any effort at sanctions evasion, the spokesperson added. US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley attends a media briefing on the sidelines of the opening of the 17th IISS Manama Dialogue in the Bahraini capital Manama on November 19, 2021. The three-day-long Manama security conference is set to discuss pressing security challenges in the Middle East with over 300 participating senior government officials from 40 countries, including the US, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. (Mazen Mahdi/AFP via Getty Images) Major Win for Iran IRGCs removal from the FTO list would be a huge boon for Tehran, even if the group remained on other U.S. sanction lists, according to Clare M. Lopez, security analyst and director of Lopez Liberty LLC. That concession would be touted as a major (even if symbolic) win for the Iranian regime. It would also make for a selling point to attract foreign investors, so badly needed by Tehran, Lopez, also a member of the senior advisory board for the Near East Center for Strategic Engagement, told The Epoch Times in an email. Lopez said delisting IRGC would be a needless concession to a regime that the U.S. State Department identifies as the foremost state sponsor of terrorism around the world. The IRGC and its subordinate Quds Force, which handles overseas operations, operate through various proxy jihadist terror groups like Hamas, Hizballah, the Yemeni Houthis, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Taliban, and a slew of Shiite terror militias in Iraq that it arms funds, supplies, and trains, according to Lopez. The analyst also pointed to a 2001 U.S. district court ruling that found that Iran and Hizballah had materially and directly supported Al-Qaeda in the Sept. 11 attacks, and were thus legally responsible to compensate the families of the victims. Meanwhile, the State Department spokesperson said that Irans nuclear program is the most urgent challenge that the United States faces, making all other challenges posed by Tehran like its support for terrorists and proxies, its ballistic missile program, and its malign cyber activity further unmanageable. Under any return to the JCPOA, the United States would retain and aggressively use our powerful tools to address these issues, and especially to counter the IRGC, the spokesperson said. Will Iran De-escalate? Though all the terms of the negotiations are based on a public commitment to de-escalate, Iran is unlikely to do so despite any promises it may make, said Jim Phillips, a senior research fellow specializing in Middle East affairs at Washington-based Heritage Foundation. The Biden administration is looking for a diplomatic fig leaf to cover its naked concessions to Iran, said Phillips. The administration has failed to respond effectively to multiple IRGC-backed attacks in Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. It has yet to come up with a strategy for containing the IRGCs threat and now will be discarding the tool of sanctions, which will incentivize further attacks. Lopez said despite its track record, the Iranian regime has already been given many concessions for its useless promises for de-escalation when its already in breach of the [Nuclear] Non-Proliferation Treaty as well as the JCPOA of 2015and virtually every other provision of every other agreement its ever been a signatory to. One of the reasons why the Iranian regime breaks its promises is because according to Islamic law or Shariah, Muslims are obligated to lie to non-believers or non-muslims in cases where [an] issue like jihad is itself obligatory. Why on earth would we even negotiate with parties whose doctrinal faith obligates them to lie to us? said Lopez. The State Department didnt specifically respond to a query regarding Iran not being bound by its commitments to the United States due to its adherence to Sharia law. Fickle Loyalty to Partners Removing IRGCs designation would jeopardize the interests of U.S. allies in the Middle East and will indicate to them that the Biden administration has no objection to the groups destabilizing activities against them, said Hamid Bahrami, a former Iranian political prisoner and an independent expert on the Middle East. Biden and his foreign policy team have failed in Afghanistan and [in] creating credible deterrence regarding the Ukraine war, [and] now seeks to achieve something regarding Irans crisis, he said. With midterms approaching in November, Bahrami believes that the Biden administration is looking for a win in the foreign policy space to boost the Democratic Partys standing for the elections. The state department spokesperson said that the administration is consulting allies and partners including Israel in preparing equally for scenarios with and without a mutual return to the full implementation of the JCPOA. However, the spokesperson didnt respond to a question about the recent missile and drone attacks by the Houthis against both Saudi Arabia and the UAE that followed shortly after the Biden administration removed the Yemeni Houthis, a Shiite terror proxy of the Iranian regime, from the FTO list. Iranian Shiite terror proxy militias in Iraq just recently launched a missile attack from Iranian territory against the area very near our U.S. consulate in Irbil, Iraq (thankfully still under construction and not occupied yet by American personnel), said Lopez, while blaming the Biden administration for not taking action against this revived aggression. According to Lopez, the world is watching examples of fickle loyalty [by Washington] to partners and weakness and appeasement toward our enemies and is making its own calculations in response to U.S. foreign policy. This is beyond dangerous for regional, U.S., and global stability because it motivates abandoned friends to capitulate and enemies to become ever more aggressive and even reckless in pursuit of objectives inimical to U.S. national security interests, she said. Phillips said that he doubts that the Iranian regime will help build a sustainable new order in the Middle East, and instead, it will keep attacking the old one. Director General of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin stands in front of the Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on Dec. 8, 2021. (Shamil Zhumatov/Pool/Reuters) Russia to End International Cooperation on Space Station Unless Sanctions Lifted Russias space agency Roscosmos will halt its cooperation with international partners like NASA on the International Space Station (ISS), citing crippling sanctions designed to kill the Russian economy. Dmitry Rogozin, the chief of Roscosmos, made the announcement in a series of statements on Twitter, in which he said that collaboration on joint projects like the ISS would only resume when the sanctions are lifted. I believe that the restoration of normal relations between partners in the International Space Station and other joint projects is possible only with the complete and unconditional lifting of illegal sanctions, Rogozin said. Following Russias invasion of Ukraine, which the Kremlin calls a special military operation to disarm its neighbor and topple its government, Western allies imposed sweeping sanctions, including export bans on key technologies. President Joe Biden ordered high-tech export restrictions against Moscow that he said were designed to degrade Russias aerospace industry, which includes its space program. At the time, Rogozin suggested the U.S.-imposed measures could destroy ISS teamwork and lead to the space station falling out of orbit. The International Space Station (ISS) photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking, on Oct. 4, 2018. (NASA/Roscosmos/Handout via Reuters) In his newest remarks on Saturday, Rogozin said the sanctions were unacceptable and, unless theyre lifted, the ISS will die by its own death. Rogozin said that the sanctions from the United States, Canada, the European Union, and Japan are aimed at blocking financial, economic and production activities of our high-tech enterprises. The Roscosmos chief shared letters he had written to NASA and other agencies requesting their intervention in getting the sanctions lifted, but to no avail. The position of our partners is clear: the sanctions will not be lifted, Rogozin wrote. The purpose of the sanctions is to kill the Russian economy, plunge our people into despair and hunger, and bring our country to its knees, he continued. While Rogozin said he believes the sanctions wouldnt accomplish their intended aim, theyre grounds for terminating cooperation between Roscosmos and its international partners. Rogozin did not specify when the cooperation on the ISS would come to a halt, only that detailed proposals for the timing of severing ties would be put to Russian leadership in the near future. The Epoch Times has reached out to NASA and the European Space Agency for comment on Rogozins remarks. The space station was established in part to improve American-Russian relations following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Cold War hostility that drove the original U.S.Soviet space race. A local man walks past a damaged armored personal carrier, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in the town of Makariv, in Kyiv region, Ukraine, on April 1, 2022. (Serhii Mykhalchuk/Reuters) Ukraine Regains Control of Whole Kyiv Region as Russian Forces Shift Focus to East The Ukrainian armed forces have retaken the whole Kyiv area, Ukraines Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on Saturday. Irpin, Bucha, Gostomel, and the whole Kyiv region were liberated from the invader, she wrote in a Facebook post. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier in the day that Russian armed forces are withdrawing from northern Ukraine in a slow but noticeable mode and being accumulated in Donbas, a disputed area. The U.K. Ministry of Defense confirmed that Ukrainian forces are retaking territory on the outskirts of Kyiv. Ukrainian forces continue to advance against withdrawing Russian forces in the vicinity of Kyiv. Along the northwestern axis, Ukrainian forces attempts to advance from Irpin towards Bucha and Hostomel are ongoing. Russian forces are reported to have withdrawn from Hostomel airport, which has been subject to fighting since the first day of the conflict. Along the eastern axis, Ukraine has retaken several villages, read the intelligence update on Saturday. Local residents sit on a bench near an apartment building destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 25, 2022. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters) The Kremlin announced early this week that their main goal for the invasion is Donbas, where the separatist republics of Luhansk and Donetsk are based, and Crimea, which was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014. The battle over Mariupol, a city in the east of Ukraine that connects Donbas and Crimea, shows no sign of alleviation. Mariupol is a key target of Moscows military operation and has been subjected to extensive bombardment. Seizing the city would let Russian forces secure a land bridge to Crimea and consolidate their grip along the Black Sea coast along southeastern Ukraine. Mariupol has seen some of the worst suffering in the war. Around 100,000 people are believed to remain in the city, down from around 430,000 before the outbreak of hostilities. Weeks of bombardment and urban combat have led to severe shortages of water, food, fuel, and medicine. Zelenskyy said in a video address early Saturday that a humanitarian corridor was operational in Zaporizhzhia, allowing for the evacuation of 3,071 residents from Mariupol. Tens of thousands of people have been trapped in the besieged city, with scant access to food and water. On a number of occasions, Russia and Ukraine have agreed to humanitarian corridors to facilitate the evacuation of civilians, but those efforts have often ended in failure, with both sides trading blame. Ukrainian rescue workers carry an elderly woman under the destroyed bridge in Irpin, near Kyiv, Ukraine, on Apr. 1, 2022. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo) Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, which the Kremlin called a special military operation. The United Nations said that as of April 1, 1,276 civilians have been killed and 1,981 injured in Ukraine since Russias invasion and over 4.1 million people have fled Ukraine. Its unclear if Ukraines western allies will change their positions once the Russian armed forces focus on southern Ukraine, as there have been long-term disputes between the two countries well before the invasion. Zelenskyy accused Europe of being silent about the situation in Mariupol. Europe has no right to react in silence to what is happening in our Mariupol. The whole world must react to this humanitarian catastrophe, he said. Tom Ozimek contributed to the report. The San Diego Humane Society's medical team celebrated the one-year cancer-free anniversary of a former stray dog named Phoenix with a "pawty," on April 1, 2022. (Courtesy of the San Diego Humane Society) San Diego Humane Society Celebrates Cancer-Free Dog With Party SAN DIEGOThe San Diego Humane Societys medical team celebrated the one-year cancer-free anniversary Friday of a former stray dog named Phoenix with a pawty. Held at the Pilar & Chuck Bahde Center for Shelter Medicine, the festive event included a peanut butter cake, hats, cheers and, of course, lots of hugs and kisses for the star patient, Humane Society officials said in a news release. A 4-year-old St. Bernard/shepherd mix, Phoenix is considered near and dear to the hearts of many staff at San Diego Humane Society. The San Diego Humane Societys medical team celebrated the one-year cancer-free anniversary of a former stray dog named Phoenix with a pawty, on April 1, 2022. (Courtesy of the San Diego Humane Society) Colette Troughton, a San Diego Humane Society veterinary assistant who adopted Phoenix, described him as a big dog with an even bigger personality. He inspires me to see the good in everyone and I feel so lucky to get to spend my days with him, Troughton said. I am forever grateful for all the caretakers that showered him with love and made his recovery possible. The San Diego Humane Societys medical team celebrated the one-year cancer-free anniversary of a former stray dog named Phoenix with a pawty, on April 1, 2022. (Courtesy of the San Diego Humane Society) When he arrived on Nov. 5, 2020, Phoenix was malnourished, flea-infested, and had missing fur. The Humane Society veterinary team diagnosed Phoenix with a malignant and cancerous transmissible venereal tumor. Although the condition is serious if left untreated, veterinarians determined Phoenixs prognosis would be good with Vincristine chemotherapy. Phoenix had received 13 treatments by January 2021. Doctors said most of his masses had decreased in size, but two remained and needed an alternative solution. Phoenixs treatment regimen continued while veterinarians consulted an oncologist. Dr. Colleen Tansey, of VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital, offered to provide electrochemotherapy for Phoenix. According to the Humane Society, Tansey made the commute twice to San Diego on her days off to provide treatment at no additional cost. Sometimes it truly takes a village to help the animals and thats exactly what happened in Phoenixs case, said Danielle Clem, hospital director at the Humane Societys San Diego campus. Not only did we have an expert come from Los Angeles to help us, we had an incredible foster family who made sure Phoenix was comfortable in between treatments and the entire medical team at San Diego Humane Society involved in his care. The San Diego Humane Societys medical team celebrated the one-year cancer-free anniversary of a former stray dog named Phoenix with a pawty, on April 1, 2022. (Courtesy of the San Diego Humane Society) Sanctions Against Russia Arent Working, Need to Be More Robust, Says Polish Prime Minister WARSAW, PolandPolish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine arent having their intended impact, with the rebound of the Russian ruble proof that the existing measures are not robust enough. Morawiecki on Saturday met with EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola at a reception center near Warsaw for refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. The Polish leader said that the recovery of Russias currency, which initially plummeted following the imposition of sanctions but which has since rebounded, is proof that the sanctions arent having their intended impact. This means that all economic measuresmicroeconomic, macroeconomic, financial, budgetary, and monetaryhave not worked as some politicians would have liked, Morawiecki said. Morawiecki then called for real sanctions to be imposed on Russia, echoing remarks he made a day earlier, in which he urged the EU to press ahead with a radical cut-off from Russian fossil fuels and confiscation of assets of Russian oligarchs. The EU has pledged to phase out imports of Russian energy within five years, with some EU member states unwilling to move faster due to their reliance on Russian oil, gas, and coal imports. Poland, which sees Russias actions in neighboring Ukraine as a grave threat to its own security, is pressing ahead with plans for a complete embargo on Russian coal, gas, and oil imports by the end of 2022. A Ukrainian refugee boy looks out a bus window after arriving in Poland through the Medyka border crossing on March 10, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) In his remarks on Saturday, Morawiecki also took a critical view of what he suggested was officials in some EU countries already talking about a normalization of relations with Russia to what they were before the invasion. He said there will be no return to normality as long as Ukraines sovereignty is under threat, while in a Friday tweet he criticized some EU leaders for being soft. Some EU leaders are treating the sanctions as a smokescreen for their inaction. The sanctions are supposed to bring Ukraine peace, not to appease Europes guilty conscience. The sanctions are supposed to stop Putin. If they havent it means they are not robust enough, Morawiecki wrote. Poland has been a staunch ally to Ukraine in the conflict, taking in more refugees than any other country and declaring its willingness to provide security guarantees under an eventual Russia-Ukraine peace deal, which could see Warsaw pledging to intervene militarily in case of a future attack on Ukraine. After Russias President Vladimir Putin warned other countries not to intervene in the conflict and said that states providing military help to Ukraine could be treated as sides in the conflict, Poland was the first country to send arms shipments across the border to Kyiv. Ukrainian refugees prepare to board a train to Poland at the train station in Lviv, Ukraine, on March 18, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Poland has also long warned about what it describes as Putins expansionist agenda in the region, fearing that it, along with other Baltic states, might be the target of a future invasion. Tomasz Smura, director of the research office at the Casimir Pulaski Foundation, a foreign policy and security think-tank in Warsaw, told The Epoch Times in a phone interview that he believes the risk of a Russian attack on other European countries has been blunted by staunch Ukrainian resistance and the posture of NATO allies. If Russia managed to conquer Ukraine quickly and secure a quick win, Im pretty sure that within five years or so wed see a war in the Baltics, he said, referring to Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Emboldened by a win in Ukraine, Russia would no doubt continue its expansionist policy, he added, noting that Russias geopolitical interests are to reconstitute the boundaries of the former Soviet Union. If NATO didnt demonstrate its engagement and unity in the face of Russias actions in Ukraine, this would be a green light for Putin to go further, he said. What keeps Russias imperialist impulses in check is the posture of the transatlantic alliance, he added. A cod to be auctioned sits on ice at the Portland Fish Exchange, in Portland, Maine, on Oct. 29, 2015. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo) Seafood Biz Braces for Losses of Jobs, Fish Due to Sanctions PORTLAND, MaineThe worldwide seafood industry is steeling itself for price hikes, supply disruptions, and potential job losses as new rounds of economic sanctions on Russia make key species such as cod and crab harder to come by. The latest round of U.S. attempts to punish Russia for the invasion of Ukraine includes bans on imports of seafood, alcohol, and diamonds. The United States is also stripping most favored nation status from Russia. Nations around the world are taking similar steps. Russia is one of the largest producers of seafood in the world, and was the fifth-largest producer of wild-caught fish, according to a 2020 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Russia is not one of the biggest exporters of seafood to the United States, but its a world leader in exports of cod (the preference for fish and chips in the United States). Its also a major supplier of crabs and Alaska pollock, widely used in fast-food sandwiches and processed products like fish sticks. The impact is likely to be felt globally, as well as in places with working waterfronts. One of those is Maine, where more than $50 million in seafood products from Russia passed through Portland in 2021, according to federal statistics. If youre getting cod from Russia, its going to be a problem, said Glen Libby, an owner of Port Clyde Fresh Catch, a seafood market in Tenants Harbor, Maine. Thats quite a mess. Well see how it turns out. Russia exported more than 28 million pounds (12.7 million kilograms) of cod to the United States from Jan. 1, 2020, to Jan. 31, 2022, according to census data. The European Union and United Kingdom are both deeply dependent on Russian seafood. And prices of seafood are already spiking in Japan, a major seafood consumer that is limiting its trade with Russia. In the UK, where fish and chips are a cultural marker, shop owners and consumers alike are bracing for price surges. British fish and chip shops were already facing a squeeze because of soaring energy costs and rising food prices. Andrew Crook, head of the National Federation of Fish Friers, said earlier this month thateven before the warhe expected a third of Britains fish and chip shops to go out of business. If fish prices shoot up even higher, we are in real dire straits, he said. In mid-March, the UK slapped a 35 percent tariff hike on Russian whitefish, including chip-shop staples cod and haddock. Were a massive part of UK culture and it would be a shame to see that go, he told broadcaster ITV. U.S. consumers are most likely to notice the impact of sanctions via price and availability of fish, said Kanae Tokunaga, who runs the Coastal and Marine Economics Lab at Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland. Because seafood is a global commodity, even if they are not harvested in Russia, you will notice the price hike, Tokunaga said. In the United States, the dependence on foreign cod stems to the loss of its own once-robust Atlantic cod fishery that cratered in the face of overfishing and environmental changes. U.S. fishermen, based mostly in New England, brought more than 100 million pounds (45.4 million kilograms) of cod to the docks per year in the early 1980s, but the 2020 catch was less than 2 million pounds (900,000 kilograms). Regulators have tried to save the fishery with management measures such as very low fishing quotas, and many fishermen targeting other East Coast groundfish species such as haddock and flounder now avoid cod altogether. Seafood processors in Massachusetts are concerned about job losses due to loss of Russian products, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who does support sanctions on Russia, said. I have heard from seafood processors in my home state with concerns about potential sudden effects of a new, immediate ban on imports on their workforce, including hundreds of union workers in the seafood processing industry, he said on the Senate floor in February. For U.S. producers of seafood staples such as fish and chips, the lack of Russian cod could mean pivoting to other foreign sources, said Walt Golet, a research assistant professor at the University of Maines School of Marine Sciences. We might be able to bring in more from Norway, a little more from Canadian fisheries, Golet said. It really is driven by the price of those imports. As an alternative, producers and consumers could try underutilized fish species caught domestically, such as Atlantic pollock and redfish, said Ben Martens, executive director of Maine Coast Fishermens Association. Maybe this is a time to use haddock or hake or maybe monkfish, something different, Martens said. If its going to disrupt supply chains it does present an opportunity for other species to fill that void. By Patrick Whittle Security forces inspect the site of airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, March 26, 2022. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the truce opens the door to addressing Yemen's urgent humanitarian and economic needs, and creates an opportunity to restart Yemen's political process. UNITED NATIONS, April 1 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday welcomed the agreement by the parties to the conflict in Yemen on a two-month truce, which comes into effect on Saturday. Guterres said the truce opens the door to addressing Yemen's urgent humanitarian and economic needs, and creates an opportunity to restart Yemen's political process. "This truce must be the first step to ending Yemen's devastating war," said Guterres. UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg has just announced the breakthrough in Amman, Jordan. Grundberg said the parties have agreed to halt all offensive military air, ground and maritime operations inside Yemen and across its borders. They have also agreed for fuel ships to enter into Hodeidah ports and for commercial flights to operate in and out of Sanaa airport to pre-determined destinations in the region. Grundberg said the parties have further agreed to meet under his auspices to open roads in Taiz and other governorates in Yemen. The truce can be renewed beyond the two-month period with the consent of the parties, said Grundberg. An aerial view of the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, on March 30, 2022. (Aly Song/Reuters) Shanghai COVID-19 Curbs Prompt Half of US Firms in China to Cut Revenue Forecasts: Survey SHANGHAIMore than half of U.S. multinational companies in China have reduced their annual revenue projections, mostly due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai, according to a joint survey by the American Chambers of Commerce in Shanghai and Beijing published on Friday. Responses to the survey, conducted with 167 companies operating throughout China including 76 in manufacturing, found 82 percent of manufacturers reported slowed or reduced production due to a lack of employees, inability to obtain supplies, or lockdowns. More than half, or 54 percent, have cut 2022 revenue projections following the outbreak, though 38 percent said it was too early to estimate the impact. Some manufacturers in Shanghai, particularly in the automotive industry, have resorted to operating with a closed-loop, wherein employees remain confined to the premises in order to keep production lines running, while outside suppliers are sealed off. Eric Zheng, president of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Shanghai, said that the such arrangements are acceptable for a few days but not sustainable long term. Even if your employees are within the factory bubble, your trucks have to come and go sending inputs and outputs, but thats not possible, said Zheng. I hope this is only a temporary, drastic measure. Shanghai has been battling its largest outbreak for nearly a month and this week most of the city of 26 million people was put under lockdown as cases continued to surge. Authorities have implemented the lockdown in two phases, first targeting the eastern part of the city, followed by the west. AmCham said that only half of the respondents were satisfied with the Chinese regimes pandemic efforts, and 77 percent had expressed dissatisfaction with the length of quarantines. A growing number of local companies have also disclosed how the Shanghai lockdown is weighing on them, ranging from suspended operations and stagnant sales, to drying liquidity and delayed financial disclosures. Shanghai-based power transmission equipment maker Sieyuan Electric Co. said the pandemic has disrupted operations, logistics, and raw material supplies, impacting its first quarter and full-year performance. East Money Information Co. said it was highly uncertain if its annual shareholder meeting can be held at its Shanghai headquarters on April 8, and is suggesting shareholders participate online. Shanghai Shizhong Intelligent Parking Corp. said the lockdown has forced it to halt parking services, directly hitting performance. Critical Race Theory, Prison Culture Similarities Help Predict Where CRT Can Lead: Christopher Rufo Writer, filmmaker, and researcher Christopher Rufo realized while working on a documentary that the ideology of prison gangs that leads to racial segregation in prisons holds similarities to the critical race theory (CRT) being promoted in society. Rufo noticed that although the phenomenon of prison gangs and the development of CRT are different and disparate, by comparing the two and analyzing the outcome of gang activities in the California prison system, he would be able to draw conclusions as to where CRT could lead society. Rufo began exploring prison culture, gang culture, and street culture for a documentary he directed for PBS called America Lost, which looks at three of Americas poorest citiesincluding Stockton, Californiaa city with a highly diverse racial makeup comprising white, black, Latino, and Asian populations. A lot of the prison gangs emerged with a black nationalist or Marxist Leninist ideology in California. They were tightly interconnected with the revolutionary movements of the late 60s and early 1970s, Rufo said on EpochTVs Crossroads program. And those same revolutionary movements, those same ideologies, from the Black Panther Party to Eldridge Cleaver [a Black Panther Party activist] to Angela Davis, were really a focal point and a key inspiration for the discipline of critical race theory. Angela Davis, a political activist, professor, and author, was leader of the Communist Party USA in the 1960s and had close ties to the Black Panther Party. The operations of the California prison organizations led to the creation of an environment where a person isnt an individual but is reduced to a racial category, Rufo said. This is a world where you are not at liberty to choose your associations, but your associations choose you. And this is also a world where racial conflict is considered endemic, inescapable, and permanentand that is an ugly vision of our society. Prison Gangs The current prison gangs in California adhere to strict racial policies and have explicit racialist ideology, according to Rufo. There are black nationalists, white nationalists, and kind of Latino nationalists among those gangs, Rufo said, but a lot of it is really just pure protection and self-interest. When new inmates arrive in a prison in California, e.g. a jail in Stockton, they run the gauntlet of other prisoners and must make a quick decision to choose one of the prison groups: the blacks, the whites, the Latinos, or others that are combinations of different identities, Rufo said. And youre really chosen by these groups, you have to submit to the racial politics of the prison. There are separate facilities, lunch spaces, and trade networks for different identity groups in prisons, he said. And if you cross those lines, youre going to be in big trouble. The Black Panther Party, a political movement of the 1960s, recruited heavily from the prisons, Rufo said. Eldridge Cleaver wrote a lot about how prison shaped his politics. One of the current prison gangs, the Black Guerrilla Family, emerged from that political movement, he said. Prison gangs are criminal organizations that originated within the penal system and they have continued to operate within prisons in the country, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ), but they can also function outside of the prison system, the DOJ said. Typically, a prison gang consists of a select group of inmates who have an organized hierarchy and who are governed by an established code of conduct, the DOJ stated. Ideological Formation The ideologies of Davis and Cleaver were explicitly MarxistLeninist and advocated urban guerrilla warfare as a means of overthrowing American society, Rufo said. Rufo said Davis and Cleaver had this idea that by forming prison gangs, revolutionary cells, and kidnapping and assassination squadswhich were all ideologically driventhey could create a focus in their terminology that would eventually ripple out and then topple American society and all of its institutions. Many prison gangs that espoused the explicitly political ideology of Davis and Cleaver have shed all of the trappings of their social purpose or political purpose, and they became self-interested, but some still remain political, such as the Black Guerrilla Family, Rufo said. This happened to a lot of the Black Panther leaders: They became drug dealers, pimps, common criminals, drug addicts, and they were doing things like robbing banks in order to feed cocaine habits. Critical Race Theory When taught in schools, CRT is hugely destructive to kids, regardless of their racial groups, Rufo says. This is an attempt to inculcate new social norms, so that white students are aware of their white privilege and atone for it by ceding power and authority to oppressed groups, Rufo said. This also imposes white students complicity in white supremacy even if they have never done anything racist. By the virtue of their skin color, the students are guilty, he said. On the other side, CRT holds that students who belong to racial minorities are inherently oppressed and have internalized their own racial inferiority because of the culture they live in, Rufo said. Moreover, it holds that their attempts to take control of their own lives to exercise their own human agency are doomed to failure because they live in a permanently and irreversibly racist society. According to CRT, all of our mechanisms of equal opportunity, of individual rights, of private property, are really mystifications, illusions that only serve white supremacy. The only option offered is to join the political cause of critical race theory. CRT advocates abolishing all of these systems, the Constitution, and private property as the only way for an individual to achieve full racial equality, Rufo said. The premise of CRT is that the kind of discrimination it imposes is not truly discrimination, because you cannot discriminate against identity groups that hold power, and that such discrimination is necessary to expose and then rectify those imbalances of power, he said. Critical race theory is an offshoot of a Marxist branch of thought known as critical theory developed by the founders of the Frankfurt School, a group of Marxist scholars first associated with the University of Frankfurt in Germany and later with Columbia University in New York upon relocating to the United States. CRT is based on the Marxist concept of class struggle, which divides people into two social classes: the bourgeoisie, the oppressor, and the proletariat, the oppressed. In CRT, however, the statuses of oppressor and oppressed are assigned to people on the basis of their skin color. When doing his investigation for the documentary, Rufo went to prison as a journalist to observe the prison culture penetrated by gangs and racial segregation, and he talked to incarcerated people. Based on the experience, he tried to predict where the society infiltrated by critical race theory could head. There is assumed endemic permanent racial conflict as the principal organizing mechanism of prison society. It is one that prioritizes brutality and ruthlessness over every other virtue. And its also one where the kind of worst ideologies and criminal enterprises flourish. And so its not the kind of society that we want anywhere, including in prisons, Rufo said. We dont want our classrooms, corporations, or societies to resemble this in any way, at any strength. There have been some attempts to break up some of the racial segregation in prisons, to disrupt some of these gangs and ideologies. Theyve all failed. Its too deeply entrenched. He said it should serve as a metaphorical or symbolic warning for all of us of what could happen to our social institutions if were not really alert to hostile ideologies before they become entrenched. Ella Kietlinska Reporter Follow Ella Kietlinska is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on U.S. and world politics. Workers stand in line to cast ballots for a union election at Amazon's JFK8 distribution center, in the Staten Island borough of New York City, on March 25, 2022. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters) Staten Island Amazon Workers Vote to Unionize Workers at JFK8, Amazons warehouse located in Staten Island, have voted to be represented by the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), making this the first Amazon warehouse to be represented by a union in the United States. From March 2530, workers at Amazons Staten Island Fulfillment Center JFK8 voted on whether to join the new labor union. The results were announced on Friday, with 2,654 votes in favor and 2,131 against. The results came as a surprise to many established union leaders and labor experts. At the same time as the vote was occurring in Staten Island, another push to unionize at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama was failing. In contrast to the grassroots approach of the JFK8 movement, the Bessemer push was made by the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, an established legacy institution dating to the New Deal era of labor activism. ALU organizer Chris Smalls largely eschewed such established institutions, preferring to work with volunteer workers still employed by Amazon. Amazon responded to the vote with a statement shortly after the results were released, saying: Were disappointed with the outcome of the election in Staten Island because we believe having a direct relationship with the company is best for our employees. The company has indicated it is considering filing objections based on the inappropriate and undue influence of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The unionization process in New York began with a mass walk-out of the companys Staten Island warehouse in March 2020, over concerns that the company was taking insufficient safety precautions during the initial outbreak of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic. This push escalated to appeals for higher wages and more amenable work conditions, culminating in last weeks landmark vote. Amazon has been accused by the NLRB of illegally interfering with organizing efforts by threatening, surveilling, and interrogating employeesallegations which the company vigorously denies. In the months leading up to the vote, Amazons JFK8 Warehouse convened multiple mandatory meetings addressing matters related to unionization, which the ALU condemned as thinly-veiled attempts at union-busting. The vote in favor of unionization was celebrated by the Biden White House, who responded to the vote with enthusiasm in public remarks. [President Joe Biden] believes firmly that every worker in every state must have a free and fair choice to join a union and the right to bargain collectively with their employer, said Press Secretary Jen Psaki at a Friday briefing. The Amazon workers in Staten Island made their choice to organize a grassroots union and bargain for better jobs and a better life. The logo of Japan's Panasonic is displayed in Tokyo, on May 10, 2021. (Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images) Tesla Supplier Looks to Invest $5B on EV Batteries, Supply Chain Software Tesla Inc. battery supplier Panasonic Corp. looked to invest 600 billion ($4.9 billion) in automotive batteries, supply chain software, and other areas it considered core to its growth. Panasonic looked to invest 400 billion in growth segments, including electric-vehicle cells, and another 200 billion yen in hydrogen device technology over three years through fiscal 2024. Panasonic targeted an accumulated operating profit of 1.5 trillion over the period. Panasonic weighed a site for a U.S. factory where it looked to build next-generation batteries for Tesla and other automakers. Panasonic also saw opportunities in supply-chain software, acquiring Blue Yonder, which made supply-chain management tools and used artificial intelligence to predict product demand. By Anusuya Lahiri 2022 The Epoch Times. The Epoch Times does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Soldiers stand onboard a Taiwan Navy minelayer in Keelung, Taiwan, on Jan. 7, 2022. Taiwan is bracing for more Chinese military patrols this year after the People's Liberation Army incursions more than doubled in 2021, fueling concern about a clash between the region's big powers. (I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg via Getty Images) The CCPs Military Plan for Taiwans Subjugation Deceive the heavens to cross the sea News Analysis The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) disguises its intent to subjugate Taiwan via a siege. Inspiration for this effort comes from Chinese military and diplomatic history. The classic Chinese military strategy book, Thirty-Six Stratagems, was written over 1,500 years ago. The first strategy, to deceive the heavens to cross the sea, was designed for countries in a superior position. This strategy intends to lull or condition ones adversary into relaxed vigilance. Responding to the 2016 and 2020 Taiwanese presidential electoral victories of Tsai Ing-wen and the shocking events in Hong Kong and Ukraine, 80 percent of Taiwanese people polled want to keep the status quo or move toward declaring independence from mainland China. Their growing sense of independence and fear of severe consequences of being under the CCPs autocratic and kleptocratic subjugation have galvanized them. The CCP hoped that Taiwan would commit democratic suicide and join other captive regions (Tibet, East Turkestan, Inner Mongolia, and Hong Kong). Due to the Taiwanese public preference for independence, the CCP is examining military options to achieve Taiwans unification with China. The CCP has demonstrated at least three types of behaviors that align with an aggressive strategy. First, it conducts political warfare and military action against countries, companies, and individuals that deviate from the CCPs desired path. Most recently, the CCP tested political warfare weapons in its toolkit against Lithuania with some of the most severe mafia-like measures to date. Second, the CCP uses Vladimir Lenins dictum, You probe with bayonets: if you find mush, you push. If you find steel, you withdraw, in the South China Sea (SCS) by taking over small islands and converting them into Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) military bases. Examples of the CCPs aggression include taking the Paracel Islands (1974) and south Johnson Reef (1988) from Vietnam; and massing commercial, maritime militia, and Chinese Coast Guard ships around the Philippines Scarborough Shoal (2012) and Whitsun Reef (2021). Some of the 220 Chinese vessels are seen moored at Whitsun Reef, South China Sea, on March 7, 2021. (Philippine Coast Guard/National Task Force-West Philippine Sea via AP) The CCPs continued harassment of SCS navies is an example of how it probes, in this case with ships. The SCS countries have not found steel to stop CCP probing and aggression in the SCS. Comparing the U.S. Navy and the PLA Navy (PLAN), the number and capabilities of the ships are often used to show that the PLAN is trying to match the U.S. Navy. Rarely discussed is the comparison of the Chinese Coast Guard to its neighbors assets. In 2015, the U.S. Navys Office of Naval Intelligence published (see below) a comparative analysis of the Chinese Coast Guard, showing the stark Chinese power regional imbalance of the respective coast guards. Office of Naval Intelligence report, titled The PLA Navy: New Capabilities and Missions for the 21st Century. Third, the PLA conducts many types of aggressive military maneuvers in and around Taiwan. The most blatant of these is the unannounced flights of PLA aircraft into the islands air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the southeast, south, and southwest. PLA Air Envelopment Less reported by the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense (MND) are the PLA flights into Japans ADIZ that bracket Taiwan to the northeast, north, and northwest. In 2020, the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) published a rigorous analysis of the PLAs flights in and around South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. The PLA air provocations against Taiwan had three patterns: Circumnavigational flights of Taiwan (most common provocation). ADIZ intrusions (second most common provocation). Violations of the cross-strait median line (viewed as the most provocative action and, as a result, are rare). The circumnavigational flights are probably not reported by the MND since it appears that the PLA Air Force skirts around the Taiwan ADIZ. However, the MND has reported dramatic increases in PLA intrusions into Taiwans ADIZ since the fall of 2020. An example of multiple PLA aircraft ADIZ intrusions occurred on Nov. 28, 2021, with 27 aircraft and longer flight profiles. A comprehensive map (here) shows PLA incursions on Taiwan and Japans ADIZ, detailing the PLA aircraft enveloping Taiwan by air. PLA Naval Envelopment The Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JASDF) have reported PLA Naval deployments between Japan and Taiwan into the western Pacific. These trends are depicted by the most recent Japanese Defense White Paper (2021). Page 18 of the document contains a map depicting the various PLAN deployments in red arrows. Like the PLA aircraft encirclement of Japan and Taiwan (yellow arrows), the PLAN is training for the equivalent maritime encirclement operation (subsurface, surface, and above surface). What Are the Implications? These civil and military actions prepare the CCP for many possible lines of effort. The sheer number of possible actions makes it difficult to identify and assess the likelihood of any particular action. In effect, the CCP is disguising what it plans to do while leaving open several possible courses of action. These actions are designed to lower the vigilance of Taiwan, Japan, the United States, and others. These actions provide China with at least three main optionsthe last of which appears to be the most likely. Option 1: Taiwan Invasion The first option, and the most obvious, is that the CCP is preparing its forces for an invasion of Taiwan. Much has been written on this and how the Chinese will invade. Ian Eastons book, The Chinese Invasion Threat, provides an excellent analysis of a full-scale invasion. This PLA option is its hard course of action that it can implement if Taiwan or other countries cross the CCPs red lines. In the 2020 Department of Defense annual report to Congress, the DOD assessed that the CCP has seven red lines: Formal declaration of Taiwan independence. Undefined moves toward Taiwan independence. Internal unrest in Taiwan. Taiwans acquisition of nuclear weapons. Indefinite delays in the resumption of cross-strait dialogue on unification. Foreign intervention in Taiwans internal affairs. Foreign forces stationed on Taiwan. In the 2021 DOD report, the seventh red line, foreign forces stationed on Taiwan, was removed, probably because the First Special Forces Group released a video on its Facebook page showing personnel training Taiwanese forces in June 2020. In October 2021, President Tsai acknowledged the presence of U.S. military personnel in Taiwan as part of the U.S. assistance to increasing our [Taiwans] defense capability. Two armed U.S.-made F-16V fighters fly over an air force base in Chiayi, southern Taiwan, on Jan. 5, 2022. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images) Option 2: Psychological WarfareDeterrence The second options focus is the threat of invasion (psychological warfaredesigned to deter Taiwan supporters) rather than an actual invasion. The CCP wants to remind Taiwan and the rest of the world to maintain the CCPs One China policy and not provide Taiwan diplomatic recognition and create fear of providing too much support for Taiwan. In effect, the second option is designed to deter the rest of the world and Taiwan from going outside the CCPs red lines and allow maximum flexibility for the CCP: psychological blockade. Option 3: Total Taiwan Blockade With Options The third, and the most likely option, is a total blockade of Taiwan and its islands. Why is a blockade the most likely scenario? Under normal circumstances, a blockade would be an act of war, and the resulting starvation of a countrys population would be categorized as a war crime for international armed conflicts. Yet, according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), blockading a countrys province is not an act of war, and starving ones own population is not categorized as a war crime. Since Taiwan is not recognized as a sovereign country (not a United Nations member), international law does not consider a blockade of Taiwan to be an act of war. The resulting suffering would be difficult to pursue in the ICC since it does not address cases of non-international armed conflicts. The CCPs use of lawfare in a blockade protects the CCP against international legal tools; a blockade and associated actions are consistent with viewing Taiwan as a rebellious Chinese province. Media attention would be minimal if the PLA does not conduct active kinetic operations against Taiwan. In contrast to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a blockade option probably would not motivate international action against the CCP. Warships and fighter jets of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Navy take part in a military display in the South China Sea on April 12, 2018. (Reuters) Beijing has indicated that any foreign nations interference in its operations against Taiwan would be considered interfering with its internal affairs. The CCP has threatened the use of nuclear weapons to counter such interference, thereby establishing another red line before it initiates any operation against Taiwan. Beijing would coerce countries, companies, organizations, and individuals to comply with its demands. Moreover, by blocking shipping and aircraft from arriving to and departing from Taiwan and its associated islands, the CCP would seek to force the population to bend the knee and accept CCP rule. A blockade is classic siege warfare, and Mao Zedong encouraged siege warfare in his book, Peoples War. The CCP would escalate its operation against Taiwan and would conduct a total blockade once it is confident of minimal international opposition. Ukraine provided the CCP with useful insights on global punishments against a superpower. China has more leverage based on its world trade and its experiences than the Russian government. The CCP will prepare accordingly. The Taiwanese government and people should prepare against this likely siege warfare scenario. The Taiwanese should have in place a food supply reserve capability to mitigate critical dependencies such as possible fishing restrictions. The military should make similar preparations if a blockade were implemented, including ensuring that Taiwan has sufficient stored supplies to conduct a protracted war. In addition to an air and sea blockade, the CCP might attempt to implement a communications blockadedenying Taiwan the means to communicate with the outside world by disrupting satellites and sea cables. The 2022 Russia-Ukraine war shows that commercial satellite alternative options are viable and can maintain necessary communications. Conclusion In his book On Protracted War, Mao argued that [t]here can never be too much deception in war. Following his injunction, the CCP uses deception to disguise its preparations to conduct a total blockade: deceive the heavens to cross the sea. Taiwan and its allies should recognize the deception and prepare accordingly for a total blockade. Once a blockade is functioning, additional options to subjugate Taiwan become available to the CCP. Communicating the CCPs blockade threat to Taiwans whole of society could mobilize the population to enhance its resilience. Communicating the CCP threat to Taiwans allies could help deter the CCPs plan of assimilating Taiwan through siege warfare. The CCP is using deception to prepare its battlefield for the effort to subjugate Taiwan. The Taiwanese should heed an ancient Chinese proverb that provides useful advice about the necessity of being prepared for the current situation: Dig the well before you are thirsty. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Used extensively in Asia, but slow to catch on in the West For ancient doctors, the guiding principle was balance. Naturally, a patient who is cold and weak needs warmth and strength. In traditional Chinese medicine, the main remedy for this affliction is called moxibustion or moxa. According to Dr. Tracy Stuardi, a licensed acupuncturist at the Doorway to Wellness clinic in Austin, Texas, moxa gives deep, penetrating heat to resolve underlying cold. The cold will settle in the uterus or the lower abdomen or the GI tract. Often time you can feel when you palpate areas where theyre cold where they shouldnt be, she said. Moxa is an easy way to bring heat to the area. The name moxa is an anglicized version of the Japanese word mogusa, which means burning herbs. The practice involves burning medicinal cigars and cones on or near the body. Moxa is said to have originated from northern China at least 3,000 years ago, and burned on acupuncture points long before the advent of needles. Today, moxa is used to treat a wide range of issues, such as chronic digestive disturbance, menstrual problems, reproductive concerns, and advanced illnesses such as tuberculosis, Lyme disease, and cancer. Its very powerful for pain, said Stuardi. Many patients we see come in with a lot of pain and sometimes the needles alone arent enough. Stuardi is unique in that many Western practitioners of Chinese medicine have shied away from moxa, preferring instead to focus attention on acupuncture. Its a shame that more practitioners are not doing it, she said. I think a lot of people are intimidated. And it takes more time. In China, Japan, and Korea, moxa plays a major role in treatment, but in the United States the technique has been slow to catch on. Moxa is taught in Chinese medicine schools, but many American acupuncturists abandon this modality once they graduate. According to Stuardi, the biggest issue with moxa is the smell. Moxibustion treatment creates an aromatic smoke which many people mistake for marijuana. People are like, oh, what is that smell? Is that okay? Is it supposed to smell like that? she said. The bottom line is that its a very effective technique. Primary Medicine Moxa has not been researched as much as acupuncture, but the available literature shows positive effects on the blood, immunity, and the regeneration of tissue. A 1998 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 75 percent of pregnant women had their breech fetuses turn to the normal position with moxa burned on an acupuncture point located on the pinky toe. While moxa may be considered a minor part of Chinese medicine in the West, ancient doctors held it in high regard. In the Nei Jinga fundamental text in Chinese medicinemoxa is said to do what the needle cannot. Some modern practitioners are taking this ancient notion to heart. Daniel Silver, a licensed acupuncturist, and adjunct professor at the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon, described the complex case of a woman he recently treated with moxibustion. She had been in multiple car accidents, and had received acupuncture from various practitioners for months at a time, but only experienced minor improvements. With just one session of moxa, however, she reported life changing effects. Ive seen so many great results with patients, said Silver. Im really convinced on a daily basis about the benefits of this, and hope more and more people can find it. Silver says that what keeps many American acupuncturists from using moxa is that theyre too worried about the possibility of accidentally burning a patient. He urges practitioners to overcome this fear with practice. Its good for people to have a healthy respect and concern for it, he said. Part of the problem is that in the West we tend to think of medicine in a very intellectual way, and this is very much a hands on skill in which you need to develop proficiency so that it can be performed in a therapeutic manner. Magical Mugwort Moxa is made from a prolific weed called mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), which is often prescribed in herbal medicine for uterine complaints, such as labor pain, menstrual cramps, and heavy bleeding, as well as digestive, hormonal, and circulatory disorders. For use in moxibustion, mugwort is processed into a spongy material called moxa wool. According to Lorraine Wilcox, author of two books on moxibustion for clinical use, ancient Chinese doctors choose mugwort because it had all the right qualities: it smolders easily, and produces a steady, slow burning heat. On a Nov 17, 2014 episode of the Yin Yang podcast, an audio program for acupuncturists, Wilcox said one of the main reasons mugwort was chosen was for its magical properties. In really old books, mugwort is used against evil qi or ghosts or toxic things like snakes and scorpions and stuff like that, she said. So it has a supernatural aspect, as well as the creepy crawly things dont much like it. Mugwort smoke has a calming effect on the nervous system. Once patients get over the funny smell, they may actually enjoy it. Some patients drift off into a nice euphoric rest during their treatment, said Stuardi. Moxa can benefit anyone, but there are times when it is not appropriate, such as with fever, infection, eczema, and other signs of excess heat. Points on the abdomen and lower back should be avoided in the early stages of pregnancy. Direct and Indirect Moxa techniques are divided into two categories: direct and indirect. The direct method, which requires a skilled practitioner, burns directly on the skin. With the indirect method, a hot moxa ember is held about an inch away from the body. The indirect method is easy to learn, and often times a practitioner may give the patient a moxa cigar and an acupuncture point to hold it over to continue treatment at home. Hold the heat above the prescribed point, and pull it away when it gets too hot. Give the area a few seconds to cool, then resume treatment. Stuardi instructs patients to go past the superficial feeling of warmth until the heat penetrates deep into the tissue. Once youve felt the heat penetrate youll know youve done a good job and you can extinguish the stick, she said. A session usually lasts between 5 and 10 minutes. Moxa supplies are available in Chinatown shops, acupuncture schools, or over the Internet, and come in a variety of shapes and sizes: from cigarette butt-sized stumps with an adhesive end, to loose moxa wool. One popular form is a charcoal-based smokeless moxa stick for those who want to avoid the smoke and smell. However, Stuardi believes these are less effective. I try never to use smokeless, unless for some reason thats the only thing available, she said. For people with asthma, allergies, or suspicious neighbors, Silver recommends high grade Japanese moxa, such as Ibuki Gold Mountain. It has very, very little smell, said Silver. Most of the smell you get from this kind of moxa is from the incense you use to light it. Many people can tolerate it. A girl waits in a car at an evacuation point in a convoy of cars and buses carrying hundreds of people evacuated from Mariupol and Melitopol, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on March 25, 2022. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images) Thousands Evacuated from Devastated Ukrainian City Mariupol Thousands of people were successfully evacuated by buses from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Friday, according to Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who called the situation there a humanitarian catastrophe. Zelenskyy said in a video address early Saturday that a humanitarian corridor was operational in Zaporizhzhia, allowing for the evacuation of 3,071 residents from Mariupol. Tens of thousands of people have been trapped in the besieged city, with scant access to food and water. A service member of pro-Russian troops stands on the ruins of a destroyed apartment building in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 30, 2022. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters) The Red Cross said that its team tried to facilitate safe passage out of Mariupol on Friday but they had to turn back and return to Zaporizhzhia after encountering conditions that made it impossible to proceed. We will try again tomorrow, the Red Cross said, adding that, its critical the parties respect agreements and provide the necessary security guarantees. On a number of occasions, Russia and Ukraine have agreed to humanitarian corridors to facilitate the evacuation of civilians, but those efforts have often ended in failure, with both sides trading blame. Seven such corridors were planned for Saturday, Ukraines Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. Ukrainian rescue workers carry an elderly woman under the destroyed bridge in Irpin, near Kyiv, Ukraine, on Apr. 1, 2022. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo) Mariupol is a key target of Moscows military operation and has been subjected to extensive bombardment. Seizing the city would let Russian forces secure a land bridge to Crimea and consolidate their grip along the Black Sea coast along southeastern Ukraine. Humanitarian Catastrophe Zelenskyy said he had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday about the humanitarian situation in Ukrainian cities shelled by Russian forces, including in Mariupol. Europe has no right to react in silence to what is happening in our Mariupol. The whole world must react to this humanitarian catastrophe, he said. Mariupol has seen some of the worst suffering of the war. Around 100,000 people are believed to remain in the city, down from around 430,000 before the outbreak of hostilities. Weeks of bombardment and urban combat have led to severe shortages of water, food, fuel, and medicine. We are running out of adjectives to describe the horrors that residents in Mariupol have suffered, Red Cross spokesperson Ewan Watson said. An elderly woman crosses a street near a building damaged in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 1, 2022. (Alexander Ermochenko/Ukraine) Tamila Mazurenko, an evacuee from Mariupol, expressed exasperation at the situation there, in remarks to The Associated Press. I have only one question. Why? We only lived as normal people. And our normal life was destroyed. And we lost everything, she said, adding that shes lost her job and cant find her son, who lived in a different part of the city near the frontline. Local residents sit on a bench near an apartment building destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 25, 2022. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters) Hopes for Peace Discussions are underway between Ukraine and Russia about the removal of the wounded and dead from Mariupol, Zelenskyy said, with Turkey serving as a mediator. Turkey shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea, has good ties with both countries, and has sought to mediate the conflict. A key goal in Turkeys mediation effort has been to bring together the Ukrainian and Russian presidents for peace talks. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that he had spoken by phone in recent days with both Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Erdogan said he conveyed to Putin his desire to crown the peace efforts by bringing the two leaders together for talks. He told Zelenskyy that he believes Turkey-mediated talks had thus far added a meaningful momentum to efforts to end the war. The Turkish president said that hopes for peace had been revived since negotiators from both sides met earlier in Istanbul for talks. At the conclusion of the talks in Istanbul on Tuesday, Russia said it would start scaling down operations near Kyiv as a sign of goodwill. Western leaders were skeptical of Moscows declaration, calling it a smokescreen for repositioning troops for renewed attacks in eastern Ukraine. Russias ministry of defense later said its forces have completed regrouping operations around Kyiv and were poised for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine. The objective of the regrouping of the Russian Armed Forces is to intensify action in priority areas and, above all, to complete the operation for the total liberation of Donbass, the ministry said. A man rides his bike past a destroyed Russian tank in Trostyanets, Ukraine, on March 30, 2022. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images) The Donbass region in eastern Ukraine encompasses the two separatist-controlled so-called peoples republics that Russia claims it is helping to liberate. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces were continuing to advance against withdrawing Russian forces around Kyiv, British intelligence said Saturday. Zelenskyy warned that even though Russian forces were withdrawing from the vicinity of Kyiv, it wasnt safe for Ukrainians to return due to mines and booby traps. As Russian forces are leaving, they are mining all this territory. Mining houses, equipment, even the bodies of killed people, Zelenskyy said. Too many tripwire mines, too many other dangers. South Korean protestors shout slogans during a rally against North Korea's regime in Seoul on April 26, 2011. The placards read 'Freedom and human rights for North Korean people.' (Ji-Hwan Park/AFP/Getty Images) UN Adopts Resolution on North Korean Long-Standing Human Rights Abuses The United Nations Human Rights Council on Apr. 1 adopted a resolution on North Korean human rights abuses, condemning in the strongest terms the widespread and gross human rights violations in the hermit nation. This marks the 20th consecutive year the U.N. has adopted a resolution on the North Korean human rights situation, according to South Koreas Yonhap News Agency (YNA). The resolution stated that the U.N. condemns in the strongest terms the long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations in the state. It urged North Korea to cooperate with the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility and other relevant organizations to allow vaccine delivery and distribution to its people, noting that the humanitarian situation has been exacerbated by the pandemic. The resolution also called on North Korea to immediately halt human rights violations in detention facilities, including prison camps, release all political prisoners, and cease the arbitrary and summary execution of persons in custody. The London-based non-profit Korea Future released the North Korean prison database on March 27, which identified 597 perpetrators linked to over 5,000 human rights violations in North Koreas penal system. At their most brutal, these violations amounted to severe physical assault, including corporal punishment (452 cases) and positional torture (321 cases). At their most cruel, acts perpetrated against detainees included forced abortions (35 cases), Korea Future stated in its report. It stated that the ruling Workers Party of Korea, led by Kim Jong Un, was responsible for the countrys gross violations of international human rights law resulting from the failure to meet its legal obligations to detainees in the penal system. Meanwhile, the U.N. also urged the North Korean authorities to resolve the issue of abducted or forcibly disappearing people by assuring their immediate return. The council further urges the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea to extend an invitation to the Office of the High Commissioner to visit the country, it added, referring to North Koreas official name. Automobiles are shown for sale at a car dealership in Carlsbad, Calif., on May 2, 2016. (Mike Blake/Reuters) US Auto Sales Slide in Q1; Toyota Outsells GM U.S. automakers on Friday reported a slump in first-quarter domestic sales, as the entire industry was slammed by chip shortages and disruptions to supply chains. Toyota, which in 2021 upstaged GM as the top-selling automaker in the United States, outsold the company in the first quarter on increased demand for its Lexus hybrid and electric vehicles. South Koreas Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors and Japans Mazda Motor Corp all posted a drop in overall U.S. quarterly auto sales. Hyundai said electrified vehicle retail sales surged 241 percent in the JanuaryMarch period from a year earlier. If gas prices remain high, thats going to continue to push consumers toward green technology, said Randy Parker, Hyundais senior vice president for U.S. sales. Skyrocketing gas prices were top of mind for consumers in March, but the lack of inventory is what ultimately depressed new vehicle sales in the first quarter, said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds executive director of insights. She said inventory issues will persist well into the rest of the year as Russias invasion of Ukraine would add to supply chain challenges. Jack Hollis, senior vice president of automotive operations at Toyota Motor North America, said he does not expect a major, long-term shift in the U.S. vehicle marketwhere about three-quarters of new vehicles sold are trucks and SUVs. Sales of some large SUVs and trucks held up. GM reported sales of its largest and most expensive SUVs, the Chevrolet Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade, rose during the quarter from a year ago. Detroit-based GM said quarterly sales fell 20.1 percent to 512,846 vehicles and its shares fell 1.8 percent. GM said improved semiconductor supplies helped production in the quarter, but it expects inventory to remain relatively low throughout the year due to high demand. Automakers are encouraged by the strong U.S. job market. The companys chief economist said in a statement that ordinarily, a U.S. economy this strong would translate into light-vehicle sales in the 17-million range. U.S. new-vehicle sales in March finished at 1.25 million, with an annual sales rate of 13.33 million, according to Wards Intelligence. By Aishwarya Nair A test-fire of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), at an undisclosed location in North Korea, on March 24, 2022. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) US Issues Fresh North Korea Sanctions After Recent Missile Launches WASHINGTONThe United States on Friday imposed sanctions on five entities it accused of providing support to North Koreas development of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, increasing pressure on Pyongyang following a recent series of missile launches. The Treasury Department in a statement said the action targets the Ministry of Rocket Industry, which it said is a North Korean weapons of mass destruction research and development organization directly linked to the development of new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). It also designated four of the organizations subsidiariesHapjanggang Trading Corporation, Korea Rounsan Trading Corporation, Sungnisan Trading Corporation, and Unchon Trading Corporation. North Koreas mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new sanctions. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) walks around what it says a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on the launcher, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, on March 24, 2022. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) Fridays move follows a rise in tensions with North Korea after two ballistic missile tests on Feb. 26 and March 4 that involved a new ICBM system that North Korea is developing, and last weeks first full ICBM test conducted by North Korea since 2017. The DPRKs (Democratic Peoples Republic of Koreas) provocative ballistic missile tests represent a clear threat to regional and global security and are in blatant violation of UN Security Council resolutions, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in the statement. The United States is committed to using our sanctions authorities to respond to the DPRKs continued development of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles, she said. Washingtons move on Friday follows measures imposed by Japan, which froze the assets of six North Koreans for involvement in North Koreas weapons projects. South Korean officials have reported new construction at the Norths only known nuclear test site, which was shuttered in 2018. There are increasing signs that North Korea could soon test a nuclear weapon for the first time since 2017 in a bid to improve its arsenal and increase political pressure, U.S. and South Korean officials and analysts said. By Daphne Psaledakis Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Myanmar's Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province, April 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) HEFEI, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday met with Myanmar's Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province. Hailing the traditional friendship between the two countries, Wang said China has always placed Myanmar in an important position in its neighborly diplomacy. He said that no matter how the situation changes, China will support Myanmar in safeguarding its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and in exploring a development path suited to its national conditions. Wang said China is ready to work with Myanmar to deepen exchanges and cooperation in all areas to achieve the goal of building a China-Myanmar community with a shared future. Wang called on the two sides to accelerate the construction of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), better carry out major landmark projects, and deepen solidarity in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. For his part, U Wunna Maung Lwin said that Myanmar fully supports China's positions on issues concerning its core interests, and thanked China for its tremendous support of Myanmar's development and fight against the pandemic. Myanmar is willing to expand economic and trade cooperation with China, accelerate the construction of the CMEC, and push for more tangible outcomes under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, said U Wunna Maung Lwin The two sides had in-depth communication on regional cooperation. They also exchanged views on issues including the South China Sea and the Ukraine crisis. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Myanmar's Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province, April 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby talks to reporters during a news briefing at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on March 31, 2022. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) US Provides $300 Million More in Security Assistance to Ukraine, Including Military Equipment The Pentagon announced on April 1 that it will provide up to $300 million more in security assistance to Ukraine in military equipment amid Russias invasion. The funds will be provided under authority granted to the Pentagon by the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which was created in 2015 in response to Russias annexation of Crimea. This decision underscores the United States unwavering commitment to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity in support of its heroic efforts to repel Russias war of choice, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby announced. According to the department, capabilities in the latest package include laser-guided rocket systems, tactical secure communications systems, unmanned aircraft, armored vehicles, machine guns, ammunition, medical supplies, and other equipment. Kirby said the new package represents the beginning of a contracting process to provide new capabilities to Ukraine, rather than delivering equipment drawn from U.S. military stockpiles. In addition to military aid, the United States has been providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine and issued sanctions on Russian financial institutions and Russian officials, and other individuals linked to the Kremlin. The United States and other western nations have not declared a no-fly zone to protect Ukraines airspacein spite of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys repeated appealsto steer clear of any potential conflict with Russia, a nuclear threat. However, the NATO allies have said they would engage if Russia mounts an attack on any NATO member. US Trade Chief Tai Declines to Say If Taiwan Will Be Part of Indo-Pacific Pact WASHINGTONU.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Thursday declined to say if Taiwan would be invited to join the Biden administrations Indo-Pacific economic plan, spurring Senate criticism that excluding the island would be a missed opportunity. Taiwan has voiced its desire to be a full member in the forthcoming Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which is one part of the administrations effort to counter what it says is Beijings increasing economic and military coercion in the region. The administration says the still fledgling IPEF aims to be inclusive, but it has not publicly detailed any membership plans. IPEF is intended as a flexible economic framework that would align members on supply chain security, infrastructure, labor standards, green energy, and other issues. Tai, testifying before the Senate Finance Committee, called Taiwan an essential partner, but that no decisions had been made on membership. On the point of Taiwan, we are in general in conversations with those who are interested in joining this framework, Tai said when asked by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) if the island would be invited to join the framework. Participation in the IPEF is still under consideration, and as far as Im aware no decisions have been made, said Tai, the U.S.-born daughter of immigrants from Taiwan. Menendez responded that the democratically governed island claimed by the Chinese regime was a key strategic and trading partner intertwined with U.S. economic security. I get a sense from that answer that we will not include Taiwan within the IPEF, which is missing an opportunity, he said. The exchange followed a March 30 letter from 200 members of Congress from both parties, including Republicans Michael McCaul, Liz Cheney, and Elise Stefanik, and Democrats Ted Lieu, Ro Khanna, and Elissa Slotkin, urging Tai and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to invite Taiwan to join IPEF. Taiwans inclusion would also send a clear signal that the United States stands with its allies and partners, and will not be bullied by the PRC, the representatives said, referring to the Peoples Republic of China. The letter was posted on the official Congress website of Democratic Congressman Albio Sires, who also signed it. Some analysts argue Taiwans participation in the plan could make countries in the region hesitant to join for fear of retaliation from the Chinese regime. The Commerce Department referred a Reuters request for comment to the White House National Security Council, which also said no decisions had been made on membership. A spokesperson for Taiwans de-facto embassy in Washington said: Regarding IPEF, Taiwan continues to exchange views with the U.S. through existing economic and trade mechanisms and channels. Though it doesnt have formal ties with Washington, Taiwan is one of Asias most vibrant democracies and economies, and is a dominant producer of semiconductors crucial to global supply chains. Using the Constitution to Re-Rank the Presidents Commentary Every so often you read about a survey in which scholars rate the performance of previous American presidents. A good example is one recently conducted by C-SPAN. You can see its presidential rankings here. The C-SPAN survey awards the top two positions to Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, respectively. There are some good reasons for placing those two presidents at or near the top. Below that, however, the C-SPAN ratingslike the results of most other surveys (such as this 2015 one from the Washington Post)are largely detached from reality. For example, is it really credible that the top 20 presidents of all time should include six of the last seven Democrats? Yet thats where the C-SPAN results place them: Franklin Roosevelt ranks third; Harry Truman, sixth; John F. Kennedy, eighth; Barack Obama, 10th; Lyndon Johnson, 11th; and Bill Clinton, 19th. The only modern Democrat not to make the top 20 was Jimmy Carter (26th). You might argue that the challenges of the modern world make it easier for a president to be great. Then why are only two of the ten Republicans who served during the same period in the top 20? (Dwight Eisenhower, fifth; Ronald Reagan, ninth.) The C-SPAN ratings reveal many other anomalies: Why does Clinton, who disgraced the White House, rank 19th when Grover Cleveland, whose terms were models of integrity and common sense, places at only 25th? Why does Kennedy, whose presidency was a failure on almost every front, win the eighth spotwhen James K. Polk, whose presidency was a brilliant success, ranks just 18th? Why was the inconclusive presidency of Eisenhower superior to that of Reagan, the winner of the Cold War? Reasons for the Anomalies I think there are two primary reasons for these anomalies. First, when you limit participation to academics, your pool is overwhelmingly left-of-center. Liberals and leftists value big government, and naturally they like presidents who share their agenda. Second, these surveys generally ask respondents to judge presidents by criteria that do not measure presidential performance well. They include questions such as whether a president made a difference (changed America in some way), achieved his goals, or had vision. Not surprisingly, when you ask liberal academics to respond to such criteria, inferior presidents like JFK and LBJ end up in the top 20. One way of reducing the bias is to assure respondents of absolute anonymity, so they can answer without fearing retaliation from the campus authoritarians. An even better way is to extend the pool of respondents beyond the universities to include scholars in independent policy centers. Many conservative and moderate scholars have left or avoided academia for these think tanks so they can work in intellectual freedom. Just as important, however, is asking the respondents to rank the presidents by more objective criteria. The Constitution Offers More Objective Criteria To decide whether a person has done well or poorly in a job, you need to examine the job description. Otherwise, your performance assessment will suffer. By way of illustration: Suppose Jane Smith is the chief executive officer for a business firm. She dresses well, charms the shareholders, and takes over the responsibilities of other officers. Do those attributes make her a good CEO? No. To determine whether she is a good CEO, well want to know if she runs the firm efficiently and honestly; hires talented people, puts them in the right positions, and keeps them happy; turns a good current profit and makes the correct decisions necessary for future profits. The president has a job description, also. It appears in the specific document that creates the position: the Constitution of the United States. A successful president does the following things well: Faithfully execute[s] the Office and preserve[s], protect[s] and defend[s] the Constitution of the United States. Signs and vetoes bills, using responsible criteria. Serves as Commander in Chief of the armed forces. Enforces the laws faithfully. Grants pardons in appropriate circumstances. With some congressional input, conducts foreign policy. (This is a summary of several more specific responsibilities.) Appoints and commissions judges and other officers, sometimes subject to Senate approval and sometimes not. Nominates a qualified person to fill the vice presidency when there is a vacancy. Provides Congress with information on the condition of the country (State of the Union). Recommends to Congress such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient. In certain circumstances, convenes and adjourns Congress. These are the real measures of a presidents performance. A good president defends the Constitution and respects its limits, recommends and signs beneficial bills and vetoes bad ones, competently enforces the laws, appoints appropriate people to office, is an effective military leader, and conducts a wise foreign policy. Except as included in those duties, there is nothing on the list about vision or making a difference or changing America. How Using the Correct Factors Alters the Rankings If we apply the Constitutions job description, Washington and Lincoln still rank very high. Lincoln, for example, carried out his duty to enforce federal laws under uniquely challenging conditionsand considering the difficulty of the task, he made relatively few mistakes. Otherwise, however, the rankings would change markedly. Most recent presidents would lose points for their failure to respect the Constitutions limits on federal power. Clinton would lose points for allegedly committing perjury while in office, thereby personally violating his duty to enforce the law. Several modern presidents would rank behind their predecessors because they allowed political concerns to corrupt law enforcement. My guess is that this is one reason Richard Nixon is only 31st in the C-SPAN survey, despite his pursuit of many policies liberals favor. But other recent presidents also were responsible for corrupting law enforcement, including Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Clinton, and Obama. The Constitution emphasizes the presidents military and foreign policy responsibilities. Accordingly, military and foreign policy performance should weigh heavily in surveys. Thus: Polks brilliant foreign policy achievements probably should place him in the top 15 among all presidents. Franklin Roosevelt wins points for his World War II leadership, but should lose them for his over-accommodation of Stalin. (Harry Truman, whom the C-SPAN survey implausibly ranks sixth, made the same mistake.) Lyndon Johnson ranks 11th in the C-SPAN results, but his diplomatic and military failures should lower that significantly. Johnson certainly should not outrank James Madison (No. 16), who successfully fought the War of 1812 against a great power and respected the Constitutions limits while doing so. In light of the relative success of their respective foreign policies, the C-SPAN rating of Obama (10th) is absurdly high and that of Donald Trump (41st) is absurdly low. Some Other Ranking Changes I cant give you a completely new scorecard based on the presidents constitutional job description. But I can suggest some additional changes. Grover Cleveland belongs in the top 20. As History.com points out, he based political appointments on merit rather than party affiliation, tried to reduce government spending, sought to lower anti-consumer tariffs, and was an honest and hard-working president. The same source also tells us that Cleveland is criticized for being unimaginative and having no overarching vision for American society and was opposed to using legislation to bring about social change. More reasons, in my view, for including him in the top 20. Similarly, Calvin Coolidge should be in the top 20 for honest law enforcement, a competent (if somewhat romantic) foreign policy, frugal administration, and respect for constitutional limits. Millard Fillmore enforced laws he disagreed with, promoted international trade, restored diplomatic relations with Mexico, and generally pursued a policy of reconciliation in times of great division. He deserves to be rescued from historical contempt (C-SPANs survey places him at only 38th), and promoted to a rank near the middle. Obama and Clinton both should be demoted further for disregarding the Constitutions limits on federal powers and misusing law enforcement agencies. Woodrow Wilson traditionally has been a favorite among academic liberals. But growing acknowledgment of his failures has resulted in a drop in his C-SPAN rankings over time. Wilson now stands at 13th. That is still too high: He disregarded constitutional limits, implemented racist policies, involved us in a war that only tangentially affected our national interests, and pursued an ineffective foreign policy after that war. Lyndon Johnson belongs in the bottom five. Ive mentioned his foreign policy failures. In addition, his abused the law enforcement power and pushed through unconstitutional domestic programs with results that ranged from wasteful to disastrous. One last point: Sometimes a president dies at a time opportune for his reputation. Kennedys death certainly prevented further demonstration of his reckless incompetence. The early death of Lincoln (ranked first in the C-SPAN survey) also contributed to his reputation: One reason often cited for Lincolns greatness is his policy of magnanimity toward the defeated South. His successor, Andrew Johnson, certainly had his own faults. But if Lincolns generous policy was a mark of his greatness, then perhaps Johnson deserves to be ranked higher than 43rd for trying to continue that policy. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Many Jan. 6 defendants have been through an anguishing year in ways no simple headline could ever capture. Brandon Straka, founder of the #WalkAway Campaign talks to us while under house arrest about his ordeal, including the ongoing punishment of being placed on the TSA terrorism watchlistall for a non-violent misdemeanor. Then, in America Q&A we ask: How do you react when someone expresses a political opinion you dont agree with? Next, for Jan. 6 defendant Matthew Perna, the psychological pressure of the last year ultimately crushed his spiritand on Feb. 25, days before his sentencing, he took his life. His aunt Geri Perna shares the heartbreaking story of what he and the family have been through. She says the DOJ and media are to blame for her nephews death. Finally, in our second America Q&A, as a new judge is added to the highest court, we ask if you think there should be term limits for Supreme Court Justices. Washington Governor Jay Inslee on Thursday signed into law a minimum pay standard for Uber and Lyft drivers, making Washington the first U.S. state to implement earnings standards for ride-hail companies. Drivers across the Northwestern state will earn a minimum of $1.17 per mile and 34 cents per minute with a minimum pay of $3.00 per trip. Under the new law, drivers will also have access to paid sick time, family medical leave and long-term care programs, and be eligible for workers compensation, a U.S. government-mandated program that provides benefits to workers who become injured or ill on the job. Drivers will also be able to appeal should they be removed from the apps. In Seattle, which passed its own ride-hail pay standard in September 2020, drivers will continue to earn minimum rates of $1.38 per mile and 59 cents per minute at a minimum of $5.17 per trip. The law, which has been supported by Uber and Lyft, takes away local regulatory power, banning cities and counties from implementing additional requirements for companies. The law also states that ride-hail drivers are not employees, a contentious issue between some labor groups and gig economy companies including Uber and Lyft. The gig companies, whose workers operate as independent contractors, oppose any reclassification while some labor groups argue drivers should be employees with access to greater benefits. The new Washington law was supported by the Teamsters union Local 117, which was also behind the push for the Seattle pay standard. Before this law, in the United States only Seattle and New York City had implemented minimum pay standards for ride-hail drivers. People want medicine tailored to their religious beliefs, health history, and other circumstances When my children were 7, 5, and almost 3, our family moved to West Africa for a year. Id been awarded a Fulbright grant to teach 19th-century American literature to English majors at the University of Abdou Moumouni in Niamey, Niger, as well as to do research on small-scale development projects. We went to our local health clinic to undergo the extensive physicals required by the United States government and get prescriptions for anti-malarial prophylaxis. We also talked to the doctor about the extra shots we needed, and rolled up our sleeves for vaccines. For one, we were heading to a country where polio was still endemic, so my husband and I needed a booster, which typically isnt given to adults. For another, we needed yellow fever vaccines and, as we were going to the meningococcal belt, vaccines to protect us against that disease. I was grateful for these vaccines to help us be as safe and healthy as possible overseas. After all, I knew that vaccines were a tremendous medical achievement and an important tool in the medical toolbox. Vaccine-Friendly Doctors Vaccine-friendly doctors are doctors who understand that individualized medicine tailored to the needs of the patient results in the best health of the individual as well as of the community. These are doctors who accept patients who want to follow the CDC vaccination schedule as well as patients who choose to do some but not all vaccines, and patients who decide to forgo all vaccines. The term was coined by Dr. Robert Sears, author of The Vaccine Book. Sears, a pediatrician based in southern California, hails from a highly educated medical family. His father, Dr. William Sears, is the 82-year-old celebrity doctor and bestselling author known for promoting attachment parenting. Over 10 Million Saved According to Leonard Hayflick, a biologist at the University of CaliforniaSan Francisco whose work helped make vaccines more widely available, vaccines have saved at least 10.3 million lives. In 2017, Hayflick was second author of a paper with epidemiologist and biostatistician Stuart Jay Olshansky, a professor at the University of Illinois. Their peer-reviewed scientific study analyzed the death rates for ten common viral infections prior to 1960 in order to estimate the number of infections that might have developed if no vaccines had been available. They concluded that 4.5 billion virus cases were averted, and 6.2 million lives in Asia alone were saved. Why Pick and Choose Vaccines? What that study failed to mention, however, is that the cell strain that Hayflick developed for vaccines for humans, WI-38, was derived from the lung tissue of a 3-month-old fetus, according to the company that sells them by the vial (for $520.00). That baby had been legally aborted in Sweden. Her body was not incinerated or thrown away. Instead, it was wrapped in sterile cloth and sent to northwest Stockholm, to the Karolinska Institute, without the moms knowledge or permission, according to Meredith Waldman, author of The Vaccine Race, as quoted by the BBC. The official position of the Vatican is that the good that results from vaccination outweighs the harm of abortion. Pope Francis has tweeted his support for vaccines. But some who adhere to religions that believe abortion is murder make the difficult and controversial choice not to give their children vaccines made with cell lines that were grown on aborted fetal tissue. These include vaccines to protect against chickenpox, measles, mumps, rubella, and hepatitis A, among others, according to the CDCs Vaccine Excipient List, which lists most of the ingredients in each brand of the recommended vaccines. Nina Martinov is the founder of Slavic Voice, a political action group that, she told me, has over a thousand members who advocate for the concerns of immigrants from Eastern Europe. Martinov says members are not anti-vaccine. But many are part of the Slavic Christian Community who choose not to use vaccines grown in human fetal fibroblast cells, because these cells were originally obtained via abortion. We object to vaccines made with cells from aborted baby fetuses. We are pro-life, Martinov, who is based in Happy Valley, Oregon, said. Similarly, some who belong to the Old Believers, and the Church of Christ, Scientist also choose to avoid certain, or even all, vaccines. While Christian Scientists are deeply concerned with public health and individual responsibility, many choose to maintain the sanctity of their bodies and put their faith in the power of prayer instead of in vaccines. Nonreligious Reasons to Forgo Some Vaccines There are also several nonreligious reasons that some decide to forgo some or even all vaccines. People who are against animal cruelty and lead a vegan lifestyle object to the bovine serum albumin, Madin-Darby canine kidney cell protein, hydrolyzed porcine gelatin, and egg products found in some of the most common vaccines. Others have had a severe adverse reaction to vaccines in the past, as Dr. Sylvia Fogel, a Harvard-affiliated psychiatrist who specializes in autism, pointed out in a 2019 article. These parents have done a careful risk-benefit analysis with the help of their medical providers and have decided they would rather take the risk of catching certain diseases and dying from them than the risk of having another serious adverse event. Still others disagree with the current CDC schedule and feel that there are too many vaccines given too soon (a sentiment recently echoed by European health officials in regards to COVID boosters, as reported by Voice of America). These people want to say no, thank you, to certain vaccineslike chickenpox (which is usually a mild illness) and the birth and infant series of the hepatitis B vaccine (which protects against a sexually transmitted disease)and yes, please to others. In general, according to over a dozen peer-reviewed scientific studies, including a 2012 study by researchers in Colorado and a 2008 study by researchers in the United Kingdom, as well as testimony from medical doctors and researchers, the families that forego some or all vaccines tend to be well-educated, well-informed, and more affluent than parents who adhere to the governments vaccination schedule without any modifications. The Vaccine-Friendly Plan Paul Thomas is a vaccine-friendly doctor who has a thriving pediatric practice in Portland, Oregon. In 2016, we co-wrote a book together called The Vaccine-Friendly Plan. The book is based on data from the over 13,000 children (which represent about 7,000 families) in Dr. Pauls practice and a thorough review of the scientific literature. Dr. Paul graduated from Dartmouths Geisel School of Medicine. A conventional doctor when he first started practicing, he began noticing that many children in his care were experiencing bad outcomes. His colleagues told him the encephalopathy and other chronic developmental disorders he was seeing were normal. But the families in his care whose children were being diagnosed with autism, autoimmune conditions despite having no genetic predisposition, and other problems begged for answers. Dr. Paul started to research the current CDC vaccination schedule. He learned that the United States has one of the most aggressive schedules in the world but that children from other countries with gentler schedules enjoyed better health outcomes. He also found that when parents in his practice made judicious evidence-based modifications to the current schedule, including not giving their children acetaminophen, and avoiding over-exposure to toxins, their children thrived. The vaccine-friendly plan is designed to keep children protected from communicable diseases but also keep their brains and immune systems healthy and intact. Several key parts of the plan are: Avoiding vaccines during pregnancy Spacing out aluminum-containing shots so a child only gets one per visit in order to minimize a childs exposure to this known-neurotoxin Delaying the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine until 36 months, which results in excellent uptake (based on antibody testing) but many fewer cases of adverse reactions Exclusive breastfeeding, when possible, for as long as mutually desirable for the mom and the baby No acetaminophen, as this common drug has been associated with both brain and lung damage in many studies Since our book was published in 2016, Dr. Paul has also published two peer-reviewed scientific papers that share his data with the public, one in March of 2020 in the Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology and one in November 2020 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Even though he gives vaccines in his office every day and I chose to vaccinate my children, Dr. Paul and I have both been accused of being anti-vaccine. Our books recommendations are informed by both Dr. Pauls clinical experience and over 300 scientific citations that readers can review in the endnotes. Yet CNN wrote an article in 2019, Anti-vaccination conspiracy theories thrive on Amazon, that accused the book of peddling misinformation disguised as being neutral. Dr. Pauls license has been under almost continual scrutiny by Oregons medical board. It should be the case that medical practices where patients are enjoying better outcomes than average citizens lead the way to better public health policy. Instead of vilifying vaccine choice or falsely labeling doctors or journalists as anti-vaccine, we should celebrate the good outcomes, figure out what empowered patients are doing right, and encourage others to follow suit. Jennifer Margulis, Ph.D., worked for Africare/Niger from 1992 to 1993 where she directed a project to build a hangar for handicapped artisans, provided support for rural farmers to garden in the off-season, and worked on the literacy component of a child survival campaign. She returned to Niger as a Fulbright grantee from 2006 to 2007. An award-winning science writer, she is also the author of Your Baby, Your Way and co-author of The Vaccine-Friendly Plan: Dr. Paul Thomass Safe and Effective Approach to Immunity and HealthFrom Pregnancy Through Your Childs Teen Years, among other books. Find out more at www.JenniferMargulis.net The day might start with painted eggs, chocolate bunnies and a trip to church, but the centerpiece of many Easter Sunday meals is the ham. In addition to the many questions you may have about Easter traditions, have you ever stopped to wonder why Americans eat ham on Easter when the majority of the world eats lamb? The answer isnt as complicated as you might think. Simply put, ham is eaten on Easter because its practical and in season. Historically, lamb was the main course for Easter dinner and it still is in many parts of the world. Its a tradition thats about 3,000 years old and stems from the Jewish holiday Passover, which celebrates Israelites being liberated and their exodus from Egypt. According to History.com, it was common for some in the Jewish faith to eat lamb on Passover. When some converted to Christianity, they continued the custom at Easter. The tradition originally held up in the United States because wool was a popular fabric during World War II, but as soon as the demand for wool began to wane, fewer legs of lamb became available for Easter. Ham became a great alternative to lamb because farmers could preserve the meat during winter months by curing it and, by the time spring arrived, it was ready to eat. Ham also became a practical alternative for lamb because it was more affordable and came in a larger serving size. In 1950, a leg of lamb cost around 74 cents, while a whole ham was available for about 62 cents. Not to mention there are many ways that you can prepare a ham it goes great with brown sugar, maple syrup and pineapples. Not many foods can pull that off. No matter which way you slice it, ham is truly a great addition to Easter traditions. This year, make sure your ham reaches its full potential by following this step-by-step guide for cooking the perfect Easter ham. 2020 Tribune Publishing; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC HKSAR gov't to start distributing anti-epidemic service bags to households Xinhua) 09:53, April 02, 2022 HONG KONG, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said Friday that it will start distributing anti-epidemic service bags to all households in Hong Kong from Saturday morning, and expects to complete the operation within seven days. The service bags will be first distributed to the grassroots, such as tenants of subdivided units, in order to accord priority for access to anti-epidemic resources to those most in need, and will then be delivered to the residents in other buildings, the HKSAR government said in an online statement. For households that cannot be reached during door-to-door distribution, the staff distributing the bags will leave a collection slip for the households to collect the anti-epidemic service bags during the second phase. The work of distributing the anti-epidemic service bags fully demonstrates the spirit of concerted cooperation among the HKSAR government, all sectors of the community, and the public in fighting the COVID-19 epidemic, said Jack Chan, acting secretary for home affairs of the HKSAR government. "We again express our gratitude to the country. We firmly believe that with the staunch support from our motherland, as long as Hong Kong citizens are united in one heart to fight the epidemic, Hong Kong will definitely win this battle," Chan said. Hong Kong registered 2,743 new COVID-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 3,080 additional positive cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests on Friday, official data showed. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Monks attend the award ceremony of the degree of Geshe Lharampa held in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, April 2, 2022. Thirteen monks were awarded the degree of Geshe Lharampa on Saturday in the Jokhang Temple in downtown Lhasa. Geshe Lharampa, which means "intellectual" in the Tibetan language, is the highest academic degree for the Gelugba School -- also known as the Yellow Sect -- of Tibetan Buddhism. The history of Geshe Lharampa goes back 400 years. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) LHASA, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Thirteen monks were awarded the degree of Geshe Lharampa -- equivalent to a doctoral degree in modern education -- on Saturday in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The awarding ceremony was held in the Jokhang Temple in downtown Lhasa, the regional capital. Geshe Lharampa is the highest degree in exoteric teachings of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Those monks who received the degree are all revered Buddhists from Tibet and southwest China's Yunnan Province. Lozang Taktra, a 47-year-old monk from the Sera Monastery in Lhasa, won the first place, saying he would constantly improve his religious learning and maintain his love for the country and the religion. Monks attend the debate activity, a part of the award ceremony of the degree of Geshe Lharampa held in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, April 2, 2022. Thirteen monks were awarded the degree of Geshe Lharampa on Saturday in the Jokhang Temple in downtown Lhasa. Geshe Lharampa, which means "intellectual" in the Tibetan language, is the highest academic degree for the Gelugba School -- also known as the Yellow Sect -- of Tibetan Buddhism. The history of Geshe Lharampa goes back 400 years. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) Monks attend the debate activity, a part of the award ceremony of the degree of Geshe Lharampa held in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, April 2, 2022. Thirteen monks were awarded the degree of Geshe Lharampa on Saturday in the Jokhang Temple in downtown Lhasa. Geshe Lharampa, which means "intellectual" in the Tibetan language, is the highest academic degree for the Gelugba School -- also known as the Yellow Sect -- of Tibetan Buddhism. The history of Geshe Lharampa goes back 400 years. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) Monks attend the debate activity, a part of the award ceremony of the degree of Geshe Lharampa held in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, April 2, 2022. Thirteen monks were awarded the degree of Geshe Lharampa on Saturday in the Jokhang Temple in downtown Lhasa. Geshe Lharampa, which means "intellectual" in the Tibetan language, is the highest academic degree for the Gelugba School -- also known as the Yellow Sect -- of Tibetan Buddhism. The history of Geshe Lharampa goes back 400 years. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) Monks awarded the degree of Geshe Lharampa pose for a group photo in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, April 2, 2022. Thirteen monks were awarded the degree of Geshe Lharampa on Saturday in the Jokhang Temple in downtown Lhasa. Geshe Lharampa, which means "intellectual" in the Tibetan language, is the highest academic degree for the Gelugba School -- also known as the Yellow Sect -- of Tibetan Buddhism. The history of Geshe Lharampa goes back 400 years. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) A monk is being awarded the degree of Geshe Lharampa in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, April 2, 2022. Thirteen monks were awarded the degree of Geshe Lharampa on Saturday in the Jokhang Temple in downtown Lhasa. Geshe Lharampa, which means "intellectual" in the Tibetan language, is the highest academic degree for the Gelugba School -- also known as the Yellow Sect -- of Tibetan Buddhism. The history of Geshe Lharampa goes back 400 years. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) Monks attend the award ceremony of the degree of Geshe Lharampa held in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, April 2, 2022. Thirteen monks were awarded the degree of Geshe Lharampa on Saturday in the Jokhang Temple in downtown Lhasa. Geshe Lharampa, which means "intellectual" in the Tibetan language, is the highest academic degree for the Gelugba School -- also known as the Yellow Sect -- of Tibetan Buddhism. The history of Geshe Lharampa goes back 400 years. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) Monks attend the award ceremony of the degree of Geshe Lharampa held in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, April 2, 2022. Thirteen monks were awarded the degree of Geshe Lharampa on Saturday in the Jokhang Temple in downtown Lhasa. Geshe Lharampa, which means "intellectual" in the Tibetan language, is the highest academic degree for the Gelugba School -- also known as the Yellow Sect -- of Tibetan Buddhism. The history of Geshe Lharampa goes back 400 years. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) Monks attend the award ceremony of the degree of Geshe Lharampa held in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, April 2, 2022. Thirteen monks were awarded the degree of Geshe Lharampa on Saturday in the Jokhang Temple in downtown Lhasa. Geshe Lharampa, which means "intellectual" in the Tibetan language, is the highest academic degree for the Gelugba School -- also known as the Yellow Sect -- of Tibetan Buddhism. The history of Geshe Lharampa goes back 400 years. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) Contributed Photo / Connecticut State Police NORWALK State police have identified the pedestrian that was struck and killed on Interstate 95 north in Norwalk last week as Leron Crawford, 29, of Bridgeport. The fatal incident took place around 10:25 p.m. on March 25 just before Exit 14. The area was cleared around 4:20 a.m. Saturday, according to the state Department of Transportation. BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- China is calling for a de-escalation of tensions between Russia and Ukraine to minimize losses, Gao Zhikai, vice president of the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing-based non-governmental think tank, has said. "China has been very consistent in its position. China is calling for the de-escalation of the conflict and bringing it to an end as soon as possible through negotiation, with the aim of minimizing civilian losses," Gao told Xinhua in an interview last week. In early March, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin said China has always supported and encouraged all diplomatic efforts that are conducive to the peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis, and welcomes the launch of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine held their latest round of face-to-face talks in Turkey's Istanbul on Tuesday, which lasted for about three hours. According to local media, they finally clinched some progress in exploring possible ways out of the tensions. "China's policy does not have any vested interest of China in the outcome of this conflict. China's position is purely for the sake of saving as many civilian lives in Ukraine as possible, and preventing the conflict from escalation into a greater disaster," Gao noted. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has entered its second month, and Washington has been "fanning the flames" with weapon assistance, sanctions and threats. In mid-March, the United States announced 800 million U.S. dollars in "security assistance" to Ukraine, in addition to the 200 million dollars it has already authorized. Gao said the influx of weapons into Ukraine will not help resolve the conflict, instead it could lead to the escalation of current tensions. The U.S. government is also busy using sanctions -- an instrument it has been using for decades -- amid the conflict. Gao disapproved of the use of sanctions and threats, saying they are "not going to work." "How can we really expect to live in a world where one country will threaten another country, and then the other country will need to kowtow to the threatening country? It will not work," he said. "China wants to live in a world where each country will treat others as equal. And you deal with each other with dignity," he said. Gao noted that the international order established after the Second World War "was not an international order to be dictated by any one country." The United States imposes its will on other countries and is the rule-breaker of international order, he said. Gao stressed that it is time for diplomacy at the highest level to resolve the conflict. The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) says it has given the Federal Government a further one-month ultimatum to address concurrent issues of Nigeria polytechnics otherwise it will review its suspended industrial action. Mr Anderson Ezeibe, the National President of the union, issued the ultimatum at a press conference at the end of its 102 Executive Council meeting in Yola. The union president stated that some of the issues included non-release of the scheme of service, delay in the appointment of rectors and non-release of arrears of the new minimum wage. Mr Ezeibe said that many states of the federation refused to pay its workers according to the new minimum wage Act in their respective institutions since 2019 and failure to appoint respective boards of directors. In his words: We are deploying this medium to equally appeal to members of the public to prevail on the government to do the needful and avoid a shutdown of the sector. In choosing to extend the long-expired three months suspension period of our industrial action, we are convinced that the extra window of one month typifies our level of restraint. And consideration for our students and other members of the public even as we hope that the government will take advantage of this opportunity to avoid a shutdown of the sector. He urged the government to put more effort into the sector to be productive technical manpower development, while adding that the country should desist from looking for technical manpower outside the country, but the need for government to do the needful. The Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, on Friday said the terrorists who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna bound train and kidnaped many passengers had only contacted the families of their captives, but not demanded for any ransom. The Governor made this disclosure at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, after he briefed President Muhammadu Buhari on security developments in his state following the Monday nights' terror attack. El-Rufai said the president has reassured him that radical steps were being taken to curtail the activities of terrorists and bandits in Kaduna state and beyond. El-Rufai, while while speaking in Hausa language, revealed that the attack on the train was carried out by Boko Haram insurgents along with some bandits operating in Kaduna, Zamfara, Niger, Sokoto and Kebbi States. In his words; The President assured me that necessary steps would be taken on the matter and this thing will be brought to an end in few months, and security agents are already carrying out surveillance around where these criminals are and, by the grace of God, they will be rounded up. But as you know, the government will always take precautionary measures to safeguard the lives of citizens, therefore, except the victims are rescued unhurt, the airforce and ground troops will not be able to confront the criminals. So to avoid any colossal damage, the captives have to be freed first. Well, the families of those kidnapped have been contacted while some of the captives themselves have called their loved ones, saying they are doing well and they are being taken care of. But the gunmen have not shown any sign of collecting ransom. The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Mudashiru Obasa, has urged Nigerian Muslims to rededicate their lives, increase their love for others, show stronger commitment and obedience to God's instructions at this period of the Islamic holy month. Speaker Obasa gave the counsel on Saturday in a statement by his media office to congratulate Muslim faithful for being alive to witness this year's Ramadan. The 30-day fasting period, the Speaker noted, should be seen as a greater opportunity for Allah's blessings "as we carry out all that He has commanded us to do." He also urged Muslims in the country to use the period to pray for a better Nigeria characterised by peace. "I congratulate us all, the Muslim Ummah, for having this opportunity, a special grace from God to take part in this year's Ramadan. "As devoted Muslims, we have to be conscious of the fact that this is a period of sober reflection, holiness and deep supplications to Almighty Allah, the One who was, who is and who will forever be. "Let's not forget to show love more at this time and at all times in our journey of life. It is the will of God that we do so. "May Allah hear all our prayers and always show us His favour and mercy, Amin. "Ramadan Kareem!" The Speaker prayed. Eromosele Ebhomele Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly. The Chairman of Kaduna State chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev John Joseph Hayab, has urged the Federal Government to call Governor Nasir El-Rufai of the state to order over his mischievous statement. CAN Chairman said this while reacting to a statement where the Governor threatened to deploy foreign mercenaries should the federal government fails to combat bandits, and end terrorism. While faulting the statement of the governor, CAN disclosed that only the president can take such measures to end terrorism. The Chairman said; "while CAN agrees that terrorists have had a field day, CAN reckon that if any other Nigerian had made or muted such an idea in public space, such would have been accused or arrested by the government for undermining the security agencies and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Accordingly, CAN doubts if any section of the Nigerian Constitution allows any office holder, apart from the C in C, to invite a foreign combatant into the country. Moreover, it was a similar strategy that Elrufai employed years back when he claimed to have compensated some herdsmen, which led to the escalation of the security situation, particularly in Kaduna state. For CAN, the approach to give gunmen money so that they would stop attacking the populace has backfired and Kaduna state is paying dearly for such a miscalculation at present. The Federal Government should, therefore, call El-Rufai to order before his excesses lead Nigeria to a bigger problem especially since the general elections are around the corner. CAN acknowledge that what Nigeria needs currently is a sincerity of purpose from all stakeholders and the citizenry towards finding lasting solutions, not subjective statements that could further heighten the presence of bandits in Nigeria. CAN will continue to pray and urge citizens to be on the watch against any erroneous direction that could do this country no good but harm" Hayab added. Earlier, Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has told a Hausa Radio journalist in Abuja after he had briefed the President on the security situation in his State, that he would hire foreign machineries to fight terrorism if the federal government failed to do its job. According to the governor, Up till now, the security has not gone to kill them? Where are our soldiers? Why have they not done it? That is why I have come to see Mr President. And also I have said that if these actions are not taken, it becomes a must for us as governors to take measures to protect our citizens, even if it means we will import mercenaries from outside the country to do it. If our soldiers fail, I swear to God, we will do that. This issue has gotten to an alarming state, he declared. Two COVID-hit insurers closed BUSINESS: The Finance Ministry has revoked the business licences of Southeast Insurance and Thai Insurance, effective as of yesterday (Apr 1), after the two companies were declared financially incapable of paying outstanding claims, according to the Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC). CoronavirusCOVID-19 By Bangkok Post Saturday 2 April 2022, 04:13PM Policyholders who have not received compensation from their insurers gather at the Office of the Insurance Commission to file complaints in mid-March. Photo: Nutthawat Wicheanbut After the closure, the OIC and the General Insurance Fund will be responsible for compensation payments of outstanding claims for the two companies, said Suttipol Taweechaikarn, secretary-general of the OIC. He said that after the regulator ordered both companies to temporarily suspend issuing new policies and had a discussion with a shareholders representative and related groups, it was informed that the shareholders would not provide any additional financial support to the two companies, reports the Bangkok Post. The two companies were operating under the umbrella of Thai Group Holdings (TGH), part of the diversified business empire of billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, the countrys third-richest person with a net worth of US$12.7 billion (B426bn), according to Forbes magazine. Without any additional capital injection, the companies would be unable to pay compensation on time and record claim payments as required by law. This means they are subject to licence revocation to protect the benefits of policyholders, said Mr Suttipol. After revocation, only holders of COVID insurance policies with lump-sum payments will be affected because policyholders of other insurance products have already been transferred to other insurers. In this regard, the OIC has set up advisory centres to receive complaints and facilitate debt repayment requests. The OIC will provide support personnel to help receive debt repayment applications both at OIC headquarters and other provincial OIC offices, said Mr Suttipol. He said customers of both companies can bring documentary evidence to the commission and file for a claim. After receiving a request, the OIC will pay for claims using reserves from the General Insurance Fund, according to the regulator. The OIC said the closure of the two insurers will have a limited effect on the industry as a whole, and confirmed that the sector remains financially stable. In addition, the OIC has asked the Economic Crime Suppression Division to audit the financial activities of all executives related to the two companies, Mr Suttipol said. In 2021, two non-life insurers - Asia Insurance and The One Insurance - were forced to close because of liquidity trouble induced by losses from Covid claims, which spiked during the third wave of the pandemic. Southeast Insurance and its sister company, Thai Insurance, subsequently faced liquidity problems and filed a request to cancel all of their remaining COVID policies offering lump-sum payments. The OIC rejected the request, stating arbitrary cancellation of policies is against the law and the companies must comply with the conditions stated in the policies they offered to the public. Protests against the two companies whose licenses were revoked yesterday were witnessed in Phuket on Mar 28 when 30 people gathered at Phuket Provincial Hall to demand action be taken over the companies refusing to pay out COVID-19 coverage claims. In total, 831 people in Phuket have been affected by the defaulted payouts, amounting to B98 million. -Additional reporting by The Phuket News Local villager Hasan Osman (2nd L) chats with workers at the construction site of a deep-water well drilled by Chinese firm ZPEC in the Siwa Oasis, Egypt, on March 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) "We're very happy that the Chinese company is digging a well for us! What a pleasure!" says an Egyptian villager, with an expectant grin for sustainable and sufficient access to quality drinking water. SIWA, Egypt, April 2 (Xinhua) -- In a remote village in the Siwa Oasis of Egypt's Western Desert, part of the Sahara Desert, a Chinese drilling company, commissioned by the Egyptian authorities, is digging deepwater wells for the villagers in efforts to bring them sustainable and sufficient access to drinking water. "I offered a sheep to the Chinese drilling team on behalf of the whole village as a thank-you gift for drilling water wells for us," Hasan Osman, a 30-year-old villager, told Xinhua, looking at the huge drilling platform of the Chinese firm Zhongman Petroleum and Gas Group (ZPEC). The village where Osman lives is called Malol, located in the Siwa Oasis about 560 km west of the capital Cairo. Being close to the Egyptian border with Libya, Siwa is the most remote and inaccessible desert oasis in Egypt. Workers work at the construction site of a deep-water well drilled by Chinese firm ZPEC in the Siwa Oasis, Egypt, on March 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) "The water we have been drinking is salty and insufficient for drinking, let alone for growing crops," Osman said. With the arrival of the ZPEC drilling team comes the potential access to potable water. Like a long-awaited rain in the desert, the drilling site has become a magnet for villagers who talk about the promising project and make friends with the workers. "We're very happy that the Chinese company is digging a well for us! What a pleasure!" Osman said with an expectant grin. Li Wei, general manager of the ZPEC branch in Egypt, told Xinhua that the village heavily relies on underground water, but the existing wells are mostly shallow with a depth of 300 to 400 meters, offering water of high salinity well below ideal drinking water par. In February, the Egyptian authorities decided to stop drilling shallow wells in Siwa and contracted ZPEC to drill two deepwater wells with a depth of about 1,200 meters to tap quality water sources for the local people. Photo taken on March 25, 2022 shows the construction site of a deep-water well drilled by Chinese firm ZPEC in the Siwa Oasis, Egypt. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) This is not the first time for ZPEC to provide deep drilling services in Egypt. Since 2016, the Chinese company has been providing drilling services in Sinai Peninsula, where its highly efficient work quickly won recognition from the Egyptian government and resulted in more projects by contract in the North African country. The project in Siwa has never been easy. The team managed to transport a 550-horsepower drilling rig from Cairo all the way to Siwa for the project, before being put to the test of difficulties in technical work and management. "Due to the remote location of the project and some geological problems, the company's technical department has assigned specialized experts to study and implement leak prevention and plugging measures at the drilling site," Li said. Pointing to a well being drilled at hand, Fahmy Abdel-Hamid, a project manager who has been working for ZPEC for nearly five years, said the well has been drilled to a depth of over 400 meters so far, with 28 workers manning it in two shifts round the clock. Drone photo taken on March 25, 2022 shows the construction site of a deep-water well drilled by Chinese firm ZPEC in the Siwa Oasis, Egypt. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) Abdel-Hamid also praised the Chinese professional and technical expertise in the drilling field, noting he has gained a lot of experience from his work at ZPEC. "We're not only bringing a couple of deepwater wells to the village but also hope for the local people to live a better life," Li, the general manager, told Xinhua. Scranton, PA (18503) Today Periods of rain. High near 55F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Rain likely. Low 48F. Winds ENE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch. ADDIS ABABA, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) announced Friday evening that the first aid convoy in three months has entered Ethiopia's northern Tigray regional state. WFP Ethiopia said on social media that "13 trucks have arrived safely in Mekelle, capital of Tigray regional state." "More trucks and fuel will follow in the morning," it said, noting a need for daily convoys to meet the needs of 5 million people in the war-ravaged region. The arrival of the WFP aid convoy in Tigray came a week after the Ethiopian government and the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) conditionally agreed to a cessation of hostilities and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid into the region. The TPLF and the Ethiopian National Defense Force, backed by allied forces, have been engaged in a nearly 18-month conflict that has reportedly left tens of thousands of people dead and millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The Ethiopian parliament designated the TPLF as a terrorist organization in May 2021. IVY GOODMAN, Stonington, Girls, Lacrosse, Senior; Goodman scored 12 goals and had 13 assists in three games. Her seven assists in the Bears win over Waterford established a school record. She surpassed the 50-goal mark for the season in Stoningtons victory over Ledyard. DEAN PONS JR., Westerly, Baseball, Senior; Pons, a senior, struck out 14 batters in the Bulldogs five-inning win against Wheeler School/Rocky Hill. Pons had an assist on the remaining out, throwing out a runner on a groundout. Pons allowed just one hit and walked only two. KATIE PIERCE, Wheeler, Girls, Lacrosse, Sophomore; Pierce scored five goals and the Lions beat Griswold to earn their first victory of the season. Wheeler avenged an earlier loss to the Wolverines this season with the 15-4 victory. WEEKO THOMPSON, Chariho, Girls, Track Sophomore; Thompson, a sophomore, bettered her school record in the discus at the Classical Classic meet. She finished first in the event and also won the shot put. Vote View Results Last Friday was a grim day for households and businesses across the UK. Energy prices surged and more increases are all too likely over the coming months. Ceres Power makes fuel cells that deliver heat and power, using about 30 per cent less fuel than conventional gas and electricity sources. This bold British business, with its headquarters in Horsham, West Sussex, has formed partnerships with some of the biggest companies in the world, such as Bosch in Germany and Doosan in South Korea, so they can work together, advance the Ceres technology and put it to use. The future: Ceres Power makes fuel cells that deliver heat and power, using about 30 per cent less fuel than conventional gas and electricity sources Midas recommended Ceres in 2019, when the shares were 1.75. The stock has since soared to 7.45 and there is plenty more to come. Three years ago, Ceres was valued at 265million and employed around 150 people. Today, there are more than 500 highly skilled staff on board, the group is valued at almost 1.5billion and a move from Aim to the main market is expected later this year. The company is at the vanguard of fuel cell technology developing individual cells that can be installed in homes, offices, huge warehouses and even at sea. Currently run on natural gas, these cells are highly efficient because they deliver energy at source, rather than relying on the grid, and they produce power and heat. Ceres chief executive Phil Caldwell is also developing a way to produce 'green' hydrogen from his fuel cells. Created with wind and solar power, this could transform power usage for heavy industry and ships. Importantly too, Ceres fuel cells can be powered with gas or hydrogen, so customers can install them now and go green as the technology matures. Caldwell has deliberately adopted a partnership model, licensing his technology to deep-pocketed partners so they can make and operate the fuel cells, paying Ceres along the way. The cells are already being trialled on buses in China and offices in Japan. Bosch is building around 100 fuel cell power plants across Germany, Doosan is developing a marine system and discussions are under way with potential partners here and overseas. Revenues rose 44 per cent to 31.7million in 2021 and analysts expect further large increases this year and beyond, hitting 72million by 2025. The group is loss-making today, as Caldwell is investing heavily in future growth and ideas, such as the new hydrogen cells. But come 2025, profits should start to emerge, rising steadily thereafter. Midas verdict: The UK stock market can be wary of high-tech, lossmaking businesses, often with good reason. Ceres Power deserves more confidence, however. The need for cleaner, more efficient energy has never been greater and Ceres fuel cells offer a proven way to do more with less. The presence of Bosch as a partner and 17 per cent shareholder offers further reassurance. At 7.45, the shares have risen sharply since 2019, but they are a long way off the 13.40 high reached last year, even though the firm has gone from strength to strength. Existing shareholders may want to sell some stock and bank the profits, but they should retain most of their holdings. New investors may also fancy a punt at current levels. Traded on: AIM Ticker: CWR Contact: ceres.tech or 01403 272463 Clothing retailer Quiz saw its share price skyrocket today after it upgraded its full-year forecasts to profitability for the first time in three years. Quiz shares climbed by an astounding 44.2 per cent to 15.5p on Friday, making it the largest riser on the AIM All-Shares Index by some distance - though these shares remain a long way below their peak. In its latest trading update, the fast-fashion chain revealed that the strong trading levels it witnessed over the Christmas period continued across its website, shops, and concessions into the opening three months of 2022. Partywear: Quiz has boosted its profit forecast following an improvement in gross margin caused by the group's decision to sell more occasionwear and dressy casualwear at full price This helped boost its like-for-like revenues to levels 'broadly consistent' with what the company generated prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, the Glasgow-based business is now predicting that overall revenues in the year to the end of March will jump ahead of expectations to around 78million. It also estimates earning an annual pre-tax profit of at least 500,000, which would be its first profit since 2019, after posting losses of 9.6million and 3.1million in the previous two years. Quiz attributed its earnings uptick to an improvement in gross margin caused by selling more occasionwear and dressy casualwear at full price as the popularity of foreign holidays and weddings recovered. Sales of partywear were significantly depressed for much of the last two years by lockdown restrictions limiting the size of wedding ceremonies and gatherings of Britons living in different houses. Demand rebounded significantly when these laws were relaxed, with revenues in the first half of the financial year and the two succeeding months more than doubling on the equivalent period in 2020. Outlook: Glasgow-based Quiz estimates earning an annual pre-tax profit of at least 500,000 and revenues of around 78million for the 2022 financial year Yet as the group reported in early January, its trade took a hit over the festive period from the end of certain third-party partnerships, which contributed to online revenues plummeting by 25 per cent in December. Orders were also badly affected that month by the emergence of the Omicron variant of coronavirus and the UK Government's subsequent introduction of 'Plan B' restrictions. More Quiz customers returned their purchases to the company's stores as many office Christmas parties were cancelled, new rules on entering large public venues were enacted, and Britons were advised to work from home. Nonetheless, the firm saw its revenue climb by 20 per cent to 8.8million in December, and sales have continued to grow even as other problems like soaring energy prices have arisen. 'Encouraged by the positive performance delivered during the year, which highlights the strength and awareness of the Quiz brand and the growing customer demand for its trademark dressy and occasionwear offering, the board is confident in the group's continued profitable revenue growth,' the retailer remarked. Founded in 1993 by Tarak Ramzan, Quiz has become known in recent years for its collaborations with major reality television stars from shows such as Love Island, The Only Way is Essex, and Geordie Shore. According to its website, the business started trading with three stores in Scotland before expanding since that time to over 150 shops and concessions across the UK and more than 60 franchise outlets across Asia and Europe. It raised more than 100million when it debuted at a share price of 161p on the London Stock Exchange in 2017, but the value of its shares started tanking the year afterwards when it issued the first of a series of profit warnings. Sir Martin Sorrell was offered some respite yesterday as S4 Capital bounced back following a dismal few days. The digital advertising and marketing company's shares jumped 3.4 per cent, or 10.4p, to 319.4p. The rally followed a 40 per cent slump in the previous two sessions after S4 said on Wednesday that its auditor PwC has refused to sign off its accounts, delaying its results for a second time. Concern: A cloud of uncertainty hangs over S4, which was set up by Sir Martin Sorrell (pictured) The stock is still down 32 per cent since then and 63 per cent since its peak of 870p in September. The rout has seen 85m wiped off the value of Sorrell's near-10 per cent holding in the past three days as the company's value has plummeted. A cloud of uncertainty now hangs over S4, which was set up by Sorrell, 77, after his departure from WPP. He ran WPP for 33 years, taking it from a 1m company in 1985 to having market capitalisation of more than 16billion when he left in 2018. S4 employs more than 7,500 people across 33 countries and reached the 1bi;;ion unicorn milestone in just over a year. The FTSE 100 inched up 0.3 per cent, or 22.22 points, to 7537.90 while the FTSE 250 was up 0.3 per cent, or 57.94 points, to 21,218.01. April 1 meant a pay boost for millions after the UK national living wage rose 6.6 per cent from 8.91 to 9.50. But it also came with a host of energy price and tax rises. Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter said: 'People face the financial pain of higher energy costs, water rates, council bill and vehicle duty this month. 'Worries are mounting that we ain't seen nothing yet in terms of an energy shock.' Russia's largest steelmaker NLMK failed to publish its first financial statements for the year as its shares were suspended at 32 US cents. The FTSE 100's biggest riser was Reckitt Benckiser, which makes Durex condoms and Strepsils, as shares rose 3.1 per cent, or 178p, to 6010p. Analysts at Barclays set a target price of 9100p a share, up from a previous target of 8800p. Arch-rival Unilever, whose brands include Marmite and Ben and Jerry's, rose 1.5 per cent, or 53p, to 3508p. It was given a 4600p target price by Credit Suisse while Morgan Stanley, which was not so keen, cut its target from 4200p to 3800p. Both Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever were last month among a group of businesses with Russian operations that experts said 'have blood on their hands'. Mining giants Anglo American was up 2.4 per cent, or 97p, to 4069.5p while Rio Tinto gained 2.4 per cent, or 144p, to close at 6225p. This week Anglo American offloaded its remaining 8 per cent stake in the South African mining firm Thungela Resources while Rio Tinto bought the Rincon lithium project in Argentina for 630m. Fashion brand Next enjoyed a small bounce, adding 1.3 per cent, or 76p, to 6108p. But Homewares retailer Dunelm was down 1.3 per cent, or 14p, to 1077p. The FTSE 250-listed company yesterday appointed Karen Witts as its new chief financial officer. Witts, who held the same role at Kingfisher for seven years, will join Dunelm's board in June. Asset manager Sanne has posted significant growth, with turnover last year up 16.5 per cent to 203.7m. It follows a 1.5billion takeover from Apex Group in August after a battle of the suitors between Apex and Cinven, a private equity firm in London. The business reported a loss of 2.2m before tax in 2021, from a 20.5m profit the year before. Shares fell 1 per cent, or 9p, to 905p. British homes will still be heated by energy from Russian coal until the end of the year, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. More than a month after the invasion of Ukraine, two of the biggest power stations in England are still burning coal imported from Russia. EDF's West Burton A, in Nottinghamshire, expects to use up its existing stocks in the next few months before it stops generating at the end of September. Stockpile: More than a month after the invasion of Ukraine, two of the biggest power stations in England are still burning coal imported from Russia Uniper's plant in Ratcliffe-on-Soar, also in Nottinghamshire, will continue to use Russian coal until the end of the year. The station is due to close in September 2024. MPs have called for a ban on Russian coal in Britain. Large steel makers, including Tata and British Steel, have already halted its use. It is understood that France's EDF bought the Russian coal in 2021. The fuel is used only as a back-up at peak times when the country's energy needs cannot be met from other sources, such as wind and solar power. The firm began decommissioning half of the West Burton A plant last summer and the shutdown of the remainder will begin in October. Germany's Uniper said it had decided not to extend existing Russian coal supply contracts and it expects to have completed a 'diversification strategy' away from Russian coal by the end of the year. The country had been its largest supplier. The British energy industry is attempting to move away from polluting fossil fuels, including coal, and switch towards renewable energy. Russia is the world's sixth biggest coal producer, behind countries including China and the United States. It exports more than half, with a third of that bound for Europe, according to the US Energy Information Administration. ABUJA, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said Nigeria stands poised to welcome more initiatives and investments in digital technology while welcoming the 200 million U.S. dollar African Development Center, an engineering hub set up in the west African country by Microsoft. Buhari, while receiving a team from the Microsoft Corporation led by its president Brad Smith, at the State House in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, said that the training initiative by Microsoft aims to train 5 million citizens and provide 27,000 jobs over the next three years. "These initiatives are commendable, and I urge you to expand them and continue to prioritize Nigeria as you roll out your global initiatives," he said. As the largest economy and most populous country in Africa, he said Nigeria was positioned to play a strategic role in the global technology ecosystem and seek the right partnerships to harness its potential. One of such key partnerships, Buhari said, was in the area of capacity building. Apart from the partnership in the area of skills building, the Nigerian president said he looked forward to enhancing partnerships that will support the digital infrastructure and innovation ecosystem, with regard to emerging technologies. Bintou Keita (C), top UN envoy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), holds a candle at a memorial service in Goma, DRC, on April 2, 2022. UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo paid a final tribute Saturday to the eight peacekeepers who died during a helicopter crash Tuesday in northeastern DRC. (Photo by Zanem Nety Zaidi/Xinhua) GOMA, DR Congo, April 2 (Xinhua) -- UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic od the Congo (MONUSCO) paid a final tribute Saturday to the eight peacekeepers who died during a helicopter crash Tuesday in northeastern DRC. The memorial service took place this Saturday in Goma, capital of North Kivu province, in the presence of the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix. "The remains of our departed peacekeepers are on their way back home. Once more we salute their courage and sacrifice in the service of peace," said Khassim Diagne, the deputy special representative for protection and security at MONUSCO. The helicopter was on a reconnaissance mission in Tshanzu, near Goma, where there have been clashes between the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group and the DRC military in recent days. All eight peacekeepers who were on board the helicopter died after the chopper crashed. The DRC military said Tuesday that the UN helicopter was shot down by M23 rebels, which is yet to be confirmed by the United Nations. Peacekeepers attend a memorial service in Goma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on April 2, 2022. UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo paid a final tribute Saturday to the eight peacekeepers who died during a helicopter crash Tuesday in northeastern DRC. (Photo by Zanem Nety Zaidi/Xinhua) Peacekeepers salute at a memorial service in Goma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on April 2, 2022. UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo paid a final tribute Saturday to the eight peacekeepers who died during a helicopter crash Tuesday in northeastern DRC. (Photo by Zanem Nety Zaidi/Xinhua) UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix (Front) holds a candle at a memorial service in Goma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on April 2, 2022. UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo paid a final tribute Saturday to the eight peacekeepers who died during a helicopter crash Tuesday in northeastern DRC. (Photo by Zanem Nety Zaidi/Xinhua) Kingsport, TN (37660) Today Variable clouds with strong thunderstorms. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High around 70F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Thunder possible. Low 56F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Israeli security forces killed three gunmen from the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in a shootout in the occupied West Bank on Saturday. This is a terrorist cell that has been involved in terrorist activity against security forces recently, and was apparently on its way to another attack, the police said. Four Israeli officers were wounded. Islamic Jihad claimed the three Palestinians as members. Tensions have risen over the past week after a string of deadly Arab attacks in Israel. Officials have warned about a potential surge in assaults in the run-up to Saturdays start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a period during which violence has surged in the past. On Tuesday, a Palestinian gunman shot dead five people in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak before he was killed by police. The shooting raised to 11 the number of people killed by Arab attackers in Israel within a week. Israeli forces shot dead three Palestinians in West Bank clashes on Thursday and Friday and a Palestinian stabbed a passenger on an Israeli bus near a Jewish settlement and was shot dead by another passenger. SOURCE: REUTERS A Red Cross convoy will try again to evacuate civilians from the besieged port of Mariupol on Saturday as Russian forces looked to be regrouping for new attacks in southeast Ukraine. Encircled since the early days of Russias five-week-old invasion, Mariupol has been Moscows main target in Ukraines southeastern region of Donbas. Tens of thousands there are trapped with scant access to food and water. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent a team on Friday to lead a convoy of about 54 Ukrainian buses and other private vehicles out of the city, but they turned back, saying conditions made it impossible to proceed. They will try again on Saturday to facilitate the safe passage of civilians, the ICRC said in a statement. A previous Red Cross evacuation attempt in early March failed. Russia and Ukraine have agreed to humanitarian corridors during the war that have facilitated the evacuation of thousands of civilians. The ICRC says its Mariupol operation was approved by both sides, but key logistics were still being worked out. In an early morning video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that Russian troops had moved toward Donbas and the heavily bombarded northeastern city of Kharkiv. I hope there may still be solutions for the situation in Mariupol, Zelenskiy said. The whole world has to react to this humanitarian catastrophe. In Chuhuiv, a city in Kharkiv province, two young women sat on neighbouring hospital beds, limbs bandaged and pinned in metal braces, survivors of an attack on a bus that they said was carrying around 20 civilians. Speaking to Reuters Television, Alina Shegurets remembered her own screams, and pointed to her wounded legs and hip. Windows started to shake. Then I saw something that looked like holes. Then bullets started to fly above. Powder, smoke I was screaming and my mouth was full of it, Shegurets said. The other woman, who identified herself only as Yulia, said eight people died in the attack. SHIFT FROM KYIV Russia denies targeting civilians in an invasion that began on Feb. 24 when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what he called a special military operation, the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. read more The West calls it an unprovoked war of aggression that has killed thousands, uprooted a quarter of Ukraines population and brought tensions between Russia and the United States to their worst point since the Cold War. Facing unprecedented sanctions by Western nations, Russia had threatened to cut off gas supplies to Europe unless buyers paid with roubles. Europe vowed to stay united against Russias demand, and Moscow said it would not halt supplies until new payments are due later in April. At peace talks this week, Russia said its war efforts would now focus on Donbas, where it has backed separatists fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014. Russian troops left behind shattered villages and their own abandoned tanks as they moved away from the capital Kyiv. After failing to capture a single major city, Russia has painted its drawdown of forces near Kyiv as a goodwill gesture in the peace negotiations. Ukraine and its allies say Russian forces have been forced to regroup after suffering heavy losses. British military intelligence said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces continued to advance against withdrawing enemy forces in the vicinity of Kyiv, and that Russian troops had abandoned Hostomel airport in a northwest suburb of the capital, where there has been fighting since the first day. The British daily assessment said Ukrainian forces had secured a key route in eastern Kharkiv after heavy fighting. ODESA TARGETED In the early hours on Saturday, Russian missiles hit two cities Poltava and Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, Dmitry Lunin, head of the Poltava region, wrote in an online post. He said infrastructure and residential buildings were hit, but he had no casualty estimates. Earlier, as sirens sounded across Ukraine before dawn on Saturday, the Ukrainian military reported Russian air strikes on the cities of Sievierodonetsk and Rubizhne in Luhansk. In that eastern region and neighbouring Donetsk, pro-Russian separatists declared breakaway republics that Moscow recognised just before its invasion. The Ukrainian military also said defenders repulsed multiple attacks in Luhansk and Donetsk on Friday and that Russian units in Luhansk had lost 800 troops in the past week alone. Reuters was unable to verify those claims. Three Russian missiles fired from Crimea, the southern Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, struck a residential district of the Black Sea port of Odesa, causing casualties, Odesas governor, Maksym Marchenko, said on Friday. But officials in Odesa said anti-air defences thwarted an attack on critical infrastructure. Reuters could not immediately verify the account. United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths will travel to Moscow on Sunday and then to Kyiv as the U.N. pursues a humanitarian ceasefire, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters. Aiming to lower nuclear tensions with Russia, the U.S. military cancelled an intercontinental ballistic missile test that it had initially aimed only to delay, the Air Force told Reuters. But the United States and its European allies have sent Ukraine military assistance. Late on Friday, the Pentagon announced an additional $300 million worth, that included laser-guided rocket and anti-drone systems. Washington will also work with allies to transfer Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine to bolster its defences in Donbas, the New York Times said, citing a U.S. official. The Pentagon declined to comment to Reuters, while the White House did not immediately respond. SOURCE: REUTERS Jacom Stephens / Getty Image GREEN ISLAND An 18-year-old from Vermont is accused of taking a commercial box truck and crashing it in the city of Troy, Green Island police said Saturday. Police said they received the complaint Saturday about the theft of a 2018 Hino truck from the owner of Bennington Mattress which happened sometime overnight. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Paul Buckowski/Times Union Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Wendy Liberatore/Times Union Show More Show Less 3 of 3 SARATOGA Despite a promise to not push out tenants for five years after he purchased the property, the owner of the Saratoga Lakeview Mobile Home Park has sent an eviction notice to the tenant on lot 15. Tenant Angela Kaufman, who has been battling owner Michael Giovanone to remain in her mobile home for the promised 60 months, received the notification on Monday. She calls it another intimidation tactic from Giovanone who had her arrested last November for blocking the road while she tried to stop the removal of a tree from the 3.2-acre park. But Giovanone, on Friday, said he has every right to evict her because she is not following the rules. The list is long, said Giovanone of the violations he claims she committed. They include trespassing on other homeowners' properties, having a carport that interferes with snowplowing and replacing her homes roof without a town permit. The eviction notice comes after months of disputes between Giovanone and Kaufman, including her arrest for trespassing, a violation, when she stood on the park road to delay a tree crew while her attorney checked on a town ordinance on tree removal. I think this is a strategy into bullying people to leave so he can do what he wants to do, said Kaufman of the eviction letter. Giovanone bought the land in June 2021 with a plan to expand his boat and RV storage facility, Boat N RV Condos, on Route 9P along Saratoga Lake. He said he has a waiting list of 45 people who need boat storage. Its a dynamic piece of property in the center of the commercial district, Giovanone said. Back in the (19)40s, a trailer park, it probably belonged. But its 2022. Its in the center of the commercial zone. There is no public water. Im putting on a use that the town openly said they support. The purchase agreement that included a provision to allow tenants to stay for five years did not preclude evictions. However, Giovanone made a personal promise not to evict anyone. On Friday, he said my decision has changed. The eviction letter indicated that Kaufman was to contact Giovanone in three days to make arrangements to leave. It also noted that legal action could include monetary relief for any damage to the property as well as a judgment that may impact her credit score and freezing her bank accounts. We sincerely hope to avoid taking this costly and intrusive action, the letter from attorney Justin Grassi read. I will sit down with her and ... offer to help her relocate and get on with her life, Giovanone said. He also said her violations include her walking around nude and trying to throw herself into a wood chipper. Kaufman laughs at the claims that she was walking around unclothed. She said that she took a photo in her enclosed backyard of her bare back on which was scrawled people need homes not boats. Also, she said she was dropping off materials at other tenants homes, informing them of the rental relief available during the pandemic. Giovanone said that is trespassing. As for the new roof and the carport, town of Saratoga Building Inspector Gil Albert said he was invited by the park owner to cite Kaufman, but said he didnt write any violations. I was asked to come over and take look at things, Albert said. (The carport and roof) were pre-existing. I chose not to do anything about it. It was there before my time. Kaufman, who suffers from fibromyalgia and is recovering from a brain injury, said that the prospect of moving is another stressor in her life. At the same time, she is relieved that she has an attorney who can help her with the fight against Giovanone, who alleges her new roof is dangerous. Basically, hes saying because we did not take our roof off, we have to leave the park in three days, she said. He is citing code violations that dont exist. This is a good way to intimidate people who dont have a lot of resources. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Albany Symphony has established a long-standing legacy in the Capital Region since its founding in 1930. It has an impeccable reputation and Grammy recognition, but what it has never had is a Black musician as an official member. Frankly, personally, Im embarrassed, said David Alan Miller, conductor and music director of the symphony. I dont think it was ever any overt exclusion that caused us to have no Black members, but I think its not acceptable. The orchestra does have African American substitute musicians who play with them for shows for periods of time, but it is hoping to bring in members who will be there long-term. In total, there are 70 musicians who are members of the orchestra. The number can fluctuate slightly based on the availability of members for each concert. For every concert we have some number of our member musicians usually most of them onstage, and then we fill in with substitutes for the gaps for people who werent available to play, said Robert Pape, director of development and marketing at the symphony. Between the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons, the symphony has had eight Black musicians who performed with them either as substitutes or extra orchestra players. Three have performed with the symphony for multiple performances. The symphony has been working to improve the diversity in the orchestra. The IDEA, or Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Task Force is a body of the symphony that is in charge of identifying ways to improve diversity. Its mission is to take action toward being more inclusive by broadening the Albany Symphony's audience and community partnerships, and increasing diversity in the orchestra. The task force is composed of symphony board members, community members, symphony staff, a musician from the orchestra, Miller and Chairman Jahkeen Hoke, the CEO of the Business for Good. We are aggressively doing a great number of things to make our institution more progressive, such as: more soloists of color, composers of color, board members, staff members and substitute musicians, Miller said. Anna Kuwabara is executive director of the Albany Symphony Orchestra. As a Japanese American musician, she expressed her passion for people of color to be represented and recognized in the field of classical musicians. This is all systemic, Kuwabara said. I think, in terms of empathy, sympathy and sensitivity as a person of color myself, this is something that hits my gut and my heart. Kuwabara focuses her passion for diversity and inclusion by serving on the advisory group for the National Alliance for Audition Support, a national initiative created to increase diversity in symphonies across the country. She explained how, despite her more than 30 years of experience with orchestras, there has never been a breakthrough in the number of Black orchestra members. Theres a pretty significant mixture of Asian American people in the orchestras as well, but still not Black and brown people, Kuwabara said. It hasnt changed much. The Sphinx Organization is a Detroit-based social justice organization created by African American violinist Aaron P. Dworkin, a New York native. The organization was established to create a pipeline between young musicians of color and classical music at every level from youth to professionals. Bill Neri is the manager of ensemble advancement and artist engagement at the Sphinx Organization, and also manages NAAS. I was part of one of the first Sphinx Performance Academy sessions when I was in middle school," he said. "It was my first exposure to high-level performers, and I could identify with these musicians because they looked like me. Growing up as a Cuban American, Neri appreciated the exposure to a diverse group of high-caliber performers in large symphony orchestras. Through his years in the field, he expressed the importance of having representation onstage at a young age. So many Black and Latinx musicians that are in big orchestras today mention seeing someone they identify with in an orchestra when they were a kid, Neri said. They see Oh wow, theres actually a place for me in this world. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. A report by the League of American Orchestras was published in September 2016 called "Racial / Ethnic, and Gender Diversity in the Orchestra Field." The report specified how Hispanic and Latino musicians grew from 1.8 percent in 2002 to just 2.5 percent in 2014, and African American musicians averaged 1.8 percent throughout a 12-year time frame. The idea of hiding the identity of musicians while they audition or blind auditions is a concept that was introduced in order to address the lack of diversity in orchestras due to exclusion of people of color. But it has not fostered much improvement in recent years. Judith Insell is a professional violist and executive director of the Bronx Arts Ensemble. Insell has grown to oppose the concept of blind auditions being utilized during the hiring process for orchestras. "Rethinking Blind Auditions" is an article published from a discussion of professional musicians and administrators in symphonies across the country. Clearly they dont work, Insell said. As an industry, we have to be honest. If it worked there wouldnt be a lack of Black and brown people in the orchestras. That has something to do with it. Insell expressed the necessity that an orchestra needs to be a complete reflection of the region it represents. That way the demographic of the community can be recognized and its people can be represented. Very often I would be the one person, Black or brown, in the orchestra, Insell said. And unfortunately, that hasnt changed much. It has been like that for decades." In September of last year, members of Albany's orchestra took a tour of historic areas to learn about the history of African Americans in Albany and Black art. The tour culminated with the launch of Convergence, a three-year collaborative initiative between the symphony and community members exploring three art forms with Black artists. Music has the power not just to be beautiful and comforting, but to really show the whole range of human existence and thats a lot of what were trying to do through our Convergence program, Kuwabara said. While addressing the need for Black musicians in the orchestra, Miller spoke of the steps the symphony is taking to build diversity and connect with more artists from the African American community. Weve built all sorts of wonderful connections, but at the core, if the people on the stage are mainly white, then something is missing. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate EAST GREENBUSH - The East Greenbush Central School District is rallying for a Stuff a Bus collection to support Ukrainians dealing with the Russian invasion Saturday. They got a surprise volunteer, Gov. Kathy Hochul, who came to help out at the Howard L. Goff Middle School parking lot. The event runs until 1 p.m. Saturday at the Gilligan Road school. The collection of medical supplies and hygiene products will be delivered by school bus to St. Nicholas Ukrainian Church in Watervliet. The church will ship the supplies to Ukraine. Students and staff will be operating the collection. Members of the community are invited to drop off suggested items. Other efforts in the Capital Region: Temple Israel to host rally on Wednesday Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York will host an in-person Ukraine support rally at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Temple Israel, 600 New Scotland Ave. The community will join together to raise awareness and learn from Hank Greenberg, who will have returned earlier that day from a mission to Medyka, Poland, and hear from Union College professor Stephen Berk on Ukraine in Crisis. During the support rally, JFNENY will accept donations to continue its support of urgent relief efforts to Ukraine, in partnership with: the Jewish Agency for Israel, JCD, World ORT, and others. Non-monetary gifts will also be accepted. This event is open to the public. Registration is recommended at https://jewishfedny.regfox.com/ukraine-support-rally and masks are required. It will be livestreamed at: www.tialbany.org/livestream Isolation gowns, face shields donated On Thursday, United University Professions donated 20,000 isolation gowns and 450 face shields that will be used by medical professionals providing care to patients in Ukraine. Supplies were loaded for shipping at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Watervliet. Berkshire Bank foundation assists The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. Berkshire Banks Foundation will make a $50,000 contribution to the Ukrainian Federation of America, one of the oldest Ukrainian organizations in the U.S. working to deliver humanitarian and medical aid. In addition, Berkshires donation was leveraged in collaboration with Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island on 401Gives Day, a statewide day of giving in Rhode Island on April 1. Women Against War plans protest Friday Dressed in black, women will stand in silence at 11 a.m. Friday, April 8, on the State Street steps up to the Legislative Office Building, 198 State St. in Albany, in solidarity with women in Ukraine and around the world calling for peace. One member of Women Against War will speak, demanding Russia withdraw its troops and respect the sovereignty of Ukraine, that the U.S. government encourage peace negotiations by public commitment to continued rejection of a no-fly zone, no NATO expansion, humanitarian aid to Ukraine, support for Ukrainian refugees and more. RSVP is requested by Monday. Signs and banners will be provided. All women are invited to join. For more information, go to http://www.womenagainstwar.org. There are times that I am ashamed to be called an American. This is one of them. After the terrorist assault on our Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, I thought nothing would surprise me. Yet, our country is in the throes of a perfect storm: COVID-19, the Black Lives Matter movement, the #MeToo movement, cancel culture, soaring prices and now the distinct possibility of another war with the advent of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Once again we note the deadly violence seems to be rising across the metro and in the suburbs. Here are the most important deets of the latest report . . . The shooting happened near northbound I-470 and Lakewood Boulevard. The Missouri State Highway Patrol was initially called to the area for what was believed to be a crash, but when they arrived, they determined a shooting had occurred. When officers arrived on scene, they found one victim deceased in a vehicle alongside I-470 just north of Lakewood Boulevard. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Police investigating deadly shooting on I-470 in Lee's Summit LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. - Lee's Summit police are investigating a deadly shooting Friday night on Interstate 470. The shooting happened near northbound I-470 and Lakewood Boulevard. The Missouri State Highway Patrol was initially called to the area for what was believed to be a crash, but when they arrived, they determined a shooting had occurred. Lee's Summit Police Investigating Homicide Along I-470 By Sgt. Chris Depue Lee's Summit, Mo.- On Friday, April 1st, 2022 at approximately 9:10 p.m. emergency crews were called to the northbound lanes of I-470 near NE Lakewood Blvd on the report of a shooting. When officers arrived they located a single vehicle on the inside shoulder of the northbound lanes of the highway. Lee's Summit police investigating fatal shooting on Interstate 470 at Lakewood Boulevard KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Lee's Summit police are investigating a fatal shooting that happened on Interstate 470 at Lakewood Boulevard on Friday evening. According to police, officers responded to a disturbance along I-470 at around 9:10 p.m. When they arrived, officers found a victim dead inside a vehicle along the highway just north of Lakewood Boulevard. Developing . . . Cooperation and community outreach ALWAYS elicit a worth while response. And so . . . Take a peek at the completely worthwhile process to pick the new Kansas City top cop THAT DOESN'T RISK BEING COMPLETELY DOMINATED BY ANTI-POLICE ACTIVISTS who will likely denounce any opinion that strays from their agenda as racist. Check the the plan . . . The group gathers comments from six sessions to present to the Board of Police Commissioners to stand in for community input. The chief of police isnt an elected position; the people we elect arent even the ones picking. The Board of Police Commissioners has sole responsibility for selecting the police chief, which is why these organizations have put together the listening sessions: a way for citizens to have some say. The state of Missouri controls KCs police department, whichchecks noteshas wildly different priorities than our city. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Police chief 'listening sessions' allow metro to wishlist a candidate KCPD Chief Rick Smith is retiring-read as forced out-on April 22, and a group of Kansas City businesses, churches, and civic organizations are hosting listening sessions around town for residents to express the qualities they want in a new chief of police. You decide . . . It's always interesting to witness Missouri progressives unpack "the problem" of disgraced former Missouri Guv Eric Greitens. No joke . . . Eric Greitens is greatest enemy of Missouri Democrats AND the only way they are going to be competitive in a US Senate contest . . . Accordingly, this passage betrays just a bit of hypocrisy from our prog blog colleagues . . . "As a perceptive Republican legislator suggested to me, no amount of media coverage of the above incidents move primary voters because they are skeptical of all mainstream media pronouncements. Its just another Jussie Smollett-style hoax, many are conditioned to think, with the media targeting yet another Republican. "An increasingly fragmented media environment allows people to create a filter bubble, whereby viewers and listeners filter out news from any outlet with whose views they tend to disagree." Again, strangely, that last passage describes most of the content that we get from both NPR stations, The Kansas Reflector AND The Missouri Independent . . . Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Kathleen Gauer (foreground) and Elaine Santogrossi along with other Friends of Elms Park volunteers in Rexdale participate in Toronto's annual clean-up program in April 2014. - Metroland file photo MOSCOW, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday held a phone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which they discussed the situation in Ukraine. "Putin thanked Turkey for its assistance in hosting another round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives on March 29 in Istanbul and shared his principled assessments of the ongoing negotiating process," the Kremlin said in a statement. Erdogan thanked Russia for providing assistance with the evacuation of Turkish citizens from the active combat zone, it added. Both leaders also discussed bilateral ties and it was agreed to maintain contact. Two of the four green-band-maxi-taxi routes yet to implement a fare increase will be doing so, come Monday. Meantime discussions are underway with respect to raising fares on a third route, but the Route 3 Maxi-Taxi Association is giving its clients the opportunity to suggest a reasonable increase. Rynessa Cutting has more. The invaders are actively using the territory of Belarus to conduct aggressive actions against Ukraine. They are currently withdrawing their troops from Kyiv and Chernihiv regions to Belarus in order to restore their combat capability. This was announced on UA:Together by Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Malyar, who was answering the question of whether Belarus has decided to take part in the war on the territory of Ukraine. "The territory of Belarus is still being actively used by Russia to conduct aggression. They also use the medical infrastructure of Belarus for their wounded, they use their airports and military infrastructure. In fact, the Belarusian armed forces remain in combat readiness. However, there is one interesting fact Russia is partially withdrawing troops from Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, and they are using the territory of Belarus in order to restore the combat capability of these troops. The threat from across the Belarusian border persists, and it should not be underestimated," said Malyar, adding that Ukrainian Armed Forces are ready for such developments. Read also: US announces new sanctions against Russian and Belarusian companies According to the official, the situation is politically difficult for Lukashenko, as there is no unanimity among the Belarusian military. "On the one hand, there is a risk of escalation, and on the other hand, they are hampered by the attitude of the Belarusians, including the military, to this war," Malyar said. As Ukrinform reported earlier, missile systems are being deployed and amassed in Belarus Gomel region for further strikes on Ukraine. Europe has no right to remain silent in response to whats happening in Mariupol. The whole world must react to this humanitarian catastrophe. Thats according to Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrinform reported, referring to his video address. The situation remains extremely difficult in the east of our country. Russia is pulling forces toward Donbas and in the Kharkiv direction. They are preparing for new powerful strikes. We are preparing for an even more proactive defense. Were using all opportunities both internal and external. Thats for sure, the president said. I emphasize once again: difficult battles lie ahead. It is still impossible to consider that we have already passed all tests. We all want to win. But everyone will see it when this happens. Everyone will feel that peace is coming, said Zelensky. He went on to say that he spoke with French President Macron earlier this afternoon on the humanitarian situation in Ukrainian cities that are under enemy fire. The situation in Mariupol was discussed separately. To this, I hope, there may still be solutions. Europe has no right to respond with silence to what is happening in our Mariupol. The whole world must react to this humanitarian catastrophe, the Ukrainian leader stressed. Today, humanitarian corridors were open in three regions Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhia. A total of 6,266 people were rescued. In particular, 3,071 people from Mariupol. Commentary: Security vision advocated by Xi offers Chinese solution to global peace Xinhua) 09:54, April 02, 2022 BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Peace and development, the theme of our times, are facing grave challenges, with the Ukraine crisis lingering and rifts among major countries widening. When the global peace deficit keeps enlarging, Chinese President Xi Jinping has consistently advocated a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, inspiring human society to march towards lasting peace and universal security. CHINESE VISION As the Ukraine crisis has drawn global attention and the world is eager for a way out, Xi, on multiple occasions, has pointed out that countries need to actively advocate a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. In a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Feb. 25, Xi called on dropping the Cold War mentality, attaching importance to and respecting the legitimate security concerns of various countries and forming a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiation. During a video call with U.S. President Joe Biden on March 18, the Chinese president stressed "as leaders of major countries, we need to think about how to properly address global hotspot issues and, more importantly, keep in mind global stability and the work and life of billions of people." Whatever the circumstances, there is always a need for political courage to create space for peace and leave room for political settlement, he added. China's rational and fair stance of calling for peace and promoting negotiations is widely recognized around the world. In their calls with Xi, multiple leaders expressed their recognition of China's propositions. Back in 2014, at the fourth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Shanghai, Xi proposed a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security strategy for Asia. In the following years, the Chinese leader has continuously developed the concept and expounded it on various international occasions. As demonstrated by Xi's vision, the world cannot just have security for one or a few countries while leaving the rest insecure, and each has an equal right to participate in regional security affairs and equal responsibility to uphold security. Xi's security vision has also shown that diversity and differences should be turned into energy and a driving force for security cooperation, and that development is the foundation of security and security a precondition for development. It has also enlightened countries to resolve disputes through peaceful means and oppose the arbitrary use of force or threats. Overseas observers agreed that the vision advocated by Xi provides a new way to solve the widespread "security dilemma" in international relations. It has offered a "China solution" to the world in the field of international security, said Tursunali Kuziev, a professor at Uzbekistan's University of Journalism and Mass Communications. CHINESE CONTRIBUTION As a responsible major country, China has adhered to the path of peaceful development and win-win cooperation, actively advocated and put into practice a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. China remains a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order. The country has taken solid and firm actions in fulfilling its international responsibilities. From safeguarding global strategic stability, to actively participating in international arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, from pursuing a nuclear strategy of self-defense to taking an active part in international peacekeeping operations, China has injected strong impetus into the maintenance of world peace with concrete actions. "China is already helping us a lot in many ways, and the deployment of Chinese troops in many missions is critically important," UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix has said. Meanwhile, China's position on promoting political settlement of hotspot issues has been consistent. To resolve the Ukraine crisis, China has actively encouraged the two sides to keep the momentum of negotiations, overcome difficulties, keep the talks going and bring about peaceful outcomes. China has also worked to promote the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue through dialogue and consultation. As Iran's nuclear talks reach a critical point, China has been urging all parties to stay focused and build consensus. China's contributions in non-traditional security fields such as health, climate, digitalization and anti-terrorism are being witnessed by the international community. To date, China has supplied more than 2.1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations, taken an active part in addressing climate change, put forward its carbon peak and carbon neutral goals and formulated relevant action plans, as well as proposed the Global Initiative on Data Security. It has also actively advanced global counter-terrorism cooperation, calling for addressing the root causes of terrorism and abandoning "double standards." To realize common development, China has not only eradicated poverty through unremitting efforts, but also cooperated with other countries in this regard. It has continued to advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation for mutual benefit and win-win results, and put forward the Global Development Initiative to focus on the most pressing issues facing developing countries, including poverty reduction, food security, economic recovery, employment, health and green development. Former Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbayeva said that the initiatives and propositions put forward by Xi, including the security vision, have charted the course for the future of mankind. FOR BRIGHTER FUTURE Some major countries, however, in pursuit of hegemony and their own interests, have stirred up troubles in the world, only to complicate security issues, which, due to the interwoven past and reality, ideologies and interests, are already intricate and hard to address. They smear other countries, hype up groundless fear, forge cliques, and politicize economic and technological issues ... in every effort to poison the atmosphere of international relations, deteriorate tensions and conflicts, hazard the global development. They weaponize globalization and wage proxy conflicts and wars in the name of seeking "absolute security," subjecting civilians in small countries to the cost of geopolitical confrontations, while standing by and making a fortune in war ... in order to incite separation and confrontations, which has undermined world peace. In many countries including Syria, Afghanistan and Cuba, people have been accusing the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization of ruining their work and normal life and violating their human rights and freedom, which showcases how evil hegemony falls to be. One cannot live in the 21st century with the outdated thinking of Cold War and zero-sum games, Xi said on May 21, 2014, when delivering a keynote speech at the fourth summit of the CICA in Shanghai. Through adhering to a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, as well as dialogue and negotiations based on equality and respect, crises and disputes can be resolved step by step. Over the South China Sea issue, China has advocated and observed an Asian way of cooperation in the course of advancing regional cooperation, which features mutual respect, consensus-building and accommodation of each other's comfort levels, promoted the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea with other countries, and worked to reach a framework of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, realizing general stability in the region. Regarding the Middle East issue, China has proposed establishing a multilateral dialogue platform in the Gulf region to explore ways of solving disputes by Middle Eastern countries in their own ways. China never seeks its own gains or sphere of influence in the Middle East, nor will it participate in geographical competition in the region, and stands ready to promote the South-South cooperation with the Mideast countries. Regional organizations and mechanisms, including the CICA and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, have continued to grow stronger, strengthened policy coordination on managing hotspot issues and regional security cooperation, and promoted the establishment of regional security cooperation and dialogue mechanisms. China's vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security will strongly contribute to international peace and stability, said Kabinet Fofana, director of the Guinean Association of Political Science. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) LOS ANGELES, April 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. private space company SpaceX launched its fourth smallsat rideshare mission on Friday, deploying 40 spacecraft to space. The mission, dubbed Transporter-4, was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket at 12:24 p.m. Eastern Time from the Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Following stage separation, SpaceX landed Falcon 9's first stage on the Just Read the Instructions droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX later confirmed the rideshare deployment sequence was complete. Transporter-4 is SpaceX's fourth smallsat rideshare mission. On this flight are 40 spacecraft, including CubeSats, microsats, picosats, non-deploying hosted payloads, and an orbital transfer vehicle carrying spacecraft to be deployed at a later time, according to SpaceX. The Russian leadership must be held accountable for crimes committed during the war in Ukraine. According to an Ukrinform correspondent, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said this in an interview with APA when he met with Ukrainian mothers in Moldova on Friday, April 1. "The Russian leadership will be held accountable," Schallenberg said, referring to crimes committed during the war in Ukraine. Speaking about the shelling of civilian targets and the use of certain weapons by Russia, the minister said that "there is a strong suspicion of war crimes committed in Ukraine." When asked whether Putin is a war criminal, he said: " One thing is clear: the people who committed this must be held accountable." Schallenberg did not rule out that the Russians could also attack Moldova. "We don't know that," he said. According to the Austrian minister, what Russia is doing against Ukraine "is the biggest mistake they could have ever made." Schallenberg also said he did not expect Putin's relations with Russia to normalize even after the end of the war in Ukraine. "I can't imagine a return to the status quo ante with the best will in the world," he said. Canada, along with other countries, is working to increase the IMF's financial support for Ukraine. According to an Ukrinform correspondent, Ukrainian MP Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze said this during her visit to Canada. "Canada is leading efforts to create a special financial instrument within the IMF. It has already stated its readiness to allocate funds and seek increased support from others to ensure that Ukraine receives additional financial assistance," Klympush-Tsintsadze said. She stressed that additional funding is "critical" for Ukraine. "We know that Canada is leading efforts to increase financial support for Ukraine, and we appreciate that," she said. Klympush-Tsintsadze did not specify the amount of financial aid and when it could be provided. A delegation of five Ukrainian MPs is currently visiting Canada. The delegation has already met with the Canadian prime minister, deputy prime ministers, foreign minister, MPs and other officials. Russia has begun recruiting units of its troops based in Moldova's Transnistrian region to carry out provocations on the border with Ukraine. According to Ukrinform, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced this on Facebook. As of 06:00 on April 2, the Russian armed forces continued their armed aggression against Ukraine. The withdrawal of enemy units in some areas was recorded, probably in order to strengthen the grouping of occupation forces for further offensive operations in the Slobozhansky, Donetsk and Luhansk areas. It was also established that the enemy intensified work with so-called "volunteers." According to the General Staff, on April 1, the Russian Defense Ministry decided to hold a military meeting with reservists from April 4 to May 23 this year. At the same time, work has been intensified to involve units of Russian troops deployed in Moldova's Transnistrian region to carry out provocations on the border with Ukraine. The redeployment of units of the Russian Federation and the so-called Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic was also recorded in order to prepare for a demonstration of readiness for the offensive and, possibly, hostilities against Ukraine. In the temporarily occupied territories, the enemy continues to commit illegal acts and, in violation of international humanitarian law, abducts locals, shells residential areas, mines civilian infrastructure facilities, and resorts to looting. According to the General Staff, Russian troops continue to suffer significant losses in the Luhansk region. In the city of Alchevsk, about 30 Kadyrov fighters wounded in the area of hostilities near Popasna were admitted to a local hospital. There is evidence that the invaders leave the dead on the battlefield. Military personnel losses in the units of the so-called 2nd Army Corps amounted to about 800 people over the past week. In the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian army repulsed nine enemy attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, destroying eight tanks, 44 armored fighting vehicles, 16 vehicles and ten artillery systems. Photo: Stringer, Anadolu Agency Fortunately, no casualties were reported in the city of Poltava after Russian missile strikes on infrastructure facilities last night. Meanwhile, some civilians were wounded and allegedly killed in the city of Kremenchuk. The relevant statement was made by Poltava Regional Military Administration Head Dmytro Lunin on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Last night was indeed restless in Poltava Region. After 01:00 a.m., at least four missile strikes were launched on infrastructure facilities in Poltava. Currently, no casualties were reported. Rescuers are working at the scene, Lunin noted. In addition, about 06:00 a.m., at least three aircrafts launched missile strikes on Kremencnuk-based industrial sites. There is a fire, rescuers are working. According to the preliminary data, there are wounded and, probably, killed people. Later, we will have the updated information, Lunin added. A reminder that, on the night of April 2, 2022, Russian troops launched missile strikes on infrastructure facilities in Poltava and residential areas in Kremenchuk. On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops are shelling and destroying the key infrastructure facilities, launching missile and air strikes on Ukrainian cities and villages, killing civilians. mk Over the past day, 14 people were wounded in Russias shelling of Mykolayiv region. Fourteen people were wounded in Mykolayiv region over the past day. Fortunately, there were no children among the victims. All the wounded were taken to our healthcare facilities and received the necessary assistance," Chair of the Mykolayiv Regional Council Hanna Zamazeyeva posted on Telegram, Ukrinform reports. As of this morning, 311 people, wounded in Russias attacks on Mykolayiv region, stay in local hospitals. On February 24, Russian president Putin started a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian invaders shell and destroy infrastructure, massively fire on residential areas of Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages using artillery, MLRS, ballistic missiles and aviation bombs. ol Police found Ukrainian photojournalist, documentary photographer Maks Levin dead near the village of Huta Mezhyhirska in Kyiv region. He left four minor sons, a wife, and elderly parents. "On April 1, after long searches in the area of the village of Huta Mezhyhirska in Kyiv region, the police found photojournalist, documentary photographer Maks Levin dead. Maks, accompanied by Oleksiy Chernyshov, a serviceman and former photographer, went to Huta Mezhyhirska on March 13 to document the consequences of the Russian aggression. They left a car and headed towards the village of Moshchun. Since then, the connection with both men was lost. Later it became known that intense fighting broke out in the area where Maks was going to work. The whereabouts and fate of Oleksiy Chernyshov have not been established yet," LB.ua Ukrainian media outlet reports, for which Levin worked for more than 10 years. According to the preliminary information released by the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office, unarmed Levin was killed with two shots from small arms by servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces. The case over violation of laws and customs of war (Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) was opened. The pre-trial investigation is underway, measures are being taken to establish all the circumstances of the crime. Maks Levin was born on July 7, 1981, in Kyiv region. For more than 10 years, he worked in the editorial office of LB.ua, also contributed for Reuters, BBC, TRT World, Associated Press, Hromadske. His photos were published by the Wall Street Journal, TIME, Breaking news Poland, EU AGENDA, World news, The Moscow Time, Korrespondent.net, ELLE, TV-24, Radio Bulgaria, Ukraine Crisis Media center, Vatican news, RFE/RL. Most of his documentary projects are related to the war in Ukraine. "Every Ukrainian photographer dreams of taking a photo that will stop the war," the journalist explained. In 2014, together with his colleague Markiyan Lyseyko, Levin founded the AFTER ILOVAISK, afterilovaisk.com, a military project to preserve and rethink the significance of the events of August 2014 by the military, their families and citizens of Ukraine in general. Maks was one of those who managed to get out of the Ilovaisk trap alive. In addition to journalism, Levin created dozens of photo and video projects for humanitarian organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), UN, UNICEF, OSCE, UN Women. Oleksiy Chernyshov and Maks Levin worked together for many years. In 2014, at the height of the Revolution of Dignity, they got wounded during a rally near the Kyiv-Sviatoshynskyi court on January 10. Maks Levin left four minor sons, a common-law wife, and elderly parents. Assistance to family: Monobank: 4441114420335646 Zoriana Stelmakh PrivatBank: 5168757403122528 Inna Varenytsia ol Russian invaders try to reach the administrative borders of Luhansk, Donetsk, and Kherson regions. According to the operational information as of 12:00, Russian invaders continue to conduct full-scale armed aggression against our state. In particular, the enemy intends to encircle the Joint Forces and reach the administrative borders of Luhansk and Donetsk regions. In order to restrain the actions of our troops, the enemy will continue to hold certain boundaries in the temporarily occupied territories of Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, probably in the areas near the state border of Ukraine (with the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, respectively)," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted on Facebook. It is noted that there are no signs of formation of offensive groups by the enemy in Volyn direction. Intensified operational and combat training measures are being carried out in the units of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus. The enemy builds up the air defense system in the border areas with Ukraine. In Polissia direction, the enemy continues to redeploy some units to the territory of the Republic of Belarus. In order to slow down the advance of Ukrainian units, the occupiers mine abandoned positions, routes, elements of transport infrastructure and equipment that cannot be evacuated. In Siversky direction, the enemy continues to keep in place separate units of the 41st Combined Arms Army to block the city of Chernihiv. According to available information, the main part of the occupiers' group is already set to leave for the territory of the Russian Federation. Some units of the 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army were withdrawn from the Brovary direction to the territory of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. Other units are ready to move towards the Russian border. In Slobozhansky direction, the enemy continues to block the city of Kharkiv and tries to continue the offensive towards Izium. In Donetsk direction, the enemy focuses its main efforts on taking control of the localities of Rubizhne, Severodonetsk, Popasna, Troitske, Avdiivka, Marinka, and Krasnohorivka. Invaders try to establish full control over the town of Mariupol. In Southern Buh direction, the enemy storms to reach the administrative borders of Kherson region. As noted, up to 75 BTGs are involved in combat missions in the territory of Ukraine. The combat readiness of up to 34 BTGs are being restored. Another 16 BTGs were completely destroyed (information is being clarified). ol Turkey is ready to provide its ships to evacuate civilians and the wounded from Mariupol, which has been under Russian siege since early March. This was reported by Ukrinform with reference to the DHA news agency. "We can provide ships, primarily for the evacuation of civilians and the wounded, Turkish and other citizens of Mariupol. In this context, our coordination with the authorities of the Russian Federation and Ukraine continues," Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told reporters. The Minister also stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire and the safe operation of evacuation corridors. We continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine. Turkey also provides evacuation support. Our support for the people of Ukraine will continue, the minister said. According to Hulusi Akara, Turkey is also taking steps to eliminate the threat of mines that are believed to be adrift in the Black Sea by attracting patrol planes and ships, as well as minesweepers. As Ukrinform reported earlier, on March 31, Azov Regiment Commander Denys Prokopenko stated that a military operation to unblock Mariupol from the Russian siege was realistic and possible. Russian aggression in Mariupol caused one of the biggest humanitarian catastrophes. The invaders have been bombing unarmed residents and blocking incoming humanitarian aid. According to Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko, as of March 27, the civilian death toll in the city stood at about 5,000, including nearly 210 children. Blocked by Russian invaders, about 160,000 civilians remain in Mariupol, begging for help. Mariupol has been turned into a huge ruin by Russian troops, with its residents fainting from starvation in the streets, while enemy bombs are burying alive those hiding in shelters. Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk said that Russian troops had almost destroyed the city, so it is necessary to evacuate all civilians. During an air raid alert announced earlier today, the Ukrainian Armed Forces shot down two enemy missiles in the sky over Poltava region. This was announced on Telegram by the chief of the local Regional Military Administration, Dmytro Lunin, Ukrinform reports. "I talked about the situation in Poltava region on Radio NV. Ive made two important reports so far. First: during the latest air raid alert, the Ukrainian Armed Forces shot down enemy missiles in different parts of Poltava region," Lunin wrote. He also said that the sounds of explosions that could be heard in Poltava in the last few hours were coming from the Ukrainian Armys training ground. "Lets keep our minds cool! Don't panic! Let's help each other! All will be Ukraine," the official stressed. In addition, Lunin said that the aftermath of the night shelling of several objects across Poltava has already been eliminated and that no one was injured in the attack. At the same time, in Kremenchuk, Poltava region, rescuers are still putting out fires that broke out after the morning bombing of the city by enemy warplanes. According to Lunin, so far none of those injured in shelling reported to a local Hospital. Information on civilian casualties will be verified after the fires are extinguished. As Ukrinform reported, overnight Saturday, the Russians fired 10 missiles at Dnipropetrovsk region, of which four were shot down. The Russians damaged infrastructure in the cities of Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih. Two were injured. The death toll from a Russian missile strike on the building of Mykolaiv Regional State Administration has increased to 36. The head of the regional military administration, Vitaliy Kim, announced this on his Telegram channel, Ukrinform reports. "The death toll from a missile strike on the regional state administration is 36 people," Kim wrote. Earlier reports said that 35 were killed and 34 wounded as a result of an attack on the building of the regional state administration on March 29. Rescue work continues. On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops have been shelling and destroying critical infrastructure and residential houses. Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine XINING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Thanks to transformative conservation efforts and increased rainfall, the headwaters of the Yellow River have flowed unimpeded for nearly 18 years. Originating in Qinghai Province, the Yellow River is known as China's "Mother River" and a cradle of Chinese civilization. The two main water sources of the Yellow River are the Gyaring and Ngoring lakes, in Madoi County of Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai. Before 2005, water scarcity caused the headwaters of the river to dry up multiple times, according to Lan Yunlong, head of the Xining hydrology and water resources survey bureau, under the Yellow River Conservancy Committee. The river's headwaters dried up during the first four months of 2004; leading to dusty river bed. "With the implementation of a string of projects to protect the environment, especially the construction of Sanjiangyuan National Park, the ecology in the headwaters of the Yellow River has improved," said Liu Peng, deputy director of Qinghai provincial meteorological center. "Since 2005, the amount of incoming water to the Yellow River has risen remarkably," said Han Changpeng, the head of a protection station of the management bureau of the Sanjiangyuan National Park. "To date, the headwaters of the river have flowed unimpeded for nearly 18 years." Sanjiangyuan, or three-river-source, is home to the headwaters of the three rivers of Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang. At an average altitude of more than 4,700 meters, Sanjiangyuan National Park is the world's highest national park covering a total area of 190,700 square km. It is home to 69 protected wildlife species, accounting for 26.8 percent of the country's total. Compared with a decade ago, grassland coverage in the Sanjiangyuan area increased by 11 percent and grass output jumped 30 percent, official data in 2021 showed. The runoff volume of the Yellow River, which is monitored at Huangheyan hydrological station, reached 2.974 billion cubic meters in 2019. This marked a record high since the institution started collecting data in 1955. In 2004, the runoff volume was 26.27 million cubic meters. The size of Gyaring and Ngoring lakes both reached historic highs in 2019, increasing by 36.78 square km and 66.23 square km, respectively, from their lowest points in 2003. Nyima Tashi, a 44-year-old herder who lives near the north shore of Gyaring Lake, has been a witness to the changes over the years. "The shoreline of the lake has moved closer and closer to my home over the years. The scenery out of my window is particularly beautiful during the summer," he said. When people defend themselves in a war of annihilation, when there is a question of the lives or deaths of millions, there are no unimportant things. There are no unimportant moments. Everything matters. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky underscores this in his latest address. Ukrainians! Strong people of the indomitable country! Another day of our defense has passed. Another day of many that are gradually, with difficulties, but steadily bringing us closer to peace. To peace that no one will give us a gift. We need to understand it clearly. Because there are no subjects in the world that can stop wars and give peace. The global security architecture has failed. Peace for us will not be the result of any decisions of the enemy somewhere in Moscow as well. We should not cherish empty hopes that they will simply leave our land. We can only gain peace. We can gain it in hard battles and in parallel - in negotiations, and in parallel - in daily vigorous work. Therefore, each of us must continue to do everything we can. In all directions. To support our Armed Forces. To preserve and develop economic activity in Ukraine - as much as possible now. To support all our citizens... Wherever they are, whoever they are. In peacetime warm words sustained the vital forces. And in wartime it is even more important. When we may not even know what a person is going through. What a loss. What help a person needs. But we can see that a person needs help. We need to support this person. We should at least hear this person. Say a few kind words. Something needs to be done to support the life of this person. This must be done. You should be attentive to everyone around you! When people defend themselves in a war of annihilation, when there is a question of the lives or deaths of millions, there are no unimportant things. There are no unimportant moments. Everything matters. And everyone can contribute to the victory of all. Someone with a weapon in their hands. Someone - at work. And someone - with a warm word and help at the right time. So do everything you can for us to withstand together in this war for our freedom, for our independence. For Ukraine to live. Due to such sincere and constant support of each other, due to unity and attention to the neighbor, the people can overcome the most difficult challenges. And drive out the enemy, which is many times bigger in numbers. Our defenders continue to regain control over communities in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions. There are more and more Ukrainian national flags in the areas that have been temporarily occupied. The Armed Forces of Ukraine do not release the invaders without a fight. Inflict fire damage. They are destroying everyone we can reach. We are strengthening our defenses in the eastern direction and in Donbas. We are aware that the enemy has reserves to increase pressure in the east. What is the goal of Russian troops? They want to capture both Donbas and the south of Ukraine. What is our goal? Protect us, our freedom, our land and our people. Do everything for protection. Our heroic Mariupol continues to hold back a significant part of the enemy forces. Thanks to this resistance, thanks to the courage and resilience of our other cities, Ukraine has gained invaluable time. The time that allows us to undermine the enemy's tactics and weaken their capabilities. Unfortunately, Ukraine has not yet received enough modern Western anti-missile systems. Has not received aircraft. Hasnt received what the partners could provide. Could - and still can! Every Russian missile that hit our cities and every bomb dropped on our people, on our children only adds black paint to the history that will describe everyone on whom the decision depended. Decision whether to help Ukraine with modern weapons. I would like to thank the residents of our Enerhodar separately. Those brave Ukrainians who went to a rally today to defend their city. To protect our state In response, the occupiers opened fire and used grenades against completely peaceful people, which are on their land, within their law. There will be an answer for each wounded person. And the Ukrainian character cannot be conquered by any pressure or violence. I am grateful to everyone who takes to the streets in the temporarily occupied cities. To all who are not afraid and go out. I am grateful to all who are afraid and come out. To all those who feel that without this decision to defend Ukraine and their freedom, the occupiers can gain a foothold. And when people protest - and the more people protest - the harder it is for the occupiers to destroy us, to destroy our freedom. This is our common struggle! And it will be our common victory. I would also like to say a few words to those politicians, some deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine who absolutely do not understand what is happening in the hearts of our people. They don't understand it so much that they even decided to change the national anthem. I have a question for these people: what have you done in your life to give you the moral right to change the words of the anthem? Are you outstanding poets? Maybe you excelled in the battles for Ukraine? Or now is such a time that you can change the anthem whenever you want? Cool down emotions. Stop pretending to be fools. I believe that the authors of these and other similar bills, proposals, should take up arms and go to the battlefield, if you have these opportunities. Only there will you understand something. And even if they accidentally vote for something like this, I still will not sign such bills. Don't waste time. I want to turn to another person who does not seem to fully understand what is happening. Not only in Ukraine, but throughout Europe. To the Prime Minister of Hungary. He is virtually the only one in Europe to openly support Mr. Putin. We did not ask for anything special from official Budapest. We didn't even get what everyone else is doing! Doing for the sake of peace. We did not receive the vital transit of defense aid, we did not see moral leadership. We saw no effort to stop the war! Why so? The whole of Europe wants peace. The whole of Europe does not want the battlefield to be moved from Mariupol to Budapest or from Kharkiv to Krakow or from Chernihiv to Vilnius. The whole of Europe is trying to stop the war, to restore peace. Then why is official Budapest opposed to the whole of Europe, to all civilized countries? For what? The main thing for us is the opinion of the people. The Ukrainian people support the Hungarian people. The Hungarian people support the Ukrainian people. We value peace equally, we value freedom equally. It will always be so. We will always live in good neighborliness. And I am convinced that our minorities should be the bridges that unite us even more. Politicians come and go. And the truth remains. That's what I'm talking about - the truth. And I always say what I think. When I am speaking of Hungary, I mean Hungary. And I don't need to mask my thoughts. If we need to speak of Germany, we are speaking of Germany. If I need to speak of another country, I'm speaking of another country. If it's a war, then I call it a war, not a "special operation." If this is a threat to the whole of Europe, then I call it a threat to the whole of Europe. This is called the honesty that Mr. Orban lacks. He may have lost it somewhere in his contacts with Moscow. I spoke today with the President of Colombia. I am very grateful to him for his support and solidarity with Ukraine. The list of countries that honestly say that freedom matters and the war must stop is expanding. I also spoke with British Prime Minister Johnson. A meaningful, pleasant conversation. We agreed on new defensive support for Ukraine. New package. Very, very tangible support. We also agree on the strengthening of sanctions against Russia. Extremely tangible. Agreed on joint steps to achieve peace. Thank you Boris for the leadership! Historical leadership. I'm sure of it. In the afternoon I held a large meeting with the economic bloc of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Office of the President. The economic frontline is another direction of our struggle for our state, for our people. We discussed in great detail the situation with sowing, with the supply of food to Ukrainians, with the supply of fuel, the situation in the energy sector, the situation with the main sectors of the state. The Minister of Finance reported on the state of implementation of the state budget, details of negotiations with partners on financial support for Ukraine. In wartime, economic relations must remain one hundred percent managed, no matter how difficult it may be for all of us. Because it's about perspective. About the perspective of life for more than 40 million Ukrainians, about what our tomorrow will be like. The participants of the meeting received clear tasks. And finally. Already traditional. I signed a decree on state awards to our heroes - the heroes of our state. 131 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, nine of them - posthumously. Eternal glory to them all! Eternal glory to all who gave their lives for Ukraine! Eternal glory to all our defenders! Glory to Ukraine! In Donetsk direction, the enemy continued to fire on some units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and to carry out assault operations in some areas. As of 24:00 on April 2, the enemy continues to carry out systematic missile and air strikes on military and civilian targets, but the intensity of missile strikes, as well as strikes using high-precision weapons has decreased, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted on Facebook. As noted, additional enemy units are being trained to take part in hostilities in the territory of Ukraine. It is planned to form "volunteer" battalions staffed by residents of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and mercenaries. In Donetsk direction, the enemy continued to fire on some units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and to carry out assault operations in some areas. The main efforts of the invaders are still focused on capturing the localities of Rubizhne, Popasna, preparing for the attack on Severodonetsk, gaining full control of Mariupol, as well as gaining access to Vuhledar and Marinka. The enemy did not succeed. In Volyn direction, no significant changes in the condition and position of Russian troops and their allies were noted. In Polissya direction, the enemy continues to withdraw units to the territory of the Republic of Belarus. During the withdrawal of troops, the enemy mines the routes of advance and some localities. In Siversky direction, the enemy completed the withdrawal of units from the territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation and Belarus. The main routes of the enemy columns run towards the localities of Gomel and Mogilev regions of Belarus. In addition to trucks, the columns included elements of pontoon-bridge fleet, multiple-launch rocket systems, and Iskander launchers. The enemy's military equipment is amassed at railway stations and facilities that have railway tracks which allow it to be loaded and sent to Russia. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the units of the 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District, which were operating in the direction of the town of Brovary, are being withdrawn to Russia (through Sumy region). The withdrawal of troops is provided by the battalion-tactical group of the 1st Guards Tank Army of the Western Military District. In Slobozhansky direction, the enemy continues to partially block Kharkiv and fires on residential and industrial areas of the city from artillery systems of various types. The General Staff notes that the intensity of the shelling has decreased. "The units of the occupying forces regroup, probably in order to continue active operations in Izium direction. The enemy is trying to conduct reconnaissance, including with the use of unmanned aerial vehicles," the report reads. "Ukraine's defense forces continue to defend our land, gradually liberating the occupied territories, inflicting significant losses on the enemy," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine underscored. Photo credit: AA ol Thanks to unmanned control, the new Kzlelma UAV by Baykar Makina will be able to perform more difficult tasks in combat due to no risk of losing a pilot. This was reported by Ukrinform with reference to Baykar Makina CTO Selcuk Bayraktar, who spoke with CNN Turk. "The biggest advantage of Kzlelma is that it is unmanned. Without pilot control, it is possible to perform much more dangerous missions during combat. Losing a pilot sometimes means failure, so you can't always take risks. But this is not the case with unmanned platforms. Because it is a robot aircraft, its loss is not so significant," explained Baykar Makinas CTO. Selcuk Bayraktar also explained why unmanned aerial vehicles have not yet become a global trend. "The world is moving to such platforms. One of the main reasons for the delay is the huge investment in fifth-generation aircraft. If it weren't for that, the world would have switched to unmanned aerial vehicles 10 years ago," Selcuk Bayraktar said. According to Bayraktar, the Kzlelma drone will boast a much higher speed than all other drones produced by the company. Preparations for the maiden flight are underway. As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Turkish company Baykar Makina, which created the famous Bayraktar drone, presented a new combat UAV. It is equipped with AI-25 engines of Ukrainian production. The load capacity of Kzlelma will stand at 1.5 tonnes (takeoff weight 6 tonnes) and be able to develop a speed of up to 800 kmh. The Kzlelma UAV will be able to land and take off from ships with short runways and provide effective counteraction to air-to-air targets. Read also: Bayraktar with Ukrainian engine presented in Turkey In November last year, the Ukrainian state enterprise Ivchenko-Progres and the Turkish company Baykar Makina signed a cooperation agreement, which provides for the supply of Ukraine-made engines for unmanned aerial vehicles manufactured in Turkey. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson have discussed defense support for Ukraine, the strengthening of sanctions against Russia and post-war security guarantees. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Twitter, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. I have once again talked to Boris Johnson. The United Kingdom is our powerful ally. We have discussed defense support for Ukraine, the strengthening of sanctions against Russia and post-war security guarantees. Looking forward to the Donor Conference for Ukraine, Zelensky wrote. A reminder that, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops are shelling and destroying the key infrastructure facilities, launching missile and air strikes on Ukrainian cities and villages, killing civilians. mk The Head of the Ukrainian delegation and the Leader of the Servant of the People Faction, David Arakhamia, believes the important security guarantors for Ukraine are the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Turkey and France. The relevant statement was made by David Arakhamia during a national telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. We have a minimum package, i.e. we will not move forward without them. We want to create our own, Ukrainian NATO, and it is important to us that NATOs biggest and most effective countries will provide support to us in case of aggression, Arakhamia told. In his words, the important security guarantors are the countries with a nuclear potential, such as France, the Peoples Republic of China and the United States. In addition, Ukraine sees the United Kingdom and Turkey as its allies. Turkey is very important to us, as it has the biggest army in Europe, Arakhamia noted. According to Arakhamia, the United States and the United Kingdom may be one of the last to join security guarantees. Meanwhile, the state of negotiations with China is at the level of the least readiness compared to other countries, which are actively assisting Ukraine. However, considering the statement by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Arakhamia believes that China conceptually does not object. Actually, these five countries will be enough to move forward. Then, all others can join freely. If other countries provide such guarantees in full or, perhaps, if they can provide guarantees in some other way. But, we will have the minimum to understand that we have a good structure that will indeed protect Ukraine against any aggression in the future, Arakhamia explained. Arakhamia also stressed that three NATO countries had already expressed readiness to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, namely Turkey, Germany and Italy. mk Kyiv currently works towards imposing the following sanctions against Russia: a ban on gas, oil, and coal purchases, closure of world ports to Russian ships, and cutting all Russian banks off from SWIFT. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said this on the air of the nationwide telethon on April 2, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. The minister noted that Ukraine insisted that the imposition of sanctions must not stop, working towards not only personal sanctions but also large sectoral measures that would hit hard on Russia's economy. "And, of course, the queen of all sanctions is a ban on gas, oil, and coal purchases from the Russian Federation. That would mark the end of the Russian military machine. This is the most difficult sanction, but we are working to achieve it," the minister said. Kuleba stressed that the decisions made by such countries as Poland, the Baltic states, the United States and the United Kingdom helped. "At the same time, until this decision is made by such countries as Germany and Italy, the Russian military machine will be fed by the money they will pay for gas and oil," he said. In addition, the minister informed that Kyiv was working towards the imposition of such sanctions as the closure of world ports, primarily European and American ones, to Russian ships and goods and cutting all Russian banks off from SWIFT system. "This is the sacred trinity of sanctions, which we are actively working on every day," Ukraines top diplomat concluded. Kuleba also thanked the G7 countries for refusing to pay for gas in rubles and added that the countries would gradually join the embargo on the purchase of Russian energy. "Germany has the most difficult situation due to its huge dependence on Russian energy, but the government of this country already takes measures to reduce this dependence and give up Russian energy," the minister said. As reported, on April 1, Kazakhstan assured that it would adhere to sanctions against Russia and Belarus and would not act as a tool to circumvent U.S. and European sanctions against Russia. ol President of Poland Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda, on a visit to Italy and the Vatican, took Ukrainian children with cancer on a presidential plane to Rome. The children will undergo treatment at a pediatric clinic in Rome, Ukrinform reports, citing a publication released on Dudas Facebook account. "Ukrainian children, for whom cancer therapy was prepared by the Baby Jesus Paediatric Hospital in Rome, flew to Rome with us," Duda wrote. He noted that the youngest passenger on their plane was Victoria, who was born two months before Russia's war against Ukraine. "We prayed today at the tomb of St. John Paul II so that her name would be prophetic for her homeland," Duda wrote. According to the Office of the President of Poland, a total of five children from Ukraine with their brothers and sisters and guardians were on board the presidential plane. Polands First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda later visited them in the hospital in Rome. According to the Office of the President of Poland, Duda told Pope Francis during their meeting about the situation in Ukraine and invited him to visit Poland. The president of Poland said that it would be an opportunity to meet with two peoples Polish and Ukrainian given the large number of Ukrainians who found temporary shelter in Poland fleeing the war with Russia. As reported, about 2.5 million Ukrainians have arrived in Poland since the beginning of Russias invasion of Ukraine. Photo credit: https://www.prezydent.pl ol The Military-Connected Resource Center is offering Military Familiarization training for UNO campus offices. The training defines what it means to be military-affiliated, discusses unique challenges and needs of military-affiliated student populations, and also describes and defines common military language, the benefits received, and strengths of these students. This training will help your office and staff gain confidence in working with military-affiliated individuals. At the end of the training course, your office will receive a Military Friendly Space sticker to display. Sign Up for Training If your office would like to participate in the training, please call the Military-Connected Resource Center at 402.554.3771 or email at unomilconnection@unomaha.edu to schedule a time. About the Military-Connected Resource Center Central Louisiana full-time, part-time and volunteer firefighters, as well as training candidates, participated in Union Pacifics day-long, hands-on hazmat training course. Front and center in yellow, from left: UPs project leaders Locomotive Engineer Earnest Recard; Livonia Hazmat Manager Tom Robinson; Locomotive Engineer Cory Van Mol, Houston Hazmat Manager Tyler Parker and Twin Cities Hazmat Manager Joe Eichten. Thanks to extensive outreach efforts, firefighters from 22 fire districts and departments received hazardous materials (hazmat) response training in Union Pacifics largest-ever class of its kind in central Louisiana. Were excited to be building community relationships, said Tom Robinson, manager-Hazardous Materials, Supply Chain. Theres a lot we can do to support local emergency responders." More than 230 firefighters and first responders from Rapides Parish, Louisiana, gained hands-on experience on real-life equipment during the day-long Railroading 101 class. Most annual hazmat training is book work and PowerPoint slides. Physically interacting with locomotives and rail cars under the guidance of Union Pacific personnel is invaluable, said Matt Robertson, training officer, Alexandria Fire Department, Louisiana. We rarely see railroad emergencies, so completing our annual training with real equipment passing through our city was meaningful. Locomotive Engineer Cory Van Mol activated his relationships within the Louisiana firefighting community and the railroad to help make each of the three one-day training sessions a success. Outfitted in personal protective gear, rotating shifts of local full-time, part-time and volunteer firefighters, as well as training candidates, participated in day-long sessions on locked switches at Alexandrias repair track. Participants were able to learn railroad safety best practices, then actually manipulate protective housings, valves and fittings, and truck components on locomotives, boxcars and tank cars to apply the same chlorine kits and Midland capping kits used in emergency response scenarios. My favorite part of the day was the locomotive orientation, Robertson said. Getting to see the safety shutoffs inside the cab, as well as the orientation on the electrical and diesel systems, and the exterior shutoffs, was interesting. Railroad personnel provided full-scale response guidance: contacts, resources and how to read rail car markings, as well as insight into Union Pacifics emergency response and recovery processes. This is true community engagement, said Drew Tessier, senior director-Public Affairs, Corporate Relations. Thank you to the Gulf Coast Service Unit, Manager Tom Robinson, Locomotive Engineer Cory Van Mol, Brakeperson Lee Litton and Locomotive Engineer Earnest Recard for being UPs driving force behind this effort. If Union Pacific offered the class again next year, would you recommend attendance for your team members? Yes, 100%, Robertson said. I received a lot of positive feedback from my department we enjoyed it, and half of my department was able to participate over the three-day period. Locomotive Engineer Earnest Recard, also a firefighter, teaches volunteer firefighters about the traction motors on locomotive wheels In the event of a Union Pacific emergency, please contact the railroads Response Management Communications Center at (888) UPRR-COP. Did You Know? Many chemicals, including ethanol, are considered hazardous materials. Thanks to robust tank car designs, technologies that monitor track and rail car health and first responder training, rail is one of the safest modes of transportation for moving hazardous substances. In fact, more than 99.999% of all hazmat moved annually by rail reaches its destination without a release caused by a train incident. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd April, 2022) Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the Russian state space agency Roscosmos, said on Saturday that the United States did not seem willing to lift sanctions on the Russian space industry. NASA administrator Bill Nelson said last month that the two world powers could have a cooperation in the civilian space program. "No one has canceled the sanctions," Rogozin told the Rossiya 24 television channel. Rogozin said Nelson assured Russia that NASA would continue working with US authorities to guarantee cooperation at the International Space Station but he added this was a sanctions waiver at best. Troops armed with sweeping powers were deployed in Sri Lanka Saturday with the near-bankrupt country on edge after the president declared a state of emergency to quell escalating protests against him Colombo, April 2 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Apr, 2022 ) :Troops armed with sweeping powers were deployed in Sri Lanka Saturday with the near-bankrupt country on edge after the president declared a state of emergency to quell escalating protests against him. Gotabaya Rajapaksa invoked special powers on Friday night, a day after hundreds tried to storm his house in anger over unprecedented shortages of food, fuel and medicine. The state of emergency was for the "protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community", Rajapaksa said in a proclamation. Soldiers armed with automatic assault rifles had already been deployed for crowd control at fuel stations and elsewhere when the emergency was declared. More were seen on Saturday. In normal times, Sri Lanka's military can only play a supporting role to police, but the state of emergency gives them authority to act alone, including to detain civilians. The South Asian nation of 22 million people is battling severe shortages of essentials, sharp price rises and crippling power cuts in its most painful downturn since independence from Britain in 1948. The coronavirus pandemic has torpedoed tourism and remittances, both vital to the economy, and authorities have imposed a broad import ban in an attempt to save foreign Currency. Many economists also say the crisis has been exacerbated by government mismanagement, years of accumulated borrowing, and ill-advised tax cuts. The emergency laws came ahead of planned anti-government protests on Sunday, when activists on social media have urged people to demonstrate outside their homes. "Do not be deterred by tear gas, very soon they will run out of Dollars to re-stock," said one post encouraging people to demonstrate even if police attempt to break up gatherings. US ambassador Julie Chung warned: "Sri Lankans have a right to protest peacefully -- essential for democratic expression. " "I am watching the situation closely, and hope the coming days bring restraint from all sides, as well as much needed economic stability and relief for those suffering," she tweeted. - 'Lunatic, go home' - travel trade specialists say the state of emergency could be a new blow to hopes of a tourism revival as insurance rates usually rise when a country declares a security emergency. A police official said authorities were considering a nationwide curfew to prevent an escalation of protests that have blocked traffic in many towns. "There are reports of sporadic attacks on the homes of government politicians," a security official told AFP, adding that a ruling party legislator was hit with eggs at a public event in the central district of Badulla on Friday. In the nearby hill resort of Nuwara Eliya, protesters shouted anti-Rajapaksa slogans and blocked Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's wife Shiranthi from opening an annual flower exhibition. A curfew imposed for a second night Friday was relaxed at dawn Saturday. Thursday night's unrest outside the president's private home saw hundreds of people demand he step down. Protesters chanted "lunatic, lunatic, go home", before police fired tear gas and used water cannon. The crowd turned violent, setting ablaze two military buses, a police jeep and other vehicles, and threw bricks at officers. Police arrested 53 protesters, before 21 of them were released on bail Friday night, court officials said. Others were still being detained but had yet to be charged. Rajapaksa's office said Friday that the protesters wanted to create an "Arab Spring" -- a reference to anti-government protests in response to corruption and economic stagnation that gripped the middle East more than a decade ago. Pope Francis began his first trip to Malta Saturday, where he is expected to ask the heavily Catholic country to do more to help migrants who have risked their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe Valletta, April 2 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Apr, 2022 ) :Pope Francis began his first trip to Malta Saturday, where he is expected to ask the heavily Catholic country to do more to help migrants who have risked their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe. The pontiff's plane touched down around 9:50 local time (0750 GMT) at Malta's airport south of the capital, ahead of a welcome ceremony with Prime Minister Robert Abela and dignitaries at the Grandmaster's Palace, the former seat of the Knights Hospitaller who ruled for centuries over the Mediterranean archipelago. Aboard the papal plane, Francis -- who had boarded using a lift for reduced mobility passengers instead of stairs -- told journalists accompanying him the visit to the tiny island nation would be "quick, but will be beautiful". The visit to Malta was scheduled two years ago but was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, and now comes as war in Ukraine has unleashed Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II, with more than four million fleeing the country. Francis said on Twitter Friday that his "journey in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul" would be an "opportunity to know at first hand a Christian community with a millennia-old history". Francis, who will visit a migrant centre during his two-day trip, is likely to renew calls for an end to the war while reminding the world not to overlook those who continue to risk their lives at sea trying to reach Europe from North Africa. "The pope comes to our island as a herald and messenger of reconciliation and mercy not only in the Mediterranean basin, but throughout the world," the Archbishop of Malta Charles Scicluna said in Italy's Christian Family magazine published Friday. - Steeped in Catholicism - Francis's visit to Malta follows those of his predecessors Benedict XVI in 2010 and two visits by John Paul II, in 1990 and 2001. The country's history is steeped in Catholicism going back to St. Paul, who is believed to have been shipwrecked on Malta en route to his execution in Rome. About 85 percent of Malta's 516,000 inhabitants say they are Catholic believers. Catholicism is part of the constitution and Malta is the only European Union country that completely bans abortion. The pontiff will conduct mass Sunday before an estimated crowd of 10,000 people in Floriana, next to the capital Valletta, following a visit to the Grotto of St. Paul, where the apostle is believed to have sought shelter. Also on Sunday, he will visit migrants living at the Hal Far peace lab, a migrant centre founded by a Franciscan friar in 1971 in honour of former pope John XXIII. The centre currently houses 55 young male migrants from across Africa but is preparing for the arrival of refugees from Ukraine. - Seeking refuge - During his weekly audience Wednesday at the Vatican, Francis praised Malta for welcoming "so many brothers and sisters seeking refuge". But non-governmental rescue groups who patrol the Mediterranean repeatedly accuse Malta of ignoring calls for help from migrants in its waters, refusing to let them land, or alerting Libyan authorities to intercept them and bring them to overcrowded, unsanitary detention camps in Libya where they risk torture and abuse. Maltese authorities argue the country takes a disproportionate share of migrants to Europe given its small size. Ahead of Francis' visit, German charity organisation Sea-Eye called on him to ask Maltese authorities to allow over 100 people pulled to safety by one of its migrant rescue ships to dock. Following the pope's visit with Abela, whose Labour Party won a third term in government following general elections last weekend, he will take a catamaran from Valletta's Grand Harbour to the island of Gozo, where he will preside over a prayer meeting at the national shrine of Ta' Pinu. Francis, who suffers from a painful sciatica that has occasionally caused him to cancel official events, did not take the stairs in boarding the plane from Rome's Fiumicino Airport Saturday morning, instead using a lift for reduced mobility passengers. Ukrainian photographer and documentary maker Maks Levin has been found dead near the capital Kyiv after going missing more than two weeks ago, presidential aide Andriy Yermak said on Saturday Kyiv, Ukraine, April 2 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Apr, 2022 ) :Ukrainian photographer and documentary maker Maks Levin has been found dead near the capital Kyiv after going missing more than two weeks ago, presidential aide Andriy Yermak said on Saturday. "He went missing in the conflict area on March 13 in the Kyiv region. His body was found near the village of Guta Mezhygirska on April 1," he said on Telegram. The Institute of Mass Information, a non-governmental organisation, cited preliminary findings from the prosecutor's office saying that the journalist was killed by "two shots" from the Russian military. Levin, 40, a father of four, had been working with Ukrainian and international media. During fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014, he managed to escape encirclement in a town where hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers were killed. ant/dt/yad WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd April, 2022) Four star US Army Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurillahas taken over leadership of Central Command (CENTCOM), whose area of responsibility is the middle East region, CENTCOM announced in a press release on Friday. "The outgoing commander of US Central Command, US Marine Corps General KennethMcKenzie Jr., relinquished command today during a change of command ceremony," the release said." US Army General ... Kurilla assumed command of CENTCOM from McKenzie." Kurilla previously commanded the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg in the US state of North Carolina and served as the CENTCOM chief of staff from August 2018 to September 2019, the release said. "US Central Command will continue to thrive under the steadfast leadership of General Kurilla during a critical time in a region that remains dangerous and complex," the release cited Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who himself commanded CENTCOM from March 2013 to April 2016, as saying. CENTCOM comprises more than 44,000 service and family members overseas and Kurilla will oversee all US military missions throughout the 21-country area of responsibility in the Middle East, Levant and Central Asia, as well as leading the 78-nation campaign against the Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia), according to the release. The National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have held their first joint meeting as they embark on preparations for Pope Francis' visit to the country, July 2 to 5, Cisa - Kinshasa, DRC. The meeting brought together DRCs Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the Apostolic Nuncio to DRC, representatives of CENCO and senior government officials. The focus of the meeting held Thursday was to begin preparations for the papal visit. Government and Church working together According to the Minister of Communications and Media, who doubles up as the spokesperson of the Government, the meeting involved among other matters, the setting up of various preparatory committees. You remember that recently the Prime Minister, together with the Apostolic Nuncio and the entire hierarchy of CENCO, announced this great event, namely the arrival of the Pope. Since then, several activities have taken place both at the level of the Church and that of the Government, said Mr Patrick Muyaya, the spokesperson. He added, Today, we have agreed to work more closely to see how we can organise a worthy visit that the Pope deserves, he said. The Prime Minister has instructed the various sectors of communication, logistics, finances and others to immediately outline guidelines for committees to start working. At the level of communication, at the level of logistics, of stewardship, at the level of finances the committees will present reports regularly. There will be meetings like this until the Pope arrives. This is to make sure that things are done as they should be done, emphasised Mr Muyaya. The Pope is coming for everyone The Apostolic Nuncio said the visit is not only for Catholic Christians alone but is meant for all Congolese, regardless of their beliefs. The Popes visit is intended to promote the reconciliation of all. The Pope comes not only for Catholics. He comes for everyone. He wants to see everyone. This is why we are committed to preparing the event well. The Church must do the more specific preparatory work concerning the essential aspects of the Popes visit ... The Pope comes to lead us to Jesus and to invite everyone to reconciliation, said Archbishop Balestrero. On Saturday afternoon, Pope Francis travels by boat to the island of Gozo to pray at the Marian shrine of Ta'Pinu, a place of great devotion for the Maltese, recognized and celebrated by several Popes, including Saint John Paul II and Benedict XVI. By Xavier Sartre - Gozo Island, Malta Bishop Anthony Teuma of Gozo worked until the last minute to finish preparations for visit of Pope Francis to the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Ta'Pinu, where the Pope presides over a prayer meeting on Saturday afternoon. Basilica of Our Lady of Ta'Pinu Recitation of three Hail Marys Ta'Pinu is considered the most important place of pilgrimage in the archipelago. Found at the tip of Gozo, the second largest island, the church appears at a curve in the road in the middle of rocky fields surrounded by low stone walls. In 1883, there was only a simple chapel with a painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On 22 June, a farm laborer by the name of Karmni Grima heard a voice asking her to recite three Hail Marys, one for each day that Jesus remained in the tomb. She later confided with a friend about this experience, and he mentioned the he also had heard this voice asking him to say prayers. Mosacis by Fr. Rupnik at the Shrine of Our Lady of Ta'Pinu From then on, Ta'Pinu became a place of pilgrimage, and a new church was built around the ancient chapel where the Pope Francis on Saturday prays the three Hail Marys, as did St. John Paul II in 1990 during his pastoral visit. The Pope also places a golden rose there which joins the one given by Benedict XVI during his visit to Malta in 2010. Mosaics of Rosary Mysteries The square of the Minor Basilica is surrounded by walls covered with mosaics by Jesuit Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, representing the four mysteries of the rosary as an invitation to prayer and a meditation for pilgrims. Mosacis by Fr. Rupnik at the Shrine of Our Lady of Ta'Pinu Gerard Buhagiar is rector of the Shrine, and takes care of every detail of the Basilica, including the flowers that adorn the altar located below a neo-Romanesque canopy. He is proud of the talent displayed by the artists who hand-carved the stones drawn from the quarry below the sanctuary. He shows the votive offerings filling the corridors behind the chapel, which display the gratitude of a whole community of believers, whose piety has made Ta'Pinu the most famous place of pilgrimage in the Maltese archipelago. 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. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan a time when Muslims abstain from food, drink, smoking and other activities from dusk to dawn daily, begins at sundown Saturday in most parts of the world At sunset, Muslims break the daily fast with the iftar, a meal shared with family and friends. Ramadan is the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar, and start and end dates vary each year. According to conventional Islamic belief, the Quran, the Muslim holy book, was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad more than 1,400 years ago during Ramadan. Fasting, one of the five pillars of Islam, is practiced by Muslims to achieve a greater consciousness of God. The other pillars include praying, giving alms, professing one's faith and going on a pilgrimage to Mecca, called the hajj. This year will be the largest hajj since global coronavirus pandemic restrictions were enacted two years ago. The Islamic Networks Group, based in San Jose, California, describes Ramadan as "a month of intense spiritual rejuvenation with a heightened focus on devotion, during which Muslims spend extra time reading the Quran and performing special prayers," Last year, fasting across the world ranged from 10 to 20 hours a day. In many majority-Muslim countries, working hours are reduced and restaurants close during fasting hours. Ramadan ends at sundown on May 1. Rosemary Pimentel is from El Salvador. Almost 20 years ago, her husband, Marcos Silva, left for the U.S., leaving Rosemary and their 6-year-old daughter behind. But Pimentel always believed her family would be together again. Always. Always. I never lost hope, she said in Spanish. In 2015, Silva, who lives legally in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), heard of a program that could allow him to bring Pimentel and their daughter to the U.S. legally. That program is the Central American Minors Program (CAM). CAM, created under the Obama administration, allows certain parents and legal guardians who are already lawfully in the U.S. to legally bring in their minor children from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras through the Refugee Admissions Program. They may apply to bring certain other relatives to the U.S. as well. My husband applied for me and my daughter, Pimentel said, and they (U.S. officials) called us and told us to travel to San Salvador. About 1,500 children were able to come to the U.S. during the Obama administration. In 2017, the Trump administration ended the program as part of the former presidents efforts to tighten immigration controls. The Biden-Harris administration reinstituted it with expanded eligibility in 2021, which U.S. officials said was part of their regional migration management strategy. This year, a coalition of 15 Republican-led states sued the federal government to end the program. In court documents, they argue that the program was not authorized by Congress and that CAM recipients injure the states because they must provide the children education and health care. However, under the Immigration Nationality Act, the president has the authority to designate countries whose nationals may be processed for refugee status within their respective countries. In March immigration advocates from the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) filed a motion to join the case as defendants representing the families that are expected to benefit from CAM. A hearing has not been scheduled in the case. Reuniting families The intent of CAM, said Linda Evarts, an attorney with IRAP, has always been to reunite children with their parents in the U.S. And to do so, the family is processed in Central America. All the processing happens there and then when they finally are able to get on a plane, they can make that safe journey here to where their parents live in the United States, she said. Essey Workie, director at Migration Policy Institute Human Services Initiative, told VOA there are some benefits and challenges under the CAM program. ... Beneficiaries were able to reunite with family members and they did not have to endure the traumatic journey. And secondly, it's helping to circumvent the informal systems that have developed over time to facilitate the journey to the U.S., and by that I mean the smugglers or, as others may call them, coyotes, that family members pay to have children escorted through that journey, she said. But there are still concerns around child safety, she said. The children remain in their home country through the approval process, which can take up to a year. Armed conflict, gang violence, food insecurity, and environmental damage are just some of the challenges people face in Central America. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimate a growing number of people are forced to leave their homes and more than 470,000 refugees and asylum-seekers are from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Who is eligible? To be considered, a parent must be in the United States legally, which could include: Lawful permanent resident status (also known as green card holders); Temporary Protected Status (TPS); or humanitarian parole, among others. These statuses protect an individual from deportation and give them authorization to legally work in the U.S. The child must be unmarried, younger than 21, a national of one of the three countries and the biological, adopted or stepchild of the qualified parent. In June 2021, CAM was expanded to include legal guardians as applicants in certain circumstances. According to MPIs analyses from December 2021, through March 2017, about 12,000 cases were submitted; most of the applicants were TPS holders and 86% of them were from El Salvador. Of the 6,300 applicants that received a final decision through March 2017, 29% received refugee status, 70% were granted parole, and 1% were denied. By the time the program was terminated in August 2017, only 1,627 children and other family members had entered the United States as refugees and 1,465 as parolees. The rest could not get travel authorization once the Trump administration shut down the program. Pimentel in limbo After the termination of the program in 2017, Pimentels case stalled, but she held on to two things. Communication and hope. Hope that I would be together with my husband and daughter. I never lost hope, she said. Only her daughter, Rosemary Silva Pimentel, was allowed to travel under refugee status to the U.S. Immigration advocates sued the Trump administration to challenge the abrupt termination of the program. The court said the U.S. government had to reopen applications for children and family members in the final stages of the process to legally resettle in the U.S. as refugees and parolees. We achieved a settlement in that case and as a result of that settlement approximately 1,600 people have already come to the United States as CAM parolees and additional people are still in processing right now, Evarts said. In 2020, Pimentel was able to reunite with her family. At the airport, the first person Rosemary saw was her daughter. And then my husband, too. He was with my daughter. And it was so emotional. I was so happy because we were together again. The most important to me was my daughter in the U.S. But, thank God, were here. And were fine, she said. The Biden administration has reopened the CAM program to new applicants. But with a legal battle still underway, the future of the program is still uncertain. A controversial public health policy used at the southern U.S. border during the Trump administration and left in place when President Joe Biden entered the White House will be lifted in May, a move that has sparked anger among those in Washington who want to keep the number of migrants entering the United States as low as possible. The rule, known as Title 42, was put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Citing the danger of allowing potentially infected people to enter the country, Title 42 empowered border enforcement agencies to immediately expel many people crossing the border, including those who did so in the hope of applying for asylum, something otherwise permitted by U.S. law. On Friday, the CDC released a statement that said, in part, After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 (such as highly effective vaccines and therapeutics), the CDC Director has determined that an Order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary. Immigration spikes Since Title 42 was put in place in March 2020, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has used it to expel individuals from the country 1.7 million times. Because the rule allows individuals to be deported without being charged with illegally crossing the border, the total number is believed to reflect many individuals who have been expelled from the country more than once. Lifting Title 42 would dramatically increase the number of people allowed to enter the country and apply for asylum. It could also encourage many more people to try to cross. In a presentation to reporters this week, the Department of Homeland Security said border agents are currently seeing an average of 7,101 people per day on the U.S. southern border, and more than 800,000 in the first five months in fiscal 2022, roughly twice as many as the same period in 2021. The department said that it expects daily encounters to surge to as many as 18,000 when Title 42 is lifted. Because many of those people would be allowed to stay in the U.S. while asylum claims are validated, Homeland Security officials are putting plans in place to manage the flow of asylum-seekers by providing temporary housing. However, in the past, border agencies have been overwhelmed and have been forced to release asylum-seekers into the community with instructions to report back for information on their asylum claims. DHS statement In a statement released Friday, after the CDCs announcement, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas said, We have put in place a comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy to manage any potential increase in the number of migrants encountered at our border. Mayorkas said that the agency is increasing its ability to evaluate new arrivals and to remove those who cannot present a valid request for asylum. We will increase personnel and resources as needed and have already redeployed more than 600 law enforcement officers to the border, Mayorkas said. We are referring smugglers and certain border crossers for criminal prosecution. Over the next two months, we are putting in place additional, appropriate COVID-19 protocols, including ramping up our vaccination program. Political reaction The reaction among Republicans in Washington was generally negative after the change was announced on Friday, with many claiming that it is proof that the Biden administration supports an open borders policy. California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the House of Representatives, used Twitter to criticize the administrations decision, writing, President Biden has abdicated his responsibilities and is actively making his border crisis worse. Mark my words. His decision to eliminate Title 42 will invite a lawless surge of illegal border crossings, enriching human traffickers and overwhelming our great Border Patrol. Biden faced different reactions from within his own party. Many Democrats have sharply criticized the administration for allowing Title 42 to remain in place for as long as it did. Mississippi Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and California Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan, chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, & Operations, released a joint statement. With almost all pandemic restrictions ending or winding down, we welcome the CDCs decision to finally end Title 42 expulsions at the border next month. This harmful and inhumane policy was never based on sound science or public health need but was an all-too-convenient tool for the extreme members of the previous administration to close the border. However, other Democrats were highly critical of the decision. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, whose state borders Mexico, said in a statement, This is the wrong decision. It's unacceptable to end Title 42 without a plan and coordination in place to ensure a secure, orderly, and humane process at the border. From my numerous visits to the southern border and conversations with Arizona's law enforcement, community leaders, mayors, and non-profits, it's clear that this administration's lack of a plan to deal with this crisis will further strain our border communities. Astronomical immigration numbers Tom Homan, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Donald Trump, told VOA that he believes the decision is a bad one on both public health and immigration policy grounds. I think it's going to cause more COVID, he said. Even though we may be turning the corner here, many countries are not. And a lot of people still are not vaccinated in this country, so I think the health risk is high. Discussing the projected increase in border crossings, Homan, who is now a visiting senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said, Its going to be numbers like we never saw beforeIt's going to be astronomical, and there's no way they're going to be able to handle it. A racist policy Allen Orr, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told VOA that his group is pleased that the Biden administration has decided to lift enforcement of Title 42. However, he said, We're a little bit perplexed as to why it took so long to get to that decision. Orr said it has long been clear that Title 42 was more about border control than public health, and called on the administration to take steps to ensure that it cannot be invoked again. We need to make sure people can't use title 42 ever again, he said. Title 42 has been part of a racist policy, directed at Black and brown people on the southern border. China now has the technology, hardware and know-how to coordinate a war from space, defense analysts say. The People's Liberation Army could park military equipment systems in space or use satellites to surveil the ground, experts say. China may eventually use sensors to detect enemy submarines at sea, said Richard Bitzinger, U.S.-based visiting senior fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. "The military uses of space are pretty self-evident, and the Chinese would probably be foolish if they did not try and militarize space," Bitzinger said. "It is a part of their explicit package of future reforms for the People's Liberation Army." China's 2019 white paper China's National Defense in the New Era notes a growing role in space for the People's Liberation Army Air Force. "In line with the strategic requirements of integrating air and space capabilities as well as coordinating offensive and defensive operations, the PLAAF is accelerating the transition of its tasks from territorial air defense to both offensive and defensive operations," the paper said. Space hardware could help China carry out airstrikes with multiple missile types, said Andrew Yang, secretary-general of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies think tank in Taiwan. Developing capabilities China's air force will improve its capacity for early warnings, airstrikes and missile defense, the white paper said. Researchers in China have tested hypersonic weapons those that can fly at least five times faster than the speed of sound including space glide vehicles that are launched into space on a rocket, Astronomy magazine reported in November. The country has tested, too, a fractional orbital bombardment system for missiles, the article said, citing reporting by the Financial Times. China's decades-old network of satellites can do "high-definition" physio-magnetic observation that's good enough to detect military equipment on Earth, said Collin Koh, research fellow at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, a unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. "In the Chinese inventory of space satellites, they have those that are dedicated to ocean surveillance," Koh said. "It has both civilian and potential military application." Chinese officials are trying to prevent their commercial-use BeiDou Navigation Satellite System from being jammed by a potential adversary, he added. Where space would meet Earth The Chinese military would most likely use military technology in space to seek control in the disputed East and South China seas and fend off challenges on the high seas of the Western Pacific just beyond China's near seas, analysts say. "Chinese doctrine says, 'We need to control the near seas, and we need be able to project force and contest an adversary in the second island chain,' " said Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. That agenda represents a threat to Asian countries that contest sovereignty with China over the near seas, said Alexander Vuving, a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii. Beijing has already placed military hangars and radar systems on tiny South China Sea islet outposts. Beijing competes there for maritime sovereignty with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. All six parties value the 3.5 million-square-kilometer waterway for fisheries and energy reserves. China separately claims sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan, having kept the island on edge for decades against a possible attack. Eyes on US The United States, the world's largest military power, has sent warships into the South China Sea and near Taiwan as a warning to China, its former Cold War adversary, against further expansion. "China is growing in terms of military power," Vuving said. "There is a naval arms race between China and the U.S. China now has more ships than the U.S. China is projected to have the biggest navy in the region, even now by some estimates." The United States christened the use of space for military purposes decades ago. The U.S. Navy used space for atmospheric and high-altitude research before the U.S. space agency, NASA, was formed in 1958. The U.S. Air Force still launches GPS and missile-defense tracking satellites. Neither China nor the United States has an "impenetrable" space-based shield against enemy missiles, which then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan sought in the 1980s, Bitzinger said. But, he said, China is trying to be one of the world's top two or three countries in military space. Following a four-month ordeal, an Ethiopian journalist is back home with his family, although he still may face years in prison if convicted of violating the countrys wartime state of emergency law and anti-terrorism law. Amir Aman Kiyaro, a video journalist accredited by the Associated Press, was arrested on November 28, 2021, in Addis Ababa following a reporting trip outside of the capital. He was accused of illegally communicating with members of the Oromo Liberation Army, which the government has labeled a terrorist group. Under the nations state of emergency, journalists have been punished for interviewing political figures, dissidents and members of armed groups. The state of emergency was lifted in February. Amir and another freelance video cameraman, Thomas Engida, were held as suspects but never charged with a crime, a representative of the AP said. Ian Phillips, vice president of international news at The Associated Press, said the case shows how journalism is being criminalized and reporters harassed in Ethiopia. He emphasized that Amir was on a legitimate reporting trip and committed no crime. The crackdown on the media that this case represents, there is no true accusation that can be leveled against Amir, Phillips told VOA in a March 25 interview prior to Amirs release. He is a respected, balanced journalist who has covered both sides of the conflict. He's been picked up and this is an arbitrary detention and we have been calling on Ethiopian authorities to do the right thing and release him. Zecharias Zelalem, a Canada-based Ethiopian journalist whose work has appeared in Al Jazeera, said arrests like this drove him to sign an open letter calling on the government to respect media rights. He said 46 journalists were detained in 2021 in the country making Ethiopia one of the worst jailers of journalists in Africa. The general optimism that we had a couple of years ago with the much-heralded reform, with the promises that journalists would be able to operate unperturbed, this has not panned out, Zecharias said. The promises and the pledges did not materialize. And unfortunately for journalists, the situation is starting to mirror what we saw in 2009 when Ethiopia passed its infamous anti-terror proclamation, which was used to round up journalists en masse. So, we had to speak up about a very, very dire situation that our colleagues on the ground in Ethiopia are facing. When the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018, there was widespread optimism about the direction the country was taking. Abiy was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize the next year partly due to granting amnesty to thousands of political prisoners which included journalists and discontinuing media censorship,the committee wrote when making the announcement. However, progress eroded and the country plunged into a civil war in November 2020. Journalists were intimidated, harassed and arrested. It became virtually impossible to get accurate information from within Ethiopia once conflict intensified and the government imposed an internet communication blackout in some parts of the country where there was conflict. Journalists have been prevented from reporting in areas where the Oromo Liberation Army, a rebel group that is fighting the central government, is active. Accurate information is hard to come by, experts say. Zecharias said the reporting Amir was doing, traveling to an area of Oromia currently controlled by a rebel group, is vital since there is virtually no coverage of what daily life is like there. What he was carrying out was very important, crucial journalistic work, he said. Very few journalists have been able to gain access to areas under the control of the OLA to see what life has been like for hundreds of thousands if not millions of people in these areas, much of which have been subjected to internet and phone outages, we don't have an accurate picture of. Amirs lawyer Tadele Gebremedhin said his client was released on a 60,000 birr ($1,165) bail and ordered not to leave the country until his case is investigated. He said the journalists have been accused of working with foreign media outlets and spoiling the countrys development plans through negative reporting. VOA reached out to the office of the prime minister and attorney general requesting comment but received no response. As free press advocates continue to push for the fair treatment of journalists, arrests continue in Ethiopia. On March 31, four journalists were arrested in the Somali region of the country, according to local reports. We will continue to cover the story of journalists who are unjustly held. This is not acceptable behavior. These are arbitrary detentions, Phillips said. If there is proof of something, then that evidence has to be surfaced and has to go through a proper trial process, something that is extremely important to us at the AP and to our news organizations. A huge fire engulfed the main market in the city of Hargeisa in northern Somalia Saturday, injuring at least 28 people and destroying hundreds of businesses, city authorities and witnesses said. According to witnesses the overnight inferno started where old warehouses are located in the sprawling Waheen market, a vibrant business center in the city. The fire started from an old warehouse department and winds spread it rapidly through the market, razing multistory buildings, tea shops, groceries, restaurants, electronics stores and a meat market, Sayid Karama, a witness told VOA Somali. Images posted on social media showed the entire market area covered by huge flames sending columns of black smoke above the city, located in the country's Somaliland region. During a visit to the marketplace, Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi said 28 people, nine of them women, were injured, and that no loss of life had been reported. Officials said those injured were mainly traders attempting to salvage some of their wares from the burning stalls. The cause of the fire, which some market traders blame on an electrical fault, remains unclear. Hargeisa's mayor, Abdikarim Ahmed Mooge, who visited the burned-out market, said that the market's narrow streets and hundreds of traders, who stormed to the scene hampered efforts to immediately contain the fire by the citys small brigade of firefighters. "This place was the economic center of Hargeisa and even though the firefighters did their best to contain the fire, the market is destroyed, and this city has never witnessed such a massive calamity," said Mooge. We share the pain with the traders in Hargeisa, those who lost property in the blaze. We must show the world that we are persevered because of a belief -- a belief that out of the ashes of such an inferno, a new recovery could be born. Several store owners who spoke to VOA reported a huge loss of property due to the fire. Somaliland authorities said a committee has been organized to assess the financial damage. My government would be releasing 1 million U.S dollars to help with the emergency response to the disaster, President Bihi said. The pinch of rising food prices The market fire coincides with the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins this year with soaring prices of staple foods in markets in Somalia and across the world. For traders and consumers in Hargeisa, in the aftermath of COVID-19's economic impact, Russias military invasion of Ukraine, and recurring drought, the market fire means extra strain for their daytime fasting and nighttime feasting. It is the beginning of Ramadan, a holy month for 1.8 billion Muslims around the world to observe with prayers, happiness and in the hope of forgiveness and reward, but for many of us here in Hargeisa, it started with happy and sad at the same time, Mahad Ahmed, a trader whose family lost five shops in the fire, told VOA. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. It started Friday and lasts for 29 to 30 days. During Ramadan, observers refrain from eating, drinking and sex between daybreak and sunset. Residents of Mogadishu and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia are aware of the news of the market burnout and the burden it can bring to the local people. We share the pain and the sad feeling with the people in Hargeisa for the loss of property and wish them that Allah gives them replacement, said Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo. We tell the Somaliland people that we are with them in their difficult times, and I wish them better. Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Allah we shall return, said Abiy Ahmed Prime Minister of Ethiopia. In 1991, Somaliland declared its independence from Somalia, which views it as a northern breakaway region, not a separate nation. The two sides have held repeated rounds of talks, most recently in June 2020 in Djibouti, when they agreed to appoint technical committees to continue discussions. No meetings have taken place since then. Last month, Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi paid a visit to Washington, making the case that the U.S. should become the first country to recognize his self-declared states independence. In an interview with VOA Somali during his visit, Bihi said he was leaving with some positive signals to show for it. The U.S. State Department emphasized the Biden administration's commitment to a unified Somalia, but also held out the possibility of stronger ties with Somaliland. Khadar Akulle contributed this report. New details have emerged about Belarusians fighting for Ukraine against Russia's invasion as part of a broader struggle to free their own country from Russian domination and the rule of Moscow-backed autocrat Alexander Lukashenko. Speaking exclusively to VOA in a Tuesday phone interview, the deputy commander of the largest pro-Ukraine Belarusian fighting force said its numbers have almost reached the size of an average Ukrainian battalion, which he said has about 450-500 troops. "Several thousand more have applied to join us through our online recruitment tool," said Vadim Kabanchuk of the Kastus Kalinouski battalion, named after a Belarusian revolutionary who led a regional uprising against Russian occupation in the 1860s. The Kalinouski battalion began forming in Kyiv after Russia had begun its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The battalion uses the Telegram channel @belwarriors to share news and images of its activities. On March 9, it announced its adoption of the Kalinouski name in a video posted to the platform. Kabanchuk said he is one of a number of the Belarusian battalion's fighters who have been active in Ukraine's defense starting in 2014. That year, Russian forces invaded eastern Ukraine's Donbas region to foment a separatist uprising within its Russian-speaking community. Belarusians have been drawn to fight for Ukraine for years in the hope that freeing it from Russian occupation would boost their own efforts to rid Belarus of Moscow's influence and end the 27-year presidency of Lukashenko, a key Russian ally. The Kalinouski battalion swore an oath of allegiance to Belarus and Ukraine in a Telegram video posted March 25. Four days later, in another video, battalion members said they had a new status as part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and held up green booklets that resembled Ukrainian military IDs. There has been no confirmation of the Kalinouski battalion's announcement on websites run by the Ukrainian government and military. The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a VOA email asking whether it could provide such a confirmation. Franak Viacorka, a senior adviser to exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, told VOA that he believes the Kalinouski battalion's declared integration into the Ukrainian Armed Forces is credible. He described the battalion as the biggest and "perhaps best organized" of the Belarusian groups fighting for Ukraine and said it has earned a right to display Belarus' national flag and coat of arms in its operations. "As of now, they will be fighting not only in one place, not only in defense of Kyiv, but all over Ukraine," Viacorka said. As Russia's full-scale invasion began, Belarusian fighters of what later became the Kalinouski battalion joined the Ukrainian military's volunteer Territorial Defense Force units in Kyiv, according to deputy commander Kabanchuk. The Kyiv Independent news site had reported in January that the Territorial Defense Force units would comprise former active-duty Ukrainian military personnel and other volunteers, including civilians. Kabanchuk said some of the Kyiv territorial defense units that his fellow Belarusian fighters joined included Ukrainian fighters with ties to the Azov regiment of the Ukrainian National Guard. The Azov regiment is known for the far-right beliefs of some of its members and has been most active in Mariupol, the southern Ukrainian port besieged by Russia for weeks. "We initially were part of Kyiv territorial defense units whose members called themselves part of the 'Azov movement,'" said Kabanchuk. "But we are not part of the Ukrainian National Guard's Azov regiment and don't want to be confused with it," he added. Most Belarusians who volunteer to fight for Ukraine are driven not by far-right ideology but by a belief that Kyiv's struggle is part of their own fight to free Belarus from Russian imperialism, said former Belarusian Foreign Ministry official Pavel Slunkin in a phone call with VOA. "They include bloggers, journalists, I.T. specialists, factory workers. All kinds of professions. And they want to see Belarus as a democratic state," said Slunkin, now an analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Not all Belarusians who seek to join the Kalinouski battalion will make it through a multistage vetting process aimed at weeding out security threats, Kabanchuk explained. Those threats include the possibility of Lukashenko's agents trying to infiltrate the battalion, he said. "Many of the thousands who applied will be rejected after in-person interviews at the Belarusian recruitment center in the Polish capital, Warsaw, which acts as a first-stage filtration hub for potential fighters," Kabanchuk said. "Others will be rejected as unsuitable after they arrive to the battalion bases." Smaller groups of Belarusian fighters have been active in other parts of Ukraine in recent weeks, according to Belarusian opposition figures. In a Thursday tweet, Tsikhanouskaya said a recently formed regiment called Pahonia is training new volunteers on behalf of Ukraine's armed forces. In a Friday statement to VOA, a spokesperson for the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine, Norwegian-born Damien Magrou, responded to a question about Pahonia by saying Ukrainian officials are considering an initiative to integrate "suitable" Belarusian volunteers into the legion. Kabanchuk said the Kalinouski battalion prefers not to join the international legion because his fighters have much more autonomy as a separate unit. Viacorka, the Tsikhanouskaya adviser, said in a Thursday tweet that he hopes the Pahonia regiment will form the basis of a new professional Belarusian army in a post-Lukashenko era. Lukashenko derided the pro-Ukraine Belarusian fighters last month, telling a government meeting that the fighters are "crazy" and motivated only by money. As for his own troops, he has avoided sending them into Ukraine to join in Russia's invasion. Kabanchuk said that if Lukashenko were to do that, some of the Belarusian military's forces would surrender, and others would turn against the Belarusian autocrat. "He understands very well that sending troops into Ukraine will speed up the fall of his regime," Kabanchuk said. Israeli security forces killed three gunmen from the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in a shootout in the occupied West Bank on Saturday. "This is a terrorist cell that has been involved in terrorist activity against security forces recently, and was apparently on its way to another attack," the police said. Four Israeli officers were wounded. Islamic Jihad claimed the three Palestinians as members. Tensions have risen over the past week after a string of deadly Arab attacks in Israel. Officials have warned about a potential surge in assaults in the run-up to Saturday's start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a period during which violence has surged in the past. On Tuesday, a Palestinian gunman shot dead five people in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak before he was killed by police. The shooting raised to 11 the number of people killed by Arab attackers in Israel within a week. Israeli forces shot dead three Palestinians in West Bank clashes on Thursday and Friday and a Palestinian stabbed a passenger on an Israeli bus near a Jewish settlement and was shot dead by another passenger. For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. Recap of April 2 FIGHTING * Ukraine regains control of Kyiv region. * Bodies of 20 civilians found in Bucha, near Kyiv. HUMANITARIAN * Aid convoys were not able to reach the besieged city of Mariupol again Saturday, the Russian defense ministry said and blamed "destructive actions" by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Interfax news agency said. DIPLOMACY * Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Saturday her country should make a decision on NATO this spring SANCTIONS * Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda tweeted that from April, the country will no longer use Russian gas. * EUs Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said further sanctions on Russia will not affect the energy sector, according to The Kyiv Independent. * The future of the International Space Station hangs in the balance, Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russias space program, said Saturday, after the United States, the European Union, and Canadian space agencies missed a deadline to lift sanctions on Russian enterprises and hardware. For the latest developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, all times EDT: 9:23 p.m.: The latest intelligence update from the U.K. says that Russian air activity is concentrated toward southern and eastern Ukraine. It went on to say that Ukraine "continues to provide a significant challenge to Russian air and missile operations." 7:47 p.m.: Authorities in Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova, denied as absolutely untrue claims Saturday by Ukraine that Russian troops based there are preparing for a demonstration of readiness for the offensive and, possibly, hostilities against Ukraine. The information disseminated by the General Staff of Ukraine is absolutely untrue, Transnistrias Foreign Ministry said in a statement, The Associated Press reported, adding that leaders have repeatedly declared the absence of any threat to Ukraine. Transnistria is a Russia-backed region of Moldova that broke away after a short civil war in the early 1990s and is unrecognized by most countries. An estimated 1,500 Russian soldiers are stationed there. 7:02p.m.: At least 17 colleges and universities in at least five U.S. states will jointly offer honorary degrees to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during commencement ceremonies this spring, The Associated Press says. After Zelenskyy declined a request to speak virtually to the graduates, Alfred University President Mark Zupan said the institutions instead decided to award honorary degrees in absentia to recognize Zelenskyys leadership during Russias war in Ukraine. 6:33 p.m.: In his late-night address Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces aimed to seize the east and south of the country and again complained Western nations had not provided Kyiv with enough anti-missile systems, according to a Reuters report. In the nightly video, Zelenskyy also praised forces defending the besieged port of Mariupol, saying their resistance was allowing other cities to gain valuable time. 6:05 p.m.: At a studio in Prague, a staff of 10 people from beginners to veteran broadcasters, are broadcasting news, information a music for about 300,000 Ukrainians who are now living in the Czech Republic, according to The Associated Press. "It was for my people. For people who really needed help, who really needed support, something that would help them start a new life or restart their lives here after they have lived through very bad things trying to escape from Ukraine," said Natalia Churikova, an experienced journalist with Prague-based Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, who took the job as editor in chief. 5:24 p.m.: The future of the International Space Station hangs in the balance, Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russias space program, said Saturday, after the United States, the European Union, and Canadian space agencies missed a deadline to lift sanctions on Russian enterprises and hardware. Rogozin implied on Russian state TV that the Western sanctions, some of which predate Russias current military operations in Ukraine, could disrupt the operation of Russian spacecraft servicing the ISS with cargo flights. Russia also sends manned missions to the space station. 4:48 p.m.: Aid convoys were not able to reach the besieged city of Mariupol again Saturday, the Russian defense ministry said and blamed "destructive actions" by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Interfax news agency said. Interfax quoted Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, the director of the Russian National Center for Defense Management, as saying the ICRC had shown its inability to provide any help in preparing to evacuate civilians from the city. 4:10 p.m.: Ukraine's railways are struggling with a backlog of grain railcars on the country's western border as traders look for alternative export routes after Russia's invasion blocked off the main Black Sea ports, Reuters reports, citing analyst APK-Inform. Ukraine was the world's fourth-largest grain exporter in the 2020/21 season, according to International Grains Council data, with most of its commodities shipped out via the Black Sea. 3:48 p.m.: Odesa residents came out to enjoy a few hours of sunshine Saturday afternoon, one day after a Russian ballistic missile attack. Odesa residents Anna Moravinets and Maria Bugai each told The Associated Press they felt safe despite the ongoing conflict and had confidence in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Regional leader Maksim Marchenko said at least three Russian Iskander missiles were fired late Friday at the Odesa region. They did not hit the critical infrastructure they targeted in Odesa, Ukraine's largest port and the headquarters of its navy. 3:18 p.m.: Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Saturday her country should make a decision on NATO this spring and that both joining (NATO) and not joining are choices that have consequences. We need to assess both the short-term and long-term effects. At the same time, we must keep in mind our goal: ensuring the security of Finland and Finns in all situations. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, the longest by any European Union member. 2:51 p.m.: A Russian group that monitors political arrests says 208 people were detained in demonstrations held Saturday across the country protesting Russias military operation in Ukraine, The Associated Press reported. The OVD-Info group said demonstrations took place in 17 Russian cities, from Siberia to the more densely populated west. More than 70 people were detained in Moscow and a similar number in St. Petersburg, the organization said. 2:15 p.m.: Almost 300 people have been buried in a mass grave in Bucha, a commuter town outside Ukraine's capital Kyiv, its mayor toldAgence France-Presse Saturday after the Ukrainian army retook control of the key town from Russia. "In Bucha, we have already buried 280 people in mass graves," Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk said by phone. He said the heavily destroyed town's streets are littered with corpses. 1:57 p.m.: Ukraine regains control of 'whole Kyiv region,' deputy defense minister said, according to Agence France-Presse. 12:19 p.m.: Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda tweeted that from April, the country will no longer use Russian gas. 11:44 a.m.: Bodies of at least 20 men in civilian clothing were found lying on a single street Saturday after Ukrainian forces retook the town of Bucha, near Kyiv, from Russian troops, Agence France-Presse journalists report. 10:02 a.m.: An international arrest warrant should be issued for Vladimir Putin, former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court tells Swiss newspaper Le Temps. 9:38 a.m.: About 620,000 Ukrainians have returned to Ukraine since the start of Russias invasion, and the numbers of women and children going back are increasing, the State Border Guard Service spokesman says, as reported by The Kyiv Independent. 9:27 a.m.: Police in Kyrgyzstan detained about 20 activists who were protesting against Russian leader Vladimir Putin, according to AFP. 8:50 a.m.: EUs Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said further sanctions on Russia will not affect the energy sector, according to The Kyiv Independent. 8:45 a.m.: Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the chief of staff of Ukraine's president, took to Twitter to call for an all-out embargo on Russian energy. 8:44 a.m.: Latvian President Egils Levits discussed the military assistance of Latvia and other Western countries to Ukraine with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to his tweet, Latvia will also continue to urge NATO members to widen military assistance to Ukraine. 8:34 a.m.: Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said the government is ready to contribute to the peace process and act as a guarantor of Ukraines neutrality, The Kyiv Independent reports. 8:00 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted that he held talks with Latvian President Egils Levits about countering Russian aggression, and its war crimes. 7:45 a.m.: The body of Ukrainian photojournalist Maks Levin was found Friday, nearly 3 weeks after he went missing covering fighting outside Kyiv. Levin, who contributed to international outlets and news agencies including Reuters and The Associated Press was last heard from March 13, while heading to Moschchun, a village near Kyiv, where fighting had intensified. In 2014, Levin was injured covering fighting in the Donetsk region during what was then one of the largest Russian military operations. He later produced a documentary, After Ilovaisk, about the experience. In an interview published just days before his disappearance, Levin told VICE News, I will stay on the front line as long as I am physically able. He is survived by his wife and four children. Levin is the sixth journalist confirmed to have been killed during the war. According to preliminary findings, Levin "was fatally shot twice with small-arms fire, by servicemen" of the Russian military, according to a Facebook post by Ukraine's prosecutor general. An investigation is ongoing. 5:54 a.m.: Al Jazeera reported that Pope Francis is considering traveling to Kyiv. He said a plan to do so is "on the table." 5:26 a.m.: The New York Times, citing the governor of Ukraine's Luhansk region, said that intense fighting in Lysychansk and Toshkivka had damaged or destroyed 31 buildings. 4:54 a.m.: UNESCO says at least 53 culturally important sites have been damaged in Ukraine since the Russians invaded, the BBC reported. 4:27 a.m.: Speaking to Fox News, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he wouldn't consider ceding territory to Russia as part of a peace deal. 3:05 a.m.: The latest dispatch from the U.K.'s defense intelligence said that Ukraine continues to advance as Russian forces withdraw. Ukrainian forces are currently moving from Irpin toward Bucha and Hostormel. 1:37 a.m.: The BBC reported that China has denied circumventing sanctions on Russia. Wang Lutong of China's foreign minister said that by continuing to trade with Russia, China aimed to help the global economy. The comments come the day after the European Union warned China not to support Russia's war with Ukraine and interfere with sanctions. 12:40 a.m.: New details have emerged about Belarusians fighting for Ukraine against Russia as part of a broader struggle to free their own country from Russian domination and the rule of Moscow-backed autocrat Alexander Lukashenko. Speaking exclusively to VOA in a Tuesday phone interview, the deputy commander of the largest pro-Ukraine Belarusian fighting force said its numbers have almost reached the size of an average Ukrainian battalion, which he said has about 450-500 troops. VOA's Igor Tsikhanenka and Michael Lipin have the story. 12:01 a.m.: The Red Cross will try once more to evacuate people from Mariupol on Saturday, Reuters reported. The aid agency attempted to lead a convoy out Friday but was forced to turn back, saying unsafe conditions made the trip impossible. Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters Mali's army said Friday that it had killed 203 combatants in an operation in the center of Sahel state, an apparent uptick in violence in the conflict-torn country. The army said the March 23-31 military operation took place in Sahel's Moura area, which it termed a "terrorist fiefdom." Soldiers killed 203 militants, arrested 51 people and seized large quantities of weapons, according to the army's statement. The announcement came as numerous social media reports in Mali this week alleged that dozens of people, including civilians, had been killed in Moura. AFP was unable to verify the army's claimed death toll or the social media reports. Poor access to Mali's conflict areas and a relative lack of independent information sources mean that figures provided by either the government or armed groups are difficult to confirm. An impoverished nation of about 21 million people, Mali has struggled to contain a jihadist insurgency that emerged in 2012, before spreading to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. Vast swaths of the country are held by myriad rebel groups and militias, and thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed in the conflict. Mali's underequipped army has also often been accused of committing abuses during the conflict. According to a report seen by Agence France-Presse, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently warned the U.N. Security Council that Mali's counterterrorism efforts had "disastrous consequences for the civilian population." In its statement Friday, Mali's army said it was guided by human rights and international law, and it called for "restraint against defamatory speculations." The country has seen an apparent uptick in violence in recent weeks. The U.N. said Friday that thousands of people fleeing fighting in Mali had arrived in Niger. A day earlier, the U.N. peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSMA, said that security had "deteriorated considerably" in the border area with Burkina Faso and Niger. The Ukrainian photographer and documentary maker Maks Levin has been found dead near the capital, Kyiv, after going missing more than two weeks ago, presidential aide Andriy Yermak said on April 2. "He went missing in the conflict area on March 13 in the Kyiv region. His body was found near the village of Huta-Mezhyhirska on April 1," he said in a post on Telegram. Reporters Without Borders confirmed the report on Twitter, saying Levin was killed like five other journalists since Russia launched its unprovoked war on Ukraine. Targeting journalists is a war crime, the Paris-based media watchdog said, adding that Levin was unarmed and wearing a press jacket. The prosecutor's office said that, according to preliminary findings, Levin, was fatally shot twice with small-arms fire, by servicemen" with the Russian military. Levin, 40, a father of four, had been working with many Ukrainian and international media, including Reuters, the BBC, and the Associated Press. John Pullman, Reuters' global managing editor for visuals, said: "We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Maksim (Maks) Levin, a longtime contributor to Reuters, in Ukraine." "Maks has provided compelling photos and video from Ukraine to Reuters since 2013. His death is a huge loss to the world of journalism. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time." Some information for this report came from AFP and Reuters. The French charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) announced Friday that it is temporarily suspending operations in an impoverished suburb of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, due to rising gang violence. The security situation in Haiti has been deteriorating for months, with gangs exerting influence far beyond the poor neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince. The Caribbean nation is also facing an increase in kidnappings: between five and 10 people are abducted every day in Haiti, according to Haitian human rights organizations. "We condemn all forms of obstruction and violence against medical services, our patients and staff members," said Thierry Goffeau, MSF's director for Haiti, in a statement announcing the temporary closure of a hospital in the Cite-Soleil neighborhood. The hospital will remain closed "as long as security conditions are not guaranteed," the statement said. The Cite-Soleil hospital opened more than a decade ago, and provides emergency care, although its service for serious burns had already been transferred to another hospital in the capital due to a previous wave of violence. Last August, MSF was forced to permanently close a hospital it had been operating for 15 years in the Martissant neighborhood, one of the most disadvantaged in Port-au-Prince, after police fled their local station and a wave of gang violence and looting forced thousands to flee their homes. COVID-19 hospitalization numbers have plunged to their lowest levels since the early days of the pandemic, offering a much-needed break to health care workers and patients alike following the omicron surge. The number of patients hospitalized with the coronavirus has fallen more than 90% in more than two months, and some hospitals are going days without a single COVID-19 patient in the ICU for the first time since early 2020. The freed-up beds are expected to help U.S. hospitals retain exhausted staff, treat non-COVID-19 patients more quickly and cut down on inflated costs. More family members can visit loved ones. And doctors hope to see a correction to the slide in pediatric visits, yearly checkups and cancer screenings. "We should all be smiling that the number of people sitting in the hospital right now with COVID, and people in intensive care units with COVID, are at this low point," said University of South Florida epidemiologist Jason Salemi. But, he said, the nation "paid a steep price to get to this stage. ... A lot of people got sick and a lot of people died." Hospitalizations are now at their lowest point since summer 2020, when comprehensive national data first became available. The average number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the last week nationwide dropped to 11,860, the lowest since 2020 and a steep decline from the peak of more than 145,000 set in mid-January. The previous low was 12,041 last June, before the delta variant took hold. The optimistic trend is also clear in ICU patient numbers, which have dipped to fewer than 2,000, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "We're beginning to be able to take a breath," said Dr. Jeffrey Weinstein, the patient safety officer for the Kettering Health hospital system in western Ohio. COVID-19 patients had filled 30% of Kettering Health's nearly 1,600 hospital beds back in January, Weinstein said. Kettering's eight hospitals now average two to three COVID-19 admissions a day and sometimes zero. And while Salemi agreed this is a good time for an exhausted health care system to take a breath, he warned that the public health community needs to keep an eye on the BA.2 subvariant of omicron. It's driving increases in hospitalizations in Britain, and is now estimated to make up more than half of U.S. infections. "We're probably under-detecting true infections now more than at any other time during the pandemic," Salemi said. For now at least, many hospitals are noting the low numbers. In California on Thursday, UC Davis Health tweeted that its intensive care unit had no COVID-19 patients for two consecutive days for the first time in two years. "The first COVID-19 patient to arrive in our ICU did so in February 2020, and the unit treated at least one positive individual every day since, for at least 761 consecutive days," the hospital system said. Toby Marsh, the chief nursing and patient care services officer, said in a statement that they hope the numbers "are indicative of a sustained change." In Philadelphia, patients are spending less time in the Temple University Health System because there are no longer backlogs for MRIs, CT scans and lab tests, said Dr. Tony Reed, the chief medical officer. Temple Health's three hospitals had six adult COVID-19 patients Thursday, likely its lowest patient count since March 2020, Reed said. During the omicron surge, patients waited as long as 22 hours for a routine MRI, which is normally done within 12 hours. Longer waits affected those who came in with trouble walking and in a lot of pain for example, because of a herniated disc pinching their sciatic nerve. "Nobody wants to stay in the hospital a day longer than they have to," Reed said. The emptying of beds is also helping patients in rural areas, said Jay Anderson, the chief operating officer for Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. During the surges, the hospital faced challenges accepting people from community hospitals who needed elevated care for brain tumors, advanced cancer and stroke. That burden is now being lifted. Doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists are also getting a much-needed break in some areas. The omicron surge had stretched staff at work but also at home, said Dr. Mike Hooper, chief medical officer for Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in southeastern Virginia. "It was stressful to be at the store ... to visit your family," Hooper said. "We're all hoping that some 'return to normalcy' will help people deal with the inherent stresses of being part of the health care team." But just because hospitalizations are down does not mean hospitals are empty, said Dr. Frank Johnson, chief medical officer for St. Luke's Health System in Idaho. Some measures like wearing masks in certain settings will remain in place. In the meantime, the public health community is keeping an eye on the BA.2 subvariant of omicron. Salemi, the University of South Florida epidemiologist, said the increase in at-home testing means that more results are not being included in official coronavirus case counts. Therefore, wastewater surveillance will be the early warning signal to watch, he said. A diverse coalition of opposition parties made their final appeal to Hungarian voters Saturday ahead of the country's fiercely fought election that will decide whether nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban continues his autocratic rule for a fourth consecutive term. Several hundred supporters of the six-party coalition, United For Hungary, gathered in the rain in central Budapest one day before the vote Sunday. The movement's leader, Peter Marki-Zay, said this national election was about bringing an end to "the most corrupt government in our 1,000-year history," and ushering in a new era of inclusive democracy in the Central European and European Union nation. "We welcome everyone, right or left, Christian, Jewish or atheist, of any origin or sexual orientation. Because we believe that what's important is not what divides us, but what unites us," Marki-Zay said. A small-town mayor and self-proclaimed conservative Christian, Marki-Zay, 49, became the figurehead of the six-party coalition after he was selected by an opposition primary in October to challenge Orban for the post of prime minister. The six parties, which include the liberal Democratic Coalition, the centrist Momentum and the right-wing Jobbik, as well as smaller green parties and Socialists, are for the first time running against Orban's right-wing Fidesz party as a united bloc. That hard-fought strategy of total unity, they say, is the only way to overcome structural impediments to defeating Orban, including what they call a media environment dominated by Fidesz allies and unfairly gerrymandered electoral districts that give Orban's party significantly more parliamentary seats than its portion of the popular vote. Recent polls suggest the race will be the closest in more than a decade, but give Fidesz a small lead. Some analysts suggest that due to Hungary's electoral map, the opposition bloc will need to defeat Fidesz by 3 to 4 points nationally to gain a majority in parliament. United For Hungary has campaigned on restoring Hungary's alliances with partners in the EU and NATO, which they say have suffered under the last 12 years of Orban's leadership. At the Saturday rally, 18 opposition candidates running in Budapest districts enumerated elements of their program, including ending what they call widespread corruption under Orban. They also want Hungary to secure billions in EU financial support that has been withheld from Orban's government over concerns about democratic backsliding and violations of the rule of law. Marki-Zay also spoke at length about Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine, a war that has transformed the election campaigns of both Fidesz and the opposition. Orban, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has refused to supply Ukraine with weapons or allow their transfer across the Hungarian-Ukrainian border. Orban has also insisted on maintaining economic ties with Moscow, including importing Russian fossil fuels. That ambiguous approach to the war in Ukraine, Marki-Zay said, has made Sunday's election about whether Hungary would belong to the democratic West or among the autocracies of the East. "This struggle is now bigger than us. The war in Ukraine gave this struggle special meaning," Marki-Zay said, adding that "Viktor Orban has been left alone" among European leaders. Ahead of the rally, Ukrainian mothers and their children who fled Ukraine as refugees marched in central Budapest to protest Russia's war on their home country. Some held up signs asking Orban to "stop supporting murderers." One protester, Margaretha, left Ukraine's capital of Kyiv for Budapest two weeks after the start of the war. The 25-year-old graphic designer said since she was unable to stay in Ukraine "I have to at least contribute from the outside." "I feel it is also very important to grab the attention of Hungarians to historical connections that they also had to Russia, so they can rethink their attitude," she said, pointing out that Hungary was under Soviet domination for more than 40 years. Closing the rally, Marki-Zay said his coalition was "standing at the gate of victory," and called on Hungarian youths to convince their parents and grandparents to vote for change. "Tomorrow, together, we can win back our national pride. Let us be proud once again to say that we are Hungarians," he said. Pakistans military chief Saturday slammed Russias military attack on Ukraine, calling for immediate cessation of what he described as a huge tragedy being inflicted on a smaller country. General Qamar Javed Bajwas rare criticism of Moscow evidently was at variance with that of his countrys embattled prime minister, Imran Khan, who has advocated Islamabads neutrality in the conflict and refused to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putins actions. Sadly, the Russian invasion against Ukraine is very unfortunate as thousands of people have been killed, millions made refugees and half of Ukraine destroyed, Bajwa told an international security dialogue in Islamabad. Despite legitimate security concerns of Russia, its aggression against a smaller country cannot be condoned. Pakistan has consistently called for an immediate cease-fire and cessation of hostilities, Bajwa said. The general advocated support for an urgent dialogue between all sides to resolve the conflict, praising the Ukrainians for effectively resisting the Russian aggression. Bajwa used the example of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in his televised speech to caution Pakistans massive arch-rival India against launching another war with his country. This has given a heart to smaller countries that they can still defend their territory with smaller but agile forces against an aggression by a bigger country by carrying out selective modernization in equipment and adopting noble ideas, the Pakistani military chief said. Critics noted Bajwas comments have marked a significant departure from the policy Prime Minister Khan has been advocating on the Ukraine crisis. Khan, who faces an opposition-launched parliamentary no-confidence vote Sunday, maintains Pakistan made a mistake by joining the West during the Cold War and wants to remain neutral in the Russia-Ukraine conflict to have good ties with both the countries. The Pakistani leader has refused to condemn Putin and publicly criticized Western diplomats in Islamabad for urging his government in a rare joint letter last month to denounce Moscows aggression against Kyiv. Why would we condemn Russia? Are we your slaves that we would do whatever you say? he asked in televised speeches to large recent public rallies organized by his ruling party. Khan visited Putin on the day Russian forces attacked Ukraine. The Pakistani leader defended his visit, saying it was planned long before the conflict erupted. He alleged this week in an address to the Pakistani nation that the no-confidence vote seeking his ouster from power was being orchestrated by the United States to punish him for visiting Russia, charges Washington vehemently rejected. On Friday, Khan told local ARY television that his government had formally protested to the U.S. for meddling in Pakistani politics. Its evident now that the conspiracy has been hatched from abroad! Everyone knows it. We have handed a demarche to the American Embassy, telling them that you have interfered in [the no-confidence vote], asserted the Pakistani leader. When asked whether the embassy had received the demarche, a State Department spokesperson told VOA that as a standard practice, we dont comment on diplomatic correspondence. In terms of U.S. involvement in Pakistans internal affairs, there is no truth to these allegations, the spokesperson said. The political turmoil reportedly has strained Khans relationship with Bajwa, though both leaders deny any tensions. In his Friday interview, Khan said Bajwa offered him the opportunity to resign, hold new elections or face the no-trust vote, and he decided to fight the vote in parliament. Pakistan has suffered several military coups leading to long periods of dictatorial rule, and critics say the army continues to influence elected governments from behind, though Bajwas spokesman has rejected accusations they are behind the current turmoil. Khan recently lost his simple majority in parliament after dozens of his partys lawmakers defected and key allies abandoned him to join the opposition. In his Saturday speech, Bajwa apparently attempted to ease diplomatic tensions with Washington, saying his country wants to broaden and expand bilateral ties. We share a long history of excellent and strategic relationship with the United States, which remains our largest export market, the army chief said. Similarly, European Union, United Kingdom, the Gulf, Southeast Asia and Japan are also vital for our national development and progress, he added. However, Khans foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, while addressing the same security conference after Bajwa, reiterated his governments neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Pakistan has maintained a principled and nonpartisan position on the matter, Qureshi said, but he did not question or criticize the Russian aggression. We have consistently emphasized the fundamental principles of the U.N. Charter, including non-use and threat of use of force; respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states; and pacific settlement of disputes, the Pakistani foreign minister said. We believe that a diplomatic solution through dialogue and negotiations is indispensable and must be pursued as a matter of priority, Qureshi said. The U.S. Defense Department announced Friday it is allotting $300 million in "security assistance" for Ukraine to bolster the country's defense capabilities, adding to the $1.6 billion Washington has committed since Russia invaded in late February. The package includes laser-guided rocket systems, drones, ammunition, night-vision devices, tactical secure communications systems, medical supplies and spare parts. "This decision underscores the United States' unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in support of its heroic efforts to repel Russia's war of choice," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement. On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed "additional capabilities" to help the Ukrainian military, the White House said in a statement after the call. In mid-March, Congress passed a funding bill that included $13.6 billion for humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine and NATO allies in Eastern Europe. Shortly after, Biden announced $1 billion in new security assistance to Ukraine. A large portion of the military equipment the United States has given to Ukraine has come from its own stockpile, through a process known as a "presidential drawdown." Unlike that process, the $300 million announced Friday will go towards new contracts for military equipment from the Pentagon's defense industry partners. One of the technologies included in the announcement are more Switchblade tactical drones. Dubbed "kamikaze drones," Switchblades can be directed by an operator to find and, when ready, plunge onto a target, exploding on contact. Kirby added that the "United States also continues to work with its allies and partners to identify and provide to the Ukrainians additional capabilities." Later Friday evening, The New York Times reported that following a request by Zelenskyy, the U.S. had decided to facilitate the transfer of Soviet-made tanks from allies to Ukraine. The decision would mark the first time the U.S. has helped transfer tanks, though details about which countries would participate and how many tanks were being moved were not provided. Citing a U.S. official, the report noted that the tanks will allow Ukraine to fire long-range artillery strikes against Russian targets in the eastern Donbas region. Following weeks of fighting, Moscow said last week it will be focusing on the "liberation" of Donbas, where pro-Russian separatists have declared two independent republics. Russia recognized the independence of the self-declared Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics shortly before sending troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24. Pope Francis set off on a two-day visit to the Mediterranean island nation of Malta Saturday, a visit that was postponed in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The pope is expected to use this visit to address the issue of European migration, which has become an increasing concern with the war in the Ukraine. The plight of migrants in Europe as the world watches an endless flow of Ukrainians seek refuge following Russias invasion is of utmost importance to Pope Francis as he embarks on a weekend visit to Malta, an island that has always been on the frontline in dealing with the large numbers of sea arrivals from Africa. Maltese authorities have often found the situation complicated and NGOs have accused the island nation of not doing enough to help people in distress. Before leaving Rome on Saturday, the 85-year-old pope met with three Ukrainian refugee families hosted by the Catholic community of SantEgidio. In recent weeks he has often spoken of the need to assist fleeing Ukrainians forced to leave everything behind because of the war. Francis is the third pope since 1990 to visit the three-island archipelago, where 85% of the roughly half a million population professes the Catholic faith. At the end of a general audience in the Vatican Friday, the pope said he was looking forward to visiting that luminous land, following in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul, who was said to have been warmly welcomed there after being shipwrecked on his way to Rome. The pope added that this trip would give him the opportunity to experience for himself the Christian community there, whose lively history dates back thousands of years, and to meet the people of a country which is at the center of the Mediterranean and south of the European continent. Francis paid tribute to the Maltese people for their welcome and commitment to so many brothers and sisters seeking refuge. Saturday the pope will meet Maltese authorities and after lunch take a catamaran trip from Valletta harbor to the island of Gozo where he will preside over a prayer meeting at the national shrine of Ta Pinu. Sunday he will visit the Grotto of St. Paul, the island nations patron saint, whose ship, according to account, washed up on Maltese shores in 60 A.D. He will then celebrate a mass before thousands of people in a square in Floriana. Before returning to Rome, Francis will meet with migrants at the peace center in Hal Far that was established in honor of Pope John Paul XXIII. The center is run by volunteers who help Franciscan friar Dionysius Mintoff, who founded it 50 years ago and still runs it today at the age of 91. Irina, her husband and 4-year-old son hid in the cellar of their house in Chernihiv, north of Kyiv, for three weeks as intense fighting, including a tank battle, raged around them. At first my son seemed to be coping okay, she says. But then with unrelenting stress, shelling and blasts, there was a deterioration the boy started to become withdrawn. He became nervous. He started to stutter, she says. Their escape from Chernihiv wasnt gentle either. We had to drive along a road, which we knew was mined. And we saw a lot of burned-out cars with people, families, scorched inside. We tried to ignore it all and just continue because we had our kid and just wanted to save him, she says. She doesnt know what her son saw, what he took in from the carnage and how it is churning inside him. He was in his booster seat in the back of their car. She hopes he slept through a lot of the dangerous and terrifying journey from Chernihiv. I have not tried to raise anything with him about what he saw, she added. She has heard that drawing is good therapy for traumatized children and has been encouraging him to do so. So far, he has been drawing repeatedly the yellow and blue Ukrainian colors. Many Ukrainian evacuees say they have noticed their children have changed and seemed to be displaying signs of trauma and stress, even those who did not witness at first hand horrifying scenes. Some exhibit rage; others seem withdrawn. Some are bed-wetting. It wont just be combatants, we will have to help after this war, says the Reverend Mykola Kwich, a Greek-Catholic priest in western Ukraine. Kwich is a trained counselor and has helped rehabilitate soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Civilians who have gone through bombardments and shelling and have witnessed a lot will need help, he said. We are expecting to have to do a huge amount of psychological work. We will have to do this work because it will impact our society and lead to more problems. Wars are about destruction. In the same way towns and buildings get damaged during war, so with people inside. After war, you cant be the same person. But there are methods and therapy we can use to help restore peoples mental health and assist them to pursue a normal life, if they are willing. Of course, you wont return to being the person you were before, he adds. Refugee reception centers in central and Western Ukraine are trying to offer traumatized adults counseling and play therapy for kids. We do have specialists and priests coming to visit the evacuees says Valeriy Dyakiv, director of a reception facility sheltering about 300 evacuees in the central Ukrainian town of Vinnytsia. Prayers calm people a little bit, he adds. And for children there are different types of activities. We had a puppet show the other day, and for some kids it was a huge surprise because they were from small villages and they had never seen puppets before, he says. The activities for the kids also involve drama and poetry readings. The center managed by Dyakiv has the benefit of having as an evacuee a well-known Ukrainian actress, Olena Prystup, who fled her hometown of Kharkiv, the beleaguered eastern Ukraine town. My favorite role? Prystup ponders when asked. Ophelia, she then says. That seems highly fitting what Prystup is trying to do now to help traumatized children deal with their stress. William Shakespeare's Ophelia, from the drama Hamlet, is a young Danish noblewoman and potential wife for Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends up falling into a state of madness that ultimately leads to her drowning herself. We have two groups of kids, Prystup says. The youngsters are learning some poems by heart and then reciting them at short performances. And the older ones, teenagers, are actually working on a play right now. I dont know how it's going to shape out. I hope it is going to be okay, and some of them are talented, she adds. Professional psychiatrists worry, though, that Ukraine doesnt have the health care capacity to cope with what is likely to be needed when the war is over. Even before Russias invasion, Ukraine suffered a high prevalence of depression, alcoholism and suicide compared to some other European countries. A report by the World Health Organization in 2020 noted that mental health disorders are the countrys second leading cause of disability and affect about 30 percent of the population. The WHO also noted that many Ukrainians distrust psychiatry because of the Soviet past when psychiatry was used as a tool of repression dissidents were often accused of being mentally ill and incarcerated in hospitals during the Communist era. It said in a report, Challenges include a large institutionalized psychiatric system associated with human rights violations, alongside public stigma and low awareness of mental health. Social services for people with mental disorders are limited or absent in the community." The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Saturday said the operation to help people leave the besieged city of Mariupol was continuing, hours after Russia said it had failed and blamed the organization. Russia's defense ministry said aid convoys had not been able to reach Mariupol on Friday or Saturday and said it was the result of "destructive actions" by the ICRC, Interfax news agency said. A Red Cross convoy traveling to the Ukrainian port turned around on Friday because it had become impossible to proceed with its mission to begin evacuating civilians, the ICRC said. "The humanitarian operation to facilitate the safe passage of civilians out of Mariupol is ongoing. The situation on the ground is volatile and subject to rapid changes," an ICRC spokesperson said by email. "Given the ICRC's role as a neutral intermediary in what is a highly complex operation, the ICRC is not in a position to comment further at this time." Interfax had quoted Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, the director of the Russian National Center for Defense Management, as saying the ICRC had shown its inability to provide any help in preparing to evacuate civilians from the city. Mizintsev said due to the actions of the Red Cross, the convoys had left very late on People who have managed to get out of Mariupol and through Russian lines to reach the city of Zaporizhzhia described their journey as an ordeal during which Russian soldiers repeatedly stopped them to check for the presence of Ukrainian fighters. "They stripped the men naked, looked for tattoos," said Dmytro Kartavov, a 32-year-old builder, adding that the troops paid particular attention to the men's knees. "I work, I do repairs, naturally my knees - these are working knees. They say - (you) climbed trenches, dug, and the like." The future of abortion rights is in flux in the U.S. as the Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on the issue in June. Since September, Texas has banned abortions after six weeks. Amy, a spoken-word poet, recently had an abortion. And it was no easy task. The divorced mother of a 3-year-old said she barely had time to think once she realized she was pregnant because she is in Texas. "If I would have had a little bit more time, lowered my blood pressure a little bit maybe I would have made a different decision. We'll never know," she said. In September, the state enacted the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S. Amy, who declined to give her last name, knew she had just days to make her decision, find a place to get an abortion, and then go through with it. "I don't even think I had gotten the results from the pregnancy test, and I was already googling where to get an abortion in Texas, just so that I could have the option," she said. Amy's experience in Texas may soon become reality for more women in the U.S. The Supreme Court is expected to decide on an abortion case in June that could spur a wave of abortion rights restrictions throughout the nation. Worried abortion rights advocates point to life in Texas under the new law, where abortion is illegal after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is around six weeks of being pregnant for most women. The law also carries the ability to sue anyone who helps a woman get an abortion after six weeks. The reality for most women is the deadline is even shorter. When Amy missed her period, two weeks after having sex, she was considered to be four-and-a-half to five weeks pregnant, since pregnancy is calculated from the first day of a woman's last period. Amy had less than a week, but after multiple phone calls, she was able to get into a clinic. "I didn't even have time to assess my own thoughts, I felt the clock ticking," she said. For anti-abortion activists, this time constraint is a big step in the right direction. "Our goal is to make a society such that no woman would even consider having an abortion because she feels there are no alternatives. We do have vast alternatives," said Joe Pojman, founder of Texas Alliance for Life. Instead of seeking an abortion, Pojman wants pregnant women to visit Texas' nearly 200 crisis pregnancy centers, where he says they can find support. Brittany Green-Benningfield, who heads the Pflugerville Pregnancy Resource Center, said such groups offer a variety of resources for pregnant women. "So this is our baby boutique for our moms," she said while offering a tour of the center. "This is where, when they come and take lessons with us, they get an opportunity to shop. Through classes, they earn points, and then they are able to take what they need. We have a licensed sonographer, and she provides ultrasounds for any of our clients that come in. We are giving our moms a first glimpse to see their baby." The centers also help women make doctor's appointments and offer things like canned goods until the child is 2-and-a-half to 3 years old. Pojman said it's all a big step in the right direction, but that much more work is needed. "While the number of abortions has substantially decreased and women are seeking more agencies that provide alternatives to abortions, there are still tens of thousands of abortions in Texas going on," he said. In some ways, Amy was a best-case scenario for someone seeking an abortion in Texas. She knew the law, she knew she had to move quickly, and she had resources to get an abortion and possibly travel out of state, if necessary. That's not the case for poorer women who are being harmed most by the law, say abortion rights advocates. Sarah Wheat, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood, said she sees the obstacles women can face. "Once they find out and are informed that Texas law prevents them from accessing an abortion right here as they're sitting already in our health center, it's too much, the barriers are too great, whether that is that they don't have access to reliable transportation or they can't get time off of their job or they don't have somebody to take care of their children. It is totally out of reach," she said. In each month between September and December, 1,400 Texas women went out of state for an abortion, according to the University of Texas. That's more than 4,000 women. Many others who missed the deadline ordered abortion pills online, which come with risks when not taken under medical supervision. Amy said this makes her worry. "Women are going to get abortions," she said. "They've done it for centuries, even when they were fully illegal, and that's how women died from abortions. So if you take away this decision, you're ultimately just taking away women's lives." Thousands of Ukrainians fled brutal fighting in some of the country's key population centers Friday despite problems with maintaining some of the pre-identified humanitarian corridors. A senior Ukrainian official said a total of 6,266 people were able to evacuate and flee the violence, including more than 3,000 from the besieged southern city of Mariupol. The escape of so many civilians from Mariupol came despite a failed attempt to evacuate even more people from the city that U.S. defense officials said had been "decimated" by Russian airstrikes and missile attacks. An attempt to reach the city with buses and rescue personnel failed after "arrangements and conditions made it impossible to proceed," the International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday. "For the operation to succeed, it is critical that the parties respect the agreements and provide the necessary conditions and security guarantees," the ICRC said in a statement. "(The team) will try again on Saturday to facilitate the safe passage of civilians from Mariupol." Earlier Friday, Donetsk regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko accused Russia of breaking its promises to allow for a humanitarian corridor. "Humanitarian deliveries, despite all the agreements and promises of the Russian side, are not being carried out," he said during a televised address. Reports from the region indicate that many of those who did manage to escape left Mariupol on foot. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address Friday that Ukraine is discussing separately the evacuation of the injured and our killed military personnel and civilians. He said the discussions are taking place with Turkey, which is acting as an intermediary with Russia. Zelenskyys office said Friday that 86 Ukrainian service members were freed as part of a prisoner exchange with Russia. It did not disclose how many Russian soldiers were released. Ukrainian momentum Ukrainian cities, including the capital of Kyiv, remained under heavy bombardment from Russian forces despite a Russian promise earlier in the week to de-escalate its military campaign in the north of the country. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Friday that huge battles were also being fought to the north and east of the capital. "The risk of dying (in Kyiv) is pretty high," he said. "My advice to anyone who wants to come back is 'Please, take a little bit more time.'" But Ukrainian and Western officials also reported signs of progress for the Ukrainian military, saying it had some Russian forces on the run, including in key areas around the capital. "Our troops are chasing them both to the northwest and northeast, pushing the enemy away from Kyiv," said Oleksiy Arestovych, a political adviser to Zelenskyy. British military intelligence backed up some of the Ukrainian claims. Ukrainian forces "continued to make successful but limited counterattacks to the east and northeast of Kyiv," Air Vice-Marshal Mick Smeath, the British defense attache in Washington, said in a statement. "Ukrainian forces have retaken the villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka to the south of Chernihiv and located along one of the main supply routes between the city and Kyiv," Smeath added. Russian accusations Ukrainian officials denied Russian accusations that Ukrainian forces successfully carried out a cross-border helicopter strike on an oil depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, about 35 kilometers from the border. "For some reason they say that we did it, but in fact this does not correspond with reality," Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's national security council, said on national television. Russia's regional governor said the strike caused several fires and wounded two people. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov further warned the strike could have a detrimental effect on peace talks, which resumed Friday via video link. "Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks," he said. The White House on Friday declined to comment on the Russian allegations, noting the Ukrainian denials, and rejected Moscow's assertion that Kyiv should shoulder any blame for hindering peace talks. "There is one aggressor here that is President (Vladimir) Putin and the Russian military at his direction," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. "This is a war that President Putin started, a brutal war with Russia's forces continuing to bombard cities across Ukraine and commit terrible acts of violence." Psaki also confirmed reports that the U.S. was providing Ukrainian forces with protective gear "that could be deployed in the event of Russia's use of a chemical and biological weapon." U.S. and NATO officials have been warning for weeks that Moscow could be considering the use of chemical or biological weapons as part of a so-called false flag operation to justify further Russian military escalation. More recently, officials have said they have not yet seen evidence of an imminent attack, though U.S. Department of Defense officials told lawmakers Friday they remained concerned about both the potential use of chemical weapons and Russia's ongoing disinformation campaign in which it accuses the U.S. of funding bioweapons labs in Ukraine. "I can say to you unequivocally there are no offensive biologic weapons in the Ukraine laboratories that the United States has been involved with," said Assistant Secretary of Defense Deborah Rosenblum. The latest concerns come as U.S. and other Western defense and intelligence officials warn that Moscow is repositioning its forces in preparation for what the Kremlin has said will be a renewed focus on the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. Russian repositioning Ukrainian authorities estimate Russia overnight withdrew 700 units of equipment from the Kyiv region, moving them back to Belarus. General Oleksandr Gruzevych, deputy chief of staff of Ukraine's armed forces, said the number of Russian forces on the move was "pretty significant." But U.S. defense officials have said it is likely only a matter of time before the Russian units are refitted and resupplied and sent back into the war zone. Additionally, officials have warned that Russia is transferring more missile units to Belarus a possible prelude to an intensification of ballistic missile attacks on targets across Ukraine. And they note there has been little to no letup in air and missile strikes on key cities including Kyiv and Chernihiv. International pressure Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Putin on Friday, according to Erdogan's office, urging Moscow and Kyiv to "act with common sense." Erdogan's office said the Turkish leader had pushed for Putin to maintain a dialogue with Ukraine's leader. China also said Friday it would push for peace. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told European Union leaders during a virtual summit that Beijing would encourage a peaceful settlement in "its own way." Western officials have voiced concern that Beijing might aid Russia by providing its military with weapons and other assistance, though they admit there have been no signs of such help so far. "We called on China to help end the war in Ukraine. China cannot turn a blind eye to Russia's violation of international law," European Council President Charles Michel told reporters during a news conference following the summit. Jamie Dettmer contributed to this report from Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Anna Chernikova and Margaret Besheer also contributed. Some information came from The Associated Press and Reuters. Yemenis welcomed a nationwide U.N.-brokered cease-fire due to come into effect Saturday evening as a glimmer of hope in a country ravaged by a 7-year conflict that has forced millions into hunger, poverty and homelessness. But after numerous failed attempts at peace and more than a year of escalating violence, Yemenis have greeted the news cautiously. "The truce is good, but I do not have faith in its success, because each side will have a different interpretation of how to implement it and it will collapse," said 38-year-old electrician Murad Abdullah in Aden, the interim capital of Yemen's government. The two-month truce, which coincides with the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, is the first time since 2016 that warring sides have agreed to a nationwide cessation of hostilities. Government employee Ibtihal al-Arashi saw the deal as temporary, pointing to the failure of past Ramadan peace attempts. "We want to end this absurd war. We want real peace under a civil state that protects rights and freedoms," she said. The cease-fire was due to come into effect at 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) and can be renewed. The deal includes a halt to offensive military operations, including cross-border attacks, and also allows fuel imports into areas controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthi group and some commercial flights to operate from the Houthi-held capital Sanaa. A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, which intervened in March 2015 in support of the Yemeni government against the Houthis, controls Yemen's seas and air space. Customers in a busy Sanaa market welcomed the possibility that the truce might herald real progress after years of hardship. "This truce is indeed good, an excellent thing, but let's see how it is actually implemented ... Should the strikes on Sanaa stop, the airport open, Hodeidah port open, then we will feel there is a truce, that it has something tangible," said Najeeb al-Bashiri, a government employee. U.N. special envoy Hans Grundberg has said he will press for a permanent cease-fire. The U.N and U.S. Yemen envoys had been trying since last year to engineer a permanent truce needed to revive stalled political negotiations. The Houthis wanted the coalition blockade lifted first, while the alliance sought a simultaneous deal. "We welcome this essential development for millions of Yemenis who need a respite after years of relentless fighting," said the Norwegian Refugee Council, a humanitarian agency operating in Yemen. "We really hope this is the start of a new chapter." The conflict is widely seen as a proxy war between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran. Iran on Saturday said it hoped the truce could presage a complete lifting of the blockade and a permanent cease-fire. Ukrainian forces were advancing Saturday into areas north of Kyiv as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused departing Russian soldiers of leaving behind mines. A Red Cross convoy was heading to Mariupol, set to try again to evacuate civilians from the besieged port. Fighting * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian soldiers of deliberately mining areas in northern Ukraine as they withdraw or are pushed out by Ukrainian forces. * Ukrainian forces continue to advance against withdrawing Russian forces in the vicinity of Kyiv, British military intelligence said. * Russian missiles hit two cities in central Ukraine, damaging infrastructure and residential buildings, the head of the Poltava region said. * Russia's defense ministry said high-precision air-launched missiles had disabled military airfields in Poltava and Dnipro. * Maks Levin, a photographer and videographer who was working for a Ukrainian news website and was a long-time contributor to Reuters, was killed while covering the war. Diplomacy * Pope Francis implicitly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine, saying a "potentate" was fomenting conflict for nationalist interests. * Russia's space director said the restoration of normal ties between partners at the International Space Station (ISS) and other joint space projects would be possible only once Western sanctions against Moscow are lifted. Economy * Ukraine's economy shrank 16% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year and could contract 40% in 2022 as a result of Russia's invasion, the economy ministry said, citing preliminary estimates. * Ukraine's railways are struggling with a backlog of grain wagons on the country's western border as traders look for alternative export routes after Russia's invasion blocked off the main Black Sea ports, analyst APK-Inform said. * The European Union is working on further sanctions on Russia, but any additional measures will not affect the energy sector, the EU's Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said. Quotes * "At each checkpoint we were stopped ... We were checked, undressed. They checked our shoulders, arms ... (to see) if I had been taking part in the fighting." Vladimir Andreev, a 63-year-old pensioner from Mariupol describing checks by Russian troops as he and the group he was with fled the city. As Russias invasion of Ukraine enters a second month, social media and television continue to constantly broadcast disturbing images and news about the conflict. That's raising some concerns about the effect it might be having on childrens mental health. Video: Artyom Kokhan Ukraine said on Saturday its forces had seized back all areas around Kyiv, claiming complete control of the capital region for the first time since Russia launched the invasion. "The whole Kyiv region is liberated from the invader," Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar wrote on Facebook. There was no Russian comment on the claim, which Reuters could not immediately verify. Ukraine's troops have retaken more than 30 towns and villages around Kyiv since Russia pulled back from the area this week, Ukrainian officials said. As Russian troops regrouped for battles in east Ukraine, towns surrounding Kyiv bore scars of five weeks of fighting. Bodies lay scattered on streets, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian forces of leaving behind mines. Hundreds dead in Bucha At one recaptured town reached by Reuters, residents tearfully recalled brushes with death. "The first time, I went out of the room and a bullet broke the glass, the window, and got stuck in the dresser," said Mariya Zhelezova, 74, in the country town of Bucha. "The second time, shattered glass almost got into my leg." Bucha's mayor, Anatoliy Fedoruk, said more than 300 residents had been killed. "We don't want them to come back," Zhelezova said. "I had a dream today -- that they left and didn't come back." Ukraine's armed forces reported diminished Russian air and missile strikes on Saturday but said retreating Russian forces were deploying mines. Zelenskyy warned in a video address: "They are mining all this territory. Houses are mined, equipment is mined, even the bodies of dead people." He did not cite evidence. Ukraine's emergencies service said more than 1,500 explosives had been found in one day during a search of the village of Dmytrivka, west of Kyiv. It warned people to be vigilant. Russia's defense ministry did not reply to a request for comment on the mining allegations. Reuters could not independently verify them. Zelenskyy-Putin talks? Since sending troops on Feb. 24 in what it calls a "special operation" to demilitarize its neighbor, Russia has failed to capture a single major city and has instead laid siege to urban areas, uprooting a quarter of Ukraine's population. Russia has depicted its drawdown of forces near Kyiv as a goodwill gesture in peace talks. Ukraine and its allies say Russia was forced to shift its focus to east Ukraine after suffering heavy losses near Kyiv. Both sides described talks held this week in Istanbul and by video link as "difficult." Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday the "main thing is that the talks continue, either in Istanbul or somewhere else." A new round of talks has not yet been announced. But Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said on Saturday that enough progress had been made to allow direct talks between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The Russian side confirmed our thesis that the draft documents have been sufficiently developed to allow direct consultations between the two countries' leaders," Arakhamia said. Russia has not commented on the possibility. Fleeing Mariupol Among those killed near Kyiv was Maksim Levin, a Ukrainian photographer and videographer who was working for a local news website and was a long-time contributor to Reuters. His body was found in a village north of Kyiv on April 1, the news website where he worked, LB.ua, said Saturday. In the east, a Red Cross convoy was again seeking to evacuate civilians from the besieged port of Mariupol after abandoning an attempt on Friday over security concerns. It was not expected to reach the port until at least Sunday. Tens of thousands of civilians remained trapped with scant access to food and water in Mariupol, Russia's main target in Ukraine's southeastern region of Donbas. Some civilians who have escaped Mariupol said Russian soldiers seeking Ukrainian fighters repeatedly stopped them as they fled. "They stripped the men naked, looked for tattoos," said Dmytro Kartavov, a 32-year-old builder, adding that the troops paid particular attention to the men's knees. "I work, I do repairs, naturally my knees -- these are working knees. They say -- (you) climbed trenches, dug, and the like." International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) spokesperson Ewan Watson said its convoy had departed the city of Zaporizhzhia, some 200 kilometers from Mariupol, and would spend the night en route. Russia blamed the ICRC for the delays. Missile strikes Pope Francis said a "potentate" was fomenting conflicts for nationalist interests, the closest he has come yet to criticizing Putin, although he did not name the Russian president. "Once again, some potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interests, is provoking and fomenting conflicts, while ordinary people sense the need to build a future that will either be shared or not be at all," he said. Ukrainian officials reported missile strikes in various parts of the country. In the southcentral Dnipro region, a Russian rocket hit a rail line, badly damaging tracks and suspending train traffic, Ukrainian officials said. Earlier, Russian missiles hit the central Ukrainian cities of Poltava and Kremenchuk, said Dmitry Lunin, head of the Poltava region. Russia's defense ministry said its missiles had disabled military airfields in Poltava and Dnipro. It later said its forces had hit 28 Ukrainian military facilities across the country, including two depots of rockets and artillery weapons and ammunition. The Ukrainian military also reported Russian air strikes on the cities of Severodonetsk and Rubizhne in the Luhansk region. United Nations agencies say humanitarian needs are increasing and spreading throughout Ukraine as the war there intensifies and expands to more areas of the country. The World Food Program says food is dwindling and becoming harder to get in Ukraine. Despite the security risks, WFP says it has managed to provide food to 1 million people since Russia's military forces invaded Ukraine February 24. Speaking from the western city of Lviv, WFP spokesman Tomson Phiri said it is difficult to assess the extent of damage to the country or the needs of a fast-moving population during a volatile security situation. I have just returned from a voucher distribution center in Lviv, and people are stretched," he said. "They are running out of options and, with each day, it is taking a toll on them. Our plan as the World Food Program is to support more and more people. Phiri said the WFP aims to provide food and cash assistance to more than 3 million people inside Ukraine, as well as 300,000 people who have fled to neighboring countries. However, one of the biggest challenges facing WFP, he said, is finding enough partners to distribute the food aid in besieged places. He said the WFP is trying to enlist the help of nongovernmental and civil society organizations, and even churches in this effort. In areas that are indirectly affected by the war and where food is still available and retail shops are operating normally, we continue to roll out cash and vouchers as a means of support," Phiri said. "Where possible as well, WFP will purchase food from within Ukraine so that we also inject money into the economy to support people who have been displaced. United Nations and international agencies say the conflict in Ukraine is having a profound impact on the worlds food supply. The Food and Agriculture Organization says Russia and Ukraine account for nearly 30% of the global wheat trade, with at least 50 countries dependent on imports from them. The FAO says global hunger will increase as Russian and Ukrainian wheat exports decrease and food prices spiral to new heights. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said Friday that it was assisting Chinese investigators with the download of the cockpit voice recorder from a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 jet as it sent a team of U.S. investigators to China. The U.S. safety board told Reuters it was helping the Civil Aviation Administration of China "with the download of the cockpit voice recorder from China Eastern Flight 5735 in our lab in Washington." China's decision to send a key piece of evidence to Washington for assistance shows the urgency of the investigation at a time when two nations have been at odds at other issues. The plane crashed into a mountainside in southern China on March 21, killing all 132 on board, and was mainland China's deadliest aviation disaster in 28 years. Recovery crews Sunday found the second black box the flight data recorder in the wreckage. The cockpit voice recorder will likely provide investigators with details of communications among the flight's three pilots, which is one more than is normally required on board the Boeing plane. NTSB experts to China Earlier Friday, the NTSB said a team of three investigators had left for China to assist in the crash probe. The NTSB said, "Investigators will limit interactions with those outside of the investigation similar to safety protocols at Beijing Olympics, which will allow them to begin work immediately without a quarantine." An NTSB spokesman said the U.S. team was traveling on a commercial flight. It was not clear if the team would travel to the crash site in China, nor was it known how long team would be in China, but it could be several weeks. The NTSB also said a small team from Boeing was traveling to China to assist in the investigation. Under an international agreement, the NTSB has the right to participate since the plane was designed and built in the United States. On Thursday, Chinese state media said the cause of the crash must be determined as soon as possible, following a meeting of China's highest decision-making body helmed by President Xi Jinping. Information about the crash must be released in an open, timely and transparent manner, state media said in a report on the meeting of the seven-person Standing Committee of the Communist Party's Politburo, China's top leadership. A nationwide safety inspection should also be launched to prevent as much as possible the occurrence of accidents, state media said. If accidents do happen because of negligence, not only will the personnel in charge be punished, the relevant top officials will also be investigated, state media said. A United Nations-led truce in Yemen is a "decisive moment" in the near seven-year conflict and offers hope the warring parties and international community can bring a lasting peace to the devastated country, a senior U.S. official told Reuters. U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking said the U.N.-brokered two-month truce between a Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi group aligned with Iran, which comes into effect on Saturday, was a "first step" to a permanent cease-fire. "If the international community and parties can work together this could be built into a lasting ceasefire and inclusive political process that ultimately gives shape to a new Yemen," Lenderking said in an interview in Amman. "We want to build on a decisive moment that helps Yemen turn the corner." The conflict has killed tens of thousands and pushed millions into hunger. The last coordinated cessation of hostilities nationwide was during peace talks in 2016. Lenderking said the deal was a culmination of stepped-up U.S. diplomacy and the Houthis' realization there could be no outright military victory. "The battlefield dynamics have changed, all of these things have combined to create what is a decisive moment," he said. The coalition was able to prevent the fall of Yemen's gas rich Marib region, where the Houthis last year advanced on most districts barring the main city and nearby hydrocarbon sites. The Houthis had responded by stepping up attacks on Saudi Arabia and its ally the United Arab Emirates. However, they have now put aside the "notion of military victory," Lenderking said. The truce is an opportunity for Iran, which Washington says provides significant support for the Houthis, to show its goodwill in backing the U.N.-led drive for peace, he added. "We would like to see Iran move away from the negative tactics and role they have played up this point," he said. The conflict is widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Ten years after independence, South Sudan remains a deeply fragile nation beset by weak governance, pervasive insecurity, fiscal mismanagement, and widespread corruption." That was the thrust of a U.S. State Department report to Congress, which Reuters says also told lawmakers the Biden administration will continue to pressure those perpetuating South Sudans violence and officials not adhering to the 2018 peace agreement. Cameron Hudson, a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council Africa Center, said it is rare for the administration to notify Congress of something when its not required to do so unless there is a change in policy or something is about to happen. There is clearly an effort right now to acknowledge that whatever has been attempted in South Sudan has not worked under the current leadership, Hudson told South Sudan in Focus. Congress and the administration are probably closer to being on the same page in South Sudan than in a lot of other places in the region, Hudson said, where there are vast disagreements over U.S. policy. The report to Congress highlights the Biden administrations disappointment with the slow pace of carrying out South Sudans peace deal, said Brian Adeba, deputy director of policy at The Sentry, an investigative and policy organization that seeks to disable multinational predatory networks that benefit from violent conflict, repression, and kleptocracy. This report represents a growing exasperation with the system in South Sudan, Adeba told VOA, especially, I think, the government with implementing the peace agreement. Adeba says the report indicates the State Department is trying to draw more attention to the situation in South Sudan. When you look at how South Sudan has also fallen off the radar after the peace agreement was signed, the international community thought that with the signing of the peace agreement everything is going to be okay and it did not keep its eyes on the ball, Adeba said. In the meantime, while attention was diverted, the government and the parties continue to delay the implementation of the agreement. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Agencies for Food and Agriculture Cindy McCain spoke with VOA Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze during her visit to Rzeszow, Poland. McCain was in Rzeszow on Friday, visiting a food distribution center on the Polish border with Ukraine to see what aid is making it to the Ukrainian refugees. VOA: "So, Cindy, you're here in Rzeszow these days. What has your experience been with this crisis amidst this war in Ukraine?" Ambassador Cindy McCain: "Well, I came here specifically so that I could take a look at the operations that were going on here at reception centers, how our U.N. agencies are performing, and where we can figure out the gaps. And as you know, there's a huge food crisis. So, my role in this is to see what else we can do, how we can manage this, and how we can, can do more with less. And and that's my primary role here. But I have to say, I was utterly overwhelmed with the graciousness and the kindness of the Polish people. This is a lesson in how to treat your fellow man here." VOA: "We have an enormous food crisis because of the war in Ukraine. Ukraine is one of the biggest agricultural countries and delivers a lot of food, specifically to the needs of Africa and the Middle East. How did you see the impact and what is ... is the world ready to do something about it?" McCain: "Well, the impacts, I mean, it's a ripple effect that goes around the world. I think the ... what we need to be concerned with right now is in the immediate needs, of course, of the people that are, that are en route or have already arrived in various parts of Europe now, not just Poland, but other parts. And also, the long ... we have to look at the long term. I mean, how do we now make it sustainable, you know, to be able to manage and to be able to feed people, give them dignity of life, give them a future. And that's a big job. And so, all of our U.N. agencies are working together on this, to not only, not only work on the immediate needs, but work on the long-term plans of it. And it's a huge problem, as you know." VOA: "Are they are those agencies effective? I'm hearing different views, different assessments. Do you think that international agencies are fast and effective enough in this, in this crisis?" McCain: "Well, I think, for instance, agencies that are emergency relief agencies like World Food Program are meant to do just that. They are fast. They are nimble. They, you know, they are there in a nanosecond on most of these things. And the other agencies are long term. So of course, it takes a little longer to gear up and to build up because each situation is different. Nevertheless, they all work together very well. And there's always room for improvement in wherever you are, but I think the U.N. is doing a marvelous job here." VOA: "About their presence on the ground. I talked to some representatives from the Ukrainian government, and they are asking for more food on the ground from the international community. They said that they don't see them there, and it's important for them to understand what is going on on the ground to have a better assessment of the needs." McCain: "Well, I think there's more than you would think on the ground, because every agency that I've spoken to while I've been here, there are people on the ground. But again, you know, this is a tough area and things are dangerous. So, there's a give and take as to, you know, how you commit your people and making sure that they're also safe. But I understand people's frustration. I also understand the urgency in all of this. Because it is an urgent, an urgent event and an urgent crisis. But, but I think, you know, we'll see what happens here. There is one person that can stop this and that is Vladimir Putin. He can stop bombing and pull out." VOA: "It's a more political question, but Russia is still part of the Security Council, U.N. Security Council, and obviously have a veto on the decision-making in the U.N. Is there any efforts or movement on, on the point of maybe kicking Russia out of Security Council?" McCain: "Well, you know, my area of expertise and what I work on is food. And within our own organizations, though, the Russians were attempting to become vice president of World Food Program Board, things like that, and of course, we stopped that. It would to me it would be an incredible disappointment if somehow the Russians were put in charge of an agency that is managing the largest crises in the world, and the people that are perpetrating it are somehow running it. So, we, we stopped it. And you know, we have to stop them at every point. And again, keeping in mind what we do as a group, my group here, is to feed, and to, to ... not just short-term feeding but long-term feeding. Finding seeds now, making sure that we can produce crops. There are crops in the ground right now, but we may not be able to get them out of the ground because of mining, because of, you know, all the other, all the other issues that are coming about. We'll get some of it out, but we won't get all of it out. And so therein lies a huge worldwide problem." VOA: "I'm hearing that, I mean, the experts say that this, this effect of this war would be doubled, as we had effect from the coronavirus crisis two years ago. What are the U.N. agency, what are the other agencies prepared to do to, kind of, make the effect have a little bit less of the impact?" McCain: "Well, I think, you know, Europe is certainly bearing some of the brunt of this. And I think, I think that if we carefully manage this and making sure keeping in mind that food and agriculture being my most important part of this but working together and being as you've seen the world community is unanimously against this whole thing, and so I think you'll see a world community galvanized and being, and willing, being willing to absorb a lot of this and making sure that these people have dignity and respect. I mean, this is a terrible thing that's happening." VOA: "We have to stop the war." McCain: "Yeah, we do have to stop the war, you're right." VOA: "OK, thank you so much ... ." McCain: "Thank you." Thousands of Ukrainians fled brutal fighting in some of the country's key population centers Friday despite problems with maintaining some of the pre-identified humanitarian corridors. A senior Ukrainian official said 6,266 people were able to evacuate and flee the violence, including more than 3,000 from the besieged southern city of Mariupol. The escape of so many civilians from Mariupol came despite a failed attempt to evacuate even more people from the city that U.S. defense officials said had been "decimated" by Russian airstrikes and missile attacks. An attempt to reach the city with buses and rescue personnel failed after "arrangements and conditions made it impossible to proceed," the International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday. "For the operation to succeed, it is critical that the parties respect the agreements and provide the necessary conditions and security guarantees," the ICRC said in a statement. "[The team] will try again on Saturday to facilitate the safe passage of civilians from Mariupol." Earlier Friday, Donetsk Region Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko accused Russia of breaking its promises to allow for a humanitarian corridor. "Humanitarian deliveries, despite all the agreements and promises of the Russian side, are not being carried out," he said during a televised address. Reports from the region indicated that many of those who did escape left Mariupol by foot. Ukrainian momentum Other Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, remained under heavy bombardment from Russian forces despite a Russian pledge earlier in the week to deescalate its military campaign in the north of the country. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Friday that huge battles were also being fought north and east of the capital. "The risk of dying [in Kyiv] is pretty high," he said. "My advice to anyone who wants to come back is, 'Please, take a little bit more time.' " But Ukrainian and Western officials also reported signs of progress for the Ukrainian military, saying it had some Russian forces on the run, including in key areas around the capital. "Our troops are chasing them both to the northwest and northeast, pushing the enemy away from Kyiv," said Oleksiy Arestovych, a political adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. British military intelligence backed up some of the Ukrainian claims. Ukrainian forces "continued to make successful but limited counterattacks to the east and northeast of Kyiv," Air Vice-Marshal Mick Smeath, the British defense attache in Washington, said in a statement. "Ukrainian forces have retaken the villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka to the south of Chernihiv and located along one of the main supply routes between the city and Kyiv," Smeath added. Russian accusations Ukrainian officials denied Russian accusations that Ukrainian forces had carried out a cross-border helicopter strike on an oil depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, about 35 kilometers from the border. "For some reason they say that we did it, but in fact this does not correspond with reality," Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's national security council, said on national television. Russia's regional governor said the strike had caused several fires and had wounded two people. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov further warned that the strike could have a detrimental effect on peace talks scheduled to resume between the two sides. "Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks," he said. The White House on Friday declined to comment on the Russian allegations, noting the Ukrainian denials, and rejected Moscow's assertion that Kyiv should shoulder any blame for hindering peace talks. "There is one aggressor here that is President [Vladimir] Putin and the Russian military at his direction," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. "This is a war that President Putin started, a brutal war with Russia's forces continuing to bombard cities across Ukraine and commit terrible acts of violence." Psaki also confirmed reports that the U.S. was providing Ukrainian forces with protective gear "that could be deployed in the event of Russia's use of a chemical and biological weapon." U.S. and NATO officials have been warning for weeks that Moscow could be considering the use of chemical or biological weapons as part of a so-called false flag operation to justify further Russian military escalation. More recently, officials have said they have not yet seen evidence of an imminent attack, though U.S. Department of Defense officials told lawmakers Friday that they remained concerned about both the potential use of chemical weapons and Russia's ongoing disinformation campaign in which it accuses the U.S. of funding bioweapons labs in Ukraine. "I can say to you unequivocally there are no offensive biologic weapons in the Ukraine laboratories that the United States has been involved with," said Assistant Secretary of Defense Deborah Rosenblum. The latest concerns came as U.S. and other Western defense and intelligence officials warned that Moscow was repositioning its forces in preparation for what the Kremlin said would be a renewed focus on the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. Russian repositioning Ukrainian authorities estimated that Russia had withdrawn 700 units of equipment from the Kyiv region overnight, moving them back to Belarus. General Oleksandr Gruzevych, deputy chief of staff of Ukraine's armed forces, said the number of Russian forces on the move was "pretty significant." But U.S. defense officials have said it is likely only a matter of time before the Russian units are refitted and resupplied and sent back into the war zone. Additionally, officials warned that Russia was transferring more missile units to Belarus a possible prelude to an intensification of ballistic missile attacks on targets across Ukraine. And they noted there had been little to no letup in air and missile strikes on key cities, including Kyiv and Chernihiv. Ukraine 'traitors' Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Thursday that he had stripped two top generals of their rank. Zelenskyy called the generals "anti-heroes." One of the generals had been the chief of internal security at the country's main intelligence agency, while the other had been the intelligence agency's chief in the Kherson region. The Ukrainian leader said he did "not have time to deal with all the traitors, but gradually they will all be punished." International pressure Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Putin on Friday, according to Erdogan's office, urging Moscow and Kyiv to "act with common sense." Erdogan's office said the Turkish leader had pushed for Putin to maintain a dialogue with Ukraine's leader. China also said Friday that it would push for peace. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told European Union leaders during a virtual summit that Beijing would encourage a peaceful settlement in "its own way." Western officials have voiced concern that Beijing might aid Russia by providing its military with weapons and other assistance, though they admit there have been no signs of such help so far. "We called on China to help end the war in Ukraine. China cannot turn a blind eye to Russia's violation of international law," European Council President Charles Michel told reporters during a news conference following the summit. Jamie Dettmer contributed to this report from Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Anna Chernikova and Margaret Besheer also contributed. Some information came from The Associated Press and Reuters. NAIROBI In a ruling Thursday, Kenyas Supreme Court blocked changes to the constitution initiated by President Uhuru Kenyatta. Six of the seven judges ruled constitutional amendments must come from ordinary citizens, not the president. Following the hotly-contested 2017 election that almost split the country apart, Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga unveiled a plan they called the Building Bridges Initiative. The initiative would introduce the permanent office of prime minister and create 70 new constituencies. The two leaders argued the best way to avoid election-related violence that has plagued Kenya is to create more political positions. But the Supreme Court shot down changes in its ruling Thursday. Chief Justice Martha Koome read the verdict of the judges. The president cannot initiate constitutional amendment and changes through the popular initiative under Article 257 of the constitution, Njoki Ndungu Supreme Court Judge dissenting," Koome said. "Issue 2 the president initiated the amendment process initially, Njoki Ndungu and Lenaola Supreme Court Judges dissenting. The Supreme Court agreed with the previous ruling of the two lower courts, the high court and the court of appeal, declaring the initiative unconstitutional. Odinga served as prime minister under a power sharing agreement that followed Kenyas disputed 2007 elections. However, the position was abolished after the 2012 polls. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Talks to stop the fighting in Ukraine resumed Friday, as another desperate attempt to rescue civilians from the encircled city of Mariupol failed and the Kremlin accused the Ukrainians of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot on Russian soil. Ukraine denied responsibility for the fiery blast, but if Moscows claim is confirmed, it would be the wars first known attack in which Ukrainian aircraft penetrated Russian airspace. Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, five weeks after Moscow began sending upwards of 150,000 of its own troops across Ukraines border. Meanwhile, Russia continued withdrawing some of its ground forces from areas around Kyiv after saying earlier this week it would reduce military activity near the Ukrainian capital and the northern city of Chernihiv to promote trust at the bargaining table. While the Russians kept up their bombardment of those two zones, Ukrainian troops exploited the pullback on the ground by mounting counterattacks and retaking a number of towns and villages. Still, Ukraine and its allies warned that the Kremlin is not de-escalating but resupplying and shifting its troops to the countrys east for an intensified assault on the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region in the country's east, which includes Mariupol. The latest negotiations took place by video. At a round of talks earlier in the week, Ukraine said it would be willing to abandon a bid to join NATO and declare itself neutral Moscows chief demand in return for security guarantees from several other countries. The invasion has left thousands dead and driven more than 4 million refugees from Ukraine. Mariupol, the shattered and besieged southern port city, has seen some of the worst suffering of the war. Its capture would be a major prize for Russian President Vladimir Putin, giving his country an unbroken land bridge to Crimea, seized from Ukraine in 2014. Mariupol's fate could determine the course of the negotiations to end the war, said Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Ukrainian think tank Penta. Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance," Fesenko said, and without its conquest, Putin cannot sit down at the negotiating table. The fall of Mariupol, he said, will open the way to a peace agreement. On Friday, the International Committee for the Red Cross said it was unable to carry out an operation to bring civilians out of Mariupol by bus. It said a team had been on its way but had to turn back. City authorities said the Russians were blocking access to Mariupol. We do not see a real desire on the part of the Russians and their satellites to provide an opportunity for Mariupol residents to evacuate to territory controlled by Ukraine, Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, wrote on the Telegram messaging app. He said Russian forces are categorically not allowing any humanitarian cargo, even in small amounts, into the city. Around 100,000 people are believed left in the city, down from a prewar 430,000, and weeks of Russian bombardment and street fighting have caused severe shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine. We are running out of adjectives to describe the horrors that residents in Mariupol have suffered, Red Cross spokesperson Ewan Watson said. On Thursday, Russian forces blocked a 45-bus convoy attempting to evacuate people from Mariupol and seized 14 tons of food and medical supplies bound for the city, Ukrainian authorities said. Elsewhere, at least three Russian ballistic missiles were fired late Friday from the Crimean Peninsula at the Odesa region on the Black Sea, regional leader Maksim Marchenko said. The Ukrainian military said the Iskander missiles were intended for critical infrastructure but did not hit their targets because of Ukraines air-defense forces. It was unclear where they hit. Marchenko said there were casualties, but he did not elaborate. Odesa is Ukraines largest port and the headquarters of its navy. As for the fuel depot explosion, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said two Ukrainian helicopter gunships flew in extremely low and attacked the civilian oil storage facility on the outskirts of the city of Belgorod, about 25 kilometers (16 miles) from the Ukraine border. The regional governor said two workers at the depot were wounded, but the Rosneft state oil company denied anyone was hurt. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines national security council, said on Ukrainian television: For some reason they say that we did it, but in fact this does not correspond with reality." Russia has reported cross-border shelling from Ukraine before, including an incident last week that killed a military chaplain, but not an incursion of its airspace. Amid the Russian pullback on the ground and its continued bombardment, Ukraines military said it had retaken 29 settlements in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions. Russian forces in the northeast also continued to shell Kharkiv, and in the southeast sought to seize the cities of Popasna and Rubizhne as well as Mariupol, the Ukrainian military said. Meanwhile, Russia on Friday began its annual spring conscription, which aimed at rounding up 134,500 men for a one-year tour of military duty. Russian officials say new recruits wont be sent to the front lines or hot spots, but many young Russians are skeptical and fear they will be drawn into the war. On the outskirts of Kyiv, where Russian troops have withdrawn, damaged cars lined the streets of Irpin, a suburban area popular with young families, now in ruins. Emergency workers carried elderly people on stretchers over a wrecked bridge to safety. Three wooden crosses next to a residential building that was damaged in a shelling marked the graves of a mother and son and an unknown man. A resident who gave her name only as Lila said she helped hurriedly bury them on March 5, just before Russian troops moved in. They were hit with artillery and they were burned alive, she said. An Irpin resident who gave his name only as Andriy said the Russians packed up their equipment and left on Tuesday. The next day, they shelled the town for close to an hour before Ukrainian soldiers retook it. I dont think this is over, Andriy said. They will be back. ___ Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Andrea Rosa in Irpin, Ukraine, and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. By Farai Shawn Matiashe KAROI, Zimbabwe (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - At first glance the Zimbaqua mine in Zimbabwe looks normal: a series of shallow craters dotted with workers in overalls and hard hats toiling to unearth the treasures below. But a closer look reveals something unusual. In an industry dominated by men, everyone working to unearth prized aquamarine gems from the yellow soil is a woman. "I no longer have to bother the father of my children because I am paying school fees for the two of my children who are in primary school," said Shupi Kabudura, 33, who became a miner after fleeing an abusive husband with her three children. "I also buy essentials such as clothes and food." Kabudura is among about 25 women employed by Zimbaqua, which bills itself as the first mining firm in Africa to be staffed entirely by women. Many are forging a new life with each other's support after escaping abuse such as rape, domestic abuse or forced marriage. About one in five Zimbabwean women said they had suffered violence from their partner in the previous year, found an official 2015 survey, and child marriage remains rife despite being outlawed by the Constitutional Court in 2016. Women in rural areas are often forced to remain in violent marriages because they rely on their husbands financially, said Rumbidzai Gwinji, a mine manager at Zimbaqua, which is located in the farming area of Karoi in northern Zimbabwe. "This project has become a solution to women in such situations," she said. "It has given them choice over the environment and lifestyle they want for not only themselves, but also for their children." OUTNUMBERED AND ABUSED Zimbaqua was opened in 2019 by Iver Rosenkrantz, a Danish gem expert who has lived in Africa for more than 15 years, and Zimbabwean Patrick Tendayi Zindoga. "This (firm) came after realising that women are not given the same opportunity as men, especially in the mining sector," said Gwinji. Zimbaqua's workers dig for the mine's rich deposits of aquamarine, a pale blue to light green gem that is highly prized by jewellery designers and collectors around the world. It is hard labour. The women use hammers to break up rocks and reveal the aquamarine, which is easily visible due to its bright colour shining out from the surrounding stone. In return, they get a decent salary equivalent to about $295 per month. But they are outliers in an industry that is overwhelmingly staffed by men. Women make up about 10% of the country's artisanal and small-scale miners, found a 2016 report by the Pact Institute, a Washington D.C.-based development nonprofit. Neighbouring South Africa's mining industry has a similar gender disparity, although the number of women in the industry is growing. "Women are few in the mining industry due to challenges they face, including verbal abuse and labelling from male counterparts who believe they are of the weaker sex," said Kundai Chikonzo, founder of the Insiza Women In Mining Trust. Men often do not allow their wives to work as miners, said Chikonzo, and women lack equal opportunities for promotions. Projects to get more women into the industry can improve women's prospects and boost the wider economy too, she added. 'SAFE HAVEN' Zimbaqua staff said their jobs had given them financial independence and new hope after they escaped abuse. Miner Paidamoyo Kuronga, 21, said she had struggled to make ends meet as a single mother to a young daughter until she learned about opportunities at Zimbaqua. "I was so excited to get my first ever job," she said. Now, she is considering returning to school for a mining-related course to further her career in the industry. Gwinji said the mine is working on plans for a daycare centre close to the mine for the children of employees. New mothers working at Zimbaqua are given three months' maternity leave on full pay and get regular breastfeeding breaks when they return, she added. Workers at Zimbaqua said the mine not only had offered them a fresh start, but represents a beacon of hope for others hoping to escape domestic abuse. "I know there are other women out there who are experiencing (gender-based violence). I hope our company will grow so that more women can come to this safe haven," said Kabudura. (Reporting by Farai Shawn Matiashe; Editing by Sonia Elks. Thomson Reuters Foundation) European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynder has authorized the transfer of the Russian Federations "frozen" assets to Ukraine in compensation for the unilateral attack perpetrated against her. In addition, EU services are trying to substantiate the involvement of Russian oligarchs in the current war so that their frozen assets can also be seized and turned over to Ukraine. ccording to the assurances given both by a Russian and an Ukrainian source, French soldiers from the Special Operations Command are currently in Mariupol (Ukraine) side by side with the Azov regiment. Public broadcaster France-Television, which had so far brushed off the ideological character of the Azov regiment, presented a report on it during the France-2 evening news, on 31 March 2022. The report acknowledged that the regiment had been infiltrated by neo-Nazi elements in 2014, singling out one of its founders, Andriy Biletsky, but insisted that it had evolved into a respectable defense force. However, France-2 omitted to mention its other founder, Dmytro Yarosh, who is currently Adviser to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The French channel referred to an old United Nations report documenting systematic torture in Eastern Ukraine, but it neglected to mention either the Azov regiments special prisons uncovered by the Russian army, or the recent statements issued by the UN in this regard. France-2 also failed to explain the weight of the banderites in Ukrainian history, reducing the prominence of the neo-Nazis to brandishing the swastika. Having thus whitewashed the problem, it measured the threat to represent between 3,000 and 5,000 men, while Reuters agency ensures that the paramilitary banderites currently number 102,000 men, split into several militias incorporated within the Territorial Defense. According to the daily LOpinion, Military Intelligence chief General Eric Vidaud was relieved of his duties on 29 March 2022. Eric Vidaud happens to have been the former commander of special operations. On 30 March, five Ukrainian helicopters attempted to flee Mariupol, the stronghold of the Azov regiment. Two were shot down. The survivors were taken prisoner by the Russian army. They immediately spilled the beans. When it comes to logistical matters, troops attached to the Special Operations Command are placed under the orders of Chief of the Defense Staff, General Thierry Burkhard, but they receive their orders directly from the Chief of the Armed Forces, President Emmanuel Macron. The United States Democratic Party and the Hillary Clinton Campaign were fined for falsifying their accounts in 2016. Both entities claimed to have spent the funds on their legal services, when they were actually used for fabricating a case against candidate Donald Trump. Former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, who was working for the research firm Fusion GPS, was brought on board to compile a dossier contending that Russian intelligence held compromising evidence on candidate Trump. Steeles dossier constituted the key element of the attempted impeachment case against Donald Trump once he became president, the RussiaGate. Photo: Sony Pictures Morbius bites into Marvel lore and carves out its own territory in Sonys Spider-Man Universe. The Jared Letostarring vampire flick is a standalone origin story devoid of a certain wall-crawler and hiding fewer Easter eggs than some might expect. But even apart from the mid-credits scenes, the greater Marvel universes presence in Morbius is hard to miss. Here are a few more of the films references to Morbiuss comic-book history and other characters set to make their appearances in upcoming films. A Familiar Tabloid Morbius is set in New York, home of Marvels most famous tabloid newspaper, The Daily Bugle. Dr. Michael Morbiuss girlfriend, Dr. Martine Bancroft (Adria Arjona), can be seen reading about Michaels refusal to accept a Nobel Peace Prize in a copy early in the film. Meanwhile, Morbiuss friend turned enemy, Milo (Matt Smith), is later seen buying a copy from a vendor he drains of blood shortly afterward. A West Coast edition of The Daily Bugle with the same font was seen in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. And while theres no mention of editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jameson or a photographer by the name of Peter Parker, the tabloids presence does suggest the two could be mere blocks away. Interestingly, the font these editions use also matches the design seen in director Sam Raimis Tobey Maguirestarring Spidey trilogy. Whether that means anything in terms of which Spider-Man exists in this branch of the multiverse remains to be seen. A New Horizon Morbius and Martine both conduct their research at a facility called Horizon Labs. Horizon is a relatively recent addition to the Marvel Universe, first appearing in Amazing Spider-Man #648 (2010). In the comics, Peter Parker worked there for several years, developing life-saving technology and improving his own Spidey gear. Morbius was a co-worker of Parkers, searching for a cure to his vampirism. Precious Cargo After Morbius turns himself into a vampire on a cargo ship in international waters, he slaughters the entire crew before jumping into the ocean to escape. This scenario plays out almost exactly the same way in Morbiuss first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 (1971) by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane. Its also worth noting that the name of the ship in the in the film is the Murnau, named after German film director F.W. Murnau, who first brought Dracula to the screen with Nosferatu (1922) and introduced several key elements of vampire lore such as sunlight being deadly. Fittingly, Nosferatu celebrated its 100th anniversary last month. We Are Venom Although Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his symbiote companion dont appear in Morbius presumably theyre still stuck in the MCU, before Doctor Stranges (Benedict Cumberbatch) spell at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home sends them back home the movie nods to the character several times. First, as detective Al Rodriguez (Al Madrigal) and his partner, Simon Stroud (Tyrese Gibson), examine the blood-drained bodies of Murnau crew members, Rodriguez remarks that they havent gotten anything this good since that mess in San Francisco. That mess undoubtedly refers to Venoms battle against Carnage (Woody Harrelson) and Shriek (Naomie Harris) in Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021). Later, Morbius scares a group of counterfeiters out of his lab by baring his fangs and saying, I am Venom. Venom and Morbius have crossed paths a number of times in the comics, notably in Maximum Carnage (1993) and Venom: The Enemy Within (1994). Well have to wait a little longer to see if the two will get to tear up the town onscreen. Changing Man Martine picks up another copy of The Daily Bugle on a bus and, in the top corner, theres a story about a Chameleon. The moment passes too quickly to make out all the words without pausing to screengrab it, but the Chameleon is the first supervillain Spider-Man ever fought, all the way back in The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963) by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. It was recently revealed that the master of disguise will be joining his step-brother Kraven in Sonys next Spider-Man Universe entry, Kraven the Hunter, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Fred Hechinger (The Fear Street Trilogy, The White Lotus) will be taking on the role of the Chameleon. Kiss of the Vampire Before Martine seemingly dies from the injuries Milo inflicts on her, she kisses Morbius, biting his tongue and drawing blood. She then tells Morbius to make her sacrifice worth it, and he bites her, consuming her blood. We all know that drinking a vampires blood plus getting bit by a vampire is a recipe for vampire progeny (thanks, True Blood)! And sure enough, in the films final moments, Martine opens her now-red eyes, a sure sign shes returned to life as a vampire. A similar fate befalls Martine in the comics, though she was eventually cured. (Conveniently, that same cure didnt work for Morbius.) But even after that, her taste for blood remained. She eventually became a true vampire through supernatural means rather than scientific ones, in the hopes that she, and subsequently Morbius by way of her bite, could become immortal. Her plan backfires, however, when Morbius is forced to kill her in order to save Spider-Man. We may not yet know where or when Morbius will be joined by more recognizable Spider-Man villains, but wed venture a guess that his beloved Martine may just become his next big bad. Photo: Getty Images Update, Friday, April 1 at 8:23 p.m.: As the Academys investigation continues, Will Smith has resigned his membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements, he said in a statement announcing the news. Smith added that he would accept any further consequences that the Board deemed appropriate. Update, Thursday, March 31 at 10:22 p.m.: Will Smith reportedly met with Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson before the Academy began its investigation. Per Variety, the Best Actor winner apologized over Zoom on March 29 for slapping Chris Rock at the ceremony and acknowledged that there would be consequences for his behavior. The Academys Board of Governors was reportedly not informed of the meeting when they began disciplinary proceedings against Smith the following day. According to Deadline, some Academy members were upset that they werent kept in the loop. Meanwhile, outlets have reported that Smith was never formally asked to leave the Oscars, contrary to the Academys claim. This lack of transparency undermines our ability to come to a suitable resolution to the whole thing, one member told Deadline. Update, March 30 at 6:07 p.m.: The Academy has released a statement declaring that the Board of Governors have initiated disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academys Standards of Conduct, including inappropriate physical contact, abusive or threatening behavior, and compromising the integrity of the Academy. The statement also stated that Will Smith was asked to leave the Oscars and refused. At the next board meeting on April 18, the Academy may take any disciplinary action, the Academy wrote, which may include suspension, expulsion, or other sanctions permitted by the Bylaws and Standards of Conduct. Original story follows. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has issued a letter to its members about the unacceptable and harmful behavior onstage by a nominee during Sundays telecast of the 94th Oscars (an incident otherwise known as the Slap). The Academy previously put out a statement on Sunday night stating that it does not condone violence of any form. In the new letter, per Deadline, the Academy reiterates that it condemns Mr. Smiths actions that transpired Sunday night. The Academy goes on to state that its board of directors will make a determination on appropriate action for Mr. Smith, which sounds ominous. The letter further states that this must follow an official process that will take a few weeks, and asks for members respect for the process as this unfolds so it can work in the considered way it was intended and mandated. Read the full letter below. Dear Members, Sundays telecast of the 94th Oscars was meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year. We are upset and outraged that those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior on stage by a nominee. To be clear, we condemn Mr. Smiths actions that transpired Sunday night. As outlined in our bylaws, the Academys Board of Governors will now make a determination on appropriate action for Mr. Smith. As governed by California law regarding members of nonprofit organizations like the Academy, and set forth in our Standards of Conduct, this must follow an official process that will take a few weeks. We will continue to update you on any developments, but we also ask that you respect your Board, Academy staff and the process as this unfolds so it can work in the considered way it was intended and mandated. Please trust that the Board of Governors will conduct this process in a manner that is both expedient and respectful of all involved while maintaining the standards of the Academy. Thank you, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences David Rubin, President Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Dawn Hudson CEO Photo: Courtesy of IFC Films Violence is its own form of language, and filmmaker Justin Kurzel has been speaking, interrogating, and analyzing it for the past decade: in his 2011 breakout Snowtown, through the otherworldly beauty of his 2015 Macbeth adaptation, and with 2019s toxic-masculinity-subverting True History of the Kelly Gang. Kurzels films are, with the exclusion of Assassins Creed, visually gorgeous and emotionally discontent explorations of the myth of masculinity and how it becomes a slow-spreading poison. His films refuse easy answers. What turns men toward brutality is a question with endless explanations, and Nitram, Kurzels latest (which opened in theaters on March 30 and is now available for streaming on AMC+), might be the purest, most unsettling embodiment of his curiosity yet. This portrait of Australian mass shooter Martin Bryant never uses his name, instead calling its main character Nitram and the lone gunman. But every major story beat in Nitram is pulled from reporting about Bryants life, and narrativized here with sparsity and starkness. That restraint shows in the lead performance from Caleb Landry Jones, who won the 2021 Cannes Best Actor prize for his multilayered representation of Bryants awkwardness and anger. It shows in Shaun Grants script, which abstains from making any grand X and Y led to Z simplifications about what drove Bryant to kill 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, on April 28, 1996. And it shows in Kurzels direction, which makes Nitrams loneliness and oddness plain in compositions that place him deep in the frame, surrounded by crashing waves on the beach, outdated finery in a decrepit mansion, and packed rows of rifles in a gun stores backroom. (Cinematographer Germain McMicking used similar techniques in the second season of Top of the Lake and the third season of True Detective, both of which also positioned their main characters as individuals nearly lost in the yawning maw of a society indifferent to their pain.) When Kurzel does penetrate the unkempt veil of Joness hair and closes in on his face, its to capture how the actor sprints from one emotion to another, alluding to the impetuousness and spontaneity at play within Nitram. In the films most agonizing scene, Nitrams impish grin contrasts with a blank gaze as he straddles and viciously beats his father (Anthony LaPaglia), punching him over and over; a minute or so later, he tenderly kisses his fathers cheek and solemnly tells his mother (Judy Davis), Thats what youre supposed to do. Thats what you do. The cost of violence as a solution is a throughline in Kurzels work, and Jones whose filmography is sprinkled with projects that demonstrate his aptitude for either menace or ineptitude, from Get Out to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is visceral and feral in his interpretation of it. You cant look away from him, but looking for too long doesnt feel quite right, either. Part true crime, part character study, Nitram starts off with real news footage of Bryant as a child in a hospital burn unit, recovering from wounds sustained while playing with fireworks; he matter-of-factly tells the reporter that he has no plans to change. (The inclusion of that clip is the closest Kurzel comes to offering psychiatric pathology.) A dozen or so years later in suburban Australia, Nitram is in fact still playing with fireworks in his backyard and near schools, and engaging in off-center activities and behaviors that unnerve his mother. But whatever she objects to, his father shrugs off (Hes not doing any harm is a particularly foreboding line), and that uneven treatment has helped make Nitram rash and willful. He knows hes different from everyone else, but cant quite grasp why, and his sense of self is complicated further once he meets Helen (Essie Davis), an eccentric heiress who initially hires Nitram to mow her lawn and eventually grows so close to him that she buys him a car and gives him her fathers old clothes. Nitrams parents cant quite figure out their relationship, and their friction with Helen allows Judy Davis and Essie Davis an exemplary scene at Nitrams birthday lunch, where his mother immediately curdles the celebratory air with her interrogation of Helen. Her exhausted and accusatory line delivery of Which is he, a husband or a son? is the opening volley, and Helens hard stare and set jaw lobs right back. But is it fair to blame Helen for embracing Nitram, and for trying to demonstrate to him that he is worthy of compassion and even love? Do we blame his parents, who probably thought they were doing the best they could for their son? Grants script is fluid and nonspecific when it comes to the passage of time weeks, if not years, pass from scene to scene but the films steady, slow-burn pacing conveys how Nitrams impact on his family and friends grew to outsized, overbearing proportions. In Joness increasingly physical performance, he lunges, he slams doors, he screams. His emotions are either absent or unchecked, and the film pays attention both to how he ostracizes others (a shot of his mother lying quietly on a couch in their living room, hiding from her son) and how hes underserved by those who should care for him (a doctor who hustles Nitram out of his office after suggesting that maybe he doesnt need antidepressants after all). At what point does a person become who they are, and set out on a course of action that perhaps no one else could stop? By the time Nitram reaches its expected ending, Kurzel is keeping our perspective at a remove. He holds his camera steady outside of Nitrams car or through the window of a cafe, letting the action move away from it. That level of distance is a relief, but also a parting challenge from Kurzel. We have the privilege of looking away, but what Nitram asks us to do is remember. 'Archaeological Box on the Aventine Hill' opens to larger tour groups. The remains of a magnificent Roman villa buried for almost 2,000 years at the foot of Rome's Aventine Hill opens to larger numbers of visitors from 1 April, with the easing of Italy's covid-19 restrictions. Until now it had only been possible to accommodate groups of six visitors at at time, however this number has been increased to 15, with tours available in Italian and English as well as Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian and Spanish. The next tour date is 22 April, while during the rest of the year guided tours will take place on the first and third Friday of the month. Visits are enhanced by video projections, lights, sounds and historical narration by the celebrated duo of scientific presenters Piero Angela and Paco Lanciano, bringing the ancient villa to life once more. The spectacular discovery was made in 2014 during works to earthquake-proof the foundations of the 1950s-era building in Piazza Albania, not far from the Circus Maximus. Scatola Archeologica all'Aventino Described as "unique," the 'Scatola Archeologica' project encompasses archaeology, architecture and technology, creating Rome's first museum site within a residential complex. Archaeologists found a series of large rooms decorated with sumptuous mosaics and traces of frescoes as well as objects from everyday Roman life such as fragments of bowls and amphorae, a hammer, kitchen ladles, sewing needles and oil lamps, alongside the remains of a stone tower dating from the sixth century BC. After several years of excavations, and construction work to convert the development into luxury apartments, the residential complex now boasts its own underground museum. The Archaeological Box on the Aventine Hill The 3 million dig, overseen by Rome's special superintendence for archaeology, was funded by the property's owners, BNP Paribas Real Estate, in a public-private collaboration. Daniela Porro, head of the special superintendence, described the museum as an "archaeological box" of treasure and, based on its rich decorations, it is believed that the domus belonged to a "person of power." How to visit the 'Archaeological Box on the Aventine Hill' Guided tours of the underground museum at the Domus Aventino last about one hour and are conducted - in Italian - on the first and third Friday every month. Tours must be reserved exclusively online, via the Scatola Archeologica website, by sending an email to scatolaarcheologica@archeologia.it. The visits cater to groups of 15 people at a time, at 14.00, 15.00, 16.00 and 17.00. If booking for a group of 15 people it is possible to organise a tour in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Chinese or Japanese. Tickets cost 11 for adults, 8 for visitors aged 12 to 17, and for EU citizens aged 18 to 25. Access is free for children under 12 and for disabled visitors with a companion. For full visiting details see website. Photos courtesy Ufficio Stampa Soprintendenza Speciale di Roma Placeholder while article actions load The rise in sea levels is on track to increase highly destructive flooding fivefold in the U.S. by 2050, but a new study of home prices in coastal Florida suggests buyers are oblivious or indifferent to the risk. Governments need to take action to ensure that everyone has the right information about this critical threat. Freddie Mac researchers led by Ajita Atreya found that homes directly exposed to projected sea-level rise command no discount over those that arent. There were discounts for homes in designated flood plains, but thats probably to offset the cost of flood insurance they must carry if financed with a government-backed mortgage rather than future sea-level risk. The findings hold true for investment properties in addition to those bought as primary residences. In all, the markets willingness to look past sea-level risk amounts to a dangerous oversight. About 40% of the U.S. population lives in coastal counties, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and NOAA researchers now project an average of 10 to 12 inches of sea-level rise by 2050, even if the world manages to cut greenhouse gas emissions before then. Advertisement Yet many buyers are clearly lacking important information. Florida and many other states dont even require sellers to disclose past floods, let alone tell buyers that a home faces sea-rise risk. In a ranking from the National Resources Defense Councils website, Florida is among 21 states that receive an F in flood disclosure, meaning theres no statutory or regulatory requirement for flood disclosure at the time of sale. Even in the states that require disclosure, they often come at the 11th hour, when buyers are signing stacks of closing documents, according to Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School. Renters typically get fewer protections than buyers. As the Freddie Mac study showed, insurance premiums do influence behavior: Buyers in designated flood zones tend to discount property values. Unfortunately, the governments flood zones still dont consider the future impacts of sea-level rise. Not having forward-looking flood maps is like driving a car only looking into your rearview mirror, Joel Scata, a water and climate attorney with the NRDC, told me. Understandably, politicians and their constituents often fight flood-plain designations out of concern they will depress the value of properties in their area. Government leaders in vulnerable states and municipalities should instead take the long view: accurate, forward-looking maps would encourage needed mitigation efforts. Clearly, there have been some positive developments on addressing the so-called information asymmetries in flood risk for real estate. Realtor.com and Redfin Corp. have teamed up with nonprofit First Street Foundation to provide flood risk ratings for properties on their websites, and First Streets founder Matthew Eby said he would like to extend the resource to more government entities. Were just trying to get people the information so that everyone is on the same playing field, he told me by phone on Thursday. Meanwhile, Hawaii is set to become the first state to require sea-rise disclosures, effective on May 1. Others should follow suit.Of course, disclosure laws alone arent a solution to the worlds climate problems. Its very low hanging fruit, and yes its important, Abigail Fleming, an environmental justice lawyer and University of Miami School of Law professor, told me this week. As she pointed out, flood disclosures may also have adverse effects on housing prices for low- and middle-income households, some of which arent in vulnerable areas by choice but because they have no other options. Thats why climate action plans should combine disclosure requirements with mitigation efforts, voluntary home buyouts in vulnerable areas, relocation assistance and general education on flood risk that reaches people before theyre about to buy or rent a home. Advertisement Even then, some parts of the housing market are likely to keep ignoring reality. As a Florida resident, Ive seen firsthand how many homebuyers conclude (correctly or not) that their investment horizon is short enough that sea-level rise wont matter. Its also possible that near-term supply-demand dynamics are overwhelming analyses of the areas long-term prospects. Like other parts of the Sun Belt, Florida is experiencing an influx of new arrivals seeking year-round warm weather, nice beaches and a vibrant culture. The real estate taxes they pay may ultimately help communities adapt to the challenge of sea-level rise, but its important first that everyone acknowledge the size and scope of the problem and that includes the housing market. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Jonathan Levin has worked as a Bloomberg journalist in Latin America and the U.S., covering finance, markets and M&A. Most recently, he has served as the companys Miami bureau chief. He is a CFA charterholder. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Two old friends of mine once sat on opposite ends of the political spectrum. One used to be pro-American a liberal Cold Warrior and defender of the Vietnam War. The other was very much in the leftist camp, a lifelong opponent of American imperialism and a committed anti-Zionist. Both are now keen promoters of Vladimir Putins propaganda: Ukraine is a U.S. puppet state dominated by Nazis, Putin is a man of peace, Russia must defend itself against a warmongering North Atlantic Treaty Organization and so forth. One could easily dismiss their blogposts and YouTube performances as the rantings of bitter old men. But that wont quite do. For their views echo those of prominent politicians on the far reaches of both left and right. And they are amplified in major media such as Fox News as well as, of course, on countless social media outlets well beyond the United States and Europe. Until quite recently, far-right French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour called Putin a brave nationalist defending his country against NATO. I would dream of a French Putin, he once said. His far-left rival Jean-Luc Melenchon defended Russian atrocities in Syria and blamed NATO for the invasion of Ukraine. Advertisement Former U.S. President Donald Trump famously called Putin a genius. Tucker Carlson, the political showman of Fox News, described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as an obedient puppet of the State Department, praised Putin as a defender of white Christian values and repeated Russian propaganda about U.S. biological warfare labs in Ukraine. What possesses these parrots of Putins propaganda? For the most part, their defense of the indefensible has less to do with any real love for Putin or Russia than with domestic politics. Zemmour wants to be the French Putin. Melenchon wants France to leave NATO. Carlson and his hero Trump hate U.S. President Joe Biden so much that they will defend his greatest enemy. In this, they resemble the America Firsters in the 1930s, who saw Franklin D. Roosevelt as a more dangerous enemy than Adolf Hitler. Those isolationists, too, felt the U.S. was being dragged into a foreign war in their view, by liberals and Jews. The latter, in the words of Charles Lindbergh, posed a particular danger because of their large ownership and influence in our motion pictures, our press, our radio and our government. Advertisement Today, too, much pro-Putin rhetoric reflects loathing of what is seen as the grip of the liberal elites on media, finance and foreign affairs. In Europe, these elites are associated with the European Union bureaucracy, generous immigration policies and a tolerance of Islam. In the U.S., the main bugbears are the United Nations, anti-racist activists, immigrants and liberals who believe that the U.S. has a duty to fight for global freedom and democracy. In developing countries such as India, Putin backers resent being lectured by Western powers about human rights. Even noxious ideas sometimes contain a kernel of truth. Americas catastrophic wars in the Middle East, touted by Republicans as well as hawkish Democrats as great battles for democracy, were dreadful mistakes. Poor Americans rightly resented the politicians who sent them to fight abroad. That helps explain why NATO, which once had bipartisan support, is now viewed on the Trumpist right with almost as much hostility as it is on the anti-imperialist left. Yet the most important thing extremists on either side of the political spectrum have in common is a sense of deep self-pity. In their minds, they are always being marginalized, or dominated or threatened by a seemingly omnipotent establishment. In the U.S., inevitably, race plays a large role in such feelings, though for opposite reasons on the left and right. Left-wing activists are obsessed, not entirely without cause, with white supremacy. On the right, Carlson asks with a straight face: Is [Putin] teaching my children to embrace racial discrimination? Advertisement Both Putin and Trump like to portray themselves as victims or, at least, as leaders who speak for the victims of liberal elites, arrogant internationalists, critical race theorists or people who fail to respect Russian or American greatness. It is this idea of victimhood that people, especially on the far right, identify with. Remember the degree to which Nazi propaganda was soaked in grievance: the treatment of Germany by the allied nations after World War I, the dominance of Jews who supposedly pulled all the strings of power. The first official heroes of the Nazi movement were martyrs who had died in street brawls with leftists. Real victims exist, of course. But when powerful men exploit a fear of impotence to stoke popular anger, it becomes a dangerous force, for it is always bent on vengeance. When there is vengeance, there will always be blood. More From Other Writers at Bloomberg Opinion: Advertisement To Save Democracy, We Need a Few Good Dictators: Robert D. Kaplan Putins New Alter Ego is Igor Strelkov: Leonid Bershidsky How to Hold Vladimir Putin Accountable for War Crimes: Editorial This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Ian Buruma is professor of human rights at Bard College. His latest book is The Churchill Complex. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article HKSAR gov't strongly opposes unfounded British, U.S. reports on Hong Kong Xinhua) 09:56, April 02, 2022 HONG KONG, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Friday expressed strong opposition to unfounded remarks on Hong Kong in the so-called six-monthly report on Hong Kong issued by Britain and the so-called Hong Kong Policy Act Report issued by the United States. "We strongly oppose the unfounded and ridiculous allegations against the HKSAR government made by foreign countries through various reports," according to an HKSAR government spokesperson. "The HKSAR government urges foreign countries to stop interfering in the internal affairs of China through Hong Kong affairs." The HKSAR government debunked the reports released on Thursday, and clarified facts regarding HKSAR's Legislative Council (LegCo) election, as well as the national security law in HKSAR, judicial independence and press freedom in Hong Kong. The seventh-term LegCo election is an important election held in December last year after the improvements to the electoral system of the HKSAR which fully implements the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong," and it was conducted in accordance with the law, and was open, fair, honest and efficient, the spokesperson said in a statement. "It manifests the broad representation, political inclusiveness, balanced participation, and fair competition of the new electoral system," the spokesperson added. Following the implementation of the national security law in HKSAR in 2020, chaos stopped and stability has been restored in Hong Kong, according to the statement. The national security law in HKSAR ensures the resolute, full and faithful implementation of "one country, two systems" under which the Hong Kong people administer Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy, and the legitimate rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong people under the Basic Law of the HKSAR are well-protected, said the statement. Judicial independence in Hong Kong after the implementation of the national security law in HKSAR remains robust as ever, said the spokesperson. "The HKSAR government must also point out that the media landscape in Hong Kong is as vibrant as ever," the spokesperson noted. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Placeholder while article actions load Taliban releases Navy reservist, brother Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight A U.S. Navy reservist and his brother were released by the Taliban on Friday after a months-long campaign by the Biden administration to secure their freedom, the State Department said. Safi Rauf and Anees Khalil, a U.S. green-card holder, were detained in December. The former Afghan refugees founded the Human First Coalition, which worked to evacuate people fleeing the country after the Taliban took over Kabul last year. The group later shifted to providing humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged country. In a statement, Rauf credited officials in the British, Qatari and U.S. governments, along with our family and loved ones and our team at Human First Coalition, and countless friends in country, in the region, and all over the world. Advertisement The two brothers are in Qatar, pending travel to the United States, said State Department spokesman Ned Price. Rauf enlisted in the Navy Reserve in 2017 and serves as a hospital corpsman, according to his service record provided by the Navy. He is assigned to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. CNN first reported the release of the brothers. The Biden administration also is seeking the release of Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran, who has been detained by the Taliban since before the Trump administration struck a deal with the militants in February 2020 to end the 20-year war. The New Yorker on Friday published a video of Frerichs pleading for his freedom. John Hudson and Alex Horton 3 soldiers among 12 accused of gun scheme Twelve people, including three U.S. Army soldiers, are accused in a large-scale gun trafficking ring that prosecutors allege supplied nearly 100 guns to gang members in Chicago and led to at least two killings, the Justice Department said Friday. Advertisement The soldiers Demarcus Adams, 21; Jarius Brunson, 22; and Brandon Miller, 22 were enlisted in the Army and stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, where they would legally purchase guns from local dealers in Tennessee and Kentucky, prosecutors charged. The soldiers are accused of selling them to members of the Gangster Disciples street gang in the Pocket Town neighborhood on Chicagos South Side, according to the 21-count indictment. The indictment charges the group with conspiring to violate federal firearms laws, among other crimes. If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison. The case is part of the Justice Departments push to investigate and prosecute gun trafficking amid rising crime across the United States. Attorney General Merrick Garland has vowed to prioritize prosecutions of firearms traffickers and so-called straw purchasers, who legally purchase firearms to sell them to people who cant legally possess guns, often in states with more restrictive gun laws. Advertisement Authorities believe the trio provided more than 90 illegally obtained firearms to the gang, the Justice Department said. Investigators believe one of the guns was used in a shooting at a party in Chicago last March that left one man dead, and seven others wounded. Another was used in a killing at a Chicago barbershop in January 2021, according to officials. Associated Press Mobster who killed 3 escapes from custody A New York mobster who killed three people and attempted to kill two others has escaped from federal custody after recently being moved to a halfway house, according to the Bureau of Prisons. Dominic Taddeo, a hit man from a Rochester-area crime family, escaped on March 28, according to the Bureau of Prisons website. Taddeo, 64, had been imprisoned at a medium-security lockup in Florida before being transferred to a residential halfway house, also in Florida, in February. Taddeo failed to return from an authorized medical appointment and was placed on escape status on Monday, a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson said. Taddeo pleaded guilty in 1992 to racketeering charges that included the killings of three men during mob wars in the 1980s. Associated Press GiftOutline Gift Article Workers at a construction site for temporary housing in Lviv, Ukraine, on May 2. (Kasia Strek/Panos Pictures for The Post) Lviv is undergoing "colossal" changes to cope with wartime strains on housing, schools and services Placeholder while article actions load GENEVA The former chief prosecutor of United Nations war crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda has called for an international arrest warrant to be issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine. ArrowRight Putin is a war criminal, Carla Del Ponte told the Swiss newspaper Le Temps in an interview published Saturday. In interviews given to Swiss media to mark the release of her latest book, the Swiss lawyer who oversaw U.N. investigations in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia said there were clear war crimes being committed in Ukraine. She said she was particularly shocked by the use of mass graves in Russia's war on Ukraine, which recalls the worst of the wars in the former Yugoslavia. I hoped never to see mass graves again, she told the newspaper Blick. These dead people have loved ones who dont even know whats become of them. That is unacceptable. Advertisement Other war crimes she identified in Ukraine included attacks on civilians, the destruction of civilian buildings and even the demolishing of entire villages. She said the investigation in Ukraine would be easier than that in Yugoslavia because the country itself had requested an international probe. The current ICC chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, visited Ukraine last month. If the ICC finds proof of war crimes, she said, you must go up the chain of command until you reach those who took the decisions. She said it would be possible to bring even Putin to account. You mustnt let go, continue to investigation. When the investigation into Slobodan Milosevic began, he was still president of Serbia. Who would have thought then that he would one day be judged? Nobody, she told Blick. Del Ponte added that investigations should be carried out into possible war crimes committed by both sides, pointing also to reports about the alleged torture of some Russian prisoners of war by Ukrainian forces. ___ This story corrects Del Pontes title to chief prosecutor of U.N. war crimes tribunals. ___ Follow all AP stories on the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-war. GiftOutline Gift Article Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Each day, Gaynor Andrews dogs take a vitamin supplement to support their digestion. And the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breeder encourages her new puppy owner clients to consider supplements for their own four-legged friends. There is a big change in how people value their dogs, Andrew says. For the people I deal with, a dog is a member of the family. And dogs are under so much more stress than they used to be. Australia has just experienced a COVID-fuelled pet boom and a string of lucrative new business lines - from pet insurance to professional dog walking to pet-friendly yoga classes have emerged alongside the phenomenon. Another is the $4 billion-a-year animal wellness industry. Analysts describe an unfolding humanisation of pets - a shift in the way families value their animals that has made them keen to find pet equivalents of human wellness products, like vitamins. Gaynor Andrew has been breeding Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and advising puppy owners on holistic health for more than 10 years. Credit:Eddie Jim There definitely is a trend, Andrew says. Billion-dollar, ASX-listed health supplements provider Blackmores has clocked the opportunity and has been telling investors that its Pure Animal Wellbeing (PAW) line of pet products will be a core part of its strategy moving forward. The company now makes multivitamin chews for pets, a fish oil supplement for dogs and products for soothing stress and anxiety. Advertisement Blackmores chief executive Alastair Symington says consumers have become more in-tune with their pets after two years of working from home. We spend on our pets as much as we do on anyone, he says. For us, its about providing those natural healthcare solutions that you can build into the daily routine. Blackmores boss Alastair Symington says pet supplements are a long-term opportunity. Credit:Louie Douvis Symington expects supplements for stress reduction to be a very big product for us as Australians return to the office, leaving their four-legged friends at home after two years of living in close quarters. Last year, Blackmores outlined to investors that its pet products would be one of its three major brands, alongside the Blackmores and Bioceuticals products. Competitor Swisse also has a presence in the space, with its parent company H&H Group buying animal supplements maker Zesty Paws last August. Australias multibillion dollar pet supplies business was growing at around four per cent annually prior to the pandemic but revenue growth has more than doubled between 2020 and 2021, according to industry research firm IBISWorld. Advertisement IBISWorld senior analyst Tim Calabria says medicines, wellness products and fancy pet foods have boomed throughout this time, with dogs and cats not the only growing markets. Although cats and dogs constitute the vast majority of pets in Australia, exotic animals like ferrets, lizards and cockatoos also grace more homes than ever before, he says. Close to 70 per cent of Australian households now have a pet - and they are willing to spend big. A survey of more than 1,000 pet owners by Animal Medicines Australia (AMA) in 2021 suggests dog owners spend $3,200 a year on pet care, while cat owners spend $2,100 a year. There are around 6.3 million dogs and 4.9 million cats in Australia and the AMA estimates Australians spend nearly $31 billion just on them ($20.5 billion a year on dogs and $10.3 billion on cats). Blackmores is also tracking growing pet ownership rates overseas, including in its key export market of China. More than 10,000 animal supplement products are already listed on the Chinese e-commerce website Alibaba. We have seen pet ownership skyrocket in places like China, and were geared more towards small feline and canines - because we know thats what consumers have, Symington says. Advertisement I take vitamins every single day and so does my family, why wouldnt you give it to a pet? Sydney cavoodle owner Natalie Headland Portfolio manager at Blackmores investor Spheria Capital, Matt Booker, says sales of pet products at the vitamins maker are not yet material, but that is likely to change quickly. In the next 5-10 years it could be material, as the addressable market for pet healthcare is expanding - and the Blackmores brand and reputation lends itself to that. Head of China research at stockbroker Select Equities, Frida Wang, says Gen Z consumers are driving pet ownership in China and Blackmores has a solid opportunity to capitalise. A partnership with a capable Chinese distributor to navigate the regulated and competitive category might be a good idea, she says. Meanwhile, over at Australian founded online animal pharmacy Pet Chemist, there are also supplements for lizards and a probiotic for birds. Earlier this year, ASX-listed dog sitting business Mad Paws bought Pet Chemist in a $25 million deal. Pet Chemist boss Howard Humphreys says the online health trends seen throughout the pandemic translate to the world of animals, too. One of the biggest products we sell is a joint supplement another one is an anxiety supplement, Humphreys says. Advertisement Justus Hammer is chief executive of pet sitting and wellness brand Mad Paws. Credit:Nick Moir Mad Paws chief executive Justus Hammer says Pet Chemist was a natural acquisition for the business because enhancing the health of animals was now a top priority for owners. Its a big market, and its fast growing. The online penetration is still low, but thats also fast growing. Sydney Cavoodle owner Natalie Headland looked into supplements for her two-and-a-half year old dog Bear in hopes of finding ways to help calm him when she returned to the office after a long period where she was working from home and on maternity leave. Sydney cavoodle owner Natalie Headland has been trying vitamin supplements designed to calm anxiety for her two and a half year old dog, Bear. Credit:Oscar Colman He cried and he barked when we werent home... you want to do whatever you can to calm them down, she says. She was open-minded to trying new approaches to make it easier on her dog when she left the house, and has been using a stress relief product made by Blackmores. Advertisement Everyone I spoke to, on that side of the [police] fence, believe she was murdered, says Ford. Which fascinated me, because I didnt expect that an overwhelming number of people would come to me and say, We think she was involved with somebody dodgy. And I couldnt see that she would kill herself. I struggled with that for a long time because it just didnt seem like her. So I was trying to explore the three main theories that she had cut her foot off and done a runner and escaped; the other theory that kept coming to me was shes involved with some dodgy people and theyve killed her; and then, of course, the third theory was simply that shed gone over [notorious suicide spot] the Gap. Colin Friels plays the invented character of dodgy associate George. To do this, Ford and Miller turned Caddick (played by Kate Atkinson) into her own unreliable narrator. As she says in the opener, If you believe that story [referring to the three theories], you will believe anything. Then again, I found most people will believe anything. Thats how I got rich in the first place. Says Ford: She seemed like the perfect person to do [an unreliable narration] with because if shes going to be telling you the story, then you can bet that the storys going to have whole bits of it that arent true, because thats what she was. The next thing was to invent someone who could be the mysterious dodgy type Caddick could have become involved with. Enter Colin Friels. The veteran actor plays George, an invented character who Caddick befriends with the intention of adding to her Ponzi scheme. George, however, turns out to have plans for Caddick too. Caddick (Kate Atkinson) and George (Colin Friels) each have their own schemes. Hes in there for the audience, says Friels. To let them in. And you get a perspective on Caddick from him because hes detached from it all. Hes an outsider, hes not a victim, hes a fairly straightforward crook. Friels also saw Caddicks story as a very Sydney tale Melbourne has the mob and Sydney has rich white ladies ripping off their friends and family. Since its inception its always been a place of greed, he says of Sydney. Its a pretty divided city if you look at the eastern suburbs compared to the west, its a pretty big divide. It seems when you go to the eastern suburbs, its a foreign land sometimes if youre from the west. I think Sydneys always been based on, I guess, the accumulation of status and wealth. The great sadness at the heart of Underbelly: Vanishing Act is how the pursuit of that status and wealth impressed no one Caddick cared about. After attending her best friends suburban backyard birthday barbecue, Caddick grumbles about no one appreciating how expensive her dress was. What that came from was talking to a couple of friends who were like, We didnt really care, we werent that impressed, says Ford. One of the stories I learnt early on, which interested me, was that when she went to places like Aspen, she didnt go out that much because she was terrified of being found out by the rich people that she wasnt one of them. But she didnt want to hang out with people who werent rich, who werent eastern suburbs type people, either. She was trapped in nowheresville. The show was filmed around the street where Caddick lived with her teenage son and Koletti, who drove past them a few times while shooting, says Ford. Did Ford talk to him? As a producer of the show, I did not feel that I wanted to get involved, he says. People were like, Are you going to use his music? Are you gonna do this?, but having hung out with the victims, I didnt really feel like I wanted to open those doors, out of respect for the people who lost their livelihoods. Maya Stange as Angie, the character inspired by Melissa Caddicks childhood friend Katherine Horn. Out of all the people Ford spoke to in writing Underbelly: Vanishing Act (including Caddicks neighbours, who were convinced she hitched a ride on a garbage truck to disappear), he says the one who left the biggest impression was Caddicks childhood friend Katherine Horn, who inspired the fictional character Angie in the show. Loading She blew my mind completely, says Ford. It was a real turning point in the writing process because Id seen the people who went on TV and said theyre victims, but she was a different kind of human. I walked out of the house knowing that Id found the moral centre of the universe I was about to create. Before that, the story was about an unethical person doing terrible things. Then I found this whole other side of the universe, which was, wow, you can be totally ripped off by someone youve known for 50 years, and she just sat there going, Well, Ive still got my family, my friends and I still have my health. And wheres Melissa? Shes just nothing now. Underbelly: Vanishing Act screens on April 3-4 on Nine at 8.45pm. Nine is the owner of this masthead. Swimming through a healthy coral lagoon is to be exorcised of the worries and cares of everyday life and to be taken somewhere else; a place of psychedelic, sensory overload. To be in awe of nature beyond the reach of any cliche. Ningaloo reef stretches for more than 260 kilometres and is Australias largest fringing coral reef. Credit: Mick Fogg. It is a genuine privilege to introduce people to coral reefs for the first time, hearing the comic squeal of delight through a snorkel from young and old alike, and the excited chatter on the beach or boat afterwards. The human-coastal connection runs deep here, measured in millennial timeframes that most of us are likely ill-equipped to adequately process. Coral reefs support a quarter of known life in our ocean. As a spectacle and a magnet for wildlife like whale sharks and manta rays which people are willing to pay to see, they support countless jobs and put food on the table of many families in our north. So it is distressing that our reefs are now under the highest levels of alert as satellites track overheated water with maps all burning angry red like the adjacent Pilbara landscape. Its advancing southwards like a stain the size of some countries. But scientists arent surprised, theyve been warning us of this for years. Most of our heat pollution goes into the ocean. Over the weeks ahead, water hot like a bath will be stressing corals so much that some begin to expel the algae that provide most of their food, and colour, turning ghostly white: bleaching. Part of Ningaloos marine park in Exmouth Gulf is bleaching now. If hot water stays around for long enough, corals die, sometimes en masse. Thats whats happened repeatedly at the Great Barrier Reef, and has already changed large parts of it beyond recognition. Whatever happens over the next few weeks to our West Australian corals, surely we cant ignore the warnings any longer. This should be a moment of reckoning. What may have seemed hypothetical and far away is here, now, in our backyard. You can literally wade into the water near Exmouth or off the Pilbara and see what hot water is doing to our reefs. The damage from climate change to coral reefs is migrating from the pages of specialist journal articles to raw images and news reports. The strange, stark white equivalent of the scorched, blackened aftermath of a bushfire is a symptom of the same malady. Whether we identify as being from the right, left, centre or something else, it means not a jot to a reef being cooked in our sea. What matters is the release of each additional molecule of carbon and methane. What these stressed ecosystems need desperately is genuine, rapid transition away from fossil fuels and relief from local pressures that kick them when theyre down. So it falls to us, those who identify with these rare and remarkable places and who feel some responsibility, to act. Whether our preferred habitat is the boardroom, the party room, the lunchroom, the banter in the stands or at the boat ramp, lets agree to reject images of bleached white corals as being acceptable to us in WA. Let us not allow ourselves to become fatigued by what we see but galvanised and spurred to be ambitious in showing the country, the world and each other that we are up for this challenge. That we know a measure of our time in this place will be how much we authentically wielded the influence we have in our own lives, privately and publicly, to give our coral reefs every chance of surviving this era. The alternative in unthinkable. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size As the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland suffers through a mass bleaching event, marine scientists in Western Australia have had their fingers crossed that the states stunning corals do not suffer a similar fate. The whitening of corals often triggered by warmer waters as coral is stressed, loses its colour and become more susceptible to disease was observed late last month across hundreds of kilometres from the Kimberley down to the Exmouth Gulf. A wait and watch approach has been taken to see whether there will be any widespread bleaching but water off the Pilbara and Kimberley coast was not expected to cool down until May with March and April traditionally the hottest months. Regular coral bleaching is the new normal for WA and scientists now pray for cyclones, which, while destructive for reef structures, can lower ocean temperature which can have less of an impact compared to marine heatwaves. Researchers tag coral for monitoring at the Ningaloo Reef. Credit:Blue Media Exmouth Research is turning towards genetic studies of corals which show greater heat resilience that could be possibly be used to replace reef that has been lost or intervene in declining populations. There is a time limit on the work with sea temperatures expected to be 1.5 degrees higher than pre-industrial levels some time after 2030, which will put pressure on reefs that need multiple years to recover from bleaching events. Advertisement All have WAs coral reefs have bleached at least once since 2010. In 2016, during an El Nino year when there are historically warmer waters, there was a reduction in coral cover and bleaching at northern locations like Christmas Island, Ashmore and Scott Reef as well as inshore at the Kimberley. Further south Ningaloo and Pilbara reefs, seagrass and kelp forests copped a beating in 2011 during a La Nina year which occurred in both 2021 and 2022 resulting in heavy rainfall and flooding on Australias east coast as the Leeuwin Current intensified and brought warm waters south. Kelp forests, which also store large amounts of carbon, off the coast of Kalbarri were mostly wiped out along a 100-kilometre stretch that marks the northern fringe of the Great Southern Reef. Other than some protected pockets the forest has not grown back in the impacted area. Now there is bleaching of northern WA reefs during La Nina as well as the Great Barrier Reef which had not experienced mass bleaching during the weather phenomenon before. Australian Institute of Marine Science coral ecologist James Gilmore is based in Perth and is part of the WA Coral Bleaching Group that puts out regular alerts on possible bleaching events. He said in the last five years water temperatures had been persistently high. Advertisement Our climate is changing and with that change, it makes it so much more difficult to predict what will happen, Dr Gilmore said. We do have a situation where temperatures are routinely close to one degree above normal. Loading When we push towards two degrees above normal for weeks that becomes a big problem for coral bleaching. Last year, also a La Nina, the waters around the world heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef were warm but local conditions came together so that bleaching was not widespread. In the past two weeks moderate bleaching was observed at Bundegi Reef in the Exmouth Gulf, which is adjacent to Ningaloo and lies between the North West Cape and the mainland. But a coastal low has also recently drifted past the region with more than 100 millimetres of rain dropping in Exmouth on Thursday night. Advertisement Dr Gilmore said scientists were still resigned to bleaching generally in the future and were more concerned these days about whether there would be mass events which killed large amounts of corals. Loading We sit and wait and hope for tropical lows and cyclones to cool things, he said. Weve become a little bit complacent about background bleaching or heat stress and hope for things like cyclones to come through and reduce bleaching. Reefs in WA need about five to 10 years to recover from bleaching. But by 2049 bleaching could be happening in places like the Ningaloo Reef every year. Theres a clear pattern. Whether its catastrophic this year or not the trajectory is clear, Dr Gilmore said. Advertisement There are a bunch of intervention and restoration activities proposed. You have this incredible pressure to find something that will be useful and implement it. Research focuses on heat resilient species For the past few weeks, a group of marine scientists and students from UWA and AIMS have been out on the Ningaloo Reef for its spawning season. Coral spawning at WAs Ningaloo, unlike the Great Barrier Reef, takes place during the warmer months in the water around Autumn. The researchers were collecting samples of the coral species Acropora tenuis, which is made up of stony-like branches, to take back to the Minderoo Foundations recently opened Exmouth Research Laboratory. AIMS coral ecologist Luke Thomas. Credit:Blue Media Exmouth Advertisement In 2021 the European Union imported $108 billion worth of energy from Russia, including 40 per cent of its gas and 25 per cent of its crude oil. By far the largest consumer of Russian energy is Germany, which has frustrated its NATO allies by firming up its reliance on Russian energy with the construction of pipelines. Germany, in turn, needs access to cheap energy as it remains at the heart of European manufacturing. Since the latest Russian invasion began, the US has declared a ban on Russian oil, gas and coal imports, Britain plans to phase out Russian oil by years end and the EU will reduce gas imports by two-thirds. Poland has already significantly reduced its use of Russian oil and plans to end coal imports by the end of next year, its Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said this week. Germany too is working fast to cut its ties. Every supply contract terminated hurts Putin, said the countrys Economy and Climate Action Minister Robert Habeck on March 25. He told reporters it would be nearly free of Russian coal and oil by the end of the year, with gas to follow by 2024. The speed at which Europe wants to cuts itself off from Russian fossil fuels cannot be exaggerated. Last week Vladimir Putin threatened to cut Europe off unless it paid for its energy in roubles, thereby propping up its war effort and its currency. And European leaders are aware that unless they manage to both diversify energy supply and dampen demand by the northern winter, they will suffer not only economic impacts but the prospect of some of their most vulnerable citizens dying in unheated homes. Loading Its immediate plan includes increasing imports from other sources, with Poland, for example, building or expanding terminals for imports from the Middle East. But calls for a new energy revolution - a warp speed transition - are growing louder. On March 3 the International Energy Agency (IEA), an organisation that until recently held very conservative views about the potential for renewables, issued a 10-point plan on how Russian gas use could be cut by a third in short order. Nobody is under any illusions anymore. Russias use of its natural gas resources as an economic and political weapon show Europe needs to act quickly to be ready to face considerable uncertainty over Russian gas supplies next [northern] winter, said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. The IEAs recommendations ranged from measures as simple as calling on householders to heat their homes to 21 degrees rather than the standard 22 over winter, to extending the life of some of the continents nuclear reactors. But the plan also recommends the EU cuts red tape for wind turbines and subsidises retrofitting homes with better insulation, smart heating controls and rooftop solar. It proposes replacing gas heaters with more efficient heat-pumps, better known in Australia as split-system air conditioners. These units have collapsed in cost over recent years due to better technology and the vast scale of Chinese manufacturing - some of the same pressures that have driven down the cost of solar cells. Not surprisingly, the 10-point plan was not universally supported. In Britain some conservative politicians and commentators, already agitated by Prime Minister Boris Johnsons embrace of rapid decarbonisation, began to rebel. Loading Many spoke out under the banner of Net Zero Watch, a group founded by the Global Warming Policy Foundation lobby group, which opposes what it considers to be reckless action to address climate change. But Johnson held firm, writing in Londons Daily Telegraph that Britain must double down on renewables, which were invulnerable to Putins manipulations. He may have his hand on the taps for oil and gas. But there is nothing he can do to stop the North Sea wind, Johnson wrote. Todays UK Conservatives have never been more united behind renewables, says Dave Jones, global electricity analyst for Ember, a British-based global climate and energy think tank, noting that half of all Tory MPs have now joined the partys green group, the Conservative Environment Network. The biggest winners of this energy crisis will be wind and solar. In many parts of the world, coal prices are up three times and gas prices up 10 times, and both - especially gas - are now having security implications, Jones says. Wind and solar were the cheapest form of electricity in most countries before this crisis, and definitely are now. And whats more, they are supplying the homegrown energy that governments are so craving at the moment. The response in Europe in the last month ... has been unambiguous: the energy transition needs to be sped up. A flare stack burns at an oil refinery in Thessaloniki, Greece. Credit:Bloomberg In the US, the White House is taking a similar line - urging the private sector to deliver more oil and gas in the immediate term while seeking to decarbonise their energy systems as quickly as possible by deploying renewables, electrifying households and increasing efficiency. Addressing a leading conference of energy, tech and finance leaders last month, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm declared that the world was now on a war footing. Loading We have to respond by increasing short-term supply and that means releases from strategic reserves across the world and that means you producing more right now where and if you can. But she said it also meant embracing the energy transition, dismissing arguments that it could not be done as the same old DC BS: [The] clean energy transition is not just coming, it is here. Your investors are demanding action, your customers are demanding climate action, 70 per cent of voting Americans support the clean energy transition. Bourne made his own transition when he retired from BP in 1999, only to take a job leading WWF Australia. He is now a councillor for the Climate Council, the body that formed privately to inform the public about climate change when the Abbott government sacked what had been the Climate Commission upon taking office in 2013. Bourne believes that the tragedy that has befallen Ukraine and Europe has struck at an already pivotal moment in history. President Vladimir Putins war has meant that all Russians are at risk of looking like villains. But not all Russians support Putin, and many of those who dont feel a complicated mix of rage and shame and a determination to do something to help Ukraine and to show the world that not all Russians support their countrys leader. Take Melbourne journalist Sima Tsyskin a member of Australias Russian diaspora and former Russia correspondent for SBS who joins the latest episode of Good Weekend Talks to discuss everything from the skilfully designed bombardment of propaganda in Russian state media to the chaos, corruption and robber banditry of the countrys oligarchs. If I can make a grim prediction, it took Germany more than 70 years to wash themselves clean from the atrocities of Hitler, Tsyskin says. Im afraid that there is a long, similar way, in front of Russians in the future. Hosted by Good Weekend deputy editor Greg Callaghan, the podcast conversation is based on Good Weekend senior writer Tim Elliotts latest cover story NYET! in which he takes the temperature of the Russian diaspora in Australia. Surging prices of many defence stocks are leaving investors with a dilemma: should they profit from the growing insecurity around the world, or deem them to be beyond the ethical pale? Most responsible managed funds and superannuation funds exclude companies involved in weapons manufacture. However, there is an argument that defence is a necessity that can help maintain peace and stability, and that some companies in the sector can be seen as being on the side of good. Ben Griffiths, co-founder of the Australian smaller companies specialist manager Eley Griffiths Group, says professional investors would likely steer away from these styles of businesses for a number of reasons, even assuming ethical factors were not an issue. Counter-drone Australian-listed company DroneShield does no harm to humans, says its CEO. The intellectual property is typically niche, and not well understood by analysts, Griffiths says. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Billionaire Will Vicars, who manages $10 billion on behalf of some of the nations most rich and powerful, such as Gretel Packer and the Darling family, recently hosted a private fundraising dinner in Sydney. The guests of honour were cabinet ministers Peter Dutton and Marise Payne. It was one of many fundraising breakfasts, lunches, dinners and cocktail functions being hosted across the nation in the lead-up to the federal election that are raising millions for political parties, and raising questions of transparency about who gets access and potential influence over the nations decision makers. In Western Australia last month, a group of 10 business people, among them mining billionaire Chris Ellison and executives working for billionaire businessman Kerry Stokes, paid $14,000 a seat for a private dinner with Prime Minister Scott Morrison held at the offices of Cox Architecture. As the federal election nears, the two things that matter most to federal politicians and political candidates are votes and money. Its a simple equation: money is needed to campaign to get votes. By the time the nation heads for the ballot box in May, its expected that political candidates and parties across the spectrum will have spent a record $500 million trying to get elected. A fundraising dinner was held for Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Perth where those attending paid $14,000 each. Credit:Renee Nowytarger Kate Griffiths, deputy director of the Grattan Institutes budgets and government program, describes the spending as an arms race. There are no caps on how much parties can raise or spend. Griffiths calculates that in the financial year the 2019 election was held, political parties and candidates spent almost $433 million trying to win. She says it was double what was spent in the 2007 election. Theres the incentive to outspend your opponent and whatever they raised last time becomes kind of a benchmark, potentially, for what you need to beat next. Advertisement If outspending the other side gives you a better chance of winning the election, she says, then theres so much more incentive to consider what it would take to get an extra donation or to get a bigger donation, and potentially be influenced by donor interests rather than the public interests. The spending by candidates and parties on elections has trended upwards over the past two decades and may nudge $500 million, with United Australia Party founder and billionaire Clive Palmer saying hes already allocated $100 million. So far, hes committed one-third of that money to an advertising blitz. In the 2019 election Palmer spent $89 million and while not winning a seat, he has stated the campaign stopped Labor from winning. This time he is attacking both major parties and pitching his United Australia Party as opposed to lockdowns and mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations. On bright yellow billboards, UAP has messages such as: Freedom, Freedom: We can never trust the Liberal or Labor parties Again! Andrew Hughes, a lecturer in business and economics at the Australian National University who follows campaign finance and marketing, says Palmers actions during the last election were explicit in their message: Money gets influence in Australian politics. At this election, Hughes says Palmer is positioning himself as the alternative conservative brand. Hes there this election to protect his mining interests, his coal interests. Also driving up election spending this election are independent candidates, who are campaigning for action on climate change and the establishment of an anti-corruption body at the federal level. Advertisement Some are supported by Australias wealthy, among them financier Daniel Droga and wife Lyndell, company director Jillian Broadbent and the Climate 200 group. The latter has been supported by many of Australias rich, from billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes to the family of retail millionaire Naomi Milgrom, who owns the Sussan group. Climate 200 was convened by millionaire businessman and environmentalist Simon Holmes a Court. Many of the independent candidates backers were traditionally Coalition voters and donors, including Holmes a Court, who lives in Treasurer Josh Frydenbergs electoral seat of Kooyong. Holmes a Court was a member of the Liberal fundraising club Kooyong 200, until he says he was expelled in 2018, when his membership fee and a donation were refunded onto his credit card. Millionaire Simon Holmes a Court says he was expelled as a member of Liberal fundraising group Kooyong 200. Holmes a Court says he was a member of the club because he had wanted to drive change from within the Coalition on energy policy to address climate change. He says he was kicked out after writing a media article criticising Frydenbergs efforts to keep the Liddell coal-fired power station open, after its owner AGL announced it would close. Liddell will now shut in 2023. Holmes a Court says he sought a meeting with Frydenberg after being expelled. It took me about six months to get a meeting with Josh. At first, he denied having any input into the decision, and then he gave in and said Kooyong 200 is a place for unconditional supporters and I ran hot and cold, so it wasnt the right place for me. I had been meeting with Josh at least annually. Frydenberg declined to comment. There are many fundraising clubs such as Kooyong 200. There is the Kew 500 Club and the 500 Club in Western Australia, which raise money for the Coalition. While politicians typically speak at these clubs, they also have guest speakers such as former deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth, who addressed Kooyong 200 earlier this year for a fundraiser. Fundraising breakfasts, lunches and dinners are not classed as donations. Advertisement Climate 200 is modelled on Kooyong 200 as a fundraising group that supports candidates, but it doesnt select candidates or run campaigns, even though its critics claim it acts like a political party. ANUs Hughes argues Climate 200 is more like Americas political action committees, which are organised to raise money to elect and defeat candidates. Holmes a Court says Climate 200 is focused on supporting candidates who want to tackle climate change, providing them with funding to help reach a scale at which they might be successful. In most of the big independent campaigns, the local community is putting in significantly more than we are. Brand recognition is a big barrier for candidates outside the major parties. There was something like $450 million spent in the last election, says Holmes a Court. If the entire independents movement gets to 5 per cent of that, Ill be shocked. Climate 200 raised $495,000 in the 2019 election. It had expected to raise $3 million this election, but now has over $8 million. Holmes a Court says the group is now aiming for $15 million. There was something like $450 million spent in the last election, says Simon Holmes a Court. If the entire independents movement gets to 5 per cent of that, Ill be shocked. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Climate 200 is supporting 18 candidates in the election. A number of candidates are from well-heeled, high-profile families such as Allegra Spender, daughter of the late fashion designer Carla Zampatti, who is campaigning in the inner-Sydney seat of Wentworth against Coalition MP Dave Sharma. Former ABC correspondent Zoe Daniel is running in the seat of Goldstein against Coalition MP Tim Wilson. In the inner-city Perth seat of Curtin, the independent candidate is Kate Chaney. She is the daughter of Michael Chaney, who chairs Wesfarmers, the company that owns Bunnings, Kmart and Officeworks, and her grandfather, Fred Chaney, was a long-time federal Liberal MP and a lord mayor of Perth. Advertisement Curtin is held by the Coalitions Celia Hammond, who has been supported by Australias richest person, mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, who was scheduled to speak at a fundraiser last month, until WAs COVID restrictions nixed it. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age spoke to a dozen people who work for lobbying outfits or in government relations for ASX-listed companies - as well as business leaders and senior party members who have worked on federal political campaigns - about the parties fundraising efforts and the cost of getting elected. All would only speak on the condition of anonymity. Most agreed that to win in some marginal seats at the forthcoming election, the spend could be as much as $1.5 million to $2 million per seat, while a tenth of that would be spent on a very safe seat. Its starting to make politics very inaccessible to the average person on the street, observes the ANUs Hughes. Labors policy has been to voluntarily disclose political donations over $1000. Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said in February there should be greater transparency around all political donations. The Coalition did not respond to questions about political donations and fundraising by the time of publication. Independent Zali Steggall, who won the seat of Warringah from former prime minister Tony Abbott at the last election, raised $1.1 million in 2019. Helen Haines, the independent who holds the seat of Indi, by contrast raised $420,000 at the last election and won. Steggall, Haines and fellow independent Rebekah Sharkie are supporting the Australia Institutes push for a ban on political fundraising events at Parliament House. Advertisement Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size At 78, Professor George Paxinos is a pillar of the scientific community. Hes a former president of both the Australasian Neuroscience Society and the World Congress of Neuroscience, and currently a Scientia professor at the University of NSW, with his own lab at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA). In his career as a cerebral cartographer literally, a mapmaker of the brain he has identified and named more brain areas than anyone in history: only four years ago, he discovered an entirely new structure, thought to be involved in fine-motor movement, which he gave the snappy-among-brain-experts name of Endorestiform Nucleus. These accomplishments are even more impressive given that Paxinos himself, a slim, wiry figure in a white shirt and bicycle-friendly trainers, sitting in a modest office full of preserved cross-sections of human and animal brains, is not even a trained neuroanatomist. Born in Ithaca (and recently honoured as one of Greeces most influential scientists of the past 200 years) he trained at Berkeley and Yale as a psychologist. Indeed, he was on sabbatical at Cambridge when he first noticed that the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, which was being used in the lab for unrelated work on rat brains, actually delineated cerebral structures and cell groupings far more dramatically and distinctly than traditional stains. So I thought, I will do an atlas of the rat brain using this stain, then I will go back to psychology. Paxinos did go back to psychology he lectured at UNSW, including introducing its first course in environmental psychology, until 2001 but with his long-time collaborator, Charles Watson, he also kept making atlases. Even today, if you want someone who can take a brain (rat, marmoset, human) and slice it into several thousand 40-micron cross-sections (about half the width of a human hair); stain it; photograph it, and crucially locate and identify its structures more clearly and accurately than anyone else in the world, Paxinos is your man. He has published 57 books; his very first, The Rat Brain in Stereotaxic Co-ordinates, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, remains the most cited work in neuroscience of all time. But science isnt everything. Which might be why Professor Paxinos did something unexpected. He stepped off the high road of empirical fact hed followed for almost half a century, and began to frolic on the wild and rocky shores of artistic creation. In other words: he wrote a novel. Advertisement A River Divided is about a female scientist who clones Christ. Twice, in fact. For a first novel, by a scientist, about such a wild topic, its an unexpectedly engaging read (Bryce Courtenay was a mentor, after Paxinos attended a writing workshop). The book tracks the lives of two boys, genetically identical to Jesus Christ, and their responses to the crises of global warming, rainforest destruction, and a planet on the brink of environmental destruction. Christopher and Jose the result of a (surprisingly believable) cloning experiment by an Australian scientist using the bones of Christ grow up on opposite sides of the world, Christopher in middle-class Sydney, Jose in the slums of Buenos Aires. One becomes a hydroelectric power company executive, one an environmental activist. Both are unaware of each others existence until their paths collide as all environmental adventure paths inevitably must in the Amazon. Loading Published last October and recently dubbed one of five eco-fiction must-reads by wellness site Carousel, alongside Richard Powers Pulitzer Prize-winner The Overstory and Barbara Kingsolvers bestseller Flight Behaviour, its also the expression of George Paxinoss own views about human beings: how our brains dictate the way we are, and how we need to change to save the planet. Paxinos has long been interested in environmental causes. He founded the Light Rail Association in NSW in 1989 in the hope of reducing atmospheric pollution, and spent 10 years fighting to preserve the tramway infrastructure of Sydney. He also founded the Randwick Environmental Group, and is a keen cyclist he stood as a candidate for the Australian Cyclists Party at the 2015 NSW state election. So what can arguably the best cerebral cartographer in the world, who is also a psychologist with a deep personal interest in environmental issues, tell us about averting ecological disaster? My secret hope is that he will suddenly announce that we actually possess a physical structure within our brains that governs morality, ethics, altruism: all the qualities we require to do the right thing by each other, and by the planet. Then he will explain how, like the famous London cab drivers and their super-developed hippocampus (the brains mapmaker), we can exercise this structure, stimulate it, and develop it to its full potential. Surprisingly enough, however, its not quite that simple. The neural structures underpinning ethical behaviour are extraordinarily complex and not yet fully understood: a single moral decision might involve input from multiple sectors of the frontal, parietal, temporal and limbic brain regions, as well as various subcortical regions. But even so. Isnt there a chance, at least, that we (or rather, Paxinos) might discover a single structure, somewhere deep within our grey matter, that could mediate our ability to save the world? Advertisement Let me answer that indirectly, he says. We dont know of any place that if you lesion it, you can make somebody moral. Brain injury can change a person, he agrees: You can suffer damage to the frontal lobe and have disinhibition: so you express feelings or opinions you might otherwise keep to yourself. But thats not ethics or morality. And damage to the thalamus can make rats very aggressive; and this is known also in humans: there are areas of the brain that dictate attack behaviour. But one region that changes attitudes, codes of morality? No. I saw the brain of Einstein in San Diego. It looked absolutely unremarkable. What about the brain of someone absolutely remarkable an Einstein or a Jesus; a Muhammad or a Confucius? A River Divided is essentially a story about how Christ might respond to the global environmental crisis, after all: might his brain, or that of some other genius, hold an answer we cant see in other brains? Might it be structurally different to the average brain, in a kind of Phar Laps-enormous-heart sort of way? Paxinos smiles. I saw the brain of Einstein in San Diego, he says. It looked absolutely unremarkable. You can see the physiology of many super-abilities: larger organs, greater muscle mass, things like that. But not in brains. He pauses. And yet there would have to be some difference in the brain [of Einstein compared to Joe Average]. Consciousness is certainly the product of the brain theres nothing ghostly about it and we know a number of things about how it is created: about neurons and connections and systems. So perhaps for someone like Einstein, the speed of conduction is higher; or there are greater synapses certainly, something is different there than in ordinary people. But we dont know what. We havent found anything that holds water. MRIs of a living human brain. Credit: Of course, Paxinos is a cartographer; determining the neurological functions of the structures he finds is up to others. But his unparalleled experience among the brains of other species gives him a unique insight into ours. Unfortunately, we are a Stone Age animal, he says, smiling. And in evolutionary terms, we have a Stone Age brain. What you realise when you study animal brains is how very similar they all are even the human brain. Advertisement According to Paxinos, despite our modern adoration of the human brain as unique and extraordinary, its actually not such a world-beater; not even, perhaps, a world-saver. Certainly, at the moment, we are busy building the conditions of our own extinction, he says matter-of-factly. And we have to consider the limits of evolution. To address things like climate change requires enormous, large-scale behavioural modification: is that even possible, given the intellectual, motivational and emotional capacities of our brains? I dont see that it is. Nonetheless, it was with this goal large-scale behavioural modification that he began writing his novel. I wondered if, by writing something, I might be able to change behaviour upstream. Not by telling someone, Dont cut this tree down, but by making them not want to cut trees down in the first place. To do this requires changing the human brain not via genetics or physical intervention, but by asking people to question their assumptions, engage their powers of empathy, and literally as well as figuratively change their minds. And actually, this kind of change is something the human brain is extremely well-equipped for: its our ability unequalled in any other species to analyse, adapt and learn. Its nurture rather than nature, environment as opposed to inheritance. Neural plasticity is well understood, agrees Paxinos. The fact that after you leave here you will remember that we met: that has to be through some change in your brain some physical change on a microscopic level. Perhaps synaptic formation; facilitation of existing synapses; even expression of some gene rather than another. However it happens, the brain is altered in a tiny way. This doesnt mean such change is easy. I used to give my students in environmental psychology a questionnaire when they entered the course, and when they finished after a semester. Hardly anything moved, I have to say! Its very hard. Nonetheless, Professor Paxinos presses on. His novel will be published in Greece this year, and plans for UK publication are underway. In terms of his day job, meanwhile, he is also working on a new, gold-standard atlas, this time using living brains via magnetic resonance imaging that will allow for a 3-D electronic viewing alongside conventional hard copy. I dont have confidence that our brains are pliable enough to change significantly to meet the problems that we face. Theyll be the highest-resolution images of a living brain in the world, says Dr Steve Kassem, Paxinoss co-author (along with Dr Mark Schira) on the new atlas. There are other people doing brain mapping in the world, but theres nobody like George. At the 2019 Society for Neuroscience conference which is the international conference in the field they had a comparison of Georges 2008 atlas, not even his most recent one, with the brand-new online atlas from the Allen Institute [a multimillion-dollar American organisation that employs more than 100 researchers]. And they were showing all the ways Georges was superior, because of its resolution and its accuracy and its detail. Theres no one better. Advertisement Anthony Albanese should be congratulated for putting aged care reform as a central platform of Labors response to the federal budget. The initiatives put forward are positive, welcomed and necessary, however the overall strategy does not address the fundamental failures in the age care sector. What we need and our older citizens and their families deserve is an action plan for the future. Labors aged care package has five parts, each part with substantial instant appeal and yet, it does not get us to where we need to be. Labors aged care package is welcome but does not go far enough. Credit:Shutterstock The notion that every aged care facility is required to have a registered, qualified nurse on site, 24 hours a day, seven days a week makes intuitive sense. What it overlooks is the challenge in recruiting this workforce and the stipulation that the registered nurses ought to have formal recognised qualifications and training in the care of the older person. Yes, we do need more nurses, but these should be nurses with gerontic training. The emphasis on nursing staff presence after hours does not address the other major and still missing contributions from lack of access to prompt medical and allied health staff. A person on a pre-tax income of $90,000, just above the current average full-time wage, will this year take home a net $69,983 after this weeks budget. In 2022-23, their take-home pay will fall $1500 to $68,483. A person earning $125,000 a year will earn a net $91,633 this year due to the increase in the LMITO. They will take home just $160 less than someone on $126,000, which is the cut-off for the offset. But in 2022-23, the person on $125,000 will take a $420 cut in their net income while the person on $126,000 will receive the same. There are also anomalies caused by using the tax system to deliver the cost-of-living relief package. A couple where both people earn $90,000 a year will get an extra $840 in relief thanks to the LMITO bonus. A single-earner couple where one person is on $90,000 but the other is on JobSeeker ($17,189) will get $670 in relief. Once the offset ends, the dual-income couple of $90,000 faces a $3000 increase in their tax liability. The couple with the single-income earner and JobSeeker partner will only be $1500 worse off. Recently married 23-year-olds Ethan and Paige Crosweller, double-income earners both taking home less than $125,000 a year, are among those considered winners from Tuesdays budget. Renting a small apartment in Ashfield in Sydneys inner west, they will receive a combined $3000 tax offset this year and plan to make good use of it. Petrol prices are skyrocketing and everyone is talking about how groceries are going to get more expensive, Ms Crosweller said. So its reassuring that those rising prices might be balanced by the tax coming back to us. And theyre aware the offset will end next financial year. We wont complain about not getting a tax break for longer than we are, Mr Crosweller said. Fraser Rises Rajarsh Saini with wife Shaninder Kaur and children Sanav Saini, 7, and Jahan Saini, 9. Credit:Chris Hopkins Working professionals Shaninder Kaur and Rajarsh Saini, from Fraser Rise in Melbournes north-west, are also eligible for the tax offset this year. The couple, who have two primary-aged children, married in Singapore before migrating to Australia in 2009. Ms Kaur said the offset would help address the financial difficulties associated with higher petrol prices, grocery expenses and household bills. Loading That amount of money thats coming to us would be very, very helpful, especially for a growing family, she said. Ms Kaur said the cost of living would be harder when the tax offset came to an end, particularly in an uncertain global environment. We havent seen what next year holds. Are we going to be in lockdown? Are we going to be working from home? she said. Addressing the National Press Club this week, Mr Frydenberg said the offset was extended only because of the COVID-19 crisis and was never meant to be a permanent feature of the tax system. He pointed to the governments three-stage tax-cut plan, noting that in 2024-25 the 37 per cent threshold would be abolished as part of a process that would make the system fairer and simpler. Theyll pay less taxes under us. That is what our plan is. LMITO was only meant to be temporary, he said. Labor leader Anthony Albanese this week also refused to promise to continue the offset, the fuel excise cut, and the $250 cost-of-living payment if it won the upcoming election. We wont be making those sorts of commitments, he said. But the modelling also shows longer-term problems due to changes to the tax system. Loading A person with a pre-tax income of $75,000 will, under this weeks budget, take home $60,158 in net pay, an improvement on the $59,738 they were earning. But in 2024-25, under current plans, they will have a net income of only $59,408 a drop of $330 on what was expected before Mr Frydenbergs budget changes. Even a person on a gross wage of $90,000 will be only $50 a year better off in 2024-25. Someone on $250,000 who does not get LMITO will be $9075 in front the same year. The austere concrete blocks of apartments that crowd the Ben Buckler headland in North Bondi have pulled an impressive roll call of rich list buyers in recent years, from billionaires Nick Molnar and Monica Saunders-Weinberg to Meriton heiress Orna Triguboff. But it was still a surprise to discover the neighbourhoods latest buyer is media mogul Bruce McWilliam. The 1971-built duplex is hoped to be rebuilt as a single luxury residence. Not that the Seven commercial director isnt known for his side hustle as a high-end home investor. It is just that his real estate of choice has long been predominantly based in established prestige suburbs like Bellevue Hill and Point Piper. McWilliams latest passion project (as it was described by a source) is the clifftop duplex built in 1971 by the late Holocaust survivor Naftali Kirsch that sold recently for about $15 million, although confirmation of the price will be revealed on settlement in September. Associated Press journalists in Bucha watched as Ukrainian soldiers backed by a column of tanks and other armoured vehicles used cables to drag bodies off of a street from a distance. Locals said the dead were civilians killed without provocation by departing Russian soldiers. Those people were just walking and they shot them without any reason. Bang, said a Bucha resident who declined to give his name citing safety reasons. In the next neighbourhood, Stekolka, it was even worse. They would shoot without asking any question. Buchas mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk said more than 300 residents had been killed. Many residents tearfully recalled brushes with death. Sixty-six-year-old Vasily, who gave no surname, looked at the sprawled remains of more than a dozen civilians dotted along the road outside his house, his face disfigured with grief. To Vasilys left, one man lay against a grass verge next to his bicycle, his face sallow and eyes sunken. Another lay in the middle of the road, a few metres from his front door. Vasily said it was his sons godfather, a lifelong friend. Buchas still-unburied dead wore no uniforms. They were civilians with bikes, their stiff hands still gripping bags of shopping. Some had clearly been dead for many days, if not weeks. For the most part, they were whole, and it was unclear whether they had been killed by shrapnel, a blast or a bullet - but one had the top of his head missing. The bastards! Vasily said, weeping with rage in a thick coat and woollen hat. Im sorry. The tank behind me was shooting. Dogs! British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she was appalled by atrocities in Bucha and voiced support for the International Criminal Courts inquiry into potential war crimes. Since the launch of what President Vladimir Putin called a special military operation to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine, Russia has failed to capture a single major city and has instead laid siege to urban areas, uprooting a quarter of the countrys population. Russia has depicted its drawdown of forces near Kyiv as a goodwill gesture in peace talks. Ukraine and its allies say Russia was forced to shift its focus to east Ukraine after suffering heavy losses. A boy looks at a destroyed Russian tank after recent battles in Bucha, close to Kyiv. Credit:Oleksandr Ratushniak/AP The visible shift did not mean the country faced a reprieve from more than five weeks of war or that the more than 4 million refugees who have fled Ukraine will return soon. Zelensky said he expects departed towns to endure missile and rocket strikes from afar and for the battle in the east to be intense. In his nightly video address on Saturday (Europe time), the Ukrainian leader said the countrys troops were not allowing the Russians to retreat without a fight: They are shelling them. They are destroying everyone they can. Russia, Zelensky said, has ample forces to put more pressure on Ukraines east and south. What is the goal of the Russian troops? They want to seize the Donbas and the south of Ukraine, he said. What is our goal? To defend ourselves, our freedom, our land and our people. Moscows focus on eastern Ukraine also kept the besieged south-eastern city of Mariupol in the crosshairs. The port city on the Sea of Azov is located in the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region, where Moscow-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian troops for eight years. Military analysts think Russian President Vladimir Putin is determined to capture the region after his forces failed to secure Kyiv and other major cities. The International Committee of the Red Cross had hoped to evacuate Mariupol residents but had not yet reached the city on Sunday (AEST). A day earlier, local authorities said the Red Cross was blocked by Russian forces. An adviser to Zelensky, Oleksiy Arestovych, said in an interview with Russian lawyer and activist Mark Feygin that Russia and Ukraine had reached an agreement to allow 45 buses to drive to Mariupol to evacuate residents in coming days. The Mariupol city council said earlier that 10 empty buses were headed to Berdyansk, a city 84 kilometres west of Mariupol, to pick up people who managed to get there on their own. About 2000 made it out of Mariupol on Friday, some on buses and some in their own vehicles, city officials said. Meanwhile, Ukraines Deputy Prime Minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, said 765 Mariupol residents on Saturday used private vehicles to reach Zaporizhzhia, a city still under Ukrainian control that has served as the destination for other planned evacuations. Among those escaping was Tamila Mazurenko, who said she fled Mariupol on Monday, made it to Berdyansk that night and then took a bus to Zaporizhzhia. Mazurenko said she waited for a bus until Friday, spending one night sleeping in a field. A Ukrainian serviceman uses a piece of wood to check if the body of a man dressed in civilian clothing is booby-trapped with explosive devices, in Bucha. Credit:AP I have only one question: Why? she said of her citys ordeal. We only lived as normal people. And our normal life was destroyed. And we lost everything. I dont have any job, I cant find my son. Mariupol has been surrounded by Russian forces for more than a month and suffered some of the wars worst attacks, including on a maternity hospital and a theatre that was sheltering civilians. Around 100,000 people are believed to remain in the city, down from a prewar population of 430,000, and they face dire shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine. Zelensky said a significant number of Russian troops were tied up in Mariupol, giving Ukraine invaluable time ... that is allowing us to foil the enemys tactics and weaken its capabilities. The citys capture would give Moscow an unbroken land bridge from Russia to Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014. But its resistance also has taken on symbolic significance during Russias invasion, said Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Ukrainian think tank Penta. Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, and without its conquest, Putin cannot sit down at the negotiating table, Fesenko said. About 500 refugees from eastern Ukraine, including 99 children and 12 people with disabilities, arrived in the Russian city of Kazan by train overnight. Asked if he saw a chance to return home, Mariupol resident Artur Kirillov answered, Thats unlikely, there is no city anymore. Loading In towns and cities surrounding Kyiv, signs of fierce fighting were everywhere in the wake of the Russian redeployment. Destroyed armoured vehicles from both armies lay in streets and fields along with scattered military gear. Some civilians who have escaped Mariupol and reached Zaporizhzhia said Russian soldiers repeatedly stopped them to check for the presence of Ukrainian fighters as they fled. They stripped the men naked, looked for tattoos, said Dmytro Kartavov, a 32-year-old builder, adding that the troops paid particular attention to the mens knees. I work, I do repairs, naturally my knees - these are working knees. They say - [you] climbed trenches, dug, and the like. Ukrainian troops were stationed at the entrance to Antonov Airport in suburb of Hostomel, demonstrating control of the runway that Russia tried to storm in the first days of the war. Inside the compound, the Mriya, one of the biggest planes ever built, lay wrecked underneath a hangar pockmarked with holes from the February attack. The Russians couldnt make one like it so they destroyed it, said Oleksandr Merkushev, mayor of the Kyiv suburb of Irpin. Irpin has seen some of the fiercest battles, and Merkushev said Russian troops left behind them many bodies, many destroyed buildings, and they mined many places. A prominent Ukrainian photojournalist who went missing last month in a combat zone near the capital was found dead Friday in the Huta Mezhyhirska village north of Kyiv, the countrys prosecutor generals office announced. The prosecutor generals office attributed Maks Levins death to two gunshots allegedly fired by the Russian military and said an investigation was under way. Elsewhere, at least three Russian ballistic missiles were fired late Friday at the Odesa region on the Black Sea, regional leader Maksim Marchenko said. The Ukrainian military said the Iskander missiles did not hit the critical infrastructure they targeted in Odesa, Ukraines largest port and the headquarters of its navy. Ukraines state nuclear agency reported a series of blasts on Saturday that injured four people in Enerhodar, a southeastern city that has been under Russian control since early March along with the nearby Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Ukraines human rights ombudsman said via Telegram that the four were badly burned when Russian troops fired light and noise grenades and mortars at a pro-Ukraine demonstration. The head of Ukraines delegation in talks with Russia said Moscows negotiators informally agreed to most of a draft proposal discussed during face-to-face talks in Istanbul this week, but no written confirmation has been provided. However, Davyd Arakhamia said on Ukrainian TV that he hopes that draft is developed enough so that the two countries presidents can meet to discuss it. Pope Francis came the closest he has yet to criticising Vladimir Putin over the invasion. Credit: Washington: The AUKUS military pact designed to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines will be strengthened after members of US Congress created a special group to sharpen Washingtons focus on the historic agreement. With China presenting a growing threat in the Indo-Pacific and Russias invasion of Ukraine testing global security more broadly, senior US politicians announced on Friday (Saturday AEST) that they would form an AUKUS Working Group, solely dedicated to advancing the three-way alliance between America, Britain and Australia. Scott Morrison with US President Joe Biden in New York after the AUKUS partnership was announced. Credit:AP The bipartisan group, which was flagged exclusively by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age last month, will elevate the importance of AUKUS on Capitol Hill, and also help to minimise legislative roadblocks when key elements of the agreement are dealt with by Congress. AUKUS is a critical new partnership that should be at the forefront of our security architecture in the Indo-Pacific, said Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher, who will co-chair the new group with fellow Republican Blake Moore and Democrat congressmen Joe Courtney and Derek Kilmer. The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. Available for Roku, Fire TV, AppleTV WFMZ+ STREAMING NEW WAY TO WATCH! Brand New App to watch all of WFMZ-TV News and Syndicated Programing 24/7 on your Streaming App enabled TV. Jacob Maydanyk was never exactly like the others, no matter who the others were. If the Winnipeg Anglo-Saxon elite saw him at all, it was as a Ukrainian, nothing more. To the overseers of the extra gang, he was just another Jack working on the railroad for $1.35 per day. When the Ukrainian men working alongside him looked at him, they could sense he was different, not quite a prince and not quite a pauper. Even if wearing the same coveralls as everybody else, the thin man from Svydova with the goatee carried the aura of an outsider. Jacob Maydanyk was never exactly like the others, no matter who the others were. If the Winnipeg Anglo-Saxon elite saw him at all, it was as a Ukrainian, nothing more. To the overseers of the extra gang, he was just another "Jack" working on the railroad for $1.35 per day. When the Ukrainian men working alongside him looked at him, they could sense he was different, not quite a prince and not quite a pauper. Even if wearing the same coveralls as everybody else, the thin man from Svydova with the goatee carried the aura of an outsider. When he arrived in April 1911 to Manitoba from a country he called Ukraine but which the world did not, Maydanyk made no plans to stay long. The son of a peasant farmer who tilled the soil of an Austrian landlord with little land to spare, Maydanyk was determined to do more instead of making the most of less. Supplied Jacob Maydanyk was a poet, cartoonist, playwright, painter, iconographer and businessman. His mother was illiterate but wanted her son to learn. He was gifted, both intellectually and artistically, literate, multilingual, capable, competent, handsome and, despite his lack of financial influence, fortunate. As a teen, Yakiv as his friends called him managed to wrangle an apprenticeship in Rakszawa at a textile academy and became an understudy to a religious iconographer, using paint to illustrate bible text. Despite his fathers belief that art was immoral, he dreamed of studying in Paris; he came to Winnipeg instead. His studies abroad had put his family into debt, and hearing tell of a booming city way out west with land better yet, cheap land to spare, Maydanyk decided to take advantage of the opportunity. Within two days, he was laying rails. But the money was not as quick as hed have liked, and the labour was not the kind for which he was best-suited: Maydanyks greatest attribute was not brawn; it was the other thing. Halya Kuchmij Until his late 80s, Maydanyk continued to run the church goods store, and to make art in his studio above it. More opportunity: the province, which had experienced an influx of Ukrainians numbering in the thousands, needed educators who could speak their language and teach them the one they needed to learn to assimilate. Within a few months of his arrival in the new country, Maydanyk enrolled at Brandons Ruthenian Training School. Art was an end, and this was his means. For two years, Maydanyk taught in a series of one-room schoolhouses across the province, mostly in Olha and Oakburn, where many Ukrainians settled. Meanwhile, word of his artistic prowess reached the ears of parish committees, who had newly built churches with naked walls in begging to be dressed in the painted robes of gospels and the saints. In his spare time, Maydanyk devised a most unholy man in pencil and ink. Supplied A later drawing of Shteef Tabachniuk, a lovable oaf who gave Ukrainians laughter as they settled in a new country. "Vuyko Shteef Tabachniuk" was an oaf. He was uneducated. He was loud. He was fat. He was crude. He was easily confused and quickly angered. As much as he mocked himself, he mocked the new Canadian world he now called home. And he wanted very badly to fit in. On the surface, "Uncle Steve Tobacco" was nothing like his creator, who always looked polished in his three-piece suits. Shteefs hair was mussed, and his belly rolled over his beltline like the foam on a pint of over-poured beer. Tabachniuk was an amalgam of negative stereotypes applied to newcomers from Maydanyks part of the world, who were routinely and unfairly seen as drunkards and lowlifes in the community at large. But the cartoon also was a lovable depiction of immigrant life at the turn of the century. Though Maydanyk had Louvre-sized aspirations, and the skills to realize them, it was this caricature of a man who became his most far-reaching contribution to the world of art. Vuyko Shteef was a relatable folk hero to a new class of Canadian citizen, and through self-parody, Maydanyk hoped to point out the hypocrisy of the upper class, prove to his compatriots they were not alone, and show them exactly how not to act. Shteef Tabachniuk was a negative stereotype and a positive folk hero for the Ukrainian settler. (Supplied) "Young people like to laugh at an old fellow," the humble cartoonist said in an interview with filmmaker Halya Kuchmij for her 1983 National Film Board documentary, Laughter in My Soul, available to stream at nfb.ca. "In addition to this, you needed to create a Tabachniuk who was fat and did stupid things like them. On the one hand, they laughed at him, on the other hand they tried not be like him. They wanted to be better." Tabachniuk was a masterstroke, and his fully formed character was often attributed to Maydanyks days on the railroad, which were spent alongside goodhearted men who, like him, were struggling to adjust to a new set of social mores and the isolation of a Prairie life. He gave truth to the phrase comic relief. The affable oaf spoke in a broken, sloppy vernacular mix of Ukrainian, English, Russian and Polish that echoed the way the men on the railroad conversed. The captions above the comics, some single panel, some more complex sequences, were written as the people who could read them talked. Shteef Tabachniuk was speaking their language. Shteef Tabachniuk was a lovable oaf who gave Ukrainians a laugh as they settled in a new country. (Oseredok Ukrainian Cultural and Education Centre) Artist Larisa Sembaliuk Cheladyn, who is at work on a PhD dissertation on Maydanyks life and work, traces the characters origin to a letter from the old country that found its way into Maydanyks hands while he was at the Ruthenian Training School. "It wasnt the letter so much as the envelope that caught his attention," she writes. "It appeared to be written in a hybrid of languages Ukrainian, English, German and Polish (and) can be loosely translated as Please reply immediately to the sender Shtyfan Tabachniuk." Students found the letter funny, and competed to see who could write the best letter, according to Dimitrij Farkavec, a late Ukrainian Manitoban artist Sembaliuk Cheladyn cites. Maydanyk shortened Shtyfan to Shteef, and added "Uncle," which eschewed fatherly morality and created an intimate familiarity; everyone had an Uncle Shteef, and despite his flaws, he could still be loved. The first Tabachniuk cartoon Maydanyk got published, in 1912, depicted Uncle Shteef crouched over a writing desk, labouring over a letter to his wife in Ukraine. He wrote English words which appeared in Cyrillic font, mixed in with actual words in his native tongue. Supplied Jesus Christ. This is a free country? Later comics showed Tabachniuk getting kicked in his rear end by his manager on the extra gang, still struggling in a land where many men expected quick riches and equality. "Jesus Christ," he shouts as he flies through the air. "This is a free country?" "Oh Canada," Tabachniuk wails in another as he walks down the train tracks after a long day at work with little to show for it. "You betrayed me. You take so many men from their wives." Other comics lambasted unsavoury stereotypes, such as one strip in which Tabachniuk spills a bottle of alcohol into an eavestrough while on the roof. Rather than waste a drop, he races to the yard, gets down low and puts his lips to the spout. Tabachniuks grinning face soon graced the pages of some 20 Ukrainian-language newspapers and some English publications across the country, most of them based in Winnipeg. In 1914, Maydanyk moved to the capital city to open Providence Church Goods, a religious supply and small-scale icon-making shop with clients across North America and as far away as Australia. Supplied One of artist Jacob Maydanyks cartoons. With new churches popping up to serve blossoming Ukrainian communities, Providence was booming, and Maydanyk employed a small team of artists including sculptor Leo Mol and artist Theodore Baran to paint and carve religious icons and symbols. As the community grew, so did Maydanyks shop, which likely got a good deal of its business through his friend, Bishop Nykyta Budka. His comics took on a new tone, poking fun at the bourgeoisie of the capital city, and within a few years of his arrival, he achieved a modest level of celebrity, thanks largely to his monthly "Shteef" inserts in the Canadian Farmer, a Ukrainian newspaper. In 1918, the first almanac of Maydanyks humour and satire was published. He would produce seven collections, according to Sembaliuk Cheladyn, along with a standout work: 1930s Uncles Book. Uncles Book is considered one of the earliest comic books published in Canada, though claims such as that are difficult to prove. One thing is for certain: it was a hit. A run of 10,000 copies printed and published in Winnipeg by National Press Ltd., and its publisher, Frank Dojacek was reportedly sold out. Sembaliuk Cheladyn thinks that number has been inflated by legend, as a 1970s reprint of the book only numbered 1,000 copies, but her research has revealed copies were sent as far away as Spain and Argentina. Supplied In 1931, there were approximately 22,000 Ukrainians living in Manitoba. Many would have had a copy of Uncles Book on their shelves, and knew Shteef Tabachniuk whom Halya Kuchmij would call "Archie Bunker and Laurel and Hardy rolled into one" in her documentary as a member of their family. Maydanyk dabbled in theatre, writing a satirical drama called Manigrula (a combination of Manitoba and the word for immigrant) in 1915, while also painting icons for the new local Ukrainian churches. Maydanyk established himself as a central figure in Winnipegs urban Ukrainian intellectual community. He was not considered a wealthy man, nor a poor one, though he did own an automobile in the 1920s. He did not necessarily want to be considered famous; he cared about his art and his shop and his friends and his family. His passion was not defined by the publics reception. Supplied In this First World War cartoon published in the Brandon Daily Sun, the grim reaper looms over Ukraine. "I call him a renaissance man," says Olesia Sloboda, the curator of collections at Winnipegs Oseredok Ukrainian Cultural and Education Centre, where Maydanyks drawings and personal effects are stored. But as Maydanyk got his first taste of artistic success in the 1910s, his former home was besieged by war, enemy forces circling, a tale as old as the land his father sowed. Wolves encircle a Ukrainian church in this Maydanyk drawing from the First World War. (Supplied) While Uncle Shteef and a later creation called Our Mary who put the experiences of Ukrainian Canadian women into perspective were his calling cards, Jacob Maydanyk was producing serious political cartoons for papers including the Brandon Daily Sun. These did not poke fun. They also did not pull any punches. With a Gothic flair, they showcased the desperation of a distant homeland, which for centuries knew nothing but persistent threats to its sovereignty and mere existence, which now presented themselves yet again in a war deadlier and more advanced than any which preceded it. In one drawing, an ornate, pastoral Ukrainian church, with its characteristic domes and ornamentation, is surrounded by scowling wolves representing poverty, death, disease, and hunger. In another, a poor, skin-and-bones peasant is greeted not by Christmas carolers, but skeletons, wolves and enemy forces singing songs of conquest, with a church burning in the background. In these illustrations, Maydanyks skill flattened and simplified in his comics to produce comedy is cast in a different light. His training as an iconographer, and his fine art aspirations, come through, showing his mastery of metaphor, scale and storytelling. Supplied Sometimes, he did it without words, as was the case in a mid-war sketch of a grandmother carrying a bundle of sticks on her back through an evil forest, with her granddaughter clutching the elderly womans hands in horror as the trees spring to life, appearing to signal to the duo that they are not welcome on their own land. Perhaps, the land was never truly theirs to begin with. A crow circles above, and Maydanyk uses white paste, perhaps to represent lightning in the distance a bleak storm on the horizon. Olesia Sloboda looks at these drawings a few weeks after the current Russian invasion of Ukraine began, a conflict which has enraged and captivated the world. For Ukrainians and Ukrainian-born Manitobans like Sloboda, the war has been a painful reminder of a history of occupation and violence against Ukrainian sovereignty. "These images are sadly very relevant today," Sloboda says. They could have been drawn and published for the first time yesterday. More than a century earlier, though thousands of kilometres away from his homeland, Maydanyk was not a stranger to the conflict of his lifetime: he maintained contact with family members who remained in Ukraine, and even had an early love there with whom he had wanted to reunite on a day which would never come. Meanwhile in Manitoba, the First World War fuelled already rampant discrimination against Ukrainians, mostly from the provinces of Galicia and Bukovyna, which were technically under Austro-Hungarian rule. According to the Manitoba Museum, of 8,579 people interned in Manitoba as "enemy aliens" under the War Measures Act once the country went to war with Austro-Hungary, nearly 6,000 were Ukrainian. Supplied Maydanyk captured the immigrant experience in his art, including in this drawing of a Ukrainian settler on a Prairie train. Maydanyks artwork, in all its forms comic strip, cartoons, and religious iconography became even more inherently political. They communicated to the common man the struggle of a people forced into constant assimilation. Even simple Shteef Tabachniuk understood he was treated as a second-class citizen, no matter where he went. By the time Halya Kuchmij met him, Jacob Maydanyk was an old man. Supplied Many of Maydanyks comics lambasted unsavoury stereotypes of immigrants. In her 20s, she was an aspiring and budding filmmaker from Toronto who had recently graduated from York University with an eye toward feature films; she soon would become the first Canadian woman to graduate from the American Film Institute. But the documentary form called to her, and in Maydanyk, she saw a person worth exploring through her lens. "I was very impressed by Jacob. His whole character. His style, his intelligence, his awareness, his talent," said Kuchmij, nearly 45 years after she met him. He was a remnant of a distant era, still wily and with it. "His whole manner and being suggested a time before, a time I had never been a part of. A time when manners were important. He was elegant, and he was sophisticated." Kuchmij pitched the documentary to the National Film Boards Roman Kroitor, a Ukrainian Canadian filmmaker from Yorkton, Sask., who was one of the leading voices of the NFB; Kroitor worked on documentaries about Paul Anka, Stravinsky, Glenn Gould and Paul Tomkowicz, a Winnipeg street railway switchman; he also is credited as a co-creator of Imax. Kroitor gave Kuchmij the greenlight, assigning Wolf Koenig as producer and editor. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Artist Jacob Maydanyks work of Jesus Christ, centre, in Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church on Ada Street. She met Maydanyk at the Providence Church Goods shop at 710 Main St., a building which no longer exists, and by 1977 was not a brisk operation: most churches had all the icons they needed, so the 86-year-old Maydanyk, soon to retire officially, had already unofficially done so. His short stay lengthened. He got married to a woman, Katherine, and had three children. He lived in a modest house in Elmwood, bought land in Selkirk, where he went fishing in the river, and had his own personal apiary, where he kept bees and made honey. He wore a three-piece suit every day. He snapped his smokes in half and removed the filters, smoking them through a cigarette holder. He put his own honey in his coffee. At the end of the day, he drank a shot of brandy. He was better than Tabachniuk, but by no means perfect. Like his famous creation, Maydanyk was still a man of the people. Maydanyk gave Kuchmij the keys to the store, and in 1978, she spent many days there interviewing the artist, who was like the grandfather she never met. "By the time I met him, he was kind of an unknown. Known in his community, maybe, but to most just another old man telling stories," Kuchmij said. Meanwhile, Shteef Tabachniuk had also become a bit of a relic. Supplied Without words, Maydanyk conveyed the terror facing Ukrainian villagers as the war raged. Above the shop, Maydanyk kept a studio, filled with oil paintings and a variety of art that showcased his virtuosic talents. Folklorist Robert Klymasz recalls seeing paintings of fawns and portraits up there, not just cartoons. On his wall, he had a list of friends names; about two-thirds were crossed out as Maydanyk neared 90. In Kuchmijs film, she captures Maydanyk stroking his brush across a canvas to paint Jesus Christ as a worker on the extra gang, carrying a cross made out of railroad track. "Some call him nationalist. Some call him socialist," narrator John Colicos says in the film. "Some say hes Catholic. Others say hes Orthodox. Some even say hes an atheist. Most people thought he died a long time ago." Throughout her film, Kuchmij explored Maydanyks life and the life of Shteef Tabachniuk as they paralleled the Ukrainian Manitoban experience. She traced the arrival of the first waves of immigrants, the arrival of Maydanyk, the creation of Tabachniuk, and their apex of renown. She wanted to do a biography of not just Maydanyk, but a time gone by. Laughter in My Soul premiered at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 1983. (Supplied) They became good friends: he took Kuchmij to his apiary, where he let the bees sting him because he believed it would give him boosted immunity. "I did the same, and luckily I wasnt allergic," she said. The more time she spent with the artist, the more Kuchmij was convinced she was in the presence of a brilliant man. "He was a genius. A forgotten genius." The film along with his iconography at a dozen Manitoba churches, including Winnipegs Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church stands as one of the few tangible ways for the public to remember him. Laughter in My Soul premiered at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 1983, and Maydanyk, by then 91 years old, attended in his customary three-piece suit. "He seemed a little overwhelmed by all the attention, but handled it beautifully," said Kuchmij. The film portrayed the artist as a man who was once ahead of his time and by then was behind. It was sympathetic and nostalgic, and it was honest. "There was a time when everyone knew the name of Shteef Tabachniuk. He was a great hero to his people. Today, not many remember, and Maydanyk is just another old man," the narrator said in a final scene, at a Ukrainian parish hall celebration, where Maydanyk sits in a chair, smiling as the young people dance. "Well, a baba (woman) made this film," Maydanyk told Kuchmij after the final credits, which rolled one year before his life ended at the age of 93. "But it is very good!" Paris it was not, but he had left his mark, in ink, paint and pencil. Everyone took a shot of brandy, and the artist smiled as he raised his glass. ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com If you value coverage of Manitobas arts scene, help us do more. Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project. A jangly ringtone breaks through the din of conversation in the basement hall. Shirley Kowalchuk, wearing a white apron and a hairnet, leaves her post at the packing table and hustles over to the landline on the opposite wall. A jangly ringtone breaks through the din of conversation in the basement hall. Shirley Kowalchuk, wearing a white apron and a hairnet, leaves her post at the packing table and hustles over to the landline on the opposite wall. "Yes, how many dozen?" she asks, while jotting notes on a piece of scrap paper. A black and white framed photo of Maxim Hermaniuk, the former Ukrainian Catholic Archbishop of Winnipeg, looms over the makeshift call centre. Share your recipes with the Free Press In celebration of the papers 150th anniversary, the Winnipeg Free Press is collecting recipes to be published in a community cookbook, entitled Homemade, later this year. Visit Homemade to learn more about the project and submit your own recipe. Each submission will be entered into a draw to win copies of the cookbook, Free Press swag and other prizes. click to read more In celebration of the papers 150th anniversary, the Winnipeg Free Press is collecting recipes to be published in a community cookbook, entitled Homemade, later this year. Visit Homemade to learn more about the project and submit your own recipe. Each submission will be entered into a draw to win copies of the cookbook, Free Press swag and other prizes. Dishes can be cherished family favourites or everyday staples just make sure to tell us the story behind the recipe. Join our Facebook group for discussions, recipe swapping and event updates. Close The perogy hotline at Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church is one of many Winnipeg institutions that has been satisfying cravings for handmade potato dumplings the kind baba used to make for decades. Today, the 104-year-old church founded by Ukrainian immigrants is using its hotline to raise money for refugees of Russias war in Ukraine. Its a small gesture, but, right now, dough-pinching feels better than hand-wringing. Fundraising through comfort food has always been a core tenet of the club. Parishioners started making and selling perogies to support church programs after moving into the new domed chapel built on the corner of Watt and Munroe in 1954. Elaine Bowmans parents were founding members. "It was on a very small scale," says Bowman, who started volunteering with the hotline as a retiree more than 20 years ago. "They peeled maybe one bag of potatoes and everything was done by hand." These days, the group uses hundreds of pounds of spuds and churns out 600 dozen perogies every week. It takes two days to fill the quota. Wednesdays are for peeling, boiling and mixing the cheddar cheese filling. Thursdays are for making dough, pinching thousands of perogies, or pyrohy, and doling out orders to eager customers. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A table of pinchers steadily fill trays of perogies which will head to the kitchen to get boiled. Bruce Smyth is a longtime customer-turned-volunteer. At 62-years-old hes one of the youngest in the group and unlike many of his co-workers, hes neither Ukrainian nor a church member. He does like perogies, though. It became family tradition to pick up an order from Holy Eucharist and scarf down a dozen of the freshly-made, still-warm dumplings in the parking lot. "Id share it with my kids, then wed get home and cook another dozen," Smyth says. "That was my payday treat." Pyrohy (Perogies) Recipe submitted by volunteers of the Perogy Hotline at Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church EVA WASNEY / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Volunteers at the church have been making cheddar and potato perogies, or pyrohy, for decades. Ingredients for dough 4 cups flour 1/4 cup oil 1 1/4 cup warm water 1 tsp salt click to read more Ingredients for dough 4 cups flour 1/4 cup oil 1 1/4 cup warm water 1 tsp salt Ingredients for filling 5 lbs potatoes, peeled and boiled 2 cups mild cheddar cheese, grated 3 tbsp instant potato flakes, dry 1 1/2 tbsp margarine 1/4 tsp black pepper 2 1/4 tsp onion salt Directions Mix water and oil. Sift flour and salt. Add liquid to flour and mix well. Knead on board until dough is smooth. Cover and let stand 2 hours in a warm place. Mash boiled potatoes and mix in cheese, potato flakes, margarine, black pepper and onion salt. Roll into balls and set filling aside. Roll out dough and cut into 2-inch rounds. Fill each round with potato and cheese mixture. Fold into a crescent and pinch edges closed. Cover finished pyrohy to keep dough from drying out. Fill a large deep pot with water and bring to a boil. Add 1 tbsp salt. Drop about 1 dozen pyrohy into the rapidly boiling water, gently stirring with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. Bring water to a boil again and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Pyrohy will float when cooked. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain. Cover with butter or margarine to avoid sticking. Serve with onions fried in butter and sour cream. Close Hes more than happy to lend a hand in the kitchen even if it means coming in at 6 a.m. to get started on the dough. It needs time to rise before the cutters, ballers, pinchers and packers arrive. On this particular Thursday, there are 40 or so volunteers on the assembly line, many of whom have been helping out weekly for years. Its a social affair as much as an act of service. "This is where everybody gets their news," says Lillian Deptuch, motioning to a long table of women folding dough circles into identical crescent moons. "The best gossip in the city." Like Bowman, Deptuch has been volunteering with the hotline for more than two decades. The pair share the role of kitchen manager: keeping people, ingredients and orders organized. Neither can remember exactly when Holy Eucharist got a phone line for the perogy club, but it certainly helped get the word out. Lately, the phone hasnt stopped ringing. Make that phones, plural callers who cant get through the main line have started dialing the church kitchen to place orders. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Shirley Kowalchuk answers the perogy hotline phone in the church basement. "Theyre desperate," Deptuch says with a laugh. March is always busy, with patrons buying in bulk before the Easter season. Its also the last chance to buy perogies before the group takes its annual month-long spring break in April. This years rush has been bolstered by the fundraising effort for Ukraine. For the last few weeks, the church has been donating $1 from every dozen perogies sold to the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a church-based international humanitarian organization. "At least were doing something," says Deptuch, whose parents immigrated from Ukraine and farmed in the Selkirk area. Its been difficult to fathom whats happening in her familys homeland. "We wont be able to say were Ukrainians, we wont have a country to say thats ours," she says, emotion cracking through her cheerful disposition. "Its very sad," says Deptuchs daughter Carlene, who works in the parish office and is helping pack perogies today, 12 to a bag. "(Putins) killing innocent children and women, for what?" MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Tony Schoylas (left) and Les Lalchun make little balls of the filling which will go inside the perogies. Every phone call home is torture for Tetyana Cwyk. The ringing is unbearable until she hears a voice on the other end, allowing the "mountain" of anxiety to lift from her shoulders for a brief moment. "Every day, every day I call," says Cwyk, whose two adult children are in Chortkiv, a city in western Ukraine. A phone call with her sister-in-law, who lives near the Russian border, was once interrupted by bombing. "She called, said, Hi and boom, nothing. I was very scared." Cwyk, a former school principal, moved to Winnipeg 21-years-ago after meeting a man in church, "he was a widow, I was a widow too and he invited me to Canada." While its been relatively quiet where her children live, the region is on edge. Air raid sirens go off day and night, forcing residents to shelter in basements in case of an attack. Still, her son and daughter have no intention of leaving the country. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Teqyana Cwyk, a former school principal, moved to Winnipeg 21-years-ago and says every phone call home is torture. "Theyre optimistic," Cwyk says. Shes hopeful as well. "I believe in my heart, I feel in my heart that Ukraine (will win)." Cwyk learned to make perogies from her mother and has been volunteering with the hotline for several years. She wears an apron patterned with traditional Ukrainian embroidery while working away at the pinching station. Its nice to keep her hands busy and shes glad to help with the fundraiser. So far, the group has amassed a few thousand dollars for the cause. Some regulars have been topping up their orders with monetary donations. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS For the last few weeks, the church has been donating $1 from every dozen perogies sold to the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a church-based international humanitarian organization. John Ferguson grew up in a house across the street from Holy Eucharist. He remembers when the new church was built and has been buying perogies from the basement operation for most of his life. Since moving out of the neighbourhood, he continues to make the weekly pilgrimage the fundraiser is an added bonus. "I get two dozen perogies and the change goes to the Ukraine, hopefully it makes things a little bit better," Ferguson says. "Its heartbreaking I dont understand, in todays world, why any of this is happening." The perogy hotline at Holy Eucharist is currently on hiatus, with orders resuming April 28. Visit holyeucharist.ca for more information. eva.wasney@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @evawasney At the end of a remarkable week at the Vatican in Rome where delegations of Metis, Inuit and First Nations leaders met with the Pope to discuss the abuses perpetrated by the Catholic Church and ask for an apology in Canada the Holy Father offered each group a bronze olive branch as a gift representing peace and reconciliation. At the end of a remarkable week at the Vatican in Rome where delegations of Metis, Inuit and First Nations leaders met with the Pope to discuss the abuses perpetrated by the Catholic Church and ask for an apology in Canada the Holy Father offered each group a bronze olive branch as a gift representing "peace" and "reconciliation." It wasnt the first time a Pope has offered a gift to a group upset at the church an olive branch is pretty standard but in the context of the days events, its worth some analysis. Papal visit 2022: Full coverage from Rome A view of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. (Andrew Medichini / The Associated Press files) Posted: 10:42 AM Mar. 24, 2022 Coverage of the visit to the Vatican by First Nations, Metis and Inuit delegates for meetings with Pope Francis. Read Full Story In the Bible, the symbol first appears in Genesis 8:11. After the world is flooded, Noah sends out birds from his ark to see if the waters are receding. A dove returns with a "freshly plucked olive leaf," showing him the world is in the process of renewal. In other words, the Popes offering of an olive branch is a symbol, proposing the floodwaters of trauma, pain, and violence caused by the church against Indigenous nations are beginning to recede, giving way to a new path. Well see. An abusive relationship doesnt end because an abuser says sorry. It ends when the abuse stops, when responsibility is taken and concrete actions of reparations, restitution, and restoration occur. The Catholic Church in Canada still owes tens of millions of dollars in legal compensation to survivors and Indigenous communities. All levels of the church continue to withhold documents essential to telling the story of residential schools, the perpetrators of crimes and what happened to attendees. Former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, and residential school survivor Linda Daniels from the Long Plains First Nation (right), present Pope Francis with a stole that was made by Therese Dettanikkeaze from Northlands Denesuline Nation in Manitoba. (Vatican Media / The Canadian Press) The church also continues to own billions of dollars in land stolen from Indigenous communities, and accept hundreds of millions in donations and investments. In other words, the flood is still very much drowning Indigenous people and communities in theft, violence, and tears. Much work has yet to be done by Catholic leaders to begin to recede the waters. Still, no olive branch would have been possible without survivors of residential schools. This past week, they showed once again they are the true visionaries of reconciliation. In all three delegations, survivors bravely recounted their stories of abuse to the head of the church who perpetrated them, standing in the very centre of that institution. In global history, there are few parallels to this week. Members of the Indigenous delegation listen to Pope Francis deliver an apology for the Catholic Churchs role in Canadas residential school system, at the Vatican, Friday. (Vatican Media / The Canadian Press) This side of the Nuremberg trials, not often do you get to see the survivors of genocide confront those who performed the act. Pope Francis, 85, was not in power when residential schools were in operation in Canada, but the church has profited from what happened in those places. The survivors didnt just offer words but also symbolic gifts for the Pope. Each carried a message. The Metis offered the Holy Father a memory book by Metis survivors, representing the stories the church has not yet heard because the Metis are excluded from the 2006 residential school settlement agreement. The Inuit gave him a cross made from whale and silver and a pouch made from seal and ivory, representing the resources facing global warming and being hunted and mined for profit by those outside their communities. First Nations gave the Pope a stole, adorned with beaded orange crosses that represent the resilience of survivors and snowshoes that represent the life and struggles of land and the life within it. Each symbolized different aspect of residential schools; from the stories we have yet to hear to how all of us "wear" the histories of the schools as we enter the future. On a day where gifts said as much (if not more) than words, much more was happening at the Vatican then a papal apology and a promise to visit Canada. The Popes offering of an olive branch is a symbol, proposing the floodwaters of trauma, pain, and violence caused by the church against Indigenous nations are beginning to recede, giving way to a new path. (Vatican Media / The Canadian Press) The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project. These were offerings, presentations, visions of paths forward. Opportunities for all in that room and their relations to take up, learn from and perhaps even one day travel. It is in these offerings no one can deny April 1, 2022, was a good day for survivors, Catholics and Canadians. The Catholic Church the same institution which once called Indigenous songs, stories and ceremonies devil-worshipping nonsense heard the drums and fiddles, languages and experiences of Indigenous peoples and didnt turn away. It was not a day of reconciliation; this comes from far more work than a couple of gestures. However, it was a good day. A day that said a lot. niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Maines potato growers had such a bumper crop this past season that they stepped in to help their big brothers out west who were short on spuds. In this photo provided Jay LaJoie, russet potatoes produced by Maine growers are packaged to be loaded on a rail car headed for Washington State, at a warehouse owned by LaJoie Growers LLC, in Van Buren, Maine, Jan. 17, 2022. Maine is shipping potatoes all the way to the West Coast over the winter of 2021-2022, thanks to a banner harvest in Maine and a drought for growers in the West. (Jay LaJoie via AP) PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Maines potato growers had such a bumper crop this past season that they stepped in to help their big brothers out west who were short on spuds. Farmers from Maine shipped potatoes by rail for the first time in four decades this winter thanks to a strong harvest in the state and heat and dry weather that stymied farmers in renowned potato-growing states like Idaho and Washington. The potatoes made their way more than 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) for processing, riding in climate-controlled rail cars. All told, 21 million pounds (9.5 million kilograms) of potatoes, virtually all from growers in northern Maine, flowed through a rail-connected warehouse owned by LaJoie Growers LLC. That equates to more than 530 truckloads of potatoes, said co-owner Jay LaJoie. Its a good chunk of potatoes, said Don Flannery, executive director of the Maine Potato Board. Most of the Maine potatoes went to processors in Washington state, where much of the french fries and other products are exported. The shipments to Idaho were seed potatoes, including Maines Caribou russet, thatll be planted this spring. Chris Voigt from the Washington State Potato Commission said processors were grateful for the potato shipments, but they're hopeful Maine growers' services aren't required in the future. The shipments came to an early end about two weeks ago, party because of economic disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine. But it was good while it lasted, helping out potato processors in western states while reducing an oversupply of Maine spuds. It also proved the value of rail lines for agriculture, especially during a shortage of trucks in the pandemic, LaJoie said. Theres no way growers could have sourced enough tractor-trailers to haul the potatoes, but there happened to be an available rail line that connects to a LaJoie-owned warehouse in Van Buren. The shortage of truck drivers has contributed to supply-chain problems during the pandemic. I dont see transportation getting better anytime soon, LaJoie said. While Maine is known for its famous lobsters, the state was indeed once the nations potato capital through World War II. Other states later stepped up production in the 1950s. Idaho and Washington State are currently Nos. 1 and 2 while Maine ranks ninth, according to the USDA. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The unusual shortage of potatoes out west is a result of weird summer weather. A heat wave with temperatures soaring above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) hit the Pacific Northwest in June, just as potatoes were starting to grow. The result was reduced yields, and lower quality, Voigt said. The plants sort of shut down, he said. The extreme heat reduced yields by nearly 10% for potato growers in Idaho and Washington, while Maine potato yields grew more than 30% thanks to good weather, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In northern Maine, the harvest was so big that growers scrambled to find storage. Some buildings at the former Loring Air Force Base were enlisted for a last-minute home for the abundant tubers. In the end, it proved to be a successful pilot program for rail delivery that could be used again if unusual weather patterns persist, LaJoie said. Plus Maine enjoyed getting some attention for its potato industry thanks to the irony of David rendering aid to the potato Goliaths. RM OF WOODLANDS The dog brought back a bone to the farm near the corner of roads 79 North and 11 West, having found it in a nearby ditch. RM OF WOODLANDS The dog brought back a bone to the farm near the corner of roads 79 North and 11 West, having found it in a nearby ditch. A few days later, the animal brought back more. Manitoba RCMP announced the discovery of human remains on Thursday. Police were originally called to the scene west of Highway 6 near Warren, 25 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday. On Friday, RCMP spokeswoman Tara Seel confirmed the remains were found by a dog that had dug them out of the melting snow. At the scene, forensics and major crimes units were working with a civilian anthropology team to comb through the sparsely populated areas snow-covered farm fields, patches of trees and ditches for any further remains. Sgt. Paul Manaigre said the bone the farm dog first brought home didnt initially arouse suspicion. "(However,) within a couple of days, some more items came back that alerted the owner there was a concern and they called the police," Manaigre told the Free Press. "The remains were located in the ditch here, just down the road from the property, not far away. So weve closed off the whole area." RCMP asked the farm family to stay elsewhere during the investigation, Manaigre said. The driveway to a house on the property was taped off, while an RCMP vehicle was parked nearby and the anthropology team clad in white jumpsuits, along with police in blaze orange, mingled on the gravel road. At a nearby house, where no one answered the door, an RCMP business card was wedged in an entrance to the garage. Police learned of the human remains in the ditch after a dog started bringing bones home. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press) The major crimes unit is handling the investigation, Manaigre said. There will be an autopsy to determine the cause of death; police have not yet determined the identity of the remains. Area residents the Free Press spoke to reported all hearing the same story: the dog had found a human head. Sahib, who lives nearby the intersection of Highway 6 and Road 79 North and declined to give his surname, said he heard about the discovery Friday. "Their dogs, the people who lived by that ditch, the dogs grabbed the head and took it to the owner," he said. "Ever since the ice has been melting, the snow the body wouldve been there a few months ago, then it started melting off thats what weve heard." At the North Warren Inn, not far from the police gathering, a trio clad in work clothes playing pool in the barroom said they had heard the same story about the dog, but not much else. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Rural Municipality of Woodlands Reeve Lori Schellekens said she had little information to provide about the discovery in the area, mostly used for grain and cattle farming, but hopes the family of whoever was found gets closure. Schellekens said she thinks people in the RM feel unnerved, but hopes they know the RCMP are working the case as best they can. "Its been sitting there in the snow all this time, nobody knew about it until it melted. You hope its not a local, either. You never know, somebody couldve been wandering (in a) storm," Schellekens said. "I think its traumatic for everybody the family of the deceased, the people that it was found around, people on the case." erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @erik_pindera ROME "With all my heart, I am very sorry." Those eight, simple words spoken by the leader of the Roman Catholic Church Friday delivered a historic and powerful measure of recognition of the pain and suffering generations of First Nations, Metis and Inuit people have endured from being subjected to the cultural, physical and sexual brutalities of Canadas church-run residential school system. Papal visit 2022: Full coverage from Rome A view of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. (Andrew Medichini / The Associated Press files) Posted: 10:39 AM Mar. 24, 2022 Coverage of the visit to the Vatican by First Nations, Metis and Inuit delegates for meetings with Pope Francis. Read Full Story Pope Francis issued the apology at the end of a week-long series of meetings at the Vatican with 32 Indigenous delegates from Canada that had been contemplated for years and delayed twice because of the pandemic. Planning took on greater urgency in the past year after the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves mostly of children on or near the sites of residential schools across the country, beginning last spring in Kamloops, B.C. "For the deplorable conduct of those members of the Catholic Church, I ask forgiveness of the Lord," Francis said. "And I want to tell you from my heart, that I am greatly pained. And I unite myself with the Canadian bishops in apologizing." The pope, who called the survivors stories of the identity, culture and spiritual indignities they suffered "chilling," said he hopes to visit Canada in the summer to apologize in person on Canadian soil. More than 150,000 Indigenous children in Canada were forced to attend state-funded Christian schools from the 19th century until the 1970s in an effort to isolate them from the influence of their homes and culture. The aim was to Christianize and assimilate them into mainstream society, which previous Canadian governments considered superior. Ottawa has admitted that physical and sexual abuse was rampant at the schools, with students beaten for speaking their native languages. That legacy of that abuse and isolation from family has been cited by Indigenous leaders as a root cause of the epidemic rates of alcohol and drug addiction in First Nations communities. After hearing their stories all week, Francis told the Indigenous groups he understood that the colonial project ripped children from their families, cutting off their roots, traditions and culture and provoking intergenerational trauma still being felt today. He said it was a "counter-witness" to the same Gospel that the residential school system purported to uphold. The long-awaited words marked a major first step on the journey of healing and reconciliation, members of the delegation said later. Pope Francis issued the apology at the end of a week-long series of meetings at the Vatican with 32 Indigenous delegates from Canada. (Vatican Media / The Canadian Press) Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed said there is much work to do, but he was touched by the way the Pope expressed his sorrow. "The truth of the residential schools, and the harms done, was reflected in the entirety of the Popes message," Obed told a news conference. Cassidy Caron, president of the Metis National Council, said the meetings were a recognition of her nation as a people. "We have struggled for recognition, but here we are today, being heard and feeling heard," she said, adding the pontiff is a man who seeks change. "I truly felt he translated the truths from his head to his heart." The pope, who called the survivors stories of the identity, culture and spiritual indignities they suffered "chilling," said he hopes to visit Canada in the summer to apologize in person on Canadian soil. (Vatican Media / The Canadian Press) Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Gerald Antoine said the Pope recognized the cultural genocide that had been inflicted on Indigenous peoples, a "historical first step, however only a first step." Antoine compared the week to when hunters see fresh animal prints. "The hunt is not over," he said. "We have a ways to go. Theres still lots of work to be done." He said he hopes Indigenous people are involved in planning the papal visit to ensure there are stops in locations that hold spiritual significance for Indigenous people. "I would be disappointed if, after a week like this, we are not included at the decision-making table," he said. Along with the prayers, the three delegations presented gifts to the Pope. (Vatican Media / The Canadian Press) Fridays meeting began with prayers from each of the First Nations, Metis and Inuit delegations in their own languages, including by elder Fred Kelly, a member of the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty No. 3, which extends from west of Thunder Bay to just east of Winnipeg. Along with the prayers, the three delegations presented gifts, including a beaded leather stole made by Therese Dettanikkeaze from Northlands Denesuline Nation in Manitoba, traditional handmade snowshoes, a book of stories from Metis survivors, a cross made of baleen from a bowhead whale and a sealskin pouch. The Pope offered a bronze olive branch, a symbol of peace and reconciliation, to the three delegations. And he returned a First Nations cradle that the delegation had left with him overnight as he pondered his apology. It went far beyond what Pope Benedict XVI had offered in 2009 when an Assembly of First Nations delegation visited. At the time, Benedict expressed only his "sorrow at the anguish caused by the deplorable conduct of some members of the church." But he did not apologize. Delegates listen at the final meeting with the Pope. The Argentine pope is no stranger to offering apologies for his own errors and for what he himself has termed the "crimes" of the institutional church. Most significantly, during a 2015 visit to Bolivia, he apologized for the sins, crimes and offenses committed by the church against Indigenous peoples during the colonial-era conquest of the Americas. Bishop Raymond Poisson, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, acknowledged the churchs troubled history in this country. "(It) is marked with stigma of mistakes and failures to love our neighbour, in particular towards members of those nations who have been present in Canada for centuries," Poisson said. Bishop William McGrattan said the church in Canada wants to continue to work towards reconciliation "in a spirit of accompaniment." McGrattan said the words from the weeks meetings need to be followed by action at the local level in every part of Canada. From left, Gerald Antoine, First Nations NWT Regional Chief, Natan Obed, President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami delegation, and Cassidy Caron, President of the Metis community, walk in St. Peters Square, at the Vatican, after their meeting with Pope Francis, Friday. (Alessandra Tarantino / The Associated Press) Metis elder Angie Crerar, a residential school survivor from Alberta, was asked to deliver a prayer a the end of the news conference. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "My heart is so full I can hardly speak," she said, and then related the conversation she had with the Pope earlier. "Dont forget our children. He said, I wont. "I could see that in his heart, in his whole body, he loves us and he cares for us," she said. "When he comes to Canada, we will welcome him." With files from the Associated Press faith@freepress.mb.ca John Longhurst is in Rome this week to cover the papal visit by Indigenous people for the Free Press. Raymond Mason, who spent decades fighting for churches to acknowledge the damage caused by residential schools, died less than two weeks before the Pope apologized. Raymond Mason, who spent decades fighting for churches to acknowledge the damage caused by residential schools, died less than two weeks before the Pope apologized. "My father wanted to hear the apology," Kyle Mason said after Pope Francis said the church was sorry for the harm done to generations of Indigenous Canadians, following a series of meetings this week with Indigenous leaders who had travelled to the Vatican. His dad died on March 20 at age 75. "An apology is only the first step but it is a good first step. The Pope now needs to come to Canada to offer an apology first-hand to survivors." Papal visit 2022 Papal visit 2022: Full coverage from Rome A view of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. (Andrew Medichini / The Associated Press files) Posted: 10:39 AM Mar. 24, 2022 Coverage of the visit to the Vatican by First Nations, Metis and Inuit delegates for meetings with Pope Francis. Read Full Story Kyle Mason, a reconciliation consultant, said the Roman Catholic Church must compensate survivors and fund healing programs, open up its records, and repeal the papal order that resulted in centuries of people taking land and culture away from Indigenous peoples. The Pope said he was "deeply grieved by the stories of the suffering, hardship, discrimination and various forms of abuse" Indigenous children had suffered while at the schools. Francis confirmed he will travel to Canada to apologize in person. Not everyone is pleased with the apology. Geraldine Lee Shingoose, a 64-year-old member of the Tootinaowaziibeeng Treaty Reserve who was put in the Muscowequan Residential School for nine years until 1971, said the papal apology "was not genuine or meaningful to me as a survivor. The apology does not take away the hurts, the pain, and the trauma we still carry today." Geraldine Lee Shingoose "The only words that resembled an apology is "I feel shame sorrow and shame." He spoke of the Catholic members who brought harm and their deplorable conduct. In essence, these very words took away the responsibility and accountability of the Catholic Church as an entity. "Todays apology is damage control so we will stop asking them to be accountable and responsible, specifically with the findings of childrens unmarked graves and the burial sites that were hidden and buried for years on the grounds of residential schools." Shingoose also said "the apology does not take away the hurts, the pain, and the trauma we still carry today. "Our bodies still carry those scars. I want Pope Francis to know we are still here and we will see him during his visit." Murray Sinclair, who was chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, called the apology an important moment." (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files) A papal apology was one of the 94 calls to action in the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Murray Sinclair, who was chairman of the commission, called the apology "an important moment. "It is long past time that the church will begin to take responsibility for its role in the residential school system I realize there are people out there who will always express dissatisfaction and anger about the lateness of the apology, but the reality is this apology is important." Sinclair pointed out the United Church of Canada was the first to issue an apology in 1986. "My grandmother was a strong Catholic," he said. "She would have been truly hurt by the churchs ongoing refusal to apologize and take responsibility for its actions. "She would have reason to be proud today." Indigenous organizations in Manitoba hailed news of the apology. Acting Grand Chief Eric Redhead, of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs called the apology a "historic moment." Acting Grand Chief Eric Redhead, of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, said in a statement the apology "is a historic moment, one filled with both sorrow and hope. "Today marks another step forward in the acknowledgement of the horrors of the past, but furthers the resilience of our First Nations citizens as they continue to heal and move forward with strength." Cindy Woodhouse, the Assembly of First Nations regional chief, said the papal apology "can now help to alleviate some of the ongoing suffering of residential school survivors, their descendants, and their Nations. Assembly of First Nations' regional chief Cindy Woodhouse. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files) "This apology is a road to healing for our people so I want to thank Phil Fontaine, the late Ted Fontaine, and all residential school survivors in Manitoba and across Canada for sharing their stories for the last several decades. "It is that work that helped make this day possible." Northern Grand Chief Garrison Settee said this is a day survivors have been waiting for. "This is a historical, overwhelming and even surprising event," Settee said. "Receiving an apology from Pope Francis is nothing short of miraculous. This apology opens the door for many people to truly begin the process of real healing." Southern Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said the apology is a first step in healing. "The ongoing legacy of colonization, inter-generational trauma, and the continued unsuccessful attempts to assimilate and eliminate First Nation peoples from Turtle Island have impacted generations of our people in profound ways," Daniels said. Southern Chiefs Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press file) "I am hopeful that we will see another apology from Pope Francis in our territory and I encourage the Catholic Church to work with us to develop a concrete plan for action to promote healing and justice for survivors, their families and communities." David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Metis Federation, said he is set to lead a Red River Metis delegation to Rome where they will meet the Pope on April 21. "I hope to convince him to come to Manitoba," Chartrand said. "I want him to visit Louis Riels gravesite. "Our job is to educate him why it is so important for him to come to the Metis homeland." Chartrand said the Metis here had petitioned the Catholic church to build churches and create parishes. Manitoba Metis Federation president David Chartrand. (Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press files) But Chartrand said that doesnt mean their children were exempt from trauma at the hands of the Catholic church. "There is no doubt the Metis people paid a price with what either Catholic priests or nuns did. First Nations people, no doubt, suffered the greatest of all, but the Metis did definitely pay a price." In a joint statement, Premier Heather Stefanson and Indigenous Reconciliation and Northern Relations Minister Alan Lagimodiere said the apology recognizes "the tragedies of the past. "However so much more work needs to be done. It is imperative that as a country we listen, learn and support the healing needed to address the inter-generational trauma caused by the residential school system." Stefanson and Lagimodiere also said the government is committed to working with residential school survivors and others to support the process of truth-telling and healing. kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca Want more great journalism? Get our best news and features delivered in your inbox every weekday evening. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. BRANDON An Easter bunny made an impact during an attempted theft at a Brandon store, police say. BRANDON An Easter bunny made an impact during an attempted theft at a Brandon store, police say. At approximately 4 p.m., city police responded to a report of a man stealing from a business on the 3400 block of Victoria Avenue. An alleged thief in Brandon hit an employee with a chocolate Easter bunny when confronted, police say. (Toby Talbot / The Associated Press files) An employee confronted the man, police said Friday, and the suspect responded by hitting the worker with a Mr. Solid brand chocolate bunny. The victim suffered minor injuries. Brandon police specified in a news release the incident was not an April Fools Day joke. "While the weapon of choice in this case may have been atypical of what a suspect would normally use, it does not change the fact that retail employees face a daily challenge when dealing with theft," police said. "Suspects who steal from businesses can often be unpredictable and violent towards employees and, in some cases, they may use whatever weapon is available to them at the time." The suspect fled. Officers arrested a man nearby carrying stolen merchandise. The man was charged with theft and assault. He is scheduled to appear in court June 2. Brandon Sun A retired teacher is warning Manitobans about a despicable sob story scam, after he was conned by two adults posing as desperate and penniless with two young children. A retired teacher is warning Manitobans about a "despicable" sob story scam, after he was conned by two adults posing as desperate and penniless with two young children. Winnipegger Gene Kirichenko, who lost $600 to the fraudsters, said he only believed the bogus tale spun by a man and a woman because children were with them. The children were instructed to say "thank you" to Kirichenko when he agreed to hand over money outside a Real Canadian Superstore in St. Vital. "Who would have ever predicted little kids would be used in that kind of scam? I never thought people would be that evil or sink that low," said Kirichenko, 71, who reported the incident to Winnipeg police. "If these two kids were not in the back seat, I would not have gone along with this. That set a tone of credibility." He suspects there are other victims of the fraud, which involves fake gold. A St. Vital jewelry store manager is aware of older Winnipeggers being targeted by the scam or others like it. Kirichenko was pushing a shopping cart toward the Superstore at St. Annes Road and Fermor Avenue when a blue vehicle pulled up next to him at about 11:30 a.m. on March 25. A man was driving, a woman was in the front passenger seat and two kids, who appeared to be about three to five years old, were in the back. Gene Kirichenko only believed the bogus tale spun by a man and a woman because children were with them. (Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press) The man lowered his window and praised Kirichenkos hat, which had "Ukraine" on the front of it. The pair introduced themselves using first names Kirichenko can only assume were fake. The man shook the Winnipeggers hand and made small talk before claiming he was in dire straits. He told Kirichenko the family had no money to travel back to Toronto because someone had stolen their cash and credit cards. The man begged Kirichenko for help, initially asking for $1,000. The man offered the chain around his neck and a ring he was wearing as collateral, and put them in the unsuspecting victims hands. When Kirichenko said hed like to help but collateral wasnt necessary, the man took off a second ring and gave it to him. The man promised to repay the money once the family returned home. "I would say he was an accomplished actor," said Kirichenko. "Everything was very smooth." The group portrayed itself as an immigrant family in need, which spurred Kirichenkos desire to help. He thought of the help his Ukrainian parents needed when they arrived in Canada from Europe in 1950 while escaping Soviet repatriation. Kirichenko, who was a year old back then, recently self-published a book called Mayas Memories about his mothers life under Soviet and Nazi rule. He offered to lend $600 to the couple, who thanked him repeatedly. The woman sat next to him in his car, as he drove to a credit union to withdraw cash. A man in a car begged Kirichenko for help and offered the chain around his neck and two rings he was wearing as collateral. (Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press) The man and children followed behind in the blue vehicle. Kirichenko said the vehicles licence plates were dirty, and he didnt think to take down the details. He gave his phone number to the man and woman, who told him they would repay the loan the following Monday March 28 and send someone to get the jewelry. Kirichenko started to suspect something wasnt right when he phoned a Toronto number the couple gave him, but no one answered his calls or returned his messages. "On one hand, Im really embarrassed. On the other hand, I was tricked, and I want the public to know about this scam," he said. Realizing it was a con, Kirichenko took the chain and rings to Visions of Gold, a St. Vital jeweller, to find out if they were real gold. He was told the jewelry was fake. A manager, who gave her name as Nicole, said "many" scam victims have sought appraisals of "worthless" chains and rings given to them by con artists in St. Vital parking lots. "Its always older people, elderly people," she said of the victims. "(The scammers) know who theyre targeting." Multiple victims have recounted stories of being approached by a man and woman with children, said Nicole. Kirichenko took the chain and rings to a jeweller to find out if they were real gold. He was told the jewelry was fake. (Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press) Some victims have reported being duped out of up to $1,000, she said. "Every couple of months someone comes in here to get (jewelry) checked," she said. "Its the exact same pieces. As soon as they pull it out, I know its not real. They all have a different tone. Its costume jewelry with a (carat) stamp on it." She described the scheme as "horrible and disgusting." "I feel so sad for the people this happens to," said Nicole. Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Jay Murray said fake gold scams have been around for years. Members of the financial crimes unit were not available Friday to confirm how many reports theyve received recently, he said. Police urge people to use caution if someone approaches them in a public place and asks for money or offers gold. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Kirichenko said a Superstore manager told him a woman holding a sign, which had a message seeking help, was asked to leave the parking lot the previous week. An employee followed the woman, and saw her get into a blue vehicle, which was occupied by a man and two small kids, Kirichenko said he was told. In an email, a spokesperson for Loblaw, which owns the Superstore chain, said the company, based in Brampton, Ont., is aware of the incident in which Kirichenko was targeted. "We havent received any other reports or complaints from customers related to this issue," the spokesperson said. chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @chriskitching HARDLY a week goes by when there is not a call for a public inquiry or a government announcement of an inquiry somewhere in the country. In Manitoba, the Opposition NDP has recently called for an inquiry into the tragic death of a woman scheduled to be transferred out of province during the pandemic. Opinion HARDLY a week goes by when there is not a call for a public inquiry or a government announcement of an inquiry somewhere in the country. In Manitoba, the Opposition NDP has recently called for an inquiry into the tragic death of a woman scheduled to be transferred out of province during the pandemic. The party has also promised, if it wins the next election, to launch an inquiry into the overall pandemic responses of the Progressive Conservative government. Meanwhile, over at Winnipeg city hall, Mayor Brian Bowman has been urging the PC government to launch an inquiry into the alleged secret deals and cost overruns involved with the construction of the police headquarters. The main argument here is that because inquiries involve advantages and disadvantages, they should be used selectively to investigate the causes of tragedies, scandals or policy failures that give rise to grave public concern. Launching an independent inquiry involves uncertainty and political risks because governments are sailing into uncharted waters without knowing the final destination. Faced with political pressure to investigate a major issue, governments must first decide what kind of investigation should occur. There are several options. The least risky response is to investigate issues internally, but there may not be appropriate policy capacity within government, and the public does not trust the government to evaluate itself. Another option is to have an all-party committee of the legislature conduct a study. Such committees, however, usually lack research capacity and often get bogged down in partisanship. This is why certain issues are instead sent to independent parliamentary officers, such as the auditor general or the ombudsman, who are presumed to combine expertise and impartiality in their investigations. There are, however, budget and staffing limits within those offices that constrain the number and depth of their investigations. Under the Fatality Inquiries Act, the chief medical examiner may direct that an inquest be held into a death. Inquests are presided over by a judge of the provincial court of Manitoba. Inquest reports identify causes of death and provide recommendations for changes to policies and practices of government. However, most inquests are relatively narrow in their scope. For several reasons, the gold standard of investigations are often said to be inquiries. The media uses terms such as public inquiry, judicial inquiry and royal commission interchangeably to describe such investigations, ignoring the subtle differences among them. Royal commissions are not necessarily led by a judge, typically focus on policy issues, conduct public hearings and issue more reports than judicial inquiries. Four principal questions are meant to be asked by an inquiry: what happened, why, who was responsible, and what can be done to prevent a recurrence? While inquiries seek to identify causation and pinpoint responsibility for actions and inactions, they cannot establish criminal or civil liability for wrongdoing. Those matters are left to the courts to decide. The main advantage of an inquiry is its independence. Governments decide whether to launch an inquiry, set the terms of reference, select the chair (or members of a commission), and pay for its costs. However, for credibility reasons, inquiries are granted wide investigative powers, including powers to summon witnesses and to compel the production of documents. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Without such coercive powers, inquiries would have to count on individuals and institutions to volunteer information they would prefer to keep secret. With appropriate time and resources, inquiries can produce constructive, thorough analyses, and credible recommendations. The use of public hearings and ongoing publicity associated with inquiries contributes to accountability. There is no legal requirement for governments to accept recommendations, but there is pressure to do so. Even in the absence of implementation, there can be educational value in the reports of inquiries. The disadvantages of inquiries begin with the fact governments decide unilaterally whether they will be held. Creation of an inquiry may be a delay tactic intended to relieve political pressure on a government. Terms of reference might be written narrowly to exclude politically sensitive matters. Broad terms of reference can lead to drift, expansion, and delay in the completion of the mandate of the inquiry. More than a few inquiries have arrived late and over budget with reports that provided answers to yesterdays problems. Inquiries can be damaging to the reputations and careers of witnesses called before them. They do not offer full due-process protection of court proceedings. Finding the appropriate balance between an effective and thorough investigation to disclose information that serves the public interest while still respecting the right of individuals to fair treatment depends on the leadership judgment of the chair and the creation of certain procedural safeguards. Inquiries will remain popular and controversial because they complement and supplement other accountability mechanisms. They have a valuable place in the governing process as a device to investigate only the most serious issues. A post-pandemic inquiry is clearly justified. Paul G. Thomas is professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba. CITY council was criticized this week for opening its meetings with a time of prayer. Lets hope councillors dont bow to pressure and end the tradition. Winnipeg needs more prayer, not less. Opinion CITY council was criticized this week for opening its meetings with a time of prayer. Lets hope councillors dont bow to pressure and end the tradition. Winnipeg needs more prayer, not less. A report by the British Columbia Humanist Association said Winnipeg council is violating the states duty of neutrality and the rights of the non-religious who might attend. Judging by the criticism, it seems likely none of the B.C. humanists actually attended a Winnipeg council session before slagging it. Council has a definition of prayer that is commendably elastic. The responsibility for councils prayerful opening rotates among councillors. Some pray through the lens of their personal faith, but others offer secular meditations, poetry, inspirational thoughts or song. According to Mayor Brian Bowman, It is a moment of unity for council before sometimes we get into very divisive discussions and debates. The mayor is right when he says a contemplative moment can be a valuable prelude for divisive discussions. And its not just city council that can benefit from joining in inspiration of a higher nature. Manitoba is currently struggling with a province-wide polarization on several issues that could benefit from a prayerful attitude. Heated disagreements about COVID-19 restrictions, masks, vaccinations and the pandemic performance of the PC government have caused bitter rifts. A Free Press/Probe Research survey released this week showed almost nine in 10 Manitobans believe these public fractures will be long-lasting. Its sad to see such rancor, but perhaps healing can be helped if more Manitobans pray about it, whatever form that takes for them as individuals. The worlds major religions prescribe different styles of prayer, but all agree that as shown by thousands of years of experience prayer changes the person who is praying. When Muslims offer their required five prayers daily, when Jewish people begin their weekly Shabatt with prayers of peace, when Indigenous males visit remote areas to pray in vision quests, when Christians attempt the counterintuitive admonition to pray for their enemies, the practice renews the minds and hearts of the people who are praying. A disciplined prayer life can act like a remedy for anger and aggression. Rewards can include feelings of peace and tolerance for ones neighbours, qualities that could help Manitobans bridge the acrimonious divides that have developed. Are the positive results of prayer an intervention by a metaphysical God in ways that surpass understanding? Or, as atheists suggest, is it a type of self-therapy in which we gain comfort from letting go of our worries and entrusting our lives to a supreme being that is imaginary? Such questions are explored deeply through the theologies of different faiths, all of which include some form of prayer. And when people learn from first-hand experience how prayer bolsters them, theyre inclined to pray often, especially before important matters. An example was the widely misunderstood reaction to Manitoba Health Minister Audrey Gordon last November when she was asked about a lengthy medical backlog. She said: My thoughts and prayers are with you and any family member or friend or relative you have that is experiencing their surgery being postponed. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. She was publicly criticized, even mocked, for saying she was praying for people who are suffering. A typical reaction was: We dont want her prayers, we want her to fix the backlog! I presume Gordon didnt intend to suggest prayer as a substitute for action. She didnt mean she was leaving it up to God to fix the backlog. Personally, I was happy to hear she was praying for backlogged patients, and I hope she still is. Her prayers can increase her compassion toward people who need better health care, which we hope will inspire her to discharge her duties with more success than she has achieved so far. If were looking for optimism that rifts can be healed, the reopening of faith institutions in recent weeks offers hope. Finally, faith families can meet fully in person and resume their sacred rituals, including communal prayer. Praying together will equip them with calmness and peace that they can carry away from their places of worship and spread throughout the greater community, making them more inclined to view other people with softer hearts and kinder intentions. Its what Manitoba needs now. carl.degurse@freepress.mb.ca Carl DeGurse is a member of the Free Press editorial board. Emergency room wait times at Manitobas largest hospital have hit double digits for the first time since health authorities began publishing the monthly statistics. Opinion Emergency room wait times at Manitobas largest hospital have hit double digits for the first time since health authorities began publishing the monthly statistics. At Health Sciences Centre, the longest wait times for nine out of 10 patients seeking medical care hit 10 hours for the month of February the highest since 2017, when the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority started posting such ER data. Thats up from 6.62 hours in January. At St. Boniface Hospital, the February time was 7.63 hours, up from 7.55 in January. Its further evidence that as hospital staff hundreds of whom were redeployed during the pandemic to treat COVID-19 patients return to their regular jobs in areas such as surgery, medical wards are struggling more than ever to keep up with the influx of admitted patients. The bulk of ER overcrowding occurs when demand for medical beds outstrips supply. When hospitals cant accommodate the number of newly admitted patients, the system backs up in ERs. Admitted patients those sick or injured enough to require a hospital bed often wait days in gurneys for space to open up on medical wards. The more admitted patients there are piled up in emergency wards, the longer it takes for busy ER doctors and nurses to see new patients. Its an age-old problem but its one that has worsened after the province consolidated acute care hospitals in Winnipeg between 2017 and 2019, including closing three ERs. The longest wait time at all Winnipeg ERs and urgent care centres in February for nine out of 10 patients (called the 90th percentile wait time) was 6.87 hours up from 6.62 hours in January. Wait times are far longer than they were prior to consolidation. In October 2017, when the first phase of the hospital reform plan was implemented, that number was 3.9 hours. The wait times measure how long it takes for a patient to see a doctor or nurse practitioner after registering at the triage desk. The median wait time for all ERs and urgent care centres in Winnipeg was 2.18 hours in February. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files) The median wait time for all ERs and urgent care centres in Winnipeg was 2.18 hours in February. In October 2017, it was 1.35. Its not surprising a recent Probe Research poll found two-thirds of Manitobans believe hospitals are in worse shape since the Progressive Conservative government consolidated acute care services from six hospitals to three. The promise of faster care and "the right care at the right time" promised under the consolidation plan has not worked. Patient flow through hospitals has not improved. The most important gauge of that is the health of emergency departments, which become overflow stations for admitted patients when medical wards are full. Thats what hallway medicine is and its getting worse. Its probably why the WRHA and the province no longer provide the public with regular updates on the progress of consolidation, as they did during the early years of implementation. The news isnt good. Emergency department overcrowding is not caused by low-acuity patients showing up at ERs when they could be treated elsewhere (like walk-in clinics). Thats a myth. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Study after study across Canada have shown long ER wait times are caused primarily by a lack of availability of hospital beds on medical wards. When hospitals are overcrowded, ERs are overcrowded. Most hospitals in Winnipeg operate with little to no surge capacity and cant handle large influxes of new patients, even when surgical and other beds are used temporarily to accommodate medical patients. Its an inflexible, under-staffed and poorly resourced system. The bad news is the situation could get worse if COVID-19 hospitalizations increase again, as they have in recent weeks in other provinces. Health officials in Manitoba have said they expect a rise in infections and hospitalizations after all public health measures, including mask use, were lifted March 15. Now that Health Minister Audrey Gordon has approved a near-complete blackout of pandemic information, including the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital, the only way the public may be able to gauge whether conditions worsen again is through ER wait times. Its one of the few metrics left still made public. tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca "Sorrow and shame." The acknowledgment of these sentiments, expressed on behalf of the Catholic church on Friday by Pope Francis in front of First Nations, Inuit and Metis delegations that had travelled to Vatican City seeking an apology for the churchs role in Canadas residential school system, is a long-overdue next step in a process that has been far too slow to advance. After a week of meetings with the delegations, the Pope offered a detailed apology that characterized as "deplorable" the conduct of some members of the church who worked in residential schools in Canada. "It is chilling to think of determined efforts to instil a sense of inferiority," the pontiff said, "to rob people of their cultural identity, to sever their roots, and to consider all the personal and social effects that this continues to entail: unresolved traumas that have become intergenerational traumas. "I feel shame sorrow and shame for the role that a number of Catholics, particularly those with educational responsibilities, have had in all these things that wounded you, in the abuses you suffered and in the lack of respect shown for your identity, your culture and even your spiritual values." Its a historical first step. However, only a first step. Gerald Antoine, Dene National Chief Pope Francis also repeated a promise made last year that he will travel abroad in the near future to reiterate the apology on Canadian soil ("I wont come in the winter!", he added, in the addresss sole moment of levity). "Today is a day that weve been waiting for and certainly one that will be uplifted in our history," said Dene National Chief Gerald Antoine. "Its a historical first step. However, only a first step." More than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Metis children were forced to attend the schools between the 1880s and mid-1990s in a government-initiated effort to extinguish their culture and language. According to the Truth and Reconcilation Commission of Canadas final report, more than 4,000 children died while in residential-school custody a toll described as part of a "cultural genocide." The First Nations delegation meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican. (The Canadian Press/HO-Vatican Media) While the magnitude of Fridays statement cannot be overstated, it must also be considered in the broader context of what has been done and what remains to be done in pursuit of reconciliation between First Nations, Inuit and Metis populations and the Catholic church, which was instrumental in Canadas colonization and responsible for running more than 60 per cent of Canadas residential schools. The church has not yet responded to requests for the return of stolen artifacts and sacred objects that remain in the possession of the Vatican; nor has it revoked the centuries-old papal decrees that were used as justification for land and property seizures by colonizing forces. Formal reparations have not been offered, nor has the church been sufficiently active in the ongoing searches for unmarked graves on the grounds of former residential schools. Reconciliation did not start today with the Popes words of apology...and it certainly doesnt end here, either. Cassidy Caron, president of the Metis National Council As has been noted by numerous scholars, religious and otherwise, saying "Im sorry" is only one element of an effective apology. The words must be followed by actions that indicate a determined willingness to make restitution, and an acknowledgment that the full weight of the apology will likely not be enough to reverse the damage that has been done. Or, to put it in terms more familiar to the Catholic church, confession is necessarily followed by penance. And in the case of Canadas residential-school trauma, whats required is much more than a deftly delivered "Im sorry" or any number of contrite Hail Marys. The road ahead remains long. "Reconciliation did not start today with the Popes words of apology," said Cassidy Caron, president of the Metis National Council. "And it certainly doesnt end here, either." CAIRO (AP) The Muslim holy month of Ramadan when the faithful fast from dawn to dusk began at sunrise Saturday in much of the Middle East, where Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sent energy and food prices soaring. FILE - Indonesian Muslims pray spaced apart as they practice social distancing to curb the spread of the new coronavirus during an evening prayer called "tarawih" marking the first eve of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia. on April 12, 2021. Millions of Indonesian Muslims were divided over the start of Ramadan this year, with the government declaring it would begin Sunday, April 3, 2022, while the country's second-largest Islamic group said it would begin Saturday, April 2.(AP Photo/ Achmad Ibrahim, File) CAIRO (AP) The Muslim holy month of Ramadan when the faithful fast from dawn to dusk began at sunrise Saturday in much of the Middle East, where Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sent energy and food prices soaring. The conflict cast a pall over Ramadan, when large gatherings over meals and family celebrations are a tradition. Many in the Southeast Asian nation of Indonesia planned to start observing Sunday, and some Shiites in Lebanon, Iran and Iraq were also marking the start of Ramadan a day later. Muslims follow a lunar calendar and a moon-sighting methodology can lead to different countries declaring the start of Ramadan a day or two apart. Muslim-majority nations including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates had declared the month would begin Saturday morning. A Saudi statement Friday was broadcast on the kingdoms state-run Saudi TV and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates, congratulated Muslims on Ramadan's arrival. Muslim worshippers perform a night prayer called 'tarawih' during the eve of the first day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Turkey at Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, April 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) Jordan, a predominantly Sunni country, also said the first day of Ramadan would be on Sunday, in a break from following Saudi Arabia. The kingdom said the Islamic religious authority was unable to spot the crescent moon indicating the beginning of the month. Indonesias second-largest Islamic group, Muhammadiyah, which counts more than 60 million members, said that according to its astronomical calculations Ramadan begins Saturday. But the country's religious affairs minister had announced Friday that Ramadan would start on Sunday, after Islamic astronomers in the country failed to sight the new moon. It wasn't the first time the Muhammadiyah has offered a differing opinion on the matter, but most Indonesians Muslims comprise nearly 90% of the countrys 270 million people are expected to follow the governments official date. Many had hoped for a more cheerful Ramadan after the coronavirus pandemic blocked the worlds 2 billion Muslims from many rituals the past two years. With Russias invasion of Ukraine, however, millions of people in the Middle East are now wondering where their next meals will come from. The skyrocketing prices are affecting people whose lives were already upended by conflict, displacement and poverty from Lebanon, Iraq and Syria to Sudan and Yemen. Ukraine and Russia account for a third of global wheat and barley exports, which Middle East countries rely on to feed millions of people who subsist on subsidized bread and bargain noodles. They are also top exporters of other grains and sunflower seed oil used for cooking. Muslim worshippers perform a night prayer called 'tarawih' during the eve of the first day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Turkey at Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, April 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) Egypt, the worlds largest wheat importer, has received most of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine in recent years. Its currency has now also taken a dive, adding to other pressures driving up prices. Shoppers in the capital Cairo turned out earlier this week to stock up on groceries and festive decorations, but many had to buy less than last year because of the soaring prices. Ramadan tradition calls for colorful lanterns and lights strung throughout Cairo's narrow alleys and around mosques. Some people with the means to do so set up tables on the streets to dish up free post-fast Iftar meals for the poor. The practice is known in the Islamic world as Tables of the Compassionate. This could help in this situation, said Rabei Hassan, the muezzin of a mosque in Giza as he bought vegetables and other food from a nearby market. People are tired of the prices. Worshippers attended mosque for hours of evening prayers, or tarawih. On Friday evening, thousands of people packed the al-Azhar mosque after attendance was banned for the past two years to stem the pandemic. They were difficult (times) ... Ramadan without tarawih at the mosque is not Ramadan, said Saeed Abdel-Rahman, a 64-year-old retired teacher as he entered al-Azhar for prayers. Muslims gather for a free public Iftar meal during the first day of Ramadan at sheikh Abdul qader Gilani mosque in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, April 2, 2022. Muslims throughout the world are marking the Ramadan -- a month of fasting during which observants abstain from food, drink and other pleasures from sunrise to sunset. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) Soaring prices also exacerbated the woes of Lebanese already facing a major economic crisis. Over the past two years, the currency collapsed and the countrys middle class was plunged into poverty. The meltdown has also brought on severe shortages in electricity, fuel and medicine. In the Gaza Strip, few people were shopping Friday in markets usually packed at this time of year. Merchants said Russias war on Ukraine has sent prices skyrocketing, alongside the usual challenges, putting a damper on the festive atmosphere that Ramadan usually creates. The living conditions of the 2.3 million Palestinians in the impoverished coastal territory are tough, compounded by a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade since 2007. Toward the end of Ramadan last year, a deadly 11-day war between Gazas Hamas rulers and Israel cast a cloud over festivities, including the Eid al-Fitr holiday that follows the holy month. It was the fourth bruising war with Israel in just over a decade. In Iraq, the start of Ramadan highlighted widespread frustration over a meteoric rise in food prices, exacerbated in the past month by the war in Ukraine. Suhaila Assam, a 62-year-old retired teacher and womens rights activist, said she and her retired husband are struggling to survive on their combined pension of $1,000 a month, with prices of cooking oil, flour and other essentials having more than doubled. We, as Iraqis, use cooking oil and flour a lot. Almost in every meal. So how can a family of five members survive? she asked. Akeel Sabah, 38, is a flour distributor in the Jamila wholesale market, which supplies all of Baghdads Rasafa district on the eastern side of the Tigris River with food. He said flour and almost all other foodstuffs are imported, which means distributors have to pay for them in dollars. A ton of flour used to cost $390. Today I bought the ton for $625, he said. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The currency devaluation a year ago already led to an increase in prices, but with the ongoing (Ukraine) crisis, prices are skyrocketing. Distributors lost millions, he said. In Istanbul, Muslims held the first Ramadan prayers in 88 years in the Hagia Sophia, nearly two years after the iconic former cathedral was converted into a mosque. Worshippers filled the 6th-century building and the square outside Friday night for tarawih prayers led by Ali Erbas, the government head of religious affairs. Although converted for Islamic use and renamed the Grand Hagia Sophia Mosque in July 2020, COVID-19 restrictions had limited worship at the site. After 88 years of separation, the Hagia Sophia Mosque has regained the tarawih prayer, Erbas said, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. ___ Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia; Andrew Wilks in Istanbul; and Abdulrahman Zeyad in Baghdad contributed to this report. VALLETTA, Malta (AP) Pope Francis said Saturday he was considering a possible visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and blasted the leader who launched a savage war, delivering his most pointed denunciation yet of Russias invasion of Ukraine. FILE- Pope Francis presides over a special prayer in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Friday, March 25, 2022. Pope Francis heads to Malta on April 2, 2022 with the refugee exodus from Ukraine casting a haunting backdrop to a migration drama that for years has focused on Malta and the plight of desperate people who arrive there seeking shelter in Europe. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File) VALLETTA, Malta (AP) Pope Francis said Saturday he was considering a possible visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and blasted the leader who launched a savage war, delivering his most pointed denunciation yet of Russias invasion of Ukraine. In his remarks in Malta, Francis didnt cite President Vladimir Putin by name, but the reference was clear when he said some potentate had unleashed the threat of nuclear war on the world in an infantile and destructive aggression. We had thought that invasions of other countries, savage street fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past, Francis told Maltese officials on the Mediterranean island nation at the start of a weekend visit. Francis has to date avoided referring to Russia or Putin by name, in keeping with the Vatican's tradition of not calling out aggressors to keep open options for dialogue. But Saturdays criticism of the powerful figure responsible for the war marked a new level of outrage for the pope. Once again, some potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interest, is provoking and fomenting conflicts, whereas ordinary people sense the need to build a future that will either be shared or not be at all, he said. FILE - People take part in a demonstration against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, March 13, 2022. Pope Francis heads to Malta on April 2, 2022 with the refugee exodus from Ukraine casting a haunting backdrop to a migration drama that for years has focused on Malta and the plight of desperate people who arrive there seeking shelter in Europe (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP, FIle) Francis told reporters en route to Malta that a possible visit to Kyiv was on the table, but no dates have been set or trip confirmed. The mayor of the Ukrainian capital had invited Francis on March 8 to come as a messenger of peace along with other religious figures, but has recently warned even healthy city residents who fled that the city is still endangered by Russian hostilities. Francis also said the war had pained his heart so much that he sometimes forgets about the pain in his knees. Francis has been suffering for months from a strained ligament in his right knee. The inflammation got so bad that the Vatican arranged for a tarmac elevator to get him on and off the plane for Saturdays flight to Malta, and his limp was more pronounced Saturday. The Malta visit, originally scheduled for May 2020, was always supposed to focus on migration, given Maltas role at the heart of Europes migration debate. The issue took on more import with the forced exodus of over 4 million Ukrainian refugees. Francis focused his remarks on the perilous Mediterranean migration route and Europe's flawed migration policies in welcoming people fleeing war, poverty and conflict. Flight assistants look at Pope Francis, partially visible, inside the ITA Airways A320 aircraft that he boarded from a side door using an elevator at Rome's International airport in Fiumicino, Saturday, April 2, 2022. The Pope is on his way to a two-day pastoral visit to Malta. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Speaking with Maltas president by his side, Francis denounced the sordid agreements the European Union has made with Libya to turn back migrants and said Europe must show humanity in welcoming them. He called for the Mediterranean to be a theater of solidarity, not the harbinger of a tragic shipwreck of civilization. Francis was referring to the EU's program to train Libyas coast guard, which patrols the North African countrys coast for migrant smuggling and brings the would-be refugees back to shore. The program was strongly backed by Italy and other front-line Mediterranean countries to try to stem the flow of hundreds of thousands of desperate migrants each year. But human rights groups have condemned the EU-funded program as a violation of the migrants rights and documented gross abuses in the Libyan detention camps. Just this week, German said its military would no longer provide training to the Libyan coast guard given its unacceptable, and in some cases illegal, treatment of migrants. Pope Francis, left, is received by Malta's President George Vella, upon his arrival at Malta International airport in Luqa, Saturday, April 2, 2022. Pope Francis headed to the Mediterranean island nation of Malta on Saturday for a pandemic-delayed weekend visit, aiming to draw attention to Europe's migration challenge that has only become more stark with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Francis has condemned the Libyan detention facilities as concentration camps, but he went further Saturday to shame the EU for its complicity in the abuses there. Civilized countries cannot approve for their own interest sordid agreements with criminals who enslave other human beings, he said. Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Malta, the European Unions smallest country with a half-million people, has long been on the front lines of the flow of migrants and refugees across the Mediterranean and often has come under fire for refusing to let rescue ships dock. Just this week a German aid group sought port for 106 migrants rescued at sea and, by Saturday, the ship was heading to Sicily instead. Pope Francis arrives at Malta International airport in Luqa, Saturday, April 2, 2022. Pope Francis headed to the Mediterranean island nation of Malta on Saturday for a pandemic-delayed weekend visit, aiming to draw attention to Europe's migration challenge that has only become more stark with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Malta has frequently called upon its bigger European neighbors to shoulder more of the burden receiving would-be refugees. Francis has frequently echoed that call, and linked it on Saturday to the welcome the Maltese once gave the Apostle Paul, who according to the biblical account was shipwrecked off Malta around A.D. 60 while en route to Rome and was shown unusual kindness by the islanders. Later Saturday, Francis travelled by catamaran ferry to the island of Gozo, making his own the Mediterranean seafaring tradition to celebrate a prayer meeting at Maltas national shrine. Flanked by two Maltese churchmen who are key aides at the Vatican, Francis sat on a white chair on deck for the hour-long trip and was welcomed by thundering canons as the ship came in Gozos port. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. VALPARAISO A decision last summer to pull out of a proposed plea agreement that called for no more than eight years behind bars in a child molesting case failed in a big way Thursday for a 46-year-old Griffith man, who was sentenced to 155 years behind bars. Jason Gibbs was sentenced to what amounts to a life sentence by Porter Superior Court Judge Mike Fish three weeks after a jury found Gibbs guilty on nine counts of repeatedly molesting two young girls. Defense attorney Mark Chargualaf declined comment on the sentence, but said Gibbs is appealing. In the case, which had been pending for nearly six years, Gibbs was accused of sexually abusing two 14-year-old girls in what police said was a repeated pattern of abuse. He also was accused of trying to bribe one girl to stay quiet. Gibbs denied the allegations when questioned by police, according to records. When informed a voice stress test showed deception, he reportedly came up with an alternative explanation for one incident. Gibbs terminated the interview and promised to return the next day, but he did not return, police said. He later was arrested and charged. Gibbs reportedly did not make a statement Thursday on his behalf during sentencing. "Needless to say we are very pleased with the outcome of Jason Gibbs, especially the adequacy of the sentence imposed," Porter County Prosecutor Gary Germann said when contacted for comment. "The prosecution of a child molesting case is extremely difficult, but in this case the success was the direct result of the full and complete investigation by members of the PCSD (Porter County Sheriff's Department)," he said. Germann further lauded the efforts of deputy prosecutors Rebecca Buitendorp and John Holmen. Gibbs had pleaded guilty last April to two of the counts and faced up to four years behind bars on each count and a requirement to register as a sex offender, according to court documents. But before his sentencing hearing in June before Fish, Gibbs recanted his guilty plea, and the judge rejected the proposal. Gibbs then requested his case go to trial. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Tongren is famous for the local Regong thangka. It is part of the Regong arts that were inscribed on the UNESCO intangible heritage cultural list in 2009. [Xinhua] Along the G316 highway in Tongren City in Northwest China's Qinghai Province, dozens of thangka art academies dot a section of road several kilometers in length. Nearby villages boast painters of the thousand-year-old art. "Everyone in my family except me is a thangka painter," said 33-year-old Kanzhoiji from Wutunxiazhuang Village in Tongren. Thangka paintings are Tibetan Buddhist scroll paintings on cotton or silk with mineral and organic pigments derived from coral, agate, sapphire, pearl, gold, and other sources so that the color lasts for centuries. The paintings date back to the 10th century and typically depict Buddhist deities. Tongren is famous for the local Regong thangka. It is part of the Regong arts that were inscribed on the UNESCO intangible heritage cultural list in 2009. Fifteen years ago, less than 5,000 people were engaged in Regong thangka-related businesses, local statistics showed. Today, nearly 10,000 people in Tongren, or one-ninth of the city's population, work in various trades of Regong arts. Thangka, once a form of religious painting, has now become a popular choice for home decoration and even collection. "Some thangka paintings with traditional Chinese elements are very popular among our customers," said Gesang Gyaco, a local salesman, adding that one horse-themed piece has become a hit among customers in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The artwork features a white horse head surrounded by orange clouds against a blue lake background and other Tibetan cultural motifs. It costs 1,900 yuan (about $298) and Gesang Gyaco sold 600 pieces last year. Tongren has seen an increase in thangka sales and practitioners as a result of various local thangka art academies and industrial parks that have sprung up in recent years. Lanka, founder of a Regong ethnic cultural center, said over the past five years, the center has cultivated over 800 students, whose artworks have been sold to many European countries. "Thangka paintings are very popular in France. We have cooperated with an art center in Aulnay to exhibit and sell our products regularly," said Lanka, adding that one of the artworks was sold for more than 3 million yuan. The high value of thangka paintings has attracted more local farmers and herders to join the trade, said Qiao Delin, director of a committee for preserving Regong arts in Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, which administers Tongren. In the past three years, the prefecture has built 76 centers for teaching the thangka craft, Qiao added. Zhu Maoji, 25, from Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Northwest China's Gansu Province, has been studying in a local center for over five years. "It takes patience and determination to paint thangka," Zhu said, adding that she has been working on a painting with three of her fellow students for more than one year. Radan Gyanco, a 26-year-old teacher at the center, started to learn the craft at the age of 11. Since 2013, he has taught over 100 students. "I want more people to know about the art," Radan Gyanco said. (Source: Xinhua) If you happen to visit Kaili (a city in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, in Southwest China's Guizhou Province), you will no doubt be impressed by the Miaos' splendid costumes and adornments throughout the ages on exhibit in the museum established by Ou Donghua. Ou, a resident of the prefecture, is a Guizhou provincial master of arts and crafts, and an inheritor of the Miaos' embroidery. The museum, which occupies more than 2,100 square meters, has the largest collection (more than 10,000 items) of the Miaos' crafts, including embroideries, silver ornaments and batik items. Ou was born in 1969 into a rural family in Shibing, a county in the prefecture. She began learning how to make embroideries, from her mother and grandmother, when she was 7 years old. In 1988, she married a resident of Shidong, a town in Taijiang, another county in the prefecture. Shidong is renowned for the Miaos' gaily colored costumes. During the following several years, Ou learned different types of embroidering skills from craftswomen in Shidong. Given her superb workmanship, her embroideries have earned her prizes during many national and international arts and crafts competitions. China's tourism industry thrived during the early 1980s, a few years after the country implemented its policy of reform and opening-up (in 1978). As the Miaos' crafts won the favor of many tourists, from around the world, Ou traveled to various cities (including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Kunming), in China, to sell the Miaos' embroideries. To collect the precious folk treasures, she raised money to buy traditional crafts from Miao and Dong residents in Guizhou. During the past 25 years, Ou has traveled to remote mountainous areas to collect the Miaos' traditional embroidered costumes. "Sometimes, it took me more than seven hours to walk along treacherous mountain paths to get to a village," recalls Ou. "I visited a Miao family in Kaitang (a town in Kaili) more than 20 times, to persuade the family to sell their embroidered dress to me." She basked in the feeling of achievement each time she obtained a "treasure." She was delighted, through her efforts, that she had achieved something meaningful helping more people better understand the unique charm of the Miaos' embroideries. To promote the Miaos' traditional crafts, Ou in 2013 used her own money to establish a museum (in Kaili), in which she displayed Miaos' various crafts (which she collected during the past two decades). Around the same time, she set up a studio, in which workers could create Miao embroideries and silver ornaments. Ou hopes the museum will help preserve the Miaos' cultural heritage, and also help future generations better understand the Miaos' traditional costumes and adornments. She also hopes young people will innovate the technical skills used to make the embroideries, and also develop new embroidered products. The Miaos' 100-bird dress is the most-treasured item in the museum. If you take time to observe the various embroidered patterns (including flowers, birds, fish and insects) on the dress, you will surely be impressed by the ingenious designs, and especially by the superb workmanship. Ou paid nearly 40,000 yuan (US $6,154) for the 300 -year-old dress, which she purchased from a resident of Danzhai, a county in Guizhou Province. Every year, the museum accommodates more than 100,000 visitors from around the world. "I hope, through our exhibits, later generations will get a glimpse of the Miaos' splendid cultural heritage, so we will not sell any item (displayed in our museum), even if someone offers a high price for it," says Ou. In September 2014, Ou took 77 of the Miaos' embroidered costumes to Paris, to display during the 2014 China Miao Embroidery Public Welfare Exhibition. Many of the exquisite costumes captured the hearts of art enthusiasts, from around the world. The exhibition, hosted by the French fashion magazine, Marie Claire, and China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (CSCLF), was one of China's important activities to mark the 50th anniversary of Sino-French diplomatic relations. In 2016, Ou established an embroiderers' cooperative, in Changtan (a village in Taijiang), to help impoverished women improve their embroidering skills. Given the sound development of the cooperative, jobs were created for more than 420 women. To promote the development of the Miaos' traditional costumes and adornments, Ou in 2017 established Ou Donghua Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum in Xinpu, a district in Zunyi, a city in Guizhou. Ou recently told media she plans to lead her employees in making greater contributions to the promotion of both the Miaos' embroideries and rural vitalization. Photos Supplied by Long Yongming (Women of China English Monthly February 2022 issue) BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, exchanged on Saturday congratulatory messages to celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In his message, Xi pointed out that China and Azerbaijan are partners of traditional friendly cooperation. Over the past 30 years, Xi noted, China-Azerbaijan relations have maintained a sound and steady momentum of development, saying that their political mutual trust has been deepening, cooperation in various fields is moving forward with substantial progress, and their collaboration in global and regional affairs is growing increasingly close. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi said, the two nations have stood together and helped each other, a demonstration of their traditional friendship. Xi stressed that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Azerbaijan relations, saying that he is ready to work with President Aliyev to take the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to push for more accomplishments in bilateral ties and in cooperation in various areas for the benefit of both countries and their people. In his message, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan-China relations have continued to develop on the basis of mutual trust. The two sides have carried out high-level mutually beneficial cooperation in politics, economy and trade and other areas, and multilateral cooperation has also achieved fruitful results. He also said that the Azerbaijani side supports the Belt and Road Initiative, adding he believes that the traditional friendly Azerbaijan-China relations will continue to deepen and benefit the people in both countries. (Source: Xinhua) U.S. biolabs in Ukraine raise worldwide concerns: S. African youth leader Xinhua) 10:03, April 02, 2022 JOHANNESBURG, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The world should "be very concerned about U.S. biolabs in Ukraine," Buyile Matiwane, deputy-president of the South African Students Congress, has said. "It is nothing short of astonishing that there wasn't a widespread outcry around the discovery of biolabs in Ukraine," he said in an opinion piece published on March 26 by the South African news website IOL. Matiwane said documents that the Russian defense ministry obtained from the personnel of a biolab in Ukraine "expose the U.S. and its NATO allies' research on biological weapons in Ukraine." "The documents show that a large number of serum samples belonging to the Slavs have been transferred, and that the experiments in Ukraine are similar to what Japan's Unit 731 did in World War II," said Matiwane. "The documents were uploaded online by Russia for free download. Considering the above, we need to be cautious about the unchecked, uncontrolled, and secretive operations of biolabs across the world," he said. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) How to protect yourself from mail theft with Informed Delivery Man accused of bringing bombs to Capitol had contacted Cruz's office with concern about 'election fraud,' judge notes. A courthouse sketch depicts Lonnie Leroy Coffman during his arraignment in January 2021. A variety of exoplanet types can be seen in this illustration. Scientists discovered the first exoplanets in the 1990s. 3:30PM As we bring the live election coverage to a close here is a run down of what just happened No party gained an overall majority in the local election as independents still held the most seats with 23. However, both Labour and Plaid Cymru, who were in opposition during the last administration, made inroads, with the former gaining three seats and the latter four. It takes their total number of councillors to 14 and nine respectively, with the Conservatives also winning nine seats, an increase of one, and the Liberal Democrats standing still on one. It leaves question marks over who will rule Wrexham Council for the next five years. Power previously lay with a coalition of two independent groups run by incumbent council leader Mark Pritchard and deputy leader David A Bithell, alongside the Conservatives. But before polling day on Thursday there were rumours of friction between the two independent groups, meaning a new alliance could be in the offing. Cllr Pritchard, who was re-elected in Esclusham after his seat was uncontested, has said talks would be held over the next few days over the future composition of the council. Meanwhile, Labour group leader Dana Davies, who had a tight result in Ruabon after winning by just four votes, also said she would be open to discussions with other groups. Several changes were made to ward boundaries in the area ahead of the election following a review by the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission. It saw the overall number of councillors in Wrexham increase from 52 to 56 and the number of wards from 47 to 49. One of the shocks of the day saw Liberal Democrat Alun Jenkins lose his seat in Offa by just six votes after holding it for more than 50 years. He was defeated by Plaid Cymrus Katie Wilkinson who gained 212 votes compared to his 206. Independent executive board members Sonia Benbow-Jones, lead member for childrens services and David Griffiths, lead member for housing, were also beaten. Mr Griffiths, who has been a councillor for the last 23 years, was defeated by 37 votes by independent Tina Mannering. Before the boundary changes, the two had represented different wards in Gwersyllt. Ms Benbow-Jones lost by just six votes in Cefn West to Labours Stella Matthews, who is the mother of Labour leader Dana Davies. 3:15PM Just checking the figures we think it is Labour 14 and with all the independents in one, they are on 23. Independent 23 Labour 14 Conservatives 9 Plaid Cymru 9 Liberal Democrats 1 3PM A huge thanks to Rich and the team at Knew Productions, along with Marcin at Red Iris Videography for helping out local democracy coverage, with camera gear and expertise! Likewise, Wrexham Glyndwr University for internet connectivity, and of course Wrexham Council who facilitated the whole count. We are now polishing a quick summary and packing up from the count otherwise we will be in danger of covering the community council count that is due to start in ten minutes! 2:55PM No turnout or overall figures on voter registration yet, we will add them in later as / if and when they appear. 2:48PM It appears it was Ruabon being recounted possibly 3-4 times at the end there. 2:24PM Some new councillors floating around outside and some old ones, some group leaders as well. Word is talks will now take place over the coming days to see who offers whom what to form up an administration. Who has the biggest group? Who wants what job? Who gets to chair Scrutiny committees? and perhaps most important, who can work with who? 2:01PM A run down of the overall figures: Independent 22 Labour 15 Labour 14 Conservatives 9 Plaid Cymru 9 Liberal Democrats 1 Non stated 1 2PM The sports hall goes quiet The community council count will take place from 3pm but the main event is complete, and Wrexham has a new council, just how it will shape up is yet to be known as there is no overall control. pic.twitter.com/JQVvnX8KIl Wrexham.com (@wrexham) May 6, 2022 1:52PM That wraps up the County Council count! 1:50PM David A Bithell hangs on to his seat by 15 votes in Johnstown in what was a tight race. 1:47PM Just three more wards to go! So far our tally has 14 Independents, one lib dem, nine Plaid Cymru, nine conservatives, 13 Labour, one non-alligned and five Wrexham independents. 1:40PM Just inputted the data for that load of results. Looks like the Johnstown huddle has just taken place, so could see a result there soon. If you see winning candidates exiting sharply, they are going to get a picture taken and get given a welcome pack! 1:28PM COUNT COMPLETE apart from the one ward recounting. 1:25PM Possible recount on one ward underway or some ballots being reinspected 1:23pm Count still going on in Johnstown. No sign of one of the incumbents, David A Bithell. 1:20 PM .and there was the flurry of results. Wrexham council stalwart for decades Alun Jenkins loses his seat by 6 votes. 1:03pm Looks as though Johnstown is the only ward still counting. Results seem to be coming in a flurry after a few minutes break.. 12:44PM Big batch of results in Mr Bancrofts hands. 12:40PM Thought there was a sniff of a recount in Cefn West, two animated candidates talking to the returning officer. 12:28pm: Heres how the results are looking so far. Two new Plaid Cymru Councillors elected Emma Holland for Gwersyllt North and Pete Howell for Gwersyllt South. Conservative Beverley Parry Jones Holds Bryn Cefn for the Conservatives. Phil Wynn and Frank Hemmings both re-elected. Fred Roberts elected for the new Rhos ward as an independent 12:11PM Only four wards still counting. 12:05 PM It looks like the only wards counting now are the dual member ones so could be wrapped up by 1pm possibly with a pile of results this hour. 11:59am: Three more votes in Carrie Harper (Plaid) HOLDS Queensway, Graham Rogers (LAB) holds Hermitage and Paul Williams (Plaid) Regains Smithfield for Plaid from Labour 11:47am: Flurry of votes through, all incumbents holding their seats in those four announcements. Paul Blackwell, Marc Jones, Jeremy Kent and Brian Cameron all re-elected 11:40AM We have had a huddle for Grosvenor and now Gresford East. Results soon on those the latter being a head to head Jeremy Kent (Cons) v Aimi Waters (Plaid Cymru). 11:32AM The Returning Officer Ian Bancroft is walking around with lots of papers going to some candidate groups looks like things are picking up in terms of confirming results and possible further announcements shortly. Huddles of candidates some looking happier than others. 11:24AM: The first two results are in. Labour HOLD Wynnstay and Cefn East. Malcolm King and Derek Wright both re-elected. 11:15AM You might see some tables with big white sheets, they are being used in wards where there are two councillors being elected. People there have had two votes to use, so it makes things a little more complicated for the count. There does certainly seem to be inactivity on more tables, perhaps we are waiting for a fifth before the first declaration 11:03AM Looks like we could have a result soon, Wynnstay candidates being gathered 10:56am For those who are just joining us, welcome to the Wrexham Council count 2022! Results will be announced in groups of five and this time, due to covid, there will be no candidates going up to the stage. Once the winners are announced theyll be taken for the photos taken and given election packs. Interesting counting method going on for the dual councillor wards which you should be able to see on our livestream. 10:43am: It looks as though the counting on some tables has begun. Still no indication when results will start being announced. 10:40AM Lots of clear tables as the verification process draws to an end. 10:21: Neighbouring Flintshire has started to announce votes. Still at the verification process here in Wrexham. For coverage of Flintshire elections check out our sister site, Deeside.com 10:08am Apologies for the dodgy stream today connection issues meaning the feed is buffering a fair bit. 10am: Voting and verification is now underway. Clwyd South side of the hall, a few tables still waiting to be given votes to verify and count pic.twitter.com/hLldnVZrE2 Wrexham.com (@wrexham) May 6, 2022 9:40am: And were off! The counting and verification is about to get underway Returning Officer Ian Bancroft is just outlining how the count will take place. County council first and then the community councils will begin at 3pm There will be about five election announcements in one go, so theyre going to come through thick and fast today. 9:36am: Returning Officer Ian Bancroft has just announced the count will begin in five minutes time Current council leader Mark Pritchard who is also unopposed has just arrived pic.twitter.com/ddim6bSYB2 Wrexham.com (@wrexham) May 6, 2022 9:30am: We finally have audio on the election feed. For those watching the tables nearest the camera are the votes for Wrexham wards and the ones at the other end are Clwyd South: 9:26am: The counting room is starting to fill up, so far everyone seems in good spirits. Its a bit odd seeing some of these councillors in person for the first time in two years after all meetings were held remote since the start of the pandemic. 9:06am: The first of the candidates have started being left into the main count hall. Our live video coverage of the count has also started for all those who enjoy watching our live feed. 8:49am: We are live from the count! Another day time count so hopefully no one was sat waiting at 10pm last night for the results to start coming through. Candidates are starting to arrive but theyre being kept outside until 9am, when the verification and voting will take place. Good morning Wrexham! We have switched the site over to our live election coverage for todays count. Ballot boxes arrived at Glyndwr University sports hall from just after 10pm last night video below and have been securely held overnight. Today will see the verification process start some point shortly after 9am of ballots made yesterday and postal votes, and then a count will take place for each ward. There is no firm timetable due to the nature of counts, but we guess this could take all of this morning and into the early afternoon to complete for every ward in Wrexham. A day time count means there is no wait for boxes to turn up and so we think we could see the first ward result as early as just before 10am. This page should auto update, and hopefully the video feed will appear as the count process begins. A long-delayed measure intended to increase staffing at nursing homes in New York state took effect on April 1. It requires facilities to have enough employees to spend a specified minimum amount of time per day with each resident. The reform was passed as a part of the state budget last year and had been scheduled to take effect on January 1. Governor Kathy Hochul repeatedly delayed its implementation, however, citing the ongoing pandemic and the shortage of health care workers as excuses. Her ultimate change of mind may appear to be a victory for nursing home workers, but the reform will do little to improve their working conditions. Nor will it improve care for the states elderly and vulnerable patients. Understaffing has long hobbled New Yorks nursing homes. It is a deliberate policy that companies pursue to reduce their payroll costs and increase their profits. The companies use inadequate staffing as an excuse to pressure nurses to work double and even triple shifts to compensate. As a result, nurses are not able to provide adequate care to their patients. May Nast arrives for dinner at RiverWalk, an independent senior housing facility, in New York, April 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) The twin stresses of inadequate staffing and overburdened health care workers have reduced patients quality of life and resulted in preventable deaths. The coronavirus-related mortality among residents of New Yorks nursing homes became a national scandal in 2020, and the magnitude of the negligence recently became clearer. In March, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released an audit that found that the administration of Governor Andrew Cuomo had undercounted the number of pandemic-related deaths by at least 4,100. The pandemic only exacerbated the already harmful consequences of understaffing at nursing homes. More than two-thirds of the states 401 for-profit facilities have the lowest possible staffing ratings given by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), according to a 2021 report by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The report found that nursing homes with low CMS staffing ratings at the start of the pandemic had higher COVID-19 fatality rates. This finding likely results at least partly from the fact that administrators pressured sick employees to report to workand even to work multiple consecutive shiftsinstead of quarantining themselves. Furthermore, the report found that New Yorks reimbursement model for nursing homes gives owners of for-profit facilities an incentive to transfer facility funds to owners and investors, instead of investing in additional staffing to care for residents. Instead of waging a genuine fight against dangerous understaffing, the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) has held a series of rallies, the primary purpose of which has been to allow nurses to let off steam. The union has coupled this tactic with appeals to Democratic politicians for reforms. But the Democratic Party is no less beholden to the health care industry and its Wall Street shareholders than the Republican Party is, and any reforms that it is pressured to enact are purely cosmetic. The measures included in New Yorks current budget are no exception. The Safe Staffing Act, which has just gone into effect, requires nursing homes to employ enough workers to give each resident 3.5 hours of direct care every day. This amount of time must include no less than 2.2 hours of care provided by certified nurse assistants and 1.1 hours for licensed practical nurses or registered nurses. When the bill was passed last year, some advocates for nursing home residents criticized this requirement as inadequate. They pointed out that the law would allow nursing homes to use support staff, rather than registered nurses, to provide a portion of patient care hours. In addition to the Safe Staffing Act, the budget requires nursing homes to spend at least 70 percent of their revenue on direct resident care. Moreover, it requires these facilities to dedicate at least 40 percent of revenue to resident-facing staffing, and this expenditure is included as part of the expenditure on resident care. Finally, the bill caps nursing home profits at 5 percent. These provisions also took effect on April 1. New York is not the first state to require that health care facilities maintain a certain level of staffing. California has taken the most direct approach by limiting the number of patients that can be assigned to a nurse, depending on the unit in which he or she works. Under state law, a nurse in an operating room, for example, can be assigned no more than one patient, and a medical/surgical nurse no more than five. But again and again, hospitals have found ways to avoid complying with this law. During the winter surge of the pandemic in December 2020, the state granted emergency waivers that allowed hospitals to exceed the maximum allowed numbers of patients assigned to nurses. These waivers placed unreasonable burdens on nurses and jeopardized patients safety. Although the waivers expired in February 2021, hospitals can still apply for them. These standards were still being violated in August 2021. A hospital in Eureka, California, was triaging patients in the waiting room as though a mass casualty event were taking place, according to trauma nurse, Matt Miele. To me, it seems like the lowest staffing levels that Ive seen at the time we need it the most, he told CalMatters. He often was assigned more than four patients, which exceeded the ratio mandated by the state. To meet the new staffing standards, New York will have to hire 12,000 workers statewide, according to Sallie Williams, vice president of advancement at Heritage Ministries, a not-for-profit health care organization for the elderly, who spoke to Erie News Now. The staffing shortage is so severe that National Guard troops were deployed in December 2021 to assist New York nursing homes, and these troops will remain in place for at least 30 more days. Throughout the pandemic, the number of nurses who have retired has increased sharply. In addition, many nurses have burned out and quit because of overwork, inadequate support and inhuman levels of stress. In short, the failure of the ruling class to prepare for and respond to the pandemic in a rational way has contributed to the acute staffing shortage that the state now faces. Nurses will not be able to gain safe staffing ratios, better pay, reasonable workloads or protection against the pandemic if they remain confined within the trade unions and direct their appeals to the capitalist state. Winning these demands will require nurses to form rank-and-file committees that are independent of the trade unions. The ultimate aim of these committees must be to confront the profit system itself, which is the root of the crisis in the health care system. The Amazon Labor Union was declared the winner Friday in a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) contest held in Staten Island, New York. The vote covers more than 8,000 Amazon workers at the JFK8 Amazon fulfillment center, the largest warehouse in the city. Amazon JFK8 distribution center union organizer Jason Anthony speaks to media on Friday, April 1, 2022, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez) JFK8s workers voted in the ALU with 2,654 yes votes to 2,131 no votes, or a margin of close to 10 percentage points, in an election which drew out more than half of the warehouses eligible voters. Another ALU election is planned for April 25 at the LDJ5 warehouse on Staten Island, which employs roughly 1,600 workers. The ALUs victory came a day after results were announced for a similar union election at Amazon held in Bessemer, Alabama. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) is losing the vote at the BHM1 fulfillment center, where it received only 875 yes votes to 993 no votes. Several hundred contested ballots are currently being litigated, and the result will be announced by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) within the next few weeks. The highly depressed turnout (only 39 percent) for the Alabama vote came despite glowing media coverage and high-profile political support from Biden and other Democrats. Bidens NLRB allowed the RWDSU to re-run the election after an initial attempt failed. The larger turnout at the JFK8 facility may be attributed to the fact that the ALU has promoted itself as an independent union, run by current and former Amazon workers. Christian Smalls, the ALUs leader, is a former JFK8 worker who was fired in 2020 after he and several co-workers organized a walkout in protest of Amazons lackluster COVID-19 protections. In another difference from the RWDSU campaign, the ALU raised a specific set of demands of the company, including raises to $30 an hour, more vacation days and paid time off as well as an increase in break times during shifts. Numerous investigations have revealed the widespread occurrence of workers injuring themselves in Amazons vast warehouses as well as foregoing rest times and bathroom breaks in order to make obscenely high rates. A New York Times investigation of the JFK8 warehouse last year determined that the corporation tracked every minute of most warehouse workers shifts, from how fast they packed merchandise to how long they paused If productivity flagged, Amazons computers assumed the worker was to blame. No doubt, many workers voting for the ALU did so out of a desire to improve their conditions and carry out a fight against the corporation and its multi-billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos. Such a fight, however, requires the mobilization of the working class independently of the corporatist trade unions, which are heavily promoted by sections of the ruling class, particularly the Democratic Party, as critical instruments for the suppression of the class struggle. This requires the development of a network of rank-and-file committees, democratically controlled by the workers themselves. While the ALU claims to be independent, its orientation is in fact to the trade union apparatus, a section of which sees in such initiatives (at Amazon, Starbucks and other companies) a method to somehow revive support for thoroughly discredited organizations. Tellingly, Democratic Party-connected media outlets have heaped praise on Smalls and the ALU. As it has throughout the entire Amazon unionization campaign, the Times led the way, declaring the JFK8 vote a stunning win and one of the biggest victories for organized labor in a generation. The Democratic Socialists of America-aligned Jacobin magazine, which sees as its principal role the strengthening of the trade union apparatus, called it a David-and-Goliath fight between the independent union and one of the worlds most powerful companies. There are already numerous signs that Smalls and the ALU are open to an approach from the RWDSU or other pro-corporate organizations. Speaking to NPR about the RWDSU, Smalls declared I hope theyre successful We know we show our support and solidarity with them. The RWDSUs president Stuart Appelbaum, a longtime Democratic Party and state operative, has offered to support them [the ALU] and not look for anything in return if Chris runs out of money. During the campaign for unionization at JFK, the ALU borrowed office space from the Unite Here, an organization (with $150 million in assets) that has played a critical role in isolating and defeating the struggles of service workersand keeping them on the job during the pandemic. There is no doubt that in the aftermath of its victory at Amazon, the fledgling ALU will have more than just office space offered to it. Mary Kay Henry, the president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) quickly offered whatever support we can to the ALU. Top US diplomat Victoria Nuland visited Bangladesh on March 20, aiming to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas government to align with the US-NATO war drive against Russia. State Department Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria J. Nuland speaks during a briefing at the State Department in Washington, Jan. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool) Nulands tri-nation South Asian tour from March 19 to 23 that included India and Sri Lanka, also sought to closely integrate the countries into the broader US strategic offensive against Russia and China. According to the US Department of State, the purpose of the trip by the Under Secretary for Political Affairs was to strengthen economic partnerships and deepen ties in the pursuit of peace, prosperity, and security in the Indo-Pacific region. Despite that diplomatic language, Nulands intervention in the region is striking. She is infamous for her role in preparing the 2014 fascist-led coup that overthrew the elected pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovich in Ukraine, and installing a pro-Western regime. In Bangladesh, Nuland, held a meeting, known as the eighth US-Bangladesh Partnership Dialogue, with Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abdul Momen. After the meeting, Nuland told the press: This is a moment for all free nations and all free people to stand together with the people of Ukraine to end the war, the Daily Star reported on March 21. Her call had nothing to do with ending war but with lining up countries behind the US-NATO proxy war against Russia. Momen indicated the Bangladesh governments desire to keep balancing between the US and Russia, despite Nulands pressure. He said that during the discussions he had underscored Bangladesh always wants peace, and that the conflict [between Russia and Ukraine] needed to be resolved through negotiations. Nevertheless, both sides agreed to a draft General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), the Times of India reported on March 20, highlighting the growing military ties between the US and Bangladesh. Nuland said the GSOMIA is the gateway to being able to do more on the security front. Washingtons pressure exerted through Nulands visit had an immediate impact. During a UN General Assembly special session on March 24, Bangladesh voted, along with 139 other countries, for a resolution demanding aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine and accusing Russia of creating a dire humanitarian situation in Ukraine. Bangladesh justified its vote on the pretext of the humanitarian situation. This was a shift from its earlier stance of being among 34 countries, including India, Pakistan and China, who abstained on a March 2 UN resolution that reprimanded Russia and demanded that it immediately withdraw its military forces. Hasinas Awami League government has been balancing between the US-NATO alliance and Russia-China because the country depends on both camps for trade and foreign investment. The countrys major share of exports goes to the US and the European Union. According to the Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association, about 51 percent of exports go to Europe, 25 percent to the US, and 4 percent to Canada, the Hellenic Shipping News website reported on January 31. On the other hand, the Awami League government is reluctant to loosen relations with Russia, which supplies wheat, fertilizer, machinery, fresh and dried fruit. Bangladesh exports apparel, jute, frozen foods, tea and leather to Russia. Two-way trade is worth over $US1 billion a year. Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Md. Jashim Uddin told Benar News: The sanctions have disrupted the normal trade. Many port authorities dropped Bangladeshi export items from the ships destined to Russia. Russia is also constructing Bangladeshs biggest power plant, worth $13.48 billionthe Rooppur Nuclear Power Plantfinanced by a Russian government loan of $12.65 billion. The plant, with 2,400-megawatt capacity, is expected to meet more than 9 percent of countrys electricity needs. Amid the economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the government wants to avoid falling out with the US-EU, fearing that the country would not only lose investment, export earnings and International Monetary Fund and World Bank financial aid, but also face punitive actions. To exert pressure, the US has seized upon human rights abuses by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Bangladesh. The US imposed sanctions in December against the RAB and some of its officials on charges of gross violation of human rights, including extrajudicial killings, New Age reported on March 20. This timing was well calculated prior to the Russian invasion. Nuland declared that the US was never going to be silent on these issues. These sanctions have intensified tensions between the two countries. On March 28, speaking at the 18th anniversary of the RAB, Hasina said the sanctions were an abominable act, adding that the US government does not take any action against any member of their forces for their criminal activities. The RAB is a notorious paramilitary force that conducts extrajudicial killings and the repression of opposition party members, journalists and rights activists. However, US concern about its abuses is hypocritical, not least because it helped train RAB forces according to WikiLeaks. Moreover, US military forces are infamous for their own war crimes and atrocities throughout the world, including the Middle East and Afghanistan. Washington also turns a blind eye to the abuses of its allies and partners such as Saudi Arabia. Washingtons real concern is to pressure the Bangladeshi government to distance itself from China. The US and its allies have been silent or made limited superficial criticisms when RAB has been deployed to suppress workers protests. In May 2018 Hasinas government unleashed a brutal crackdown under the pretext of an anti-drug operation, killing more than 150 people and arresting about 21,000. The US State Department simply urged the government to investigate the extrajudicial killings to fully meet its human rights obligations. Dhaka is desperate to get the RAB sanctions lifted. In the discussions with Nuland, Momen suggested ending the sanctions. Nuland was presented with a dossier on measures the government was taking to improve the RABs human rights records. Nuland noted progress by the RAB during the past three monthsbut nothing else. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to meet Momen on April 4 in Washington to discuss security and defense issues. The meeting will also mark 50 years of diplomatic relations, established in 1972 when the US formally recognised Bangladesh after its split from Pakistan. Hostile EU remarks after yesterdays virtual European Union (EU)-China summit point to the rising global tensions provoked by NATOs war against Russia in Ukraine. EU officials sought but did not obtain Chinese guarantees that Beijing will honor sanctions Washington and the EU powers have unilaterally imposed on Russia. People walk past a video screen displaying an image of Chinese President Xi Jinping at an exhibition in Beijing, March 1, 2019 [Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein] The run-up to the summit was dominated by EU and US threats against China, as they poured billions of dollars of arms into Ukraine for use against Russian troops. Beyond threats of sanctions, there were mounting denunciations of Chinas Zero-COVID policy in the European media, while US Indo-Pacific Command head Admiral John Aquilino called on Washington and its allies to be prepared at all times for war with China over Taiwan. On March 25, an unnamed senior EU official told Politico the EU has very reliable evidence that China is considering providing military aid to Russia. Were concerned about the fact that China is flirting with the Russians. The official said the EU would impose trade barriers against China if China helped Russia militarily or financially, as this is the only language Beijing understands. US officials had already claimed Russia had asked China for military aid. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan demanded China not bail out Russia from US-EU sanctions: We will ensure that neither China, nor anyone else, can compensate Russia for these losses. In terms of the specific means of doing that, again, Im not going to lay all of that out in public, but we will communicate that privately to China Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang rejected Sullivans claims, calling for a diplomatic settlement to the war and denying that China is arming Russia. What China is doing is sending foods, medicine, sleeping bags and baby formula, not weapons and ammunition to any party, Qin said, adding: We are against wars, as I said. Chinas trusted relation with Russia is not a liability. Its an asset in the international efforts to solve the crisis in a peaceful way. Chinese officials also briefly expressed hopes that the EU-China summit could revive the EU-China trade deal negotiated with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in December 2020, shortly before Merkel left office. The deals ratification was suspended, however, after the EU echoed unsubstantiated and false US assertions that China is carrying out a genocide of the Uighur ethnic minority in its western Xinjiang province, which borders Russia. Another item in the EU-China summit was Chinas freezing of trade with Lithuania, a former Soviet Baltic republic, after Lithuania opened formal trade representation for Taiwan in its capital, Vilnius. Chinese officials have said they view this as a European threat to repudiate the One China policy and encourage Taiwan to declare itself a fully independent state. Sections of the European foreign policy establishment have advocated using this policy to encourage parts of mainland China like Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia or Tibet also to declare independence, dividing China. Lithuanian Deputy Prime Minister Mantas Adomenas explained that this policy is driven by hostility to communism and to the Chinese government. We see the threats and dangers which arise out of the expansionist policies of Communist China, Adomenas told CBC. We wanted to curtail this and support democracy in Taiwan. Margarita Seselgyte, director of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University, said Lithuanias anti-China policy aims to obtain US military aid against Russia. She said, For us, being a small country in the vicinity of Russia is a very bad scenario. So how do we become more attractive to the United States? Broaden our foreign policy and also be part of US policy in the Asian region. With these explosive conflicts, it came as little surprise that brief official statements on yesterdays EU-China summit indicated that no agreements had been reached. After meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen criticized Chinas position on Ukraine: We exchanged very clearly opposing views. This is not a conflict. This is a war. She demanded, China should, if not support, at least not interfere with our sanctions [on Russia] equidistance is not enough. We will also remain vigilant on any attempts to aid Russia, EU Council President Charles Michel said at the press conference with von der Leyen, adding: We raised our concerns about Chinas treatment of minorities in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, and of the people of Tibet. Chinese officials told the South China Morning Post that Xi supported the EU playing a leading role in talks on Ukraine and asked EU officials to address the security concerns of all powers, including Russia. The root cause of the Ukrainian crisis lies in the regional security conflicts that have accumulated in Europe for a long time. The fundamental solution is to accommodate the legitimate security concerns of all parties concerned. The imperialist powers have no intention of giving security guarantees to Russia, however, or to any other country in their gun sights. Russian President Vladimir Putin undoubtedly launched a bloody war in Ukraine, which is reactionary and divides Russian and Ukrainian workers. However, while Putin launched the war and bears political responsibility for it, Russia is neither the more powerful nor ultimately the more aggressive party to the conflict. As Ukrainian troops and far-right militias fight Russia to a draw, it is clear Putins invasion was a desperate, preemptive move as NATO turned Ukraine into an heavily-armed base directly on Russian borders. Since the 1991 Stalinist dissolution of the Soviet Union, the NATO powers and, above all, the United States have sought to counterbalance growing economic weakness with military force. Washington led decades of NATO wars that shattered Iraq, Somalia, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria and cost millions of lives. In 2018, the US National Security Strategy declared, moreover, that US military objectives were to wage great power conflict with countries like Russia and China. These conflicts underlie Xis refusal to cut off ties with Moscow, for now at least. As US officials demand regime change in Russia, Putins ouster, and Russias return of regions such as Crimea to Ukraine, it is increasingly clear that the NATO powers aim to break up and crush Russia and China. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov bluntly said Washington aims to destroy, break, exterminate, strangle the Russian economy and Russia as a whole. Chris Johnson, a former CIA agent working on China, told the Financial Times that Beijing fears US-led regime change in Russia. He said, if they even are considering providing assistance [to Russia], that speaks volumes about Chinese fears that Putin could fall, unleashing chaos on their northern border unseen since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The only progressive solution to the reckless, aggressive policies of the imperialist powers is the mobilization of the working class in an international anti-war movement. While Russia and China can use their military and nuclear arsenals to try to threaten NATO, it is apparent that the mounting danger of war does not deter the NATO powers. Rather, they are risking a global military clash that could escalate into nuclear war, betting that this opens up unprecedented opportunities for plunder. In a Washington Post column titled The West is winning the economic battles in Putins war against Ukraine, US Council on Foreign Relations fellow Sebastian Mallaby gloated: Chinas economy is far larger and more sophisticated than Russias, but it looks newly vulnerable. Mallaby speculated Washington could seize the trillions of dollars China has earned over decades of exporting goods to US and European markets, just like it is threatening to seize Russian dollar reserves that Moscow earned exporting oil and gas to world markets. He wrote, Beijings $3 trillion-plus stockpile of foreign-currency assets looks less potent. If Russias reserves could be frozen, so could Chinas. Likewise, if Russia cant generate leverage from its highly concentrated exportsuntil its invasion of Ukraine, it supplied more than half of Germanys imported natural gasit appears unlikely that China will be able to fight sanctions by threatening to cut exports of consumer electronics. This would undoubtedly be one of the largest acts of imperialist theft in history. Averting such an explosion of conflict requires the unification of workers in China, Russia, Europe, the United States and around the world in a movement in opposition to the reckless war policies of the major capitalist powers and for socialism. CP Rail workers have established the CP Workers Rank-and-File Committee to fight for workplace safety and put an end to the brutal conditions of exploitation that are responsible for fatal accidents like the Field derailment. Email cpworkersrfc@gmail.com to join. * * * The final report into the deadly derailment of CP Rail Train 301 near Field, British Columbia, on February 4, 2019, was presented by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) Thursday. The findings document a litany of profit-driven decisions and failures to respond to warnings that lead to only one possible conclusion: CP Rail bears responsibility for the deaths of conductor Dylan Paradis, engineer Andrew Dockrell and conductor trainee Daniel Waldenberger-Bulmer. The report, over three years in the making and grossly overdue because of the efforts of CP to sabotage the investigation, attempted to explain to the victims families, workers and the public what exactly happened that day. It also provided recommendations to Transport Canada aimed at making cold weather train operation safer through mountainous rail territory. The derailment Dan Holbrook, Manager of the TSB Head Office and Western Rail Operations, gave a detailed accounting of the events leading up to the accident. Train 301 set off from Calgary at around 2:30 p.m. on February 3, 2019. Its route was along CP Rails main western line to Vancouver, which involves traversing mountains characterized by steep grades and sharp curves, Holbrook said. Before leaving Calgary the train underwent and passed the required air brake test. The train was operating in extreme cold temperatures below 25 Celsius. Mid-train distributed power remote locomotive from the derailed CP Rail Train 301 (Credit: Transportation Safety Board) At around 9:30 p.m., the train started the 13.5-mile descent down Field Hill, he continued. When the entire train entered onto the steepest part of the grade it was not able to hold its speed at or below the 15 mph speed limit. When the speed reached 21 mph, the crew applied the brakes in emergency as required by railway operating procedures. The train came to a stop at Partridge at around 9:50 p.m. with about 9 miles of mountain grade remaining before Field. After the train was brought to a stop, the decision was made to set the brake cylinder pressure retaining valves on 84 of the 112 cars, rather than retaining valves and handbrakes. This would facilitate getting the train underway by releasing the brakes and allowing the trains air brake system to recharge as the train continued its descent, an operation called release and catch. The crew had reached the end of their shift, so a relief crew, consisting of Paradis, Dockrell and Waldenberger-Bulmer, was called in. By the time they arrived at Yoho, the closest road access point to the train, at around 10:45 p.m., the temperature was 28 Celsius, Holbrook confirmed. An on-track vehicle transported the crew to the train. However, Holbrook explained that delays, including a frozen track switch, meant that they didnt arrive at the train until 12:20 a.m. All the while, the trains airbrake system had been leaking brake cylinder pressure, reducing its capacity to keep the train stopped on the grade. Holbrook then detailed how the derailment occurred: The relief crew took over and were preparing to resume the trip when the train began to creep forward at around 12:42 a.m. The train gradually accelerated uncontrolled down the steep mountain grade reaching 53 mph, a speed well in excess of the maximum authorized speed for this section of track. At this speed, the train was not able to negotiate the sharp 9.8-degree curve immediately before the Kicking Horse River bridge. Two locomotives and 99 cars derailed and the 3 relief crew members were fatally injured. Corporate negligence and non-existent regulation The events leading up to the Field derailment provide a devastating indictment of what is known in the industry as precision-scheduled railroading (PSR). Summing up this corporate policy, which has been adopted at railroads across North America, a CP Rail worker said of PSR in a recent interview with the WSWS, The basic idea is that they expect the most amount of work with the least human resources possible. The Field Hill is one of the most dangerous sections of track in Canada. Numerous derailments have occurred there. In March 2021, an intermodal car from a CP freight train derailed in Field. In January that same year, a grain train derailed 6.5 kilometers to the west of Field, temporarily knocking out power to the town. There were no injuries reported on both occasions. As a result of the danger posed by the steep stretch of track, CP Rail previously operated a rule that no train should be permitted to descend Field Hill when the temperature dropped below 25 degrees Celsius. This policy was due to the well-known fact that brakes prove less effective in extremely cold weather. In response to a reporters question at Thursdays press conference, the TSB confirmed that CP Rail abandoned this policy after the 2015-16 season, with no explanation provided as to why. The board found that common problems like failing brakes in cold temperatures had become normalized by CP Rail and that many reports were filed by crews on the dangers of mountain terrain year after year, yet no risk assessment was conducted and insufficient corrective action was taken. Shockingly, investigators also revealed that the day before his death, Dockrell descended the same section of track on a grain train in similarly cold temperatures and was forced to use the maximum braking power available. He had filled out a safety hazard report about the dangerous stretch of railway but was unable to submit it electronically due to a power outage at the bunkhouse. A paper copy was recovered at the crash site. The investigation determined that earlier in Train 301s trip from Calgary, and just prior to the emergency stop at Partridge Station, an increased demand for air from the locomotives had been observed after the brakes were applied. Although this observation was discussed during a job briefing after the emergency stop at Partridge, it was not recognized as problematic at the time. One of the key reasons for this decision was the inadequate experience of the train master, whose training and experience did not adequately prepare him to evaluate the circumstances or for the decisions he was tasked with making, the TSB found. Many mainstream media reports leapt on this finding to portray the unidentified train master, rather than CP Rail, as the problem. But as a former CP Rail worker explained to the World Socialist Web Site, the company knowingly places poorly trained people in these office positions. Very junior employees fresh out of conductor training are put into these office jobs instead of guys that have been out there for 40 years and who have seen it all, he said. They have done it all, they have seen bizarre stuff. But these green employees have no real-world experience. Then they are put in management positions and cannot even put on a handbrake. It is so frustrating. But if you came back with a different approach, they would overrule you 99 percent of the time. So instead of listening to an engineer or conductor with 30 years experience, you have to listen to a guy with just one year under his belt. Those guys in Field were in a lose-lose situation. The worker added, I will give credit to the crew in that subdivision. They knew what to do. If something was not right they would have brought it up to management. But lots of times you are just told, Bring the train down the hill, we need to get that train out. We dont want to hear your excuses. TSB chair Kathy Fox noted that automatic braking technology is inexpensive and has been around for a decade, but has not been widely embraced by the railroad companies. She argued for their use as an alternative to hand brakes that would improve safety as well as take a lot less time to apply. No requirement for this most basic of safety measures has been introduced by the Liberal government led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The board outlined three recommendations to Transport Canada: enhanced test standards and time-based maintenance for brake cylinders on freight cars operating on steep descending grades in cold ambient temperatures; the installation of automatic parking brakes on freight cars, prioritizing those used in bulk-commodity unit trains on mountain grade territory; and, for CP Rail to demonstrate to Transport Canada that it can effectively identify hazards and assess and mitigate risks using all available information. These recommendations are yet another empty gesture by a toothless watchdog to enable the continued profiteering of the self-regulating railroads. As was quickly pointed out by Fox early on in the press conference, The TSB does not enforce, assign fault or determine criminal or civil liability. The recommendations themselves are non-binding, since it is up to Transport Canada, a federal government department, to introduce rules for railway operators. Even so, CP Rail responded furiously to the recommendations. Its official statement denounced the TSBs findings variously as extremely disappointing, inappropriate and misrepresented. The general response to TSB recommendations is silence. Braking issues have been on the boards radar for decades. By her own admission, Fox stated that unplanned and uncontrolled movements have been a concern for many years, and that 189 such events were reported to the TSB between 2010 and 2019. In 2013, a parked train carrying scores of oil tankers began to move on its own and derailed in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, killing 47 people and incinerating the towns central core. It was only then that the brakes issue was added to the TSB watch list. Yet even this tragedy failed to rouse Transport Canada into action. It took the deaths of another three railroaders in the Field derailment before the federal government adopted a rule change requiring the use of handbrakes on mountain slopes, which was promptly appealed by CP Rail. Rail workers must take up a struggle for workplace safety and an end to corporate profiteering The brutal working conditions on the railways, plucked straight from the 19th century, are an extreme form of the general decades-long deterioration of worker protections and living standards that has led giant corporations like CP, facilitated by governments and their union lackeys in Canada and the United States, to reap record profits during the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. As a statement from Paradiss family sent to the World Socialist Web Site responding to the TSB report put it, Weve lost confidence in the ability of government to hold corporations responsible for negligence. Profits continue to soar at the expense of the working class. The policy is Uphill slow. Downhill fast. Profits first, safety last. They say the rules are written in blood, and unfortunately, until our government takes measurable, concrete steps to ensure safe operations and hold corporations accountable, this practice will continue. Precision-scheduled railroading should be outlawed. The results of the Field derailment investigation underscore the urgency of the struggle being waged by the CP Workers Rank-and-File Committee. Ending the domination of private profit on the railways, which subordinates everythingincluding workers livesto the accumulation of vast wealth, requires a worker-led rebellion against the life-threatening working conditions presided over by corporate management, the federal government and trade unions. The Committee declared in its founding statement, Let us organize a common struggle against the rampant profiteering and corporate-union-imposed dictatorship that currently dominates North Americas railroads! If [CP Rail CEO Keith] Creel and his corporate buddies plan on building a multi-national railway to ship cargo and exploit workers from the Canadian Arctic to tropical Mexico, then we will build a multi-national worker-led counter-offensive of Canadian, American, and Mexican railroaders to stop corporate profiteering at the expense of our health, safety, and very lives. All rail workers wishing to join this fight should contact the Committee at cpworkersrfc@gmail.com. The arming of the Ukrainian nationalist militias by NATO and the calls by Washington for the overthrow of the Russian government have unmasked the middle-class pseudo-left. Under conditions of the the reactionary invasion of Ukraine by Russia, provoked by NATO threats, the pseudo-left has lined up behind its own bourgeoisie. In France, the Pabloite New Anti-Capitalist Party (NPA) and the Stalinist apparatus of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) union have unabashedly supported the policy of the NATO imperialist powers against Russia. The role of the Morenoite group, Permanent Revolution, linked to the Argentine Socialist Workers Party (PTS), is to cover for the reactionary role of these forces. The Morenoites are trying to prevent workers from overrunning the national apparatuses that are accomplices in the march towards WWIII. This is the meaning of the article in Permanent Revolution, entitled Ukraine: the challenge of an independent anti-imperialist policy, by Juan Chingo, Philippe Alcoy and Pierre Reip. Ukrainian soldiers drive on an armored military vehicle in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Their article comments on a debate between professor Gilbert Achcar, a member of the NPA and paid adviser to the British army, and professor Stathis Kouvelakis, ex-member of the Syriza party, which, when in power, imposed austerity on Greek workers. The Tartuffes at Permanent Revolution claim in their article that figures like Achcar and Kouvelakis are leading a debate on revolutionary politics. They write: The very rich texts of Gilbert Achcar (GA) and Stathis Kouvelakis (SK) reflect some of the current controversies in the left and the far left in France over the war in Ukraine. While they make possible a deeper reading of the situation and the questions it poses, in our view they leave out the perspective of an independent politics of the working class and popular sectors, which would be, however, the only perspective that can open the way to a real self-determination of the Ukrainian people. Permanent Revolution covers over the political role of Achcar and Kouvelakis, and thus of the NPA, of which they are both prominent political representatives. In reality, the two professors are not revolutionaries who feed the discussion about Ukraine within the extreme left. Both are anti-worker reactionaries who cover the imperialist policy of NATO with pseudo-left propaganda. Achcar is a member of the NPA, a professor at the School of African and Oriental Studies in London, and a paid adviser to the British army. As one would expect from an adviser to British imperialism, he has applauded NATOs military interventions in Libya and Syria. In 2011, he supported UN Security Council Resolution 1973, authorising the imperialist bombing of Libya, stating, You cannot in the name of anti-imperialist principles oppose an action that will prevent the massacre of civilians. Achcar was also a strong supporter of imperialist intervention in Syria. He participated in the 2011 meetings of the Syrian National Council, allied with US intelligence. He advised the Syrian opposition against Bashar al-Assad, dominated by a collection of CIA-linked Islamist militias, to seek indirect assistance rather than direct intervention from Washington. Now Achcar unsurprisingly supports NATOs arming of Ukrainian far-right militias, bluntly developing a pro-imperialist argument. We support the unconditional delivery of defensive weapons to the victims of aggressionin this case, to the Ukrainian state fighting the Russian invasion of its territory, he writes in an article already refuted by the WSWS. Achcar falsely accuses any NATO opponent of pro-Russian campism. Achcars article also provoked a response in Contretemps magazine, by professor Stathis Kouvelakis, who was an activist in the Stalinist French Communist Party (PCF), the NPA and Syriza. Kouvelakis joined the PCF while studying in France in the 1980s, after the PCF made its governmental alliance with President Mitterrands Socialist Party (PS) to impose an austerity turn on workers. A professor at Kings College London between 2002 and 2020, he joined the Revolutionary Communist League (Ligue communiste revolutionnaire-LCR) in 2005, before it became the NPA in 2009. He then served as a member of the central committee of Syriza from 2012 to 2015. Syriza campaigned in 2014-2015 promising to stop the European austerity policy that was devastating Greece. It came to power in January 2015. While Kouvelakis was a member of Syrizas central committee, it promised the European Union, in February 2015, to maintain the structural reforms imposed on Greece, and then imposed 13 billion in austerity measures in July. Shortly thereafter, Kouvelakis left Syriza, saying nonetheless that the word betrayal is not appropriate if you want to understand what is going on. In his article, Kouvelakis warns of the opposition to NATO among large masses of workers in China, India, Vietnam and Latin America. In these countries, he writes, the moral discourse of the U.S. and Western countries, and their defence of right, so selective as to be absurd, are widely perceived for what they are, namely a monumental hypocrisy in the service of an enterprise of subjugation. Kouvelakis discusses NATOs expansion eastward since the Stalinist dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 by absorbing Poland and other former members of the Soviet bloc. He criticizes those who call Vladimir Putin an unbalanced person who fantasizes about the encirclement of Russia by hostile powers. No, all this is unfortunately true, and began to take place long before Putin. Despite these admissions, Kouvelakis ends up agreeing with Achcar. Denouncing Russia as a secondary and regressive imperialist power, he characterizes the conflict as a Ukrainian national liberation war. He writes, One thing is certain: this war can in no way be that of the forces fighting for human emancipation; by its very goals and logic, it is the exact negation of it. It is an aggression directed against the Ukrainian people. This definition of war provided by Achcar and Kouvelakis is reductive and ultimately false. While it is clear that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is reactionary and divides Russian and Ukrainian workers, it is also clear that Russia and Ukraine are far from the only combatants. NATO is spending billions of euros arming Ukrainian nationalist armed forces and militias, which are serving as a conduit for a NATO-led war against Russia. This conflict cannot be understood outside the policy of the NATO imperialist powers since the Stalinist dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Washington and its allies have attempted to impose their dominance on a series of imperialist wars in Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Mali, and beyond. At the same time, NATO was absorbing the former Soviet bloc countries in Eastern Europe and trying to pit the former Soviet republics against each other. Since the installation of a pro-NATO regime in Ukraine in February 2014, in a coup led by far-right forces following the Maidan protests in Kiev, NATO has been pitting Ukraine against Russia in particular. Permanent Revolution, on the other hand, takes very seriously the apologies for NATO formulated by Achcar and by Kouvelakis and tries to distinguish doctrinally which of the two professors it likes more: While SKs argument has the advantage of highlighting the internationalization of the war in Ukraine and the role of NATO, these elements are not enough to define the war as a mere inter-imperialist conflict, let alone as an undeclared global imperialist war as some go so far as to say. In this respect, GA is right to point out that an inter-imperialist war is a direct war, not a proxy war, but he is mistaken in refusing to see the undeniable international dimension of the war in Ukraine. Here, Permanent Revolution falsifies the nature of the war and minimizes the enormous dangers it poses to workers. In reality, the conflict that NATO is waging against Russia by arming Ukrainian nationalist militias is an undeclared imperialist world war. The greatest danger is that of an escalation, where NATO and Russia would start fighting not only within but also outside the borders of Ukraine, provoking a full-scale world war, fought with nuclear weapons. Another political falsification by Permanent Revolution, as by the entire pseudo-left, is to call Russia an imperialist power. Putins invasion is undoubtedly reactionary: it divides Ukrainian and Russian workers and paves the way for intensified NATO military intervention in the region. But calling Russia an imperialist power falsifies history and the international power relations that underlie the war. Russia, a capitalist regime born of the Stalinist dissolution of the Soviet Union, is neither more powerful nor more aggressive than NATO. Russias GDP is approximately $1.7 trillion, roughly 20 times less than that of NATO. Its population of 144 million is six times smaller than NATOs, its armed forces (about 1 million regular soldiers) three times smaller than NATOs. And while NATOs armies are on Russias borders, it is the banks of NATO countries that are taking Russias export earnings, not the other way around. Permanent Revolution, on the other hand, judges that the reactionary debates between Achcar and Kouvelakis raise the question of the policy we need for the convulsive period that is opening, and concludes: If the response to the Ukrainian situation is therefore a litmus test for the whole period to come, the position formulated by GA seems to us to open the way to a dangerous alignment behind NATO while that of SK has the limit of underestimating the role that could be played by workers and peoples on the political scene. Yet Permanent Revolution says no more about the role that workers could play. In fact, it is Permanent Revolution that is also aligned behind NATO, and its own propaganda underestimates the role that workers could play in stopping the war. To stop the war and prevent it from leading to nuclear war, workers will have to not only overrun but consciously fight the union and political apparatuses that Permanent Revolution covers for. The WSWS explained in its response to Achcar: A Marxist party, in the face of the danger of world war, struggles to unite the workers of all countries against the chauvinist propaganda in which the ruling class wants to drown opinion in every country. It unmasks the historical falsifications and political lies that the bourgeoisie mobilizes in favor of war. Thus it prepares the intervention of the workers, as the Bolsheviks did in the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia during the First World War, to stop the war and overthrow the social order that created it. Such a policy requires unmasking, first, the petty-bourgeois political and trade-union circles that the pro-business media pass off as the extreme left and the workers movement. These are totally integrated into the imperialist propaganda apparatus. Thus, not only the NPA, but also the CGT, historically Stalinist and pro-Moscow trade union, and also the Workers Struggle party, give more or less open support to NATO in Ukraine. These organizations have moved far to the right since the time, 70 years ago, when the Pabloite political ancestors of the NPA broke with Trotskyism and the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). The bureaucrats and petty-bourgeois professors of that time relied on the financial manna of huge trade unions and especially of the Stalinist-dominated Soviet state. The Pabloites broke with the ICFI in 1953, insisting that the PCF was the only party that could lead workers struggles in France. Since the Stalinist dissolution of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the national trade union apparatuses, this milieu has evolved as petty-bourgeois groups for decades. Stunned by the demise of the Soviet Union, which fulfilled Trotskys warnings about the role of Stalinism, they quickly reoriented themselves to NATO. Enriched by the stock market and employed in trade union apparatuses and universities financed by state credits and employers organizations, they instinctively identify their interests with those of imperialism. Above all, they serve to demoralize layers of voters and workers who could form the basis of a left-wing movement. The task of building an anti-war movement against the danger of a nuclear world war requires irreconcilable opposition to the reactionary politics of Pabloism. Youth and workers in Australia spoke with the World Socialist Web Site, expressing their hostility to the US-NATO proxy war against Russia. Their comments reflect the growing understanding that the Biden administration has deliberately provoked the reactionary Russian invasion of Ukraine and is continually intensifying its aggressive threats against Russia, raising the danger of a nuclear war. They also give voice to the opposition to the Liberal-National government placing Australia on the frontlines of the US war drive against both Russia and China, with the complete support of the Labor Party, the Greens and the rest of the political establishment. *** Grace, a Western Sydney University student commented: I dont feel like people should die unnecessarily. Its not that I want [Russia] to bomb hospitals. I dont want Australia to join the war. She added: [The Australian government] has blown up so many hospitals in the Middle East. Asked about the anti-Russian propaganda pervading the mainstream media, including the attacks on Russian artists and athletes, Grace said: I view that as discrimination. It shouldnt happen at all, regardless of whats happening If you dont see any Russian culture, and all you see is negative, you are going to be programmed to hate that culture or race, and that is wrong. Grace said the COVID-19 pandemic was intensifying the war drive. She noted that the military is an industry that is heavily promoted during COVID. When people were losing their jobs during the lockdown, there was a lot more advertising of the military. Grace said the government response to COVID is sort of eugenics, and its all to keep money going. I really do think weve allowed our elderly to die. By letting the virus circulate, its killing them. Its going into nursing homes and killing everyone thats in need of care. I just feel like old people are at the back of the pile. Sam, a journalist, said understanding the motivation for the Russian invasion of Ukraine is not a justification for the war. He commented: Russia was compelled to go to war because of its unfair treatment by the International Monetary Fund, and the expansion of NATO. Sam NATO was made to combat the Soviet Union initially but ended up expanding after it fell. You would have thought the falling of the Soviet Union would have rendered the treaty useless but instead it expanded rather than retracted. Sam said the world was closer to World War III than we have been in 60 years. He noted: The Cuban Missile Crisis was exactly 60 years ago this year. It is troubling. Actually, we are probably more advanced in stepping towards World War III than we were even during the Cuban Missile Crisis. There has been a certain loss of memory of what some of the horrors of these previous wars were like, which heightens the danger of war, he said. He also noted the vast expansion of the military-industrial complex. On the fight to build an international anti-war movement, Sam said: I would like it if there was a strong anti-war movement in Russia, we have seen some indication of that. I would love for that to be a reality that there is a strong anti-war movement that can overturn the trajectory that this war is going. KW, a coal mine worker in central Queensland, said he blamed the capitalist system for taking humanity to the brink of a nuclear war. I am fully against this war, he said. I hope no one drops a nuclear bomb! He said the US had been pushing, pushing Russia for years to provoke the conflict in Ukraine. The US and its allies are trying to push China into war as well, over Taiwan. They call Russia and China communist, but they are no more communist than Australia is. I just say, stop the war! he said, but Biden doesnt want to stop it. He is a capitalist. Big business is making too much money out of war. The US has filled its pockets on wars for the past 30 years. KW added that NATO has been moving closer and closer to Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. That was the whole point about the breakup of the Soviet Union. The West has also put sanctions and more sanctions on Russia since 2014, trying to starve out the Russian people and give Putin no choice but to attack. A school security guard in Brisbane, Keith, said he is deeply opposed to this war. It is no doubt coming from Washington, not Moscow. There is a higher financial agenda behind this war, and so many underlying factors, based on profit, banking and business systems. A lot of people oppose this war, but others get sucked into anti-Russia and anti-China hate. Ive been reading the WSWS so I know whats happening, Keith added. So many soldiers and others are dying. We need to unite Russian and Ukrainian workers, and workers everywhere, against the war. Ergin, an IT worker originally from Turkey, said: To me, what the US is carrying out in Ukraine closely resembles other examples around the world. For example, the US has a long history of supporting, right-wing, nationalist/Islamist forces in Turkey. I believe the situation in Ukraine is very similar. The people of Russia and Ukraine, no matter how similar, have been polarised so badly that it will take years to mend the wounds. Ergin denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a terrible act. However, he added: I also find the Western powers to be equally, (if not more) responsible for the conflict in that they have been fuelling hatred by propaganda, covert operations and arming ultra-nationalist forces at the cost of civilians. There is only a lose-lose outcome out of such a conflict and no one will benefit from it. Youp, a science student at the University of Newcastle, said: The anti-war protests in Russia really reflect the disconnect that exists between the government and the regular people. I get the impression that the average Russian person is against the war despite the propaganda that they are fed by the government. Its clear that it is Putin and the government that are going for this war, not the average person. Youp Going to war is considered one of the ultimate ways to unite your country, patriotically, he added. If you have a whole lot of internal conflicts, like the pandemic, a war could be used to try and unite the populace, to try and forget about the pandemiceven though it is still incredibly importantthat way they try to solve their internal conflict. Youp referred to US President Joe Bidens recent declaration that the United States must commit to conflicts lasting decades. Youp said this push for forever war is a declaration of war, he is saying that there will be a great battle for freedom. They have done this numerous times before. The student opposed the positions of the pseudo-left groups that have lined up behind US imperialism by calling for support for Ukraine. They were advocating to prolong the war, give it moneymoney which could be going to better things. He added: They are just pushing this binary perspective thats going on everywhere and promoted by media and governments, you are either pro-Russia or pro-Ukraine. Youp spoke on the necessity to build an anti-war movement based on overthrowing the capitalist nation-state system. I think the people need to be given a direction, by a political party, especially for socialism. He added: Its clear to me that you need a socialist party to have a socialist revolution. David North is the chairman of the International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site. *** 2 April 2022 Dear Comrade, As the war continues, it becomes increasingly evident that the fate of Ukraine is of significance to the United States only within the context of its expanding struggle for global hegemony. The Biden administration instigated the war, driving Putin who up until the last minute hoped that he could persuade his Western Partners to make reasonable concessions to the Russian states national security into a poorly prepared (both from a military and political standpoint) war. What is surprising is that Putin and his military command appear not to have fully grasped the extent to which NATO had armed and trained Ukraines military. But this failure of their intelligence services is rooted in the Stalinist dissolution of the Soviet Union, which was based on wildly unrealistic, almost childishly naive, conceptions of the imperialist system. While repudiating all association with Marxism, the Kremlin retained its faith in the possibility of peaceful coexistence with its Western Partners. Putin, shortly before ordering the invasion, complained pathetically that Russia had been played by the West. Moreover, it is apparent that Russia after having failed to pressure the West did not have a clear strategic plan. What, exactly, is Putin trying to achieve? The military operation at least in its initial stages has been a disaster. It seems to consist of a series of reactions improvised in response to unexpected difficulties. The loss of seven generals in the opening weeks of the war is evidence of a staggering level of incompetence. Putin, who draws his inspiration from Imperial Russia, seems to be no more competent as a war leader than Nicholas II. The American and European governments and media are denouncing Russian brutality. We are not at all inclined to minimize, let alone deny, the devastating impact of the war on the Ukrainian masses. But the US-NATO denunciations of Russia are shot through with hypocrisy. The Russian invasion did not begin with shock and awe, i.e., the type of massive bombing that the United States unleashed against Baghdad in 1991 and, even worse, in 2003. If the Pentagon had launched the war against Ukraine, Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities would have been more or less destroyed on the first day of the war. Of course, this does not justify Putins invasion, which is a desperate and essentially reactionary response to the relentless and intensifying pressure exerted by the US and NATO upon Russia. The politically weak Russian bourgeoisie, which still lacks a substantial base for its rule, is trying to counteract this pressure through limited military actions. But this strategy, based on the conventional logic of bourgeois nation-state geopolitics, is strategically ineffective, tactically disastrous, and politically bankrupt. The latter aspect was exposed most clearly in the speech with which Putin initiated the invasion. Normally, a call to arms invokes the greatest historical experiences through which the people have passed. But this cannot be done by the restorationist Russian bourgeoisie. It cannot evoke the Russian history of the twentieth century, for that history is embedded in the experience of the October Revolution and the Soviet Union. Putin rejects that history, and so his war speech leapt over 1917. He rejected Lenin and the Bolsheviks and invoked the Tsar and Dzerzhimorda, the Great Russian chauvinist bully. This reactionary appeal cannot inspire the masses in Russia, let alone appeal to the world. At this point, it is not easy to foresee how the war will develop militarily. However, it can be foreseen that this war marks a critical turning point in the crisis of the world capitalist system. The global dimensions of the struggle will become increasingly apparent. For the imperialist powers, and above all the United States, the purpose of this war is a new division of the world. The main targets of this redivision are Russia and China. The United States is determined to 1) end Russias existence as an obstacle to its global interests, and 2) obtain direct control over Russias immense strategic resources. The realization of these goals requires the breakup of Russia in its existing form. As this struggle unfolds, the United States is pursuing similar objectives in relation to China. It cannot be coincidental that the two principal targets of US imperialism are countries that had passed through a social revolution. Although both countries have restored capitalism, the residual historical legacy of the Russian and Chinese revolutions is a limited degree of independence from total US interference in and control of its economic and political life. Tragically, in the case of Russia, this independence is manifested in a largely negative way that is, through its possession of the nuclear arsenal created by the USSR. But this arsenal does not provide, in the longer term, a viable strategy for the existential struggle that Russia confronts. The International Committee of the Fourth International opposes the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This principled position is not contradicted by its recognition of the undeniable fact that the United States instigated the conflict. However, the Trotskyist movement does not base its strategy on the sort of pragmatic nationally grounded conceptions that determine the policies of the capitalist regime in Russia. The defense of the Russian masses against imperialism cannot be undertaken on the basis of bourgeois nation-state geopolitics. Rather, the struggle against imperialism requires the rebirth of the proletarian strategy of world socialist revolution. The Russian working class must repudiate the entire criminal enterprise of capitalist restoration, which has led to disaster, and re-establish its political, social and intellectual connection with its great revolutionary Leninist-Trotskyist heritage. The essence of this heritage is its commitment to revolutionary internationalism. The war in Ukraine has set into motion a maelstrom of global dimensions. The economic dislocations produced by the war intensifying the already far-advanced crisis of the capitalist system are being felt all over the world. The rise in prices and the disruption of energy and food supplies have already led to mass protest demonstrations and strikes throughout the world. In Sri Lanka, enraged workers attempted during this past week to storm the presidential palace. Similar events will occur in capitals throughout the world. The task that confronts the world Trotskyist movement, led by the International Committee of the Fourth International, is to provide the working class with the perspective and leadership that it requires in this new stage of revolutionary struggle. With best fraternal greetings, David North On March 25, the French Senate announced that it was pursuing legal action against management consultancy firm McKinsey. The investigation was led by Senator Eliane Assassi, a member of the Stalinist French Communist Party (PCF). McKinsey is accused of evading hundreds of millions of euros of tax as it advised the Macron government on COVID-19 policy, and of perjury, for lying about this to a Senate committee. French President Emmanuel Macron. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP) The report detailed massive financial corruption inside the Macron government. It has awarded McKinsey 2.4 billion in consultancy fees since 2018, including over 1 billion in 2021. The real total is probably higher, as the investigation only probed the most prominent sections of the administration. Despite a turnover of 329 million, McKinsey did not pay a cent of corporation tax in 2020. The report stated that the governments use of consultancy firms had become a reflex and that McKinsey and other firms were involved in most of the major reforms of the Macron government, including attacks on pensions, housing, and unemployment benefits. While private consultancy firms including McKinsey have been utilized by previous French governments, Macron massively expanded their use. Perhaps most explosively, McKinsey advisers were reportedly at the heart of Macrons vaccine-only policy on the pandemic, and its refusal to implement basic social distancing measures to eliminate circulation of the viruseven as over 142,000 people died in France. US-based McKinsey has an annual revenue of $10 billion and offices in 65 countries. It charges governments and private companies exorbitant fees for strategic management advice, which typically leads to savage assaults on the working class. A Macron spokesperson inadvertently underlined McKinseys parasitism by citing the fact that the UK government has paid the firm 40 times more than the French government in recent years. McKinsey gained particular notoriety for its role in the ongoing privatization of the British National Health Service. On Sunday, Macrons initial response was to deny any wrongdoing, insisting no contract is awarded in the Republic without respecting the rules of public procurement. Speaking in Dijon on Monday, however, he distanced himself from the McKinsey affair, stating: I am not the one that signs the contracts. On Wednesday, his spokesperson vowed to reduce spending on outside consultancy by 15 percent. There are extensive ties between McKinsey and Macrons Le Republique En Marche (LREM) party. Paul Midy, deputy director of LREM, was a partner at McKinsey from 2007 to 2014. Mathieu Maucourt was a project leader at McKinsey for three years before becoming a political director for LREM and is now part of the state secretariat. Etienne Lacourt was on LREMs direction committee until 2018 before being hired as a partner by McKinsey. There can be little doubt that McKinseys evasion of taxation and their role in advising the Macron administration have a criminal character. Clearly, moreover, it has been an open secret in French government, judicial and media circles for some time. The Senate report, itself in preparation for over four months, is being brought to the fore on the eve of the upcoming presidential election. In the run-up to the first round of the presidential election, scheduled for April 10, rival candidates are criticizing Macron over the scandal, pointing to close ties between the US-based multinational and Macrons LREM. Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen tweeted, With Emmanuel Macron, McKinsey, which cost you 1 billion last year for very vague missions, will continue to gorge itself on public money, not pay taxes and lie to the Senate! Unsubmissive France candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon responded by claiming that with me, consulting groups will be gone. Les Republicains (LR) candidate Valerie Pecresse stated on Wednesday that it seems the government has something to hide. Pecresse supporter Xavier Bertrand described the reports findings as a state scandal, calling for an enquiry into the states use of consultancy firms. The rival candidates condemnations of Macrons corrupt deals with McKinsey are utterly hypocritical. LR candidate Pecresse worked alongside McKinsey consultants during her tenures as Minister of Higher Education and Minister of the Budget under former French President and convicted criminal Nicolas Sarkozy. Xavier Bertrand also worked alongside McKinsey consultants. LRs eagerness to discredit Macron over a consultancy firm to which they are also tied reflects their eagerness to shed their own popular association with rampant corruption. The corruption cases brought against Sarkozy, who was convicted of illegal wiretapping last year, and against 2017 LR presidential candidate Francois Fillon are still fresh in public memory. Candidates Jean-Luc Melenchon of Unsubmissive France and Fabien Roussel, of the Stalinist PCF, have supported the pandemic policy advised by McKinsey and pursued by the French financial aristocracy from the beginning of the pandemic. This support was crucial in imposing policies of mass infection and death on the working class, alongside a continuous stream of bailouts to line the pockets of the corporations and the super-rich. The focus on McKinsey, which is just one of an entire thieves nest of consultancy firms around the French government, underlines the cynical nature of this campaign. In reality, McKinsey accounts for only a small part of the French governments outlay on private consultancy firms. According to the Senate report, from 2018 to 2020, 1 percent of the states consultancy expenditure went to McKinsey, 5 percent to Capgemini, and 10 percent to Eurogroup. Amidst the scandal, reactionary anti-vaccine activists have jumped on McKinseys relationship to Pfizer to denounce any measures taken to stem the spread of the virus. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla and Chief Business Innovation Officer Aamir Malik are both former employees of McKinsey, which advised governments to buy Pfizer vaccines. McKinseys advice to buy vaccines was no doubt associated with criminal profiteering, which netted Pfizer alone some 30 billion in profits. Their principal crime, however, was not that they advocated the use of life-saving vaccines, but that they collaborated with the French government to refuse to scientifically implement life-saving social distancing measures. The whole sordid affair simultaneously exposes both Macron, popularly dubbed the president of the rich, and his electoral rivals. All of them are complicit in the funnelling of trillions of euros of public money into private hands that occurred throughout Macrons presidencywhether it be from stock market speculation, corporate bailouts, or large government contracts. Under the cover of the pandemic, moreover, this wealth accumulation was dramatically accelerated. In the final analysis, what the McKinsey scandal has revealed is not the personal corruption of a single man, party, or consultancy firm, but the corruption and parasitism of the entire social order dominated by the capitalist class. Statements are pouring in denouncing the victimization of RaDonda Vaught. Add your name and statement by filling out the form at the bottom of this article. Sign up for the WSWS Health Care Workers Newsletter for the latest on this struggle and others like it. *** There is an outpouring of support from health care workers for former Nashville, Tennessee nurse RaDonda Vaught, who was unjustly convicted for a medical error. She now faces sentencing in May with the possibility of lengthy jail time. Nurse RaDonda Vaught and Attorney Peter Strianse. (Livestream courtroom screen capture) On March 25, jurors found Vaught guilty of criminally negligent homicide for the unfortunate and tragic death of 75-year-old Charlene Murphey on December 26, 2017, after Vaught inadvertently administered the wrong medication. A petition on change.org demanding clemency for Vaught has been signed by more than 170,000 people as of this writing. Health care workers see the scapegoating of Vaught as an attack on them by the profit-driven health care system and the legal system that defends it. Below are some of the statements sent to the World Socialist Web Site. (See also, Health care workers denounce scapegoating of Nashville nurse RaDonda Vaught) Steve, a former nursing assistant: Im a former nursing assistant who worked in a hospital, and I can testify to the horrible working conditions and the failure of for-profit health care. I worked as an NA on the advice of health care workers, as I was considering a career as a registered nurse at the time. They advised me to do NA work to see what it was like before I committed to nursing school. Best life advice I ever received! I didnt go to nursing school, and Im sure I made the right choice. This tragic event confirms it! No one should doubt the truth of the statements that are being made by nurses to the WSWS in connection with this event. Staffing shortages will only get worse as a result of this gross miscarriage of justice. Cynthia, a nurse in Michigan and Ontario: A sad day to be a nurse. Weve always been promised the hospital will support the nurses. Now, were under the bus. Natalie, a nurse in New Jersey: As a new incoming nurse, I am extremely disturbed by the possibility of being criminally charged for a mistake. I will surely protect my license and life by refusing to take any risky assignments, verbal orders, or overriding the system in urgent situations. Not risking. How many mistakes wont get reported from now on? How will the system get improved and perfected? The jury has no idea and had no right to preside over her case. What happened is injustice and will negatively impact patient safety. Raymond: It shameful that a hospital that claims to foster a culture of reporting honest mistakes without ramification did not back her up. Donna: There is already a shortage of nurses! I support RaDonda Vaught! Nurses are human, but this whole shady deal looks as if the hospital is partially to blame! Olivia, a nurse in Ontario, Canada: This is sickening. The justice system in the United States is a joke. This will be the end of nurses. I am in my fourth year and about to graduate, and will not become a nurse because of this. RaDonda was treated as if she was not human, and its sickening to think this is our world now and society. There are real criminals out there who kill people on purpose. You are putting away an innocent woman who was doing her best to provide care, as this is her job, and made a mistake. She probably made a mistake because every day you come into work, the management system doesnt care how many patients you have. They say to do it, skip your breaks, dont kill anyone, get it done. I feel sick to be in this profession, and I hope that one day all of these people need nurses when they are sick and realize their actions will be the reason they are petrified to be in a hospital. You can all pat yourself on the back for what is about to happen to the health care system as if it wasnt already in need of change. I am so sorry RaDonda. I am sorry your life was changed forever after this but please know mine was changed forever as well, along with every single nurse at your side. Jennifer, a nurse in Texas: This is a system problem that will continue if we dont look at what can be fixed. Vaught admittingly owned up to her fault. She was not found at fault. She was cleared by the [victims] son! She continued to work another year after the incident caring for patients. It wasnt until CMS got involved and threatened funding to Vanderbilt that this became an issue. I support this nurse as I am a fellow RN. I believe this error could have been avoided, but I also believe this is again a wide issue that needs to be resolved. The hospital is more to blame here. Nobody wins. Ernesto, a doctor in Florida: This is a tragedy due to a broken healthcare system. A medical error is not solely the responsibility of one provider. Shame on Vanderbilt for not acting as a professional institution! Reporting incidents and errors is everyones responsibility. Are we to fear that each day when we go to work, there is a potential for an error that would result in criminal charges? Hopefully this will bring to light the real truth behind health care shortages. Lack of support and safety in the workplace, dealing with abuse from the system and patients, and nurses still being grossly underpaid, among an endless list. Thank you! Katrina, a nurse in Missouri and Florida: The hospital is solely responsible for this mistake by not following the rules in place! They should put in place a protocol so that this never happens! All health care workers are at risk in their jobs everyday! They have cut the staffing, so it is unsafe to work. Been in my field for 41 years, and I am taking early retirement so I can get out of this field. It is very unsafe now. Barbara, a nurse in Tennessee: As a nurse, I feel this is a horrific mistake. The role of health care in this country is going to change. A prison time sentence is totally inappropriate. I dont see why Vanderbilt, who admits to system errors, is out of the loop for retribution. Jo, a nurse in Australia: This sort of action wouldnt happen in Australia. You have been let down by your colleagues, your hospital, your country. I personally know the pain of making a serious error at work. We should be supported to address systemic issues and drive change to improve hospital care, not scapegoated as individuals. I can only hope that the USA healthcare system starts to implement some of the basic safety systems that Australian nurses take for granted. Janet, a nurse in Arizona: I am nurse and have worked in many hospital situations. After this decision I would never work in a hospital situation. No one is served by sending this nurse to prison. Sarah, a nurse in Massachusetts: The amount of pressure nurses are under in a hospital should not be allowed! So much danger and risk is at stake for the patient, but the fault is within management and the hospital board! Valerie: As an RN, I understand the risk of human error that comes with any occupation, but especially in the medical field. As nurses, we understand our actions have consequences, but this is wrong. This nurse was as honest and forthcoming as she could be. She was not supported by her facility and was clearly misled by management, yet she still came forward. She did not set out that day with the intent to end someones life. She goes to work with the intent to heal and saves lives. We dedicate ourselves to this profession and push through the pain and mental struggles, especially during a pandemic. This is a high intensity and stressful field, but we fight for our patients. This nurse needs someone to fight for her. I hope you grant her clemency. Any other ruling would be a failure to the health care system, nurses and our patients. Melissa, a nurse in California: As a fellow RN, I think what shes been through is heartbreaking. We all want the best care and outcome for our patients. So sad this happened and she is the sacrificial lamb/pawn in this ever greedy and heartless health care system. We stand united to support her in this fight. God bless her and those people who help her along the way. Sri Lankan President Gotabhaya Rajapakse imposed a state of emergency yesterday in response to the growing anti-government demonstrations in Colombo and throughout the country over fuel and cooking gas shortages, the skyrocketing cost of essential food items and lengthy daily electricity cuts. A Sri Lankan man shouts anti government slogans during a protest outside Sri Lankan president's private residence on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) The emergency was necessary, the declaration said, for public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community. The reference to maintenance of supplies and services, makes clear that the real purpose of Rajapakses state of emergency is not just to suppress current protests but is directed against the rising wave of working-class strikes and protests against the governments austerity measures. The Rajapakse government faces a severe economic crisis due to drastic falls in export income, tourist visits, declines in remittances and increasing foreign debt repayments. This is has been worsened by COVID-19 pandemic and now the Ukraine war. In February, Sri Lanka only had foreign exchange reserves to pay for one-and-a-half months of imports, drastically impacting on supplies of fuel, cooking gas and even medicine. The lack of fuel for power plants has led to electricity shortages with long queues for fuel and cooking gas commonplace throughout Colombo and outlying areas. The governments decision last month to embrace harsh International Monetary Fund-dictated measures, including the further devaluation of the rupee, cuts in subsidies and restructuring of the public sector will mean even deeper attacks on the jobs, living conditions and wages of the working class. The current protests against the Rajapakse government are taking a more and more spontaneous and mass character. On March 31, about 100 demonstrators blocked the road to President Rajapakses private residence at Mirihana, Nugegoda, in Colombos outer suburbs. Protesters tried to storm the presidents home, chanting Gota, go home, and demanding that he resign. Fifty people, including Sanjeewa Gallage, a free-lance video journalist, were arrested by police. Gallage, who was assaulted by the police and injured, has complained that police prevented him from going to hospital for treatment. Two journalists, Nisal Baduge and Waruna Wanniarachchi from the English-language Daily Mirror, who were covering the protest, received multiple injuries to their heads and arms after being hit by stones and other blunt objects. Three police officers, including an assistant superintendent of police, were injured in clashes with the protesters. Twenty-eight of those arrested were brought before courts and 22 granted bail with six others remanded until April 4. The remainder were being treated in hospital for injuries receiving during the police crackdown. Agents provocateur are seen in video footage taken at the Mirihana protest when a few vehicles, including a police bus and jeep, were set alight. The video, which has been posted on social media, clearly shows that the bus was on the same side as the police, not where protesters were. An unidentified person is seen setting fire to the bus. Police took no action to stop the individual, strongly suggesting that the incident was used to justify the subsequent police attack, including the use of tear gas, on protesters. Ajith Perera, 26, who attended the Mirihana protest, told Al Jazeera: We came to protest the unbearable cost of living, fuel shortages and electricity cuts The decision to come to the presidents house was spontaneous. We want the president, who has caused so much destruction, to go home. Mohamed Asri, 21, another protester said, The economy is got so bad that we can hardly eat two meals [a day]. Things were never this bad in my lifetime. Gota has to go. Anti-government protests erupted elsewhere in the Colombo area, including Kelaniya and Mount Lavinia. In Kelaniya, protesters used burning logs to block the main highway from Colombo to Kandy, the hill country capital. Saman Wanasinghe, a protester, told the media: I am angry, everyone is angry Who knows what will happen now? There will be protests all over. In an attempt to stop the protests spreading, the police imposed an immediate curfew in North, South and Central Divisions of Colombo, as well as in Nugegoda, Kelaniya and Mount Lavinia. While the curfew was lifted at 5 a.m. on Friday, the Inspector General of Police declared a curfew for the whole of the Western Province from midnight until 6 a.m. Saturday. Underscoring the Rajapakse governments moves to criminalise all protests, the Presidential Media Division (PMD) declared on Friday that an extremist group was behind the protests near Rajapakses residence. It provided no evidence for this accusation. It also claimed that many of those arrested were organised extremists. A communal adjective was not added to the accusations of extremism. However, the use of communalism to try and derail the mass protests and justify state repression will not be long in coming. Rajapakse seized on the 2019 Easter Sunday terror bombing by Islamic extremists to whip up anti-Muslim chauvinism and since his election has fomented anti-Tamil sentiment. Islandwide protests against the Rajapakse government are being organised via social media in Colombo and other cities for Sunday, April 3. Those organising the demonstrations have urged people to come to the streets for ourselves, our country and our future. They have called on those attending to bring handwritten placards but without the name of any political party. Parliamentary opposition parties, such as the right-wing United National Party (UNP), the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the National Freedom Front (NFF), a government ally, have distanced themselves from the planned protests. Their response points to the fears in the political establishment that the mass anti-government unrest is developing outside their control. The JVP nervously declared that the general public has a right to protest against this crisis, but expressed concern that the protests cannot be traced back to a recognisable and accountable organiser or group. A UNP statement issued on Thursday afternoon said that it will not be joining any protests organised by anonymous groups. The NFF described the demonstrations as Sri Lankas version of the Arab Spring, then added that 11 parties that make up the government coalition, including the NFF, did not support the April 3 protests. The Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB), the main parliamentary opposition party, is attempting to exploit growing popular opposition against the government for its own political gain. The SJB said it supported the protests but denied having anything to do with their organisation. While criticising the Rajapakse government, the UNP, SJB and JVP have no fundamental opposition to its economic policies and the IMF-dictated austerity measures. The UNP and SJB has previously called on the government to approach the IMF. The JVP is maintaining a silence over the IMF measures, indicating that it would implement same policies if in office. The Rajapakse government knows well that its austerity measures will not be implemented easily and will provoke mass opposition from the working class and the rural poor. This is why it has declared a state of emergency and is increasingly relying on police-state methods of rule. Organisers have called for the April 3 protests to be non-political, reflecting widespread public hostility to all the major parties. Workers must recognise that they are facing a political fight not only against the government but the entire political establishment that defend capitalism and support austerity measures. Protests by themselves, no matter how large and militant, will not resolve the crisis facing working people. The central issue is not no politics, but the fight for a socialist and internationalist perspective to put end the capitalist system that puts profits ahead of everything elseincluding the health and lives of the working class. As the March 30 statement issued by the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) in Sri Lanka says: Working people cannot afford to allow another capitalist government to come to power. No amount of pressurising and bargaining is going to halt the onslaught on living conditions. Workers need to take matters into their own hands, rally the urban and rural poor and fight for a socialist perspective. The Socialist Equality Party insists that the Rajapakse regime must be replaced, not with another capitalist government, but with a workers and peasants government to implement socialist policies. On Friday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Public Health announcement confirming it was terminating the use of the Title 42 Order on May 23. The move is in accordance with statements earlier this week by the Biden administration that it will halt the immigration ban initiated by the Trump administration at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump cited public health concerns in order to justify the closure of the United States borders to migrants and halt all applications for asylum. A group of migrants rest on a gazebo at a park after they were expelled from the U.S. and pushed by Mexican authorities off an area where they had been staying, Saturday, March 20, 2021, in Reynosa, Mexico [Credit: AP Photo/Julio Cortez] As recently as last month the Biden administration defended the extension of the policy, lifting it only for unaccompanied minors, while continuing to deny asylum for families and adults. However, in recent weeks a growing number of Ukrainian refugees have landed at US border crossings fleeing the US/NATO-led war. Many are arriving in Mexico on flights from Paris to Mexico City and Tijuana. These refugees are presenting themselves primarily at the San Ysidro crossing at the US/Mexico border in San Diego, the most frequently crossed border in the world. Unlike their counterparts from Latin America, the Ukrainian refugees are being processed and entering the United States in a matter of hours or days, what is essentially a fast track as tens of thousands wallow in migrant encampments along the border awaiting their turn for the processing of asylum. Despite their quick turnaround, many are commenting on the inhumane conditions in the border processing jails. Mark Lehmkuhler, a US citizen, reported that his fiancee who is a Ukrainian citizen was held overnight in a detention center. He told NBC news that she had to sleep in a holding cell with metal benches cramped with nine other women. They were given thin mats and forced to use an open toilet in the room. There is no rhyme or reason why they treated people like this. Nobody was prepared, Lehmkuhler said. The announcement of the ending of Title 42 and the arrival of a growing number of Ukrainian refugees are treated in the mainstream media as entirely separate phenomena. The reality of the situation is that the Biden administration and the Democratic Party, which oversaw unprecedented numbers of deportations under the Obama administration, had no intention of lifting Title 42. Since assuming office in January 2021 the Biden administration has defended the anti-migrant policy in response to litigation brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and immigrant rights groups. The Biden administration is compelled to formally drop the immigration policy because it cannot justify the hypocrisy of allowing Ukrainian refugees into the country, an act which directly undermines the Title 42 policy currently in place. Simultaneously, all COVID-19 mitigation measures have been dropped throughout the country even as the US reached the grim milestone of over 1 million dead. Despite growing case numbers of infections by the BA.2 Omicron subvariant, the administration has overseen the lifting of all mask mandates in schools and indoor settings. The argument that Title 42 was needed in the interest of public health no longer holds water with the dropping of all COVID-19 restrictions and the full resumption of international travel. Title 42 was first invoked in March 2020 by the Trump administration, which cited the COVID-19 pandemic as justification for halting the processing of asylum cases for hundreds of thousands of migrants. Title 42 is part of a 1944 law which grants the US president broad powers to block foreigners from entering the country in order to prevent the serious threat of a dangerous disease. Stephen Miller, Trumps fascistic immigration adviser, who long saw the special protections children are granted under asylum law as a major hurdle, seized on the crisis to carry out this policy. Miller had, in fact, attempted to invoke the law twice before, during a mumps outbreak in the immigration jails and once again during the flu season. Trump, Miller and the Republican Party and its far-right allies have been at the forefront of the lifting of restrictions and reopening campaigns. Yet the public was supposed to believe the lie that Title 42 was invoked to stop the spread of COVID-19, while the administration simultaneously pushed for the full reopening of the economy and herd immunity policies. Millions turned out to the polls in 2020 believing a Biden administration would provide a more humane response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as moderate the ruthless immigration policies of Trump, but the opposite has been the case. The Democratic Party has shown its bipartisan agreement with brutal crackdowns on immigration, defending both Trump-era policies of Title 42 and the 2019 Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as remain in Mexico, that require every person seeking asylum in the US to wait in Mexico while a judge evaluates his or her claim. In February the Biden administration deported its 20,000th Haitian migrant, according to the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), as the administration has chartered flights filled with deportees. In the run-up to the May 23 expiration of Title 42, the Biden administration has been working to stop migrants from Central and South America before they reach the southern border. Washington, which has historically treated Latin America as its backyard, is demanding that governments step up their immigration controls and crackdown on travel without visas. In his State of the Union address last month, Biden confirmed, Were securing commitments and supporting partners in South and Central America to host more refugees and secure their own borders. During March, Biden hosted Colombian President Ivan Duque at the White House, and US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas met with officials in Costa Rica and Mexico, which play key roles in transit routes from South America and abroad. Costa Rica began requiring visas for Venezuelans and Cubans in February with the purpose of slowing their migration north. Mexico began requiring the same from the two countries in January. As a result of these new visa requirements, Al Jazeera reported that US authorities encountered Venezuelans along the US-Mexico border 3,072 times in February, down sharply from 22,779 times a month earlier which demonstrate[s] the impact of Mexicos new requirement for Venezuelans which took effect January 21. Colombians, who do not require visas for Mexico travel, were encountered 9,600 times, up from 3,911 times in January. These countries have been targeted because they host growing numbers of migrants. Thousands of Haitians seeking asylum in the US pass through Colombia every week. Colombia is also home to some 1.8 million Venezuelans fleeing political and economic turmoil. Costa Rica has been receiving tens of thousands of Nicaraguans annually since political protests and crackdown began there in 2018. The lifting of Title 42 and the crackdown on migrants in Central and South America are for the purpose of stopping migrants before they reach the border, whatever the cost, while saving face and allowing Ukrainians to enter the US who take direct flights to Tijuana and Mexico City. Pseudo-left radicals and other middle class layers, who view the world entirely through racial lenses, are denouncing the acceptance of Ukrainian refugees as racist double standard. But such a stance neglects the connection of the plight of ordinary Ukrainians fleeing war to Washingtons war aims, which are bound up with the threat of a nuclear world war that would engulf the entire planet and bear the heaviest tolls on the working masses in each country and of all races. As the WSWS wrote last month, If Title 42 should in fact be lifted, it will not be because the right to asylum under international law has been reinstated or has been strengthened. It will be for the purpose of public consumption and propaganda to justify the US/NATO-provoked war against Russia all while the tens of thousands of poor souls from Mexico, the Northern Triangle and Latin America will continue to confront the same brutality. Only a revolutionary socialist movement led by the international working class can stop a nuclear third world war which Washington-led NATO is recklessly risking to prop up its declining global hegemony. The working class, which is itself international, must build its political leadership to fight for a world free from war, immigration jails, borders, and the horrors bound up with the division of the world into nation-states under capitalism. Yesterday, as the BA.2 subvariant of COVID-19 continued its assault, more than 1.5 million infections were reported worldwide, and over 4,000 people died from complications associated with their infections. Currently, this version of the Omicron strain accounts for 90 percent of all sequenced viruses. Medical workers in protective equipment, Station 43 of the Berlin Charite Hospital (Image: DOCDAYS Production) Last week also saw global deaths surge 40 percent after declines from BA.1s ebb, with close to 46,000 succumbing as infections have risen across the globe. All told, almost one-half billion people have been infected and more than six million have died. Yet, these grim astronomical figures are known to be a vast undercounting, the best estimate places global excess deaths over 20 million. Even as these statistics demonstrate that the pandemic is far from over, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its Strategic Preparedness, Readiness, and Response Plan to End the Global COVID-19 Emergency in 2022. The international health organization noted that two key objectives would need to be met: reducing COVID infections and early diagnosis and treatment of cases to reduce deaths. As the Hill summarized, The WHO said that can be achieved by increased surveillance and monitoring, improving global vaccine equity, bolstering healthcare systems and supplies, as well as upgrading research and data analyses. None of these objective measures have been met. On the contrary, they have become acutely worse as country after country has summarily ended any public health response to the present threat. These declarations, as experience has shown, are simply a prelude to the WHO acquiescing to pressures by the capitalist governments that keep a tight rein on their activities. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted in the report, We now stand at a pivotal and dangerous moment in the fight against COVID-19. Although it is impossible to predict precisely how the SARS-CoV-2 virus will evolve, we know that new variants will arise as transmission continues and, in many cases, intensifies. And yet we can look into the future with a sense of hope that we can end the COVID-19 pandemic as a global emergency through our actions. These comments are a betrayal of the international working class and their welfare. The mixture of truth couched in rhetorical optimism can only mean the WHO as a public health organization has abandoned its principles as it tries to accommodate the demands of finance capital. In the US, where cases have plateaued at an average of more than 30,000 per day for the last three weeks as BA.2 has become the dominant variant, governors of many states have already rescinded their states COVID states of emergency. By April 22, only three statesArizona, Nevada, and West Virginiawill have their emergency status in place until further notice. And the rise in cases is arriving as all funding for COVID-19 response has been exhausted. As reporting requirements are being curtailed, states will be flying blind through the BA.2 storm that is gaining momentum each day. Perhaps more concerning is the detection of a new version of the Omicron variant in the UK that has combined BA.1 and BA.2. In their COVID-19 Weekly epidemiological Update published on March 29, 2022, they wrote, The XE recombinant [BA.1 and BA.2] was first detected in the United Kingdom on January 19, and more than 600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since. Early-day estimates indicate a community growth rate advantage of ten percent as compared to BA.2, however, this finding requires further confirmation. The WHO acknowledged in reply that confirmation would be more difficult due to the recent significant reduction in SARS-CoV-2 testing by several member states. Data are becoming progressively less representative, less timely, and less robust. This inhibits our collective ability to track where the virus is, how it is spreading and how it is evolving, information and analyses that remain critical to effectively end the acute phase of the pandemic. According to the Office for National Statistics, in the UK, COVID-19 infections at the end of March reached a record high with almost five million people being infected in a single week. This accounts for one in 13 people in England with COVID. In conjunction with the rise in cases, hospitalizations have surpassed the BA.1 peak. The average daily COVID death rate has continued to climb and is currently at 220 and quickly approaching its predecessor. The European continent, and in particular Germany, is seeing BA.2 continue to rage. Despite the reporting anomalies in Germany, where multiple states had not reported data in several days, cases continue to climb. Germanys per capita rate of infection is now higher than the peak reached in the US and the UK during their Omicron surges. The death rate is also increasing every day. The situation will most likely grow direr as plans are underway to end mandatory quarantine for most people. More than four million people are currently isolated due to infection, impacting businesses ability to extract surplus value. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has demanded that isolation be voluntary and to allow infected workers back on the job to address these concerns. The complete disregard for the spread of infections and the continued evolution of the virus towards more contagious and immune-evasive forms will significantly impact the worlds population in the third year of the pandemic. China, which has attempted to contain the virus using a Zero COVID strategy until now, is facing the full brunt of the malign neglect that characterizes the policies employed by every other country to place profits over lives during the pandemic. The virus that emerged out of Wuhan has been redirected against China as a more dangerous and formidable pathogen. The response to the virus has become a political line in the sand. Figure 1: Daily COVID cases in March 22 China [Source: WSWS] Indeed, suppressing the highly contagious BA.2 subvariant of Omicron is proving a difficult challenge for the Chinese authorities as more than 100,000 COVID cases have been reported domestically in March. At best, current efforts have managed to cap the community spread of infections which have affected multiple cities and provinces and dogged public health officials. The National Health Commission of the Peoples Republic of China reported that yesterdays daily case count was the largest one day total on record, with a total of 9,875 on April 1, 2022. Approximately 4,500 of these cases were documented in Shanghai, the current epicenter of the pandemic in China and one of the worlds financial centers. The citys two central banksthe China Construction Bank and the Bank of Chinaoperating through the central governments Ministry of Finance are responsible for managing capital investment funds for state enterprises. The citys lockdown, implemented in two phases, has perturbed global finance capital. Not mincing words, the Financial Times, the mouthpiece for financial oligarchs, in no uncertain terms asserted that China will need a strategy to exit zero-COVID and live with the virus. The implications of broad uncontrolled transmissions will have disastrous consequences for the Chinese working class. The Wall Street Journal noted that a large Shanghai elderly care hospital is battling a COVID-19 outbreak. They indicated some patients have died because of their infections, but Chinese officials have not corroborated these reports. According to the Journal, Six replacement orderlies at the citys Donghai Elderly Care Hospital, brought in after previous caretakers were sent away to quarantine, told the Wall Street Journal that they had witnessed or heard of the recent removal of several bodies from the facility, where they said at least 100 patients had tested positive for COVID-19. It may be reasonable to assume that the report is accurate and would be consistent, and in line with what is understood about the lethality of COVID-19. One Shanghai physician told the WSWS, I feel China is feeling the economic pain and is gradually lifting policies. These developments only underscore the need to press forward with elimination strategies against the virus and ensure life and livelihood are protected. But given the pressures being placed on China by global financial demands, a Zero COVID strategy will be more challenging to sustain on a national level as an elimination strategy must be pursued internationally. In this aspect, the Chinese state will not be able to find a progressive path out of the present crisis. Meanwhile, the second phase of Shanghais lockdown commenced on Friday. However, given the persistent spread of the virus, authorities have said restrictions affecting areas east and south of the Huangpu River would stay in place for at least another three to ten days. This means the entire city of 26 million people is now under lockdown orders in the hopes of bringing cases back to zero. Mass testing continues to locate and map every infection. On announcing a city-wide lockdown that will last for several days, Moodys Analytics quickly added, With Chinas largest city closed for nine days, there will undeniably be an economic blow that will follow into the second quarter of the year. Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist with the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaking with Global Times, countered, Based on the experience accumulated from the past two years and our understanding of the virus mutations, I believe China is still able to realize the dynamic Zero COVID. Jilin City has announced they are exiting lockdown after three weeks despite having persistent daily cases in the 700 range. It will be critical to follow the trajectory of COVID cases in the capital city of the northern province and assess the response from the authorities. By all accounts, it remains premature to lift these stringent measures. But the statements by Moody and Wu posit the underlying contradictions that only the working class can resolve. Capitol Riot-Belarus Asylum (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) An Alabama man was sentenced to almost four years in prison after pleading guilty to driving a pickup truck filled with a "small armoury" of weapons and Molotov cocktails to the US Capitol riot. Lonnie Leroy Coffman, 72, was said he never intended to hurt anybody but US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said he had not explained the "small armoury in his truck, ready to do battle. The US Army Vietnam War veteran from Alabama was the most heavily armed person charged in connection to the riot, with five firearms and ingredients for 11 Molotov cocktails in his truck parked on Capitol Hill for days before 6 January 2021. His red pickup truck was found during a sweep of the area around Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee headquarters. In addition to mason jars filled with gas, officers found hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and a loaded shotgun, assault rifle, revolver, crossbow, stun gun, and several machetes. He was arrested when returning to the vehicle and was found to be carrying another two loaded pistols. Though he wasnt accused of entering the Capitol or participating in the mob, he was the first person charged in connection to the riot and as part of his deal pled guilty to possession of an unregistered firearm and carrying a pistol without a license. More than 770 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. Over 240 participants in the attack have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanours punishable by a maximum of six months imprisonment. More than 130 have been sentenced. Coffman is one of nine defendants whose prison sentence exceeds one year. Described by a family member as "a hermit," Mr Coffman wrote in a letter to the judge that he travelled to DC to get answers about the 2020 election that he believed was stolen. My objective was to try to discover just how true and secure was the election on November 3rd 2020. Did my vote go to the people I intended it to? he wrote. Story continues If I had any idea that things would turn out like they did, I would have stayed home, he added. During the virtual court hearing on Friday, Mr Coffman broke down in tears as he told the judge he would spend most of his time with family if he was released, according to NBC News. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Harry Styles new single As It Was has set a new Spotify record in its first day of release. On Saturday (April 2), Spotify confirmed that As It Was is now the most-streamed song in the United States in a single day, with 8.3 million streams, a record that was formerly held by Olivia Rodrigos Drivers License (8 million streams). More from Billboard Styles new song is also now the most-streamed song globally on Spotify in a single day for 2022 so far, with 21.6 million streams. That number of streams tops Anittas Envolver, which saw 8.6 million single-day streams in March. As It Was, which dropped on March 31, is the first taste of Styles upcoming third album, Harrys House. The 13-track album is scheduled for a May 20 release. I feel very lucky that this is the proudest Ive been of something that Ive made so far, he recently said of the project in an interview on Sirius XMs The Morning Mash Up. I feel the most comfortable Ive been with myself and happiest with what Im making. See Spotifys Harry Styles update below. You know it's not the same As It Was. @Harry_Styles just broke some records pic.twitter.com/VT2cq87Vg0 Spotify (@Spotify) April 2, 2022 Click here to read the full article. Lithuania announced on Saturday that the country would no longer allow Russian gas imports as Europe continues to reduce its reliance on energy imports from Moscow. From this month on no more Russian gas in Lithuania. Years ago my country made decisions that today allow us with no pain to break energy ties with the [aggressor.] If we can do it, the rest of Europe can do it too! Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said in a post on Twitter. Last week, he U.S. and European Commission announced a task force to reduce Europes dependence on Russian fossil fuels and strengthen European energy security, which would include the U.S. and partners directing more liquified natural gas (LNG) to the European Union, per a White House readout on the matter. The European Commission will work with EU Member States toward the goal of ensuring, until at least 2030, demand for approximately 50 bcm/year of additional U.S. LNG that is consistent with our shared net-zero goals, the readout adds. This also will be done on the understanding that prices should reflect long-term market fundamentals and stability of supply and demand. The steps have been taken to help further economically isolate Russia from the rest of the world. Energy exports to Europe are an important sector of Russias economy. They are also a key part of the European energy market, however, with Russia providing roughly 40 percent of Europes natural gas. The U.S. took steps similar to Lithuanias last month by barring Russian imports of oil, natural gas and coal. The move has received bipartisan support. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. PROVIDENCE A late-night shooting of a 30-year-old man outside the Wonderland Gentlemen's Club on Allens Avenue led to an emergency licensing hearing on Saturday morning and a temporary shutdown order. The unidentified victim was outside the club at 257 Allens Ave. when an unknown gunman shot him multiple times shortly before midnight, according to police Cmdr. Thomas Verdi. A friend drove the victim to Rhode Island Hospital, where he was in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, Verdi said. At the scene of the shooting, security staff told police that "there was a verbal altercation between two groups who were kicked out of the establishment. Both groups were separated and went opposite ways." A short time later, "a dark colored SUV is seen pulling up to the remaining group and an unknown subject is seen exiting the vehicle and opening fire into the group, striking the victim ... before re-entering the vehicle and fleeing the scene outbound on Allens Ave," according to the redacted police report. At an emergency hearing Saturday morning, the city's Board of Licenses effectively voted to close Wonderland Gentlemen's Club by suspending all of its licenses, pending a full hearing at 11 a.m. on Tuesday. According to a statement by the board, the action was "based upon the testimony concerning the incident itself and the ongoing threat to public safety as testified to by the Providence Police Department." As part of the investigation that followed, police made three car stops that led to the arrest of four people on gun charges and the seizure of a number of firearms, Verdi said. He provided this rundown: Two women were charged with possession of a firearm, without a license, as a result of a car stop near 480 Allens Ave. "as they were leaving the scene of the shooting which occurred at 'Wonderland,'" according to the police report. They were identified as Shaquillah T. Washington, 29, of Providence, and Krishon L. Butler, 25, of Providence. Story continues Julian Lomba, 28, of Providence, was also charged with possession of a firearm without a license after he was pulled over near Blackstone and Eddy streets. Anthony Thompson, 24, of Jamaica Plains, Massachusetts, was charged with possession of a firearm without a license and possession of a firearm with obliterated serial numbers, after a car stop at Blackstone Street and Allens Avenue "due to the shooting at Wonderland." This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Shooting outside Wonderland Gentlemen's Club leaves one man injured Miley Cyrus is sitting out Grammys weekend after she tested positive for COVID-19. The "Midnight Sky" singer broke the news on Twitter on April 1. "Traveling around the world, playin for a 100,000 people a night & meeting hundreds of fans a day the chances of getting Covid are pretty high," she wrote. "I have Covid now but it was definitely worth it." In another tweet, Miley announced she was pulling out of her set performance at Steven Tyler's Grammy Awards Viewing Party, which benefits the nonprofit Janie's Fund. "Unfortunately because of this I'm missing out on Janie's Fund," Miley said, "which sucks because it's a charity that's super important to me & my friend Steven Tyler Sorry Steven! We'll have to Walk This Way' another time." The Hannah Montana alum said she was "feeling fine" and assured fans, "don't worry about me!" Steven's event serves as a celebration that benefits Janie's Fund, a philanthropic effort to help girls who are victims of trauma of abuse and neglect. Chairmen of the event include Jim Carrey, Caitlyn Jenner, Paula Abdul, John Stamos and more. While Miley canceled this performance due to the coronavirus, it was a lightning strike that shut down another performance in Paraguay last month. Miley Cyrus Through the Years Miley was scheduled to headline the 2022 Asuncionico music festival. However, an intense storm led Miley and her team to undergo an emergency landing after their plane was struck by lightning. The singer took to Instagram to share that she was safe, but regretfully, not able to make it to the show. "To my fans and everyone worried after hearing about my flight to Asuncion. Our plane was caught in a major unexpected storm and struck by lighting [sic]," Miley wrote in a March 23 post. "My crew , band , friends and family who were all traveling with me are safe after an emergency landing. We were unfortunately unable to fly into Paraguay. I LOVE YOU." Story continues Vijat Mohindra/NBC Following the emergency landing, Miley shared a video of herself giving an a cappella performance of "Stay" in dedication to Paraguay. "I wish I could've STAYed & performed for all of my fans in Paraguay," she wrote. "Please STAY safe. I love you." Russian troops are trying to sell looted Ukrainian goods in Belarus, Ukrainian defense ministry says Russian troops are selling goods stolen from Ukrainians, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said. They "arranged a specialized bazaar" in a small town in Belarus, officials said. They are selling gains from "looting and robbing the civilians in Ukraine," the defense ministry said. Russian troops have opened a market in Belarus to sell goods that they stole from Ukrainians during the invasion, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said. The defense ministry said Russians are selling "washing machines and dishwashers, refrigerators, precious jewelry, cars, bicycles, motorcycles, dishes, carpets, artworks, children's toys, cosmetics." "That is, everything that the Russians have gained by looting and robbing the civilians in Ukraine," the ministry said in a Facebook post on Saturday, adding that the Russians "arranged a specialized bazaar" in the small Belarusian town of Naroulia. The defense ministry said that a Russian "column of trucks with various properties - industrial goods and household things" is currently moving from the Ukrainian city of Buryn towards the Russian border. Meanwhile, in the Belarusian city of Mozir, Russian troops are "unloading packages with things obtained by looting" from Russian military vehicles, the ministry said. Ukraine's foreign affairs ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said Thursday that Ukrainians "will never forget" the looting "of ordinary people." "As Russian troops retreat from the Kyiv region after having sustained immense losses, they are looting houses of ordinary people," Nikolenko tweeted. "Electronics, clothes, shoes, cosmetics. This is not an army. This is a disgrace. We will never forget and we will never forgive." Russia's invasion of Ukraine has dragged on into its sixth week, with unsuspecting Russian troops facing fierce resistance from Ukraine. Russia's Defense Ministry announced last week that it would reduce its military assaults on Kyiv and Chernihiv, although the United States has remained skeptical of those claims. "We believe that this is a repositioning, not a real withdrawal, and that we all should be prepared to watch for a major offensive against other areas of Ukraine," Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said. Read the original article on Business Insider Bye Bye Bobby had a great run at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino this year. He ran second in the Riley Allison Derby, Mine That Bird Derby and the Sunland Derby. In every race, the 3-year-old son of Quality Road, improved and in the Sunland Derby he even led briefly late in the race before finishing second to Slow Down Andy. With his second-place finish in the Sunland Derby, he earned 20 qualifying points toward the Kentucky Derby, which is run on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Those 20 points currently leave Bye Bye Bobby in 16th place for the 20-horse field in the Kentucky Derby. Pepper Spray (inside horse) edged Bye Bye Bobby in the Riley Allison Derby Sunday at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino. The Riley Allison Derby is a prep race for the March 27 Sunland Derby. But with more prep races still on the agenda leading up to the Kentucky Derby, he will most likely fall out of the top 20. The horse wasn't Triple Crown nominated. However, with the late nomination period ending this past Monday, owner B4 Farms LLC made the horse eligible at a cost of $6,000. Trainer Todd Fincher said he will point Bye Bye Bobby to the Grade III, $400,000, Lexington Stakes at Keeneland Racetrack in Kentucky on April 16 with hopes of qualifying for the Kentucky Derby. The race will be contested at 1 1/16th miles. "The Lexington Stakes is worth 20 points to the winner and I think we can get into the Kentucky Derby with another 20 points," Fincher said. "But if the Kentucky Derby doesn't happen, the Preakness Stakes is an option." The Preakness Stakes is the second leg of the Triple Crown, followed by the Belmont Stakes. "Bye Bye Bobby keeps improving and I was happy with his performance in the Sunland Derby," Fincher said. "He's done a great job at Sunland and I believe he'll keep improving." More: Bye Bye Bobby second in Sunland Derby Felix F. Chavez may be reached at 915-546-6167; fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on Twitter. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Sunland Park horse Bye Bye Bobby still in hunt for Kentucky Derby Citizen scientists predict peak of cherry blossom season Forecasting is not an easy job, particularly when it comes to predicting the peak blooms of plants, so the universities of British Columbia (UBC) and George Mason turned to the world's citizen scientists for help. An idea from UBC climate change biologist Elizabeth Wolkovich sprouted into the worlds first international cherry tree prediction competition, a joint initiative from UBC and George Mason University. The contest saw citizen scientists put their heads together to forecast peak blooms in four cities renowned for cherry trees: Kyoto, Japan, Washington, D.C., Vancouver, B.C., and Liestal-Weideli in Switzerland. Competitors drew on publicly available data and records to form predictions. This process promotes a greater awareness of climate science and aids researchers in their modelling work. SEE ALSO: Japan sees earliest cherry blossom season in 1,200 years Eighty-one participants from four continents formed 41 teams to take up the challenge and win up to $5,000 in prizes. The results will be announced in May. Wolkovich's colleagues, Jonathan Auerbach and David Kepplinger, data scientists and statistics professors at George Mason University, spoke to The Weather Network recently about the competition. Cherry blossom/Submitted (Steph Troughton/University of British Columbia) The range of predictions that have surfaced were expected, Kepplinger said, as you can "somewhat eyeball" the perimeters of the possible dates just from looking at the timeline, unless there is an extreme weather event. "I think we were pleasantly surprised," Auerbach added. "The variety of approaches was surprisingly large, which we think is great, so we can see which one was the best." PEAK BLOOM PREDICTIONS, TRENDS SHOW THEY HAPPEN EARLIER IN THE YEAR Some of the predictions were released earlier this week. In a news release from UBC, Wolkovich said the overall consensus is that the cherry trees will likely bloom by early April. The average predicted bloom date was April 1 in Washington, April 2 in Vancouver, April 3 in Kyoto and April 2 in Liestal-Weideli. Story continues Kepplinger noted two teams correctly forecast the D.C. peak bloom date, which the National Park Service called on March 22, within one or two days. Cherry blossom/Submitted (Steph Troughton/University of British Columbia) On average, the cherry trees are flowering two weeks earlier in the year than they were at the start of the 20th century -- in locations that have been collecting data for that long, according to Auerbach. "Climate change, on average, is accelerating the bloom dates. Even though there is that pattern, that peak bloom dates are becoming earlier and earlier, it's still a hard problem. It's very difficult to predict the actual date," said Auerbach. While trends suggest the peak dates are occurring earlier, there's still much variation because local weather patterns differ from the overall climate pattern so the issue is compounded, with temperatures playing a "major role," Kepplinger added. Click here to view the video WHAT COMPETITORS USED IN PREDICTIONS Competitors had a month to come up with their predictions, running for all of February. The timeline was important because some of the experts in different locations were releasing their forecasts on March 1 or 2, Auerbach said. When trying to make guesses at accurately pinpointing the peak blooms, scientists consider various factors including recent local weather patterns, temperatures and amount of daylight. Because the participants are attempting to predict blooms at four locations, their efforts are more difficult than a local park agency covering one spot, Auerbach noted. Cherry blossom/Submitted (Steph Troughton/University of British Columbia) "Most contestants considered the meteorological data used by experts, such as temperature and rainfall. But many also considered additional factors to create compelling narratives and give their predictions an edge," said Auerbach, in the news release. "For example, some factored in the population of the surrounding city or the concentrations of greenhouse gas." CHERRY BLOSSOMS HOLD SIGNIFICANT CULTURAL, ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE Auerbach noted the importance of the cherry blossoms, particularly their cultural value, since people "flock to see them." Because the tree is considered to be a cultural phenomenon, it is a "good poster child" for the effects of climate change. "In just how these changes are happening, you might not notice that it's getting earlier and earlier because it's very slow every year. But, over a 50- or 100-year period, it's a dramatic change," Auerbach said. "By using cherry trees, people get it a lot more. It's something they can see, it's tangible." Citing Liestal-Weideli as an example, Kepplinger said the tree's popularity wasn't so much the cultural significance but it is more so to use as an indicator of how its growing season will evolve. cherry blossoms japan Credit: Yoshiyuki Kaneko. EyeEm. Getty Images (Yoshiyuki Kaneko. EyeEm. Getty Images) "Most cherry trees that we're looking at are bred for their beauty, for their cultural significance. But with this connection in Switzerland, there is also a significance of the more general growing season and agricultural importance," said Kepplinger. On whether the format of the citizen science contest can be used to determine bloom dates of other plant species, Auerbach said "that remains to be found out." The challenges of predicting peak bloom dates are "a little more complicated" than guessing the number of jelly beans in a jar, in a comparison he made between the two. "We think many of the teams are doing extremely well and there is a way to combine them. Additional research is necessary, but citizen participatory science is the kind of the future," said Auerbach. "Hopefully this isn't the end, but the beginning of a much bigger citizen science effort." Thumbnail courtesy of Steph Troughton/University of British Columbia. Follow Nathan Howes on Twitter. A look at some of today's top stories, the weather forecast and a peek back in history. Arizona made national headlines this week for four important bills Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law, including a strict abortion restriction. Navajo residents fear income losses if the feds halt oil and gas leases near Chaco Canyon. The Bureau of Land Management will extend the public comment period for a proposed land withdrawal near a site many consider sacred. Muslims can break fast with iftar buffets, specials and late hours at metro Phoenix halal restaurants. Here's your guide to celebrating Ramadan in metro Phoenix. Today, you can expect it to be sunny, with a high near 87 degrees. Increasing clouds at night, with a low near 60 degrees. Get the full forecast here. Today in history On this date in 1819, Mormon missionary Jacob Hamblin, who was also in charge of colonization along the Little Colorado River and served as guide to Maj. John Wesley Powell over the Lees Ferry route, was born in Ohio. In 1919, at 10 a.m., the first car ever to climb Sentinel Peak in Tucson, started its trek upward. The car sustained one blown tire. The headlights were left on to prove the feat to residents, and the car was parked on the peak for two days so people could climb up and see it for themselves. In 1927, Cochise and Graham County cattlemen ordered their crews to ride armed and to shoot when necessary to prevent rustling. In 1933, Gov. Benjamin B. Moeur unveiled a monument on the Arizona-New Mexico state line dedicating the Geronimo Trail from Douglas to Cloverdale, New Mexico. In 2003, during the Iraq War, American forces fought their way to within sight of the Baghdad skyline. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AZ Briefing: Here's what Arizona's several new laws restrict Pope Francis gestures, during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall, at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Alessandra Tarantino/Associated Press Pope Francis apologized on Friday for the Catholic Church's role in Canada's residential schools. Indigenous children were forced to attend the schools, where physical and sexual abuse was common. Thousands of unmarked graves have been found at the schools, most of which were run by the church. Pope Francis apologized on Friday for the abuse experienced by Indigenous people in Canada's residential school system, many of which were run by the Catholic Church. In an address delivered from the Vatican, Francis spoke directly to Canada's First Nations people about the schools, which were run for more than a century in an attempt to assimilate Indigenous children into mainstream Canadian society. "I feel shame sorrow and shame for the role that a number of Catholics, particularly those with educational responsibilities, have had in all these things that wounded you, in the abuses you suffered and in the lack of respect shown for your identity, your culture and even your spiritual values," Francis said. "For the deplorable conduct of those members of the Catholic Church, I ask for God's forgiveness and I want to say to you with all my heart: I am very sorry. And I join my brothers, the Canadian bishops, in asking your pardon," he continued. The address was attended in person by members of some of Canada's largest Indigenous groups, who also met with the Pope earlier in the week in hopes of getting an apology, The New York Times reported. Canada's residential school system ran from the late 1800s to the 1990s and involved sending 150,000 Indigenous children to boarding schools, about 70% of which were run by the Catholic Church. A report published in 2015 by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada found physical and sexual abuse was rampant at the schools and concluded the school system amounted to "cultural genocide." Last summer hundreds of unmarked graves of Indigenous children were discovered on multiple school grounds. Story continues In September, the Catholic Bishops of Canada publicly apologized for the church's role in the school system. Francis's comments marked the first apology on behalf of the entire Catholic Church, after he had previously declined to apologize. Read the original article on Insider People gather for a rally in support of Ukraine in front of parliament in Tbilisi, Georgia. (Daro Sulakauri / Getty Images) In the hilly, cobblestoned capital of the Black Sea country Georgia, a Russian IT worker made his latest of multiple attempts at what would normally be a mundane task: opening a bank account. A branch manager, sounding skeptical about Artyom Smirnovs reasons for being in Tblisi, asked what would happen if he just went home to Nizhny Novgorod, a city in western Russia. I could be put in jail just for saying Im against the war! said Smirnov, 25. His request for an account was rejected, along with those of a Russian couple at the bank branch. Russias invasion of Ukraine has sparked Europes biggest refugee flow since World War II, with millions of people driven from bombed-out homes and devastated cities. Roughly a quarter of Ukraines 44 million people are either internally displaced or have sought safety outside the countrys borders. But the war has also spun off a smaller diaspora: Russians, in numbers estimated to be approaching a quarter-million, have chosen to leave their homeland rather than remain under President Vladimir Putins rule. These exiles are mainly young, well-educated and relatively affluent. Many are from the tech sector or have other portable remote-working skills; others are journalists, activists or academics, or worked for progressive nongovernmental organizations. Such affiliations have been essentially criminalized under repressive measures enacted by Putins allies soon after the Feb. 24 invasion. Those include the shutdown of independent media outlets and a ban on criticizing the special military operation, as it is officially called not a war. By the tens of thousands, these expatriates arrive daily in cities like Istanbul, Turkeys commercial capital, or make their way to the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, or cluster in the capitals of other ex-Soviet republics such as Georgia, Armenia and Kazakhstan. Almost the first thing many of them will say is that they recognize that they are immensely privileged, that there can be no comparison between their plight and that of war-traumatized Ukrainians. Story continues But they acknowledge, quietly, that they left behind entire lives apartments, jobs, relatives and have little idea what the future might hold. And they also understand that theyre far from welcome everywhere. As elsewhere, Russians arriving in Tblisi more than 25,000 in just the first three weeks after the war began, according to Georgian authorities have taken to social media to exchange tips and warnings: about balky landlords and suddenly skyrocketing rents, about circumstances under which its unwise to speak Russian in public, about feelings of guilt and shame over the war Putin is waging in their names. The Russian leader, for his part, has gone out of his way to vilify those who have left, likening them to gnat-like insects. The Russian people will always be able to distinguish the true patriots from the scum and the traitors, Putin said in a bilious March 16 speech. And just to spit them out like a midge that accidentally flew into their mouths. Many of those who fled made their decision precipitously, in the days or hours after the invasion began. With European airspace closing, and with cash and flights hard to come by, many seized an opportunity to depart for places like Georgia, where they could travel without a visa. American author and journalist Masha Gessen, who visited Moscow days after the wars start, described a startlingly swift uprooting. People that I know in Moscow started to feel panicked, like really panicked, Gessen, who was born in Russia, said in an interview last month on the public radio show Fresh Air. Gessen reported a distinct sense that the borders were likely to close, that the country was just spiraling into some kind of North Korean scenario in which it would become impossible to leave. That was the experience of Dasha Takk, a 30-year-old who made a comfortable living in Moscow directing TV commercials and is attempting to settle in in Tblisi. We were watching the news and deciding where and how to go, she said. Then a friend reported that two other acquaintances had been taken off a flight by Russian security officials and prevented from leaving. We realized we need to go fast while we still can, and took the first flight to North Caucasus to cross to Georgia, Takk said. Bad weather held them up for five days, but they arrived safely and found a place to stay. The welcome has been muted, though, in part because of Georgians unhappy history with Russia. Putins forces invaded in 2008 and occupied about a fifth of the countrys territory. The fact that nearly all the arriving Russians share Georgians sympathies with Ukraine, the exiles say, does not entirely remove the stigma and some Georgians worry that the influx could again make them a target. Smirnov, the IT worker, says he understands that mistrust. Some think we just want to avoid sanctions; some say we must go back and fight Putin, he said. I have this feeling Im a bad guy by default now, and I have to prove Im normal. Russian authorities are showing signs of worry over the tech-heavy demographic of those who are leaving the country. One industry lobbyist, Sergei Plugotarenko, told Russian lawmakers last month that April alone could bring the loss of 100,000 technology workers, who are eagerly welcomed elsewhere in the region. On channels on the encrypted app Telegram, those who want to leave Russia, particularly if they work in the tech center, are being warned to take steps such as purchasing a round-trip ticket, traveling light and deleting as much information as possible from phones and other devices. Travelers have reported being forced to unlock their phones and being interrogated by security service operatives about why they are leaving. Even after reaching safety, some emigres report falling prey to depression and disorientation. At first, I was enthusiastic to start something new, said Sima Kondratenko, a 19-year-old photography model who left Moscow with two friends. But reading the news from Ukraine, you get deeper and deeper in this dark abyss you just dont understand how all this could happen. Kondratenko, whose mother is Ukrainian, said she and other exiles had found solace in throwing themselves into volunteer work with Helping to Leave, an international organization that remotely provides Ukrainian refugees with logistical and other assistance. From Georgia, it runs around-the-clock chat forums to provide information and advice. One of the groups Russian founders, Egor Eremeyev, 34, said relief work helped expat volunteers put their own upheavals in perspective and envision a future that might not lie in Russia. When they come to us, they get this new self-identity Im a normal person, I help other people, help to overcome the humanitarian crisis that is going on, he said. Eremeyev, a longtime activist before he left Russia for Georgia, was pessimistic about whether antiwar protests could truly threaten Putins rule. Public opinion polls suggest that most Russians, particularly older people who get their news from state TV, accept the Kremlin narrative that Ukraine, not Russia, was the aggressor, and that the West deliberately provoked the conflict. He can last for a long time, he said of the Russian leader. If there are 100,000 people protesting, they can arrest them and pack into their detention centers and police stations they were getting ready for this for years. Kolotilov is a special correspondent and King is a Times staff writer. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A man is in stable condition at Hartford Hospital after an early-morning shooting, Hartford police report. Police were called to the hospital at about 5:38 a.m. Saturday on a report of a man with a single gunshot wound seeking treatment. The location of the shooting has not yet been determined. Anyone with information is asked to call 860-722-8477. Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com. Apr. 1An Athens, Tennessee, man has filed suit against the city of Athens and city manager C. Seth Sumner alleging violations of state open records laws and fraud in misrepresenting charges for copies of public records that totaled almost $1,000. Larry Eaton, an Athens business owner and resident, is asking the court for an injunction against the city preventing violations of the Open Meetings Act, a year of court oversight with required semiannual compliance reports on open meetings, the adoption of policies for citizens' inspection and copying of records, unspecified damages, punitive damages and court costs, according to documents filed March 24 in McMinn County Chancery Court. The suit isn't about money, according to Eaton. Eaton said city officials didn't properly keep City Council meeting minutes and Sumner retaliated against him for his public records requests by charging him outrageous rates and oddly watermarking documents he requested when he contends public records requested by most others weren't getting the same treatment. He contends in the suit the watermarking was intended to harass and intimidate him. "I don't care about anything but making sure that other citizens do not have to go through what I've had to go through with my government by asking questions," Eaton said Wednesday in a telephone interview. Matthew C. Rogers, one of Eaton's attorneys in the suit, contends the Athens resident is taking up the fight for his fellow citizens. "Our client Larry Eaton is a concerned citizen that is very proud of his town and his community, and he wants it to be a place he can continue to be proud of," Rogers said in a telephone interview. "There have been significant discrepancies over the last few years in the policies and the procedures at the city of Athens that have given Larry some real concerns about what's being done there," he said. Eaton took on a personal effort "to check those things and has been met with some real resistance," Rogers said. Story continues "What he believes and what our complaint says is there is some misconduct by city officials that cost not only our client money but the taxpayers money. And Larry's willing to address those publicly and he hopes to get some change there so it doesn't continue to harm him or other citizens," he said. Athens officials declined to comment specifically on the suit. "As with all complaints filed against the city and the city manager, it was provided to the insurance carrier for the city, and legal counsel has been retained for both the city and Mr. Sumner," city attorney Chris Trew said Friday in an email. "For this reason, and because I generally do not comment about pending litigation, I respectfully will not offer any comments about this suit." Sumner didn't immediately respond to a separate request for comment. According to the suit, the first of three counts alleges a violation of state law stemming from a meeting held Aug. 10 and that meeting's continuation on Oct. 18 related to a hearing on allegations leveled against Sumner by then-Police Chief Cliff Couch. Requested meeting minutes were not "promptly" recorded or provided as required by state law and when he got a response from records custodian Leslie McKee, Eaton was told no minutes were prepared for those meetings, Eaton contends in the suit. The lack of minutes is a violation of state law requiring they be kept, the suit states. The two-part called meeting was held over accusations by Couch that Sumner was interfering with his authority as chief and retaliating against him for questioning the apparent disappearance in 2020 of city-owned surveillance cameras the chief believed were last in the possession of Sumner. Sumner in the meeting on the matter contended he returned the missing cameras. Sumner fired Couch before the Oct. 18 meeting, which picked up where the other left off. At the end of the October meeting, Sumner was suspended for two weeks in a 4-1 council vote, the Times Free Press previously reported. Eaton wanted to know more about the decision and filed a public records request Dec. 6 for the August and October meeting minutes, according to the suit. The suit cites state law stating, in part, "The minutes of a meeting of any such government body shall be promptly and fully recorded, shall be open to public inspection and shall include, but not be limited to, a record of persons present, all motions, proposals and resolutions offered, the result of any votes taken and a record of individual votes in the event of a roll call." Other City Council meetings took place subsequent to the Aug. 10 and Oct. 18 meetings, and minutes of those meetings were prepared, the suit states, but eight days after his request was filed Eaton was told no meeting minutes had been prepared for meetings about the security camera issue, resulting in a denial of his request. Eaton's suit contends city officials didn't prepare minutes of those meetings because "the meetings in question were embarrassing and problematic for the city and/or Sumner." The second count in the suit stems from the same area of Tennessee law except in regard to a state schedule of "reasonable charges" for governmental retrieval and preparation of requested documents. "The Tennessee comptroller of the treasury publishes a 'Schedule of Reasonable Charges' regarding charges for open records requests," the suit states, citing the schedule. "A records custodian shall utilize the most cost-efficient method of producing requested records. Accordingly, a records custodian should strive to utilize current employees at the lowest practicable hourly wage to fulfill public records requests for copies." In December 2020, Eaton requested credit card statements from cards assigned to Sumner, according to the suit. Eaton was provided "heavily redacted" copies of the statements, along with a bill for $741.20 for costs of redaction. In May, Eaton requested Sumner's emails regarding city policies on COVID-19 policies and was again provided heavily redacted copies of the emails and another bill for $209.69 for the preparation of the requested documents, the suit states. According to exhibits contained in the suit, Eaton was charged $54.04 per hour for the work to provide the requested documents on the request for emails, specifically identifying Sumner as the city employee doing the work and providing times the work was performed. "It is unreasonable, and a violation of the promulgated 'schedule of reasonable charges' for Sumner, the highest paid city employee, to be the one personally completing the redaction of these records," the suit states. "By refusing to allow other staff members to complete this redaction, Sumner intentionally acted to artificially increase the cost to Eaton of obtaining these records." The suit states Eaton obtained other public records he later contended indicate "Sumner was actually using the telephone, sending and receiving text messages, wandering City Hall, speaking with other city employees and participating in unrelated Zoom meetings," and the proof of those allegations will be shown at trial. In the suit's third count, Eaton contends Sumner's actions amount to fraud. The charges for hourly labor by Sumner who according to the suit performed the work himself to provide Eaton's requested public records "constitute fraud, intentional misrepresentation and/or negligent misrepresentation," the suit states, adding that Eaton should not have been charged for time Sumner spent in other activities unrelated to producing Eaton's requested documents. The defendants in the suit have 30 days from the date of service to respond to the suit. Trew didn't answer a question about when the defendants were served the suit. Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton. President Joe Biden participates in a virtual meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping November 15, 2021. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Ten years have passed since Xi Jinping, then vice president of China, made a historic visit to the heartland of America. More: How a different Iowa visit changed China Xi was returning to Muscatine, Iowa, where nearly a quarter-century before, he had spent six months as a young county-level cadre member of the Hebei Shijiazhuang Prefecture Corn Processing delegation. Chinese officials said Xi was grateful for the hospitality of his hosts and enjoyed his time living in rural America. Bob Holden served as Missouris 53rd governor from 2001 to 2005. Previously, he served two terms as Missouri state treasurer and three terms as a Missouri state tepresentative. He is currently chairman and CEO of the United States Heartland China Association. Like all visits of high-level foreign leaders, Xis trip was highly choreographed, but it was regarded by both sides as a high point in the U.S.-China relationship. The Chinese wanted to emphasize that Xi harbored warm feelings toward the heartland, even though then, as now, the relationship between the nations was strained. Cornfield diplomacy, was how it was described. Xi would become president of China shortly after he returned home. Fast forward to 2022: relations between the U.S. and China have grown even more strained since then. Tariffs on various imports from China have cost U.S. consumers $50 billion. More: Biden warns Xi against helping Russia as US-China relations face 'crossroads' over Ukraine invasion Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Beijing on Feb. 4. On March 3, China denounced a report that it asked Russia to delay invading Ukraine until after the Beijing Winter Olympics as "fake news" and a "very despicable" attempt to divert attention and shift blame over the conflict. Recently, the Chinese government released a photograph of Xi standing side-by-side with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The photo served as a sign of solidarity in the face of escalating global tensions over the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, which has now erupted into war. As the world grapples with the first major conflict in Europe since World War II, the need to foster better relations between the U.S. and China is arguably greater than ever. DON'T FORGET TO SIGN UP FOR OUR NEW OPINION NEWSLETTER More: Sign up for our opinion newsletter The jarring gap between President Xis warm visits with old friends in Iowa and his recent solidarity with Putin illustrates how far U.S.China relations have deteriorated since 2012. Story continues It also represents a missed opportunity in the American Heartland to develop meaningful connections with one of the most powerful leaders of China in recent memory. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Osaka, Japan, on July 2, 2019. My belief is that the U.S.China cooperation is essential if our planet will be able to successfully deal with the following three most critical global challenges: Sustainably producing enough nutritious food to feed the growing population on our planet Countering and ameliorating the impact of climate change, especially on agricultural production Preventing future pandemics of human, animal and plant diseases At the same time, to meet these challenges, it is essential that we have peace in the world and particularly, peace between China and the United States. In that regard, we strongly believe that one of the best ways that peace can be attained is through agricultural cooperation. More: Ambassador: After 40 years, China-U.S. relations come to a crossroads Reflecting the strong commitment that leaders of both our countries have for finding areas of cooperation, especially around climate change, my organization, U.S. Heartland China Association, again organized a virtual U.S.-China Agriculture Roundtable, held March 21. The American Heartland, known as the breadbasket of the world, has played a significant role in the past laying the foundation for a productive U.S.China relationship and can become a stabilizing force going forward again. Opportunities remain for us to try to revive a productive relationship. Our efforts should be focused on finding ways to better understand each others cultures, show others why it is so important for all of us to find positive and mutually beneficial ways to work together in the mutual interest of both countries. We need to remember that we ALL live on Planet Earth and we are all in this together. Bob Holden served as Missouris 53rd governor from 2001 to 2005. Previously, he served two terms as Missouri state treasurer and three terms as a Missouri state representative. He is currently chairman and CEO of the United States Heartland China Association. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Role of agriculture can play in stopping future pandemics, peace Apr. 1CROOKSTON At Real Good Bath and Body, "real good" refers to the high-quality, natural ingredients Carol Simmons uses in her products. Perhaps it also could describe the business's impact on the world. Simmons has a history of donating products and profits to those in need, and she has now focused her efforts on Ukraine. "The whole idea is to do real good in the world, so we're always looking for things where we can make a difference," she said. "Just seeing the devastation in Ukraine, I think everybody was wondering what they can do to help." For Simmons, help has taken the form of making and selling bath bombs a fizzy bath product in bright blue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag. She calls them HOPE bath bombs and donates all of the proceeds to efforts to help Ukrainian refugees. Simmons is the owner of Real Good Bath & Body, and has stores in Crookston and the West Acres Mall in Fargo, where she sells products like soaps, bath bombs, massage oils and lotions . After donating personally to help Ukrainian refugees, she realized she could help even more by selling a special product at Real Good Bath & Body and donating the proceeds. "I saw some people making soap," she said. "Soap takes a long time to cure and I wouldn't have time, but I could do bath bombs because those have a quicker turnaround." HOPE bath bombs sell for $10 each, and Simmons is splitting the money made from the bath bombs between two different groups helping refugees from Ukraine. She also is donating her labor and materials, allowing all of the $10 to be donated. Both relief efforts are run by friends of people Simmons knows personally. The first fundraiser is for a group of men in Ukraine who are giving women and children rides to the Polish border to help them escape the country, which is under attack by Russian military forces. The men providing rides are required to remain in Ukraine, but are using that time to help others get out. Men ages 18-60 are banned from leaving the country under martial law, so they can be called on to defend Ukraine. The trip to and from the border is around 500 miles, and the men are making the trip with multiple vans each day. The men now have seven vans, says Simmons, and donations primarily go toward paying for gas. Story continues The second fundraiser is for a group of volunteers who are bringing refugees from Romania's borders with Ukraine and Moldova to shelters in Romania. Donations help provide toiletries, medical supplies, snacks and other supplies to those refugees. Simmons says proceeds from the bath bombs will be split equally between the two causes. "It goes straight to the people doing the good," said Simmons. So far, Simmons has made around 200 HOPE bath bombs. Since introducing them on March 23, the bath bombs have been a popular item among customers. "I think when you have a physical object, it really represents something and it gives a place for people to focus," said Simmons. She plans to have HOPE bath bombs in stock indefinitely at her locations in Crookston and Fargo. "As long as people will buy them, we'll have them," she said. "As long as there are places to donate to, we'll have them. Unless there's a ceasefire, but even then I would even assume that there will still be ongoing aid efforts for quite awhile while they rebuild." Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/South Australia State Records A Cold War spy. A ballet dancer. A disguised blackmarket trader. Perhaps, a sailor. Theyre just some of the theories about the type of work that might have brought an unknown man to Somerton Beach in the South Australian city of Adelaide where his bodydressed in a suit and tiewas found slumped against a seawall on Dec. 1, 1948. Its a case that has puzzled investigators and attracted amateur sleuths from around the world for decades and even saw the mystery mans remains exhumed last year to undergo advanced DNA testing. But the identity of the so-called Somerton Man remains unclear more than 70 years on. No one knows who he was, what he was doing in the area, where he came from, or even how he died. But many intriguing clues were left behind. The man had a partially-smoked cigarette resting on his collar with no apparent burn mark, his hair was immaculately styled and his double-breasted jacket was pressed. The tags on his clothing had been cut off. His pockets contained chewing gum, a box of matches, a pack of cigarettes, unused train and bus tickets, and an aluminum comb not sold in Australia. The Somerton Man was found dressed in a suit and tie and slumped against a seawall. Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/South Australia State Records In January 1949, a suitcase was found at Adelaide Railway Station and linked to the man through a spool of thread that matched repair work in his pockets. It contained an odd assortment of items including clothes which also had their labels removed. But still, there was no identification, or anything to help connect the dots as to who the man was. The clothes were all examined by experts, according to Tamam Shud: The Somerton Man Mystery by Kerry Greenwood. The police called in a tailor, Hugh Possa of Gawler Place, who explained that the careful construction of the coat, with feather-stitching done by machine, was definitely American, as only the U.S. garment industry used a feather-stitching machine, Greenwood wrote. Several months later, pathology Professor John Burton Cleland found a tiny rolled-up piece of paper hidden deep in the fob pocket of the mans trousers with the Farsi words Tamam Shudwhich translates to its finished or it is endedprinted on it. Story continues The torn paper was later traced back to a book of ancient Persian poetry, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, which had been left in the back seat of a car near where the body was found. Some believe this to be proof he was a spy or double agent that was executed. In the back of that book with the missing page there was an encrypted message which the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Scotland Yard code-crackers have both been unable to decode. It read: W [or possibly M] RGOABABDWTBIMPANETP MLIABO AIAIQC ITTMTSAMSTGAB" Clues left in the mans pockets at suitcase seemed to only further confuse investigators. Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/South Australia State Records A phone number was also scribbled in pencil on the back page of the Somerton Mans Rubaiyat. It belonged to a local nurse called Teresa Powell or Johnson who was interviewed by police and said she did not know who the unidentified man was before she died in 2007, according to Tamam Shud: The Somerton Man Mystery. The Somerton Man was well-built, about 40 to 50 years old, 5 feet, 11 inches tall, with grey-blue eyes and gingery-brown hair that was greying at the sides, according to authorities. He had what the pathologist referred to as a fine Britisher face. Mr Cleland also noted that: Many people who find their way to the morgue have toenails which are dirty and unattended to. His were clean. Cops Probe Witchcraft Links in Murder of New Jersey Student There has been some speculation among internet sleuths that the Somerton Man may have been poisoned by a jilted lover. An autopsy found an enlarged spleen and a liver in poor condition but could not determine a cause of death, factors that led to speculation of poisoning; though no trace of any poison was found it also could not be ruled out. Examiners also found that the man had unusually strong calf muscles, a detail that fed the idea that he had ballet training and could have been a professional dancer. Other theories about him include that he was simply an American sailor who traveled to Adelaide to visit a child he had fathered during the war and died of natural causes or that he was a merchant seaman who had overstayed his visit to Australia. The mans body was embalmed to give police more time to identify him, and a plaster castor death maskwas made of his face, as a physical reminder of who he was before he was laid to rest in an Adelaide cemetery under a headstone reading only the unknown man. The Somerton Mans body was exhumed last year as part of Operation Persevere, which seeks to put a name to all unidentified remains in South Australia, but forensic experts have still not been able to identify him. For more than 70 years people have speculated who this man was and how he died, Vickie Chapman, then-attorney general of South Australia, said in a statement last year. Its a story that has captured the imagination of people across the state, and, indeed, across the worldbut I believe that, finally, we may uncover some answers. The story of the unknown man made headlines across Australia and New Zealand, and his fingerprints and photograph were sent around the world, including to England, America, and English-speaking countries in Africa, his coronial inquest heard. A letter dated January 1949, signed by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, confirmed the U.S. had found no match for his fingerprints in its files. I think the immediate cause of death was heart failure, but I am unable to say what factor caused heart failure, said Robert Cowan, a government chemical analyst who examined samples taken from the body. South Australia Police Detective Superintendent Des Bray previously said many theories had been advanced over the years, but the truth of it is, nobody knows. There was talk about whether he was a Russian spy, whether he was involved in the black market, whether he was a sailor, he said. People did their best in the past, everybody did everything they could to solve the case, but they havent been able to. Little Sister of Murdered Girl Hunts for Her Killer 25 Years After Horrific Death Speaking at the grave site ahead of the exhumation last year, Det. Supt Bray said it was important for everybody to remember the Somerton Man is not just a curiosity, or a mystery to be solved. Its somebodys father, son, perhaps grandfather, uncle or brother, and thats why we're doing this and trying to identify him, he continued. There are people we know that live in Adelaide, they believe they may be related, he said. And they deserve to have a definitive answer. The Somerton Man was embalmed so as to give investigators more time to work out who he was. Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/South Australia State Records Forensic Science SA Assistant Director Anne Coxon said a range of different DNA techniques would be used, but cautioned that we may or may not be successful. The fact that the remains have also been embalmed [72 years ago] adds another complication, and thats because the embalming fluid can break down the DNA, Dr Coxon said ahead of the exhumation. At this stage, its difficult to put a timeframe on it. Even if we do find DNA present, we may not actually find a match. It will depend on whos on the databases that were looking at and what information can be extracted from the comparison thats made. Professor Derek Abbott recently commissioned Canadian virtual reality artist Daniel Voshart to reconstruct what the Somerton Man may have looked like when he was alive. Professor Abbott, who is a specialist in biomedical engineering at the University of Adelaide, was put in touch with Voshart by Dr Colleen Fitzpatrick, a pioneer in forensic genealogy in the U.S. Using artificial intelligence software, Voshart combined the physical descriptions of the Somerton Man with the autopsy photos and images of the plaster bust. The striking images bring to life the face of a man whose name nobody yet knows and whose life and death remains one of Australias most compelling mysteriesand an open police investigation. Uncovering the Somerton Mans true identity has also become somewhat personal for Professor Abbott who has spent years researching the case and believes there could be a family tie. During the course of his investigations, Professor Abbott met his now-wife Rachel Egan, after sending her a letter to explain why he thought she may be the Somerton Mans granddaughter. After a single dinner dominated by talk of death and DNA, the pair decided to marry and went on to have three children, CNN reports. Whether hes related to one of us or not, weve kind of adopted him into our family, anyway, because its him that has brought us together, Professor Abbott said. A portrait of the Somerton Manwho the children know as Mr S or Mr Somertonnow hangs above their playroom door. His cause of death isnt really what is of interest anymore. Its more who was he and can we give him his name back? Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Apr. 1JACKSON Mississippi, one of the poorest states in the nation, will likely have the largest tax cut plan in the state's history codified into state law, based on comments from Gov. Tate Reeves. Reeves, a Republican, told reporters Friday that he intends to sign House Bill 531 into law, which will slash state revenue collections by around $525 million over a four-year period. "It's a major tax cut that heads us in the direction of eliminating the income tax," Reeves said. "And literally every Mississippian who pays income taxes in our state will have the opportunity to send less of their money to the government and the ability to keep more of their money." The bill would do away with the state's 4% income tax bracket within the first year of the plan's implementation, which would cost the state around $185 million. During the second year, the 5% tax rate would be reduced to 4.7%. In the third year, it would drop to 4.4%, and after the fourth year, it would go to 4%. Mississippi currently has a gradual income tax system. If the new plan were to become law, it would eventually leave a flat 4% rate for all earned income over $10,000. For the past two years, Reeves has advocated for the Legislature to eliminate the income tax. The bill he intends to sign into law would not outright abolish the tax, but it would significantly reduce it. But the bill does contain a clause that makes it clear the intent of the Legislature to revisit the issue in 2026 and completely abolish the income tax. Mississippi has a lengthy list of well-documented problems, including two lengthy lawsuits against state agencies and crumbling infrastructure. Republican leaders have said cutting the income tax is needed to attract new businesses to the state, and they intended to use federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars to improve state agencies and other issues. The governor has until April 5 to either sign the bill into law or veto it. taylor.vance@djournal.com JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank early Saturday, an operation that fueled persisting fears of a flare-up of violence between Israel and the Palestinians in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Tensions have soared in recent days after Palestinian assailants killed 11 Israelis in separate attacks across the country. Israeli forces have stepped up security and launched arrest raids in the West Bank, killing two Palestinians during a gun battle on Thursday. Another Palestinian was killed on Thursday, after stabbing and wounding an Israeli on a bus in the West Bank. Israeli police officers weep for their slain colleague: one of five killed by a Palestinian gunman in a crowded city in central Israel late Tuesday, the second mass shooting rampage this week. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) (Photo: via Associated Press) The Israeli police said the three militants were members of a cell that was involved in recent attacks against Israeli forces and were planning another attack that was thwarted during early Saturdays join operation with the military and intelligence. Live videos by witnesses on social media showed a crowed of Palestinian people inspecting the scene of the clashes near Jenin city after the Israeli troops withdrew. The street was covered with blood stains and the men chanted slogans calling for revenge. Palestine TV reported that the Israeli forces seized the bodies of the dead militants. Earlier, after a Palestinian was killed in Hebron city during clashes that broke out after Friday prayers. The Health Ministry said Ahmed al-Atrash, 29, was killed in Hebron on Friday. The Israeli military said its forces shot a Palestinian who threw a firebomb at them. Palestinian Manal Abu Atiyeh, sitting center, is comforted by relatives during the funeral of her son Sanad Abu Atiyeh, 17, in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin, Jenin, Thursday, March 31, 2022. Israeli forces raided a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank early Thursday, setting off a gun battle in which two Palestinians were killed and 15 were wounded, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) (Photo: via Associated Press) Several hundred Jewish settlers live under heavy military protection in the heart of Hebron, a city of more than 200,000 Palestinians and home to a major holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims. The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said dozens of Palestinians were wounded in weekly demonstrations elsewhere in the West Bank, where protesters often throw rocks and firebombs at Israeli troops, who fire tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and sometimes live rounds. Story continues At the Al-Aqsa mosque in east Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, authorities said more than 30,000 people attended Friday prayers on the eve of Ramadan, which begins this weekend. There were no reports of protests or violence. The hilltop on which the mosque is located is the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount, and it has been a frequent flashpoint in the century-old conflict. Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders have held a flurry of talks in recent weeks, and Israel has made a series of goodwill gestures, all aimed at calming tensions ahead of Ramadan.They hope to avoid a repeat of last year, when protests and clashes in Jerusalem during Ramadan ignited an 11-day Gaza war and Jewish-Arab violence in Israels mixed cities. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Apr. 2NEW LONDON The city plans to distribute nearly $500,000 to downtown property owners as it rolls out a new round of federal emergency coronavirus pandemic funds. This phase of funding is aimed at boosting infrastructure improvement efforts of the owners of 11 downtown buildings. The grants range from the $20,000 requested by the Washington Street Coffee House, 13 Washington St., for vent replacement to the $75,000 toward proposed facade and interior work at Harris Place, 165 State St. In total, the city's Office of Development and Planning has recommended $488,500 in grants for proposed work that falls into three categories: beautification, storefront activation and historical preservation. The City Council will vote on each of the proposed grant awards at its meeting on Monday. ODP Director Felix Reyes said this first phase of funding boosts ongoing or planned projects. Each of the owners provided the city with details of the projects as part of its grant application to the city. Four of the projects involve roof repairs or replacement projects: Hot Rod Cafe at 114 Bank St., Thames River Greenery at 68 State St., an empty former restaurant space at 312 Bank St. and the Public Library of New London at 55 Huntington St. Each of the applicants would receive $50,000. Roof problems are a common theme downtown and have an impact on a building owner's ability to maintain a tenant, Reyes said. "When you see a business leave because the landlord can't maintain a dry building, it's frustrating," he said. At a minimum, Reyes said an applicant to the grant program pays for 25% of the project, and often more. Terms and conditions of the grants are tailored toward each individual project. The city is holding a small retainer to ensure the projects are completed. Other projects that have requested funding include: Noble Restaurant at 74 Bank St. for interior renovations; the future Blue Duck Restaurant at 52 Bank St. for interior renovations; $50,000 toward a historical renovation at 223 State St.; and $28,500 for exterior building repairs at Hygienic Art at 79-83 Bank St. Hygienic also has requested $15,000 for Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility. Story continues "The buildings are part of the infrastructure of downtown and without these buildings there are no businesses," Reyes said. The rehabilitation and construction projects are subject to federal prevailing wages and must adhere to the city's procurement ordinances, according to a memo from the city's accounting purchasing agent, Joshua Montague. The City Council has to date approved half of the $26.2 million in funds flowing to the city from the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The council will vote on uses for the second half of funds later this year. If the latest grant requests are approved, the ODP will have $661,500 left of its initial $1.15 million allocation to be used to invest in historical structures and small businesses. An upcoming second phase of grant funding will focus on existing businesses, Reyes said. Overall, the city's ARPA money is being distributed into five categories: disproportionately impacted communities, negative economic impacts, infrastructure, public health and administration. One of the more recent approvals was $72,500 to the Hispanic Alliance of Southeastern Connecticut. The group is collaborating with Public Art for Racial Justice Education to design a series of events that will focus on education, economic development and youth development in New London's Hispanic community. Last month the city signed a $108,729 contract with the New London Community Meal Center to allow for expansion of meal service and implementation of a food equity initiative. The council approved a contract with The Immigration Advocacy & Support Center to expand COVID-19-related casework for the Haitian-Creole community and connect immigrants with services. One of the larger chunks of money, more than $2 million, is being spent on the Birth to Age 8 Community Resource Center at B.P. Learned, a joint venture between the city and school district. g.smith@theday.com Teammate Monte Morris sounded even more hopeful. His mental (acumen) is there, Morris said Friday. Hes ready to get back out there. Hes looked good. Hes dunking and everything, (with) both legs. Its a matter of time, I guess, but hopefully we can get him back. Source: Sean Keeler @ Denver Post Whats the buzz on Twitter? Michael Singer @msinger Jamal Murray is ready to get back out there, said #Nuggets guard Monte Morris. Heres everything from the illuminating postgame press conference, via @SeanKeeler. denverpost.com/2022/04/01/jam 1:50 AM Michael Singer @msinger Monte on Jamal Murray: His mental is there. Said its just a matter of time, and hopefully they can get him back. 12:26 AM TJ McBride @TJMcBrideNBA Monte Morris said Murray is dunking off both legs and mentally doing well. Another good sign for a possible Murray return. 12:26 AM Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind Michael Malone: I cant sit here and say that (Jamal Murrays) going to play in any of these last four games. But I also cant say that he wont. 11:51 PM Michael Singer @msinger Michael Malone on Jamal Murray: Keep hope alive. Jamals getting better every day. Said he cant say hell be back for the final four games but he also cant say that he *wont* be back. 11:49 PM Gordon Gross @GMoneyNuggs Monte Morris is trying, Jennifer. Keeping the light on for Denver, just flickering. 11:24 PM TJ McBride @TJMcBrideNBA That tech Jokic picked up might have also woken up ther rest of the Nuggets team. Monte Morris just tossed up a CRAZY oop to Gordon who threw down a reverse dunk. Crazy sequence. 10:04 PM Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn Obligatory Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. pregame shooting video. pic.twitter.com/2p383sMCIs 8:31 PM Michael Singer @msinger #Nuggets coach Michael Malone told @denverpost the team has no intention of shutting Jamal Murray down for the season. When asked how come, Malone left the door open for a possible playoff return. Lets leave all options on the table, Malone said. denverpost.com/2022/03/31/nug 8:03 AM Story continues Scott Agness @ScottAgness Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, who hasnt played this season after ACL surgery a year ago, did strength training in the hallway and then completed a workout on the court before team warmups. pic.twitter.com/ZTsUT5170r 6:51 PM Michael Singer @msinger Jamal Murray taking on damn-near half of Denvers player development staff. pic.twitter.com/iH5afwTmJ4 6:48 PM Michael Singer @msinger Jamal Murray and MPJ getting work in ahead of tonights game vs. the Pacers. pic.twitter.com/6WT7cvacB9 6:33 PM More on this storyline Jamal Murray wants to be back, Nuggets coach Michael Malone told reporters Friday night following his teams 136-130 loss to Minnesota at Ball Arena. Yeah, I mean keep hope alive, like Jesse Jackson (said), Malone offered during his postgame news conference when asked about fans who still pined for Murrays return this season. -via Denver Post / April 2, 2022 Michael Singer: Nikola Jokic: I told Jamal, if youre not 100% ready, dont come back. Its stupid. -via Twitter @msinger / April 2, 2022 As Murray works his way back from his torn ACL, now nearly a full 12 months since the injury, the Nuggets have no intention of shutting him down for the season. Nuggets coach Michael Malone told The Denver Post the team is leaving all options on the table as his team charges toward the postseason. I dont think it makes any sense to (say) Were shutting him down, Malone said. Who knows where the seasons going to go? A lot of crazy things can happen with six games to go, as well as into the postseason. Now with the play-in, the regular season ends and theres a week for the play-in, then the playoffs start. It used to be, the season ended and playoffs started right away. I dont think we need to paint ourselves into a corner and make any definitive decisions right now because this is not a mile race where its four laps and its over, Malone said. We have no idea where the finish line is. Until we have a better idea of that, lets leave all options on the table and see what happens on a day-to-day basis. -via Denver Post / March 31, 2022 Apr. 2Three hundred and 13 years after Jesus Christ had walked the earth, Constantine the Great, the emperor of Rome, made history with his establishment of religious freedom throughout his empire. The Rev. David Chisham and Bishop Michael Sis say Constantine was facing the Battle of Milvian Bridge in Rome against rival Emperor Maxentius on Oct. 28, 313 A.D. when God visited him a dream and told him he would prevail. Having had the Greek words "Chi Rho," the first two letters of "Christ," painted on all his soldiers' shields, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan after they won, making Christianity the official Roman religion. "He was a complex character," said the Rev. Chisham, pastor of the First Christian Church in Midland. "Some of his decisions seem very politically oriented, but on the other hand his legalization of Christianity brought huge growth to the church. He brought changes to the church that did not remain so faithful to what Christ had meant when he talked about the kingdom of God." Chisham said there was "an increase in political interplay and entanglements between religious ideas that in many ways set up things that would be around till the Reformation era and beyond that like the monastic movement, which caused St. Anthony to flee into the desert. Begun in the Third Century A.D., the monastic movement was a structured, ascetic pursuit of the Christian life involving a return to God through silence, chastity, fasting, confession, good works, obedience and vigils, according to references. "There was an assertion of church growth, status, prestige and wealth behind the Constantinian shift, but there was a downside as well with some of the trajectories Constantine put into place that in many ways we have yet to figure out how to extract ourselves from," Chisham said. "He had a deathbed baptism because he understood that being an emperor, he had a lot of things to apologize to God for. Story continues "Constantine was basically a practicing Christian for many years and his mother Helena became a strong advocate for the faith. According to legend, Helena found the original Cross in Jerusalem. He is a mixed bag. It isn't easy for us to label him one thing or another. "He turned to Christianity because his empire was disintegrating and he was trying to hold it together. The western empire lasted for another 100 years, but the Byzantine eastern empire was beginning to fracture and crumble. His priority was about his power and holding the empire together." Constantinople, Turkey, renamed Istanbul in 1930, was named for the emperor. The Most Rev. Sis, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo, said Constantine is indispensable in the history of Christianity. "Before Constantine, Christianity had suffered bloody persecution in the Roman Empire," Sis said. "After his military victory in 312 over Maxentius, his brother-in-law, he soon issued the Edict of Toleration, which is popularly referred to as the 'Edict of Milan.' In that letter, he and Licinius granted religious toleration to everyone in the Roman Empire, including Christians. This decree allowed everyone to follow the religion of their choice. "Constantine delayed his baptism until the end of his life in 337 because he had desired to get baptized in the Jordan River. That never worked out, so he was baptized just before his death. He was a man of prayer. He had a personal commitment to Christianity. He had a chapel in his palace where he would go to pray and read the Bible. He brought up his children as Christians." Sis said Eastern Orthodox Christians consider Constantine to be a saint, but Roman Catholic Christians have never put him on their list of saints. "Catholics do, however, consider his mother Helena to be a saint," he said. "He made major changes in how Christians were treated by the empire, creating an environment in which Christianity could flourish. He provided resources to build many Christian churches. He gradually gave Christianity a privileged position in the Roman Empire." While many of Constantine's predecessors had persecuted Christians, Sis said, "I believe he had a sincere experience of conversion as a young adult and his faith continued to grow. "After the initial experience of conversion, God continues to work on a person's heart. There were likely several factors that led to his conversion and ongoing spiritual development. I believe he was influenced by some holy Christians that he knew, including his own mother. He was also influenced by the Bible and Christian worship. "Constantine had a great respect for many Christian bishops and he kissed the scars of those who had been injured in the persecutions under his predecessors. Through the sincere, ongoing practice of the Christian faith, a person will mature in spirituality over the years." Colleen Thompson, a Fort Thomas resident, was in the process of adopting Maure from Ukraine when Russia attacked. Thompson traveled to Ukraine to bring Maure home. The night Russia first attacked Ukraine, Colleen and David Thompson sat nervously in their Northern Kentucky home watching the news. The girl they're in the process of adopting was at an orphanage in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, where Russian missiles were striking. Then came the message from one of the caretakers at the orphanage: "Oh my gosh, they're bombing us. We're going to die." Colleen Thompson said she knew what she had to do. She had to get the girl she considered her daughter out of Ukraine a decision that today has led her to travel to Ukraine, even amid Europe's bloodiest war in decades and a U.S. State Department advisory warning Americans: "Do not travel to Ukraine." Asked about Thompson's situation, the department said in a statement its advice would be for Americans to "depart (Ukraine) immediately." The Fort Thomas couple are parents to eight children, six of whom are adopted from Ukraine. Maure (pronounced Ma-ree), the daughter they're in the process of adopting, will make nine. The family began the adoption process more than two years ago after Maure came to stay with them one Christmas through a host family program for Ukrainian orphans. Maure turned 18 two days before the Russian attacks began on Feb. 24. After trying to help from afar, comforting Maure and urging the orphanage caretakers to move the children, Thompson decided she could do more on the ground in Ukraine, using her connections from years of volunteering with the orphanages. She had a plan in mind: help Maure and others who had turned 18 to cross the border to Poland and safety. On March 3, she flew to Poland and crossed the border into Ukraine, bringing only one extra outfit because she only planned on staying two days. Nearly a month later, the 55-year-old former marketing executive turned stay-at-home mother is still in Ukraine, facing bureaucratic hurdles and missile strikes as she tries to bring her daughter home. Her husband David, 57, is home taking care of their other children and running his graphic design business. Story continues Maure is now 18. Colleen Thompson, who considers herself her mother, is in Ukraine trying to bring her home to Fort Thomas. Building a family of Ukrainian orphans Two decades ago, the Thompsons had no connection to Ukraine. The couple had two biological sons and in 2005, when they were in middle school, Thompson came across a host program that brought Ukrainian children to the United States for Christmas. They signed up, and a 7-year-old girl, Deanna, came to stay with the family for a few weeks that winter. A day later, Colleen Thompson called the orphanage where the girl lived, asking how to adopt her. She flew to Ukraine that spring to visit Deanna and later learned there had been a mistake, and she wasn't available for adoption. After visiting the orphanage, though, Thompson couldn't go back to the U.S. and forget about what she had seen. That child changed her life, and although Thompson wasn't able to adopt her, they're still in contact. After being told she couldn't adopt Deanna, Thompson did what's called a blind referral, meaning she adopted a child she hadn't met. After that, she began volunteering full-time with Ukrainian orphans, organizing host visits and connecting American families with children. During that time, she adopted three more children. One she met through a charity group while volunteering. The other two the family hosted, the same way they had hosted Deanna. David and Colleen Thompson , front left, are parents to eight children, six of whom have been adopted from Ukraine. The couple was in the process of adopting again when Russia attacked the country. Her last two children, two brothers, she met while organizing host families for the orphans to visit at Christmas. She instantly connected with the boys and knew they were meant to be a family. Her husband said if no other families signed up to host them, they would take them. At the last minute, a family in Salt Lake City agreed to host the boys. Thompson was heartbroken. But the day after Christmas, she got a call that it hadn't worked out with the other family, and the boys needed a place to stay. Thompson immediately agreed to take them. With each of her adopted children, Thompson hadn't planned to adopt another child but felt a connection and knew she was meant to be their mother, she said. Maure's story With Maure it was the same. Thompson sees it as God's plan. "God winks," is how she put it. In 2019, Thompson was interviewing children at an orphanage to make posts for prospective American host families. She instantly clicked with Maure, who was 15 at the time. The teenager said she hoped to be a graphic designer, which is David Thompson's profession. She also had the same birthday as Colleen Thompson's grandmother. Maure said she wanted a big family a family that's fun, loud and has pets. "It was like she knew us, and she didn't, and it was so uncanny," Thompson said. The Thompsons hosted Maure for Christmas. She bonded with the other children, and after she returned to Ukraine began speaking with the Thompson family on a daily basis. The Thompson family first met Maure when they hosted her in 2019. Her adoption was postponed because of COVID-19 and because of bureaucratic issues. They were then scheduled to finalize the adoption in March, but the Russian attacks derailed their plans. Ukraine is no longer processing adoptions due to the war. Fox News first reported the Thompsons' adoption story earlier this month. A reunion hug amid air raid sirens In the weeks and days leading up to the first attack on Feb. 24, Thompson became increasingly more anxious. She begged the orphanage coordinators to move Maure and the other children from their orphanage in Donetsk, an area where there has been fighting since 2014. Despite her pleas, the children weren't moved until Feb. 25, the morning after the first Russian attack. Maure and the other children were evacuated to another orphanage in Lviv, a large city in western Ukraine near the Polish border. "It was probably the most helpless feeling I could imagine," Thompson said about trying to help Maure from 5,000 miles away. David Thompson was originally going to pick Maure up from Ukraine after the virtual adoption hearing. Once the court hearing was canceled, the Thompsons decided it would be better for Colleen to go get Maure, as they thought a single man trying to take a teenage girl out of the country could have caused concern. This map of Ukraine shows Donetsk, the city where Maure's original orphanage was, in the eastern part of Ukraine. She relocated to another orphanage in Lviv, in western Ukraine, after the Russian attacks began. Colleen Thompson traveled to Ukraine on March 3, despite a U.S. travel advisory to avoid the country. She's staying in Lviv while trying to get Maure and other orphans out of the country. Although in the same city, she's still separated from Maure because the orphanage leaders won't release her. The first time Thompson saw Maure in Lviv, they ran down the orphanage driveway to each other. They embraced and kept saying "I love you." "It was just such a relief to see her, and I know she felt safer knowing I was here," Thompson said. "While it was scary to travel to the country at war, it was much scarier to be an ocean away from our child." When Thompson first arrived in Ukraine, it felt safe, she said. There were air raid sirens, but no one seemed concerned about them, carrying on with daily life. More recently, as the attacks have gotten closer, it feels more tense, and Thompson fears more for herself and her daughter. At the orphanage, she said, they can't do anything without being interrupted by sirens and having to go to a bomb shelter in the basement. On Saturday, March 25, Thompson was shopping at a local mall to buy supplies for the children at the orphanage when air raid sirens went off. Normally, people would leave the store if this happened, but this time, the store's doors closed immediately, and shoppers were ushered into the basement. That's when Thompson knew the attacks were close. She later learned missiles struck a little more than a mile from the mall. She was able to get out and began driving back to her apartment. The streets were closed. Her phone was almost dead, and she needed to use the remaining battery for her GPS to find a way back to her apartment. Because of this, she wasn't able to call her husband or Maure. It all happened in a blur, and she isn't quite sure how she made it back. It was that day that she realized she needed to fight even harder for her daughter and do whatever she could to bring her home safely as quickly as possible. David Thompson said it's been hard for him and their children having their mother abroad for a month in a war zone, especially the day missiles struck near the mall. "That was pretty hard because I'm 5000 miles away. There's nothing I can do to assist," he said. "So it's pretty stressful." Maure and the other children at her orphanage were taken to Veliky Lyuban, an orphanage in Lviv in western Ukraine after the Russian attacks began in late February. What's holding them up? Maure is one of about 300 Ukrainian orphans who were in the process of being adopted by an American family when the attacks began, according to a congressional letter asking the U.S. State Department to help the children. Some of the children have been evacuated to other countries. Thompson thinks it's great that other countries are willing to provide homes for these children but doesn't understand why they can't come to the United States, where they have families they've already bonded with and who want to adopt them. A bipartisan group of legislators authored a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the State Department to unite American parents with the Ukrainian children they're in the process of adopting. As of Wednesday, March 30, Thompson and the other parents hadn't heard from the State Department about getting temporary visas for the children. In a statement to The Enquirer, the State Department said adoption cases are being handled by U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, and referred The Enquirer to its website for further information. The department's website lists information for parents in the process of adoption from Ukraine, which was last updated on March 25. It says children without a final adoption or guardianship order generally aren't eligible for an adoption-based immigrant visa or non-immigrant visa. Visa eligibility is determined by U.S. immigration laws and officials aren't able to make exceptions, the State Department's website says. Children may go to neighboring countries with their legal guardians, which are usually the orphanage directors, but aren't allowed to come to the United States through hosting programs at this time. Even if children are evacuated to another country, the adoption process still can't proceed, Ukrainian officials have said. "We understand how difficult this situation is for families pursuing parenthood through adoption in Ukraine," the State Department's statement read. "We strongly encourage prospective adoptive parents to defer travel to Ukraine at this time and for those currently in Ukraine to depart immediately if it is safe to do so using any commercial or other privately available ground transportation options." Judy Williams, foreign programs coordinator for Global Adoption Services, a Maryland-based nonprofit adoption agency, said there's a number of reasons adoptions aren't currently being processed for Ukrainian children. Families have been displaced, so it's hard to prove that a child is an orphan. Also those who were moved from their orphanage, like Maure, often don't have the necessary paperwork with them to facilitate an adoption. On March 24, President Joe Biden announced the U.S. will accept 100,000 refugees from Ukraine through the U.S. refugee admissions and other programs. The timeline for this process is unclear. "I just really wish this wasn't so hard to help kids in need," Colleen Thompson said. "It's a lot of time and energy spent on something that shouldn't be this difficult." Northern Kentucky reporter Rachel Berry can be reached at rberry@enquirer.com. Follow her on Twitter @racheldberry. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ukraine war: Northern Kentucky mother is rescuing orphan for adoption Here's a timeline of events leading up to the Lebanon shooting in which one officer was killed and two officers were seriously injured: Travis Shaud, the shooter, was killed during the incident. He has been arrested several times in the past. His last known address was 1624 Rita Lane, Lebanon. Fallen Lebanon officer: Lt. William Lebo, Lebanon City officer killed in shooting, was one month away from retirement 2018: Police responded to a domestic-violence call in which they found Shaud's girlfriend on the roof of her residence, according to police records. The woman had injuries on her arm, was "distraught" and told police that Shaud had assaulted her, according to records. 2019: A criminal complaint was filed against Shaud for domestic-violence-related simple assault. 2020: Shaud was placed on probation for 23 months in January for domestic-violence-related simple assault, and in June 2020 he was sentenced to serve 9 days to 23 month in jail for simple assault. July 2021: Shaud was served with a protection from abuse order filed by his girlfriend. That order listed both the woman and a minor child as the plaintiffs. PA officer shooting: Lebanon shooting: One officer and suspect dead, two officers injured in domestic incident The latest on the shooting: Lebanon police shooting: Here's what we know Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf speaks during a press conference at the Lebanon County and City Building on Friday, April 1, 2022. Day of the shooting March 31, 2022, 3:35 p.m.: Lebanon police officers were called to 1108 Forest Street in Lebanon City for a domestic disturbance and burglary, according to Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello. The Forest Street address belonged to a family member of Shaud. March 31, 2022, 4:24 p.m.: Officers exchanged gunfire with Shaud, and Lt. William Lebo was killed. Lebo was a 40-year veteran of the department and was one month away from retirement. Two other officers were also seriously injured by gunfire: Officer Ryan Adams, 32, who has seven years of service and is in stable condition, and Officer Derek Underkoffler, 32, who also has seven years of service. Story continues April 1, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.: At a brief news conference, officials gave more details and provided the names of those involved in the incident. District Attorney Piers Hess Graf said Shaud had a long history of mental health issues. The Lebanon County District Attorney's Office is continuing to investigate the incident and asked anyone with information to share it with law enforcement officials. Kaity Assaf is a regional news reporter at the York Daily Record, part of the USA Today Network. Contact her at kassaf1@ydr.com, on Twitter @kaitythekite or by phone, 717-472-0960. Please support local journalism with a digital subscription. This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon City police shooting: Timeline of events Downtown Indianapolis is quiet. The streets should be bustling with commuters driving into downtown to start the day. Instead, the streets are abandoned, "strangely still," as correspondent Ann Miller describes them. Why? Because the city has been left in "ruins" by the detonation of the nuclear bomb. Scared? Don't worry. It's not real. This "footage" is from a fake news broadcast created by the U.S. government as part of a December 1986 nuclear simulation exercise called "Mighty Derringer." Indiana's 'broken arrow': That time 5 nuclear bombs caught on fire The fake mission, which was aimed to train the Department of Energy's Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST) in the event of a nuclear threat from the Cold War, simulated that Indianapolis experienced a "1 kiloton nuclear detonation that resulted in 'total devastation over a 20 square block area,'" according to the National Security Archive. The video was obtained by tech website Gizmodo through a Freedom of Information Act request from the National Nuclear Security Administration, which operates under the DOE. The Department of Energy did not respond to IndyStar's request for comment. What we learned in the fake newscast In this simulated news broadcast, fake Eyewitness News anchor Jeff Schwartz is ready to be the eyes and ears of the people. He's wearing a suit and red tie, and has an authoritative mustache. Schwartz appears to be calm, but there's an air of foreboding. Schwartz says it's the fourth day of an emergency in Indianapolis, but "few details are available." "A large portion of downtown Indianapolis remains evacuated," Schwartz said. "Now, reports are sketchy at this point, but we do know that apparently there are terrorists holed up in the downtown part of our city with nuclear devices." Schwartz then goes to the field, with correspondent Ann Miller reporting from "Chopper 9." Story continues Weve just passed over the Speedway. Were heading east towards downtown, Miller, the correspondent, says as the helicopter shows stock footage of the city. Miller comments on the quiet city shown below. "Normally at this time of the morning, we'd see the beginnings of rush hour traffic," she said. "But this morning it seems strangely still." Is any traffic moving at all? Schwartz asked, sounding concerned. Yes. ... There are police down there in the streets making sure everyone stays out of town, Miller said. Miller also says the police are "guarding" against something. It's difficult to hear, though, the wind from the helicopter obscures sound. Just how close can we get to where the terrorists have been holed up? Schwartz asks Miller. The FBI and police have cordoned off the area and theyve restricted airspace above it, Miller responds. Were headed in that direction now. But we can only approach it- At this point, the video cuts off, leaving the screen filled with static and an unpleasant hum. "We've obviously lost our microwave link with Chopper 9," he says. "Can someone get on the two way radio and see if they can contact Ann and see what's going on out there?" In this moment, Schwartz turns back to the camera, speaking to the fictional people of Indianapolis. "In the meantime, I'd like to caution our audience against over-concern," Schwartz says. In a cruel twist of irony, or cinematic drama, those words are his last. The broadcast cuts off and fades to black. The 'Mighty Derringer' exercise The video is just one part of the massive training exercise, which took place over a few days in early December 1986. The exercise was sponsored by the Pentagon and directed by the State Department, author and researcher Jeffrey T. Richelson wrote in his book, "Defusing Armageddon: Inside NEST, America's Secret Nuclear Bomb Squad." According to a document obtained by Richelson via FOIA request, over 400 "players and controllers" from the FBI, Department of Energy, Department of Defense (and Explosive Ordinance Disposal), FEMA and state and local law enforcement officials participated in the drill. AES Indiana: Plans to leave coal power behind by 2025, parent company says A document revealed that planning for the Mighty Derringer exercise took place in two locations: Indiana, based at Camp Atterbury and Indianapolis, and Area A-25 of the Energy Department's Nevada Test Site, which stood in as the fictional country of "Montrev," which Richelson wrote was supposed to represent Mexico. Camp Atterbury did not immediately respond to IndyStar's request for comment. The enemy was a terrorist group controlled by "Gooch" in Montrev that was threatening to detonate a nuclear device near an oil field in the fictional country. However, the exercise soon revealed that there was another bomb in the United States in Indianapolis. Real "nuclear sources" were actually hidden in parts of Indianapolis during "Mighty Derringer" so that forces would have something to look for, Richelson wrote in his book. "One objective was to determine if NEST could deploy, get to a target city, do its search and detect hidden nuclear weapons," Richelson wrote. Trainee forces were able to disable the fake bomb in Montrev but as part of the exercise, the second bomb detonated and devastated downtown Indianapolis. A document summarizing the exercise reported that the simulated "bombing" killed 900 people and injured 1,000. The document said Governor Robert D. Orr, who was really in office at the time, requested a major disaster declaration from the president. Congress passed millions of dollars in additional appropriations funding. Originally, the Indianapolis bomb was to be successfully disarmed, but the exercise controllers decided to introduce "a new element," according to Richelson. Zolin Burson, who was a liaison for the Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center, suggested the exercise needed more real-life participation from public officials. "If the real Governor and Mayor would have been present, they would have had a much stronger influence on how things were handled and the decisions made, particularly during the time period before the consequence phase," Burson wrote. Vic Berniklau, an engineer with the Atomic Energy Commission, wrote in a document analyzing the exercise that these issues included congestion of people, confusion and uncertainty, no central data acquisition display. "Overall, this was an Excellent, well managed exercise," Berniklau said. Contact IndyStar trending reporter Claire Rafford at crafford@gannett.com or on Twitter @clairerafford. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis history: This fake newscast shows Indianapolis destroyed On a gloriously sunny spring day, golden shovels shone and dug into a ceremonial mound of earth outside historic Bryce Main, as the University of Alabama broke ground Friday on its forthcoming "front door," the Catherine and Pettus Randall Welcome Center. "I was speaking with a group from up north yesterday, recruiting students, as we do here often," said UA President Stuart R. Bell, "and I said 'You know, it's like this every day in Tuscaloosa.' " BUILDING A BRIDGE: University of Alabama, Stillman College sign graduate school pathways agreement Members of the notably philanthropic Randall family joined UA leaders, construction and architectural teams, numerous donors and alumni outside on the back porch of the Bryce House for talks and introductions, then walked or rode down Bryce Lawn Drive for photos of the groundbreaking. The University of Alabama celebrated the groundbreaking for the Catherine and Pettus Randall Welcome Center at the historic Bryce Hospital building Friday, April 1, 2022. Gary Cosby Jr./Tuscaloosa News "As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait," said Bob Pierce, vice president for advancement, who helped lead fundraising for what will be an $83,750,000 restoration project for Bryce Main. The Randall Welcome Center will occupy the ground floor of Bryce Main, while rising above will be offices for UA's Department of Theatre and Dance, its classrooms, studios, and rehearsal halls, along with museums dedicated to the history of UA and mental health in Alabama. "This facility in its restored glory will undoubtedly be worth the wait," Pierce said. Informal tours were led through the building, which opened in 1861 as Alabama State Hospital for the Insane, later renamed for Dr. Peter Bryce, its innovative first superintendent. Architect Samuel Sloan designed the hospital using the Kirkbride Plan, a "moral architecture" concept crafted by 1830s activists Thomas Story Kirkbride and Dorothea Dix. Construction began in 1853, taking several years to complete, and becoming the first building in Tuscaloosa with gas lighting and central heat. Story continues Sloan also designed downtown Tuscaloosa's Jemison-Van de Graaff Mansion, for Robert Jemison Jr., a planter, politician and businessman who'd been crucial in bringing the state mental hospital to the Druid City. Sloan stayed abreast of latest technologies, making that house one of the city's first with running water, flush toilets, a hot water boiler and its own coal gas plant. The home is co-named for his great-grandson, born in the mansion, Robert Jemison van de Graaff, a renowned physicist who designed and constructed the high-voltage Van de Graaff generators, spending most of his career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Princeton University. The University of Alabama celebrated the groundbreaking for the Catherine and Pettus Randall Welcome Center at the historic Bryce Hospital building Friday, April 1, 2022. Cathy Randall reacts to comments being made during the ceremony. Gary Cosby Jr./Tuscaloosa News The Italianate domed construction on the Bryce Hospital campus rose as striking center of a seven-building connected facility, built to house 250 patients. By 1861, the project cost about $280,000, which would amount to more than $9 million today, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index. Work to shore up the more than 160-year-old building has begun, with new staircases added, and years of debris cleaned out, by J. T. Harrison Construction Co., following designs from Birmingham-based TurnerBatson Architects. UA purchased the 168-acre Bryce property in 2010 from the Alabama Department of Mental Health. In 2014 the UA system's board of trustees took its initial formal steps to "save, restore and preserve Bryce Main," Pierce said. As part of the purchase, UA agreed to restore components of Bryce Main, and preserve original fixtures and construction where possible. A section of crumbling cornice work circling inside the towering dome has been removed, to be scanned and recreated in modern materials. The adjacent superintendent's house, where opening remarks were given, now called The Bryce House, was restored as of August 2021, at a cost of more than $4.3 million. Adjoining Bryce Main will be added-on buildings to become the 130,000 square-foot Smith Family Center for the Performing Arts, named for a UA alumni family that recently donated $20 million. That project is expected to cost up to $60 million, of which about $38 million has been raised. Former UA athletic director Bill Battle, who with his wife Mary lead the $15 million Campaign for the Performing Arts, with Hollywood star Sela Ward, a 1977 UA grad serving as honorary chair, noted the paired projects blend like a couple slow-dancing. The timeline should go roughly this way, according to Pierce: Spring 2023: Groundbreaking for the Smith Center. January 2024: Ribbon-cutting on the Randall Welcome Center. January 2026: Grand gala and inaugural performances in the Smith Center. The 15,000-square-foot Randall Welcome Center will include areas for prospective students and their families to gather for campus tours, along with a lounge, theater and UA admissions offices. Once established, the interior will not remain static, said Matthew McLendon, associate vice president and executive director of enrollment management. The University of Alabama celebrated the groundbreaking for the Catherine and Pettus Randall Welcome Center at the historic Bryce Hospital building Friday, April 1, 2022. Groups tour the main building, which is undergoing extensive renovations. Gary Cosby Jr./Tuscaloosa News "We are going to be purchasing state-of-the-art, curved, ultra-thin OLED digital signage displays, for an intense immersive experience," he said. "This will have project mapping systems which essentially allow a student to sit and experience a classroom lecture; experience a game day; experience a conversation with alumni as they are there. "And so I think, for me the way that I really describe this is as a living stage, or a little bit nerdy, as we're saying here: pixels with a purpose," McLendon added. "And it will evolve and serve us and our prospective students from now and into the future. It's just going to be really cool. I don't know any other way to say it." President Bell spoke of the upcoming center as a showpiece for the campus, a jewel in the crown. "You know what it's said, that there's no hospitality like Southern hospitality," he said. "And I'm not sure that catchphrase wasn't invented here at the University of Alabama." The namesake Randall family can be found on the campus's recently renamed road, Randall Way, the 19-acre Randall Family Park and Trailhead opened at the Northern Riverwalk, and numerous other places, including of course Randall Publishing. As president and CEO of that company for more than a quarter century, Pettus Randall III expanded the business his father began in 1934 as "Whos Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges into a publishing empire with dozens of magazines, websites and more, emphasizing people and public service. I think its important to try to pay something back to the community and strive to make life better for everyone, Randall said, in a May 2002 interview with The Tuscaloosa News, roughly four months before his death at 57 of pancreatic cancer. The University of Alabama celebrated the groundbreaking for the Catherine and Pettus Randall Welcome Center at the historic Bryce Hospital building Friday, April 1, 2022. Cathy Randall greets friends before the ceremony. Gary Cosby Jr./Tuscaloosa News His widow Cathy Randall has extended that legacy, co-chairing the Tuscaloosa Bicentennial Committee, on the Alabama Academy of Honor, and as director of UA's University Honors Program for 25 years now named for her, as the Catherine J. Randall Research Scholars Program. She's also worked as a news anchor at CBS affiliate WCFT-TV, earned two master's and two doctoral degrees from UA, and been named one of the top 31 women graduates of the century, alongside notables including Harper Lee, who became a close friend. UA was responsible for her family, she said, as it's where she and her husband met. Cathy Randall noted that much of her philanthropic work, seen widely around Tuscaloosa and the UA campus, was meant to keep alive the name and work of her late husband. She paraphrased Eliza Hamilton, wife of the central figure in Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical phenomenon, who sings: "You could have done so much more if you only had time." "And as extraordinary as the differences he made in so many lives, professionally, in his church, in his community, he could have done so much more," Randall said. Visitors to campus 20, 50 or 100 years from now can see the Randall name, and may be interested to learn more. "It's really to inspire people to live a life like he lived, and like he would have lived, had he had the chance, and more time," she said. This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: UA leaders, Randall family break ground on new campus welcome center Grandview High School's mariachi program has grown in popularity since being revitalized, with over 70 students split up into two classes Yakima Arts talk Podcast Yakima Arts Talk podcast Listen to the Grandview High School Mariachi group and hear more from its members in Yakima Herald-Republics podcast. In "Yakima Arts Talk," YH-R education reporter Vanessa Ontiveros explores arts education in the Yakima Valley and surrounding areas. Rural communities often have less access to arts programs. But as many students and educators will attest, art is a deeply meaningful part of their lives. The monthly podcast will provide a look at arts education in the Yakima Valley and how it is faring during the pandemic. Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Chinese FM meets Tajik Minister of Justice Xinhua) 10:07, April 02, 2022 Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Tajik Minister of Justice Muzaffar Ashouriyon on the sidelines of the third foreign ministers' meeting among the neighboring countries of Afghanistan, in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province, March 31, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) HEFEI, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi Thursday met with Tajik Minister of Justice, Muzaffar Ashouriyon, on the sidelines of the third foreign ministers' meeting among the neighboring countries of Afghanistan, in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province. Wang stressed China's firm support for Tajikistan to safeguard national independence, sovereignty, security and for the Tajik people to realize the development goal toward prosperity. China will be Tajikistan's reliable strategic partner, Wang said. China is willing to jointly build the Belt and Road with high quality with Tajikistan and help Tajikistan accelerate industrialization and advance agricultural modernization, Wang continued. China will accelerate construction of a Luban Workshop in Tajikistan to provide talent support and promote friendly exchanges among the youth. Cooperation in fighting the pandemic will be strengthened, Wang added. Noting that Tajikistan is committed to expanding comprehensive cooperation with China, Ashouriyon said Tajikistan is willing to deepen the Belt and Road cooperation and advance cooperation on investment, energy, and production capacity. Ashouriyon thanked China for its support for Tajikistan's fight against the pandemic. Tajikistan is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in traditional medicine. The two sides agreed to deepen cooperation on safety, fight the "evil forces" of terrorism, extremism and separatism, as well as organized cross-border crimes, and safeguard regional stability. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Tajik Minister of Justice Muzaffar Ashouriyon on the sidelines of the third foreign ministers' meeting among the neighboring countries of Afghanistan, in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province, March 31, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. SpiceJet said it will start a daily flight on the route between Delhi and Pantnagar in Uttarakhand from April 8. Earlier, the airlines started flight services between Gorakhpur and Varanasi as part of the UDAN scheme to increase tourism and connectivity in the aforementioned places. These new domestic flights come as part of the announcement by SpiceJet to launch 60 new domestic flights this summer. The Delhi-Pantnagar flight will leave Delhi at 12.15 pm and arrive at Pantnagar at 1.15 pm, it added. The return flight will depart Pantnagar at 1.45 pm and reach Delhi at 2.45 pm, the airline said. "The airline's Q400 aircraft will be deployed on this route," it said in a statement. Earlier, In a statement, the airline said it will launch eight industry-first flights, which will operate on the Gorakhpur-Kanpur, Gorakhpur Varanasi, Jaipur-Dharamshala and Tirupati-Shirdi sectors, in the summer schedule. Also read: Mid-air collision of South Korean Air Force KT-1 trainer aircraft kills 4 Under the UDAN scheme, financial incentives from the Centre, state governments and airport operators are extended to selected airlines to encourage operations from unserved and under-served airports and keep airfares affordable. Indian carriers have increased their domestic services by 10.1 per cent to 25,309 weekly flights in the upcoming summer schedule as compared to 22,980 last season, aviation regulator DGCA said. With inputs from PTI Live TV #mute NEW DELHI: One of the busiest stars of B-town, Kartik Aaryan is always on his toes hopping from one set to another for his film shoots. The actor is all set to jet off yet again for a long schedule. As per a source close to the star, "Kartik is flying out of India on 2nd night to shoot for Shehzada. He will be stationed there for almost 2 weeks for the schedule." The young superstar has been busy winning awards and accolades for his impeccable and fresh performance in 'Dhamaka' as Arjun Pathak while he has a massive lineup to look forward to as well. Kartik is all set to be seen in films like 'Shehzada', 'Freddy', 'Captain India', 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2' and an untitled project by Sajid Nadiadwala. Earlier this year, the actor was accused of 'extremely unprofessional' behaviour by Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo producer Manish Shah. Shah said that Aaryan had threatened to walk out of 'Shehzada', the Hindi adaptation of Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, if the Allu Arjun film was released with Hindi dubbing in theatres and claimed that he lost Rs 20 crore because of the same. However, T-Series head Bhushan Kumar came out in Kartik's defence and called him 'one of the most professional actors' he has ever worked with. Bhushan said that it was not Kartik, but the producers of 'Shehzada', who felt that their film should release in theatres before the Hindi dubbed version of 'Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo'. In a conversation with IndiaToday.in, Manish Shah said, "Kartik Aaryan said if the movie was released in theatres, he would walk out of the film, which would have caused Shehzada producers a loss of Rs 40 crores. It was extremely unprofessional of him." Live TV YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS. Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Luigi Di Maio will pay a working visit to Armenia on April 2-3, ARMENPRESS reports the spokesperson of the MFA Armenia wrote on his Facebook page. The meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Italy will take place on April 3 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, followed by announcements for the press. Within the framework of the visit, Luigi Di Maio is also scheduled to meet with the President, Prime Minister and President of the National Assembly of Armenia. New Delhi: IT major Infosys is shifting its services from Russia to its other global delivery centres, according to sources. The move comes amid mounting pressure on UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who has been fielding some tough questions lately over the Russian presence of Infosys, a company in which his wife, Akshata Murty, has a share. Sources said that Infosys is transitioning services from Russia to other global delivery centres but did not elaborate on any details. Infosys has less than 100 employees in Russia, and the status of the local staff there and whether they will be relocated could not be immediately ascertained. To a emailed query by PTI, Infosys said, "We do not have any comments". The UK earlier imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Russian businesses and individuals, with Sunak issuing a call for all UK companies to think very carefully about any investments in Russia over the ongoing Ukrainian conflict. With reference to stringent sanctions being imposed on Russia, Sunak, who is the son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy was asked on air if his advice to businesses was not being followed within his own home. The minister stressed that the operations of individual companies was a matter for them. Last month, an Infosys statement said the multinational software services major supports and advocates for peace between Russia and Ukraine. The statement had said: "Infosys has a small team of employees based out of Russia, that services some of our global clients, locally. We do not have any active business relationships with local Russian enterprises. Also Read: 7th Pay Commission: After 3% DA hike, HRA could also increase soon; check details "A key priority for Infosys in times of adversity, is to continue extending support to the community. The company has committed USD 1 million towards relief efforts for the victims of war from Ukraine. Also Read: Indian startup Pixxel launches 'Shakuntala' satellite with Elon Musk's SpaceX Live TV #mute New Delhi: April is here and with it comes many auspicious days and festivals marked in the month for celebrations. Today, April 2, this year marks the beginning of Hindu New Year and coincides with Chaitra Navratri Day 1 respectively. As India is a diverse land, different regions have different names for ushering in New Year celebrations as per the Hindu calendar. Ugadi, Cheti Chand, Navreh, and Gudi Padwa among others is are celebrated extensively in India. Today, let's give you a close-up of how the country welcomes the Hindu New Year in various regions. Navreh celebrations by Kashmiri Pandits: The first day of Chaitra (March-April) month is celebrated across Jammu and Kashmir as Navreh or Kashmiri New Year. It is widely celebrated by the Kashmiri Pandit community where people greet everyone they meet with a warm 'Navreh Mubarak' (Happy New Year)! Navreh is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nava-Varsha', meaning New Year. There is a customary practice of preparing a plate full of unhusked rice with bread, a small bowl of yoghurt, salt, sugar candy, a few walnuts or almonds, a silver coin and Rs 10 note would also do, a pen, a mirror, some flowers (rose, marigold, crocus, or jasmine) and the new Panchanga or Almanac. Also, one has to keep Kashmiri Jantri (a Panchang book which has an account of all the important dates as per Kashmiri tradition). Interestingly, all of this is prepared during the night itself as the first thing in the morning is to look at this plate, and then start your day. Kashmiri Pandits observe the same ritual of preparing the plate and looking at it in the morning on Sonth or the Kashmiri spring festival. As per the Kashmiri Hindu calendar, the Saptarshi Era is believed to have started on the same day, about 5079 years ago. The legend has it that the celebrated Saptarishis flocked together on the Sharika Parvat also known as Hari Parbat in Kashmirrevered as the divinely abode of the goddess Sharika, at the auspicious moment when the first ray of the sun fell on the Chakreshvara on this day and paid tribute to her. On Navreh, Kashmiri Pandits visited the Hari Parbhat shrine to seek goddess Sharika's blessings. Also, kids wear new clothes to mark the New Year and so do the elders! Gudi Padwa: This auspicious festival will be celebrated today this year in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as people welcome the New Year by placing a Gudi outside their door or window. The occasion is usually observed on the first day of the month of Chaitra and in Konkani communities, it is celebrated as Samwatsara. On the other hand, in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, it is known as Ugadi. People celebrate this auspicious day by decorating their doorsteps with Rangoli and a toran made of mango leaves. Prayers and flowers are offered to the Gudi after placing it on the window or door. Following this, people perform the aarti and put Akshat on the Gudi. Ugadi: Ugadi marks the New Year as per the Hindu calendar in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. On this day, dressed in their best fineries, men, women and children decorate their homes and indulge in grand festivities. Family members, friends and neighbours get together to celebrate by greeting each other and exchanging sweets and Prasadam. People also visit temples to offer their prayers to the almighty and seek blessings on the auspicious occasion. One of the most important rather significant preparations on this day is the Ugadi Pachchadi (made of jaggery, raw mango and neem leaves/ flowers) that tastes sweet, sour and bitter. This recipe is customarily prepared at home to remind people that they need to embrace agony and ecstasy with grace because life is a blend of both joyful and sad moments. Cheti Chand: It is known as the Sindhi New Year and is mainly celebrated by Sindhi Hindus in India and Pakistan. The festival coincides with the second day of the Chaitra Shukla Paksha in the Hindu calendar. And since on this day, the moon first appears after a no moon day, it is called Cheti Chand. This day is also known as Jhulelal Jayanti, dedicated to a deity who is regarded as the incarnation of the Hindu deity Varuna. Here's wishing everyone a very Happy Navreh, Gudi Padwa, Cheti Chand and Ugadi! New Delhi: Nepal on Saturday became the fourth foreign country to operationalise the RuPay card with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba jointly launching the Indian electronic payment system in the Himalayan nation. The three other countries that have the RuPay card are Bhutan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. The card was launched by the two leaders after holding talks covering wide-ranging issues including cooperation in areas of trade, investment and energy. Deuba arrived in New Delhi on Friday in his first bilateral visit abroad after becoming prime minister for the fifth time in July 2021. "Introduction of RuPay card in Nepal will add a new chapter to our financial connectivity," Modi said in his media statement after the talks. The Ministry of External Affairs said the launch of the card in Nepal would open new vistas for cooperation in financial connectivity, and is expected to facilitate bilateral tourist flows as well as further strengthen people-to-people linkages. RuPay card scheme was launched in 2012 as part of the Reserve Bank of India's vision to have a domestic, open and multilateral system of payments. People familiar with the project said the Nepal SBI Bank (NSBL), a subsidiary of SBI and Nepal's largest international bank, worked on the initiative for over a year with support from Nepal's Central Bank. They said the launch of the card in Nepal will forge a new path to financial convenience and empowerment with the use of technology and innovation. It will not only enable ease of payment for RuPay car holders but also uplift Nepal's payment ecosystem capabilities, they said. After the Modi-Deuba talks, Nepal and India also inked a pact for the renewal of an MoU for the supply of petroleum products for a period of five years between Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Nepal Oil Corporation Ltd (NOC), the people cited above said. Both parties had signed an agreement on March 27, 2017, which expired on March 31. The renewed agreement will remain valid for a period of five years. The agreement is in the form of an umbrella pact enabling IOCL to supply petroleum products to NOC, including through the Motihari-Amlekhgunj pipeline which was commissioned in July 2019. Another agreement was signed for sharing of technical expertise between IOCL and NOC. The agreement is intended to assist NOC in acquiring technical knowledge and skill in petroleum products, and in the operation and maintenance of facilities required for the purpose. Also Read: India Inc performance improves in second half of 2021-22: Crisil The people said IOCL will impart training and knowledge to NOC personnel in the fields of quality control, engineering, pipeline, IT, terminal/depot operation, infrastructure development and safety. Also Read: Apple iPhone 13 selling with Rs 28,000 discount on online store; check offer price Live TV #mute Toyota has been reluctant about revealing its plans for its electric vehicles. However, creating a hole in the shield of reluctance, the Japanese automaker has brought to light its fully electric Innova MVP at the Indonesian International Motor Show in Jakarta. The MVP has been on sale in the market with an ICE powertrain. In addition, several media reports also suggest that Toyota has been using its resources to put together its EV programmer. As per the reports, the company is using a big part of its resources to develop a dedicated platform for its future electric versions of its combustion engine models. Coming back to the Toyota Innova EV, the car has very similar looks to the ongoing ICE version of the MVP already on sale in the Indian market. The primary design difference can be seen on the car's front end, as the electric version doesn't have the kind of grill as on the ICE version. Also read: Watch: Ola S1 Pro electric scooter abruptly goes in reverse mode at 90 kmph The gap of differences between the two versions of Innova is increased with blue highlights all over the body of the car. The blue highlights even find their way into the headlamps and taillights of the electric vehicle going all the way to the Toyota logo in the front centre. Regarding the interiors, the Innova EV has similar interiors as the combustion engine version. The dashboard layout with a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system poses striking similarities. The blue strips are present in the interiors as well in the form of highlights with the dark and light tones of the upholstery. As for the features, the electric Toyota Innova has a digital instrument cluster, multifunction steering and infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. The car is speculated to get features like a 360-degree camera, an air purifier and cruise control, among other things. As per the official announcement the Toyota Innova EV presented is a concept. However, there is no announcement on when the car will hit the production line. New Delhi: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has responded to actor Will Smith's resignation, saying that it has accepted the resignation and will "continue to move forward" with disciplinary proceedings against him. David Rubin, President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in a statement, addressed the resignation and ongoing controversy. "We have received and accepted Mr Will Smith`s immediate resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences," said Rubin in a statement sent to People magazine. Rubin added, "We will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy's Standards of Conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18." The statement came in response to Smith announcing his resignation after he slapped comedian Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday. "I have directly responded to the Academy`s disciplinary hearing notice, and I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable," the actor said in a statement. He added, "The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home. I betrayed the trust of the Academy." The actor further said, "I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film. So, I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate." Smith, who won his first Oscar this year for `King Richard`, concluded, "Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason."The conflict arose after Rock, who was presenting the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, seized the moment to crack a few jokes, including one about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. He compared the 50-year-old actor`s appearance to that of Demi Moore's look in `G.I. Jane`. Jada, who recently opened up about living with alopecia areata, was visibly upset, rolling her eyes from her seat.Seconds later, Smith walked onstage and approached Rock, smacking him in front of the audience. The 53-year-old actor also shouted to a stunned Rock, "Keep my wife`s name out of your f---ing mouth." Smith then remained seated with his wife at his table for the rest of the event. Rock has so far declined to press charges. When Smith won Best Actor later in the ceremony, he apologised to the Academy and his fellow nominees but didn't mention Rock by name. In his tearful speech, he spoke about acting out of love and protection, saying, "Love makes you do crazy things." The `King Richard` actor went on to publicly apologise to Rock on social media the following day. New Delhi: With Mission Gujarat in mind, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann held a mega roadshow in Ahmedabad city seeking "one chance" for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to rule the state. The AAP leaders participated in a two-kilometre roadshow, Tiranga Gaurav Yatra, in Ahemdabad in the wake of the Gujarat Assembly polls later this year. Ahead of the roadshow, Kejriwal, Mann sought the blessings of Goddess Khodiyar Mata at a temple in Nikol area. The duo, who is on two days Gujarat tour, also visited the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad and paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi earlier in the day. Before setting out for the roadshow, Kejriwal attacked the BJP-led Gujarat government saying it is "full of arrogance" after being in power in the state for 25 years. He asked people to give "one chance" to AAP. "After 25 years of rule, they are full of arrogance...Give a chance to AAP, like the people of Delhi and Punjab gave. If you do not like it, change the government and bring them back," PTI quoted the Delhi CM as saying. Kejriwal claimed that AAP has been successful in ending corruption in Delhi and Punjab after assuming power. "In Delhi we have finished corruption, in Punjab Bhagwant Mann finished corruption in ten days," the AAP convenor said. The Delhi and Punjab CMs were accompanied by Gujarat AAP leaders Isudan Gadhvi and Gopal Italia. "After Delhi and Punjab, we are now prepared for Gujarat," said Punjab CM Mann to the crowd. The roadshow was full of AAP workers and supporters covering both sides of the road, with most holding the tricolour in hand, as they cheered the two leaders. #WATCH | "...Delhi and Punjab sorted, now we are preparing for Gujarat..." says Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann as he holds a roadshow with AAP convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in Ahmedabad Gujarat Assembly elections are due in the latter part of this year pic.twitter.com/kXYZh7iKSG ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2022 Delhi CM Kejriwal will hold meetings with AAP leaders of the Gujarat unit on Sunday. Fresh from the recent landslide victory in the Punjab Assembly elections, AAP is keen on expanding itself in other states. Last year, the AAP convenor had said the party will field candidates on all 182 Gujarat assembly seats. AAP had made an unsuccessful debut in Gujarat in the 2017 assembly polls. However, in the 2021 local bodies elections, AAP had bagged 42 seats. (With agency inputs) Live TV New Delhi: BJP national general secretary CT Ravi on Friday (April 1, 2022) expressed confidence in his party and said that BJP could win over 150 seats in the state Assembly elections due next year. The statement comes after the core committee meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his two-day visit to Karnataka. Following the meeting with Shah, CT Ravi said that the former has instructed the party leaders to prepare a roadmap for one year and work on the ground to win over 150 seats in the elections. "We discussed the political situation today. After winning polls in four states, the atmosphere is in favour of BJP. Congress is scared because of this. A self-confidence was presented in the meeting that if we work on the ground level, we can win more than 150 seats. Amit Shah has instructed us to prepare a roadmap for one year," said CT Ravi. While talking to the media, the BJP general secretary also stated that BJP will finalise the names of the leaders willing to join the BJP, only after getting instructions from the party president. ALSO READ | Change of CM in Karnataka? Sources say THIS as Amit Shah embarks on 2-day visit to state "We will work on the ground and also we will finalise the people after getting the instructions from the party president, who are ready to join the party from the other parties," he said. He refuted the speculations of the cabinet expansion discussion and change of leadership ahead of the crucial elections and said that "no such question arises." "We are ready for the elections. There were no discussions on the cabinet expansion. Change of leadership was also not discussed. No such question arises," Ravi said. Earlier, top BJP sources said that the party does not succumb to any pressure and is not mulling any change of leadership ahead of the crucial elections. "There is no question of change of leadership in the state... The president (Nalin Kateel) has been given a term and he will definitely complete that," said the sources. On the talks doing the round regarding the possible change of guard for Chief Minister, another source said that there will not be a change of Chief Minister under any pressure. "This is BJP and not any other party and we do not change any Chief Minister under pressure... Bommai is a very experienced politician and a capable Chief Minister," said the source. (With agency inputs) Live TV New Delhi: Today (April 2, 2022) is the first day of Chaitra Navratri and New Year in Hindu mythology, and celebrations are lined up across the nation. The Covid-19 pandemic had meant that for over two years, festivities remained low-key, but as cases drop significantly, the nine-day festival is likely to witness celebrations on a grand scale. Navratri celebrations across the country On early Saturday morning, 'aarti' was performed at New Delhi's Jhandewalan temple on Saturday. Devotees visited the temple to offer prayers and seek blessings from Goddess Durga. People were seen standing in the queue waiting for their chance patiently to offer prayers on a holy day. Speaking to ANI, Ravindra Goyal from the Jhandewalan Temple trust welcomed the devotees back to the temple and said that they have made proper arrangements for security."I extend my best wishes for the new year. India has come out of the trouble of Covid-19 after two years. There is excitement among people and we are also prepared to welcome them. They can come and seek blessings. The temple has been decorated. More than 2,500 workers are handling the security management of the place. We have installed 160 CCTV cameras. A control room has been made where our people keep an eye on the events along with the police officials," Goyal said. With pandemic restrictions having been considerably eased, temples across the country will remain open till late night without any curbs, though devotees will be requested to wear masks. The Navratri will be marked with traditional 'bhajans', 'havan', 'aarti' and 'bhandara' (community feast). Many temples will, however, continue to live stream 'aarti' for devotees who cannot make it to the temples, physically. In Ayodhya, temples are being decorated and illuminated for Navratri and special pujas are being organised in several temples. "We need to pray for the health of mankind and also thank the Lord for giving us the strength to bear the pandemic crisis," said Raj Keshwar, a regular visitor to the Hanuman Garhi temple. "After a two-year gap, Navratri will be celebrated with full fervour and grandeur this time. Devotees can offer prayers at temples without any curbs and restrictions which is an auspicious omen," said Pandit Sandeep Mishra, priest of a Ram temple in Aminabad area in Lucknow. The gates of the Chandrika Devi temple, Lucknow, also opened at 7 am for a sea of devotees. "We have made arrangements and hope to see people in huge numbers once again in Navaratri. However, we will make announcements every hour to remind people to wear masks and maintain social distancing," said Akhilesh Singh, president, Ma Chandrika Devi Mela Vikas Samiti. Similarly, Badi Kali Ji temple and the Hanuman Setu temple in Lucknow are all set to welcome devotees. Chaitra Navratri: Nine days of festivities Chaitra Navratri or Vasant Navratri is celebrated during the spring season in India and it is considered to be an important nine-day celebration for the Hindu community. This year, the festival is commencing today and will end on April 11, 2022. The first day of Chaitra Navratri falls during the 'Shukla Paksha' of the moon i.e., the full moon phase. The rituals performed during the nine days in order to praise Goddess Durga, vary each day. It also marks the birthday of Lord Rama, which usually falls on the ninth day during the Navratri festivity, hence it is also known as Rama Navratri. The festival is much like Maha Navratri, dedicated to the nine different forms of Goddess Durga, collectively known as Navdurga. (With Agency inputs) Live TV New Delhi: BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh`s Farrukhabad, Mukesh Rajput on Friday said that the reason he wants Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to rename the city to Panchal Nagar was in a bid to "revive the ancient Indian culture and not religious, reported ANI. The BJP MP conveyed his demands in a letter written to the CM, however, he vehemently denied his demands being based on religious lines about argued that he just wants a historical revival of the culture of Farukkhabad. "Farrukhabad has links to the Mahabharat era. The capital of king Drupada used to be here once and was known as the Panchala area. Draupadi's swayamvar took place in this land and Pandavas built a temple during their Agyatvas here which is still present, he said. It was known as the capital of the Panchal kingdom. Today there are two major regiments, the Rajput Regiment and the Sikhlai Regiment," Rajput wrote in the letter. Speaking to ANI, the MP admitted to writing the letter to CM Yogi Adityanath putting forth his demand and said he seeks a new for the city to Panchal Nagar to revive the Indian culture. "Even before the establishment of Farrukhabad, Kampil, Sankisa, Shringirampur and Shamsabad were famous here. Giving a further historical background of the place, Rajput in his letter added, In 1714 AD, the Mughal ruler Farrukhsiyar named this historical city after his name as Farrukhabad for the purpose of destroying the Indian historical culture. Therefore I have written a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath requesting to change the name of Farrukhabad to Panchal Nagar to revive Indian culture. We want the name to be as per our heritage so that people feel good. We have requested the CM that it should be renamed Panchal Nagar or Aparakashi," he said. "This place is pure for the people belonging to the Hindu and Jain faith. There are Buddhist monasteries from many countries including Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma and Japan in Sankisa, where tourists from all over the country and abroad come. Along with this, like Kashi, this city is also known as Aparakashi because of the `shivalaya` in various streets," the MP added. (With inputs from ANI) Live TV New Delhi: Amid the fourth Covid-19 wave threat in India, 24 students in Goas BITS PILANI tested positive for the coronavirus over the last few days compelling the institute to resume online classes, the institute`s public relations officer Arjun Halarnkar said on Friday. This comes as Covid cases in neighbouring countries like China, Taiwan and others continue to rise at a rapid rate triggering a fresh unseen wave. However, the Covid-19 situation in India seems to be under control with only 1,260 new cases recorded on Saturday. Meanwhile, in Goa, BITS PILANIs official also said that eight more samples have been sent for testing on Friday. "Our campus response team had decided this after 24 positive cases. Eight more samples were sent for testing. Reports are awaited. We had already decided to continue our classes online and cancel events and gatherings which were scheduled to be held here," Halarnkar said. The campus that accommodates around 2,800 students has turned a new Covid hotspot amid fourth wave scare. The college official said that all students, faculty and staff at the university are being scanned thermally before they enter campus. "It started two to three days ago, that is when we started to test the students according to our protocol and yesterday the number reached 24. Strike rate is not high compared to students on campus," Halarnkar said. "Health authorities are already on the campus and primacy contacts and secondary contacts are being tested," he added. Meanwhile, the South Goa district administration has already issued guidelines to be implemented at the educational campus which include a mandatory screening of the inmates, setting up of quarantine facilities, mandatory cancellation of offline classes and other events. Live TV YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS. After returning from Artsakh, Taguhi Tovmasyan, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs urgently addressed the Ambassadors of Russia, the United States, France and the European Union in Armenia in the wake of our fact-finding activity. She drew the Ambassadors' attention to the invasion into the Parukh community of Artsakh by the units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, informed that as a result of the criminal actions by Azerbaijan the Armenian side has victims and wounded. Along with other urgent issues, I presented that the right to life of the residents of Parukh community was blatantly violated, civilians were deprived of their rights to live a peaceful and secure life in their homeland. I asked the ambassadors to make a public assessment and condemn such criminal acts and the gross violations of the International Humanitarian Law by Azerbaijan and take all the possible measures to prevent the genocidal policy and the ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan in Artsakh. I received an answer on behalf of the EU Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin, according to which they follow the situation in and around Nagorno-Karabakh with grave concern. They assure, that the tense situation does not slip their attention and is indeed taken into consideration during any talks/meetings of the EUSR, and even President of the European Council, when speaking to authorities in Baku and in Yerevan. As stated in the reply note, the European Union supports and is ready to complement the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group towards a negotiated, comprehensive and sustainable settlement. But, unfortunately, the situation neither in the world, nor in the region is favourable for negotiations, she wrote. New Delhi: As Hindus celebrate Navratra from today (April 2), Ghaziabad Mayor Asha Sharma banned the sale of raw meat in the open during the nine-day-long festival. "During Navratra, selling of meat will not be allowed in the open (across Ghaziabad) while it is banned (completely) near temples and in the bylanes where temples are located. Shop owners can cover the meat which they are selling. We are not here to help anyone incur profit or loss," Sharma told PTI. The city mayor said that this norm is followed every year. While affected shopkeepers told ANI that this is the first time that meat shops have been shut during Navratri in Ghaziabad. "Liquor shops are opened and meat shops are asked to shut. Our source of income has stopped, we'll incur losses of thousands. We've meat products worth lakhs kept in our shops," shopkeepers said. Meat and liquor are different, they can't be equated with each other. It's related to religious sentiments. It happens everytime that during Navratri raw meat can't be sold in vicinity of temple: Asha Sharma, Mayor, Ghaziabad pic.twitter.com/zKYQLcX3ZC ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 2, 2022 District Magistrate of Ghaziabad RK Singh told PTI that meat shop owners will be disallowed to discard the animal carcasses in the open, adding that the health department of the municipal corporation will ensure sanitation near the meat shops during Navratra. "Only licensed meat shops will be allowed to open their shops in covered kiosks following cleanliness norms. No shop owner will be allowed to throw animal carcasses in open areas," Singh said. The Chaitra Navratra began on Saturday and will end on Ram Navami on April 10. During the nine-day-long festival, devotees worship Goddess Durga in her different forms. Live TV Story By: Prateek Kaushik - Ghaziabad city police and administration are stunned after the second loot incident in four days. In the latest incident, a Punjab National Bank branch was looted of Rs 12 Lakhs in city's Noor Nagar area. It is noteworthy that the shocking incident came a day after city police chief Pawan Kumar was suspended over law and order situation. How did the loot take place? The loot was carried out by four armed men who barged into the bank unit that falls under the Nandgram police station area. While two of them went inside the bank, two kept the bike started to flew the scene. The four men forced the bank cashier to give away Rs 12 Lakh. The four men fled the scene thereafter. 2nd loot incident in four days On March 28, a similar robbery of Rs 25 lakh was carried out in broad daylight in city's Govindpuram area. The petrol pump workers were going to deposit Rs 25 lakh in cash in bank when four youths. on two bikes, opened fire in the air and looted Rs 25 lakh cash from them. Ghaziabad SSP suspended On March 31, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had ordered suspension of Ghaziabad Superintendent of Police Pawan Kumar. The two officials have been suspended on alleged charges of corruption, dereliction of duty and failure to control crime. Scenes of 1989 were repeated today at Mata Sharika Devi Temple in Srinagar, where hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits held special prayers. The temple, commonly known as parvat among Kashmiri Pandits, is considered the most pious religious place of the Kashmiri Pandit community. It is situated under 'Hari Parbat' in the downtown area of Srinagar. There used to be a mela - a massive celebration before the migration of the Kashmiri Pandit community from Kashmir on these days as Navreh is the first day of the new year. Before exodus, the pandits living in the surrounding of this temple used to start their day with morning prayers at this temple and many of them also used to go to Makdhoom Sahib a shrine adjacent to this temple. After 32 years, Kashmiri Pandits again held special prayers at this Mata Sharika Devi temple on the eve of Navratri ( Navreh). Doctor Ravish has visited this temple for the first time after the community migration. He says for 20 years he used to visit this temple daily early in morning and offer prayers and then only start his daily works. Not only he but his parents too used to practice the same but in the nineties they had to leave this place because of insurgency and couldnt come here. Ravish said his parents died in this wish to visit this temple, but today he was there with tearful eyes. Ravish said: I used to visit here every morning, since I was born, I used to come early morning offer prayers, it started when in my childhood i along my parents used to come here today, I have no words how am feeling am here after 32 years. My soul is here, only my body was away from this place, this is where my life is, there will be happiness in Kashmir only when peace will be everywhere, my father and mother left this world with hope that someday they will come to the temple again. There is hope that Mata Sharika will bless us, and everything will be fine again, we need same old brotherhood. Kashmiri Pandits living not only in Kashmir but outside Kashmir had gathered for the celebrations as they feel the situation has improved in the valley. A Kashmiri Pandit, Vijay Raina, who had come from outside Kashmir, said we had lost hope of coming back to our homeland, but I felt that our community will soon return the valley. Raina said, Today on New Year's Day such an atmosphere is being created and a good message will go to the displaced people. We used to think that we will not be able to come back but now Situation is becoming good and it looks like that Pandit community will return soon. A Navreh Milan festival was organised by JK peace Forum and the message behind was to rebuild the lost trust between two communities and give a message to people who are outside Kashmir that now time had come to return and to shorten the gap between two communities. Satish Maldaar the organiser said that only love and our culture can rebuild the bridge and this is what we are trying for. Satish Maldaar organiser said, It is great happiness that today we have come here again with the blessings of Mata Sharika, on New Year we are praying for peace and happiness, we want that same brotherhood to be formed again. We have no doubt that the people of Kashmir are patriots, and we hope that the same people of Kashmir will make ways to bring back Kashmiri Pandits. This Navreh Milan is a beginning of a new year but the beginning of a new era. The payers were done in great atmosphere and apart from Kashmiri pandits and Kashmir Muslims many tourists were present in temple and took part in special prayers. Member parliament Subramanyam swamy was chief guest. He said, The message is that no one can destroy a Hindu. Kashmir Pandits will be given their rights. I prayed here that Mata give me strength, so that I can get justice for these Kashmiri Pandits. After the release of 'The Kashmir Files film depicting exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley many activities are happening one local Kashmir Pandit Sandeep Mawa had given government ultimatum to constitute a fact-finding commission and many others have filed petition for the reopening of the cases of former terrorists. Patna: Even after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar sought to clarify that he has "no personal interest" in going to the Rajya Sabha, the opposition RJD on Friday kept up its attack, saying that he is a "clever person, who always plays tricky politics" and "keeps some scope to manipulate things". "Nitish Kumar has given a clear statement that he has no personal interest to go to Rajya Sabha. Suppose, his children want him to go to Rajya Sabha then what would happen? How could he refuse the wishes of his children? The fact of the matter is, he has made a safe path for himself where he keeps some scope to manipulate things," RJD Vice President Shivanand Tiwari said. "I know Nitish Kumar very well. He is having political limitations. He can't do much for himself, especially after the 2020 Assembly election. His party was reduced to 43 seats, though it managed to win two more seats in the by-elections. Still, he is in the role of a younger brother in the coalition with the BJP in Bihar. Despite that, he managed to achieve the post of Chief Minister. Ironically, this post belongs to BJP as it has more MLAs in the assembly. Due to his reduced political stature at present, leaders of the level of (BJP MLA) Vinay Bihari are abusing him," he added. Also read: On camera, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar attacked near Patna Tiwari said that the statement of Vinay Bihari, who called on the Chief Minister to give up his post, was the "worst and derogatory" for Nitish Kumar, though he is still to react to it. "People like Vinay Bihari will humiliate him in the future and he will tolerate them. Keeping the prestige of the Chief Minister's post intact is being very tough for Nitish Kumar. His status is completely destroyed now," he claimed. "If Nitish Kumar is saying that he has no interest in any post, why doesn't he retire from politics and go to the Himalayas... Nitish Kumar, during his first term, had taken some good decisions like reservation in Panchayats, empowering girl students by giving cash rewards, dresses, bicycles, books, etc. He also improved roads in the state but what else did he do for the state in later stages?" Tiwari asked. "Nitish Kumar always takes the name of (Mahatma) Gandhi. I don't know whether he would be ashamed of himself or not as he sits with those people who worship the killer (Nathu Ram Godse) of Mahatma Gandhi..." he added. "I suggest to him that if he wants to go to the Rajya Sabha, he should go on the quota of his own party. In that case, he would have some liberty of speaking on any issue. If he goes on the BJP quota, he would not say anything," he said. Live TV New Delhi: With aim of taking India-Nepal relations to new heights, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepali counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba on Saturday (April 2) launched multiple projects to boost connectivity between the two countries. Deuba, accompanied by a high-level delegation, arrived in New Delhi on Friday on a three-day visit. "PM Deuba is an old friend of India. As the PM, this is his fifth visit to India. He has played an important role in developing India-Nepal relations. The friendship between India and Nepal, relations between our people is an example that can't be seen anywhere else in the world. Our civilization, culture, and the threads of our exchange have been linked since ancient times. We have been companions of each other`s happiness and sorrow since time immemorial," said PM Modi. Addressing the joint press meet with PM @SherBDeuba. https://t.co/IjJfpbIokK Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 2, 2022 Here are the key points from the talks: 1) PM Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Deuba inaugurated a 35-km long cross-border rail link between Jaynagar in Bihar and Nepal's Kurtha. 2) PM Modi and his Nepal PM Deuba inaugurated Solu power transmission line in Nepal. 3) Modi and Deuba launched RuPay payment card in Nepal. 4) India, Nepal finalized four pacts to expand ties in areas such as railways, and energy after talks between Modi and Deuba. 5) We discussed boundary issue and I urged PM Modi to resolve it through the establishment of bilateral mechanism," said Nepal PM Deuba 6) Nepal's relationship with India is highly important, Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba said after talks with PM Modi. 7) We agreed on greater participation by Indian companies in Nepal's hydropower development plans, said PM Modi. 8) "Our joint vision statement on power cooperation will prove to be a blueprint for future cooperation," Modi said 9) The Indian PM highlighted that the friendly ties between India and Nepal are unique. "Such friendship is not seen anywhere else in the world," Modi said. 10) PM Modi further reiterated India`s firm support in Nepal`s journey of peace, prosperity and development. (With Agency inputs) Live TV New Delhi: Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal on Saturday (April 2) said the newly signed trade pact with Australia is expected to take bilateral trade from the existing USD 27 billion to nearly USD 45-50 billion in the next five years and the government expects one million jobs to be created in India in the next four to five years. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IndAus ECTA) was signed by commerce minister Piyush Goyal and his counterpart Australian trade, tourism and investment minister Dan Tehan in a virtual ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison today. Noting that the IndAus ECTA truly symbolises the unity and the spirit of cooperation between the two countries, Union Minister Goyal while addressing a press conference after the deal was signed said, "It is a historic day for India, as it is the first agreement India has entered with a large developed country in a decade. We expect one million job creation in India in the next four to five years. In-services also we have expanded the scope of bilateral relations. India has offered services and access to services in many sectors to Australia and likewise, reciprocated by Australia," Goyal said. "A number of new opportunities will open up for Indian chefs and yoga instructors in the years to come. Post-study work visas for our young boys and girls who are going to Australia are also part of this agreement," he added. Goyal pointed out that over one lakh Indian students live in Australia and also shared information regarding the promotion of tourism. "There are over one lakh Indian students living and studying in Australia. We`re looking at a work and holiday visa arrangement for promoting tourism. A post-study work visa between two and four years will be available for Indian students, particularly for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) graduates," he said. Referring to the newly signed trade deal, Goyal said the Ind-Aus ECTA is expected to almost double bilateral trade to about USD 45 to USD 50 billion in the next five years. Australia is offering zero duty access to India for about 96.4 per cent of exports (by value) from day one. This covers many products which currently attract 4-5 per cent customs duty in Australia. He further said that removing trade barriers will have great potential for labour-oriented sectors, like textiles, pharmaceuticals, leather and will also have huge potential for engineering goods, automobile and many more. In services, Australia has offered 135 sub-sectors to India, while India offered 103 sub-sectors to Australia. Key areas of India`s interest like education, IT, Business, professional services, health, audio-visual have been committed by Australia under ECTA. Adequate safeguards have been provided in the agreement to prevent circumvention or diversion of goods from any non-party. There is also a provision for bilateral safeguard measures to protect against sudden surge in import of goods. For the first time, a clause has been introduced for a special review mechanism, which provides for compulsory review after 15 years in a time-bound manner. During the press conference, Goyal gave information about his visit to Australia next week. "I shall be visiting Australia next week and will meet Australian business leaders along with the large business delegation of India to build the bridges and the greater economic cooperation between business persons and our diaspora in Australia and India," the minister said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement is a "watershed moment" for bilateral ties. "Consensus on such an important agreement in such a short period of time shows the mutual trust between the two countries. This is truly a watershed moment for our bilateral relations," PM Modi said at the virtual signing ceremony of the agreement. PM Modi said the newly signed trade deal will contribute to the increasing supply chains resilience and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that the signing of the Agreement further develops the promise of economic relations between the two countries. The Australian government said that the deal will eliminate tariffs on more than 85 per cent of Australian goods exports to India, rising to almost 91 per cent over 10 years.On the very first day of the implementation of the interim pact, over 6,000 tariff lines would be available for Indian exporters at zero duty. Live TV Anantnag: An active terrorist affiliated with the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit was arrested in Bijbehera area of the Anantnag district of South Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir police said on Saturday (April 2). A police official said, "Joint check post was laid by security forces in Hassanpora area of Bijbehera and at 8 PM, one suspect was challenged by the team, who tried to flee from the location and while fleeing, he tried to open fire upon the forces. He added that the security forces overpowered and apprehended him, while during search, arms and ammunition were also recovered from him. The terrorist was identified as Aasif Bashir Ganie of Hassanpura Tabela affiliated with Lashkar-e-Toiba. This is the 22nd terrorist who has been arrested alive this year. Besides him, 160 terror associates have been arrested since January this year. ALSO READ: Over 300 terrorists waiting at terror launch pads to enter Kashmir valley: Intel report Live TV Raipur: A clash broke out between police and locals after the latter tried to enter the collector`s office over the Rowghat iron ore mining project in Narayanpur district on Friday (April 1, 2022). Thousands of villagers from 22 villages gathered at Binjali village and marched towards the Collector`s office in Narayanpur district to submit a memorandum demanding to halt the Rowghat project. The police tried to stop the protestors by putting barricades, however, the protestors broke through the barricades and reached the Collector`s office. "We have taken their memorandum. We will take necessary steps after examining it, "Jitendra Kurre, District Collector, Narayanpur. According to the police, some protestors and police personnel were injured. Narayanpur Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Neeraj Chandrakar, stated, "The injured personnel was shifted to a local hospital". A delegation was allowed to meet Collector Rituraj Raghuvanshi. Despite this, some protesters shouted slogans against the administration for hours and forcefully entered the premises which led to a scuffle between the police personnel and protestors. Consequently, the police had to use baton charges to dissipate the protestors, as per the purported videos. Meanwhile, the Collector came out of his office and met the villagers and promised them to fulfill their demands. The villagers in their memorandum submitted to the Governor stated that they would not allow mining at Rowghat Hill as it is their place of worship. They also claimed that mining will also destroy minor forest produce which is their source of livelihood for the people living in 22 villages. Earlier in January this year, Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), which has been allotted Rowghat mines, received permission from the Union Ministry of Environment to mine three lakh tonnes of iron ore per annum from the Anjrel area (which falls in Narayanpur) and transport it by roads. Ahmedabad: After their stupendous win in Punjab, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) seems to have trained its sights on Gujarat, where Assembly elections will be held at the end of this year. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann on Saturday visited the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad as part of their two-day visit to the city. Both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders arrived in the city on Friday night. Their visit to the BJP-ruled Gujarat is being seen as an attempt to prepare the groundwork for their party ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections. Kejriwal and Mann took a tour of Hriday Kunj, the place where Mahatma Gandhi used to stay in the Sabarmati Ashram premises, and also visited museums there and bowed down before the statue of Gandhiji. The two leaders also spun the Charkha at the Ashram. They also wrote their opinion in the visitors' book at the ashram, where its authorities presented them with miniature charkha and books on Mahatma Gandhi's life. Talking to reporters, Kejriwal said, "This is my first visit to Sabarmati Ashram after becoming Delhi chief minister. Earlier, when I was an activist, I had visited this place several times." "Whenever I come here, I get inner peace," he said. Kejriwal and Mann are scheduled to hold a two-km roadshow in eastern areas of the city this evening, local office-bearers of the AAP have said. Gujarat | Delhi CM and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann visit Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. The two leaders also spun the Charkha at the Ashram. pic.twitter.com/uhivwNavwP ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2022 Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday (April 1) said his government will create a model school in the southern state on the lines of Delhi and invited Arvind Kejriwal to visit it. Stalin along with his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal visited Rajkiya Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya in Vinod Nagar where officials briefed the Tamil Nadu chief minister on the change in the education system in the city under the AAP government. (With PTI inputs) Live TV New Delhi/Chennai: On the second day of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin's official visit to the national capital, he urged the Centre to consider a string of demands including release of over Rs 20,000 crore, nod for the anti-NEET Bill and a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for footwear manufacturing. For the southern state's Chief Minister, it was a hectic Friday (April 1) with back-to-back meetings that started with a visit to a government school along with his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal. Stalin, praising the infrastructure in schools in the national capital, said his government would set up similar educational facilities in Tamil Nadu and invited Kejriwal for inauguration following completion of work. The CM also visited mohalla clinics in Delhi. Following his school visit, Stalin called on Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and underscored the pending dues to Tamil Nadu, including the GST compensation component. The dues from the Centre amount to Rs 20,860.40 crore of which the GST compensation was Rs 13,504.74 crore, he said in a memorandum and urged that the sum be released. Stalin also reiterated his government's demand of extending the present GST compensation regime (scheduled to end on June 30, 2022) by at least two more years. Later, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister along with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal jointly chaired a meeting with officials. Stalin presented Goyal a memorandum seeking among others, a PLI scheme for footwear manufacturing and sanction for a Mega Textile Park under the PM-Mega Integrated Textiles Region and Apparel Park (PM-MITRA) scheme. At the TN House in Delhi, FIDE (Federation Internationale Des Echecs) president Arkady Dvorkovich called on Stalin. In the backdrop of Chennai being chosen as the venue for the upcoming 44th Chess Olympiad (July 27, 2022 to August 10, 2022), the meeting's agenda was on expediting work to ensure a grand and successful conduct of the event. Later, Stalin interacted with Tamil Nadu cadre IAS and IPS officials currently on central deputation. Stalin's cabinet colleague, Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian met Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. Subramanian, in a memorandum, requested the Centre to provide presidential assent to a Bill adopted by the Assembly seeking exemption to the state from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). "Government of Tamil Nadu may be allowed to fill all professional seats including MBBS/BDS/AYUSH courses on basis of Class XII marks alone," the state government urged. The TN government said a PLI scheme for footwear manufacturing would increase the productivity of existing players and make India the most favoured destination for footwear exporters. Also, the PLI scheme would aid in the import substitution for input products such as ornaments, zippers, soles, buckles, and embellishments, the government said. The Centre must urgently intervene to control steel prices while the export of steel must be controlled and should be permitted only after the domestic needs are fulfilled, it said. Early release of Rs 4,446.14 crore against the CMR (Custom Milled Rice) subsidy was among the other points raised by the state in the memorandum given to Goyal. On the healthcare front, the Tamil Nadu government urged the Centre to expedite establishment of AIIMS at Madurai, sought a similar AIIMS facility for Coimbatore, and requested establishment of six new medical colleges under a centrally-sponsored scheme. Tamil Nadu said it was of the firm view that status-quo should be maintained on the admissions for state quota Post Graduate (PG) admissions seats. Subramanian said, "I once again strongly reiterate the opposition of the state to the draft Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2021, which hit at the very root of the federalism and request Government of India and National Medical Council to drop the proposed draft regulations." He requested the Centre to allow the medical students who returned from war-torn Ukraine to continue their studies domestically. On March 31, Stalin called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and presented him a memorandum that contained 14 demands. On Thursday, the Chief Minister had also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. On April 2, DMK's newly built party office would be inaugurated in Delhi. Live TV Six years ago, on the night of April 2, 2016, the Azerbaijani armed forces, violating the May 12, 1994 Agreement on full cessation of fire and hostilities and February 6, 1995 Agreement on strengthening the ceasefire, launched treacherous aggression against the Republic of Artsakh, the press service of Artsakh MFA stated. April 2, 2022, 09:08 Statement of the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Artsakh on the Occasion of the 6th Anniversary of the April Aggression Launched by Azerbaijan STEPANAKERT, APRIL 2, ARTSAKHPRESS: For four days, the Azerbaijani armed forces had attempted assaults along the entire length of the Line of Contact, employing heavy weaponry, artillery and aircraft. However, after suffering heavy losses in manpower and equipment and failing to achieve its goals, the Azerbaijani side, through the mediation of the Russian Federation, was forced to cease the hostilities. But, the shelling of the border settlements of Artsakh continued until late April. The Azerbaijani aggression was accompanied by numerous war crimes, including torture, premeditated murders and mockery of the bodies of the deceased, committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces against both the military personnel and the civilian population of the Republic of Artsakh. The April 2016 aggression became a touchstone, among other things, to test the reaction of the international community to the violation of the UN Charter and international obligations by Azerbaijan. The fact that these illegal actions did not entail any serious political and legal consequences for Baku only strengthened the confidence of the Azerbaijani authorities in the permissiveness and the prevalence of force over international law. Both the April 2016 war and the subsequent 44-day aggression of Azerbaijan in 2020, despite their local nature, became a real test for the entire system of international relations. Impunity for unleashing aggressive wars has led to the undermining of such fundamental principles of international law as non-use of force, peaceful settlement of disputes, conscientious fulfillment of international obligations, etc. Taking into account that the Azerbaijani authorities refuse to negotiate for a peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabagh conflict, continue to violate their obligations and do not halt the aggressive actions, we expect the international community to take concrete political steps to guarantee the realization by the people of Artsakh of their collective human rights and freedoms, without any restrictions. New Delhi: Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule on Friday introduced a Private Members Bill aiming to legalize same-sex marriage in India. The NCP leader demanded equal marriage rights for LGBTQIA+ individuals via this bill. Seeking an amendment to the Special Marriage Act, the Bill says that "this Act may be called the Special Marriage (Amendment) Act, 2022 and it shall come into force at once. Introduced The Special Marriage (Amendment) Bill (2022) in the Parliament aims to provide Equal Marriage rights to #LGBTQIA+ individuals. pic.twitter.com/B7ww9XJ6sL Supriya Sule (@supriya_sule) April 1, 2022 Here are some key points about the The Special Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2022 The introduced bill proposed to amend the Special Marriage Act, 1954, to solemnise such marriages and fix the age of marriage at 21 years in case both parties were men and 18 years in case both were women. It also proposed to replace the words husband and wife with spouse by amending the various sections of the Act. In 2018, the Supreme Court of India struck down archaic, draconian legislation of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 namely section 377 effectively decriminalised homosexuality. "Justice DY Chandrachud in Justice KS Pattaswamy (Retd) vs Union of India observed that `family, marriage, procreation and sexual orientation are all integral to the dignity of the individual, said Sule. While the determination of one`s sexual orientation has been realised, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP said LGBTQIA individuals are still unable to marry and create their own families. LGBTQIA couples have no access to rights that heterosexual couples are entitled to upon marriage, such as succession, maintenance and pensions, etc, Sule added while introducing the bill The bill will ensure that article 14 and article 21 of the Constitution are upheld, and ensure that LGBTQIA couples are provided with the rights they are entitled to. Earlier, the Centre had earlier told Delhi High Court that the acceptance of the institution of marriage between two individuals of the same gender is neither recognized nor accepted in any uncodified personal laws or any codified statutory laws. (With agency inputs) Live TV New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (April 2) held extensive talks with his visiting Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba covering various key facets of close neighbourly ties between the two countries. Deuba, accompanied by a high-level delegation, arrived in New Delhi on Friday on a three-day visit. "A renewed opportunity to deepen the special ties of friendship and cooperation between our two countries," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Twitter ahead of the Modi-Deuba talks. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Deuba on Friday evening. It is Deuba's first bilateral visit abroad after becoming prime minister in July last year for a fifth time following a spell of political turmoil in Kathmandu. Deuba had visited India in each of his four earlier stints as prime minister of Nepal. His last visit to India in his capacity as the prime minister was in 2017. Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and the leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old "Roti Beti" relationship. Also Read: PM Narendra Modi greets people on Navratri, Vikram Samvat The country shares a border of over 1,850 km with five Indian states -- Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Land-locked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services. On Sunday, Deuba is scheduled to visit Varanasi. Live TV Ashgabat: India and Turkmenistan signed four agreements for cooperation, including in disaster management and financial intelligence, as President Ram Nath Kovind met his Turkmen counterpart Serdar Berdimuhamedov and discussed issues of bilateral and regional cooperation here on Saturday. President Kovid was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour here on Friday as he began his three-day state visit to Turkmenistan during which he will meet the leadership of the resource-rich Central Asian country and discuss ways to boost bilateral ties. This is the first-ever visit of the President of India to independent Turkmenistan and comes just after the inauguration of new Turkmen President Berdimuhamedov. "President Ram Nath Kovind and Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov had a tete-e-tete followed by delegation level talks. The Leaders discussed issues of bilateral and regional cooperation, including under the framework of India-Central Asia Summit," the official Twitter account of the Rashtrapati Bhavan said. 4 MoUs for cooperation in disaster management, financial intelligence, culture and youth matters were signed between India and Turkmenistan in the presence of President Kovind and President Serdar Berdimuhamedov. pic.twitter.com/QkoSzeYQde President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) April 2, 2022 "Four MoUs for cooperation in disaster management, financial intelligence, culture and youth matters were signed between India and Turkmenistan in the presence of President Kovind and President Serdar Berdimuhamedov," it said in another tweet. Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs said India attached importance to its relations with Turkmenistan. "The state visit of the president will reaffirm the importance we attach to Turkmenistan, not only bilaterally but also in terms of our extended neighbourhood concept and role in India-Central Asia partnership," Sanjay Verma, Secretary West in the MEA, told reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday. Turkmenistan possesses very large reserves of natural gas. "Turkmenistan is also strategically placed in Central Asia and connectivity is something on which we feel partnership with Turkmenistan will pay dividends. We have offered a line of credit worth USD 1 billion to Central Asian countries, including Turkmenistan," Verma said. President Kovind's trip to Turkmenistan will be followed by a state visit to the Netherlands from April 4-7 at the invitation of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. Live TV Jalandhar/Amritsar: The apex executive body of Non-Govt. Colleges Managements Federation of Punjab and Chandigarh (NGCMF) today (April 2) declared not to fill vacant DPI posts of College teachers in Punjab under 75 per cent grants scheme in the future, in protest against the dictatorial attitude of Punjab Education Department officials. They said the scheme had been diluted arbitrarily without consulting stakeholders and demanded the implementation of a full-fledged 95 per cent grant-in-aid scheme in all 142 colleges in Punjab and Chandigarh. Following their joint meeting with the representatives of three Principals Association of Colleges affiliated to state universities in Punjab at DAV College, Jalandhar, they said the diluted Grant in Aid scheme by the state government has squarely hit the finances of the aided Colleges. Higher education is under stress and many colleges in Punjab are on the verge of closure but instead of providing olive branch to colleges, the government is hell-bent upon to destroy the institutions of higher learning. While congratulating the new regime of the AAP government under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the office bearers of the colleges representative body sought the intervention of the CM and Education Minister and asked them to look into this grim situation which is detrimental to the higher education. We welcome the state governments positive involvement in higher education and are open to reforms. But the arbitrary decisions by top officials of the education department are pushing the education to devastation, said NGCMF President Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina in a press statement issued here. Principals poured their hearts out regarding their humiliation, maltreatment and harassment by the education department and DPI. The house, after listening to the voices of concern regarding bullying by government machinery stated that Principals are torch-bearers of society and their disrespect is intolerable. So pathetic is the situation that the official orders are being conveyed through telephonic conversation, SMS and WhatsApp chat, said Chhina as the body his chairmanship resolved to entertain only written orders from education department and DPI. Earlier Federation had asked all the Colleges Managements to refrain from calling government nominees to its meetings, which is an attack on the autonomy of the colleges in Punjab and Chandigarh. It was also decided that appropriate time should be given to the Principals for attending official meetings and prior agenda be issued for such meetings by the department of Education, Government of Punjab. Chhina along with general secretary SM Sharma, finance secretary Rakesh Kumar Dhir and Advisor Ravinder Nath Joshi also announced that they were in the process to challenge the Punjab Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service) Act, 2021, passed by previous Congress government in state as some of its clauses were draconian in nature with government getting arbitrary powers of intervention which will further hit autonomy of the Colleges. The body also called upon the state government to save higher education which is facing huge losses due to the flight of students to foreign countries. The aided colleges have played a historic role in imparting education for over a century now and are an extended arm of the state government to education society. They also criticized centralized admission system in the Colleges, which will badly affect the working and finances of the Aided Colleges. The issues include pending DPI grants, implementing 95% grant-in-aid schemes instead of 75% for appointment of teachers, repealing the reservation policy, clear distinction in the functioning of colleges and universities, immediate release of the pending Post-Matric Scholarships amounts to the Colleges for SC Students, waiving of road tax for vehicles owned by colleges and better coordination of state universities were also discussed in detail during the meeting. Rajiv Jain, Aman Kullar, Dr. SS Thind, Principal Tarsem Singh, Principal Dr. Pardeep Bhandari, Principal Dr. Mehal Singh, Principal Rajesh Kumar, Dr. Ajay Sareen, Dr. Rajwinder Kaur, Dr. Meena Kumari and V.P Bedi, Prof. Sahil Kumar Uppal, Principal Jasvir Singh, Dr. Jagraj Singh Gill, DS Rataul were present in the meeting. Live TV New Delhi: In a unique incident, the residents of Madhya Pradeshs Bhopal came forward to help a 24-day-old baby, who was in dire need of oxygen on Thursday midnight. The infant was travelling to Delhi from Nagpur in Rajdhani Express, breathing on medical oxygen, and ran short of oxygen on the train, an official release stated. The parents of the infant sent an SOS message around midnight, which went crazy viral within a few hours. By 2 am, when the train was scheduled to reach Bhopal railway station, a long queue of doctors, NGOs, railway officials and ordinary Bhopalis were waiting with an entire lineup of cylinders. Pravin Sahare, the babys father, called some social service organisations in Bhopal about his condition, while his friend from Nagpur, Khushru Yocha posted the requirement of 15 kg oxygen on social media as well. He also tagged several railway officials in his social media post. Soon after his post, Khushru Yocha was contacted by the former divisional railway manager of Bhopal, Uday Borwankar, who assured them that within 30 minutes they would get a cylinder at Bhopal railway station. At 2.43 am, three cylinders were delivered to them in Bhopal. Many organisations reached the station with cylinders but they took only three cylinders, said Sahare. According to the media reports, the infant is now being treated at AIIMS, Delhi. Live TV New Delhi: As many as seven people were killed and 14 wounded as the pick-up truck they were travelling in fell into a valley on Saturday (April 2). The passengers were on their way to a temple located on the hilltop of Sembarai village in Tirupathur district. A Tamil Nadu police official told PTI that the driver lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a curve on the ghat road leading to the accident. "We received information that seven people died and 14 others were injured in the accident. Officials have gone to the spot for further investigation," the official was quoted as saying by the news agency. A case has been registered in the matter and further investigations are underway, the police added. A video of the incident showed injured women and children lying on the ground far away from the overturned truck, PTI reported. Live TV Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday took swipes at the BJP and Union government over issues such as GST compensation and pending clearances for the state's projects while inaugurating two new Metro rail lines in Maharashtra's Mumbai. Uddhav Thackeray inaugurated Lines 2-A and 7 of Mumbai Metro, which connect the western suburbs of Andheri and Dahisar. "There are some people who feel I am taking away their credit for Metro. I am ready to give the credit. If you love Mumbai, why is the state government's proposal to build car shed for Metro-3 at Kanjurmarg is put on hold? The Indian Railways is not giving its land for the redevelopment of Dharawi slums," the chief minister said, without naming the BJP. , . Metro Line 7 from Aarey to Dahisar Metro Line 2A from Dahisar to Dhanukar Wadi is now open for service Happy travelling Mumbaikars! pic.twitter.com/4x0tyJ1Cr0 CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) April 2, 2022 "We are demanding land for a pumping station in Mumbai, but it is being denied to us. I inaugurated the GST Bhawan today. Maharashtra generates the highest amount of GST in the country, but our dues are not cleared on time. We are not begging, we are demanding our share of taxes, and it is being perpetually denied," he said. The ongoing Metro rail projects in Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune were announced and began between 2014-19 when a coalition of the BJP and Thackeray-led Shiv Sena was in power. After 2019 elections, the Sena joined hands with the NCP and Congress to form the new Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government in the state. He also said that people had seen "how trees were chopped down in Aarey Colony at midnight." "I do not want to do any development at the cost of the environment," Thackeray added. The previous BJP-led government's decision to set up the car shed for Mumbai Metro Line 3 in the wooded Aarey area had faced opposition from environmental groups as it entailed cutting down hundreds of trees. The Thackery government later shifted the site to Kanjurmarg, but it is embroiled in a legal dispute. "There is a new epidemic in Maharashtra. They (BJP) say that you have done nothing, or whatever is done is our (the BJP's) credit. Even if we do something, they will cry foul over corruption without substantiating the allegations," Thackeray further said. There is no need to pay attention to such people as it is difficult to find "remedy" for their "symptoms", he added. The chief minister, who underwent a spinal surgery last year and faced jibes from the BJP for operating from home for several weeks, noted that "out of four events today, I attended two here personally, and both were related to the departments held by the Shiv Sena." "I attended the other two functions online, and both were related to the NCP. Some people might misinterpret it as all is not well within the MVA. I assure you that we are moving on the right track," said the chief minister. New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday (April 1, 2022) visited the temple town of Ayodhya and asked the city's municipal corporation not to impose commercial taxes on temples and other religious shrines. On his first visit to Ayodhya after assuming charge of the state for the second term, Adityanath also reviewed the preparation for the upcoming Ram Navami Mela in the temple town. Around 10 lakhs devotees are expected to participate in the fair that would be held after two years due to the Covid pandemic. At Ayodhya, Adityanath also offered prayers at the Hanumangarhi temple and paid a visit to the construction site of the Lord Ram temple. The chief minister also visited the Balrampur district later and offered prayers in three temples there. He will have a night halt at the Devi Patan temple there and leave for Siddharthnagar on Saturday. A report from Gorakhpur, meanwhile, said CM Adityanath will observe a nine-day fast during "Chaitra Navratri" beginning Saturday and will perform special puja there for peace, prosperity, health, and happiness in the state and nation. In the temple town, Adityanath asked the Ayodhya Municipal Corporation not to take commercial tax from temples and other religious shrines. The municipal corporation must not charge house tax, water tax, sewer tax from monasteries, temples, 'dharamshalas', and charitable organizations at commercial rates as all these institutions do charity work and public service, the CM said. The chief minister asked the civic body to take only financial cooperation from religious shrines in the form of token monetary contributions. The CM also directed the Ayodhya Municipal Corporation to make a proposal regarding this and get it approved by the government. After the foundation-laying of the Ram temple in August 2020, this will be the first Ram Navami Mela after the Covid pandemic and the CM asked officials to organize this fair with grandeur and make special efforts for bringing Ayodhya on the world map. While reviewing the preparations for the Mela, Adityanath, in his address, said the construction of the Ram temple has started and thousands of devotees will come to Ayodhya every day from all over India. Keeping this in view, create an enchanting atmosphere and decorate Ayodhya in such a way that the devotees find the whole atmosphere full of the Ramayana era, he said. During his visit, the CM met Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das and senior seer of Bhaktmaal Mahant Kaushal Kishor. The report from Gorakhpur said that while keeping the nine-day fast during Chaitra Navratri, the CM will perform special puja for the peace and prosperity in the state and nation. On Saturday, along with the worship of Maa Shailputri, Durga Saptshati Paath will begin in Shakti temple on the first floor of the Gorakhnath temple Math, Dwarika Tiwari of the temple said. Acharya Ramanuj Tripathi, also of the Gorakhnath temple, said on the day of Ashtami on April 9, Nisha Pujan will be performed at the night and Kanya Pujan will be held on the Navmi which is on April 10. He hoped that the chief minister and Gorakshpeethdhishwer Yogi Adityanath might participate in the temple's Kanya Pujan program. Live TV Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that his government has been successful in eradicating encephalitis in Uttar Pradesh and alleged that previous dispensations in the state did not do anything for the prevention of the disease. Speaking at the launch of a campaign aimed at controlling communicable diseases here, Adityanath said encephalitis used to be a "curse" for eastern Uttar Pradesh. "Due to this, a number of people died every year from 1977 to 2017. In eastern UP, 2,000-3,000 deaths used to take place every year because of this disease. Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the state government took on encephalitis, and through the Swachh Bharat Mission and other campaigns, we started working with the World Health Organisation," he said. "Those who had only given assurances for 40 years, could not do anything," he said referring to previous state governments, and added, "We have been successful in eradicating it (encephalitis) completely. Our forefathers used to say that prevention is more important than cure." Encephalitis is a serious neurological illness that causes inflammation of the brain. Its symptoms may include headache, fever, confusion, stiff neck and vomiting. The disease most commonly affects children and young adults and can lead to mortality. According to the National Health Portal, viruses are the main causative agents in encephalitis cases, although other sources such as bacteria, fungus, parasites, chemicals, toxins and non-infectious agents have also been blamed. The chief minister further said, "This is an awareness programme, and if you associate yourself with this programme, then I am of the view that encephalitis, dengue, chikungunya and kala azar will be eradicated. We have also taken a pledge to eradicate filaria and tuberculosis, and we will not allow such diseases to last in Uttar Pradesh." Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh holds the 'record' for setting up the maximum number of medical colleges in the last five years. "We have established a medical college in Siddharthnagar and students have enrolled for the first session. In the coming year, we will set up 17-18 medical colleges in the state so that people can avail services of health experts," he said. Live TV New Delhi: YouTuber Bhuvan Bam has issued an apology after people expressed disappointment with him for making a derogatory comment on 'pahadi women' in his latest video. Bhuvan took to Twitter and said that he had no intention of hurting anyone and that part of the video has been edited. Issuing a public apology, he wrote, "I'm aware that a section in my video has hurt some people. I have edited it to remove that part. People who know me know I have the utmost respect for women. I had no intention to hurt anyone. A heartfelt apology to everyone whose sentiments have been disregarded. @NCWIndia." Im aware that a section in my video has hurt some people. I have edited it to remove that part. People who know me know I have utmost respect for women. I had no intention to hurt anyone. A heartfelt apology to everyone whose sentiments have been disregarded. @NCWIndia Bhuvan Bam (@Bhuvan_Bam) March 31, 2022 The apology came after the National Commission for Women (NCW) asked the Delhi police to file an FIR against Bhuvan Bam for the video. NCW wrote, "@NCWIndia has taken cognisance. Chairperson @sharmarekha has written to @CPDelhi to register FIR & to take strict action in the matter. NCW has also written to Secy, Ministry of Electronics & IT to take appropriate action against the YouTube channel for violating the dignity of women." @NCWIndia has taken cognisance. Chairperson @sharmarekha has written to @CPDelhi to register FIR & to take strict action in the matter. NCW has also written to Secy, Ministry of Electronics & IT to take appropriate action against the YouTube channel for violating dignity of women NCW (@NCWIndia) March 31, 2022 For those unaware, netizens have expressed their anger on social media in his latest video 'Automatic Gaadi' in which he disrespected 'pahadi women' on social media. The US Department of Defense [DoD] will allocate another $300 million in military aid to Ukraine, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, informs Tass. April 2, 2022, 10:58 Pentagon allocates $300 million in military aid to Ukraine STEPANAKERT, APRIL 2, ARTSAKHPRESS: "Through USAI [Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative], DoD will provide up to $300 million in security assistance to bolster Ukraine's capacity to defend itself," the spokesman said in a statement. In his words, the United States has now committed more than $2.3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration (since January 2021), including more than $1.6 billion in security assistance since the start of the Russian special military operation. According to the spokesman, the new US aid package includes laser-guided rocket systems, Switchblade tactical unmanned aerial systems, Puma unmanned aerial systems, counter-unmanned aerial systems, armored vehicles, machine guns, ammunition, night vision devices and communications systems. The USAI assistance procures capabilities from industry rather than delivering equipment that is drawn down from US military stocks, Kirby said. "This announcement represents the beginning of a contracting process to provide new capabilities to Ukraine's Armed Forces," the statement says. New Delhi: Bollywood actress Malaika Arora was admitted to the hospital in Panvel on Saturday (April 2) after she met with a car accident near Khalapur Toll Plaza in Mumbai. As per an ANI report, the actress has suffered minor injuries and is admitted in Apollo Hospital in Navi Mumbai. The actress' sister Amrita Arora informed Times of India that - "Malaika is now getting better. She will be kept under observation for some time." Actor Malaika Arora received minor injuries after her car met with an accident near Khalapur Toll Plaza in Mumbai, earlier today. She was hospitalized at Apollo hospital in Navi Mumbai. pic.twitter.com/OeTJGOk1EJ ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2022 Celebrity photographer Viral Bhayani also shared the news on his Instagram handle. Along with the post, he wrote in the caption, "#malaikaarora had to be admitted in hospital after a car accident in Panvel. More details awaited but she is getting better is what we hear from her sister #amritaarora." Take a look at his post: Malaika runs a yoga studio by the name of Diva Yoga centre and often urges people to either take to yoga or hit the gym to keep the body, mind and soul balanced. She has been a judge of several reality shows such as Supermodel 2 and India's Best Dancer. New Delhi. The Central government has recently announced a hike in the Dearness Allowance (DA) of central government employees. With the latest revision, the DA of employees has been increased to 34 per cent. In what could be another good news for government employees, Central could increase other allowances, including House Rent Allowance (HRA) soon. The HRA of the central government was last revised in July last year after the DA crossed the 25% mark. At that time, the government had increased the DA to 28 per cent. With a hike in DA to new levels, HRA is also expected to revise. HRA Hike Soon? The HRA of Central government employees could increase in the coming weeks, accordion to media reports. If the HRA hike comes into effect anytime soon, there will be a bumper increase in the salaries of government employees. HRA of government employees depends on the category of the city where they are employed in. The three categories are X, Y and Z. Currently, employees employed in the X category are receiving HRA at 27 per cent of their basic salary while those in Z category cities are receiving the allowance at 18 per cent. The HRA of Z class is currently 9 per cent of their basic salary. HRA to Increase By Up to 3%? Central employees who fall in the X category are getting HRA at 27 per cent. HRA of Y category employees will be from 18 per cent to 20 per cent. At the same time, the HRA of the Z class will increase from 9 per cent to 10 per cent. Media reports suggest that the HRA of government employees could soon witness an increase of up to 3%. The HRA for employees in X Class cities could increase by 3 per cent while workers in Y Class cities can receive a 2% hike in the allowance. Also Read: Further, employees located in Z class cities could receive a 1% hike in HRA. So, In the best-case scenario, the HRA of government employees will increase from 27 per cent to 30 per cent. Also Read: Live TV #mute New Delhi: The Central Board of Direct Taxes had given a sign of relief for those who have not yet linked their PAN Card with Aadhaar some respite by extending the deadline to March 31, 2023. Linking the two after March 31, 2022, however, will result in a penalty. Previously, the deadline for linking Aadhaar and PAN before the latter became invalid was March 31, 2022. Individuals might link their documents up until this date without incurring any late fees. Although the deadline has been extended for a year, anyone who links the two documents after April 1, 2022 will face a punishment. "In order to minimise the inconvenience to the taxpayers," the apex direct taxes body said in a statement, "a window of opportunity has been provided to the taxpayers up to the 31st of March, 2023 to intimate their Aadhaar to the prescribed authority for Aadhaar-PAN linking without facing repercussions." However, starting April 1, 2022, linking your PAN to your Aadhaar will result in a punishment of Rs 500 for the first three months (until June 2022) and a price of Rs 1,000 after that. The PAN Card of assessees who have not informed about their Aadhaar would remain functional until March 31, 2023, according to the CBDT's latest extension, for operations under the Act such as filing returns of income and processing refunds. However, if a taxpayer fails to link their PAN to their Aadhaar by March 31, 2023, their PAN would become inactive and they will be subject to all of the Act's penalties for not providing, informing, or citing their PAN. After informing the prescribed authority of Aadhaar and paying the prescribed price, an inactive PAN can be restored again. According to Section 139 AA (2) of the Income Tax Act, everybody with a PAN as of July 1, 2017 and who is eligible for Aadhaar must inform the tax authorities of his Aadhaar number. For the fourth time, the government has delayed the PAN-Aadhaar linking deadline. The previous deadlines for connecting the two databases were July 31, August 31, and December 31, 2017, with the most recent deadline being March 31, 2018. Over 16.65 crore PANs, out of a total of about 33 crore, had been linked to Aadhaar as of March 5, 2022. Live TV #mute New Delhi: Do you want to change photo in your Aadhaar card? If yes, then you should know that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) allows cardholders to update the photo on their Aadhaar card by following simple steps. UIDAI also allows cardholders to change other details such as name, address, phone number, and e-mail, among others, on the Aadhaar card by either visiting the official UIDAI portal or a nearby Aadhaar Enrollment Centre. So, if you applied for an Aadhaar card, you can easily update photo on your Aadhaar by visiting your nearby Aadhaar Enrollment Centre, but only after taking an appointment either online or offline. UIDIA doesnt allow cardholders to change photo in Aadhaar card online. Cardholders are required to keep the details on their Aadhaar card updated in order to receive the benefits under various state-sponsored schemes. Several private and government agencies also require updated Aadhaar cards for offering services to their customers. Heres How to Change Photo in Aadhaar Card: Step 1: Take an appointment to update the photo in Aadhaar card either from the official UIDIA portal or by visiting a nearby enrollment centre. Step 2: On the day of the appointment, you will be asked to fill up a form. You will need to enter the details on the form before submitting it to an executive at Aadhaar Enrollment Centre. Step 3: The officer at the centre will verify biometric details. You dont have to submit any other documents for changing photo on your Aadhaar card. Step 4: The executive will then take a new photograph for your Aadhaar card. Step 5: You will have to pay a fee of Rs 100 to make changes to your Aadhaar card. Step 6: You will receive an acknowledgement slip that will have an update request number (URN) to track the status of your Aadhaar card photo change application. Also Read: New MacBook Air to launch soon: Know about Apples plans for 2nd half of 2022 Step 7: The new photo on Aadhaar Card will updated within 90 days, post which you can download a digital copy of the document from the official UIDAI website or can order a PVC copy. Also Read: Realty association writes to CM Yogi, seeks help to save builders from bankruptcy Live TV #mute A consumer dispute resolution commission in India has ordered the Indian Railway to pay a senior citizen Rs 1 lakh after he was denied a berth despite possessing a reservation. The General Manager of East Central Railway was ordered to pay the amount to the complainant, Inder Nath Jha, who was denied a berth during his journey from Darbhanga, Bihar, to Delhi in February 2008. A bench comprising commission's president Monika Srivastava and members Rashmi Bansal and Dr Rajender Dhar said that people take reservations in advance in the expectation of a comfortable and easy journey. Still, the complainant, despite taking a reservation a month prior to the date of the journey, had a terrible journey and faced hardship and suffered humiliation, trauma, and anguish. Jha had acted in a responsible manner right from getting the reservation in the year 2008 till approaching the authorities for doing justice in a lawful manner, it noted. Read also: PM Narendra Modi inaugurates India-Nepal cross border passenger train "At the same time, no prudent person would believe that a passenger, more so, a senior citizen, would take so much trouble, including fighting a pricey legal battle, for the sake of making a quick buck, as alleged by opposite parties," the commission said in an order. According to the complaint, the train officials sold his confirmed ticket to someone else. It claimed that the complainant waited for the Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) to come, and on his arrival, he confronted him about the ticket. The TTE then informed the complainant that his seat in the sleeper class was upgraded to an air-conditioned one; however, when Jha reached there, that berth too was not given to him by the train officials. As a result, the complainant had to travel the entire journey in a standing position, the complaint said. The railway officials opposed the complaint and claimed that there was no deficiency on their part, contending that the complainant did not board the train at the boarding point and turned up five hours late at another station and the TTE rightly presumed that he had not boarded and allocated his seat to waiting for the passenger as per rules. In its order, the commission, however, noted that the sleeper class TTE had informed his counterpart in the air-conditioned one that the passenger had boarded the train and would reach there later. "Despite having a reservation in his name, the Complainant could not get any berth and travelled without a berth or any seat. Even otherwise, a passenger has the right to occupy his reserved berth without any further formalities, and here, when the berth has been upgraded by the respondent, the complainant should have been given the same," the commission said. It said there was negligence on the part of railways in not informing the complainant about his up-gradation of berth because of which he did not get any of the berths despite reservation a month prior to his travelling date. The Railway Upgradation scheme proved to the disadvantage of the complainant instead of providing him with a more conformable journey, it said. It said that considering the facts, it is clear that the railway authority, which was rendering service, had not taken any action for providing berth to the complainant for which he was a rightful occupier. "It was certainly a gross deficiency in service," the commission said. With inputs from PTI Live TV #mute New Delhi: Google is working on an Android 13 feature that would be a game-changer for those using two SIM cards on a single phone. According to GSM Arena, through a feature called Multiple Enabled Profiles (MEP), the search giant wants to assign two carrier profiles to a single eSIM and easily switch between networks. Google is reportedly basing the new feature on a patent filed in 2020, which describes a splitting of the existing SIM interface into two digital connections. There have been reports in the past that Google is testing it on an engineering Pixel hardware. This could allow manufacturers to get rid of the SIM card slot, leaving room for some extra hardware. Also Read: 7th Pay Commission: After 3% DA hike, HRA could also increase soon; check details As per GSM Arena, even though the feature will debut with Android 13, it`s not intrinsic to Android and can be implemented on iOS and even Windows. Also Read: Infosys to shift services from Russia to other global centres amid Sunak row Live TV #mute New Delhi: In India, the Apple iPhone 13, the latest in the company's flagship lineup, is a much-desired smartphone. While many people still cannot afford an iPhone 13, there are always attractive discounts and exchange offers on Apple iPhones for those seeking a bargain. Apple's website already has a trade-in option for new iPhone customers. Potential iPhone purchasers have other options to choose outside of Apple's own website, thanks to e-commerce companies like Amazon and Flipkart. In India, the iPhone 13 series starts at Rs 69,900 for the iPhone 13 Mini 128GB and goes higher from there depending on the version and storage space. Given that the smartphone's pricing is out of reach for many Indian consumers, let's have a look at some of the best exchange deals that can help you get the latest iPhone at the lowest price possible. On Amazon, the iPhone 13 is available at a maximum discount of Rs 6,000, bringing the price down to Rs 73,990 for iPhone 13 128GB option. This discount is available on all iPhone colour options. Apart from that, Amazon purchasers can exchange their previous smartphone for up to Rs 14,900 discount, bringing the smartphone's pricing down to Rs 59,090. All iPhone 13 series models, including the iPhone 13 Mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max, are eligible for the Rs 14,900 exchange. The iPhone 13 Mini will be priced at Rs 55,000, the iPhone 13 Pro will be priced at Rs 1,05,000, and the iPhone 13 Pro Max will be priced at Rs 1,15,000. The vanilla iPhone 13 is available on Flipkart for Rs 5,000 less than its list price of Rs 74,900. The iPhone 13 Mini, on the other hand, is available at an almost Rs 10,000 discount, with the base 128GB model starting at Rs 59,999. On Flipkart, there are no such deals on the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. Flipkart is also offering up to Rs 13,000 off on exchange in addition to the discount. If the whole Rs 13,000 exchange value is used, the vanilla iPhone 13 would be available for Rs 61,900 and the iPhone 13 Mini will be available for Rs 46,999 for the 128GB storage model. A Rs 13,000 exchange offer is also available for the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. As previously stated, people in India can trade in their old phones for the new iPhone 13 through Apple's official store. Users can trade their iPhone 8 or newer iPhone for up to Rs 46,700 off the new iPhone 13 with this offer. It's worth noting that the value of the exchange offer is determined by the condition of your previous smartphone. Aside from that, Apple's official web store does not provide any additional iPhone deals. Live TV #mute New Delhi: The American space agency, NASA (National Aeronautic Space Agency) with the help of its Hubble telescope has detected the farthest individual star till date, breaking its own previous record. The discovery of this star which has been nicknamed 'Earendel' sets a new benchmark for NASA as the star was formed in the first billion years after the Universe was formed. The newly detected farthest star has been nicknamed 'Earendel' which means 'morning star' in old English and it exists at 12.9 billion light-years away from us which means it took 12.9 billion years for the star's light to reach us. Earendel has replaced the previous record holder 'Icarus' which is situated 9 billion years away from the earth. According to NASA, Earendel is at least 50 times the mass of our Sun and millions of times as bright, rivaling the most massive stars known. "Earendel existed so long ago that it may not have had all the same raw materials as the stars around us today," stated NASA quoting astronomer Brian Welch. Astronomer Welch describes the discovery of the farthest star as 'reading a really interesting book but starting it with the second chapter.' "Studying Earendel will be a window into an era of the universe that we are unfamiliar with, but that led to everything we do know. Its like weve been reading a really interesting book, but we started with the second chapter, and now we will have a chance to see how it all got started, Welch told NASA. RECORD BROKEN: Hubble observed the farthest individual star ever seen! This extraordinary new benchmark detected light from a star that existed within the first billion years after the universe's birth in the big bang. Find out more: https://t.co/2ivkk1iqz3 pic.twitter.com/X7qcijwx24 Hubble (@NASAHubble) March 30, 2022 However, Earendel is not the oldest star. The oldest known star is 'Methuselah' which was detected by Hubble in 2013 and it still exists, while Earendel likely died long ago. Live TV Beijing: The number of marriages in China last year dropped to a 36-year low, accentuating the world's second-largest economy's demographic crisis as experts say this will add to the declining birth rate in the country. A total of 7.63 million couples registered to get married across China in 2021, a record low for the past 36 years since 1986 when the Ministry of Civil Affairs started to release such statistics. The decline in the number of marriage registrations will inevitably result in the decline of the birth rate in China, since most children are born within marriages, He Yafu, an independent demographer told the state-run Global Times newspaper. Early this year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said China's population grew by less than half a million last year to 1.4126 billion as the birth rate fell for the fifth consecutive year, stoking fears of a looming demographic crisis and its adverse impact on the country's economy in future. China's population increased by 480,000 in a year-on-year comparison from 2020 down from 12 million, as per the NBS data. Coupled with this, China now faces a continued decline in the number of marriage registrations. The numbers fell sharply over the past three years with less than 10 million couples getting married in 2019, less than nine million in 2020, and less than eight million marriage registrations in 2021. The number of couples who tied the knot in 2021 was only 56.6 per cent of the figure in 2013 when the number of marriage registrations reached a peak, the report said. According to He, marriage registration numbers in China have been declining for eight consecutive years due to a declining number of young people, more men than women of marriageable age and the decision to put off marriage until they are older. Besides, due to Chinese women's rising educational and economic development, their willingness to get married is even lower than that of men. Falling marriage rates are seen in both rural areas and big cities, because the costs of marriage and child-rearing are rising in both underdeveloped and developed areas, James Liang, economist and chairman of China's leading travel agency Trip.Com, said. Also, the ages of Chinese couples who tied the knot had risen significantly. In east China's Anhui Province, the average age for first-marriage registration in 2021 was 33.31 years, compared with 26 years in 2008. The delayed age of marriage in Anhui was shocking since it was even higher than in regional developed countries such as Japan and South Korea, Liang said. Since Anhui is not the most advanced province in China, the ages of first marriages in more advanced regions such as Beijing and Shanghai would be even higher, which means dropping marriage and birth rates, he said. China permitted all couples to have two children in 2016, scrapping the draconian decades-old one-child policy which policy-makers blamed for the current demographic crisis. Beijing last year passed a revised Population and Family Planning Law allowing Chinese couples to have three children in an apparent attempt to address the reluctance of couples to have more kids due to mounting costs. The decision to permit the third child came after the once-in-a-decade census in 2020 showed that China's population grew at its slowest pace to 1.412 billion. The census figures revealed the demographic crisis China faced was expected to deepen as the population above 60 years grew to 264 million up by 18.7 per cent. Live TV Islamabad: Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Bajwa on Saturday said that all disputes with India should be settled peacefully through dialogue, saying Islamabad continues to believe in using diplomacy to resolve all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, to keep the "flames of fire away from our region." On the last day of the Islamabad Security Dialogue conference that brought together Pakistani and international policy experts to discuss emerging challenges in international security under the theme Comprehensive Security: Reimagining International Cooperation, Bajwa said to conflict with India should be resolved peacefully. The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) said that with one-third of the world in the Gulf region and elsewhere involved in some sort of conflict and war, it is important that we keep the flames of fire away from our region. Pakistan continues to believe in using dialogue and diplomacy to resolve all outstanding issues including the Kashmir dispute and is ready to move forward on this front if India agrees to do so, Gen. Bajwa said. His proposal for peace with India had a wider meaning as he indirectly suggested having some sort of trilateral dialogue involving India, Pakistan and China to create an inclusive peace, as he said that apart from the Kashmir dispute, the India-China border dispute is also a matter of great concern for Pakistan and we want it to be settled quickly through dialogue and diplomacy. "I believe it is time for the political leadership of the region to rise above their emotional and perceptual biases and break the shackles of history to bring peace and prosperity to almost three billion people of the region," Gen. Bajwa said. He, however, said that the adamant behaviour of the Indian leaders was a hurdle. Bilateral ties with Pakistan deteriorated further after India announced withdrawing the special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union territories in August 2019. India has repeatedly told Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir "was, is and shall forever" remain an integral part of the country. India has told Pakistan that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Islamabad in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence. Talking about last month's missile incident, he said that India's accidental missile-firing created doubts regarding its ability to handle high-end weapon systems, which was compounded by its unwillingness to share details with Pakistan. The missile fired on March 9 fell in the Mian Channu area of Khanewal district and it came to light a day later when the Army shared details of the Indian "high-speed flying object". India, in a statement on March 11, termed it an accident. Gen. Bajwa said it was a matter of "serious concern" and "we expect India to provide evidence to assure Pakistan and the world that their weapons are safe and secure." "Unlike other incidents involving strategic weapons systems, this is the first time in history that a supersonic cruise missile from one nuclear-armed nation has landed in another, he said. He also said that a peaceful and prosperous West and South Asia is our goal? and Pakistan's National Security Policy focuses on the promotion of national security cohesion and harmony through the precepts of unity and diversity. Recognising that it is the regions and not countries that grow, the COAS said. We believe that peace and stability in our wider region are prerequisites for achieving shared regional prosperity and development. Our doors are open for all our neighbours, he said. Gen. Bajwa termed the situation on the Line of Control (LoC) as to satisfactory and fairly peaceful, saying mercifully no incident had taken place along the LoC in the last year to the relief of the people living on both sides. He said that Pakistan believes in peace and using dialogue for resolving issues. Live TV New Delhi: Amid the fluid political situation, the Pakistani military establishment has denied the allegation of Prime Minister Imran Khan that he was given three options ahead of the no-trust vote by the 'establishment'-- resignation, holding early elections or face the no-confidence motion. The military establishment said that it did not bring the Opposition`s options, and rather it was the federal Government that telephoned the top brass while asking for a meeting to discuss the ongoing political scenario, The News International reported. The Chief of Pakistan Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the Directive General (DG) of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) met Pakistan PM on Wednesday at the request of the ruling government, according to The News International citing sources. During the meeting, three "options" were mutually discussed between the government and the military side. However, Khan agreed to the third option -- `dissolving the National Assembly`, sources said, adding that this was stated by the Prime Minister as workable. According to sources, after meeting the Pakistan PM, the military General and DG ISI met the Opposition and conveyed the three options that were discussed between the military and Pakistan PM. But the Opposition rejected those options, including the dissolution of the Assembly, sources said. Military leadership met the Opposition to convey the three options that were discussed with the Prime Minister and also its intention not to interfere in the political sphere. The military is staying neutral but encourages both Khan and the Opposition to sit together and discuss the economy and political stability of the country, reported The News international citing sources. Imran Khan had made the claims of having been given options during an interview to a media outlet, saying that he was offered either to resign or dissolve the Assembly or face the no-confidence motion. Meanwhile, the estranged leader of Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jahangir Khan Tareen, met Pakistan`s former Finance Minister and Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar on Friday in London and discussed the upcoming no-confidence vote on Sunday and the election of the Chief Minister of Punjab, Geo News reported citing sources. The meeting comes two days after it was reported that Dar and Tareen spoke over the phone. The two leaders discussed possible ways of cooperation in Punjab and the Centre, Geo News reported. Live TV Kyiv: Some Russian troops were still in the "exclusion zone" around the Chernobyl nuclear power station on Friday morning, a day after ending their occupation of the plant itself, a Ukrainian official said. Russian forces occupied the defunct power station north of Kyiv soon after invading Ukraine on Feb. 24 but Ukraine`s state nuclear energy company, Energoatom, said on Thursday they had left the plant and were heading towards the border with Belarus. "Russians were seen in the exclusion zone this morning," Yevhen Kramarenko, who heads the agency in charge of the exclusion zone, said in televised comments on Friday. He did not say what the troops were doing or where they might be headed. He added that no Russian troops had been seen on the territory of the decommissioned nuclear power plant. There was no immediate comment from the Russian authorities on the reported withdrawal the Chernobyl plant, scene of the world`s worst nuclear accident in 1986. ALSO READ | US providing Ukraine with supplies in case Russia deploys chemical weapons Ukraine`s General Staff of the Armed Forces said in their late Friday military update that several units of Russian forces have been withdrawn from the Chernobyl district to settlements on the territory of Belarus. It did not say whether there were any Russian forces left in the Chernobyl district. RADIATION CONCERNS Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that with renewed access to Chernobyl, Ukraine would work with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to establish what Russian troops did while in control of the site, which he warned had exposed them to dangerous levels of radiation. "Russia behaved irresponsibly in Chernobyl on all accounts, from not allowing personnel of the station to perform their functions to digging trenches in the contaminated areas," Kuleba said on Friday. He said the Russian government must "answer to the mothers, the sister, the wives of those soldiers - why did they force them to put their lives at risk." The exclusion zone was established because of high radiation levels in the area after a nuclear reactor exploded at the plant in April 1986. Energoatom suggested on Thursday that the Russian forces had left because of concerns about radiation levels and that they had taken with them an unspecified number of members of Ukraine`s National Guard who had been held captive since Feb. 24. The information could not immediately be verified. Russian troops had built fortifications including trenches in the so-called Red Forest, the most radioactively contaminated part of the zone around Chernobyl, Energoatom said. The plant`s Ukrainian staff continued to oversee the safe storage of spent nuclear fuel at Chernobyl while it was occupied by Russian forces, and also supervised the concrete-encased remains of the reactor that exploded in 1986. Live TV Colombo: Sri Lanka`s government imposed a weekend curfew on Saturday even as hundreds of lawyers urged President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to revoke a state of emergency to ensure that freedom of speech and peaceful assembly are respected under the country`s economic crisis. "Under the powers given to the president, curfew has been imposed countrywide from 6 p.m. (1230 GMT) on Saturday to 6 a.m. (0030 GMT) on Monday," the government`s information department said in a statement. Rajapaksa on Friday invoked stringent laws to tackle growing unrest in the unprecedented crisis. In the past, a state of emergency order allowed the military to arrest and detain suspects without warrants. The current restrictions were not immediately clear, said a rights` lawyer. Bhavani Fonseka, a senior researcher at the nonprofit Colombo Centre for Policy Alternatives rights group said regulations defining the president`s emergency powers have yet to be issued. Shops opened and traffic was normal, while police remained stationed at some petrol stations. The Indian Ocean island nation of 22 million people is grappling with rolling blackouts for up to 13 hours a day as the government scrambles to secure foreign exchange to pay for fuel imports. Rajapaksa said the state of emergency was necessary to protect public order and maintain essential supplies and services. The order has raised fears that the government could resort to a crackdown to quell protests. "There has been a failure to understand the aspirations of the people and to empathize with the suffering of the people of the country," the lawyers, members of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, said in their appeal. Reacting to the state of emergency, American Ambassador to Sri Lanka U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung said, "Sri Lankans have a right to protest peacefully - essential for democratic expression. "I am watching the situation closely, and hope the coming days bring restraint from all sides, as well as much needed economic stability and relief for those suffering," she tweeted. Sri Lankans have a right to protest peacefully - essential for democratic expression. I am watching the situation closely, and hope the coming days bring restraint from all sides, as well as much needed economic stability and relief for those suffering. Ambassador Julie Chung (@USAmbSL) April 2, 2022 Angered by shortages of fuel and other essential items, hundreds of protesters clashed on Thursday with police and the military outside Rajapaksa`s residence as they called for his ouster and torched several police and army vehicles. Police arrested 53 people and imposed a curfew in and around Colombo on Friday to contain other sporadic protests. Highlighting the severe shortage of foreign currency, a vessel carrying 5,500 metric tonnes of cooking gas had to leave Sri Lankan waters after Laugfs Gas, the company that ordered it, could not procure $4.9 million from local banks to pay for it. "People are struggling with an acute shortage of cooking gas, but how can we help them when there are no dollars? We are stuck," Laugfs Gas Chairman W.H.K. Wegapitiya told Reuters. The ongoing crisis - the result of economic mismanagement by successive governments - has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit tourism and remittances. It has also marked a sharp turnaround in political support for Rajapaksa, who swept to power in 2019 promising stability. The government has said it is seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund and fresh loans from India and China. In the first major food aid to the country since Colombo secured a credit line from New Delhi, Indian traders have started loading 40,000 tonnes of rice. Live TV Washington: The United States is providing Ukraine with supplies and equipment in case Russia deploys chemical or biological weapons in its invasion of Ukraine, the White House said on Friday (April 1, 2022). White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the supplies were being provided to the government of Ukraine in light of warnings from the United States and other countries that Russia could deploy such weapons and might be planning a "false flag" operation to lay the groundwork for such an attack. The White House has not provided evidence that Russia has been planning such an attack. A senior U.S. defense official said last week that there was no concrete indications of an imminent chemical or biological weapons attack in Ukraine. The Kremlin, which describes the war as a "special military operation," has accused Ukraine of preparing to use chemical weapons, also without providing evidence. U.S. officials say that claim is a lie, and may indicate that Russia is preparing to do so itself. The White House has set up a team of experts to plan how to respond if Moscow does deploy any weapons of mass destruction - chemical, biological or nuclear, senior administration officials said last week. Psaki, asked about reports that Washington was also now providing gas masks and other protective equipment to Ukraine, told reporters: "In an effort to assist our Ukrainian partners, the U.S. government is providing the government of Ukraine lifesaving equipment and supplies that could be deployed in the event of Russian use of a chemical or biological weapon." She stressed that the shipment of such supplies would "not compromise our domestic preparedness in any way, shape or form." The European Union has also launched a stockpiling operation to boost its defenses against chemical, nuclear and biological incidents amid concerns over the conflict in Ukraine, according to EU documents and people familiar with the matter. U.S. President Joe Biden last week said the United States would respond if Russian President Vladimir Putin was to use chemical weapons in the invasion of Ukraine. "We would respond, we would respond if he uses it. The nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use," Biden said at a news conference in Brussels. Live TV Beijing (Gasgoo)- China is encouraging foreign enterprises to expand their investments in the worlds largest auto market, according to Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen. Photo credit: SAIC GM On March 31st, Wang hosted a symposium with 17 foreign enterprises from the auto industry. Wang said China highly values foreign companies involvement in the auto manufacturing industry. In the past years, China has been loosening the threshold, optimizing the policies, and strengthening service assurance for foreign enterprises to make their development in the local market easier. International automakers are granted broad development opportunities in their technological and electric transformation during Chinas innovation and green transformation process. The authorities call on foreign companies to grasp the opportunity and further their investment in the local industry, perfecting the domestic supply chain. The Ministry of Commerce will lead regional authorities to reinforce communications with foreign companies and help resolve timely difficulties, offering more comprehensive assurance. Foreign companies that attended the symposium showed appreciation for Chinas efforts to make their operation smoother in the country in the past few years. The companies expressed that China will continue to be one of their most important foreign markets. They will not hesitate to expand their investment in new energy vehicles, power batteries, hydrogen energy, and technology research and development in China, contributing to the local automotive industrys quality development. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On April 1, BYD Company Limited and Guiyang municipal government signed an agreement to conduct the in-depth cooperation in a new-type power battery industrial project, the construction of battery assembly lines, and other businesses, according to a post on the city's governmental WeChat account. The latest move means that the partnership between BYD and Guiyang, the capital of China's Guizhou province, has been further deepened. In December 2019, BYD inked an investment agreement with the authority of Guiyang Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone for the establishment of Guiyang Fudi Battery Co., Ltd. (Guiyang Fudi) and the building of an intelligent manufacturing industrial park. Managed by Guiyang Fudi, BYD's Guiyang battery base has already started operation. It currently has six battery lines with a total production capacity of 15GWh per year, aiming to deliver a production value of 5 billion yuan ($787.216 million) this year, according to Weng Yong, a project manager with Guiyang Fudi. Blade battery; photo credit: BYD BYD is doubling down on batteries to satisfy its fast-growing NEV demands. Aside from Guiyang, BYD has also built and planned battery manufacturing bases in such cities as Shenzhen, Huizhou, Xi'an, Xining, Chongqing, Changsha, Bengbu, Changchun, Jinan, and Xiangyang. Of them, the Chongqing and Changchun bases are co-built with Changan Automobile and FAW Group respectively. New evidence shows U.S.-funded biolabs used to attack Donbass, Russia: RT Xinhua) 10:17, April 02, 2022 MOSCOW, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Defense Ministry has found evidence suggesting Kiev was planning to use pathogens developed in Pentagon-funded biological laboratories against the population of Donbass and Russia, according to an article published on RT. Alongside Kiev's intent, the defense ministry allegedly identified concrete U.S. officials involved in developing biological weapons in Ukraine. These officials were "the heads of divisions and employees of the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as its main contractors," said the report, citing Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov. Hunter Biden, the son of the current U.S. president Joe Biden, was directly involved in these campaigns, Konashenkov said, citing investigations by Western media, adding Hunter Biden has worked closely with Pentagon contractor Metabiota, which specializes in research on pathogens that can be used to develop biological weapons. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) HBO On Sept. 18, 1977, Hazen, Arkansass Gary Betzner took a daytime drive with his wife and daughter in his El Camino to a dairy bar. Afterwards, he stopped on a bridge due to car trouble, opened the hood to check on the problem, and then suddenly and inexplicably dove into the White River. This sent his wife Sally into hysterics, and cast an immediate and terrible pall over his family, whichlike everyone else in their small, rural southern townwas plagued by a single, persistent question: why? [Spoilers follow] For an answer to that query, directors Phil Lott and Ari Mark (and executive producer Adam McKay) turn to the one person who can best shed light on this seemingly tragic event: Gary himself, who winds up being not only the subject of their three-part HBO docuseries The Invisible Pilot (April 4), but its primary narrator. Sitting for extended chats in the present as well as at regular intervals over the past decade (via older footage shot by Craig Hodges, a friend of Garys son Travis), Gary proves a resurrected ghost at the outset of this latest true-crime affair. The fact that he didnt commit suicide back in 1977, however, is only the first of many bombshells delivered by Lott and Marks venture, which begins with a bang before petering out once it trades entertainingly wacko criminality for sober political intrigue. The Mysterious Crypto King Who Stole $215M in Bitcoin and Wound Up Dead Gary rose to local renown as an ace crop duster with unparalleled piloting skills; he was a daredevil who couldnt resist performing flips, flying under bridges, and skimming his crafts tires along the water. Sally met Gary on July 20, 1969, the night of the moon landing, and she describes it as a universe-shaking momenta notion visualized by Lott and Mark through amusingly edited clips of the astronauts outer-space feat. Gary already had a wife, but once his daughter Polly was born, he got a divorce and married Sally, with whom he had two more children, Travis and Sara Lee. He establishedand then soldthe Betzner Flying Service, moving his clan to Alaska for a pipeline opportunity that didnt pan out. With few prospects and even less cash, Gary turned to another source of income: using his planes to smuggle marijuana. Story continues Gary Betzner with his family in 1974 HBO A subsequent bout of painful gout led Gary to an unlikely cure: cocaine, a narcotic that he admits was used both to alleviate his ailment and for recreational purposes. When he was busted in a giant 1977 Miami DEA sting, though, Gary faced 20 years behind bars. Rather than do that stint, he decided to stage his death and go on the run. To guarantee that this ruse went according to plan, he and Sally took a three-month self-hypnosis course in order to program Sally into believing the lie that Gary was really dead. Somehow, this insanity worked and Gary successfully went on the lam, during which time he became a drug-advocating hippie named Lucas Noel Harmony who saw nothing wrong with either consuming or transporting illegal substances. Before long, he was revealing his still-breathing existence to a stunned Travis and Sara Lee in Hawaii (where they all lived as nudists), and he eventually found himself employed as a smuggler for George Morales, a Miami speedboat racer with deep ties to Pablo Escobars Medellin Cartel in Colombia. If Morales sounds familiar to true-crime aficionados, thats because he was prominently featured in Billy Corbens Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami, a similar tale of bold criminals living the high life while evading the law. Yet what begins as a crazy saga about an outlaw flipping the bird to authorities both figuratively and, on more than one occasion, literally soon takes a drastic turn once Gary starts flying cocaine for his Colombian bosses, and then military cargo for individuals directly linked to the CIA. Its at that point that The Invisible Pilot becomes not merely a stand-alone story about defiant wrongdoing, but a piece of the Iran-Contra puzzle, since Gary was now transporting guns to the Contras, and returning to U.S. shores with kilos of cocaine sought by U.S. government officials. A lengthy prison sentence and cooperation with John Kerrys subcommittee investigation into Ronald Reagans Iran-Contra scandal ensued, although The Invisible Pilot cant make any of this later action hum with electricity; despite first-person accounts from Gary, interviews with various other pertinent individuals, and considerable archival footage, the docuseries loses its momentum the more it shifts its gaze from Garys outrageous conduct to the presidents headline-making mess. Gary gets almost wholly lost in the shuffle for a stretch of the third and final episode, and that does much to sabotage the energy of the entire production. Similarly unfulfilling are those passages concerning Travis, Sara Lee and Polly, whose mixed-up emotions about their dada combination of anger, resentment, and lovenever come into sharp focus, no matter their candid commentary about the ups and downs of living with a fugitive father. The biggest drawback to The Invisible Pilot, however, is that it never knows how to view Gary. Lott and Mark are neither interested in reveling in his exploits nor in casting a critical eye at his selfish behavior and rebellious ethos; instead, the proceedings exude a tepid empathy toward him. Unfortunately, Gary himself does much to frustrate any compassionate consideration of his plight, what with him touting drugs as a means of magical liberation, smuggling as a holy thing and a service to mankind, and the murderous Escobar as a legend, and rightly so. I would hope that his praises, not only as a smuggler but as a human being, would be sung. Far from simply a go-with-the-flow counterculture rabble-rouser who thought everyone should be allowed to smoke some weed, Gary proves a narcissist full of hollow and amoral self-justifications. Thus, by the time Gary gets around to railing against his unjust treatment at the hands of the CIAwho used him for their operation and then left him to rot in jailany minor wellspring of sympathy has long since run dry. Whereas a shrewder docuseries might have had a more acute point of view about Gary, what emerges here is a mixture of astonishment and admiration that comes across as largely unjustified. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Light pours into the studio, illuminating paintings with colors like stained glass. The paintings are everywhere - laid out across countertops, couches and chairs, propped five deep, leaning against table legs, hanging on every wall. Baje Whitethorne Sr. squeezes bright blobs of paint onto the sheet of glass he uses as a palette, then swirls the blue, yellow, black and magenta together to create a deep green. With a few dabs at the canvas on the easel, the green brings depth to pine and juniper trees set against rocks of umber and ochre, below a saffron sky. This is a scene Baje knows well, one he paints again and again. Its the place he was born, in the hills near Shonto. These are the cliffs and canyons where his family lived for generations before and will continue to return for years more. These are the same hills where he sat with his four brothers and five sisters, listening to their grandmothers stories. We would sit at night in the moonlight or the stars and she would say, Look at the hills. The mountains seemed to dance because of how the light hit it, Baje says. She would tell us they were dancing because we were there, because of the joy. Baje moves the wet canvas and puts another painting in its place, a girl with her face tilted toward his. He strokes green onto her shoulders and suddenly she is dancing in sunlight. How to capture the energy of it, the spirit of the light itself. How the sun actually plays with your eyes, Baje says, adjusting the green with a bit more blue. Light bounces, so it seems like its full of energy. It gives you the feeling of joy because its doing it for you. Nature does things for you. The paintings are so exuberantly colorful they seem to be pigments of imagination, but Baje pulls his phone from his pocket and swipes through photos hes taken, proving these colors are true. Baje just notices moments others miss: the sweep of red in the sky, the instant when pink cliffs darken to purple, a flash of fiery sunset reflected from bare branches, or how an ordinary cluster of objects leaning on a yellow garage becomes iridescent from a certain angle. Youre always looking for something, how shadows and light and things interact. Its a constant show, Baje says. Baje also sees things in his painting others dont, memories layered beneath pigment or just outside the frame. He sees the apricot tree with honey-sweet fruit that grew in the family orchard for 100 years. He sees the horses and cattle his father and grandfather moved into the sheltered canyon for the winter. Theres times you come in here and it takes you back, like it just happened yesterday, he says. Each small detail has a story. Somewhere in each painting is a blue chair, though sometimes the chair is hidden inside the Hogan, or has been carried to the other side of the hill, Baje said. The blue chair is part of a six-chair set his mother brought back from Flagstaff when he was a boy. I was fascinated by how the sun hit the metallic blue, Baje recalls in his steady, low voice. He recalls that even then the chairs had a tendency to wander away and every time hed come home from boarding school, Baje would seek the chairs out again from relatives homes and bring them together again. He began putting the blue chair into his paintings while he was studying art at Northern Arizona University. You grab them with the composition, the color, and then you drag them in to see the little things, he says. Bajes paintings have grabbed attention from all over the world. Hes exhibited his artwork across the U.S., from San Francisco to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. He also has toured across Europe, showing his work in cultural centers in France, Germany, and Italy. He received the Western Heritage Wrangler Award from the Cowboy Hall of Fame and the 2014 Mayors Legacy Award for Lifetime Contribution to the Arts at the Viola Awards Gala in Flagstaff, Arizona. Last year he was included in Six Navajo Masters exhibition at the Booth Western Art Museum north of Atlanta, GA. Along with painting, Baje is an accomplished sculptor, jeweler, illustrator, author, and a leader in the art community. Hes a founding member of Art of the People, a group of prominent indigenous artists who work together to encourage a new generation of artists and share Navajo culture through their art. Baje and the other members of Art of the People often engage in a collaborative art process, which is rare among artists. Theyll take turns painting on a single canvas, often while the public watches, layering paints and ideas with apparent ease until a shared vision emerges. Theres no I or you. Its all we, Baje says. These fellow artists came to help Baje several years ago, when his son, Baje Whitethorne Jr., died suddenly at age 41. The loss plunged Baje Whitethorne Sr. into darkness and for a while he had difficulty painting. When Baje Sr. couldnt face the canvas, another painter would pick up the brush, adding details. They all signed the back of the finished painting and named it New Beginning, New Direction. Despite many offers, the painting is not for sale. You cannot sell the rays of light that turn darkness into color again. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 On March 24, the Firecreek Coffee cafe and venue on Route 66 was closed by Coconino County Health and Human Services (CCHHS) due to a health code violation. The business soon found itself at the center of a social media firestorm that called for boycott and alleged unsafe working conditions and incidences of transphobia on behalf of the owner Mike Funk. County records show that a mouse infestation was the reason for Firecreeks closure. The March 24 inspector report described the coffee shops gross unsanitary conditions of mice feces throughout. This closure made Firecreek one of five downtown Flagstaff businesses closed by the CCHHS between November 2021 and March 2022 due to rodent infestation. They have since been cleared by CCHHS and plan to reopen the week of April 4. Almost as soon as the closure was official, people were taking pictures of the red posted closed sign. The health inspector said it felt like the paparazzi, Funk said. Like they were waiting around the corner. By the next day, the internet was ablaze with social media posts showing pictures of the health department sign, advocating a boycott, and sharing employee and customer testimonials about poor experiences with the business. Those dozens of posts, which were shared and viewed hundreds of times, primarily originated on the social media account of recently terminated Firecreek employee Jade Price. Across the social media conflagration, two consistent messages prevailed, best summarized beneath a posted image that solicited a boycott: The establishment has a mice infestation, and The owner of this establishment is openly transphobic to his queer employees. Mouse infestations are one of our most common reasons to ask a facility to close, said CCHHS division manager Elizabeth Richardson. And I think that especially this year, it's been difficult. Richardson speculated that this years warm winter resulted in a higher mouse population and more frequent infestations within downtown Flagstaff. Its a serious health concern because mouse feces can spread hantaviruses. This family of viruses can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), has a mortality rate of 38%. Northern Arizona Healthcare told the Arizona Daily Sun that its been five years since Flagstaff Medical Center has confirmed a hantavirus patient. Richardson hopes to keep up the healthy streak. We certainly would not want anyone to be exposed to that, she said. Hantavirus concerns were shared by Price, who claimed that the mouse infestation was a known problem at Firecreek for months prior to their termination and the March 24 closing. It was a daily occurrence in the cafe to see a mouse, Price said. The mouse problem was also known by CCHHS, which mandated a partial closure of Firecreeks kitchen and bakery following a November 2021 inspection that found traces of infestation similar to the March 24 inspection. At the time, CCHHS allowed the cafe to continue serving coffee from unaffected areas, but mandated that the health code violations be addressed immediately and that a licensed pest control operator shall be contacted to ensure the issue has been appropriately handled work closely with pest control operator to ensure a long-term control of rodent issue. A week later, a health inspector returned to Firecreek and cleared it fully, writing in the report that imminent health hazard and priority foundation items have been corrected. Facility may now re-open the back bakery kitchen and operate. But Price said the problem persisted and employees continued to see evidence of mice, including feces. Price described it as too much to keep up with, and claimed staff on hand did not amount to a viable crew to run a cafe and then also do all this maintenance at the same time. Fearing a more permanent shutdown by the health department, Price said they pleaded with Funk to hire professional help and supply employees with proper training and cleaning materials. Price claims their requests were declined. At that point, Price said they felt the need to work overtime and perform deep cleans that would address the problem. The entire staff and crew decided to take it upon ourselves to do some renovations and cleaning because we couldn't afford to lose our jobs, they said. And it was clear that management and Mike Funk, the owner, was not going to do anything to rectify these issues. Funk found these claims surprising. According to Funk, the CDC recommended cleaning supplies for rodent feces rubber gloves, bleach and masks had always been on hand at Firecreek, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Funk also hired professional help. He followed the CCHHS direction and contracted Atomic Pest Control the day after the initial failed inspection. Invoices shared with the Daily Sun show that Atomic Pest control visited Firecreek three times between Nov. 30 and Dec. 6, then proceeded to visit once a month, with the last visit before the shutdown occurring on March 9. Outside of these efforts, Funk said employee reports of infestation and necessary cleaning were taken seriously and addressed, as far as I know, extremely quickly by the managers. The Daily Sun could not reach a manager to confirm this. Employee cleaning efforts continued until about the third week of February, at which point there was an incident that Price said demoralized the staff. During a shift change, Funk witnessed an employee clocking out behind the counter wearing a sweater that read Your Binary. The message disturbed Funk. He explained that the profanity went against the values he hoped to cultivate within the business. I was very upset, he said, It's incredibly important that we have gracious hospitality, and that everyone is accepted. Was it frustrating to find somebody wearing a shirt that said You spelled out? Absolutely. It goes against everything we stand for. Its a message of hate. What followed was some form of public discipline in which Funk confronted the employee wearing the sweatshirt in front of cafe customers. I reacted emotionally, Funk said. Im not excusing that. Funks emotional reaction was apparently substantial enough to impact the disciplined employee, Price and other members of the staff. It was really appalling and horrifying, Price said, and added that it made them feel unsafe and completely demoralized. The confronted employee wearing the sweatshirt did not respond to requests for comment. This sweatshirt incident" is central to the social media posts that allege Funk is openly transphobic to his queer employees. Price said it was not the only incident of its kind. Price, and the testimonies they collected on social media, recounted micro-aggressions from Funk such as using incorrect pronouns, referring to trans employees by their deadnames and the censoring of art hung in the cafe. After this incident, Price said they and other employees decided to stop putting personal health and safety at risk and they ceased putting extra effort into cleaning up after the rodent problem at large. That was the day we stopped doing deep cleans, Price said. From then on, the rodent problem accelerated. By the second week of March, Price said the infestation had become intense, with mouse feces seemingly throughout the cafe. You have two weeks of this buildup because every day it's finding new droppings, Price said. It's seeing mice behind the espresso machine. During in this period, concerns of hantavirus infection reached a fever point. Price reported that every staff member experienced symptoms. Employee Sprout Perez became sick enough to return home to Phoenix. Perez sought medical attention and was confirmed to have influenza. They were provided with the professional opinion that it was extremely unlikely they had contracted hantavirus. Price was terminated on March 19 for reasons that Funk said had nothing to do with the infestation and allegations of transphobia. He alluded to interpersonal conflict among the staff and an employee who resigned after being turned down for a promotion, but declined to explain further. All I can do is talk about my behavior, he said. I'm not going to sling mud and talk about somebody else's behavior. Funk noted that this was the time he became aware of staff concerns within the cafe. None of this came up until someone was terminated, he said. Perez resigned following Prices termination. I decided to put my two weeks in because I didn't feel comfortable working in an environment where someone was terminated for, like, absolutely no reason, they said. Shortly after the departure of Perez and Price, they called CCHHS to file a complaint about Firecreeks rodent problem and request an inspection. Calls to CCHHS from staff -- or, in this case, former staff -- are fairly common, according to Richardson. We take it very seriously, she said. And we come out generally the next day and do an inspection. And that is what happened in this case. As previously noted, the March 24 inspection confirmed an infestation and identified a probable port of entry for the mice. The report described it as a large gap of light shining through the back entry door into the facility along the bottom sweep. CCHHS mandated a closure until the violations could be fixed and directed continued monthly visits from an exterminator. CCHHS returned on Monday, confirmed that the imminent health hazards were corrected and cleared Firecreek for reopening. However, Funk said he decided to keep the cafe closed to complete other renovations, and continued to work with Atomic Pest Control to make sure the rodent problem was under control. A March 31 service report from Atomic Pest Control said the problem was resolved. In the meantime, Price has continued to feed a social media story calling for the boycott of Firecreek. The public outcry has caused several artistic entities to distance themselves from the business by canceling scheduled shows or relocating to different venues. Price also organized a virtual tip jar, for Flagstaff baristas out of work due to unsafe and transphobic employer. Funk has issued a public apology in the form of a letter to the employees of Firecreek. Within this letter he sincerely apologizes, for transphobic micro-aggressions and not living up to the ideals and levels of empathy I expect from our workers. Sean Golightly can be reached at sgolightly@azdailysun.com Love 0 Funny 26 Wow 5 Sad 1 Angry 2 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Google is notifying publishers that content that "exploits, dismisses, or condones the war" in Ukraine will not be monetized. Dear Publisher, Due to the war in Ukraine, we will pause monetization of content that exploits, dismisses, or condones the war. Please note, we have already been enforcing on claims related to the war in Ukraine when they violated existing policies (for instance, the Dangerous or Derogatory content policy prohibits monetizing content that incites violence or denies tragic events). This update is meant to clarify, and in some cases expand, our publisher guidance as it relates to this conflict. This pause includes, but is not limited to, claims that imply victims are responsible for their own tragedy or similar instances of victim blaming, such as claims that Ukraine is committing genocide or deliberately attacking its own citizens. Until next time, The Google Ad Manager Team It's Google's money (or, rather, that of advertisers using its ad-delivery infrastructure), and publishers aren't entitled to it. It's also a sharp reminder of how much influence this particular technology company has over the tone and content of coverage due to its strong position in the online ad market. Google hints strongly that it's only targeting the most batshit dark-money nonsense ("such as claims that Ukraine is committing genocide") which it's surely reasonable for an advertising middleman to say no to. But terms like "dismisses" and "exploits" are wide open to interpretation. Is it "dismissing" the war, for example, to speculate about the possibility that the war might embolden, empower and even equip the Ukrainian far-right in ways the U.S. and Zelenskyy's liberal government might later find hard to contain? Is it "exploiting" the war simply to post a lot about it, in the knowledge that war content has a large audience? Difficult times and difficult questions for everyone. Without announcing a date that formal cooperation will end between Russia and the other ISS project participants, Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin has vowed the end is near. Unless the international community offers a "complete and unconditional lifting of illegal sanctions" Russia is going to show everyone. The Verge: "The position of our partners is clear: the sanctions will not be lifted," Rogozin says. "The purpose of the sanctions is to kill the Russian economy, plunge our people into despair and hunger, and bring our country to its knees." Rogozin adds that Roscosmos will soon determine a date on when to halt Russia's involvement with the ISS, which will then be reported to Russian government officials. Rogozin reacted strongly to the sanctions imposed by President Joe Biden in February, making an insinuation that the space station could come crashing down to Earth without Russia's involvement. As my colleague Loren Grush points out, Russia's withdrawal from the station has the potential to do real harm, as NASA relies on Russia to maintain the ISS's position and orientation in space. On Thursday, NASA said Russia was "moving toward" extending its cooperation on the ISS until 2030, but Rogozin's statements make this seem unlikely. Earlier this week, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei safely returned to Earth aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket with two cosmonauts. Prior to his arrival, there had been concerns about his return home amid Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, but Roscosmos maintained that it would not strand Vande Hei on the ISS. Large roving herds of Tibetan antelopes demonstrate successes of local ecological protection efforts in Chinas Tibet People's Daily Online) 13:16, April 02, 2022 Nearly 10,000 Tibetan antelopes have recently been spotted in Gerze county, Ngari Prefecture of southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region. The presence of this large herd is considered an indication of improvements to the ecosystem in the region. The Tibetan antelope is under first-class state protection in China. The wild animals can be seen mainly in areas along the Qiangtang Grassland at altitudes between 3,700 and 5,500 meters above sea level. According to statistics, the number of Tibetan antelopes in Tibet has increased to about 300,000 in recent years, up from about 60,000 in the 1990s. Photo shows Tibetan antelopes in Gerze county, Ngari Prefecture of southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region. (Photo/Penba) Thanks to an improved ecological environment, the species and population of wild animals in Gerze have been expanding on a steady basis, said Rigzin Norbu, head of the forestry and grassland bureau of Gerze county, who added that the grassland ecosystem in the locality has recovered as well thanks to the implementation of plans aimed at striking a balance between grass growth and grazing. A snowy mountain makes for a beautiful backdrop as Tibetan antelopes rove about on the land in southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region. (Photo/ Sonam Rinchen) Gerze county has organized training sessions offering various skills, including monitoring the epidemic diseases of wild animals, monitoring any locust outbreaks, the protection of areas where any incidents occur, and daily patrolling and management tasks. Meanwhile, Gerze county has established 23 management stations and staffed these stations with 217 professional personnel engaged in management and protection efforts. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) Xi, Azerbaijani president exchange congratulations on 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties Xinhua) 14:17, April 02, 2022 BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, exchanged on Saturday congratulatory messages to celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In his message, Xi pointed out that China and Azerbaijan are partners of traditional friendly cooperation. Over the past 30 years, Xi noted, China-Azerbaijan relations have maintained a sound and steady momentum of development, saying that their political mutual trust has been deepening, cooperation in various fields is moving forward with substantial progress, and their collaboration in global and regional affairs is growing increasingly close. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi said, the two nations have stood together and helped each other, a demonstration of their traditional friendship. Xi stressed that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Azerbaijan relations, saying that he is ready to work with President Aliyev to take the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to push for more accomplishments in bilateral ties and in cooperation in various areas for the benefit of both countries and their people. In his message, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan-China relations have continued to develop on the basis of mutual trust. The two sides have carried out high-level mutually beneficial cooperation in politics, economy and trade and other areas, and multilateral cooperation has also achieved fruitful results. He also said that the Azerbaijani side supports the Belt and Road Initiative, adding he believes that the traditional friendly Azerbaijan-China relations will continue to deepen and benefit the people in both countries. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) A new clinic in Lindsay aims to provide quality health care to the community. Earlier this week, Columbus Community Hospital announced a partnership with the Lindsay Area Investment Club to bring a primary care clinic to the village. The Lindsay Medical Clinic, to be housed in the old 5 Fers Xpress building, is scheduled to open its doors for patients this August. It will start with three half-days per week, with the opportunity to increase hours depending on need. A variety of health care services will be available, including medication management for chronic and acute conditions; physical exams; annual flu shots; and other routine needs. The following preventative care and common medical condition treatments are bone and joint care; ear, nose and throat care; infant to elderly care; chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease; mental and behavioral health; minor surgical procedures, such as wart freezing and skin biopsies; and well-woman care and family planning. CCH President and CEO Mike Hansen said with CCH being a regional hospital, the aim is provide services to everyone in the primary and secondary service areas. Our goal is to improve the health and wellness of the communities that we serve. We have a rural health clinic in Humphrey and Lindsay is another very important town to us and so they really have a need to have primary care there locally, Hansen said. We do believe that if you can get health care local, that's the way we want to do it especially when it comes to primary care. Hansen noted the difficulty some people have in traveling for health care. Transportation is always an issue. And, of course, with the rising prices of gas and things like that, it can be very expensive, he added. Our goal of opening a clinic in Lindsay is really to be able to provide primary care close to home for the Lindsay residents who utilize our hospital frequently. Lindsay Area Investment Club purchased that vacated building and are renovating that space for the clinic. They basically opened up the entire space and rebuilt the space from scratch. They have the basic foundation and external walls, but everything inside is brand new, CCH Director of Clinics Korie Whitmore said. Founded in 2018, the LAIC is made up of 36 members and its mission is to invest in projects in the Lindsay community. We could see a variety of opportunities, but wanted to explore what would be best for the communitys future, LAIC President Lyle Herchenbach said, in a press release. When this proposal was presented with a strong support from community members, business owners and the school, it was clear what next step we needed to take. Whitmore noted the Lindsay communitys support for the project. They seem to be a very innovative and thriving community being led by the investment club, Whitmore said. They're looking for improvements in the health care overall of their community. So it's exciting that we would be partnering with them. According to Whitmore, the hospital is in the recruitment process for the Lindsay clinic. Our plan is to have a physician medical director that will provide supervising oversight and perform services at the clinic but we'll also be staffing it with mid-level providers an NP, nurse practitioner, or PA (physician assistant), she added. But, one new Lindsay Medical Clinic employee has already started Chantel Sempek. Sempek is the practice manager for both the Lindsay and Humphrey clinics. Her role will be maintaining the daily operations of the clinics, managing staff and ensuring a high level of care, Whitmore said. Her time will be split between the two clinics. The new position is a special one for Sempek, who is a Lindsay native. I grew up on a farm outside of Lindsay and I graduated from Lindsay Holy Family. I'm getting my feet wet currently working in the Humphrey clinic, learning the processes. It's all new to me. But it's an exciting adventure, Sempek said. She has a bachelors in agriculture education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and previously worked for the East-Central District Health Department. She joined CCH in 2018 as a physician relations representative. Sempek currently lives in Columbus with her husband and their daughter. Having the opportunity to come back to my hometown and help open a clinic is very exciting to me, Sempek said. I look forward to bringing health care to the community I grew up in. Hannah Schrodt is the news editor of The Columbus Telegram. Reach her via email at hannah.schrodt@lee.net. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CAMDEN, N.J. A New Jersey man who conspired with his then-girlfriend to cook up a feel-good story about a helpful homeless man and then used the lie to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations online was sentenced in federal court Friday to more than two years in prison. Mark DAmico will also have to serve three years probation once he completes his 27-month term. He also must pay restitution and undergo gambling, drug and mental health counseling. Before being sentenced, DAmico told U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman that he was a changed man, devoted to his family. The person that did the things that led us here no longer exists, DAmico said. He had pleaded guilty before Hillman in Camden in November to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. An indictment unsealed in January 2020 charged DAmico with a total of 16 counts of conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering. He had already pleaded guilty to charges in state court last year. His former girlfriend, Katelyn McClure, and homeless veteran Johnny Bobbitt Jr. previously pleaded guilty to state and federal charges. Bobbitt was sentenced to five years probation on state charges in 2019. Both are scheduled to be sentenced on the federal charges this year. The trio made up a story in late 2017 about Bobbitt giving $20 to help McClure when her car ran out of gas in Philadelphia, according to prosecutors. DAmico and McClure solicited donations through GoFundMe, purportedly to help Bobbitt, and conducted newspaper and television interviews. Investigators said DAmico was the plots ringleader. They eventually raised more than $400,000 in donations over about a month, according to investigators, who said almost no part of the tale was true. The group had met near a Philadelphia casino in October 2017 shortly before they told their story, prosecutors said. Authorities began investigating after Bobbitt sued the couple, accusing them of not giving him the money. The federal criminal complaint alleged all of the money raised in the campaign was spent by March 2018, with large chunks spent by McClure and DAmico on a recreational vehicle, a BMW and trips to casinos in Las Vegas and New Jersey. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Greene Farmers Market kicks off its 2022 season this Saturday, April 2, at the newly-built pavilion in Stanardsville. From 8 a.m. to noon, the market is the place to find early seasonal produce and locally grown meats, meet friends, hear live music and discover treasures crafted right here in our region. A USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program grant is helping the market to expand this year, increasing the number of regional farmers, craft vendors, planned programs, live music and fun events, as well as becoming a year-round market. Greene Commons Consulting Manager Judy Berger says, Our current farmers and vendors asked to extend the market season to year-round, which prompted us to apply for the USDA grant. Once we received the funding, the farmers started planning for a longer season with hoop houses and added-value products like canning and freezing. Berger added, The extra funding has enabled us to recruit more farmers for the market while planning community activities to attract and engage customers. Live music begins April 16, when we hope the weather is warm enough for musicians to move their fingers! The local music lineup includes old time blue grass, Irish and Appalachian blendsall performed by local artists. Other rotating attractions at the market include resources for home canning and food safety from Virginia Cooperative Extension, fitness and youth programming with Greene County Parks and Recreation, plus a kids play area hosted by Lakeside Friends Daycare. Thanks to the USDA grant, the Greene Farmers Market purchased 8 new picnic tables for shoppers to sit and eat while chatting with neighbors and listening to music. SNAP/EBT cards are also welcomed and double their value at the market. For every SNAP dollar a customer spends at the market, they receive another dollar to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables, compliments of a grant from Virginia Fresh Match. There is a $20 limit per customer per week. Customers should go to the SNAP tent at the market for more information. Berger added, SNAP and Virginia Fresh Match funding are great ways to put federal dollars directly into our local farmers pockets, while giving our neighbors access to healthy foods. Vendors this week include Art Guild of Greene, Blue Ridge Coffee Crafters, Cattle Run Farm, Hawk Hollow Farm, Little Brook Farm, Saint Isidore Homestead & Permaculture, Tonys Rings & Things, Creations by Maribeth, Mountain Meadows Farm, Ellen Taylor Design, The Farm at South River, Add Acrylics, KB Arts, Simply Taina, Ts Sweetz, According to my Stylist, Albemarle Cannabis Company, Designs by Anita Bell, Barnet Mountain Homestead, and Hope Designs. The Greene Farmers Market is located at 40 Celt Road, behind the County Administration Building in Stanardsville. Everyone is welcome! For more information visit www.greenecommons.com or email greenefarmersmarket@gmail.com. A jury has found a former Albemarle County pain doctor guilty of sexual assault following years of legal delays and an emotionally fraught, week-long trial. Dr. Mark Hormuz Dean was first arrested in January 2018 after being accused of sexual assault by several women who were his patients at Albemarle Pain Management Associates. The assaults were alleged to have happened between 2011 and 2017. The cases have been separated, meaning Dean will likely face multiple trials. In his first trial, Dean faced a single count of object sexual penetration stemming from a May 2017 interaction with one of his female patients that was reported to police in the fall of 2020. The trial wrapped up Friday afternoon and, after around two-and-a-half hours of deliberations, the jury returned guilty verdict Friday evening. Upon hearing the verdict, Dean, who had been poised and stoic throughout the trial, slumped in his chair, a distant stare on his face. Dean, who has been out on bail for the last four years, was immediately remanded to the jail where he will remain as he awaits sentencing on Aug. 31. According to sentencing guidelines, Dean faces a minimum prison term of five years and a maximum of life. The trial centered on accusations from a woman identified by the initials ES, who said Dean used his fingers to penetrate her vagina without her consent during a May 2017 appointment. The defense has spent the bulk of the trial working to undermine her testimony, focusing primarily on three return visits ES made to Dean and his office. The case was complicated by testimony from another accuser, identified by the initials AS, who shared her similar experience with Dean but whose testimony was not directly related to the charge Dean was facing. After spending more than an hour finalizing jury instructions, the parties offered closing arguments Friday in Albemarle Circuit Court, hoping to sway the jurors to their side. Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Richard Farley walked the jurors through the case again, taking time to discuss each piece of evidence he believed was persuasive of Deans guilt. Although the jurors could not consider ASs testimony as evidence of Deans guilt, Farley said they could consider how closely both womens testimony matched, citing more than a dozen examples. This case comes down to whether you believe [ES] or whether you believe she made the whole thing up, even though she has nothing to gain, he said. She has to come here and talk to a group of strangers about her private parts, her private life and her pain. Citing testimony from Deans employees, Farley said Dean should not have needed to remove ESs clothing in order to examine her. Farley also cited employee testimony to argue that the medical records Dean kept could be inaccurate but also conversely cited them as supporting evidence when arguing that Dean was alone with ES during the visit. Much of the prior days hearing revolved around the defenses expert witness, Dr. Jennifer L. Marshall, a clinical psychologist who was hired by Deans attorneys; and the expert witness called by the prosecution, Nicole Nordan, a licensed professional counselor. Because Marshall was hired by Deans attorneys and not Dean, the prosecution was unable to talk to her beforehand. The two experts offered contrasting views on how victims of sexual trauma process and recall memories. Nordan testified that they dont usually recall things neatly or linearly. Marshall testified that ESs claims of blocking out memories were not consistent with how research shows victims with amnesia processing memories. Farley opted to spend more time finding common ground between the experts testimony, pointing in particular to the concept of fight, flight or freeze. Both experts had agreed that victims of sexual trauma can respond by freezing and not fleeing or fighting their attacker. Both ES and AS described freezing when they claim they were assaulted by Dean, a decision that caused them shame and impacted their decision not to report the incidents earlier. This is an idea that the general public does not know as much about as fight or flight, but it is very much a reality and very much a reality of the case, Farley said. When pressed by the defense about why she returned three times to Dean and did not initially share this information with police investigators, ES claimed she did not remember the visits clearly and that she felt she had to return in order to get clearance to return to work after an injury. Citing the experts testimony, Farley argued that there were a variety of reasons that a victim might return to a situation or individual that caused sexual trauma. Every week this courtroom sees women who are victims of sexual assault who were beaten and hurt by their husbands and boyfriends and who returned to that situation, he said. There are a lot of victims of trauma who may return to someone who has power over them. Throughout the trial, Deans attorney Gene Rossi said they have worked to highlight inconsistencies in testimony and point to discrepancies that could lead to a finding of reasonable doubt. Rossi urged the jurors to use their common sense to find that there were plenty of reasons to doubt the claims made by ES. Every woman who makes an allegation should be heard, Rossi said. But when we get into a court of law we have the right to challenge it. Rossi presented a list of areas he believed pointed to reasonable or considerable doubt, including the medical offices purported policy of knock-knock, hello. Deriving its nickname from the practice of Deans employees knocking twice on his exam room door before immediately opening it in order to present him with documents to sign, Rossi argued that this practice would make it very difficult for Dean to get away with the behavior that led to the charge. Several of Deans former employees testified earlier in the trial that they had either entered Deans exam room while he was with a patient or seen others do it. Farley expressed skepticism of this practice during his closing argument, positing that it seemed out of character for a medical office to be flippant about privacy. Another sticking point of the defense has been ESs claim that after Dean sexually assaulted her she left the room as soon as she could and that he walked her to the appointment desk. Medical records and billing from that appointment indicate she received a pain medicine injection, Rossi said, and employees had testified that those injections were usually given at the end of appointments. Unless were accusing Dr. Dean of medical fraud, then [ES] was given a shot during her May 15, 2017 visit and we know that those shots were routinely given at the end, Rossi said. Thats it, thats game over, thats a lay-up. Dean still faces other charges related to different accusers and is currently slated for a second trial in June. It remains to be seen whether the verdict will impact future trials. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Interim City Manager Michael C. Rogers made a recommendation to delay funding of the schools reconfiguration project at a City Council meeting last month. But at Thursdays meeting, the citys senior budget analyst provided a potential budget amendment that could allow the city to fund up to $68.8 million of the project. Senior Budget & Management Analyst Krisy Hammill presented two scenarios as a framework for making a decision. One would require the city to use $54 million in bond funds along with $14.8 million from other cash sources, including potential American Rescue Act Plan funds from the schools and surplus funds from the current budget. Hammill said the city is estimating over $12 million in surplus. The other scenario would require the city to use $50 million in bond funds with $18.8 million from the other cash sources. The reconfiguration project option proposed by the school board is estimated to cost $76.8 million. An alternative $68.8 million option was presented by the developer but would delay construction on one of Bufords buildings that includes the auditorium. Mayor Lloyd Snook said he met with Schools Superintendent Royal Gurley and School Board Chair Lisa Larson-Torres earlier in the week and said they agreed on moving forward with the $68.8 million option. We got to the point where they were comfortable with the $68.8 million project with the recognition that we would work on trying to find the money going forward for the auditorium improvements, Snook said. Snook said he told Gurley and Larson-Torres that he believed it was unlikely that three councilors would vote to fully fund the $76.8 million proposal but that he thought councilors would support a project bond funds like the scenarios Hammill presented. In October, the council, including Snook and council members Sena Magill and Michael Payne, voted unanimously to back the $75 million plan proposed by the school board. But after a proposed sales tax bill that the city was counting on to help fund the project didnt pass the House of Delegates, councilors have been less eager to spend the full amount on the project when considering other priorities like affordable housing. At the March 21 meeting, Rogers recommended the city hike the real estate tax rate by two cents and set the funds aside in the citys capital projects fund as the beginning of an annual program to pay for school reconfiguration. [I recommend we] postpone any drawdowns of upcoming reconfiguration costs until a later date to give city council and staff and the citys financial advisor an opportunity to work on a five- to 10-year funding plan, Rogers said at the March meeting. I also recommend that the City Managers Office begin to retool the citys Capital Improvement Program to make adequate plans for necessary projects for both schools and city government. At a community budget forum held March 23, Rogers said he felt his recommendation to delay funding the project may have been misunderstood. It was an attempt to get us at least moving in the right direction of a solution, he said. The city will hold a public hearing on the proposed budget at the City Council meeting at 6:30 p.m on Monday. There will be an additional budget work session April 7 and City Council will vote to finalize and approve the budget April 12. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Mountain Valley Pipeline slipped deeper into doubt Friday, when an appellate court declined to reconsider its decision striking down a vital permit for the deeply divisive project. In a brief order, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it will not revisit the ruling of a three-judge panel, which in February invalidated the federal Fish and Wildlife Services opinion that the natural gas pipeline would not jeopardize endangered species. The move came one week after a similar decision by the Fourth Circuit regarding the panels rejection of a second permit from the U.S. Forest Service that allowed the pipeline to pass through the Jefferson National Forest. Mountain Valley now has little hope of regaining the approvals without going through a renewed permitting process that would again delay a $6.2 billion infrastructure project that is already more than three years behind schedule. Twice now, MVP has been left high and dry in their attempts to reverse court decisions and complete their dangerous and unnecessary project, said Caroline Hansley of the Sierra Club, one of about a dozen environmental groups that has fought the pipeline in court. Opponents have argued for years that building a massive pipeline through the mountains of Southwest Virginia will cause environmental damage and contribute to climate change. While acknowledging a greater degree of uncertainty caused by the Fourth Circuit, Mountain Valley says its plans are still alive. We continue to evaluate the best path forward for completing the MVP project and expect to provide updated project guidance once the full evaluation is complete, Natalie Cox, a spokeswoman for the joint venture, wrote in an email Friday. Legal experts have said the companys chances were not good in seeking a so-called "en banc" hearing, in which the full 15-member appellate court would rehear the two unanimous decisions by its three-judge panel. Only four such requests were granted last year by the court, which hears appeals from federal administrative agencies and nine district courts in Virginia and four other states, according to Carl Tobias, who teaches at the University of Richmonds law school. Filed on March 11, Mountain Valleys request was circulated among the courts judges. No judges requested a poll under applicable law, the three-sentence order stated. The court denies the petition for rehearing en banc. In sending the permits back to the agencies for further review, the panel which consisted of Chief Judge Roger Gregory and Judges Stephanie Thacker and James Wynn ruled that government officials cut corners and ignored evidence in approving the largest natural gas pipeline ever proposed in Virginia. The Fish and Wildlife Service gave scant attention to factors, including climate change, that would impact two endangered fish, the Roanoke logperch and the candy darter, that are nearing the brink of extinction, the panel ruled. As for the permit for the pipeline to pass through 3.5 miles of public woodlands in Giles and Montgomery counties, the Forest Service failed to consider water quality data from monitoring stations a short distance away in assessing the erosion risks posed by construction, a second decision from the same three judges said. Muddy runoff has been a key problem for Mountain Valley. Inspections by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality have found nearly 400 violations of erosion and sediment control regulations since work began in early 2018. The pipeline cuts through the New River and Roanoke valleys, passing north of Blacksburg and southwest of Roanoke, on its 303-mile path from northern West Virginia to connect with an existing pipeline close to the North Carolina line. Mountain Valley says the need for natural gas, which was documented by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2017, is even greater today with the war in Ukraine restricting global supplies. Assuming the pipeline is completed, the company plans to build an extension that would transport gas from its terminus in Chatham into North Carolina. Last year, the State Air Pollution Control Board denied a permit for a compressor station that would be built in Pittsylvania County for the extension, which is called MVP Southgate. Mountain Valley had appealed the air boards decision to the Fourth Circuit, but asked earlier this week that the case be dropped. Southgate spokesman Shawn Day cited a law headed for passage in Virginia that removes the air boards authority and gives permitting power to the staff of DEQ, which had recommended approval for the compressor station. In an email Tuesday, Day wrote: Mountain Valley remains committed to the MVP Southgate project and continues to evaluate its options to help meet strong residential and business demand for affordable, reliable natural gas. Thank you for reading! To read this article and more, subscribe now for as little as $1.99. Oregon Republicans running for U.S. Senate promised they will retire the state's senior U.S. Senator at a Benton County GOP debate Thursday night, March 31. Seven Republicans and two Democrats are running against longtime Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, who joined the U.S. Senate in 1996. Those Republicans are Robert Fleming, a property manager from Gresham; Ibra Taher, a self-employed philosophy teacher from Eugene; Chris Christensen, a financial adviser from Beaverton; and Prineville Mayor Jason Beebe, a regional services manager for a data center. Leading the race in terms of fundraising are motel owner Darin Harbick from Blue River; Grant County Commissioner Sam Palmer from John Day; and financial adviser Jo Rae Perkins from Albany. On Thursday night, six of the GOP candidates convened at Corvallis Elk Lodge to make their case. Absent from the debate was Fleming, who was scheduled to attend the event. Based on a straw poll conducted by the Benton County GOP at Thursday night's debate, Harbick walked away as the preferred candidate among voting members of the audience, receiving 33 ballots out of 40 total over three rounds of voting. Palmer followed in the poll with 30 ballots total, Perkins finished with 16, Beebe with 14, Taher with 13 and Christensen with seven. Immigration Each of the candidates said they would help secure the U.S. border with Mexico to curb what they said are influxes of crime related to mass immigration. According to the American Immigration Council, Oregon was home to 110,000 undocumented immigrants in 2016, amounting to 2% of the state's population. In 2018, one out of 10 Oregonians were immigrants, documented or otherwise, the council reports. Palmer speculated that fentanyl, a synthetic opioid and increasingly popular street drug, will flood the state unless the country tightens its borders. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Lebanon Express. In 2020, Oregon saw 472 fentanyl overdoses and 473 more between January and August of 2021, based on data from Kaiser Permanente. Palmer said he supports immigrants entering the U.S. "the right way." He did not suggest reforms to reduce the red tape in the process. "It takes time, it takes money, but it can be done legally and our federal representatives right now are our enemy on the southern border," Palmer said. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reported in February it's reviewing more than 9.5 million pending immigration applications, a 66% increase since 2019. Beebe, an Iraq War veteran, said he would speed up the process for waiting applicants like his Iraqi interpreter. Other candidates vowed to increase funding for the U.S. Border Patrol and complete former President Donald Trump's southern border wall. "If our government, including Mitch McConnell, can vote to send $14 billion to Ukraine, but we can't spend $15 billion on our fences to secure our country, we have a problem," Perkins said. The environment The candidates also discussed rolling back environmental laws to shore up Oregon's economy. Harbick blamed the federal Endangered Species Act for choking the state's farmland of natural resources. Endangered species like the Klamath River's sucker fish, he said, are putting undue burdens on local farmers in need of more water sources. "The federal government doesn't know what's best for Klamath," Harbick said. "The farmers, they tell me, 'We want to work our fields.'" Palmer said he wants to expand Oregon's gas pipelines and build electric cogeneration plants statewide. The profits, he said, would be reinvested in job training and college scholarships. "That thins the forest, that creates jobs, that produces electricity that you sell back onto the open market," Palmer said. Christensen and Beebe proposed federal funding for Oregon cisterns under the condition they be run by local authorities. Education When asked how they would rein in the U.S. Department of Education, the candidates vowed to defund it at some level. Taher went a step farther. "My bill will be one sentence long," Taher said. "Abolish the U.S. Department of Education." Christensen voiced support for community block grants for charter schools or what he called the federal government's preferable role in education. Much of the debate was spent decrying critical race theory, an academic movement examining the impacts of systemic racism in society. Beebe said the theory, which is not taught in K-12 classrooms, is "breeding racism" and grossly unnecessary. "I teach my kids to be respectful to everyone," Beebe said. "You do not treat someone badly, no matter what they are, who they are, what they believe and anything that they choose to do." The candidates shared similar sentiments about transgender curriculum, branding it as offensive leftist propaganda. Election security Candidates also promised to clamp down on supposed cases of mass voter fraud. Perkins said ballots should include a QR code matching voter ID numbers on voter ballots along with their corresponding envelopes. As the Oregon GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in 2020, Perkins has made unsubstantiated claims the 2020 U.S. Senate race and the 2020 U.S. presidential election were marred by election fraud. She also attended the Jan. 6 insurrection which led to her expulsion from the Albany Human Relations Commission in 2021. Perkins has called her removal unjustified. Beebe proposed precinct committee persons should supervise live ballot counting and that all ballots be counted by hand without ballot counting machines of any kind. "A senator in the federal government shouldn't have anything to do with elections," Beebe said. "Election integrity needs to be done at a local level." Oregon's primary election will be held on May 17. Ballots sent by mail must be postmarked by election day. Ballots deposited in an official drop box must be received by 8 p.m. Election Day. Tim Gruver covers the city of Albany and Linn County. He can be contacted at 541-812-6114 or Tim.Gruver@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter via @T_TimeForce. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Shanghai screens over 14 mln people in 2nd phase of closed-off management Xinhua) 14:43, April 02, 2022 SHANGHAI, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Over 14 million Shanghai residents in Puxi, or areas west of the Huangpu River, took nucleic acid tests on Friday, amid the city's second phase of closed-off management, a local official told a press conference on Saturday. Shanghai reported 260 confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 6,051 asymptomatic carriers on Friday, said Wu Qianyu, an official with the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, attributing the daily rise in positive cases to a wider range of screening. Starting on March 28, the megacity in east China began to enforce temporary closed-off management in two phases to track infections and curb the spread of the virus. Mass nucleic acid testing in areas east of the Huangpu River started on March 28 with the first phase of closed-off management in place. The second phase of closed-off management came into force in areas west of the river on Friday. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) Coal storages are seen at Nghi Son 1 power plant in central Thanh Hoa province. Photo courtesy of EVN Vietnam wants to import around five million tonnes of coal from Australia amid a domestic shortage that has forced power plants to cut production. Apprising Australian ambassador Robyn Mudie about this on Friday Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien sought his help to link up Vietnamese companies with their Austrian counterparts so that they could start buying the coal this month. Australia is one of the worlds biggest coal exporters. The trade ministry is also looking for sources in South Africa. National utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) said this week that several thermal power plants in the northern and central regions are cutting down production to 60-70 percent due to a coal shortage. It also warned of the risk of power shortages from this month. But the trade ministry has said there will be no power shortages this year. It is mobilizing around 3,700 megawatts from other coal- and gas-fired plants and renewable and hydropower sources. EVN said that by 2025 another 5,500 megawatts of renewables is needed to ward off power shortages. It has also called for incentives for rooftop solar. The company is seeking the governments permission to build wind power plants in the north. Most plants now are in the central and southern regions. Coal-fired plants accounted for 43.6 percent of total power generation in February, according to EVN. Vietnam promised to achieved net zero emissions by 2050 at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in the U.K. last November. Pathway to brighter future: Belt and Road Initiative in South Asia 14:55, April 02, 2022 By Cui Yige, Wu Chaolan ( People's Daily Online "The Belt and Road Initiative is a public road open to all, not a private path owned by one single party." Chinese President Xi Jinping In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed building the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which involves a land-based Silk Road Economic Belt and a sea-based 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The BRI aims to build a trade, investment, and infrastructure network connecting Asia with other parts of the world along the ancient Silk Road trade routes and beyond. Entering its ninth year of solid progress, the BRI has grown into the world's largest international cooperation platform, with 148 countries and 32 international organizations signing over 200 cooperation agreements with China under the BRI framework as of Feb. 6, 2022. Located at the intersection of the China-proposed Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, the region of South Asia, the world's most populous region and accounting for about a quarter of the world's total population, is one of the critical zones for the BRI. Five South Asian countries have joined the BRI framework, with its various infrastructure footprints, such as the Gwadar Port in Pakistan, already being seen throughout the region. Children play at the artificial beach in Colombo's Port City, Sri Lanka, Dec. 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Tang Lu) China's BRI in South Asia includes four subprojects: the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Bangladeshi-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM), the Trans-Himalaya Corridor, and China's cooperation with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives under the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The BRI has turned an idea into action and a vision into reality, which has in turn improved local people's livelihoods, facilitated sustainable development in South Asia and brought prosperity to the wider world. Pakistan: CPEC has borne fruitful outcomes Started from 2013, CPEC became the flagship project under the BRI, which made Pakistan one of the most visible partners in the BRI. With the project smoothly progressing and trade booming, CPEC is now promoting comprehensive cooperation between the two countries and contributing to the betterment of the Pakistani people. According to the Pakistani Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque, more than 70,000 jobs have been created so far thanks to BRI cooperation. Another half a million direct and indirect jobs will be created in the next five to seven years. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has borne fruitful outcomes, greatly improving the lives of the Pakistani people, said Pakistani President Arif Alvi on March 22, 2022, when he met with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi Gwadar Port Fishing boats berth in the bay at Gwadar port in southwest Pakistan's Gwadar, Jan. 29, 2018. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal) Gwadar Port, officially went into operation in November 2016, and has been hailed as the "crown jewel of the CPEC." As the centerpiece of monumental achievements in Pakistan-China relations, Gwadar Port is expected to become an economic and logistics hub that has the potential to generate $10 billion in GDP for Pakistan's economy. Last year, the port started to expand its business, injecting a growing impetus and stability into the Pakistani economy. The port is now being used for Afghan transit trade for the first time, while tapping into the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business and becoming fully operational as a commercial port. Port Qasim Power Plant The China-backed Port Qasim coal-fired power plant in Pakistan. (Photo/Xinhua) The first unit of the Port Qasim Power Plant was inaugurated in 2017, marking the first batch of primary energy projects under CPEC to start generating electricity. As the most critical and reliable power plant in Pakistan, the Port Qasim Power Plant is capable of providing clean and cheap electricity to about 4 million Pakistani families, which significantly alleviates the issue of power shortages in Pakistan. The power plant has also contributed to readjusting the local energy structure and delivers cost savings for the generation of electricity. (Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Liang Jun) Frost and ice cover plants at the top of Fansipan in northern Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress/Mai Quang Thien Thick layers of frost began to cover Fansipan in Lao Cai Province's Sa Pa on Saturday morning as temperatures dropped to sub-zero. Quyen Anh Tuan, an employee of a tourist site on Fansipan, said frost first appeared in the early morning, starting from 2,990 meters above sea level all the way to the peak at 3,147 meters above sea level. Ice and frost coated trees in certain areas, and more are being formed as temperatures remain below zero degrees Celsius, he added. The drop in temperature was due to a mass of cold air moving towards northern and central Vietnam starting Thursday, bringing rain. As of Saturday morning, all northern localities recorded temperatures below 18 degrees, with certain mountainous areas seeing temperatures drop to 6-8 degrees. Frost in April is considered a rare occurrence as it's supposed to be a transition period from cold to hot. The last time frost appeared on Fansipan in April was in 2018. Meteorologists said the mass of cold air would weaken over the coming days, raising daytime temperatures in northern Vietnam, but the night and early morning are still expected to be cold. Philippines Ambassador to Vietnam Meynardo Montealegre (L) and Nguyen Minh Hang, Assistant to Vietnam's Minister of Foreign Affairs, at a ceremony of Vietnam's rice donation to Typhoon Rai victims, Hanoi, April 1, 2022. Photo courtesy of Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vietnam has donated 200 tons of rice to the Philippines, which is suffering from the aftermath of Typhoon Rai that hit last December. The handover was done at a ceremony in Hanoi on Friday by Nguyen Minh Hang, assistant to Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son. Hang expressed sympathy for the Philippine people for their losses and difficulties, and assured that Vietnam would stand side by side with them in the spirit of cooperation, friendship and solidarity. The donation is a mark of Vietnam's support for victims of the typhoon and desire to constantly strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries, she added. The Philippines's ambassador in Hanoi, Meynardo Montealegre, thanked Vietnam and said his government would quickly distribute the rice to people in affected areas. Typhoon Rai claimed more than 400 lives. Hierarchy and seniority have always been a feature of Vietnamese society. While they may foster respect between people, they also discourage fairness, transparency and progress. My shoulder was dislocated around three months ago. It is healing, but the pain still lingers in my arm. I asked many doctors about how to relieve the pain, and each had their own recommendations even if they were working in the same department. Some doctors said they wanted to speak privately with me because their ideas were different from their bosses and they were afraid to speak up at meetings. It is not uncommon to see subordinates unwilling to share opinions that differ with their bosses, especially in a country so influenced by Confucianism as Vietnam. I have seen it so many times when I worked with state agencies here. When I had some new idea I wanted to discuss with Vietnamese partners, I would speak with some lower level employees first to see if it is actually feasible, and then ask them to propose the idea to their higher-ups. Most of them, even when they believed the idea was sound, would tell me to put it on paper so that they could send it to the bosses for evaluation. They do not dare say they like the idea or it should be implemented; that responsibility rests with the higher-ups. Sometimes at state agencies, employees do not even dare speak their mind because they are afraid of being seen as "too competent", "show-offs" or even "trying to win their bosss seat". These fears only make the workplace much more inflexible and complicated. This is what people call the "power distance". Hierarchy and seniority play an important role in several East Asian cultures, with those in lower positions tending to show respect and reverence for those in higher ones. While respect and all is fine, the "power gap" may also prevent people from speaking up and sharing their opinions, especially when they differ from what higher-ups think. In fact, it can translate to real problems in the real world. In the past South Koreas rate of aviation accidents used to be higher than the global average. When researchers studied conversations in the cockpit after accidents occurred, they found that co-pilots were often reticent when discussing with the captains. If a captains mind is in disarray during a crisis, a co-pilots decisiveness and willingness to speak up might be the difference between life and death for the entire crew and passengers. But the power gap often prevents that. South Korea later implemented a language change in the cockpit, requiring pilots to use English instead of Korean. This is where languages capability to shift perceptions and thinking comes into play. In English, there is only "I" and "you". There are not many honorifics to place speakers in various positions of power, and so the power gap can be narrowed a great deal. That small change has helped South Korea become one of the countries with the highest level of aviation safety in the world. So what about Vietnamese? When I first came to Vietnam in 1980 to study Vietnamese, one evening I went to a train station, the only place that was open 24/7 at the time. To practice my Vietnamese, I asked several passersby the same question: "Is this the train station?" While they all affirmed that it was indeed the train station, they used various honorifics depending on their age. The older ones said "O", the younger ones said "Phai" and the youngest said "Vang". It is only one example to show that the sense of hierarchy and seniority is hard-wired into the Vietnamese language, and manifests itself even in everyday conversations. I like that in Vietnam the elderly are often respected and valued. But when it comes to work and relationships, things should be fair and transparent. Your bosses are not always right and not every older person knows better. To not dare speak up because of a human construct like hierarchy, even at the expense of common interests, is not right. In foreign organizations, there are always departments and hotlines where employees could report their bosses mistakes while remaining anonymous. Vietnam may also be moving toward that direction to eliminate the so-called power gap. Workers should also receive yearly training in critical thinking and constructive criticism. In truth, there are many leaders who are open to what their subordinates have to say, but employees are often too afraid to even try. The power gap is the reason why so many organizations are stuck in their old ways though things could be better. New ideas wilt over time, and bureaucracy naturally follows. The story about my injured arm is only a small example, but it is totally possible for the power gap to lead to real issues with devastating consequences. It is everyones job to fix that. *Saadi Salama is the Palestinian ambassador to Vietnam. The opinions expressed are his own. Vietnam should simplify procedures for foreigners and overseas Vietnamese to get value-added tax (VAT) refunds so that they increase their spending, an expert says. Nguyen Thi Cuc, head of Vietnam Tax Consultant Association, said at a tourism conference Friday that the average per capita expenditure of foreigners visiting Vietnam remained low and the government should take appropriate measures to boost their spending. The average spending of international tourists in Vietnam in 2018 was $1,065, according to the Vietnam Tourism Report prepared by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. Cuc said one of the most effective measures is to help foreign tourists easily receive VAT refunds when they leave the country. Foreign tourists and overseas Vietnamese currently receive VAT refunds on purchases made in Vietnam under a circular that took effect in 2014. They are entitled to obtain a refund of 85 percent of VAT on eligible goods bought from eligible shops during their travel in Vietnam. The remaining 15 percent will be counted as service fees. The refund can be collected at airports and ports before tourists leave the country. They will have to shop at designated stores that sell VAT refundable goods. After purchasing goods, the store staff will issue invoices and a VAT refund declaration form. At airports or ports, visitors must submit invoices along with their VAT declaration form to the refund customs inspection office for checking and stamping before taking them to the payment counter to get their refund. Cuc said such requirements were inconvenient for foreign tourists. In some cases, because they were afraid of not being able to get to the aircraft on time, they have not bothered about the scheme, so this has affected their spending in Vietnam, she added. She proposed that tourists be able to get their VAT refunds right where they shop like in many other countries including Japan. After purchasing goods, visitors should be able to take their invoices to the tax refund counter inside the shopping centers and supermarkets. After checking the purchased goods and immigration documents, the tax refund counter can pay visitors in cash or to their credit cards. They can stamp relevant documents for custom officials to check when tourists leave the country. The proposal to simplify VAT refund procedures is the latest measure proposed to boost tourism revenues. Other experts have proposed that the government considers granting visa exemptions to more countries with longer stays. The government resumed its unilateral visa exemption policy for citizens from 13 countries as Vietnam reopened inbound tourism a fortnight ago after nearly two years. Citizens from Belarus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the U.K. are allowed to visit Vietnam for up to 15 days without a visa regardless of passport type and entry purpose. The country also has bilateral visa exemption policy for ASEAN co-members, Chile and Kyrgyzstan. For over a month, the Ukrainian people have endured and fought back valiantly against a brutal and unprovoked attack by Russias forces, resulting in the deaths of over a thousand civilians and the decimation of cities and towns. Destroyed homes and the bodies of Ukrainian men, women and children buried under rubble or lying dead in the streets exemplify the horror that Russian President Vladimir Putin has unleashed by his decision to wage unwarranted war against a sovereign neighbor. Nothing can compare to the suffering of the people of Ukraine. The Russian people are suffering too. The parents and families of the thousands of Russian troops who have been killed in the further invasion into Ukraine are grieving the loss of their children. Russian police have made more than 15,000 arrests of anti-war protestors in cities across the country. The Russian economy has been hit by severe economic sanctions. Over the past month, observers estimate over two hundred thousand Russians have left their homeland. In an address in Warsaw at the end of his recent trip to Europe, President Biden unequivocally told the Ukrainian people, We stand with you. He also had a message for the people of Russia: You are not our enemy, he said. I refuse to believe that you welcome the killing of innocent children and grandparents or that you accept hospitals, schools, maternity wards that, for Gods sake, are being pummeled with Russian missiles and bombs, or cities being surrounded so that civilians cannot flee; supplies cut off and attempting to starve Ukrainians into submission. President Biden said that of all people, and like so many more across Europe, the Russians still hold the memories of the horrors of the siege of Leningrad and Stalingrad in World War II, with no food, water, and medicines, nights of sheltering in basements and cellars, and mornings spent picking through the remnants of bombed homes. Vladimir Putins aggression has cut you, the Russian people, off from the rest of the world, said President Biden. This is not the future you deserve for your families and children. . .This war is not worthy of you, the Russian people. Putin can and must end this war, President Biden declared. The American people stand with you and the brave citizens of Ukraine who want peace. Here in Nevada, as in many places around the world, it seems like every year the importance of water keeps rising as water levels keep falling. The Elko County Natural Resources Management Advisory Commission is gearing up to work on an update to the Elko County Water Resource Management Plan. Zach Woodbury of NRMAC said he thinks it will be a major update. So much has happened in the past five years that theres going to be quite a bit added, I think. So much has changed, Woodbury said. We definitely want to get a lot of public input on this. Because in Nevada everything is basically determined by water. Woodbury is part of a breakout committee that is working on the water plan. The others on the committee are Leslie Creel and Randy Powell. Surface and underground For years, Woodbury said, the state water engineer has kept surface water and underground water as basically separate concepts, and they kind of just kicked the can down the road, and now were at the end of the road, and theyve totally reversed their position, and said, yes, these two are linked, surface and underground are linked. As issues with water scarcity have grown over the years, there has been a growing awareness that steps would have to be taken to address the fact that pumping water from the underground aquifer does have impacts on water throughout the area, including the rivers and streams. Part of the reason for the changes in dealing with water requests in recent years, Woodbury said, is that people in agriculture in Lovelock at the lower end of the Humboldt River Basin sued because they were getting hardly any water even though they had senior surface water rights. Lovelock is in Pershing County, near the tail end of the Humboldt River, which originates in Elko County. The Pershing County Water Conservation District filed a petition in August 2015 in the 11th District Court requesting the court require the state engineer to side with the conservation district regarding water rights in over-appropriated basins. The Humboldt River Basin does qualify as over-appropriated. A 2019 story in the Elko Daily Free Press said the systems perennial yield is 429,100 acre feet but research shows groundwater water rights in the basin are overcommitted by about 287,000 acre feet. In a 2017 Elko Daily article, Nevada Division of Water Resources Deputy Administrator Rick Felling, talking about the growing conflicts over surface and groundwater rights, said, Where are you going to point the finger? You know, you could point it at the state engineers office, but every state engineers office in the entire West did the exact same thing. We didnt know. At the time, we were granting all these groundwater rights But thats the boat we find ourselves in. And, unfortunately, thats what were trying to fix, and its no easy task We are looking to avoid a curtailment that nobody wants. As Woodbury said, one route the state engineer could have taken to address the petition from the Pershing County Water Conservation District would have been to tell a lot of people upriver that they couldnt use their wells, but that was a nonstarter. So for at least the past five years, many people have been working on models and plans to address how to handle requests to access water. Those new water management plans are just now coming into focus, and they will be incorporated into the Elko County Water Plan update. We have to understand whats changed so that we can get it into our plan, which will get it into the master plan, Woodbury said. A lot of people rely on that. Anybody thats building a house or buying a piece of property can look at that master plan, and we want them to have the latest facts in there so that theyre not kind of blindsided thinking that they can do something on their property when in reality theyre not going to be able to. If you are a developer, and you come out to an area and buy a piece of property in say, Lamoille, and you think you can put 100 homes there, you need to know that there may be policies that say you have to mitigate any surface water right holders, ranchers, that you are going to impact. And that can change the economics of any development. The 2007 Elko County Water Resource Management Plan said that the State of Nevada Water Plan claimed that Elko County would lose population over the following 25 years. The Elko County Water Plan disagreed with that claim, and the county was right the population in Elko County has been growing. In 2007 it may have looked like the Elko County population wasnt going to grow much, since it had stayed at right around 46,000 people for around 10 years, but the county population has been growing over the past 15 years, and was up to 53,702 in the 2020 census. Housing is tight in Elko County and more housing will probably be needed in the years ahead, Woodbury said, especially if the gold price stays high and the mines continue to work on hiring more people. So access to water for housing developments will be important. Water access has been an obstacle for proposed housing developments in Elko County in recent years, Woodbury said. He said he knows a developer who was planning to build some multi-family housing in Spring Creek and ran into a mess of trouble. He got jammed up with the state engineer. It took something like 18 months or two years to get a response, and they ended up denying him, Woodbury said. Years of study On March 9, people from the Nevada Division of Water Resources, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Desert Research Institute gave a presentation in Elko on the work they have been doing for more than five years to study the water resources in the Humboldt River region. This is a cooperative project between the state engineers office, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Desert Research Institute to get a better system-wide understanding of the hydrology of the basin and get a good understanding of the relationship between groundwater pumping and flow in the river, said Nevada State Engineer Adam Sullivan. It was a three-hour presentation filled with lots of colorful maps and charts and graphs showing all they have been learning about how water sources interact throughout the Humboldt River Basin. Similar presentations were given the previous day in Winnemucca and Lovelock. The water models which people have been working on for years are now close to being complete, and they will be used as guides as decisions are made about water usage in the future. If someone wants to dig a new well to pump groundwater, the models will show what effect that will have on the area. Sullivan said the steps being taken now will help speed up the decision-making process, and people will be able to get a sense of how the approval process will go before they even apply. So thats a benefit to everybody, Sullivan said. In the meantime, while the water models have been in the process of being developed, the state engineers office has approved Order 1329, which went into effect on Dec. 7, 2021, establishing interim procedures for managing groundwater appropriations to prevent the increase of capture and conflict with rights decreed pursuant to the Humboldt River adjudication. Following the technical reports on water models at the March 9 presentation, Jon Benedict, a hydrogeologist with NDWR, talked about Order 1329. Over the last five or six years, since we kind of recognized this problem, weve been consistently denying new appropriations or change applications that would increase capture up and down the Humboldt River region, Benedict said. So really the groundwater system has sort of been locked up as a consequence of recognizing that if stream capture causes conflict and a new appropriation causes capture, then we cant approve that. Order 1329 gives NDWR guidelines for how to use existing surface water rights or groundwater rights to offset water capture from a new or different location in order to get the approval process moving forward again. We dont have the models available at this point, but we intend to use those capture models ultimately for review and assessment and as a management tool, Benedict said. Meanwhile, well use analytical tools and more simple groundwater models to do these assessments. Those currently represent our best available science as we await the finished products. This is something we can do right now to prevent increased problems due to capture, Benedict said. Sullivan said the many long years of drought is the primary driving reason there have been issues with not having enough water in the Humboldt River in recent years, but the pumping of groundwater throughout the basin has also been a factor. There is this component of groundwater capture from pumping, and its real, and in a fully appropriated system where that piece of water would have been otherwise delivered to a senior water right, we need to address it and deal with it, because its getting worse, Sullivan said. If we dont do anything about it, if we ignore it, it will continue to get worse. Order 1329 is an interim step, and eventually a long-term framework for water allocations will be developed using the latest models, along with public input. We need to have a public process to develop whatever that ultimate capture management framework looks like, Benedict said. Sullivans final image for the Humboldt River water resources presentation was a satellite image of the Humboldt River twisting its way through the basin. He said the image is a metaphor for the water management process they are working on. Its a meandering channel, unpredictable, but its all going in the same direction, Sullivan said. Our intent is to have community meetings in the future to talk about conjunctive management where we are at, what the options might be to prevent conflict. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Headlines - Russian Defence Ministry denies war crimes committed in Bucha, describes images as "staged performance by Kyiv regime" - International condemnation erupts over alleged war crimes in Bucha - EU lining up more Ukraine support and more Russia sanctions - Russia report that they have destroyed oil refinery in Odesa. - The United States has sent Ukraine more than $1.4 billion in military support since Russian invasion began on 24 February. - Ukrainian photojournalist Maks Levin was found dead in Kyiv after being reported missing. - The Red Cross of Ukraine continue attempts to enter Mariupol after being denied access by Russian forces. - Russia threatens tocall off negotiations after Ukraine is accused of an attack on a Russian fuel depot in their territory. Background: Russia-Ukraine conflict - State of the fighting: which armies control what areas? - Hacking collective Anonymous continues to attack Russian companies. - Western leaders are "weary" of Russian de-escalation messages Related news: Trevor Noah will be hosting the 2022 Grammy Awards which are scheduled to take place on Sunday 3 April. Noah also hosted the awards last year making this his second time serving as a Grammy host. This year the event will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada. Follow along live: Who is Trevor Noah? The South African comedian made his debut as the host of The Daily Show in 2015, taking over for Jon Stewart. For his own work and in his position as host of The Daily Show he has garnered one Emmy and eleven nominations. In 2020, Noah was nominated for Best Comedy Album for his stand up special Trevor Noah: Son of Patricia. In addition to his work as a comedian, Noah has also published an autobiographical book called Born a Crime, which details his childhood and upbringing as the son of international parents in apartheid South Africa. The book made it to #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers List and is currently in development to become a movie with Paramount Players. Our GRAMMY host, @trevornoah, has advice for you on how to get ready for the #GRAMMYs. Listen up You only have 2 days to rehearse before Musics Biggest Night! pic.twitter.com/1T9tFKXcfF Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) April 1, 2022 Noah to host 2022 White House Correspondents Dinner Later this year, Trevor Noah will host the White House Correspondents dinner an annual bringing together journalists who cover the President of the United States. The dinner has taken place since 1914 but been disrupted in recent years. Former-President Trump became the first president in over three decades to skip the event in 2017. How to stream the Grammy's The ceremony starts at 8pm ET, or 5pm PT, on Sunday, 3 April. Cable subscribers can watch the show on CBS, or stream it on CBS.com. The show will also be able to streamed on YouTube. Feeding on turmoil: Washington's tactics on Ukraine crisis 15:29, April 02, 2022 By Ming Qing ( People's Daily Online Photo taken on Nov. 19, 2021 shows the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua) --Washington's relentless fanning the flames, shirking of responsibilities, and throwing of dirt have cast an ominous shadow on any possible de-escalation. --Washington is wilfully driving the train of Ukraine's future not toward peace, but all speed ahead into a future riddled with more uncertainties and untold suffering. In his high-stakes trip to Poland last week, US president Joe Biden was scheduled to meet with leaders from Europe to discuss the response to the "humanitarian and human rights crisis" arising from the over month-long Russia-Ukraine conflict. At least that was what a White House statement prior to Biden's visit read. The responseit turned outwas a cascade of personal attacks targeting Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart, together with an insinuation that the US would respond "in kind" if chemical weapons were deployed, and backtracking from his campaign promise to only use the US nuclear arsenal as a defensive last resort. His flabbergasting remarks, which were described by many as a "gaffe," have drawn harsh criticism both at home and abroad. James Freeman, a Wall Street Journal columnist, half-jokingly commented that Americans would all be much safer if their president "would make greater use of prepared statements on subjects such as, for example, weapons of mass destruction." Even former US President Donald Trump, who is famous for his imprudent and often impromptu political language, slammed his successor's rhetoric as provocative. European leaders have also expressed their deep concerns over Biden's fiery speech while distancing themselves from it. French President Emmanuel Macron, who in the past months had been busy mediating between Russia and Ukraine, expressed that such inflammatory rhetoric went against the joint efforts for a ceasefire and could possibly throw future negotiations into jeopardy. Despite that high-level US officials have come forward several times to clarify that Washington harbored no intentions of using chemical weapons and sought no regime change in Russia, the international community, including American allies, has grown increasingly wary and confused with Washington's stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Is the US willing to help allay the tensions and deescalate the situation? Or is it determined to fuel the flames and incite even fiercer confrontations? Seen from Washington's inflammatory rhetoric and actions, it has apparently chosen the latter course. (Cartoon by Ma Hongliang) Quelling fires with fuel Since the Ukraine conflict broke out over a month ago, the US has deployed over 12,000 troops to the periphery of Ukraine and pledged to send more armed forces to Eastern Europe. This week, when a knifes-edge peace talk was held between Russia and Ukraine, the general in charge of American forces in Europe hinted that the US would still need more troops in the region even after the Russia-Ukraine conflict begins to wane. At a time when NATO's expansion, together with its defense budget hikes and military build-ups, served as a prelude to the seemingly irreconcilable Ukraine crisis, Washington has intended to reinforce the vicious circle, paving the way for yet more budget hikes, more military build-ups to maintain its extreme pressure on Russia that lies at the root of the crisis. [Related Reading: Cold War-minded U.S. eyes more military spending to sustain hegemony amid geopolitical tensions ] As Tulsi Gabbard, a former US Congresswoman who once served in Iraq sharply and correctly pointed out, the crisis and suffering "could have easily been avoided if the Biden administration and NATO had simply acknowledged Russia's legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraine's becoming a member of NATO, which would mean US/NATO forces right on Russia's border." In a recent interview on Fox News, Gabbard reiterated her belief that Washington had purposely, as it always did, fanned the flames of the conflict instead of helping to mollify it. "The strategy and tactics are the same as our (America's) previous regime change wars: inflicting severe hardship and suffering on the population in order to incite revolt and chaos," she highlighted. Washington has posed as an arbitrator, a peacekeeper in the Ukraine crisis, and a ballast of stability and security in Europe, but it has failed to acknowledge the culpable roles it played in the Russia-Ukraine crisis and the protracted instability of the region. NATO's five waves of expansion, American and NATO leaders' luring Ukraine into the military alliance, together with NATO's growing military budgets and deployment of troops and defense systems near Russia's doorstep, have not only undermined the strategic autonomy of Europe, enticed paranoia and an unnecessary arms race (even a nuclear one) around the entire world, but also have given rise to disastrous scenarios like the Ukraine crisis that the US and NATO had purported to wish to prevent. The US branded NATO as a shield, a stabilizer, as well as an umbrella, but it could never erase the military alliance's notorious record of unjustified bombings in Yugoslavia or its inglorious involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. The US may feel complacent about a rare moment of unity among NATO member states, including the unparalleled military and economic clout it can wield, but as long as the crux of the crisis remainsWashington and NATO's overreaching and bellicose stancethen conflicts and suffering will persist. The US cannot expect to put up the fire with fuel. Unmasking The Superpower: Vampires in the war Illustration: Xu Zihe/GT Fishing in troubled waters "People say the Pentagon does not have a strategy. They are wrong. The Pentagon does have a strategy. It is 'Don't interrupt the money flow, add to it,'" as so famously said by John Boyd, a former Pentagon consultant and military strategist during the second half of the last century. America's motto of feeding on turmoil and profiting from conflicts, which was upheld during the Persian Gulf War, America's invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and its military interventions in Syria and Libya, etc., is still enshrined in the heart of the US military to this day and couldn't be more relevant and explanatory as regards Washington's stance on Ukraine. The US may continue complaining about surging oil prices, but it can't deny that it is the nationprobably the sole nationstanding to gain from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. One needs to look no further than Wall Street. Even though the US market has, overall, ebbed and flowed with the developments of the Ukraine conflict, its defense stocks have risen significantly, especially upon hearing the news that Germany, along with other NATO member states, would massively hike their defense budgets, increases Washington had been eager to see for years. Axon Enterprise, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin, coupled with other US aerospace and weapons manufacturers, have seen strong performances and rosy outlooks with the unfolding Ukraine conflict. Lockheed Martin, the world's largest weapons manufacturer, registered a 25 percent increase since the beginning of this year. Boeing, which invests heavily in the defense industry, has predicted a 31 percent 12-month upside potential. [Related Reading: U.S. arms companies make big fortune amid Russia-Ukraine conflict ] Wherever the Russia-Ukraine conflict may go, America's defense giants will undeniably make big bucks for the financial elites, much like they always do when America's war machine is ratcheted up globally, or when the US is busy handing over lethal weapons to intensify the tragedies of the Middle East or spell more trouble in the Asia-Pacific region. Washington may again gamble on a geopolitical endgame from which it has little to lose and much to gain, but with its dangerous and reckless words and deeds, it has also dragged Ukraine and Russia, with the latter being a nuclear power, toward the cliff of a more brutal confrontation, a scenario where there is no turning back. (Cartoon by Ma Hongliang) Throwing dirt American politicians and media outlets, almost in tandem with the Ukraine conflict, have continued circulating and spewing out anti-China disinformation that is simply fake. Starting earlier last month, the New York Times, joined by other mainstream media outlets, falsely claimed that Chinese officials had "known" beforehand about Russia's plans for the conflict. Their evidence? An unsubstantiated "Western intelligence report." Their source? Several unnamed officials. Apparently, America's disinformation machine has never once run out of steam with the same fuel. Less than two weeks later, American media outlets cooked up something richer and even more fantastical. This time, they cited a US intelligence official who suggested that China "has expressed some openness to providing Russia with requested military and financial assistance," as CNN reported. To even consider giving an official response to such a pure fabrication was not worth the time. Yet, Chinese officials have on multiple occasions shown their utmost patience in debunking the flagrant and sinister lies of the Americans. Then, last month, the New York Times published a preposterous analytical article headlined "China Takes a Back Seat in International Diplomacy Over Ukraine," in which it suggested that "China has repeatedly called for peace talks in Ukraine," while adding that "What it has not done is press Russia to negotiate." It is somewhat of a relief to see that the Times used the word "negotiate" instead of "sanction." But their tone seems to suggest that China somehow has a greater ability to sway Russia or press the "stop" button on the conflict than either the US and most of its Western allies combined might have. In the American media's warped narratives on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US is whitewashed as a mediator, a peacekeeper, and a savior who protects the vulnerable from utter despair, while China is blackwashed as the nation that "stands aloof," "waits and sees," and hesitates to "act." But in reality, China's stance on Ukraine has been consistent and clear-cut from the outset: it seeks to promote peace talks rather than carry out indiscriminate sanctions or set up obstacles for possible de-escalation; it acts to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Ukraine instead of supplying lethal weapons; it strives to foster lasting peace in Europe and the Eurasian continent rather than get stuck in the Cold War mentality and remain obsessed with expanding geopolitical clouts and forging military alliances. On the contrary, America's sanctions stick and bellicose rhetoric are only worsening the situation, narrowing the window for a possible clawback from escalation, and steering Ukraine and Russia away from the negotiating table. Peace talks Illustration: Liu Rui/GT *** As the Russia-Ukraine conflict enters its seventh week, the international community is counting on the hard-won yet fragile peace talks between the two sides. But Washington's relentless fanning the flames, shirking of responsibilities, and throwing of dirt have cast an ominous shadow on any possible de-escalation. As the driver that caused multiple train wrecks in the past, Washington is wilfully driving the train of Ukraine's future not toward peace, but all speed ahead into a future riddled with more uncertainties and untold suffering. (Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji) In connection with the Viet A case, the commission concluded that the Party Committees and leaders of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) and Ministry of Health (MoH) had shown a lack of responsibility and lax management, resulting in wrongdoings and violations of Party regulations and State laws. The commission named several officials must bear shared responsibility for those wrongdoings and violations as well as individual responsibility for their mistakes in performing assigned duties and tasks. They included Chu Ngoc Anh, Party Central Committee member, Vice Secretary of Hanoi Party Committee, Chairman of Hanoi Peoples Committee, former Secretary of the Party Committee and former Minister of the MoST; Nguyen Thanh Long, Party Central Committee member, Secretary of the Party Committee and Minister of Health; Pham Cong Tac, member of the Party Committee and Deputy Minister of the MoST; Nguyen Truong Son, member of the Party Committee and Deputy Minister of the MoH. An overview of the meeting. (Photo: VNA) The responsibility of some units and individuals of the Finance Ministry will continued to be investigated. The commission also decide on disciplinary measures on a number of officials of the Vietnam Military Medical University in connection with the Viet A case in implementing the conclusion of the commissions 12th meeting. Accordingly, Lieutenant General Nguyen Viet Luong, secretary of the Party Committee and political commissar of the university, along with three other officers, were given a warning. Four were given a reprimand, while two were dispelled from the Party. The commission asked the Party Central Committees Secretariat to consider disciplinary measures on the standing board of the universitys Party Committee in the 2015-2020 and 2020-2025 tenures, along with the universitys Director Lieutenant General Do Quyet, who is also vice secretary of the universitys Party Committee, and Deputy Director Major General Hoang Van Luong, who is a member of the standing board of the universitys Party Committee. Considering the outcomes of inspections at the Party Committee of the State Securities Commission (SSC) in the 2015-2020 tenure, the commission concluded that the committee had violated the principle of centralized democracy and working regulations, shown lax management and a lack of responsibility resulting in wrongdoings in providing consultations for the building of institutions, policies and in exercising State management of the stock market and securities transactions. The commission named a number of officials who must bear shared responsibility for the above-mentioned wrongdoings at the Party Committee of the SSC, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the Hanoi Stock Exchange and the Vietnam Securities Depository, as well as individual responsibility for mistakes in performing their duties and tasks. They included Vu Bang, former Secretary of the Party Committee and former Chairman of the SSC; Tran Van Dung, incumbent Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the SSC; Nguyen Thanh Long, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Hanoi Stock Exchange, former Vice Secretary of the Party Committee and former Vice Chairman of the SSC; Le Hai Tra, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director General of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange; and Nguyen Son, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the Vietnam Securities Depository. The commission said those wrongdoings caused serious consequences, negatively affecting the stock market, reducing investors trust and the prestige of the Party and the SSC, calling for disciplinary measures. Besides, the commission also considered and issued disciplinary measures to several units and officials, including the Party Committee and some officials of the anti-smuggling investigation agency under the General Department of Vietnam Customs in the 2015-2020 and 2020-2025 tenures, the standing board of the Party Committee of Ha Tinh province in the 2015-2020 tenure, the standing board of the Party Committee of An Giang province, and some officials of Ninh Binh province./. Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen receives Australian Consul General Sarah Hooper. (Photo: hcmcpv.org.vn) On March 29, he received Sarah Hooper, new Australian Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City. At the reception, Secretary Nen congratulated Ms. Sarah Hooper on being appointed Australian Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City; and appreciated the good feelings of the Government and people of Australia for supporting Vietnam to overcome difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He expressed his confidence that in her role, Ms. Sarah Hooper will have many activities to promote cooperation between Australia and Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh City, to make it increasingly expanded, deeply and effectively developed, including cooperation in tourism, training, science technology, and commerce. Australian Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City Sarah Hooper expressed her pleasure to receive the assignment in Ho Chi Minh City; and congratulated Ho Chi Minh City on its achievements in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Appreciating the dynamism and development of Ho Chi Minh City, especially its economic recovery solutions after the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Sarah Hooper said that there are now many Australian businesses operating in Vietnam. As an economic center of Vietnam, with many activities focusing on developing supply chains and tourism, Ho Chi Minh City will have many cooperation programs to promote cooperation between Australia and Vietnam, she said. According to Ms. Sarah Hooper, in 2023, Australia and Vietnam will celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs hopes that the Australia-Vietnam strategic partnership will be upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership in the special year of 2023, contributing to further expanding cooperation in defense fields, trade and green economy, she said, adding that the Australian Consul General emphasized that this is a golden time to develop the Australia - Vietnam cooperative relationship, and the Australian Consul General said that many Australian businesses want to find business and investment opportunities in Ho Chi Minh City./. Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen presents a gift to Cuban Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City Ariadne Feo Labrada (Photo: hcmcpv.org.vn) Politburo member and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Van Nen made the statement while receiving new Cuban Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City Ariadne Feo Labrada, on March 29. During the reception, he asserted that Vietnam - Cuba relations offer a model of a strong and reliable relationship. With Ho Chi Minh City, he said he was pleased to see the development of cooperation between the two sides in many fields and believed that with her diplomatic experience, Cuban Consul General Ms. Ariadne Feo Labrada would be the bridge to contribute to promoting the Vietnam - Cuba cooperation in general, Ho Chi Minh City - Cuba in particular, in fields of Cubas strengths such as medicine and biotechnology Through the Cuban Consul General, he expressed his thanks to the Government and people of Cuba for their support and assistance to the city's government and people during the recent difficult period of combating the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cuban Consul General affirmed that she always has great affection for Vietnam, considering it as her second homeland. According to Ms. Ariadne Feo Labrada, there are now many Cuban companies investing in Vietnam in the fields of biotechnology, healthcare and construction. Cuba is ready to support Vietnam in developing the medical field or transfer medical-biological technology. She also sent thanks to the Government and people of Vietnam for supporting Cuba in the difficult time caused by the COVID-19 pandemic./. At the reception (Photo: baoquocte.vn) At the meeting, Ambassador Luong Quoc Huy introduced the great potential of Vietnam's textile industry with a variety of types, designs and materials. Vietnam currently ranks second in the world in terms of textile and garment exports, reaching 39 billion USD in 2021, accounting for 16% of Vietnam's total export turnover. Many Vietnamese textile and garment enterprises are very interested in the Iranian market. Introducing to the Ambassador the scale and ability to import goods of his business, Mr. Mohammad Taghi said that the value of each order his company imports from Pakistan to Iran is 2-3 million USD. At present, the company wants to expand its supply sources, particularly to import textiles from Vietnam, and Mr. Mohammad Taghi expressed his wish that the Ambassador would introduce him to meet with Vietnamese businesses, not only in the field of textiles but also in the field of handicrafts./. President Xi Jinping has called for authorities at various levels to always remain on high alert regarding work safety, saying that officials who fail to fulfill their responsibilities or are found to be in dereliction of duty in this regard must be investigated and held accountable. The instruction made by Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, was made public at a national teleconference held in Beijing recently to reinforce work safety measures and prevent major accidents nationwide. The meeting came after the crash of a China Eastern Airlines jet in southern China on March 21, which killed all 132 people on board. Xi noted that there have been a substantial number of accidents in the transport, construction and coal mining sectors recently, and the plane crash has again rung an alarm bell for the nation. He pointed out that there are still some areas and sectors where individuals are not assuming their duties in terms of work safety and measures are not fully implemented. He urged authorities at various levels to adhere to a people-centered development philosophy and put people and their lives first. The president reiterated the need to coordinate development and safety, saying that a high level of alert similar to "treading on thin ice" must be maintained. A lack of vigilance or complacency in this regard will never be allowed, he said. Xi required officials at various levels to take the matter of work safety into their own hands and ensure measures are implemented at the grassroots level. A nationwide inspection of work safety should be launched to crack down on various wrongdoing and adopt forceful measures to phase out all risks and potential hazards, he said, adding that major accidents must be resolutely prevented to protect the health and property of the people. Premier Li Keqiang said in an instruction that lessons must be drawn from recent work safety accidents in order to prevent similar ones in the future. Work safety violations in key sectors, including mines, dangerous chemicals, construction and transport must be investigated and punished, he said. The teleconference was attended by Vice-Premier Liu He, who is also the head of the State Council Work Safety Committee. The meeting rolled out 15 measures to prevent and curb major work safety accidents, including enabling chief executives of businesses to assume the primary duty, using safety as a key measurement in project approval and offering high incentives to whistleblowers. According to the Ministry of Finance, the Ukrainian state spends about $10 billion per month of hostilities. Such figures were announced at a meeting held by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky with the economic bloc of the Office of the Head of State and the Cabinet of Ministers, the press service of the head of state reported. "At the meeting, they discussed sources of financing expenses, in particular, own tax revenues and assistance from Ukraine's international partners. In the same context, they touched on the prospects for switching to a simplified taxation system scheduled for April," the message says. The meeting participants also discussed the sowing campaign, including the provision of fuel to farmers. Ways to diversify fuel imports and protect Ukraine's energy infrastructure from bombing by the Russian army were considered. Kuleba on results of his conversation with Blinken: More blows to Russian economy, financial system and trade ahead Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed in a telephone conversation the economic and defense strengthening of Ukraine to counter Russian aggression, as well as new strikes on the Russian economy. "Call with Secretary Blinken on steps to strengthen Ukraine economically and militarily so that we can continue to effectively fight back further Russian attacks. Grateful to the USA for the already provided support. More hits on Russias economy, financial system, and trade are coming, " Kuleba said on Twitter Friday. Zelensky says giving up Ukrainian territory to Russia is 'out of discussion' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said in an interview with the American channel Fox News that Ukraine will not make concessions of its territorial integrity to Russia. "We do not trade our territory. The question of territorial integrity and sovereignty is out of discussion," Zelensky responded. The president reiterated his belief that Ukraine would be a beneficial addition to NATO. "Its hard for us to talk about NATO because NATO doesn't want to admit us. I think it's a mistake because if we join NATO, we make NATO much stronger. We are not a weak state. We are not proposing to make us stronger at the expense of NATOWe are an addition, we are the locomotive. I think we are one of the important components of the European continent," the president said. Zelensky also asked the U.S. to provide Ukraine with heavy weapons. "Just give us missiles, give us airplanes, you cannot give us F18 or F-19 or whatever you have, give us old Soviet planes. Thats all. Give them into my hands. Give me something to defend my county with," he said. Zelensky answered a question about the fire at the oil depot in Belgorod. "Im sorry I do not discuss any of my orders as commander in chief. () The leader of this state. There are things which I only share with military armed forces of Ukraine and when they talk with me, " Zelensky said. He stressed that "it matters for us is that you and the whole world should know that we are a country at war." "We were attacked. That is what matters. That is the biggest tragedy. And today, to hear those reports about something happening someplace something exploded while there is war in Ukraine - honestly its not professional to talk about it. They occupied our territory. They attacked us. This war going on for eight years so whatever happens in a certain situation its hard for me to comment," Zelensky said. Russian troops have launched a missile attack on a settlement in Odesa region, Head of Odesa Regional Military Administration Maksym Marchenko has said. "The enemy has just struck a populated area in Odesa region with three missiles from the Iskander missile system from Crimea. There are casualties. We won't leave it like that. I promise that they will feel sorry for every missile launch and for every shelling of our land," Marchenko said in a Telegram video message. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the parents of Russian conscripts, stating that "Ukraine does not need new people killed." "This day, April 1, the occupiers decided to mark with two equally silly jokes. One such joke is about people in Russia. They started the spring conscription, which looks traditional, but is still different from the usual. Because this year's conscripts can be sent to war against our state, against our people. So, this is a guaranteed death for many very young guys. And although they are not our citizens, although they are citizens of the state that is at war with us on our land, it is still our duty as people to warn," Zelensky said in a video message on Saturday night. "Warn each such conscript, their parents. We don't need more dead people here. Save your children so that they do not become villains. Don't send them to the army. Do whatever you can to keep them alive. At home. At their home, " he added. He also appealed to all Russian citizens who could hear him. The Russians wont be told the whole truth about this conscription and about the fate of the conscripts. But still, if you can convey the truth to them - do it, the president said. In addition, the head of state separately stressed that attempts by the Russian leadership to recruit Crimean residents into the army are a violation of international humanitarian law and, accordingly, a war crime. "That's why I want to tell the people of Crimea: sabotage this story. At any stage. And if it doesn't work out, don't fulfil criminal orders and surrender to the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the first opportunity. We will understand everything. You will live, " he concluded. Russia to withdraw from all Ukrainian territories, except south and east, try to entrench itself there, dictate terms Podoliak The Russian Federation will withdraw from all territories of Ukraine, except the south and east, will try to entrench itself there, reduce losses and dictate its terms, there will be no "Afghanization" and exhausting conflict for the Russian Federation, said Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the head of the Ukrainian Presidents Office. Therell be no Afghanization & no long conflict exhausting RF as someone expects. RF will leave all territories except the south & east, will try to dig in there, set air defense, drastically reduce losses & dictate terms. Without heavy weapons we wont be able to drive RF out, Podoliak said on Twitter Saturday evening. Overnight, Russian occupiers shelled populated areas in Luhansk region, one person has been wounded, seven people saved, while seven houses were damaged, Head of the Regional Military Administration Serhiy Haidai said. "On the night of April 2, the Russians again opened fire on Lysychansk, causing damage to five houses. Two more house fires occurred in Toshkivka. The number of casualties is being established. Employees of the State Emergency Service rescued seven people, one resident of Rubizhne was wounded," Haidai wrote on his Telegram channel on Saturday morning. Air defence shots down four enemy missiles, one drone over Dnipropetrovsk region The Ukrainian Air Defense shot down four enemy missiles and one unmanned aerial vehicle over Dnipropetrovsk region at night, said head of Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration Valentyn Reznychenko. "At night, our air defense shot down four enemy missiles and one drone over Dnipropetrovsk region. Thanks to our military. We will win! " the message posted on the Telegram channel reads. In turn, the Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed the information about the downed four missiles and a drone, noting that there are also hits. "Due to the explosions, an infrastructure facility was destroyed: three buildings and eight pieces of equipment. There was a fire on the spot," the report says. Eight units of special equipment and 45 rescuers were involved from the State Emergency Service in the region. "Two people were injured. There are no fatalities," the Interior Ministry said. The enemy hit at a gas station in Kryvyi Rih. The fire has been extinguished. There are no casualties, the department informed. On Friday, as a result of enemy shelling in Donetsk region, seven people were reported as killed, six people were injured, three of them are children, head of the Regional Military Administration Pavlo Kyrylenko said. "On April 1, as a result of Russian shelling in Donetsk region, seven people were killed: four in Maryinka, two in Vuhledar and one in Novoselivka. Six people were also injured, including three children. In addition, one person wounded in Luhansk region received medical assistance in Bakhmut. He also noted that "it is currently impossible to establish the exact number of victims in Mariupol and Volnovakha." The picture shows UN Assistant Secretary-General Christian Francis Saunders (R) shaking hands with Chinese peacekeepers. By Zhang Yafei, He Longlong and Ran Xia WAU, South Sudan, April 1 -- Christian Francis Saunders, UN Assistant Secretary-General, inspected the 12th Chinese peacekeeping medical contingent to South Sudan (Wau) on March 27, local time, during his recent visit to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Saunders listened to the work report of the Chinese peacekeeping medical contingent in the Chinese Level II hospital, and then made an on-site inspection of the hospital's inpatient department, outpatient department, laboratory, pharmacy and other places. He highly praised the good spirits and top-ranking work standards of the peacekeepers of the Chinese medical contingent. "Thanks a lot for your outstanding contribution to the peacekeeping cause on behalf of China. Weve learned about the practical difficulties and challenges you faced in your work through listening to the report and on-site inspection. The UN will continue to provide assistance and help solve difficulties and challenges together," Saunders said. Wang Xinghua, head of the medical contingent, responded that the Chinese contingent will continue to comprehensively improve its medical support capabilities during the mission period, complete various tasks assigned by the UN, and contribute more Chinese power to maintaining world peace. It is learned that the 12th Chinese peacekeeping medical contingent to South Sudan (Wau) has received 351 patients and 14 inpatients since the handover of tasks in December last year. They have performed two emergency air medical evacuations, performed five surgeries, and successfully completed various medical support tasks. The picture shows UN Assistant Secretary-General Christian Francis Saunders listening to presentations given by the Chinese contingent. Ukrainian servicemen released as part of exchange soon to be at home with their families - Vereschuk Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereschuk announced that she would soon meet with the families of Ukrainian defenders who were released from captivity as part of the exchange. "We are taking ours after the exchange of military personnel. Soon they will be at home with their relatives," she wrote on the telegram channel on Saturday. As reported on April 1, 86 Ukrainian servicemen, including 15 women, were released as part of an exchange with the Russian Federation. Deputy Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Tymoshenko said that the exchange took place according to the agreements of the negotiating groups. On March 24, the first full-fledged exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and the Russian Federation took place. In exchange for ten invaders captured, Ukraine returned ten of its servicemen. In addition, eleven Russian civilian sailors rescued from a ship that sank near Odesa were exchanged for 19 Ukrainian civilian sailors from the Sapphire rescue ship, which was captured by the invaders while trying to take Ukrainian servicemen from Zmiiny Island. Turkey ready to help in evacuation from Mariupol by sea - media Turkey is ready to provide ships to organize the evacuation of civilians and the wounded from Mariupol by sea, Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday, Anadolu Agency reported. "Ankara's readiness to support the evacuation process was brought to the attention of the Russian military attache in Turkey, who was invited to our defense department. A similar initiative was transferred to Russian authorities and through the Turkish military attache in Moscow. We are also coordinating our efforts with Ukrainian authorities through the military attache in this country," Akar said. Akar also noted that Turkey continues to supply humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people. The Turkish minister announced active contacts with the Russian Federation and Ukraine and on the issue of the safe exit of Turkish ships from Ukrainian ports. Regarding the mine threat in the Black Sea, the minister noted that at the moment there are no problems for shipping. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held talks with President of Latvia Egils Levits and briefed him on the course of countering Russian aggression. "Held talks with President of Latvia, Egils Levits. Reported on the course of countering Russian aggression, its war crimes. Agreed: all guilty must be punished! Grateful for the great support from Latvian people. Appreciate every reliable friend and ally in the fight against Russian aggression!" Zelensky wrote on Twitter. The Russian military shelled Pavlohradsky district of Dnipropetrovsk region, one rocket hit the railway, head of the regional military administration Valentyn Riznychenko said. "Enemy strikes on Pavlohrad region. One rocket hit the railway. Tracks and contact networks were severely damaged. Cars exploded. Train traffic was stopped. Rescuers are putting out the fire. Preliminarily, there are no deaths," he wrote in a telegram channel on Saturday afternoon. According to Riznychenko, the second rocket hit an open area. "Fire appeared. One person injured," he said. The Chernihiv District Prosecutor's Office has begun criminal proceedings on the fact of violation of the laws and customs of war (Part 1, Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). "According to the investigation, on April 1, 2022, a Russian shell hit one of the branches of the Chernihiv Regional Center for Modern Oncology Municipal Non-Profit Enterprise. Two employees of a medical institution received shrapnel wounds. Another person received a shell shock," the Prosecutor General's Office said. In the room where the projectile hit, there were 22 patients - palliative patients and people after surgery, who could not leave the institution and needed constant medical supervision. "None of them were hurt," the report says. Materials for the pretrial investigation were transferred to the SBU in Chernihiv region. The Russian Armed Forces have partially destroyed the building of the district hospital in Balakliya, head of Kharkiv regional military administration Oleh Synehubov said. "Russian invaders hit the district hospital of Balakliya. The building was partially damaged. Patients and staff need immediate evacuation, these are about 70 patients and medical personnel. We are doing everything to do this and save people," Synehubov wrote in his telegram channel. He said that this is another war crime against civilians in Kharkiv region and a provocation by the occupiers. "Balakliya is a temporarily occupied territory of Kharkiv region, where the mayor [Ivan Stolbovy] resorted to cooperation with the invaders. The shelling of the civilian population by Russia is an attempt of invaders to accuse the Armed Forces of Ukraine of attacking civilians, this is another lie of Russian propaganda and military provocation," Synehubov wrote. The Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed one of the enemy columns that entered the occupied territory of Ukraine from Kursk region of Russia last night, adviser to the head of the President's Office of Ukraine Oleksiy Arestovych has said. According to him, in response to the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, "the enemy is trying to bring a certain number of his troops here from Kursk region" in order to "keep his troops from being defeated by the Armed Forces of Ukraine somehow." "These troops do not pose a direct threat to either the city of Sumy, or the city of Chernihiv, or the city of Kyiv, or other cities in these three regions. This is just a barrier and an attempt to strengthen our troops so that we do not completely destroy them when they go towards the border. But one of these columns, which entered here at night, was dealt a very powerful blow tonight," Arestovych said at a briefing on Saturday, comparing this rout with what had previously happened in Chornobayivka village of Kherson region. At the same time, he said that over the past day in Chornobayivka, Russian groups were defeated two more times. "Chornobayivka, which, by the way, also happened for the 13th and 14th times, a battalion and a battery of self-propelled guns of the Russian armed forces were destroyed," the adviser to the head of the President's Office said. According to Arestovych, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue their tactical offensive in Kherson region. In the east of Ukraine, the invaders continue to try to encircle the grouping of the Ukrainian army from Izium to the south and from Volnovakha to the north, but, according to the adviser to the head of the President's Office, the front is holding. "At the same time, we must get rid of illusions, there are still heavy battles ahead for the south, for Mariupol, for the east of Ukraine, but after these battles, I do not think that Russia will have at least some reserves for active offensive operations... I believe in the Armed Forces, I believe in victory, I believe in our people, I think that we will recapture Mariupol, and the east of Ukraine, and the south. But we are watching closely, it will not be easy there," Arestovych said. Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio announced his country's readiness to become one of the guarantors of Ukraine's neutral status. "The main priority for us is the continuation of the negotiation process. The actions taken by Turkey are highly appreciated. The results of the negotiations will be analyzed. Italy is ready to act as a guarantor of Ukraine's neutral status," the Italian minister told reporters in Baku on Saturday. Di Maio also said that as a result of the sanctions against Russia, the question arose of accelerating the expansion of the energy sector. "In this context, Italy pays special attention to the development of cooperation with reliable partners with great potential, including Azerbaijan," the Foreign Minister said. In addition, he said that "Italy, within the framework of the energy security plan drawn up, is aimed at moving away from the Russian market." "To this end, Rome intends to intensify work in the direction of the Mediterranean region," the Italian Foreign Minister said. Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova informed the UN Commission of Inquiry into human rights violations during the Russian military invasion of Ukraine and the expert mission created by the OSCE participating states about the violation of the Geneva Convention in respect of Ukrainian servicemen who fell into the Russian captivity. "Ombudsman of the Russian Federation Tatyana Moskalkova violates the rights of the Ukrainian military. Today, Russia's ombudsman paid a visit to the Ukrainian servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who were captured and are in one of the military units of the Black Sea Fleet in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The published photos taken during the visit, the face of Ukrainians was not retouched," Denisova said on Facebook on Saturday. She said the Third Geneva Convention and Additional Protocol I, concerning the protection of prisoners of war, established that prisoners of war must be treated humanely in all circumstances and protected from any act of violence, as well as from intimidation, insults and the public interest. "This includes the disclosure of photographs or video recordings, records of interrogations, private conversations or personal correspondence and other private data. The ombudsman of Russia violated the requirements of these acts in a publication about his visit to Ukrainian prisoners of war. I ask the UN Commission to investigate human rights violations during the military invasion of Russia to Ukraine and an expert mission created by the OSCE participating States in accordance with the Moscow mechanism, to take into account these violations of the rights of Ukrainian citizens by Russian officials, in particular ombudsman Moskalkova," Denisova said. At the same time, she published a retouched photo of Ukrainian prisoners of war. The Ukrainian ombudsman also drew attention to the fact that during her visit on March 19 to one of the places of detention of Russian prisoners of war, no violations by Ukraine of the requirements of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War were revealed. Venari Group, the oldest and largest British manufacturer of ambulances, has started production of STANAG 4569 standard armored ambulances to rescue wounded soldiers and civilians from the affected area in Ukraine. "A week ago, we met Oliver North, CEO of the Venari Group. We discussed the possibility of converting former army vehicles into armored ambulances. Oliver promised to stop all current orders, work in three shifts and make enough vehicles for our needs! Without any profit for his company," representative of the Ukrainian Embassy in the UK Taras Krykun said on his Facebook on Saturday. According to him, already on April 1, the first eight cars were ready for shipment. "There will be seven more on Tuesday. Then six vehicles every day," Krykun said. According to him, almost every employee of the enterprise wants to make his personal contribution, flags of Ukraine hang everywhere. "Instead of 'good afternoon,' they say 'slava Ukraini," Krykun said. In turn, Victor Pinchuk and Olena Pinchuk Charitable Foundations said they took part in the financing and organization of this project. According to the press service of Victor Pinchuk Foundation on Saturday, the armored vehicles will be sent from Britain next week. Victor and Olena Pinchuk expressed their gratitude to the Ukrainian Embassy in the UK, Venari Group and British MP Andrew Percy for their support and assistance in the implementation of this project. According to local media, a total of 30 such vehicles will be manufactured. WASHINGTON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in the United States has sent a letter to the editorial board of The Washington Post in protest of an op-ed carried recently by the newspaper that absurdly related the Taiwan question to the ongoing Ukraine crisis. Sent by Minister Counselor Zhu Haiquan, chief of the political section of the Chinese embassy, the letter -- part of which appeared in the Opinion section of The Post's website - was a solemn response to the op-ed authored by Bi-khim Hsiao dated March 24 and titled "Ukraine has inspired Taiwan. We must stand against authoritarianism," which used the Ukraine issue to distort the fact that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China. "The Taiwan question and the Ukraine crisis are totally different in nature. Ukraine is sovereign state, and the Ukraine crisis is a conflict between sovereign countries, while Taiwan is part of China's territory, and the Taiwan question is a Chinese internal affair," Zhu wrote in the letter. "Taiwan has been and will always be an inalienable part of China's territory. It is not an independent sovereign state," he said. Combing through historical facts confirming and reaffirming Taiwan's status since World War II neared its end, Zhu wrote that "the 1943 Cairo Declaration states that Taiwan shall be restored to China. The 1945 Potsdam Proclamation reaffirms that the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out. Since the People's Republic of China was founded and became the sole legal Government representing the whole of China, Taiwan has indisputably become part of China. The (United Nations General Assembly) Resolution 2758 has further confirmed Taiwan's status. These are ironclad facts." "In the video call with President Xi Jinping on March 18, President Joe Biden reiterated that the United States adheres to the One-China policy and does not support 'Taiwan independence.' The claim that Chinese mainland 'threatens' Taiwan cannot hold water at all. People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese bonded by blood ties. Millions of Taiwanese live and work in the Chinese mainland. Why would family members threaten each other? As Taiwan's largest export market and source of its biggest trade surplus, the mainland can only bring tangible benefits and well-being to Taiwan compatriots. How can there be any threat?" Zhu said. "The Taiwan question is not about 'democracy versus authoritarianism,' but about secession versus anti-secession. Using 'democracy' and 'authoritarianism' to draw a line between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait is to provoke confrontation and seek an excuse for 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces. This is the only and real threat to the people of Taiwan. The future of Taiwan lies in peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and the reunification of China. Chinese people on both sides of the Strait should work together to pursue national reunification," wrote the diplomat. As a result of shelling by the Russian occupiers on Saturday, April 2, some 19 infrastructure facilities were damaged in Luhansk region, one resident of Rubizhne was wounded, Head of the regional military administration Serhiy Haidai has said. "The orcs are hunting for objects that ensure the vital activity of cities. Rashists deliberately arrange a humanitarian catastrophe. As a result of powerful shelling of Severodonetsk, Rubizhne, Lysychansk, the village of Toshkivka, about 19 facilities were damaged, including nine apartment buildings and seven private residential buildings, outbuildings, garages, objects infrastructure, vehicles. During the shelling, one person was wounded (in Rubizhne)," he said on his Facebook page on Saturday evening. He said the invaders, in search of warehouses and emergency services, destroy everything that happens on their way. "As a result of an enemy shell hit, the store burned out. The gas pipeline was interrupted almost the entire region is without gas," the head of Luhansk Regional Military Administration said. According to him, some 124,914 consumers of the region do not have electricity. Rubizhne, Popasna, Severodonetsk, partly Hirske community and Lysychansk remain without water. "The State Emergency Service does not have time to put out the fires, there were 18 fires in a day. It got warmer outside, the forest area is still starting from enemy fire," Haidai said. He said the shelling does not subside. "Stay in shelters! Evacuation buses are waiting for you every morning at known addresses in your settlements," the head of the regional military administration said. Residents of Belarusian Bragin are advised to avoid contacts with Russian occupiers stationed there, who had previously left Chornobyl exclusion zone in Ukraine, where they were based in the most contaminated forest. On the territory of the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, the personnel of the Armed Forces are forced to participate in the war against Ukraine by force, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said. "Among the military personnel of the Russian armed forces, panic is spreading due to the radiation exposure of the personnel of the units based in Chornobyl zone. The population of the Belarusian urban-type settlement of Bragin is recommended to avoid contact with Russian occupiers who have left the contaminated zone," the General Staff said in the evening report on Facebook on Saturday. In Siversk direction, the movement of units of the occupation troops from the state border of Ukraine into the interior of the territory of the Republic of Belarus continues. A significant part of the military equipment is damaged and is being towed. It is also said the so-called "evacuation" of civilian vehicles stolen by the Russians in Hostomel, Irpin, Bucha and Ivankiv continues. In addition, marauders of the Russian occupation troops, before being transferred to other directions, are trying to send the stolen property to their relatives from the territory of Belarus by the express delivery service CDEK. In Slobozhanschyna, the invaders blocked the exit from the city of Buryn, a large accumulation of military equipment is recorded in the village. The blockade of Putyvl continues, the city is surrounded by enemy checkpoints. In the village of Yuryeve, Sumy region, the occupiers are conducting raids to census the population and search for weapons. In Donetsk direction, the enemy continues to attempt to capture Mariupol, to block Rubizhne, Severodonetsk, Popasna, Troyitske, Avdiyivka, Maryinka and Krasnohorivka. The occupiers are not successful, they suffer losses. In Pivdennobuzky direction, the situation has not undergone significant changes. Among the local population of the unrecognized Transnistria, rumors are spreading about forcible coercion of the personnel of the armed forces of the so-called PMR to participate in the war against Ukraine. In Prymorsk direction, the occupying troops continue filtration measures in the temporarily captured settlements. "The defense forces continue to destroy enemy troops and liberate Ukrainian territories. Due to significant losses, the enemy personnel are demoralized, which, in turn, affects the quality of their performance of their tasks," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said. Civilian casualties from February 24, when Russia started the war against Ukraine, to April 1, 2022 amounted to 3,342 civilians (3,257 in the report a day earlier), including 1,325 killed (1,276), the Office of the UN High Commissioner Human Rights said on Saturday. "OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration," the UN said in the document. According to him, this concerns, for example, Mariupol and Volnovakha (Donetsk region), Izium (Kharkiv region), Popasna (Luhansk region), and Irpin (Kyiv region), where there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties. These figures are being further corroborated and are not included in the above statistics. "The majority of civilian deaths or injuries were caused by the use of explosive devices with a wide area of effect, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch missile systems, as well as missile and air strikes," the UN said in the report. According to confirmed UN data, some 268 men, some 189 women, some 36 boys and 20 girls killed, while the gender of 64 children and 748 adults has not yet been determined. Among 2,017 people wounded, some 39 girls and 35 boys, as well as 94 children, whose gender has not yet been determined. Compared to the previous day, five children were killed and eight more were wounded, according to the UN. OHCHR says that in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as of midnight on April 2, there were 381 (358) killed and 793 (772) wounded in government-controlled territory, and 67 (67) killed and 246 (246) wounded in territory controlled by self-proclaimed "republics." In other regions of Ukraine under government control (in Kyiv, as well as in Zhytomyr, Zaporizhia, Kyiv, Sumy, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions), the UN recorded 877 (851) killed and 978 (963) wounded. According to the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, as of 08:00 on April 2, 158 (153) children were killed and 254 (245) were wounded. The increase in indicators in this report compared to the figures in the previous report should not be attributed only to new cases that occurred on April 1, since OHCHR also verified a number of cases that occurred in previous days during the day, the UN said in the document. On April 2, over 4,200 people evacuated through humanitarian corridors from Mariupol, cities in south of Zaporizhia region Vereschuk On Saturday, April 2, more than 4,200 people were evacuated through humanitarian corridors in Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereschuk has said. In particular, almost 1,300 people traveled to Zaporizhia from Mariupol and Berdiansk on their own vehicles, of which some 765 arrived from Mariupol, as well as some 498 residents of the cities: Berdiansk, Melitopol, Rody, Orikhiv and Vasylivka. The evacuation convoy consisting of ten buses from Berdiansk with over 300 Mariupol residents has already passed Vasylivka. The movement of columns of people in private vehicles also continues. In Luhansk region, almost 2,700 citizens have now been evacuated from the cities of Severodonetsk, Rubizhne, Lysychansk, Kreminna, Popasna and the village of Nizhne. According to Vereschuk, another 17 buses arrived from Zaporizhia to Berdiansk, which will continue the evacuation of Mariupol residents from Berdiansk tomorrow morning, some of which will try to get to Mariupol. The Russian side during a video conference on Friday confirmed that the draft agreements that were discussed at a meeting in Istanbul this week are ready for discussion by the presidents of Ukraine and Russia, head of the Ukrainian delegation at the talks David Arakhamia said during a telethon on Ukrainian television on Saturday. "Russia has given an official answer on all positions, which is that they accept this position [Ukrainian] with the exception of the issue of Crimea. Kuleba [Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine] said that there is no official confirmation in writing, but verbally, as of yesterday, via videoconference, they heard that the Russian side does not object to such positions and we are moving further from the point of view of legal more," he said. According to him, "they [the Russian side] also confirmed our thesis that draft documents have been developed enough to conduct direct consultations between the two leaders of the countries." "Our task is to prepare the final stage not of the document itself, but of those issues that we touched upon, and to prepare the future meeting of the presidents," he said. Ihor Zhdanov, Information Defense Informational Defence of Ukraine provides a daily review of the military-political situation in Ukraine, as of the past day on April 1st, based on an analysis of open sources. 1. The russian occupiers have not achieved success in any of the operational areas and have sustained heavy losses as a result of counterattacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, over the past 24 hours the Armed Forces of Ukraine have liberated more than 30 settlements. In the Kyiv region, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine regained control over the settlements of Borodianka, Hostomel, Demydiv, Dymer, Lytvynivka, Havrylivka, Kozarovychi, Zhovtneve, Hlybivka, Yasnohorodka, Talakun, Sukholuchchia, Lypivka, Havronka, Makovyshche, Mykolaiivka, and Khmilna. Separate units of the 5th, 29th, and 35th Military Armies of the Eastern Military District and the 155th Separate Marine Brigade of the Pacific Fleet are retreating from the Chernobyl area to Belarus, probably with further movement to the Belgorod region. In the Chernihiv region , units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have taken control of the settlements of Rudnia, Shevchenkove, Bobryk, Stara Basan, Nova Basan, Makiiivka, Pohreby, Bazhanivka, Volodymyrivka, Shniakivka, Salne, Sofiiivka, and Havrylivka. In the Kherson region , the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated and took control of 11 settlements from the invaders. In the Izium direction, the occupiers continue to control part of the city of Izium and maintain pontoon crossings across the Siverskyi Donets River, regrouping troops in order to create an offensive group. In the Donetsk direction, the enemy's main efforts are focused on taking control of the settlements of Popasna, Rubizhne, carrying out fire damage and assault operations in order to establish control over Mariupol. During the past 24 hours, the Allied forces successfully repulsed 9 attacks by the russian military. In particular, Ukrainian defenders destroyed 8 tanks, 44 units of armoured vehicles and 16 units of motor vehicles, as well as 10 enemy artillery systems. Total enemy combat losses from 24.02 to 01.04: combatants approximately 17,700 people, tanks - 625 units, armored combat vehicles - 1751 units, artillery systems - 316 units, MLRS - 96 units, air defence - 54 units, aircraft - 143 units, helicopters - 131 units, motor vehicles - 1220 units, ships / boats - 7 units, fuel tanks - 76, operational-tactical UAVs - 85, special equipment - 24, OTRK / TRK launchers - 4. According to Information Defence analysts, a turning point in the Ukrainian-russian war has come. The liberation of the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions continues. Ukrainian troops are fighting fierce battles near Kharkiv, trying to push the russian occupiers to the state border with russia, near Kherson and in the Zaporizhzhia region, threatening the Mariupol group of the russian invaders. The enemy is trying to replenish and give a temporary respite to its BTRs from the Kyiv operational zone, which have completely or partially lost their combat readiness, and transfer them to eastern Ukraine, where the russian occupiers are defending this environment and then trying to take Mariupol. The decisive military battle of this war will take place in the East of Ukraine. According to its results, the contours of the future peace, the new system of national, European and world security and the future of Ukraine as an independent state, the fate of the Donbas and the Crimea will be determined by the fighting of the heroic Armed Forces of Ukraine. 2. Information summaries and assessments of foreign and Ukrainian intelligence. UK intelligence reports that Ukraine continues to conduct successful but limited counterattacks to the east and northeast of Kyiv. It is noted that Ukrainian forces also recaptured the villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka in the south of Chernihiv and are now located along one of the main supply routes between the city and Kyiv. At the same time, both Chernihiv and Kyiv continue to suffer air and missile strikes, despite russia's claims of declining activity in these areas. Commenting on the withdrawal of the russian troops north and east of the Ukrainian capital on Thursday, a senior Pentagon spokesman said that Kyiv was still in danger and that airstrikes were continuing. As reported by The Central Intelligence Agency of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, purchases of unmanned aerial vehicles, components for military equipment and electronic intelligence for units of the 47th tank division were made through the russian "Promsvyazbank" and "Gazprombank". 3. The russian occupiers continue to violate international humanitarian law. The russian aggressors continue to kill Ukrainian children. Since the beginning of the war, 153 children have been killed and more than 245 wounded. According to the prosecutor's office, the most affected children were in the following regions: the Kyiv region- 73, the Donetsk region- 65, the Kharkiv region- 53, the Chernihiv region- 43, the Mykolaiiv region- 30, the Luhansk region- 31, the Zaporizhzhia region- 22, the Kherson region- 29, the Sumy region- 16, the Zhytomyr region- 15. In Kyiv City - 16 children. On March 31st, a 2-year-old girl from Lysychansk, in the Luhansk region, died of the injuries she has had. She and her 7-year-old brother were seriously injured the day before. On March 31st, 5 minors injured in the shelling were taken to a medical facility in the Donetsk region. The russian invaders continue to attack civilians daily. The bombing and shelling damaged 859 educational institutions. 83 of them were completely destroyed. The worst situation is in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Kherson, Mykolaiiv, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Kyiv regions and Kyiv City. For the past 24 hours, on March 31st, the russian occupation forces fired artillery, mortar, and tank shells in the Kharkiv region, in particular in the Saltivka, Pyatykhatka, Oleksiiivka, KHTZ (Kharkiv Tractor Plant), Kholodna Hora, Kulinichi, Velyka Danylivka, and Derhachi districts. In total, about 46 strikes were recorded. There were also about 170 shellings by the enemy with MLRS type "Grad" and 1 missile strike in the central part of Kharkiv. As a result of the russian shelling on April 1st, 7 people died in the Donetsk region: 4 in Marinka, 2 in Vuhledar and 1 in Novoselivka. Six people were also injured, including three children. The invaders smashed at least two columns of volunteers carrying humanitarian aid near Chernihiv, killing and wounding people. The number of victims of a missile strike on the building of the Mykolaiiv regional administration caused by the russian occupiers on March 29th, increased to 28 people. The abduction of civilians and the taking of hostages continues. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in the temporarily occupied territories of the Zaporizhzhia region, in the city of Enerhodar, in the military unit of the National Guard of Ukraine, the russian occupiers continue to detain local residents suspected of organising pro-Ukrainian actions and plotting sabotage against invaders. FSB officers interrogate them using psychological and physical pressure. A so-called referendum is planned by the russian occupiers for April 4th in the city of Tokmak. In particular, the occupation administration has already notified the local population about this event. The Ukrainian authorities conducted a second exchange of prisoners in the "86 to 86" format, including 15 servicewomen. 4. Socio-economic situation in Ukraine, losses due to the russian aggression. The Ukrainian government is trying to stabilize the socio-economic situation. At a meeting on April 1st, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved a law defining the procedure for nationalising property belonging to the russian citizens and Ukrainians who publicly deny the russian-Ukrainian war. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved a law guaranteeing full reimbursement of bank deposits to individuals during martial law. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that more than 25,000 applications for compensation for the destroyed real estate of Ukrainians have been submitted to Diia so far. For example, the city authorities of Mariupol estimate that $10 billion is needed to rebuild the destroyed infrastructure. russia's aggression against Ukraine has a negative impact on the state of the country's economy. In March 2022, the general fund of the state budget received 103.4 billion hryvnias, so the monthly schedule was fulfilled by 92.9%. Expenditures of the general fund of the state budget for January-March amounted to 356.4 billion, which corresponds to 67.8% of the plan for this period. The war damaged - slowed, reduced and even stopped - 86% of Ukrainian companies. This is stated in the Gradus study Research . Answering the question What help from the government do you need today?, the entrepreneurs put tax breaks in the first place (37%). Secondly, by a wide margin, - assistance with logistics (17%). Only 3-5% of businesses have increased payments for wages and purchases, 14-19% make payments at the pre-war level. The rest either reduced or stopped payments altogether - 39% did not pay wages, and 29% stopped paying suppliers. Vladyslav Chechotkin, the founder of the Rozetka online store, wrote a letter to his staff announcing the decision to fire most of the team as a result of the war. He said that the company's monthly turnover fell from 4 billion hryvnias to 23 million hryvnias in three weeks, warehouses were blocked, shops were destroyed, and delivery was interrupted. A U.S. government spokesman told Reuters that according to the United States, the russian troops have repeatedly damaged granaries in eastern Ukraine. The official said that because countries in Africa and the Middle East depend on Ukrainian wheat exports, the destruction of these food supplies and warehouses could lead to shortages and rising prices in already vulnerable economies. 5. International support and assistance to Ukraine. Political support for Ukraine and security guarantees. Roberta Metsola, the European Parliament President said that Ukraine could count on the support of the European Parliament in gaining the status of a candidate country for EU membership. During an online summit with the Chinese leadership, European Union leaders called on Beijing to help with finishing the war in Ukraine. At this summit, Brussels wants assurances from Beijing that it will not help russia in the war against Ukraine. According to EU officials, any aid provided to russia will damage China's international reputation and jeopardise relations with its largest trading partners, Europe and the United States. Last year, more than a quarter of China's world trade was with the European Union and the United States, while russia accounted for only 2.4 percent. The G20 must reconsider the participation of russia and its president putin. This statement was made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has said the country is joining all sanctions against russia over the invasion of Ukraine. According to her, Georgia also supports all international resolutions in support of Ukraine. It should be noted that Zourabichvili does not have the authority to announce sanctions, as the country is governed by the Prime Minister under the Constitution. According to sources interviewed by CNN, it is unlikely that the United States and its allies will eventually offer Ukraine the type of binding protection it is seeking. Military assistance to Ukraine. Australia will send locally made armoured vehicles to Ukraine at the request of President Zelenskyy. In particular, this is an armoured personnel carrier Bushmasters, bulletproof vests and more. The Ministry of Defence of Germany has decided to approve the supply of infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine from the reserves of the former GDR, which are now in the Czech Republic. These are 56-58 BMP (PbV-501, formerly known as BMP-1), equipped with a cannon and machine guns. American actor Sean Penn has issued an appeal to billionaires to step forward to purchase fighter jets for Ukraine. He said that $300 million could purchase 12 aircraft with better tech than russian MiGs or SU's. Humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The European Commission has approved a proposal to convert cash hryvnia into the currency of host Member States fleeing the war in Ukraine. 6. Provocations and fakes of the russian aggressors. The russian investigators have accused 22 Ukrainians of "genocide of the russian-speaking population" in the Donbas area. Among the participants are ex-Minister of Defence of Ukraine Valerii Heletey, former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Viktor Muzhenko and 20 other Ukrainian servicemen. According to the russian media, the Investigative Committee of the russian federation since 2014 has opened almost 600 criminal cases over the events in Ukraine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine emphasises that the statement of the russian federation about the alleged refusal of Ukraine to comply with the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War is not true. Earlier, the russian Foreign Intelligence Service said that Ukraine had allegedly informed the UK that it did not intend to abide by the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko called the statement a disinformation, recalling that russia had previously created many fakes about Ukraine. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces, "wounded" servicemen of the Armed Forces of the russian federation, who received significant doses of radiation during their stay in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, are being placed in the Gomel Republican Scientific and Practical Centre for Radiation Medicine and Human Ecology, in the territory of the Republic of Belarus. 7. Political and socio-economic situation in russia, the impact of international sanctions on it. Under the influence of propaganda and misinformation, russian society is demonstrating significant support for putin. 81% of russians trust russian president putin and 79% positively evaluate his activities, according to the russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion ( VTSVGD ). This is evidenced by the ratings of the centre's research on April 1st, which are submitted without data on the number of respondents and statistical error Western countries are persistently promoting the application of the oil embargo, applying compensatory measures. Oil prices continue to fall on April 1st in a statement by US President Joe Bidens intention to market an average of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the US strategic reserve over the next six months. The price of Brent oil futures on the London Stock Exchange ICE Futures is $104.35 per barrel, which is $ 0.36 (0.34%) lower than the closing price of the previous session. On the evening of April 1st, the US President Joe Biden said that more than 30 countries had joined a campaign to saturate the oil market to reduce prices for this energy resource. Information Defence analysts believe that such a measure will keep or reduce oil prices, even if russian oil will not be traded on the world market. New sanctions and restrictions are being imposed on russia, which is having a negative impact on the russian economy. In March, production activity in russia demonstrated a sharp decline since the first wave of the pandemic - analysts attribute this to increased delivery times and an acute shortage of materials. Thus, the index of business activity (PMI) of manufacturing industries in russia fell sharply in March to 44.1 points from 48.6 points in February, according to rating agency S&P Global. The Ministry of Health and Population announced on Friday that 1,454,000 women were screened in the Mother and Fetus Presidential Health Sub-Initiative since its launch in March 2020. Israeli security services raided the homes of at least 12 Arab citizens and arrested two suspected of having ties to the Islamic State group in a crackdown sparked by recent deadly attacks, authorities said Tuesday. Hours before the raid, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the recent assaults inside Israel, which killed six people, marked a ``new situation'' that required stepped-up security measures. Law enforcement officials said 31 homes and sites were searched overnight in northern Israel, an area that was home to the gunmen who killed two police officers and wounded four more people in the city of Hadera over the weekend. The Islamic State group claimed Sunday's attack, as well as a stabbing rampage in southern Israel last Tuesday in which four people were killed. Police shot and killed the two gunmen, and the stabber was shot and killed by a passerby, police said. Israeli leaders condemned the killings and pointed to the timing. Both attacks came ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Sunday's killings came on the eve of a high-profile meeting between the foreign ministers of four Arab nations and the United States in the Israeli Negev. All four Arab nations - Egypt, Morocco, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates - along with the United States, condemned the killings. Ramadan is expected to begin on Saturday. Last year, clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters during the holy month boiled over into an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza. Hamas praised the shooting as a ``heroic operation.'' Attacks by IS inside Israel are rare. The group operates mainly in Iraq and Syria, where it has recently stepped up attacks against security forces. It no longer controls any territory but operates through sleeper cells. IS has claimed attacks against Israeli troops in the past and has branches in Afghanistan and other countries. Search Keywords: Short link: Israeli police on Wednesday said the attacker who used an assault rifle to methodically gun down victims from a motorcycle in a central Israeli city was a Palestinian. The shooter, identified as Diaa Hamarsheh, 27, from the occupied West Bank village of Yabad, was killed by police late Tuesday. Israeli media said the military raided the man's home early Wednesday and arrested several of his relatives as part of its investigation into the attack. The incident was the third attack of its kind ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The previous two attacks, carried out by Palestinian citizens of Israel who were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group, have raised concerns of further violence. Israel ``stands before a wave of murderous Arab terrorism,'' declared Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. He pledged to combat it ``with perseverance, stubbornness and an iron fist.'' He held an emergency meeting of top security officials and planned a meeting of his Security Cabinet on Wednesday. Israeli authorities have not yet determined whether the attacks were organized or whether the attackers acted individually. The Israeli military announced it would be deploying additional troops to the West Bank, and the police chief raised the national readiness level to its highest. Amateur video footage aired on Israeli television appeared to show the gunman in a black shirt stopping a moving vehicle and shooting the driver. Another showed him chasing a cyclist, with the gun appearing to jam as he tried to fire. Tuesday's shootings occurred at two locations in Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox city just east of Tel Aviv. Police said a preliminary investigation found the gunman was armed with an assault rifle and opened fire on passersby before he was shot by officers at the scene. The Magen David Adom paramedic service confirmed that five people were killed. Police said one of the victims was a police officer who arrived at the scene and engaged the shooter. Two other victims were foreign citizens from Ukraine, police said. Israel Defense Minister Benny Gantz wrote on Twitter that the security forces ``will work with all means to return security to Israeli streets and the feeling of security to civilians.'' In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack, saying the killing of Israeli or Palestinian civilians ``only leads to further deterioration of the situation and instability, which we all strive to achieve, especially as we are approaching the holy month of Ramadan and Christian and Jewish holidays.'' He said the violence ``confirms that permanent, comprehensive and just peace is the shortest way to provide security and stability for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.'' No Palestinian groups immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The Islamist militant group Hamas praised the ``heroic operation,'' but stopped short of claiming responsibility. Israel in recent weeks has been taking steps aimed at calming tensions and avoiding a repeat of last year, when clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian demonstrators in Jerusalem boiled over into an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas. On Sunday, a pair of gunmen killed two young police officers during a shooting in the central city of Hadera, and last week, a lone assailant killed four people in a car ramming and stabbing attack in the southern city of Beersheba. Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli security services raided the homes of at least 12 Arab citizens and arrested two suspected of having ties to the Islamic State group in a crackdown sparked by recent deadly attacks. Hours before the raid, Bennett said the recent assaults inside Israel marked a ``new situation'' that required stepped-up security measures. Law enforcement officials said 31 homes and sites were searched overnight in northern Israel, an area that was home to the gunmen who carried out the Hadera attack. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the two previous attacks. All of the attacks have come just ahead of Ramadan, which begins later this week and as Israel hosted a high-profile meeting this week between the foreign ministers of four Arab nations and the United States. Ramadan is expected to begin Saturday. Deadly attacks by IS inside Israel, and attacks by Arab citizens of Israel, are rare. The group operates mainly in Iraq and Syria, where it has recently stepped up attacks against security forces. It no longer controls any territory but operates through sleeper cells. IS has claimed attacks against Israeli troops in the past and has branches in Afghanistan and other countries. Search Keywords: Short link: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Russia is consolidating and preparing "powerful strikes" in the country's east and south, including besieged Mariupol, where a new attempt will be made Friday to evacuate civilians from the devastated city. Russia meanwhile threatened to turn off its gas taps to Europe if payments are not made in rubles, as US President Joe Biden ordered a record release of strategic oil reserves to ease soaring US prices. Over a month into Russia's invasion of its neighbour, Vladimir Putin's troops have devastated cities like Mariupol with shelling, killing at least 5,000 people in the port city alone. In peace talks this week, Russia said it would scale back attacks on the capital Kyiv and the city of Chernigiv, but Ukrainian and Western officials have dismissed the pledge, saying Moscow's troops were merely regrouping. "This is part of their tactics," said Zelensky in a late-night address. "We know that they are moving away from the areas where we are beating them to focus on others that are very important... where it can be difficult for us," he said. In particular, he warned, the situation in the country's south and east was "very difficult". "In Donbas and Mariupol, in the Kharkiv direction, the Russian army is accumulating the potential for attacks, powerful attacks," he said. Washington echoed that assessment, with a senior US defence official saying Russia's focus on Donbas could herald a "longer, more prolonged conflict". Military experts believe that Moscow is ditching efforts to advance simultaneously along multiple axes in the north, east and south, after struggling to overcome stronger-than-expected Ukrainian resistance. Instead, it wants to establish a long-sought land link between Crimea, which Moscow occupied in 2014, and the two Russian-backed Donbas statelets of Donetsk and Lugansk. 'Civilians Desperately Wanting To Flee' Mariupol is the main remaining obstacle to that ambition, and Russian forces have encircled and relentlessly bombarded the city to try to capture it. Instead, it has been reduced to rubble, with tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside with little food, water or medicine. Previous attempts to evacuate residents have collapsed, though some have made the dangerous dash to freedom alone, but on Friday Russia says it will allow a humanitarian corridor organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The ICRC's Ukraine delegation said on Twitter it was in nearby Zaporizhzhia, where buses from the encircled city are meant to arrive. "We hope to be able to facilitate safe passage for civilians desperately wanting to flee Mariupol. We are also here with two trucks of assistance, hoping that we can also get assistance in," the organisation's Lucile Marbeau said in a video. "In these trucks there is food, medicine, relief items, for those civilians who decide to stay," she added. Ukrainian officials on Thursday sent dozens of buses towards Mariupol, and the local government said on Telegram that civilians would be able to start boarding Friday morning in neighbouring Berdiansk. Russia has moved about 20 percent of its troops from around Kyiv but its strikes have continued and troops are likely "going to be repositioned, probably into Belarus, to be refitted and resupplied and used elsewhere in Ukraine," said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby Russian troops have also pulled back from the Chernobyl nuclear plant after weeks of occupation, but have taken a number of captive Ukrainian servicemen with them, according to officials in Kyiv. Western intelligence has warned that Putin's advisors may be "afraid to tell him the truth" about battlefield losses or the damage that sanctions have wrought on the country's economy. And Biden suggested Putin may have placed some advisors under house arrest, though he cautioned "there's a lot of speculation." 'I Hope All This Will End Soon' The Kremlin has rejected the claims, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Western officials "don't understand President Putin, they don't understand the mechanism for taking decisions and they don't understand the style of our work". With his economy crippled by unprecedented international sanctions, Putin has sought to leverage Russia's status as an energy power, and warned Thursday that EU members will need to set up ruble accounts from Friday to pay for Russian gas. "If such payments are not made, we will consider this a breach of obligations on the part of our buyers" and existing contracts would be stopped, Putin said. The EU has joined the United States in imposing sanctions, and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is expected in Kyiv soon in a show of support. But the bloc has not imposed an energy embargo, and Germany, which imported 55 percent of its gas supplies from Russia before the war, insisted it will pay in euros or dollars as stipulated in contracts. Berlin and Paris were also "preparing" for Russian gas to simply stop flowing, France's economy minister said. Biden meanwhile moved to mitigate rising domestic fuel prices by announcing a release from strategic US reserves of a million barrels daily for six months. The record release amounts to augmenting global supplies by about one percent. Peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials were expected to resume via video on Friday, with Kyiv negotiator David Arakhamia saying Turkey and Germany had offered to serve as security guarantors in any eventual agreement. On the ground around Kyiv, Ukrainian forces have continued to push back Russian troops, capturing territory on the outskirts of the capital as Moscow's advance stalls. Zelensky praised the advances, but said he was stripping two generals of their ranks for unspecified offences. "Right now I don't have time to deal with all the traitors, but gradually all of them will be punished," he said. Civilians have been trickling out of devastated areas, including three-year-old Karolina Tkachenko, who was helped over a pipeline east of Kyiv by Ukrainian troops as she and her family escaped. "The shops are closed, there's no delivery of supplies. The bridge is also blown up, we can't go for the groceries through there," said her mother Karina, holding her daughter in a pink bobble hat in her arms. "I hope all this will end soon, and I will go back to my work." Search Keywords: Short link: Question: The UK Government issued the 50th Six-monthly Report on Hong Kong on March 31st, criticizing Chinas policy in the Hong Kong SAR, especially the Law on Safeguarding National Security. What is your comment? Embassy Spokesperson: The UK side, regardless of the solemn position of the Chinese side, insisted on publishing the so-called Six-monthly Report on Hong Kong which distorted facts, confused right and wrong, blatantly interfered in Hong Kong affairs, which are Chinas internal affairs and seriously violated the basic norms governing international relations. The Chinese side expresses its grave concern and strong opposition. Since resuming exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, China has resolutely, fully and accurately implemented One Country, Two Systems, Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong and a high degree of autonomy. Today, Hong Kong provides its residents with far more rights and freedoms than it did under the British colonial rule. The fact that chaos gave way to order in Hong Kong fully proves that Chinas decision to adopt and enforce the Law on Safeguarding National Security, improve the electoral system and implement the principle of patriots governing Hong Kong in the Hong Kong SAR will only strengthen the rule of law in Hong Kong, provide better safeguards for the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents, expand participation of the general public in political affairs in a balanced and orderly manner, and promote the healthy development of the democratic system in Hong Kong. The core content of the Sino-British Joint Declaration is to ensure China resumes exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong. It does not give the UK any responsibility over Hong Kong after the handover. By repeatedly citing the Joint Declaration as an excuse to make irresponsible remarks on Chinas policy in the Hong Kong SAR and groundlessly criticize the lawful measures of the SAR Government in combating criminal activities and restoring public order, the UK side is in fact lending support to the anti-China, destabilizing forces and trying to continue making trouble in Hong Kong. Such attempts will never succeed. China has long resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong. Hong Kong affairs are purely Chinas internal affairs. We urge the UK side to recognize the reality and major trend, discard the colonial mindset, respect Chinas sovereignty and unity, and stop any form of interference in Hong Kong affairs, which are Chinas internal affairs, so as to avoid further disruptions in China-UK relations. In a press release on Friday, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Egypt hopes that the truce could contribute to backing political solutions, initiatives, and efforts to reach a comprehensive settlement for the Yemeni crisis. Egypt supports all efforts aiming to achieve peace, security, and stability in Yemen and preserves its unity, the foreign ministry confirmed in its statement. Talks of a truce have been the centre of the second Yemeni National Dialogue that was launched by the Saudi-based Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which is running from 29 March to 7 April in Riyadh with the aim of promoting a new initiative to end the conflict in Yemen. Besides halting military operations in Yemen and across Yemeni borders, the truce agreed upon by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and the Houthi rebels will allow fuel ships to enter Hodeida Port and commercial flights to operate from the Sanaa International Airport. The UN has expressed its hopes that the ceasefire, which comes after a steep rise in Houthi attacks against vital facilities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE over the past weeks, could serve as a first step to end the more than seven-year-old conflict between the warring parties. Egypt has repeatedly called for a political solution in Yemen that would meet the aspirations of the Yemeni people in achieving stability and development and end the extended humanitarian crisis. The country has also reiterated its support to the UNs efforts in Yemen, calling for a solution to the crisis that is based on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Initiative, the outcome of the national dialogue, and the UN Security Councils relevant resolutions. Over the past years, Egypt has stressed its unwavering support to the legitimate Saudi-backed Yemeni government of Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, which the Houthis ousted from Sanaa in 2014. Egypt has also discussed with the Yemeni government long-term partnerships in various fields to support Yemens redevelopment. Egypt also frequently condemned the Houthi rebels's attacks on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, stressing its support for all Saudi measures aiming to protect its national security. Early in March, the Egyptian foreign ministry welcomed a UN Security Council resolution to expand an arms embargo on Houthis, saying it will contribute to stopping their attacks and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Yemen. The conflict which started in 2014 has pushed more than 20 million Yemenis out of a population of about 30 million to be in need of humanitarian assistance, according to statements made by the UN in October. Pope Francis said Saturday he is studying a possible visit to Kyiv and he blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for launching a ``savage'' war. Speaking after his arrival in Malta, he delivered his most pointed and personalized denunciation yet of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Francis didn't cite Russian President Vladimir Putin by name, but the reference was clear when he said that ``some potentate'' had unleashed the threat of nuclear war on the world in an ``infantile and destructive aggression'' under the guise of ``anachronist claims of nationalistic interests.'' ``We had thought that invasions of other countries, savage street fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past,'' Francis told Maltese officials and diplomats on the Mediterranean island nation at the start of a weekend visit. Francis has to date avoided referring to Russia or Putin by name. But Saturday's personalization of the powerful figure responsible marked a new level of outrage for the pope. ``Once again, some potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interest, is provoking and fomenting conflicts, whereas ordinary people sense the need to build a future that will either be shared or not be at all,'' he said. The Vatican tends to not call out aggressors in hopes of keeping open options for dialogue. The Vatican, which in recent years has forged unprecedented new relations with the Putin-allied Russian Orthodox Church, had offered itself as a potential mediator but to date has been largely left on the diplomatic sidelines. Francis told reporters en route to Malta that a possible visit to Kyiv was ``on the table,'' but no dates have been set or trip confirmed. The mayor of the Ukrainian capital had invited Francis to come as a messenger of peace along with other religious figures. Francis also said that the war had pained his heart so much that he sometimes forgets about the pain in his knees. Francis has been suffering for months from a strained ligament in his right knee. The inflammation got so bad that the Vatican arranged for a tarmac elevator to get him onto and off the plane for Saturday's flight to Malta. The visit, originally scheduled for May 2020, was always supposed to focus on migration, given Malta's role at the heart of Europe's migration debate. Speaking with Malta's president by his side, Francis denounced the ``sordid agreements'' the European Union has made with Libya to turn back migrants and said Europe must show humanity in welcoming them. He called for the Mediterranean to be a ``theater of solidarity, not the harbinger of a tragic shipwreck of civilization.'' Francis was referring to the seven-year-old EU program to train Libya's coast guard, which patrols the North African country's Mediterranean coast for migrant smuggling operations and brings the would-be refugees back to shore. The program was adopted and strongly backed by Italy and other front-line Mediterranean countries to try to stem the flow of hundreds of thousands of desperate migrants who pay Libyan-based smugglers to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Human rights groups have condemned the EU-funded program as a violation of the migrants' rights and documented gross abuses in the detention camps where returned migrants are then held. Just this past week, German said its military would no longer provide training to the Libyan coast guard given its ``unacceptable,'' and in some cases illegal, treatment of migrants. Francis has condemned the Libyan detention facilities as concentration camps, but he went further on Saturday in shaming the EU for its complicity in the abuses committed. ``Civilized countries cannot approve for their own interest sordid agreements with criminals who enslave other human beings,'' he said. ``Unfortunately, this is happening.'' ``Today, when those who cross the Mediterranean in search of salvation are met with fear and the narrative of `invasion,' and safeguarding one's own security at any price seems to be the primary goal, let us help one another not to view the migrant as a threat and not to yield to the temptation of raising drawbridges and erecting walls,'' he said. ``Other people are not a virus from which we need to be protected, but persons to be accepted,'' he said. Malta, the European Union's smallest country with a half-million people, has long been on the front lines of the flow of migrants and refugees across the Mediterranean. It has frequently called upon its bigger European neighbors to shoulder more of the burden receiving would-be refugees. Francis has frequently echoed that call, and linked it on Saturday to the welcome the Maltese once gave the Apostle Paul, who according to the biblical account was shipwrecked off Malta in around A.D. 60 while en route to Rome and was shown unusual kindness by the islanders. Search Keywords: Short link: President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has directed the government to continue supporting the country's tourism sector in the face of international developments, including the coronavirus pandemic and the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, both major sources of tourists for Egypt. In a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled El-Enany on Saturday, El-Sisi called on the government to make sure that tourists currently in Egypt are enjoying their stay. El-Enany also touched upon the ministry's initiatives for encouraging domestic and international tourism in Egypt, reviewing the most prominent tourism exporting markets to Egypt, according to a statement by the Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady. Reviewing the rate of tourism to Egypt over the past year, El-Enany told the president that the tourism sector had largely recovered during the last quarter of 2021. He described the latest developments in the tourism sector on the heels of the Ukrainian crisis, as well as the measures taken to ensure the return of stranded tourists to their homelands. Following the start of the Russian invasion on 24 February, Egypt paid for the stay of all Ukrainian and Russian tourists at three-star Egyptian hotels, with Egyptian airlines flying out Ukrainian tourists who wanted to return at the expense of the Egyptian government. More than 700,000 Russians visited Egypt in 2021, thanks in part to the resumption of direct flights from Moscow to the Red Sea resorts of Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada in August of the same year. The first two weeks of 2022 alone saw the arrival of 125,000 Russians. The resumption of Russian flights to the coastal Egyptian cities came after a hiatus since 2015 over a Russian plane crash over Sinai, before which some 3.3 million Russians visited Red Sea resorts in 2014. Ukrainians have also significantly contributed to the Egyptian tourism sector, with up to 1.2 million tourists visiting Egypt from July 2020 to July 2021. Saturday's meeting also tackled ways of encouraging domestic tourism in the future as well as ongoing efforts to increase the number of inbound tourists from alternative markets, the statement added. The talks also addressed the efforts of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to support tourism in Sharm El-Sheikh, in addition to the latest updates concerning green transition and upping the efficiency of the internet at hotels and tourist destinations. Search Keywords: Short link: The head of Latvia's natural gas storage operator said Saturday the Baltic states were no longer importing Russian natural gas. "If there were still any doubts about whether there may be any trust in deliveries from Russia, current events clearly show us that there is no more trust," said Uldis Bariss, CEO of Conexus Baltic Grid. "Since April 1st Russian natural gas is no longer flowing to Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania," he told Latvian radio. He added that the Baltic market was currently being served by gas reserves stored underground in Latvia. The move comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to leverage Russia's status as an energy power. With his economy crippled by unprecedented international sanctions, Putin warned EU members that they would need to set up ruble accounts to pay for Russian gas. He said Thursday that existing contracts would be halted if the payments were not made. While the United States banned the import of Russian oil and gas, the European Union -- which received around 40 percent of its gas supplies from Russia in 2021 -- has retained deliveries from Moscow. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda called on the rest of the EU to follow the Baltic example. "From this month on - no more Russian gas in Lithuania," he said on Twitter. "Years ago my country made decisions that today allow us with no pain to break energy ties with the agressor," he added. "If we can do it, the rest of Europe can do it too!" Search Keywords: Short link: The Arab Leagues Ukrainian crisis liaison group will hold meetings with Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in Moscow and Warsaw this week to seek a diplomatic solution to end the war. The liaison group will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow and another meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Warsaw on Monday and Tuesday. The group will seek during the meetings to contribute to a diplomatic solution for the crisis, according to a statement by the General Secretariat of Arab League said on Saturday. The group, which includes representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, Sudan and the UAE (a current member of the United Nations Security Council), was formed out of the 157th session of the Council of the Arab League in March. The group held a coordination meeting on Saturday ahead of the tour via video conference, which was attended by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Abul-Gheit has expressed his deep concern over developments in Ukraine, including their serious military and humanitarian consequences. In a UN Security Council session held on 23 March, Abul-Gheit urged world powers to reach a solution to the crisis in Ukraine that serves the interests of all sides. He also said he hopes the current situation will not affect the role of the UN in tackling other issues and crises, especially in the Arab region. The Russian-Ukrainian conflict disrupted supply chains of wheat from the Black Sea ports to the Middle East and North Africa region, sending prices on the international markets soaring. Search Keywords: Short link: The average daily coronavirus infection toll in Egypt continued to decline this past week, with the country reporting an average of 559 infections and eight deaths per day over the past week, down from the previous weeks 625. Furthermore, the total number of recoveries since the outbreak began in February 2020 increased to 438,458 after a daily average of 565 people were discharged from hospitals nationwide over the past seven days, the Ministry of Health and Population said in its third weekly update on the pandemic nationwide. More than 32.5m citizens have been fully vaccinated to date, according to the ministry, which has been urging citizens to register on its website to receive the vaccine. The ministry also continues to receive citizens inquiries regarding the coronavirus via the 105 and 15335 hotlines as well as WhatsApp on +201553105105. Those who think they may have contracted the disease can also download the Android or iPhone versions of the Sehat Misr app for guidance regarding which hospitals to head to. Amid a global decline in infections, Egypt has reported a drop in coronavirus cases and deaths as well as in COVID-induced hospitalisations over the recent weeks while continuing its mass vaccination campaign. Egypts Acting Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar announced late in March that 52 percent of the targeted population has been vaccinated. The ministry also said that for life in Egypt to return to the way it was pre-pandemic, 70 percent of the targeted groups must be vaccinated a goal that the country seeks to achieve by mid-2022. Egypt has eased its coronavirus restrictions during the holy month of Ramadan, which started on Saturday, lifting a two-year suspension on the traditional Ramadan charity banquets, where free food is provided to millions of needy people around tables in the streets. Late in March, the Cabinet announced that it would also be easing coronavirus-related restrictions on mosques, allowing them to open their annex event halls and conduct afternoon prayer sermons (El-Asr) and mass Ramadan night prayers (Taraweeh) during the holy month. Ramadan late-night prayers (Tahajjud) and seclusion in mosques for a period of time (I'tikaf), however, are still prohibited. Furthermore, according to the Cabinets decisions, shops, restaurants, and cafes are allowed to remain open till 2am and weddings and celebrations at indoor halls in hotels have been allowed as long as they follow precautionary measures against the coronavirus. Search Keywords: Short link: The Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when the faithful fast from dawn to dusk, began at sunrise Saturday in much of the Middle East, where Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sent energy and food prices soaring. The conflict cast a pall over Ramadan, when large gatherings over meals and family celebrations are a tradition. Many in the Southeast Asian nation of Indonesia planned to start observing Sunday and some Shias in Lebanon, Iran and Iraq were also marking the start of Ramadan a day later. Muslims follow a lunar calendar and a moon-sighting methodology can lead to different countries declaring the start of Ramadan a day or two apart. Muslim-majority nations including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates had declared the month would begin Saturday morning. A Saudi statement Friday was broadcast on the kingdom's state-run Saudi TV and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, congratulated Muslims on Ramadan's arrival. Jordan, a predominantly Sunni country, also said the first day of Ramadan would be on Sunday, in a break from following Saudi Arabia. The kingdom said the Islamic religious authority was unable to spot the crescent moon indicating the beginning of the month. Indonesia's second-largest Islamic group, Muhammadiyah, which counts more than 60 million members, said that according to its astronomical calculations Ramadan begins Saturday. But the country's religious affairs minister had announced Friday that Ramadan would start on Sunday, after Islamic astronomers in the country failed to sight the new moon. It wasn't the first time the Muhammadiyah has offered a differing opinion on the matter, but most Indonesians, Muslims comprise nearly 90% of the country's 270 million people, are expected to follow the government's official date. Many had hoped for a more cheerful Ramadan after the coronavirus pandemic cut off the world's 2 billion Muslims from rituals the past two years. With Russia's invasion of Ukraine, however, millions of people in the Middle East are now wondering where their next meals will come from. The skyrocketing prices are affecting people whose lives were already upended by conflict, displacement and poverty from Lebanon, Iraq and Syria to Sudan and Yemen. Ukraine and Russia account for a third of global wheat and barley exports, which Middle East countries rely on to feed millions of people who subsist on subsidized bread and bargain noodles. They are also top exporters of other grains and sunflower seed oil used for cooking. Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, has received most of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine in recent years. The country's currency has also taken a dive in recent days, adding to other pressures driving up prices. Shoppers in the capital Cairo turned out earlier this week to stock up on groceries and festive decorations, but many had to buy less than last year because of the soaring prices. Ramadan tradition calls for colorful lanterns and lights strung throughout Cairo's narrow alleys and mosques. Some people with the means to do so set up tables on the streets to dish up free post-fast Iftar meals for the poor. The practice is known in the Islamic world as Tables of the Compassionate.'' Worshippers attended mosque for hours of evening prayers, or tarawih.'' On Friday evening, thousands of people packed the al-Azhar Mosque after attendance was banned for the past two years to stem the pandemic. They were difficult (times). ... Ramadan without tarawih at the mosque is not Ramadan,'' said Saeed Abdel-Rahman, a 64-year-old retired teacher as he entered al-Azhar for prayers. Soaring prices exacerbated the woes of Lebanese already facing a major economic crisis. Over the past two years, the currency collapsed and the country's middle class was plunged into poverty. The country's meltdown has also brought on severe shortages in electricity, fuel and medicine. In the Gaza Strip, few people were shopping Friday in markets usually packed at this time of year. Merchants said Russia's war on Ukraine has sent prices skyrocketing, alongside the usual challenges, putting a damper on the festive atmosphere that Ramadan usually creates. The living conditions of the 2.3 million Palestinians in the impoverished coastal territory are tough, compounded by a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade since 2007. Toward the end of Ramadan last year, a deadly 11-day war between Gaza's Hamas rulers and Israel cast a cloud over festivities, including the Eid al-Fitr holiday that follows the holy month. It was the fourth bruising war with Israel in just over a decade. In Iraq, the start of Ramadan highlighted widespread frustration over a meteoric rise in food prices, exacerbated in the past month by the war in Ukraine. Suhaila Assam, a 62-year-old retired teacher and women's rights activist, said she and her retired husband are struggling to survive on their combined pension of $1,000 a month, with prices of cooking oil, flour and other essentials having more than doubled. We, as Iraqis, use cooking oil and flour a lot. Almost in every meal. So how can a family of five members survive?'' she asked. Akeel Sabah, 38, is a flour distributor in the Jamila wholesale market, which supplies all of Baghdad's Rasafa district on the eastern side of the Tigris River with food. He said flour and almost all other foodstuffs are imported, which means distributors have to pay for them in dollars. A ton of flour used to cost $390. ``Today I bought the ton for $625,'' he said. The currency devaluation a year ago already led to an increase in prices, but with the ongoing (Ukraine) crisis, prices are skyrocketing. Distributors lost millions,'' he said. In Istanbul, Muslims held the first Ramadan prayers in 88 years in Hagia Sophia, nearly two years after the iconic former cathedral was converted into a mosque. Worshippers filled the 6th-century building and the square outside Friday night for tarawih prayers led by Ali Erbas, the government head of religious affairs. Although converted for Islamic use and renamed the Grand Hagia Sophia Mosque in July 2020, COVID-19 restrictions had limited worship at the site. After 88 years of separation, the Hagia Sophia Mosque has regained the tarawih prayer,'' Erbas said, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. Search Keywords: Short link: As Russian forces pull back from Ukraine's capital region, retreating troops are creating a "catastrophic" situation for civilians by leaving mines around homes, abandoned equipment, and "even the bodies of those killed," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Saturday. Ukraine and its Western allies reported mounting evidence of Russia withdrawing its forces from around Kyiv and building up troop strength in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian fighters reclaimed several areas near the capital after forcing the Russians out or moving in after them, officials said. The visible shift did not mean the country faced a reprieve from more than five weeks of war or that the more than 4 million refugees who have fled Ukraine will return soon. Zelenskyy said he expects departed towns to receive airstrikes and shelling from afar and for the battle in the east to be intense. "It's still not possible to return to normal life, as it used to be, even at the territories that we are taking back after the fighting,'' the president told his nation in a nightly video message. "We need wait until our land is demined, wait till we are able to assure you that there won't be new shelling.'' Moscow's focus on eastern Ukraine also kept the besieged southern city of Mariupol in the crosshairs. The port city on the Sea of Azoz is located in the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region, where Russia-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian troops for eight years and military analysts think Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to expand control after his forces failed to secure Kyiv and other major cities. The International Committee of the Red Cross planned to try Saturday to get emergency supplies into Mariupol and evacuate residents. The Red Cross said it was unable to carry out the operation Friday because it did not receive assurances that the route was safe. City authorities said the Russians blocked access to the city. Mariupol, which was surrounded by Russian forces a month ago, has been the scene of some of the war's worst attacks, including on a maternity hospital and a theater sheltering civilians. Around 100,000 people are believed to remain in the city, down from a prewar population of 430,000, and facing dire shortages of water, food, fuel, and medicine. The city's capture would give Moscow an unbroken land bridge from Russia to Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, but also has taken on symbolic significance during Russia's invasion, said Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Ukrainian think-tank Penta. "Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, and without its conquest, Putin cannot sit down at the negotiating table,'' Fesenko said. The Mariupol city council said Saturday that 10 empty buses were headed to Berdyansk, a city 84 kilometers west of Mariupol, to pick up people who can get there on their own. Some 2,000 made it out of Mariupol on Friday, some on buses and some in their own vehicles, city officials said. An adviser to Zelenskyy, Oleksiy Arestovych, said in an interview with a Russian lawyer and activist, Mark Feygin, that Russia and Ukraine had reached an agreement to allow 45 buses to drive to Mariupol to evacuate residents "in coming days.'' Such agreements have been reached before, only to be breached. On Thursday, Russian forces blocked a 45-bus convoy attempting to evacuate people from Mariupol and seized 14 tons of food and medical supplies bound for the city, Ukrainian authorities said. Zelenskyy said he discussed the humanitarian disaster in Mariupol with French President Emmanuel Macron by telephone and with the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, during her visit to Kyiv on Friday. "Europe doesn't have the right to be silent about what is happening in our Mariupol,'' Zelenskyy said. "The whole world should respond to this humanitarian catastrophe.'' On the outskirts of Kyiv, signs of fierce fighting were everywhere in the wake of the Russian redeployment. Destroyed armored vehicles from both armies left in streets and fields and scattered military gear covered the ground next to an abandoned Russian tank. Ukrainian forces recaptured the city of Brovary, 20 kilometers east of the capital, Mayor Ihor Sapozhko said in a televised Friday night address. Shops were reopening and residents were returning but ``still stand ready to defend'' their city, he added. "Russian occupants have now left practically all of the Brovary district,'' Sapozhko said. "Tonight, (Ukrainian) armed forces will work to clear settlements of (remaining) occupants, military hardware, and possibly from mines.'' Elsewhere, at least three Russian ballistic missiles were fired late Friday at the Odesa region on the Black Sea, regional leader Maksim Marchenko said. The Ukrainian military said the Iskander missiles did not hit the critical infrastructure they targeted. Odesa is Ukraine's largest port and the headquarters of its navy. As the war dragged on, the U.S. Defense Department said Friday night it is providing an additional $300 million in arms to Ukrainian forces. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement that the gear in the new package includes laser-guided rocket systems, unmanned aircraft, armored vehicles, night vision devices, and ammunition. Also included are medical supplies, field equipment, and spare parts. There was no immediate word Saturday on the latest round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, which took place Friday by video. During a round of talks earlier in the week, Ukraine said it would be willing to abandon a bid to join NATO and declare itself neutral, Moscow's chief demand, in return for security guarantees from several other countries. On Friday, the Kremlin accused Ukraine of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot on Russian soil. Ukraine denied responsibility for the fiery blast at the civilian oil storage facility on the outskirts of the city of Belgorod, about 25 kilometers (16 miles) from the Ukraine border. If Moscow's claim is confirmed, it would be the war's first known attack in which Ukrainian aircraft penetrated Russian airspace. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's national security council, said on Ukrainian television: "For some reason they say that we did it, but in fact this does not correspond with reality.'' Later, in an interview with American TV channel Fox News, Zelenskyy refused to say whether Ukraine was behind the attack. Search Keywords: Short link: Russian police detained 176 people Saturday at protests against Moscow's military operation in Ukraine, an NGO said. OVD-Info, which monitors arrests during protests, said police had detained at least 176 people during demonstrations in 14 cities in Russia. An AFP journalist in Moscow witnessed more than 20 people detained by riot police under heavy snowfall in the capital's central park Zaryadye, a short distance from the Kremlin. Police escorted away people sitting on park benches or just standing around without explaining the reasons for the detention, the reporter said. One of the detained women held a bouquet of white tulips, while another several time exclaimed "No to war in Ukraine!" as she was being taken away. A national sit-in on Saturday against what Moscow calls its "military operation" in Ukraine was announced on social media by activists in around 30 Russian cities. The organizers said in a statement they wanted to protest "the collapse of (Russia's) economy", against Russian President Vladimir Putin and to demand freedom for jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. "Russia deserves peace, democracy, and prosperity," they said. In Russia's second city, Saint Petersburg, AFP saw multiple arrests near the city's Legislative Assembly where around 40 people gathered, although it was unclear how many were there to protest. "Nobody will come, all the active ones were detained at previous protests," said 30-year-old Sergei Gorelov, who said he came to "take a look and show support if necessary". "I just came to stand around, to somehow express my protest to everything that is happening. It's scary to protest actively," Galina Sedova, 50, told AFP at the scene. Protesters risk fines and possible prison sentences by taking to the streets. OVD-Info says that over 15,000 people have been detained at rallies across the country to protest Russian military action in Ukraine, which was launched on February 24. Search Keywords: Short link: Ukrainian forces appear to be gaining momentum in efforts to push back Russian forces as the war in Ukraine rages into its sixth week. Ukrainian and Western officials said Friday that the Ukrainian military made key gains around the capital of Kyiv. "Our troops are chasing them both to the northwest and northeast, pushing the enemy away from Kyiv," said Oleksiy Arestovych, a political adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. British military intelligence backed up some of the Ukrainian claims. Ukrainian forces "continued to make successful but limited counterattacks to the east and northeast of Kyiv," British Defense Attache Air Vice-Marshal Mick Smeath said in a statement. "Ukrainian forces have retaken the villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka to the south of Chernihiv and located along one of the main supply routes between the city and Kyiv," Smeath added, noting both Kyiv and Chernihiv continue to come under repeated air and missile strikes from Russia. Russian officials Friday also said Ukraine has gone on the offensive, blaming Ukrainian forces for a cross-border helicopter attack on an oil depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, about 35 km from the border. Cross-Border Strike Russia's regional governor said the Ukrainian strike caused several fires and wounded two people. Ukrainian officials did not immediately confirm Ukraine's involvement in the strike. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned the strike could have a detrimental impact on peace talks scheduled to resume between the two sides. "Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks," he said. The latest effort by Ukraine's military to push back Russian forces on multiple fronts comes as U.S. and other Western defense and intelligence officials warn Moscow is repositioning its forces in preparation for what the Kremlin has said will be a renewed focus on the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen via video link, April 1, 2022. /Xinhua Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday that China and the European Union (EU) should bring more stability to a world plagued by a protracted COVID-19 pandemic, a faltering global recovery and the ongoing Ukraine crisis. Xi made the remarks when meeting with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen via video link at the 23rd China-EU Leaders' Meeting. With two major forces, markets and civilizations, China and the EU should enhance communication on bilateral relations and issues concerning global peace and development, Xi said, calling on the two sides to play a constructive role in adding stabilizing factors to a turbulent world. He said China and the EU share extensive common interests and a solid foundation for cooperation. Only through cooperation and coordination can the two sides resolve problems and rise to challenges, he added. Underscoring the consistency and continuity of China's EU policy, he urged the EU to form its own perception of China, adopt an independent China policy, and work with China for the steady and sustainable growth of bilateral ties. A China-Europe freight train bound for Duisburg of Germany pulls out of the Wuhan terminal of China Railway Intermodal in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, March 28, 2020. /Xinhua China and the EU should take the lead in upholding the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order underpinned by international law and the basic norms governing international relations based on the UN Charter, Xi said. The two sides should jointly reject the resurrection of rival-bloc mentality and oppose attempts to start a new Cold War, he added. He called on the two sides to jointly promote common development and economic globalization. China will unswervingly deepen reform and expand openness, he pledged, adding that China welcomes European companies to invest and do business in the country. He also called on the EU to provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies. Michel and von der Leyen said China is an important force in the world and that the EU attaches great importance to its relations with China. They said the EU and China enjoy a longstanding relationship of mutual benefit, and that both sides are committed to defending peace and multilateralism. They reaffirmed the EU's commitment to the one-China principle. The EU is willing to deepen cooperation with China in fields such as economy and trade, investment, energy and green development and to jointly address global challenges including COVID-19, climate change and the protection of biodiversity, they said. Xi warns against magnification of Ukraine crisis Xi and the EU leaders also exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine. China finds it "deeply regrettable" that the situation in Ukraine has come to where it is today, Xi said. China is always on the side of peace and makes a conclusion independently based on the merits of each matter, he said. China advocates upholding international law and universally recognized norms governing international relations, and adheres to the UN Charter and promotes the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, he added. He outlined four key points on resolving the crisis under the current circumstances. Efforts should be made to promote peace talks, prevent a larger-scale humanitarian crisis, build lasting peace in Europe and on the Eurasian continent, and prevent the regional conflict from magnifying. China supports the EU's efforts toward a political settlement of the Ukraine issue, and has been encouraging peace talks in its own way, he said. Xi urged the international community to create favorable conditions and environments for the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and make room for political settlement, rather than "add fuel to the fire" and heighten tensions. The root cause of the crisis is the regional security tensions in Europe that have built up over the years, and a fundamental solution is to accommodate the legitimate security concerns of all relevant parties, he stressed, adding that global and regional security frameworks should no longer be built with a Cold War mentality. China supports Europe, especially the EU, in playing a primary role, and supports Europe, Russia, the United States and NATO in holding dialogue to face up to the tensions that have built up over the years and find solutions, so as to build a balanced, effective and sustainable security framework in Europe, he said. Xi also warned about the conflict's potential impacts on the world economic system. Relevant parties "must not let the global economic system be disrupted at will, still less allow attempts to politicize or weaponize the world economy as a tool to serve one's own agenda," he said, warning that such attempts will trigger serious crises in global finance, trade, energy, technology, food, industrial and supply chains. China and the EU need to commit themselves to keeping the situation under control, preventing a spillover of the crisis, and, most importantly, keeping the system, rules and foundation of the world economy stable, in order to bolster public confidence, he said. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Deng Li said on Friday night that the summit has sent positive signals to the world. In an interview with China Media Group (CMG), Deng said China and the EU should work together to safeguard world peace, promote common development and push forward human civilization. The two sides agreed to coordinate on de-escalating the conflict in Ukraine, he noted. KYODO NEWS - Apr 2, 2022 - 12:03 | All, World, Japan Japan's Defense Ministry has been ramping up its messaging on social media over Russia's invasion of Ukraine as it tries to prepare for "hybrid warfare," which combines conventional weapons and information warfare such as the manipulation of public opinion. Recognizing that the need to handle disinformation and fake news is a critical security issue as manifested in the Ukrainian crisis, the ministry is creating a new specialist post in April to oversee such matters, while increasing communication over the internet. The ministry made its first post on the war on Twitter on March 3, a week after the Russian invasion began, which detailed the situation of the ongoing battles in Japanese. It drew more than 30,000 likes, an usually high number for a post by the ministry. Another post on March 29 pointed out that the number of civilian victims was increasing as Russian forces had ramped up missile strikes on urban areas, with a map of the country showing the areas under attack. "We will continue to share as much related information as possible," the tweet said. The move comes as a sense of crisis has developed at the ministry over the ever-increasing amount of disinformation on the internet. Meta Platforms Inc., the operator of Facebook, removed a fake video posted on the service that showed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling on Ukrainians to surrender to Russia. Another video posted on Twitter showing an apparent bombing on Mariupol, a southern Ukrainian city, before the invasion began Feb. 24, turned out to be a lightning strike and was deleted. "Russia is trying to confuse Ukraine by making excuses designed to justify its military operations," a ministry official said. "Accurate information is becoming more and more important" as China may employ similar warfare tactics during a contingency involving Taiwan, the official said. The newly created information specialist will be called senior coordinator for global strategic intelligence, a position within the Defense Intelligence Division of the ministry's Defense Policy Bureau. The official will monitor and analyze operations that try to influence public opinion, putting the ministry on higher alert for potential operations from countries such as Russia and China. KYODO NEWS - Apr 2, 2022 - 12:45 | All, World, Japan Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi arrived Saturday in Warsaw to assist Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion of the East European country. Before returning to Tokyo on Tuesday, Hayashi plans to hold talks with senior Polish officials and visit a sheltering place for Ukrainian evacuees in Warsaw. Japan plans to take about 30 Ukrainian evacuees to Japan on a government plane when Hayashi, who is visiting Poland as a special envoy of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, completes the five-day trip, according to sources familiar with the matter. Japan has come up with the plan to use the plane as airfares have skyrocketed since the invasion started in late February, making it difficult for Ukrainians now in Poland to flee onward to Japan even if they wish, according to the sources. His visit is also aimed at demonstrating Japan's commitment to international efforts to help Ukraine and Poland, which has received more than 2 million refugees from the war-torn country. The number of evacuees traveling to Japan with Hayashi could increase or decrease at the last minute, the sources said. Japan accepted a total of 337 Ukrainian evacuees between March 2 and Wednesday, according to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan. On Sunday, Hayashi will observe how refugees are being received in the southeastern Polish city of Rzeszow where Japan has set up a temporary office. Initially, Kishida had planned to dispatch Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa to Poland but decided to send Hayashi instead because Furukawa was found to have been in close contact of a family member infected with the coronavirus. Related coverage: Hayashi to take 30 Ukraine evacuees to Japan after touring Poland KYODO NEWS - Apr 2, 2022 - 21:59 | All, World Russia's invasion of Ukraine has "totally changed the security landscape in Finland," reigniting debate about joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after decades of remaining neutral, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told Kyodo News earlier this week. Haavisto said the majority of Finland's population now supports joining NATO for the first time in history, despite warnings from Russia that doing so would "have serious political and military consequences." With the two countries sharing a border approximately 1,300 kilometers long, Finland has made neutrality its national policy since World War II in order to ensure its survival. But Finland's foreign and security policies have now hit a historic turning point and Russia will "have to take into consideration that the NATO border is closer to them" should Finland become a member of the military alliance, Haavisto said. Noting that Finland has not really been politically neutral since joining the European Union in 1995, Haavisto added that his country must be prepared for "more negative military scenarios" as recent events have shown that Russia is "capable and willing to make much more risky military operations than what we have so far maybe estimated." Russia's attack on Ukraine has also reminded Finnish citizens of the Soviet invasion of 1939, moving them to take in displaced Ukrainians and galvanizing support for NATO membership, Haavisto said. According to Finland's national broadcaster, a survey of 1,378 people conducted between March 9 to 11 found 62 percent in favor of NATO membership, nine points higher than the previous survey conducted just before and after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Haavisto said the Finnish government plans to compile a report on the security and foreign policy implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine by the middle of the month. KYODO NEWS - Apr 2, 2022 - 11:56 | All, Japan East Japan Railway Co. on Saturday resumed bullet train services between Koriyama and Fukushima stations that were suspended following a powerful earthquake in northeastern Japan more than two weeks ago. Tohoku Shinkansen trains will run at a reduced speed of up to 160 kilometers per hour, half their maximum speed, between the two stations in Fukushima Prefecture and the number of services will be kept at about 50 percent of normal, according to the company, also known as JR East. With the resumption, direct Yamagata Shinkansen Line services to and from Tokyo became possible. The line had only been operating between Fukushima and Shinjo in Yamagata Prefecture in the wake of the M7.4 quake on March 16, which left three people dead and more than 200 injured across more than 10 prefectures. The quake, which struck off the coast of Fukushima, caused one Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train carrying 78 people to derail in Shiroishi, Miyagi Prefecture. The 16 of the train's 17 cars derailed in the incident, injuring four people, with one car moving about 1 meter off the side of the tracks. "I was really anxious because I wasn't sure if the train would actually run," Hiromi Watanabe, a 49-year-old from the city of Fukushima, said after her Tohoku Shinkansen train arrived at Tokyo Station around 8:15 a.m., unloading many passengers including families with suitcases. "I'm really happy I was able to come here as planned," said Watanabe, who was on her way to Tokyo Disney Resort. JR East is hoping to have Tohoku Shinkansen services linking Tokyo and the northeast region running by around April 20. But the operator says, due to the ongoing repair work, it will take a while before the number and the speed of Tohoku Shinkansen trains will return to normal. It plans to resume bullet trains between Sendai and Ichinoseki on Monday. Related coverage: Quake-hit bullet train services to fully resume around April 20 JR says will take 2 weeks to remove bullet train derailed by quake Tragedy avoided on quake-hit derailed shinkansen from lessons learned CARACAS, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia told his Swedish counterpart Ann Linde to stop interfering in his country's internal affairs after the diplomat criticized the situation in the nation, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said Friday. "Mrs. @AnnLinde stop interfering in my country's internal politics; from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela we reject the unfounded comments of the foreign minister of the Kingdom of Sweden," Plasencia posted on his Twitter account. The official was responding to a publication by Linde on March 24, where she claimed to have been in communication with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido and called for "quick negotiations." "We regret this provocation by the Government of Sweden that ignores our democracy and sovereignty," Plasencia said, noting that "no one will be able to divert Venezuela from its determined path of comprehensive development and well-being." The official added that "the efforts of President @NicolasMaduro in favor of dialogue are the real triumph that guarantees tranquility and peace." On March 7, the Venezuelan president made public his decision to reactivate the national dialogue process with all the political sectors of the South American country. "This money does not belong to 9/11 family members, to the United States, or to the Taliban. The money belongs to the people of Afghanistan," said a member of a U.S. advocacy group, which urged the U.S. administration to lift the freeze on Afghanistan's assets. #GLOBALink Produced by Xinhua Global Service CHONGQING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a trade and logistics passage jointly built by western Chinese provincial regions and Singapore, launched a new transport route on Saturday creating the first link directly to the Indian Ocean. Carrying motorcycle parts, the route's first outbound rail-sea transport freight train left southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Saturday. It will first reach the Laotian capital Vientiane by railway and pass through Thailand via highways before arriving at Myanmar's Yangon, its final destination. The new freight service is estimated to take about 10 to 14 days to reach Yangon, cutting the logistics time by more than 20 days compared to the traditional route that goes to eastern coastal cities via the Yangtze River and then out to sea, according to the corridor's operator. By the end of last year, destinations that can be reached via the corridor had been expanded to 315 ports in 107 countries and regions worldwide. In 2021, the rail-sea transport freight trains and cross-border highway shuttle buses and international railway intermodal freight trains launched by Chongqing recorded 60-percent, 17-percent and 30-percent year-on-year growth in goods volume accordingly. BEIRUT, April 2 (Xinhua) -- UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Najat Rochdi on Saturday urged the Lebanese government to work to rebuild the country's education system. "For the future of Lebanon and its children, it is critical that the Lebanese government and all stakeholders work together to rebuild the education system," Rochdi said in a statement, noting that UN agencies have provided significant support. "We are aware of the difficult situation that teachers are facing and are supporting the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in improving the conditions in schools for both teachers and children," she said. Together with the UNICEF, and with the help of EU and German funding, the UN mission in Lebanon is supporting 336,000 Lebanese children and some 198,000 non-Lebanese to enroll in formal public school, said the UN official. Lebanon has been facing an unprecedented financial crisis with a collapse in the local currency, plunging over 74 percent of the population into poverty. Aerial photo taken on Jan. 24, 2022 shows a view of the Laem Chabang Port in Chonburi Province, Thailand. (Xinhua/Wang Teng) RCEP is aimed at creating a new regional economic architecture that supports and contributes to economic integration, enhances the regional supply chains and production networks, and strengthens economic cooperation among participating countries, said a Thai commerce official. BANGKOK, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which took effect in January, is set to play an important role in building the region's resilience through inclusive and sustainable post-pandemic economic recovery, a Thai commerce official said. RCEP is aimed at creating a new regional economic architecture that supports and contributes to economic integration, enhances the regional supply chains and production networks, and strengthens economic cooperation among participating countries, Auramon Supthaweethum, director-general of the Department of Trade Negotiations under the Ministry of Commerce, said in a recent interview with Xinhua. Photo taken in Nong Khai province, Thailand, on Nov. 15, 2021 shows a truck traveling from Laos to Thailand through the 1st Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. (Xinhua/Lin Hao) RCEP, the world's largest free trade pact ever forged, creates an environment where intra-regional trade will be further facilitated and barriers to trade and investment will be remarkably reduced, Auramon said. It also helps strengthen intra-regional trade and investment where companies, investors and especially small and medium-sized enterprises will be able to have access to an integrated regional market that covers nearly a third of the world's population, international trade and global gross domestic product, she said. The RCEP agreement, which groups 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, came into force on Jan. 1 this year. People visit the Thailand pavilion during the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 6, 2019. (Xinhua/Chen Fei) "RCEP and physical connectivity stemming from the Belt and Road Initiative will certainly create an open, transparent, fair and predictable growth and prosperity for the region," Auramon said. Speaking of Thailand-China trade and economic cooperation outlook, she said both countries would benefit from the RCEP deal, as the elimination and reduction of tariffs and improved market access for goods and services will further enhance and create more business opportunities for both Thai and Chinese businesses, while the high-quality commitments for investment under RCEP will attract more Chinese enterprises to invest and establish factories in Thailand, further optimizing the bilateral trade and economic cooperation at large. She also noted that the common rules of origin under the RCEP pact will facilitate regional supply chain management, increase sourcing options within the region, create more opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises to integrate into the regional supply chains, and reduce trading transaction costs for businesses. *In a turbulent world facing the raging COVID-19 pandemic and a struggling global economic recovery, the fact that Chinese and EU leaders had in-depth and candid discussions on major issues concerning global peace and development itself injects positive energy to the world. *EU should form its own perception of China, adopt an independent China policy, and work with China to promote the steady and sustained growth of China-EU relations and to add stabilizing factors to a turbulent world. *The meeting sends a positive message to the world in the midst of all uncertainties, highlighting the significance of China-EU relations and why it is important for the EU to develop its own perception of China. BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and EU leaders met via video link on Friday, as the world is confronted with the raging COVID-19 pandemic, a faltering economic recovery and the Ukraine crisis. Observers said the meeting sends a positive message to the world in the midst of all uncertainties, highlighting the significance of China-EU relations and why it is important for the EU to develop its own perception of China. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen via video link in Beijing, capital of China, April 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) ADDING STABILITY TO TURBULENT WORLD Recalling his visit to the EU headquarters eight years ago when he had called on China and Europe to foster a partnership for peace, growth, reform and civilization, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China's vision remains unchanged. "If anything, it has become more relevant under the current circumstances," Xi told European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during Friday's virtual meeting. Xi stressed that China and the EU should act as two major forces upholding world peace, and offset uncertainties in the international landscape with the stability of China-EU relations. "In a turbulent world facing the raging COVID-19 pandemic and a struggling global economic recovery, the fact that Chinese and EU leaders had in-depth and candid discussions on major issues concerning global peace and development itself injects positive energy to the world," said Deng Li, Chinese vice foreign minister. Speaking to Xinhua, Branimir Vidmarovic, professor at the University of Pula in Croatia, said China has the power and the global significance to act as a bridge between the East and the West and to provide different solutions, though there is a growing mistrust between the West and the East. Bernard Accoyer, former president of the French National Assembly, said friendship is essential for progress in any field, including social progress and peace, which are at the center of all the concerns. Concerning the Ukraine crisis, Xi pointed out that the root cause is the regional security tensions in Europe that have built up over the years, adding that China and the EU need to commit themselves to keeping the situation under control, preventing spillover of the crisis, and, most importantly, keeping the system, rules and foundation of the world economy stable, in order to bolster public confidence. President Xi's comment suggests China and Europe should aim high. They have the potential to reduce conflicts as well as the anti-globalization and protectionist voices in the world, said Cui Hongjian, director of the department for European studies at the China Institute of International Studies. EU NEEDS INDEPENDENT CHINA POLICY Noting that China will stay committed to deepening reform and further opening up, Xi said China welcomes European business investment and expects the EU to provide a fair, transparent and nondiscriminatory environment for Chinese business investment and development in Europe. Xi called on the EU to form its own perception of China, adopt an independent China policy, and work with China to promote the steady and sustained growth of China-EU relations and to add stabilizing factors to a turbulent world. "Under current circumstances, dialogue and cooperation remain the mainstream of China-EU relations, and mutual benefit the keynote of China-EU cooperation," Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in a separate meeting with the two EU leaders on Friday. Li called on the two sides to build on the existing mechanisms to enhance policy coordination on COVID-19 response, climate change and the digital economy, and foster new cooperation highlights. If the European side manages to avoid unnecessary politicization of the relations, the prospects can be very good, especially in the fields of technology and green energy where China has the strength, Vidmarovic said. Oliver Zipse, chairman of the management board of BMW AG, told Xinhua that China has been Germany's most important trading partner for years, and the company's experience in China is a good example of the successful collaboration between the two countries and between China and Europe. The two EU leaders said during the meeting that both sides are committed to defending peace and multilateralism. Reaffirming their commitment to the one-China principle, they added that under the current international situation, it is vital for the EU and China to increase dialogue and cooperation. While the Ukraine crisis has put another straw on the already struggling world economy, many people from the lobbying groups, military industrial corporations, and Capitol Hill in Washington are celebrating with champagne, said a former official of the US Department of Defense. US stock market data show that from February 24 to March 28, the stock price of Lockheed Martin jumped more than 13 percent, that of Northrop Grumman up 13.4 percent, and that of General Dynamics up over 10 percent. The coincidence of the breakout of the Russia-Ukraine crisis and the shooting up of stock prices of American military-industrial companies is telling the world, loud and clear, who is profiteering from the war. Philip George Zimbardo, a retired professor from Stanford University, wrote in his The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil that someone has to prepare and cook war, and there would be no war without these people. In Americas political circle, there is exactly such a military-industrial complex eager to cook war. It is a gigantic interest group comprising the military sector, military-industrial companies, some congress members, national defense research institutes, and think tanks, who are constantly pushing Americas foreign policy in the direction of war and are pursuing obscene profits by creating war and conflicts and agitating arms race. Instigating the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and profiteering from it is what the American military-industrial complex has been planning and doing. It has been swaying Americas foreign policy through interest groups, always challenging Russias bottom line, peddling security anxiety by exaggerating military threats from Moscow, and touting the necessity for European countries to increase their defense spending by a large margin in order to intensify military deterrence. A report from the US Department of Defense shows that since 2014, the US has promised to provide more than USD 2.7 billion worth of so-called security aid to Ukraine; it agreed to provide lethal weapons in 2017; last years security aid alone amounted to more than USD 1 billion according to recent data released by the US State Department. In the eyes of American military-industrial complex, the Russia-Ukraine conflict is just a big fair or advertisement for its weapons. Several European countries, including Germany, Finland and Poland, have announced to increase their defense budget and placed monumental weapon orders with American manufacturers, to which the military-industrial complex is the biggest beneficiary. In 1961, former US President Eisenhower warned American people about the harm done by the military-industrial complex to their country. Well, more than 60 years have passed and it is still manipulating Americas political, diplomatic and military policies without scruple. Open Secrets, an American website, revealed that Americas military-industrial corporations spent USD 2.5 billion on lobbying in the past 20 years to influence the nations defense policy. From 2014 to 2019, former US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, along with over 1,000 senior officials and procurement officers of the US Department of Defense, joined military-industrial companies, using their connections to lure more businesses. An Arms sales report recently issued by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) shows that from 2017 to 2021, global arms sales volume decreased by 4.6 percent compared with the 2012-2016 period, but Americas weapon export increased by 14 percent and its global percentage rose from 32 percent to 39 percent. Its safe to say that where there is war, there are American weapons; as long as there is war, exorbitant profits will keep flowing into the pocket of American military-industrial companies. The US has always prided itself on being the beacon of democracy, yet the stark contrast between its meager spending on battling the pandemic at home and the pocket-lining, champagne-celebrated arms deals of its military-industrial companies, and its horrifying record of starting war and conflicts everywhere around the world have long belied its self-claimed democracy and human rights so much that there is nothing much left to the terms. Hijacked by its military-industrial complex and other interest groups, the US is like a money-eroded chariot of hegemony, bringing to the world as well as its own people nothing but turmoil and damage. Editor's note: This article is originally published on world.people.com.cn, and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen via video link in Beijing, capital of China, April 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met via video link with President Charles Michel of the European Council and President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission in Beijing on the evening of April 1. President Xi recalled that he made a suggestion eight years ago for China and Europe to foster a China-EU partnership for peace, growth, reform and civilization. China's vision remains unchanged. If anything, it has become more relevant under the current circumstances. China and the EU share extensive common interests and a solid foundation for cooperation. Noting the consistency and continuity of China's EU policy, President Xi called on the EU to form its own perception of China, adopt an independent China policy, and work with China to promote the steady and sustained growth of China-EU relations and to add stabilizing factors to a turbulent world. President Xi stressed that China and the EU should act as two major forces upholding world peace, and offset uncertainties in the international landscape with the stability of China-EU relations. The two sides need to take the lead in defending the international system with the UN at its core, the international order underpinned by international law, and the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and jointly reject the resurrection of rival-bloc mentality and oppose attempts at a new Cold War, with a view to maintaining world peace and stability. President Xi pointed out that China and the EU should act as two big markets promoting shared development, and deepen economic globalization through open cooperation. China will stay committed to deepening reform and further opening up. China welcomes European business investment and expects the EU to provide a fair, transparent and nondiscriminatory environment for Chinese business investment and development in Europe. The two sides need to seek greater synergy between their development strategies and explore more complementarity between China's new development philosophy and paradigm and the EU's trade policy for open strategic autonomy. President Xi underscored that China and the EU should act as two great civilizations promoting human progress, and meet global challenges through solidarity and collaboration. The two sides need to follow true multilateralism, advocate a vision of global governance featuring the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, continue to spearhead international cooperation on climate change and biodiversity, and work together to defeat COVID-19. China welcomes the EU's support for and participation in the Global Development Initiative. President Michel and President von der Leyen said that China is an important force in the world. The EU attaches great importance to China's international standing and role, and to developing relations with China. China and the EU enjoy a longstanding relationship of mutual benefit. Both sides are committed to defending peace and multilateralism. Under the current international situation, it is vital for the EU and China to increase dialogue and cooperation. The EU side reaffirmed its commitment to the one-China principle and expressed its desire for candid exchanges with China to sustain the good momentum of EU-China relations. It also expressed readiness to keep deepening cooperation with China in such fields as economy, trade, investment, energy and green development, to jointly confront global challenges like COVID-19, climate change, and protection of biodiversity and promote world peace, economic growth and common prosperity. The EU will provide support and cooperation for the success of the second part of COP15 in China. The two sides exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine. The EU leaders shared their views and propositions on the Ukraine crisis. President Xi emphasized that China finds it deeply regrettable that the situation in Ukraine has come to where it is today. China's position on the Ukraine issue is consistent and clear-cut. China always stands on the side of peace and draws its conclusion independently based on the merits of each matter. China calls for upholding international law and universally recognized norms governing international relations, acts in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and advocates the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. President Xi shared his views on how to settle the Ukraine crisis under the current circumstances: First, promoting peace talks. China supports the EU's efforts toward a political settlement of the Ukraine issue, and has been encouraging peace talks in its own way. Peace talks are the only viable way to prevent an escalation of tensions. The international community should keep creating favorable conditions and environment for the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and make room for political settlement, rather than add fuel to the fire and heighten tensions. Second, preventing a humanitarian crisis on a bigger scale. China has put forward a six-point initiative on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, provided multiple batches of emergency humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, and sent supplies to European countries receiving large numbers of refugees. China will stay in touch with the EU to prevent a bigger humanitarian crisis. Third, fostering lasting peace in Europe and the Eurasian continent. The root cause of the Ukraine crisis is the regional security tensions in Europe that have built up over the years. A fundamental solution is to accommodate the legitimate security concerns of all relevant parties. In this day and age, global and regional security frameworks should no longer be built with a Cold War mentality. China supports Europe, especially the EU, in playing a primary role, and supports Europe, Russia, the U.S. and NATO in holding dialogue to face up to the tensions that have built up over the years and find solutions, so as to build a balanced, effective and sustainable security framework in Europe. Fourth, preventing the regional conflict from magnifying. The Ukraine crisis must be handled properly. One should not take the wrong medicine, or focus on just one aspect of the issue without regard to the rest, or hold the entire world hostage, still less make ordinary people around the world suffer as a result. The more critical the situation, the greater the need to stay levelheaded. The current global economic configuration is the result of longstanding efforts by all countries. It is an integral whole. Parties should cherish this outcome, and must not let the global economic system be disrupted at will, still less allow attempts to politicize or weaponize the world economy as a tool to serve one's own agenda, as such attempts will trigger serious crises in global finance, trade, energy, technology, food, industrial and supply chains, among others. Many are worried that the current situation may wipe out the fruits of international economic cooperation gained through decades of efforts. Should the situation continue to worsen, it may take years, if not decades, to get things back on track. China and the EU need to commit themselves to keeping the situation under control, preventing spillover of the crisis, and, most importantly, keeping the system, rules and foundation of the world economy stable, in order to bolster public confidence. The two sides may carry out coordination and cooperation in this regard. Leaders of both sides agreed that this has been a candid and in-depth discussion in which the two sides increased mutual understanding and reached common understandings in many areas. They agreed to step up communication and exchanges and keep up coordination and cooperation. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen via video link in Beijing, capital of China, April 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) LUSAKA, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Zambia's biggest public university has launched the production of mealie-meal at a milling plant financed by the Chinese government. The University of Zambia (UNZA) said it has opened a sales outlet at its campus in Lusaka, the country's capital, to start selling mealie-meal, according to a statement released Thursday. Luke Mumba, the university's vice-chancellor, said the university was given one of the three milling plants funded by the Chinese government and was grateful for the decision. He said the milling plant will also be developing and offering programs in milling science, a program offered only by South Africa and Kenya, as well as processing of maize into maize products for income generation. He further said the milling plant systems, whose construction works were finalized last year, have been tested and gauged for effectiveness and efficiency. The milling plant has a capacity to produce 40 tons of mealie meal per day. The plant is also engaged in the production of maize bran. In 2017, the Zambian government decided to give the plant to the university funded by China under the Presidential Milling Initiative. Two other plants are situated in Mpika in the northern part of the country and Monze in the southern part of the country. The three plants are a result of an agreement by leaders of the two countries when former President Edgar Lungu visited China in 2015. The three plants are in addition to over 1,000 solar-powered milling plants that have been installed in various parts of the southern African nation since 2015. TOKYO, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Japan plans to raise its daily cap on foreign arrivals to around 10,000 starting from April 10, up from the current 7,000, as the country further relaxes coronavirus border controls, a top government spokesman said Friday. "Japan plans to increase international movements of people in stages by taking into account the infection situation at home and abroad and border control measures that other major nations have taken," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a press conference. The latest decision came as the need has been growing among returning Japanese nationals and foreign visitors to enter the country, including students who wish to stay in Japan. However, foreign tourists are still exceptions. Japan has recently been easing what Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the "most stringent" border controls among the Group of Seven (G7) nations. The daily entry limit was raised by 2,000 to the current 7,000 in mid-March, ahead of the start of the new Japanese school and business year in April. The country effectively imposed an entry ban on nonresident foreign nationals in late November to curb the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. The strict measures drew criticism from students, academics and business circles who claimed that the measures were too strict. The restrictions have prevented foreign students from entering Japan, with around 150,000 said to be waiting as of March 1. So far, over 10,000 of them have arrived in Japan, according to Matsuno. The Japanese government has prioritized foreign students in its border relaxation by allocating empty seats on weekday flights to help them enter smoothly. Also on Friday, Japan eased its travel warning for 106 countries and regions including Britain, France and Germany, India and the United States. Japan had previously been advising Japanese nationals not to travel to those areas. BANGKOK, April 2 (Xinhua) -- A special container depot near Thailand's largest port began operation on Saturday, which is expect ed to facilitate the transportation of cargo through the China-Laos Railway. After the China-Laos Railway started operation in December last year, cargo transported to Thailand via railway would be offloaded at the Vientiane Station of the Lao capital, before being further transported to the destinations in Thailand by road. However, the empty containers will have to be returned to the Vientiane Station, increasing logistics costs. The depot near the Laem Chabang Port, set up by China Railway Container Transport Corp. (CRCT), would allow logistics companies to return the empty containers to the Thai logistic hub, hence lowering the cost by 20 percent compared to returning them to the Vientiane Station. The depot received the first container for return on Saturday. The container left Chongqing in March and arrived at Vientiane via the China-Laos railway, before being transported to Thailand, according to the CRCT. The CRCT Thailand Laem Chabang Depot would also allow customers to pick up empty containers to transport cargo to China through the China-Laos Railway, the company said. In a recent interview with Xinhua, Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanavisit said his country expected to see the transportation of more export products to China through the China-Laos Railway, with fruits, vegetables and other products being the prioritized items. The CRCT added that similar depots would be set up in other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) like Vietnam and Myanmar to further expand the service range of the China-Laos Railway. ISLAMABAD, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan is working with the Afghan caretaker government and other neighbors to ensure that terrorist groups are no longer allowed to use the territory of one country against another, Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa said on Saturday. "We are committed to preserving our gains against terrorism and a peaceful and prosperous West and South Asia is our goal," Bajwa said at the Islamabad Security Dialogue. He said the conflict in Afghanistan for decades has created negative externalities and spillover effects, which have adversely impacted Pakistan's economy, society and security, adding that Pakistan continues to work closely with the international community to pursue peace and stability in Afghanistan. The army chief said it is the collective responsibility of the international community towards the people of Afghanistan to ensure that timely and adequate humanitarian aid flows into the country. Instead of imposing sanctions which have never worked, the world must incentivize Afghans for their positive behavioral change, he added. "Unfortunately, lack of financial flows and continued sanctions are creating a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan," he said at the two-day security dialogue. Pakistan believes that peace and stability in the wider region are prerequisites for achieving shared regional prosperity and development, the army chief said. Regarding Pakistan-U.S. relations, Bajwa said Pakistan wants to strengthen ties with the United States, but not at the cost of others. "Pakistan is positioning itself as a melting pot for a positive global economic interest through our focus on connectivity, development and friendship," he said. COLOMBO, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's imports grew 23.1 percent in January 2022, compared to January 2021, the latest data released by the central bank showed. Imports in January 2022 amounted to 1.96 billion U.S. dollars, while exports grew by 17.5 percent to 1.1 billion dollars year on year in January 2022, according to the central bank. "Import expenditure continued to expand, in spite of high earnings from exports exceeding 1 billion dollars for the eighth consecutive month, thereby widening the deficit in the trade account in January 2022, compared to January 2021," the central bank said. Import of intermediate goods grew by 32.5 percent in January 2022. Fuel was the largest import with 120 million dollars. Tourism revenues grew to 148 million dollars from just 4 million dollars in January 2021. Workers' remittances were recorded at 259 million dollars in January 2022, in comparison to 325 million dollars in December 2021 and 675 million dollars in January 2021. SOFIA, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday evening that it has declared one diplomat at the Russian Embassy in Sofia persona non grata and given him 72 hours to leave the country. The ministry said in a press release that it made the decision after it was informed by the Prosecutor's Office of Bulgaria that a Russian diplomat has carried out "intelligence activities." Bulgaria expelled 12 Russian diplomats in March. The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) inked on Saturday between India and Australia will improve engineering goods exports from India, the industry association said in a statement. "The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement between India and Australia bodes well for the engineering goods sector. The agreement would enable exporters to get more market access in Australia, boosting growth momentum "Chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India, Mahesh Desai said. In the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison, India's Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan signed the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement in a virtual ceremony on Saturday. Less than a week after signing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the United Arab Emirates, India has struck a trade agreement with Australia. "India's signed trade agreements, as well as those in the works, will give a huge boost to the engineering sector, which has been a major driver of the country's exports. Because engineering is a labour-intensive industry, more exports would result in the creation of more jobs "Desai stated. India, Australia sign trade pact; Indian goods to get duty-free access Centre Extends Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 by another 6 months India-UAE Free Trade Agreement could take effect on May 1: Goyal ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Bajwa has urged that Russia's invasion of Ukraine must be "stopped immediately." As per reports, General Bajwa underlined Pakistan's grave worry about the situation at the Islamabad Security Dialogue, saying that "despite Russia's legitimate security concerns, its aggression against a smaller country cannot be allowed." "Pakistan has repeatedly demanded a rapid ceasefire and an end to hostilities. We advocate immediate talks amongst all parties in order to find a long-term solution to the dispute "he said. He described the Russian invasion of Ukraine as "unfortunate" because it resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, the displacement of millions, and the destruction of "half of Ukraine." The army chief reportedly stated that the fight gave hope to smaller countries that they could still defend their territory with smaller but nimble soldiers against a larger country's aggression by selectively modernising equipment. He said that while Pakistan has had great defence and commercial ties with Ukraine since independence, relations with Russia have been "cool" for a long time due to a variety of factors. However, the COAS recently stated that there have been some positive improvements in this respect, the reports add. Pakistan's Army called for talks to resolve all disputes with India Pakistan issues strong demarche to foreign country over threatening letter 'Imran Khan will move out, but new PM of PAK will only play enmity with India', know why Yashwant Sinha said so BEIJING, April 2 -- Recently, a combined-arms regiment under the PLA Xinjiang Military Command stationed on the Karakoram Plateau at an elevation of more than 4,500 meters conducted the training drills on offensive combat in mountainous area. Troops of the armored, engineer, reconnaissance and chemical defense forces got coordinated to seize and control key points, in the process of which the technical and tactical performance of various new equipment has been tested. NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepal counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba signed several Memorandums of Understanding (MoU)and jointly launched cross-border passenger rail services and the RuPay payment system in Nepal on Saturday. After a delegates-level meeting between the two leaders, train services between Jainagar, India, and Kurtha, Nepal, were started on Saturday. The passenger train services were created with the help of India's grant. They also dedicated the Solu Corridor 132 KV power transmission line and substation in Nepal, which was developed with funds from the Indian government's Line of Credit. Nepal has also joined the International Solar Alliance. On Saturday, both leaders met at Hyderabad House in Delhi for a delegation-level meeting. "Wide-ranging conversations on our multi-faceted collaboration are on the agenda," said Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs. Deuba paid respect to Mahatma Gandhi and lay a wreath at Raj Ghat before arriving at Hyderabad House. S. Jaishankar, India's External Affairs Minister, met Deuba in Delhi on Friday. "I am convinced that this visit will improve our close neighbourly connections even further," he stated. Deuba had already paid a visit to the BJP's headquarters and met with party chief J.P. Nadda. The delegation that met Nadda included Deuba, his wife, and four Nepalese cabinet ministers. The meeting lasted approximately 30 minutes. At the BJP office, Nadda met with Nepal Prime Minister Deuba. Modi, Nepal PM hold delegation-level talks PM Modi speaks Lavrov: Offer bridging gap between Russia and Ukraine India, Australia Sign Economic Cooperation, Trade Agreement NEW DELHI: On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Nepal counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba met at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi for delegation-level talks. They are expected to officially inaugurate the Kurtha-Jayanagar railway line. Arindam Bagchi, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of External Affairs said, the two leaders will "review the progress in our collaboration and discuss measures to strengthen the India-Nepal cooperation agenda." The official said Modi and Deuba were "working together to raise India-Nepal ties to greater heights" ahead of the summit. Deuba began his second day of travel by paying his respects at Rajghat. Deuba visited the BJP headquarters shortly after his arrival on Friday evening, where he met party chairman J.P. Nadda. Later in the day, he met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who stated that the Nepali leader's visit "would further deepen our close neighbourly ties." This is Deuba's first journey outside of the country since taking office in July of last year. He is accompanied by his wife, Arzu Rana Deuba, and a 50-member team from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Water Resources, Health and Population, Agriculture, and Physical Planning. PM Modi speaks Lavrov: Offer bridging gap between Russia and Ukraine India, Australia Sign Economic Cooperation, Trade Agreement 'We are ready to cooperate with India in every way...', Russian Foreign Minister meets PM Modi amid heavy sanctions ISLAMABAD: Speaking at the Islamabad Security Dialogue, Pakistan Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa called for dialogue to resolve all disputes with India. On Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan opened the dialogue. Under the subject "Comprehensive Security: Reimagining International Cooperation," the conference brought together Pakistani and international policy experts to explore current issues in international security. 17 foreign speakers from the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Russia, the European Union, Japan, the Philippines, and other countries are speaking at the Islamabad Security Dialogue. "I believe today more than ever we need to inculcate and promote such spaces for intellectual debate and discourse where people from around the world come together to share their ideas about the future of their country and the world at large," COAS Gen Bajwa said, praising the National Security Division's efforts in organising the second security dialogue. He believed that settings like this are particularly important because they allow outstanding persons to recognise the necessity for global cooperation rather than hostility. In response to the world's exceptional challenges, he stated that the rise of inter-state conflicts despite shared global challenges such as poverty, climate change, terrorism, cyber intrusion, and resource scarcity raises serious concerns for the international order. Pakistan opposition declares Imran Khan 'security threat' Pakistan rupee hit all-time low on repayments of Chinese loans Pakistan issues strong demarche to foreign country over threatening letter Do you think you know Nepal? It might be surprising to know that you have learned false information about the country where you have lived in. After all, you went through so many books to mug up multiple facts about Nepal. And, since your teachers taught you, you never bothered to cross-check whether it is right or wrong either. But, now, it is time that you question some of the information and facts that you were taught wrong. Here are some of the facts to relearn from your school times. 1. Daura suruwal, Dhaka topi and gunyu choli are not the national dresses Mannequins wearing regular cotton daura suruwal and brocade daura suruwal outside a wedding attire shop in Bangemudha. Photo: Nasana Bajracharya It might be surprising to you to know that daura surwal and Dhaka topi and gunyu choli are not the national dresses of Nepal as you imagine the ensemble to be a true Nepali attire. Of course, they are the traditional attire of Nepal, but not the national dress for now. Of course, they were believed to be the national dress in the past, they were removed from the status after Nepal became a federal republic in 2011. But, they are still the attire worn by some communities of Nepal, like the Khas Aryas, and are popularly considered official dresses of the country. 2. Kabaddi is not the national game, neither is dandi biyo Many of you have been taught that your national game is kabaddi. Although kabaddi may be one of the most loved and played games by Nepali people as a pastime or as a competition, it is not the national game of Nepal. Besides this, some of you were also taught that dandi biyo, a game which is played by striking two sticks, was the national game. This is also false. Volleyball is the national game of Nepal, as declared in May 2017. 3. There are only 4 World Heritage sites in Nepal In school, you all are taught that there are seven World Heritage sites in the Kathmandu valley, and three others outside the valley. But, the fact is that the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has listed only four sites as World Heritage sites from Nepal: the Kathmandu valley, Lumbini, Chitwan National Park and Sagarmatha National Park. This means all three Durbar Squares, Pashupatinath temple, Swoyambhu Stupa, Bouddha Stupa and Changunarayan that you were taught as different heritage sites only count as the one single World Heritage site. 4. Neither momo nor dal-bhat is national food File: A Thakali khana set As much as you would like to believe, the hard truth is momo is not your national food. Even though nationally, or even internationally, people might think momo is an identity of Nepal and Nepali food, momo still does not hold the title officially. It is one of the most loved food items in Nepal, but it is not Nepali food and is originally from Tibet. Now, you might question if not momo, what is your national food? You might think dhindo, gundruk or dal bhat is the national food, but again you would be wrong. They are only traditional authentic local Nepali food items because officially, there is no Nepali food as of today. 5. Mount Everest is not the tallest mountain on earth Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world, you all have learned this, repeated it and proudly boasted for being the country situated in the lap of Mount Everest. While it is partially true, you might want to get a few more facts right here. Before you get enraged, let us clarify here that Mount Everest is not the highest mountain on earth but it is the highest mountain on earth that is above sea level, standing tall at 29031.69 feet (8,848.86 metres). But, technically, if you consider the height of mountains from their base to peak, Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain on earth with a height of 9,966 metres (32,696 feet). Mauna Kea is a dormant volcanic mountain that originates deep beneath the Pacific Ocean, this is why one can only see 4,207.3 metres of it above sea level. Mount Everest is also not the highest point from the earths centre. You all know that the earth is not a perfect sphere, it is a bit thicker at the equator due to the centrifugal force created by the planets constant rotation. Due to this, from different points, different mountains are the tallest. And, in this regard, the highest point from the earths centre is not Mount Everest but the peak of Ecuadors Mount Chimborazo with a height of 6,268 metres (20,564 ft) above sea level, It is located just one degree south of the equator where the earths bulge is greatest. This also makes Mt Chimborazo the closest point on earth to the stars. 6. Bhimsen Thapa was not the first prime minister Bhimsen Thapa painting. Photo: Wikimedia Commons In schools, you were taught that Bhimsen Thapa was the first prime minister of Nepal. Despite attempts of correction, people still consider him as the first prime minister of Nepal. But, the fact is he was not the first prime minister as he has never held the position of premier. Technically, Bhimsen Thapa was a mukhtiyar, a leader of the military troop or commander-in-chief. But many (mis)translate mukhtiyar to be equivalent to the prime minister in terms of duties and position, due to the influence of British writers and the intervention of the international political powers. But again, Bhimsen Thapa was also not the first mukhtiyar either; he was the second person to hold that title after King Rana Bahadur Shah. 7. Dharahara in Sundara is the not first one Two Dharaharas. Photo Courtesy: Sushil Bickram Thapa/ Facebook Many of you learned in schools that Bhimsen Thapa built Dharahara in Sundhara. For the longest time, many believed that it was the first and only Dharahara Thapa had built. But, there was another Dharahara before it. Bhimsen Thapa built older Dharahara in 1824 (1881 BS) at his residence, Janarala Bagh, which is located southeast of Dharahara you know, near Botebahal of Kathmandu. It got collapsed in half in the 1834 earthquake and was never built. 8. Pratap Malla did not start Gai Jatra For a long time, you learned that Gai Jatra, one of the famous festivals of the Newa community, was started by Pratap Malla to console his grieving queen. But, there is not much information to confirm that the festival was celebrated by the 17th century of the king of Kantipur. Historian and writer Gautama Vajra Vjracharya said that Pratap Malla was not the one to start the Gai Jatra. It is argued that during the 17th century, every good deed was associated with the monarch and, this festival was another such example only. Historian Dinesh Raj Pant also adds Pratap Malla could not have been the one to start the festivals as Gai Jatra is celebrated more vigorously in Patan and Bhaktapur than in Kathmandu, his kingdom. 9. Swasthani Brata Katha was first written in Nepal Bhasa Nepali Hindu devotees take holy water from Bagmati river on the bank of Pashupatinath Temple during Madhav Narayan festival in Kathmandu, Nepal. Nepali Hindu women observe a fast and pray to Goddess Swasthani and God Madhavnarayan for longevity of their husbands and family prosperity during the month-long festival. Swasthani Barta Katha is very familiar to many of you. For a month, women and men take fast and follow all the rituals strictly complete reading Swathani Barta Katha. For a long time, it has been popular in the Nepali language and, hence, thought to be an original Nepali scripture. But it has been learned that it was first written in Nepal Bhasa, as early as 693 Nepal Sambat or around 1573 AD by Jayanta Dev. But, from the early 19th century only, you see Nepali versions of Swasthani, which coincides with the rise of Shah rulers in Kathmandu with the influence of the British Empire in India. (Fixes dropped word in headline, no change to text) * Curfew until 0030 GMT on Monday * Lawyers urge president to revoke state of emergency * Sri Lankans suffering from lack of fuel, essential items * India rushes to provide food aid By Uditha Jayasinghe COLOMBO, April 2 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's government imposed a weekend curfew on Saturday even as hundreds of lawyers urged President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to revoke a state of emergency to ensure that freedom of speech and peaceful assembly are respected under the country's economic crisis. "Under the powers given to the president, curfew has been imposed countrywide from 6 p.m. (1230 GMT) on Saturday to 6 a.m. (0030 GMT) on Monday," the government's information department said in a statement. Rajapaksa on Friday invoked stringent laws to tackle growing unrest in the unprecedented crisis. In the past, a state of emergency order allowed the military to arrest and detain suspects without warrants. The current restrictions were not immediately clear, said a rights' lawyer. Bhavani Fonseka, a senior researcher at the nonprofit Colombo Centre for Policy Alternatives rights group said regulations defining the president's emergency powers have yet to be issued. Shops opened and traffic was normal, while police remained stationed at some petrol stations. The Indian Ocean island nation of 22 million people is grappling with rolling blackouts for up to 13 hours a day as the government scrambles to secure foreign exchange to pay for fuel imports.. Rajapaksa said the state of emergency was necessary to protect public order and maintain essential supplies and services. The order has raised fears that the government could resort to a crackdown to quell protests. "There has been a failure to understand the aspirations of the people and to empathize with the suffering of the people of the country," the lawyers, members of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, said in their appeal. Story continues Reacting to the state of emergency, American Ambassador to Sri Lanka U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung said, "Sri Lankans have a right to protest peacefully - essential for democratic expression. "I am watching the situation closely, and hope the coming days bring restraint from all sides, as well as much needed economic stability and relief for those suffering," she tweeted https://twitter.com/USAmbSL/status/1510092795452981248?s=20&t=TPXDzfvxXd7wQLkfPGg8Yw. Angered by shortages of fuel and other essential items, hundreds of protesters clashed on Thursday with police and the military outside Rajapaksa's residence as they called for his ouster and torched several police and army vehicles. Police arrested 53 people and imposed a curfew in and around Colombo on Friday to contain other sporadic protests. Highlighting the severe shortage of foreign currency, a vessel carrying 5,500 metric tonnes of cooking gas had to leave Sri Lankan waters after Laugfs Gas, the company that ordered it, could not procure $4.9 million from local banks to pay for it. "People are struggling with an acute shortage of cooking gas, but how can we help them when there are no dollars? We are stuck," Laugfs Gas Chairman W.H.K. Wegapitiya told Reuters. The ongoing crisis - the result of economic mismanagement by successive governments - has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit tourism and remittances. It has also marked a sharp turnaround in political support for Rajapaksa, who swept to power in 2019 promising stability. The government has said it is seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund and fresh loans from India and China. In the first major food aid to the country since Colombo secured a credit line from New Delhi, Indian traders have started loading 40,000 tonnes of rice. (Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe and Dinuka Liyanawatte; Writing by Rupam Jain; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and William Mallard) Welcome to Startups Weekly, a fresh human-first take on this weeks startup news and trends. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. Its YC week, and while I love to question how the accelerators impact is evolving in todays climate, theres always a lot to learn about hundreds of founders coming together and debuting their businesses to the world. I, alongside some of my favorites on the TechCrunch and TechCrunch+ team, covered Y Combinator Winter 2022 Demo Day with a series of posts: Now that were done, though, I want to leave you with a few takeaways I had after listening to hundreds of pitches. Heres what 411 Demo Day pitches will teach you about startups: India is all about fintech: India was the most represented country, other than the United States in the Winter 2022 batch. For what its worth, more than 191 companies in India have been funded through the Y Combinator accelerator, with nearly half half! of those companies accepted in the last 12 months. Demo Day isnt for funding, anymore: During Equity this week, we chatted about how demo days have evolved in utility, and if the performance in and of itself is outdated. I wont ruin our eventual conclusion, but I will mention some illustrious YC data. This year, YC said that it backs startups at any stage for its accelerator, and that more than half of the companies raised money prior to acceptance. To me that means that the accelerator isnt really for the pre-seed company seeking its first check, but for any company that wants access to the YC network. Competition is inevitable: We noticed that a number of startups basically directly compete with each other in this seasons batch, which isnt a new trend but perhaps a more noteworthy one as the accelerator scales. Most early-stage investors I speak to try to avoid any semblance of conflict of interest, so YC backing companies in the same geography, with identical business models and founding years is contrarian in a way. It seems like the accelerator has avoided any public tensions so far by separating similar startups from each other but with around a 2% acceptance rate, one has to wonder how similar bets are determined. Story continues I did an earlier version of this column in September, titled "What 377 Y Combinator pitches will teach you about startups. Months later, the accelerator has grown its expanse, with nearly half of its companies based outside the United States and new representation from New Zealand, Sudan, Uganda and Costa Rica. Ill remind you all, as I always do, that YC similar to any singular institution isnt entirely illustrative of the next wave of decision-makers and leaders within startups. Its growing check size, for example, knocked out a whole slew of funders who once poached deal flow from demo day. And when it comes to diversity, the accelerator dipped in support for some underrepresented groups. In the rest of this newsletter, well look at an edtech round in India, getting rid of pro rata and Cross River Bank's atypical raise. As always, you can support me by forwarding this newsletter to a friend, following me on Twitter or subscribing to my personal blog. Deal of the week Classplus! As our own Manish Singh points out, at a time when so many edtech firms in India are attempting to cut their reliance on teachers, a Noida-based startup that is helping teachers and creators operate, manage and sell courses to students has raised $70 million in a new financing round. The startup, now valued at $570 million, is just four years old. Heres why its important: Offline coaching in which tutors go in-person to teach students on a variety of subjects is still very popular in India, however its limited by geography. The pandemic, and a broader digitization across the globe, has made some teachers pursue online opportunities to grow their larger businesses. Classplus ability to raise money means that urban India has enough demand to be a venture-backable market. Honorable mentions: Lets get rid of pro rata Investors Vijay Chattha and Jay Kapoor, who co-founded a venture firm spin out from a PR company, recently wrote an op-ed arguing that VC should abolish pro rata. The duo drew from a portfolio survey and found that investors rarely provide value-add beyond 90 days from the signed term sheet. At that point, the investors engagement is limited to their attendance at the quarterly board meeting and thats the lead investor, the op-ed continues. The investors thus think that their peers shouldnt invoke contractually negotiated pro-rata rights if they arent involved in the business, since their mere presence on the cap table disincentivizes other VCs from working harder for their founders." Heres why its important: Chattha and Kapoors argument is contrarian, because it bets on investors changing their habits at the cost of their own returns. However, I like that its asking investors to raise their bar on involvement and influence once they land that coveted cap table spot. Its easy to give up pro rata in a startup that is struggling, but what about needing to constantly prove yourself to your highest valued company? Incentive alignment for days, if you ask me. Other surprises from the week: blank check SPAC Image Credits: Lawrence Anareta / Getty Images From tiny to mighty, real fast Cross River Bank has raised $620 million in funding at a valuation north of $3 billion. The company provides technology infrastructure to venture-backed lending and payments, making the raise somewhat of a double bet on fintechs boom. Heres why its important: Fintech startups raised $121.6 billion last year up 153% year-over-year in terms of global VC deal value, however, as Mary Ann pointed out, its atypical to pour millions of dollars into a traditional bank. Andreessen Horowitz general partner David George explained why he is so interested in the company: "When Coinbase was first starting out and looking for a partner bank, many traditional financial institutions had blanket policies that prevented them from participating in crypto, George told TechCrunch. Cross River, on the other hand, had the foresight to lean into this new frontier and support Coinbase, and many other leading crypto companies, who are still happy partners to this day." Validation for days: Image of a hand inserting a speech bubble into a white piggy bank against a purple background. Image Credits: Boris Zhitkov (opens in a new window) / Getty Images Across the week We get to hang out in person! Soon! TechCrunch Early Stage 2022 is April 14, aka right around the corner, and its in San Francisco. Join us for a one-day founder summit featuring GVs Terri Burns, Greylocks Glen Evans and Felicis Aydin Sekut. The TC team has been fiending to get back in person, so dont be surprised if panels are a little spicier than usual. Heres the full agenda, and grab your launch tickets here. Follow our new senior crypto reporter, Jacquelyn Melinek and our new senior enterprise reporter, Kyle Wiggers. Finally, if you missed last weeks Startups Weekly, read it here: We keep trying to reinvent startup accelerators. Seen on TechCrunch a16z, NFX back Latituds effort to become the operating system for every venture-backed company in LatAm People are sending 7 billion voice messages on WhatsApp every day Are we about to see a unicorn selloff? Lightning strikes again as Electric hits unicorn status Seen on TechCrunch+ Crypto mining is approaching a key inflection point How to make a teaser trailer for your startup pitch EquityZens Phil Haslett on how startup valuations can regain their moxie How Plaids CTO grew his engineering team 17.5x in 4 years Are we seeing evidence of a startup slowdown? Until next time, N COVID-19 exposed and deepened many inequities in our state. One thing was starkly clear: Granite Staters and Americans across the country need more options for accessible, affordable health care. And they need those options now. Somersworth Mayor Dana Hilliard. Our U.S. Senators Shaheen and Hassan, along with our entire congressional delegation, showed their commitment to this issue last year by passing the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) which included an important expansion of health insurance subsidies. These subsidies help millions of Americans afford health care. Because of this expansion in 2021, nearly 23,000 uninsured residents in New Hampshire gained eligibility for tax credits relief. Nationwide, a historic 6 million Americans gained access to affordable health care since the subsidy expansion. These subsidies expire at the end of the year. Without extending these subsidies, thousands of Granite Staters will be at risk of losing their health care. The issue of health care affordability cuts across every administration, state, race, and political party. Its one that legislators have grappled with in the halls of Congress, and that patients continue to confront in their daily lives. And even with myriad concerns facing our nation today, this issue remains top of mind for Americans. Unfortunately, there are still far too many New Hampshire residents who started this year wondering how theyll make ends meet for themselves and their families. Record inflation has only exacerbated already-strained financial situations, as the annual inflation rate rose to 7.5% by the end of January 2022 the biggest increase weve seen since 1982. As Americans are paying more at the grocery store and gas pump, the last thing they should have to worry about is health care premium increases. Right now, legislators have the power to address this issue and ease the financial burden on Americans by making health care subsidies permanent. Throughout my work in public service, education, and as Mayor of Somersworth, issues related to equality, diversity and civil rights have always held great weight in my personal and professional work. As is often the case when critical financial and health-related benefits go by the wayside, the people who are the most disadvantaged will feel the greatest negative impact. While rising health care costs have certainly affected everyone, historically disadvantaged communities will suffer disproportionately if health insurance tax credits vanish at the end of this year. Legislators must keep this population of Americans in mind when making any policy decisions related to the cost of health care. Story continues If Congress lets ARPA subsidies expire, the marketplace enrollees with the lowest incomes are those who will face the most severe financial consequences. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, "people with incomes between 1 and 1.5 times the poverty level currently represent 42% of enrollees. For this population, the benefits of current subsidies are dramatic: they pay nothing or very little for their monthly health care premiums. If Congress fails to extend these subsidies, 42% of enrollees may not be able to cover health care expenses next year. President Biden himself recently noted in his State of the Union address that the American Rescue Plan is helping millions of families with Affordable Care Act plans to save them $2,400 a year on their health premiums, saying we must make these savings permanent. I wholeheartedly echo the Presidents sentiments. Knowing that current subsidies lower the cost of health insurance and bring more Americans into the federal marketplace, this issue must be a top priority for lawmakers. It will take the experience and strong leadership skills of our members of Congress to make these health care subsidies permanent. Everyone deserves equal access to quality, affordable care and solidifying these health care subsidies for the future will be a meaningful step toward this goal. Dana S. Hilliard is mayor of Somersworth. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Mayor Hilliard: Congress must not let ARPA health supports expire Ned Birkey Weather: La Nina is continuing, which means March through May will be slighter cooler than normal. The updated MSU 30-year average (1980-2010) spring freeze date (28F) is April 13 and the frost date (32F) is April 25. The growing season has lengthened by two weeks since the previous 30-year average spring and fall frost dates. Great Lakes Shipping: The opening of the shipping season on the Great Lakes is always an exciting time for me and another indication that Spring is here! The article in the Sunday, March 27, 2022 Monroe News regarding the Port of Monroe represents as an important part of the economy of Monroe and an integral part of shipping on the Great Lakes. Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada had their annual Top Hat ceremony on March 24 at Lock 8 of the Welland Canal by welcoming the Captain of the first freighter going Downbound through the Welland Canal. This celebrates the opening of the new shipping season after the locks having been closed during the winter months. Why are there locks in Ontario? There is a 327-foot elevation difference between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, (think Niagara Falls) resulting in vessels transiting eight locks. The locks, last upgraded in 1932, can accommodate boats up to 740 feet long, 78 feet wide, with a maximum draft of 26 feet. Salties are boats that transit salt water, perhaps bringing in sugar, and then loaded with other commodities such as grain out of the Port of Toledo, such as soybeans going to Japan, corn going to Rotterdam or wheat going to Egypt. Once they leave the St. Lawrence Seaway, they have to top off at an East Coast port, such as Baltimore, before they can resume their trip. Unfortunately, we can thank the salties for bringing in invasive species with their ballast water, such as zebra mussels from Europe. Lakers are the boats that stay within the interior four Great Lakes. There are 13 1,000-footers that can take advantage of the 1,200-foot-long Poe Lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, while smaller boats can use the 800-foot MacArthur Lock. These locks are operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, that enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. There is a 21-foot drop of the St. Marys River that the locks are designed to circumnavigate between Lakes Superior and Huron. Story continues This year the Soo Locks opened at 12:01 a.m. on March 25, as per federal law. Once a boat has cleared the Soo Locks, it is an eight-hour trip to Duluth, Minn. On average between 7,000 to 10,000 boats go through the Soo Locks in a season, moving about 80 million tons of cargo and an estimated three percent of the entire U.S. domestic product. Congress finally appropriated monies to upgrade the decommissioned Sabin and Davis Locks to be a second 1,200-foot lock, though this work is not expected to be completed until around 2030. The entire St. Lawrence Seaway is 2,342 miles long from Duluth, Minn. to the Atlantic Ocean. Grain, iron ore and coal are the three largest bulk commodities shipped through the system. With the 2016 expansion of the Panama Canal, the Welland Canal, last upgraded 90 years ago, is an increasingly limiting factor to shipping into and out of Michigan and the interior of the Great Lakes. Ag Calendar March 31: Weed Control MSU Virtual Breakfast webinar series. 7-8am. March 31: USDA Prospective Planting and Quarterly Grain Stocks Report. April 7: Soil Fertility MSU Virtual Breakfast webinar series. 7-8am. April 7: MSU Pesticide Review Class. 8am to 12 noon. Registration fee $25. MDARD Private and Commercial Core pesticide exams; 12:30 to 5pm. $50 or $75 fee. Register through MDARD website. April 14: Forage Fertility MSU Virtual Breakfast webinar series. 7-8am. April 21: Corn and Soybean Planting Considerations MSU Virtual Webinar series. April 28: Apps for Weed/ Plant Identification MSU Virtual Webinar Series. 7-8am. Ned Birkey is MSU Extension Educator Emeritus and a regular contributor to The Monroe News. This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe County agriculture: Start of Great Lakes shipping exciting time If you own even one of the 122,880 pieces of taxable property located in Dona Ana County, you should have already received your 2022 Notice of Value from the county assessors office. The notices serve to inform property owners of the total assessed and taxable values of their properties, as well as which exemptions, if any, have been applied to the individual parcels. The final tally will be used to calculate the 2022 tax bills that will be sent to property owners in November. Included in the total are 56,427 parcels with at least one single-family home, 4,461 commercial properties, 1,987 properties with townhomes, 1,141 residential condominiums, 1,514 properties with rental apartments and 19,863 parcels of land, according to Cole Ortiz, the countys Chief Appraiser. In addition, 17,505 mobile-home owners were apprised of their new values. Personal property accounts, which cover business and livestock equipment thats being depreciated, account for an additional 11,771 tax bills. Five hundred seventy-nine of the personal property bills are for livestock equipment alone. Private owners of land and titleholders of mobile homes are not the only folks whose assets are taxed by the county. Owners of railroads, telephone companies, electric companies and the like also received notices, as did business and livestock operators who use non-real estate type equipment in connection with the operation of their businesses. The total value of Dona Ana Countys real and personal property clocked in at $15.8 billion this year, up from $14.8 billion in 2021. Gary Sandler The taxable value of real and personal property is calculated to be one-third of the total appraised value, minus any allowable exemptions. In the case of a home valued at $150,000, the taxable value would be $50,000, minus any exemptions. Applicable mill rates used to calculate the amount of the property taxes vary depending on the location and type of property, i.e., city vs. county / commercial vs. residential. More from Gary: Selling or leasing real estate without a license can be a felony in New Mexico Story continues So, what if you disagree with the countys take on the value of your property? You simply file a protest petition with the assessors office no later than May 2. The May 2 date also represents the deadline for filing for the various property tax exemptions available to a significant number of city and county property owners. Heres how the systems work. Protesting your evaluation. Taxpayers can protest their values themselves or hire a property tax consultant to do it on their behalf. If they are successful, consultants typically take as much as 50 percent of the savings as their fee. Protest petitions can be downloaded from the assessors website at https://donaanacounty.org/assessor. Once the petition is received by the assessors office, a county appraiser will be assigned to contact you for an appointment to do an on-site inspection of your property. During his or her visit, the appraiser will want to review your closing statement or an appraisal report if you purchased the property within the last couple of years. A market analysis from a local Realtor detailing the 2021 value, flyers on nearby comparable properties that are for sale in your neighborhood, and any other documentation you may have that substantiates your claim of a lesser value should also be available for the appraiser to review. Short sales and bank repossessions are typically not used as comparable sales because they are often discounted anywhere from 9 to 33 percent, according to statistics from the Las Cruces Association of Realtors. After reaching a decision, the appraiser will notify you by mail of his or her determination. If you agree with the appraisers conclusion, you can indicate such on the form and the process comes to an end. If you disagree with the re-evaluation, you can submit a request to present your case to county staff at one of the protest hearings that take place in August and September. The assessors office received 745 such protests in 2021. Tax consultants represented 414 of those protests. More in real estate: How accurate is the assessed value of your home? Applying for exemptions. There are four types of property tax exemptions eligible property owners can apply to receive. The most common is the Head of Family exemption. A head of family is defined as a person who is responsible for at least 50 percent of the cost of support for the household. Just about anyone who owns and occupies a property as their primary residence meets the qualification even single folks. The exemption provides a $2,000 deduction from the taxable value, resulting in an approximate yearly savings of $63.17 for single-family residences located within the Las Cruces city limits, and about $48.10 on homes located in the county. Similar savings are afforded to property owners in Sunland Park, Anthony, Hatch and Mesilla. The next most common exemption is afforded to veterans who were honorably discharged, as well as spouses of deceased veterans. The Veterans Exemptions $4,000 reduction in net assessed value can be used in tandem with the $2,000 Head of Family exemption and saves the veteran or his or her unmarried surviving spouse an additional $126.34 in the city and $96.20 in the county. Applicants must obtain a Certificate of Eligibility from the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services or the Veterans Administration prior to applying for the exemption. The local Las Cruces DVS office is located at 2024 E. Griggs Avenue (575-524-6220). To obtain the certificate online directly from the Veterans Administration, visit: https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits/about/feature?feature=cert-of-eligibility-home-loan When taken together, Head of Family and Veterans Exemptions save homeowners whose properties are located within the Las Cruces city limits $189.51 annually. County residents save $144.30 per year when both exemptions are applied. A veteran who has been deemed to be 100 percent disabled, as well as his or her unmarried surviving spouse, are eligible for exemption #3, which is a 100% property tax abatement on his or her place of residence. The break eliminates property taxes in their entirety and remains on the property until a change of ownership occurs. The DVS can provide the information and forms needed to make application. More Real Estate Connection: Record sales intensify deed solicitation scams The fourth and final exemption is the Valuation Freeze. This tax break freezes the assessed value at this years level and minimizes future tax increases. It is offered to two types of homeowners. One is a person who has been deemed to be 100% disabled, regardless of age. The other consists of those over the age of 65 whose 2021 modified gross income was $37,300, or below. Proof of income and disability must accompany the application. Homeowners who have qualified for the freeze over three consecutive years no longer have to apply. Ive always received excellent customer service when Ive called or visited the assessors office at the County Government Center located at 845 N. Motel Boulevard in Las Cruces (575-647-7400). I think you will as well if you choose to swap out a little legwork for a fairly sizable hunk-a-dough. See you at closing. Gary Sandler is a full-time Realtor and president of Gary Sandler Inc., Realtors in Las Cruces. He loves to answer questions and can be reached at 575-642-2292 or Gary@GarySandler.com. Others are reading: This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Nows the time to protest property values and apply for exemptions Since the start of the Ukraine War, a barrage of western sanctions has crippled the Russian economy and wreaked havoc on its financial system. The country has been largely cut off from the international payment system SWIFT, seen its access to $630 billion in foreign exchange reserves restricted, and watched as more than $17 billion in assets were seized from Russian oligarchs. But for the past eight years, Russia has been preparing for the worst. In June of 2014, just three months after its invasion of the Crimean Peninsula, the country established its own payment system to help process credit card transactions domestically. Russias National Payment Card Systemknown to Russians as NSPKhas continued to process credit card transactions during the latest fighting in Ukraine. Even though Mastercard, Visa, American Express, PayPal, and Discover have all suspended their operations in Russia, its citizens arent experiencing the type of disruption many might expect. Mastercard told Fortune via email that credit cards issued by Russian banks are no longer supported by its network. Instead, credit cards being used in Russia are now processed over something called a switch, run by the Central Bank of Russia. Dr. Leo Lipis, the CEO of the payments industry consulting firm Lipis Advisors, said that a switch is a hub for communication that connects the various banks involved in a payments network. This means Russian consumers relying on locally-issued cards bearing the Mastercard logo can still use their cards like they normally would, Lipis noted. A spokesperson for Mastercard confirmed in a separate email to Fortune that the company doesnt have the ability to block domestic transactions in Russia, but it receives no benefit from them. This is because Mastercard, along with other Western companies, signed an agreement for their transactions to be processed by NSPK in 2015. Russians are still blocked from using Western credit cards outside of the country, but thats only helped the Kremlins goal of keeping assets from moving abroad. The sanctions also boosted Russias own credit card company, MIR, which is built on the back of NSPK and owned by the Central Bank of Russia. Story continues When MIR debuted in late 2015, Russians were slow to adopt the card. Then, the government mandated that public sector employees receiving state funds and welfare benefits use MIR payment cards, spawning new growth for the firm. When you go back to 2015, Visa and MasterCard pretty much shared the Russian market 50-50, Lipis said. And by the time you get to 2020, the market is shared three ways. Today, there are more than 100 million MIR cards issued, according to the company. And with U.S. card companies leaving Russia, MIR can more easily grow its market share. In recent years, other countries, including Turkey, India, and China, have also developed their own payment systems to limit the influence of U.S. credit card companies and limit the pain caused by any sanctions. After the recent invasion, Russias largest bank, Sberbank, turned to Chinas Union Pay and the so-called Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) in an effort to circumvent Western sanctions and issue new cards. Union Pay has agreements with many European and U.S. credit card networks that allow foreign cards to be processed through its payment system and accepted in some Western countries, particularly in tourist destinations, Lipis said. The payment systems expert noted that Chinas Union Pay could be opening itself up to secondary sanctions from the West if it knowingly helps Russian banks circumvent sanctions. Still, when it comes to processing transactions abroad, Russias MIR and the Chinese payment systems arent adequate substitutes for U.S.-based payment systems like Visa and Mastercard, Lipis said. And they carry less than 0.5% of the total value of payments made via SWIFT. There is some truth to the Visa slogan of it's everywhere you want to be, he added. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com ISLAMABAD, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan lashed out at the United States for not giving Pakistan its due credit as its ally in the war against terror. The people of Pakistan suffered the most from the country's experience as an ally in the U.S.-led war against terror after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Khan said in a televised address to the nation Thursday night. "No ally of the U.S. suffered in the war against terror as Pakistan did. No NATO country suffered the loss of 80,000 people in the U.S. war." He said that despite all the sacrifices made by Pakistan, the United States never appreciated or expressed gratitude to Pakistan, but in return, Pakistan suffered drone attacks in which even kids from a seminary were killed. "Even when the United States was losing in Afghanistan before its exit, it blamed Pakistan saying that it suffered a loss due to two-faced policies of Pakistan." Khan also claimed that "a foreign country" is trying to intervene in Pakistan's internal political matters by sending threatening words to the Pakistani government. The prime minister added that Pakistan as a sovereign country has all the rights to have an independent foreign policy without any influence from the foreign country, and as an independent country, it is free to take foreign policy decisions on its own. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Gloria Williams (right) has requested to have her sentence shortened after kidnapping a baby and raising her as her own (Screenshot / First Coast News) A judge in Florida has rejected the application for a changed sentence from a woman who kidnapped a baby and raised her as her own despite that the victim, now a 23-year-old woman, has spoken in support of her. In 2018, Gloria Williams accepted a plea deal for taking Kamiyah Mobley from her mother at the UF Health Jacksonville maternity ward in 1998. In December, Williams asked a judge to serve half her 18-year sentence on probation because of good behaviour and personal development. Williams wrote a letter to Duval County Circuit Judge Marianne Aho saying that she takes responsibility for the abduction but that she has grown as a person during her four years in prison, according to the Atlanta Black Star. There are many things I have learned since coming to the Department of Corrections, but the overall lesson of my incarceration has been one of accountability, Williams wrote. I know and understand now that there is a ripple effect, that the consequences of my actions are never mine to suffer alone. Judge Aho ruled that the motion was filed too late but also said that she did not find a basis to undo the original sentencing judges decision. Williams pretended to be a nurse and took Ms Mobley from her mother five hours after her birth. Williams previously told the court that she had just suffered a devastating miscarriage and was exhibiting symptoms conducive to postpartum depression, as well as experiencing extreme mental and emotional disturbance. She added that she was not in her right state of mind when the kidnapping took place. She changed the name of Ms Mobley to Alexis Manigo and moved to South Carolina, raising her as her own until she was found in 2017. It has been reported that Ms Mobley learned that she had been kidnapped a year and a half before Williams was arrested. I would like to make it very clear that she is my mother, Ms Mobley told Judge Aho in a letter. She raised me, and not only provided for my needs, but she loved me unconditionally. Story continues I understand none of this modifies the truth of the past, nor does it justify my moms actions in any way, she added. However, at the end of the day, I love my mother and I wholeheartedly support her! I ask the courts grace and mercy, as I need my mother home. Williams asked the judge to serve nine years in prison and nine on probation, noting that she has distanced herself from Ms Mobley out of respect for her biological family, The Star reported. Ms Mobleys closeness to the woman who kidnapped her has caused issues in the relationship with her biological mother Shanara Mobley she once asked Ms Mobley to choose between them, according to the outlet. Social media posts show that they have been trying to rebuild their relationship, First Coast News reported. What I see happening is Kamiyah is bringing her biological family to South Carolina to introduce them and to spend time with my mother (her nana), her sisters, nieces and nephews, Williams said in her motion to change her sentence. Everyone is coming together to give Kamiyah the best of both worlds and to bring her life into fulfillment. By James Mackenzie ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine, April 2 (Reuters) - A Red Cross convoy travelling to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol will make another attempt to evacuate civilians from the besieged port on Saturday as Russian forces looked to be regrouping for new attacks in the southeast. Mariupol, encircled since the early days of Russia's five-week-old invasion, has been Moscow's main target in Ukraine's southeastern region of Donbas. Tens of thousands there are trapped with scant access to food and water. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent a team on Friday to lead a convoy of about 54 Ukrainian buses and other private vehicles out of the city, but they turned back, saying conditions made it impossible to proceed. "They will try again on Saturday to facilitate the safe passage of civilians," the ICRC said in a statement. A previous Red Cross evacuation attempt in early March failed because the route was found to be unsafe. Russia and Ukraine have agreed to humanitarian corridors during the war that have facilitated the evacuation of thousands of civilians. The ICRC says its Mariupol operation has been approved by both sides, but major details were still being worked out such as the exact timing and destination of the convoy, which would be an undetermined location in Ukraine. In an early morning video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that Russian troops have moved toward the Donbas region and northeast in the direction of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, where previous Russian strikes badly damaged urban areas. "I hope there may still be solutions for the situation in Mariupol," Zelenskiy said. "The whole world has to react to this humanitarian catastrophe." SHIFT FROM KYIV Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops on Feb. 24 for what he calls a "special operation" to demilitarise Ukraine. The West calls it an unprovoked war of aggression that has killed thousands, uprooted a quarter of Ukraine's population and brought tensions between Russia and the United States to their worst point since the Cold War. Story continues Aiming to lower nuclear tensions with Russia, the U.S. military has canceled an intercontinental ballistic missile test that it had initially aimed only to delay, the Air Force told Reuters. But the United States and its European allies have sent Ukraine military assistance, including an additional $300 million dollars in aid announced by the Pentagon late on Friday. The new aid includes laser-guided rocket and anti-drone systems. Citing a U.S. official, the New York Times reported that the United States would work with allies to transfer Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine to bolster its defenses in the Donbas region. At peace talks this week, Russia said Donbas, where it has backed separatists since 2014, would now be the focus of its war efforts. Russian troops left behind shattered villages and their own abandoned tanks as they moved away from the capital Kyiv. "You see that (the) enemy overestimates its potential around Kyiv at least. And we keep going forward liberating our cities and evacuating our people," said Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Yenin. After failing to capture a single major city, Russia has painted its draw-down of forces near Kyiv as a goodwill gesture in the peace negotiations. Ukraine and its allies say Russian forces have been forced to regroup after suffering heavy losses due to determined Ukrainian resistance. Across the border from Kharkiv in the Russian city of Belgorod, Moscow said Ukrainian helicopters struck a fuel depot on Friday, causing a huge fire. Ukraine denied responsibility for the incident, the first of its kind in the war. The fire destroyed several oil tanks and will likely add short-term strain to Russia's already stretched logistics chains, particularly operations in Kharkiv, Britain's defence ministry said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the incident could jeopardise the peace talks. Russia will strengthen its western borders so it won't "cross anyone's mind to attack," Peskov said later. ODESA STRIKES As Ukrainian forces recaptured more territory around Kyiv on Friday, officials in the Black Sea port of Odesa said anti-air defences thwarted an attempted attack on critical infrastructure in the city. Reuters could not immediately verify the account. Odesa's governor, Maksym Marchenko, said three missiles had hit a residential district, causing casualties. He said the missiles were fired from an Iskander missile system in Crimea, the southern Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. Russia denies targeting civilians. Odesa and Mariupol straddle the Black Sea and have been primary targets of Russia due in part to their strategic location. Facing unprecedented sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, Russia had threatened to cut off gas supplies to Europe unless buyers paid with roubles. Europe vowed to stay united against Russia's demand, and Moscow said it would not halt supplies until new payments are due later in April. Mediators from Turkey, where the most recent round of face-to-face peace talks were held, and the United Nations have been pressing for a pause in fighting. United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths will travel to Moscow on Sunday and then to Kyiv as the U.N. pursues a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters. (Additional reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Daniel Wallis) At first, when Tim Abbott looked around at the thousands of refugees in a Polish train station, he saw the mass of humanity through clinical eyes only, wondering what strategies he might put in place elsewhere to assist those whove fled war-torn Ukraine. Abbott is the operator of the Celebrate Virginia Chick-fil-A on U.S. 17 in Stafford County and has long been a volunteer with its charity, Lifeshape. He was one of six volunteers who recently traveled to Poland, Slovakia and Romaniacountries that border Ukraineto see how they might help. At one large bus and train station in Poland, Abbott watched as women and children lined up outside rooms and kiosks that used to sell refreshments or perhaps even souvenirs. In the wake of the Russian invasion, more than 4 million Ukrainians have sought refuge in similar places all over Eastern Europe. Outside one room in the station, they lined up for diapers and baby food. At others, they ate meals from soup kitchens or received boxes of nonperishable items for the next leg of their journey. Through an interpreter, Abbott talked with a group of refugees who were assigned to Norway, another 24 hours by bus and a ferry ride from Estonia. As they shared details of how far theyd come and the husbands and sons theyd left behind, they were obviously shell-shocked, Abbott said. Still, as people offered them food and money, and candy for their children, they wept in gratitude. And thats when things got personal for Abbott. These are real people, real lives that have been totally uprooted, Abbott said, apologizing as he started crying. Thats when it hit me that this could be me, this could be me and my family. Could you imagine if Id left my country and Im in Mexico or Canada, and Im told Im being sent to a whole other country, a whole different culture and language, and I dont know how long Im going to be there or when I will see my family again? Abbott had to walk out of the train station. As he later recounted the story, he said the full impact of what he saw has hit home since he returned to the United States on Tuesday night. He and other volunteers with Lifeshape were in country eight to nine days, delivering food at border drop-offs and assessing what the charity will do next. Lifeshape is one of hundreds of nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, that already had a presence in Ukraine. Lifeshape began more than 17 years agoand Abbott has been a part from the startand its established relationships with churches in Ukraine, helping with English-speaking programs, orphanages or infrastructure, such as digging wells. We have natural built-in distribution systems already, he said. Abbott and others tapped into that system during their visit. Each of the six volunteers filled suitcases with up to 70 poundsthe allowable weightwith medical supplies and dried food such as pasta and beans. After they arrived at countries that bordered Ukraine, they bought more food and water, packing large vanssimilar to what Amazon useswith up to $10,000 in goods per vehicle. Then, they drove to the borders and met their partners, who then filled their vehicles with the goods for distribution. Some of our partners have had to leave Kyiv and the largest cities in the east and flee to the west, Abbott said. Theyre setting up organizations in small towns along the border and getting warehouses, and people like us are flying in and getting food for them on the border. While it was chaos in many ways, he was inspired to see churches of all denominations in western Ukraine turn their facilities into refugee centers. Abbott has talked with other Lifeshape officials since his return and the group is developing a strategy. He believes their efforts, and others like them, will make the difference. The only way Ukraine is going to survive is from the NGOs bringing in food, medical supplies and even gas, he said. We are not designed for this, but it doesnt matter. Weve been called to support our friends and our community and its going to take everybody. Through another project with Lifeshape, Abbott is working to bring young people from various European countries, including Ukraine, to America this summer. Six will come to the Fredericksburg area. Anyone interested in hosting a visitor or helping with Chick-fil-As efforts can contact him at Timpas24444@gmail.com. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Staffords former Democratic Committee Chair Ben Litchfield is running for state senator next November in District 27, a new election district that includes Stafford and Spotsylvania counties as well as Fredericksburg. Litchfield, who moved to Stafford in 2015, describes himself as an Old School Democrat who grew up in a blue-collar family in Pittsfield, Mass. He graduated from the Howard University School of Law and then worked for the federal government focusing on regulating large mortgage companies, banks, debt collectors and student lenders. He now works as a consumer financial services attorney for the Buckley law firm in Washington. Litchfield said the biggest challenges he sees in the region are jobs, transportation and education. He said small business owners hes met regionally tell him trying to recruit information technology workers or those with other trade skills is difficult. Litchfield said he strongly favors bringing back technical training and trades to regional high schools and community colleges to help prepare young graduates with the knowledge and skills necessary to find good jobs locally that pay a living wage. It doesnt have to be a college-bound career, Litchfield said. We dont want everybody going to work in Northern Virginia, D.C., or Richmond. Wed like to keep business here. Virginia Senate District 27 was formed as a result of redistricting. Currently, residents in the region fall under Senate District 28, represented by Sen. Richard Stuart, RWestmoreland, which includes parts of King George, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford and Westmoreland counties. Litchfield is, so far, the only Democrat to declare their candidacy, and his Republican opponent has yet to be determined. Del. Tara Durant of Stafford and Matt Strickland, an Army veteran and owner of Gourmeltz restaurant in Spotsylvania, have announced they will run for the GOP nomination. James Scott Baron: 540/374-5438 jbaron@freelancestar.com Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. JUBA, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank said Friday it has approved 200 million U.S. dollars to help support South Sudan's health care system to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. "This additional financing will help the government of South Sudan address challenges in both the procurement and deployment of vaccines by supporting the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines for 30 percent of the total population," said Firas Raad, World Bank Country Manager for South Sudan in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. Raad disclosed that the grant extended through its development arm, International Development Association (IDA), will also address the urgent health and nutrition needs of refugees and host communities along with populations affected by the flooding in several states. In January, the World Bank already provided 100 million dollars to help flood victims in the northern parts of the country. It recently provided 120 million dollars in early March this year to support infrastructure development in the country. The latest assistance aims at strengthening health service delivery and expanding service provision to vulnerable groups, particularly in Upper Nile state, Jonglei state, Greater Pibor Administrative Area and Ruweng Administrative Area. It observed that by strengthening South Sudan's disease surveillance systems, and laboratory capacity, the project will also contribute to improving health systems and emergency preparedness at the national and sub-national levels. Victoria Anib Majur, Undersecretary for South Sudan's Ministry of Health said the funds will ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines in the country. "The additional financing will play a critical role in ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for the entire population, but particularly vulnerable and geographically disadvantaged communities that include refugees and their host communities," she said. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeated his claims that the United States is behind efforts to remove him from office and said he might not accept the results of a no-confidence vote in parliament. "The move to oust me is a blatant interference in domestic politics by the United States," Khan told a select group of foreign journalists in Islamabad on April 2, a day before parliament is scheduled to debate a no-confidence motion against him. "How can I accept the result when the entire process is discredited?" Khan said. "Democracy functions on moral authority -- what moral authority is left after this connivance?" The comments came after Khan announced on April 1 that his government had handed an official protest to the U.S. Embassy. Earlier in the week he said the alleged conspiracy against him was the result of disappointment over his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on February 25, the day after Russia invaded Ukraine. While addressing the nation on March 31, Khan referred to an "official document" Pakistan had received that was evidence of a conspiracy to remove him from office. After initially mentioning the United States, he later said the document was "not from America but from a foreign country I can't name. The document, Khan said, "says we will forgive Pakistan if Imran Khan loses this no-confidence vote. But if it fails Pakistan will have to face tough time." Khan's government later described the document as a formal letter from a "senior official of a foreign country to Pakistan's Ambassador in the said country in a formal meeting." Local media have reported the message was in a briefing letter from Pakistan's ambassador to Washington recording a senior U.S. official telling him they felt relations would be better if Khan left office. Addressing the allegations on March 31, U.S. State Department Ned Price said that "there is no truth to them," and that the United States supports "Pakistan's constitutional process and rule of law." Opposition parties in Pakistan have said that allegations that their filing of a no-confidence motion against Khan are the result of foreign interference are "baseless." Supporters of Khan have staged protests against the United States in cities around the country amid the controversy, including one in Peshawar on April 1 led by members of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Khan has called for more protests on April 3. The no-confidence debate in the 342-member National Assembly was originally due to start on March 31, but the deputy speaker suspended proceedings when legislators declined to first address other items on the agenda. Khan is facing his biggest challenge since being elected in 2018. The PTI effectively lost its majority on March 30 when a coalition partner said it would vote with the opposition. More than a dozen PTI lawmakers had already indicated they would support the no-confidence vote, but the PTI has been attempting to win them back. The opposition accuses Khan of mismanaging the economy and foreign policy, and political analysts also say Khan has fallen out with Pakistan's powerful military, whose support is critical for any party to attain power. On April 2, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javad Bajwa expressed concern about Moscow's war against Ukraine, saying that "despite Russia's legitimate security concerns, its aggression against a smaller country cannot be condoned." Bajwa also said Pakistan had enjoyed excellent defense and economic relations with Kyiv since Ukraine's independence, but that while some positive developments had taken place in its ties with Russia of late, its relations with Russia had been "cold" for a long time for numerous reasons. He added that Pakistan sought to expand ties with both the United States and China, which has refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and criticized the West's punitive sanctions against Moscow. With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal, AFP, Dawn, and Reuters Joanna Lumley's Spice Road Adventure 2018 Over 4 hour long episodes Joanna travels the Silk Road. She starts in Venice in the first episode, one of the end stops for people bringing goods to trade and sell, and follows a route that takes her through Albania and Turkey. Episode two takes her to Georgia and Azerbaijan. We see some pretty scenery and colorful locals as we travel from the Black Sea to the Caspian. Episode three finds Joanna in Iran, after a quick trip to a massive upscale Tehran shopping mall with a local Instagram Influencer the show travels to Shiraz and Persepolis. There's some really nice ruins there, you can take a wander though on Google Street View. I like the carvings on the statues. The last episode takes Joanna to Uzbekistan with stops in Tashkent and Samarkand. There's a bit on Tamerlane and the 17 million he killed. Then it's on to Kyrgyzstan with a stop in Bishkek to see some pop stars. Sadly a trip to China isn't in the offing, no permissions were granted to let them film there. There's not much evidence of the real Silk Road and Joanna wraps it up with this comment. But on this road, there are still so many more places to see. Contemplating my journey so far, and dreaming about the miles that lie ahead, I recall a line from Colin Thubron's book, in "The Shadow of the Silk Road": "Yet to follow the Silk Road is to follow a ghost. It flows through the heart of Asia, but it has officially vanished, leaving behind it the pattern of its restlessness: counterfeit borders, unmapped peoples. The road forks and wanders wherever you are. It is not a single way but many, a web of choices." It's a good travelog, almost made me want to go there. I especially liked the caravanserai and the caves in Cappadocia. Worth a look even with some fluffy moments. Opponents of the decision to uproot U.S. Space Command from Colorado Springs hope a pair of federal investigations due out soon could spur their efforts to block the move of the command and its 1,400 troops. The command which oversees all military activities in space was ordered out of Colorado Springs in the waning days of the Trump administration. Later, President Donald Trump claimed personal responsibility for the decision, saying he accomplished it single-handedly. In January 2021 when Trump announced the command provisionally housed at Peterson Space Force Base until at least 2026 would be permanently based in Huntsville, Ala., it immediately drew outrage from lawmakers in Colorado and other states, triggering investigations by the Pentagons Office of Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office. The investigations were due to be completed last year, but results have yet to be released. Political sources had said one of the investigation's results could be made public as soon as April 4. But some lawmakers are warning further delays of the public release that could take weeks. Amid the investigations, pressure has built from Colorados congressional delegation, General Assembly, business groups and some in the aerospace industry to keep the command in the Pikes Peak region. We remain deeply troubled that the decision to relocate USSPACECOM undermined the two most important factors for any critical basing decision: protecting national security and minimizing cost, wrote nine members of the congressional delegation in a letter to President Joe Biden last month. Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper were joined in the letter by Republican Reps. Doug Lamborn, Ken Buck and Lauren Boebert, as well as Democratic Reps. Jason Crow, Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter and Joe Neguse. The delegation also urged Biden to carefully review both reports and ensure that the final basing decision takes the findings, and national security and cost implications, into account. U.S. Space Command was created in Colorado Springs in 1985 and oversaw military space missions before it was folded as the Pentagon pivoted to deal with terrorist threats posed by al-Qaida and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Congressional pressure began building to recreate the command in 2017 amid rising threats to U.S. satellites that provide battlefield missile warning, detect nuclear threats, and offer communications to combat troops along with precision navigation for military vehicles and guided weapons. In the past year, Space Command has reported Chinese efforts to develop satellites that can hijack American spacecraft in orbit along with other anti-satellite weapons developed by Russia, Iran and North Korea. In November, Russia destroyed one of its own defunct satellites with a direct-ascent interceptor in a test that polluted low-Earth orbit with more than 1,500 trackable pieces of shrapnel-like debris. Space Command is responsible for tracking the debris. At the time, Gen. James Dickinson, the Space Command commander said, Russia has demonstrated a deliberate disregard for the security, safety, stability and long-term sustainability of the space domain for all nations. Dickinson told the Senate Armed Services Committee in March that unprecedented threats to U.S. military space assets endanger combat capabilities in the air, land and sea. They are continuing to modernize their space attack capabilities, Dickinson said of American rivals. Today, space is a warfighting domain, because our competitors have made it so. In its 2023 budget request Monday, the Pentagon asked to boost Space Force spending by $7 billion, including $3.6 billion for research and development. The transformation is not complete with this budget; its moving us forward, but it's not complete, said Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. Looking ahead, I think there are again going to be a lot of decisions made as we get into (fiscal year) '24 and as we learn more about what our requirements are, and we assess our priorities for modernization. So, I anticipate some hard choices ahead. The Pentagons budget proposal did not include planning or construction money to facilitate Space Commands Alabama move. Lamborn, who represents Colorados 5th Congressional district centered in Colorado Springs, called for the GAO investigation and continues fighting to keep the command in the district he serves. If the GAO report or the simultaneous IG report, come up with flaws in the selection process, then that creates the opportunity to revisit the entire issue. And I believe the entire issue should be revisited because they came to the wrong decision," Lamborn said. As the ranking member on the Strategic Forces subcommittee, that gives me amazing opportunities to have an impact on the direction of our military space program. Part of the argument to keep Space Command in Colorado Springs centers on co-locating it with the Space Forces Space Operation Command. The bulk of Space Force troops work in Colorado. Another key player, the National Space Defense Center which coordinates defensive and offensive efforts in orbit between the military and intelligence agencies is housed at Schriever Space Force Base. The underground Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center in Colorado Springs also is home to the nations key missile-attack warning center, which compiles satellite and radar data to alert leaders. With U.S. Space Command, U.S. Northern Command, Army Space and Missile Defense Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, no place in the United States can claim more strategic military importance than Colorado Springs. Colorado has the largest contingent of bases named for the new space service. It is also home to Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora, Space Operations Command and the bulk of the Space Force's troops. At a time when threats in space are rapidly increasing, particularly from Russia and China, USSPACECOM cannot afford any operational interruptions and must achieve Full Operational Capability (FOC) as quickly as possible, said the letter from Colorados congressional delegation to Biden last month. As you are well aware, space has become an increasingly critical and contested domain that is central to our economy, communications and national security. President (Vladimir) Putins lawless, reprehensible aggression against Ukraine in violation of international rules and norms, underscores the urgency for America to maintain superiority in the space domain. In addition to defending satellite systems and providing GPS navigation, Space Command assists with national security communications, internet and cellular services along with missile warning and defense. We support the export controls and sanctions that you have enacted to degrade Russias defense programs, particularly in light of Russias unlawful invasion of Ukraine. Our adversaries, however, will waste no time enhancing their space control operations, and neither can we waste time in developing our space defense strategies and capabilities," the delegation's letter continued. We must respond to rapidly advancing threats in space by building on the investments that have already been made in Colorado and to our mission in space not squandering time, money, personnel and additional resources by moving USSPACECOM. The letter mentioned many of the space assets already in place in Colorado including the National Reconnaissance Offices Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado at Buckley. The agency keeps an eye on space and warns against threats as part of its mission. Over the past several decades, Colorado has also developed national security communications systems that would be extraordinarily expensive to quickly replicate elsewhere. These unparalleled missions, and existing infrastructure, make Colorado the nexus of national security space operations for the Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense, the letter stated. The intelligence community warned in its annual threat assessment that Russia continues to train its military space elements and field new anti-satellite weapons to disrupt and degrade U.S. and allied space capabilities, the letter said. More than a dozen aerospace companies and accelerators sent a collective letter in March to Sens. Bennet and Hickenlooper, voicing their support to keep the command in Colorado Springs. We join you in advocating for Colorado as the permanent home of the U.S. Space Command headquarters. Colorados dynamic aerospace ecosystem is the force multiplier in our ability to deliver innovation to our national defense and space missions. Colorado is our chosen home because of the proximity to one another and to the defense missions. The aerospace industry draws a talent pool, provides access to robust university research, and allows for daily interactions with mission partners, the letter began. Collaboration is the normal here. Proximity accelerates our ability to innovate. With Colorado home to GPS, Space Based Infrared System, and the Wideband Global Satellite Communications Systems as well the Space Force guardians and the provisional headquarters of the U.S. Space Command, we compete and collaborate every day to find applicable solutions. As many have learned during the last two years, while solutions exist to connect remote stakeholders, it is seldom as effective as face-to-face collaboration. Receiving the command would be a financial bonanza for Alabama and a big blow to Colorado Springs, because it will be backed by thousands of civilian workers and billions of dollars in military contracts. Any state housing the command would also potentially woo a bigger piece of the booming civilian space industry. One of the 13 signatures on the aerospace industry letter was that of William Kowalski, co-founder and chief operating officer of Atomos Space, which relocates unmodified satellites in orbit to reduce development and launch costs. As a young, Colorado aerospace company with capabilities that can support the warfighter, being close to U.S. Space Command allows us to better interact with the end-user to iterate and deliver at the pace of a start-up, Kowalski wrote in the letter. Jeff Max, CEO of Durango-based Agile Space Industries, also signed his support of keeping the command in state. Colorados historic aerospace industry and the innovative drive of its entrepreneurs make it the right choice for the DoDs future space aspiration, Max said. The letter went on to say, We do business in Colorado because of the dynamic environment that draws talent, and spurs university research that in turn delivers innovators. It takes this type of ecosystem to foster the people who understand and can deliver the physics of the GPS-timing signal, the systems operation and coordination of our satellites and the civilians who build, operate, and maintain the information that goes to the warfighter. "The competition is fierce for this talent. Colorado offers a quality of life that allows our aerospace companies to attract that talent, bar none. The biggest convention held annually in Colorado Springs returns this week to The Broadmoor, with the Space Symposium expected to draw more than 10,000 people to the four-day event. The symposium resumed in August 2021 after a 2-year absence triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic with a hybrid online and in-person event that attracted about two-thirds of its usual attendance. This week's event will be the first since 2019 to return to the symposium's typical attendance levels, enough to fill more than 12,000 rooms in 24 hotels, generating an economic impact of $12 million, according to Visit Colorado Springs. "We will be back bigger and better than ever, big enough where all the major players are coming back," said Tom Zelibor, CEO of the Colorado Springs-based Space Foundation, which hosts the annual symposium. "Our participant numbers will be right back where they were at 14,000, which includes the 10,000 attendees from 40 countries, the employees of The Broadmoor, our volunteers, speakers and support staff." The symposium's agenda is packed with more than 200 speakers, including Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall; Gen. John "Jay" Raymond, commander of the U.S. Space Force; Gen. James Dickinson, commander of U.S. Space Command; Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency; Pam Melroy, deputy administrator of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration; and Chiraq Parikh, executive secretary of the National Space Council. COVERAGE THIS WEEK Return to Gazette.com and DenverGazette.com for full coverage and exclusive features from this week's Space Symposium at The Broadmoor. No participants are expected from either Russia or China, and attendees from Ukraine seem unlikely. One big name that hasn't yet been confirmed is British billionaire Richard Branson, founder of The Virgin Group, who will receive his space "wings" for making a short flight to the edge of space last year. Also during the symposium, the foundation will present five annual awards for lifetime achievement, public affairs, space exploration, space achievement and education, and will honor three technology advancements in its Space Technology Hall of Fame. Just as important are the 275 exhibits spread over two of The Broadmoor's largest exhibit halls where aerospace companies display their latest technology and meet potential customers to set the stage for or seal multimillion-dollar deals. The deal-making continues at dozens of receptions, parties and other events during the symposium spread throughout the resort's 2,500-acre campus. The foundation has added a new wrinkle to this year's symposium three new half-day "tracks" or parts of the program on space finance, space exploration and artificial intelligence that will be offered at the nearby Cheyenne Mountain Resort. All Space Symposium programs had been offered at The Broadmoor, but Zelibor said the event had "maxed out" the resort's capacity. The Broadmoor added the 171,000-square-foot Bartolin Hall last year to accommodate the growth in exhibits at the symposium. "The symposium is back up to its normal size, and a group using that much space touches almost every business in Colorado Springs," Visit Colorado Springs CEO Doug Price said. "Getting a hotel room this week will be nearly impossible." This year's symposium isn't just maxing out meeting rooms the foundation filled all 16 hotels in which it had rooms set aside by mid-March and had to add six more, the most ever for the event. Price said most of the hotel rooms in the Colorado Springs area have been reserved by symposium participants, leaving few available for any last-minute arrivals. "Even though we did this in August, now eight months later people are excited to get back (to the symposium) in person. This is a big deal for us (the foundation) and the space community," Zelibor said. "The space ecosystem is growing so rapidly forecast to more than double from $447 billion last year to $1 trillion by the end of the decade that there is a lot of desire to see what is going on and driving the economics of it." The foundation also is recruiting a record number of volunteers up to 350 for the symposium to help with guest support and check in, speaker and VIP support and security, said Jennifer Walters, the nonprofit's senior manager of operational integration. About half of the volunteers return each year to help with the annual event, including active-duty and retired military personnel. The foundation also is expanding the symposium to its Discovery Center museum at 4425 Arrowswest Drive, where it will host a free Family Symposium 2-7 p.m. Wednesday with 10 other organizations to offer participants opportunities to learn about science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics for space exploration. While the event is returning to full in-person participation, the foundation will still offer all sessions of the symposium, video access to all exhibits and a virtual chat room for networking on its Symposium 365 online platform. The online platform was launched by the foundation in late 2020 after the 2020 symposium was postponed a second time as a way for the foundation to offer its program year-round. The foundation relies on the symposium for about two-thirds of its revenue, so having the event twice in one year has helped to trigger a 50% increase in revenue for the nonprofit. As a result, the staff at the foundation has grown from fewer than 60 to 90, the most in its nearly 40-year history, for its educational programs, public affairs efforts, fundraising and other operations. The nonprofit had to cut its staff by nearly 20 last year following a loss of nearly $6 million in 2020 from the symposium cancellation . Among the foundation's efforts to become less dependent on the symposium is the Space Commerce Institute, started in February to provide classes, consulting and other help to space entrepreneurs. The foundation also operates a program that helps space startup companies develop a business plan, secure financing, find key staff, and offer other assistance . The staff growth has resulted in the foundation expanding its offices into new adjacent space donated last year to the nonprofit by the El Pomar Foundation. The donation included forgiving a $4.1 million loan and converting a seven-year lease-purchase agreement into a gift. The foundation also is in the early stages of a $50 million fundraising campaign expected to last up to five years that will finance renovation and building out a major expansion of the Discovery Center. The Mountain Valley Pipeline slipped deeper into doubt Friday, when an appellate court declined to reconsider its decision striking down a vital permit for the deeply divisive project. In a brief order, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it will not revisit the ruling of a three-judge panel, which in February invalidated the federal Fish and Wildlife Services opinion that the natural gas pipeline would not jeopardize endangered species. The move came one week after a similar decision by the Fourth Circuit regarding the panels rejection of a second permit from the U.S. Forest Service that allowed the pipeline to pass through the Jefferson National Forest. Mountain Valley now has little hope of regaining the approvals without going through a renewed permitting process that would again delay a $6.2 billion infrastructure project that is already more than three years behind schedule. The pipeline snakes through Southwest Virginia into Chatham. Twice now, MVP has been left high and dry in their attempts to reverse court decisions and complete their dangerous and unnecessary project, said Caroline Hansley of the Sierra Club, one of about a dozen environmental groups that has fought the pipeline in court. Opponents have argued for years that building a massive pipeline through the mountains of Southwest Virginia will cause environmental damage and contribute to climate change. While acknowledging a greater degree of uncertainty caused by the Fourth Circuit, Mountain Valley says its plans are still alive. We continue to evaluate the best path forward for completing the MVP project and expect to provide updated project guidance once the full evaluation is complete, Natalie Cox, a spokeswoman for the joint venture, wrote in an email Friday. Legal experts have said the companys chances were not good in seeking a so-called en-banc hearing, in which the full 15-member appellate court would rehear the two unanimous decisions by its three-judge panel. Only four such requests were granted last year by the court, which hears appeals from federal administrative agencies and nine district courts in Virginia and four other states, according to Carl Tobias, who teaches at the University of Richmonds law school. Filed on March 11, Mountain Valleys request was circulated among the courts judges. No judges requested a poll under applicable law, the three-sentence order stated. The court denies the petition for rehearing en banc. In sending the permits back to the agencies for further review, the panel which consisted of Chief Judge Roger Gregory and Judges Stephanie Thacker and James Wynn ruled that government officials cut corners and ignored evidence in approving the largest natural gas pipeline ever proposed in Virginia. The Fish and Wildlife Service gave scant attention to factors, including climate change, that would impact two endangered fish, the Roanoke logperch and the candy darter, that are nearing the brink of extinction, the panel ruled. As for the permit for the pipeline to pass through 3.5 miles of public woodlands in Giles and Montgomery counties, the Forest Service failed to consider water quality data from monitoring stations a short distance away in assessing the erosion risks posed by construction, a second decision from the same three judges said. Muddy runoff has been a key problem for Mountain Valley. Inspections by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality have found nearly 400 violations of erosion and sediment control regulations since work began in early 2018. The pipeline cuts through the New River and Roanoke valleys, passing north of Blacksburg and southwest of Roanoke, on its 303-mile path from northern West Virginia to connect with an existing pipeline close to the North Carolina line. Mountain Valley says the need for natural gas, which was documented by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2017, is even greater today with the war in Ukraine restricting global supplies. Assuming the pipeline is completed, the company plans to build an extension that would transport gas from its terminus in Chatham into North Carolina. Last year, the State Air Pollution Control Board denied a permit for a compressor station that would be built in Pittsylvania County for the extension, which is called MVP Southgate. Mountain Valley had appealed the air boards decision to the Fourth Circuit, but asked earlier this week that the case be dropped. Southgate spokesman Shawn Day cited a law headed for passage in Virginia that removes the air boards authority and gives permitting power to the staff of DEQ, which had recommended approval for the compressor station. In an email Tuesday, Day wrote: Mountain Valley remains committed to the MVP Southgate project and continues to evaluate its options to help meet strong residential and business demand for affordable, reliable natural gas. A Friday evening fire that sent thick, black smoke into the southern Danville skyline damaged four stores at Ballou Park Shopping Center. Crews from the Danville Fire Department responded at about 5:30 p.m. to the reported blaze at Roses Express in the shopping center located at 653 W. Main St. When firefighters arrived, they found light smoke coming from the front door, but that quickly changed into a heavier and darker cloud as flames were engulfing the inside of the business, battalion chief F.D. Fowler reported in a news release. In general, a rapid expansion of fire and burning of different materials causes smoke to change colors. It was a lot of plastics and stuff in there, battalion chief Tommy Napier explained to the Register & Bee in a phone interview Saturday morning. Roses suffered the most severe damage from the fire, but three other businesses Dollar General, ColorTyme and Charms sustained smoke, heat and water damage also. Aside from fire scene and danger tape placed in front of the businesses, little damage was observed from outside Saturday morning. However, Napier explained a view from above perhaps from a drone would show a very different picture of the destruction. It did a fair amount of damage, he explained, noting flames burned through the roof. While workers placed wooden boards on windows Saturday morning, a lone fire engine stopped by the scene shortly before 9 a.m. Three firefighters appeared to conduct a quick walk around before departing. Other stores the shopping center also is home to Food Lion were returning to normal operations Saturday after the Friday evening blaze forced closures. The fire drew many onlookers by about 6 p.m. Friday, many with cellphones out capturing the unfolding event. A ladder truck positioned in front of the business was spraying water on the flames from above, as thick smoke poured from a rear side bay of one of the businesses. Danville Police Department vehicles were positioned at the entrances to the center not allowing vehicles to enter while firefighters battled the flames Friday evening. This blaze and resulting damage is pretty close to the same as another fire that hit the opposite end of the shopping center sometime around 2008, Napier said. That nighttime fire sent flames shooting into the sky and gutted at least one business. Members of the Danville Fire Marshals Office along with a Virginia State Police investigator were on scene Friday. Danville investigators likely will return early next week to start a probe into the fires origin, Napier said. Fire crews were there for 5 1/2 hours Friday. In all, five engines, two ladder trucks, a safety officer and a battalion chief worked the fire, Fowlers news release stated. In addition to police, the Danville Life Saving Crew and Danville Utilities also responded to assist. There were no injuries reported. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins is joining mayors across the country asking residents to make a commitment to reduce pollution and manage water resources more wisely. The Wyland Foundation National Mayors Challenge for Water Conservation runs the month of April, and Collins encourages residents and businesses to take the pledge and track standings at mywaterpledge.com. With the Helena area in extreme drought, the city encourages people to not only plan now for the potentially dry summer ahead but also for the future as these dry years become more frequent. "To participate in the challenge, residents can go online and make pledges to conserve water, reduce pollution and save energy," a Friday press release states. Helena will compete against other cities in the 30,000-99,999 population category. Winning cities will be those with the highest percentage of residents who take the challenge. Cities and their residents will have a chance to win prizes, including $3,000 toward home utility bills, Toro Irrigation Smart Controllers, gift cards and more, the press release states. Additionally, residents of winning cities can nominate a deserving charity to receive a 2022 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Students and teachers are encouraged to take part. The annual challenge is a nonprofit national community service campaign started 10 years ago by a handful of mayors looking for alternative ways to engage their residents about the water challenges facing the United States, according to the press release. The City of Helenas decision to participate in the National Mayors Challenge for Water Conservation is more than a response to a few dry years, it is a demonstration that we value conserving our natural resources and is another step in progressing our city towards a sustainable future, Collins said. "Last year, residents from more than 2,000 cities in all 50 U.S. states pledged to reduce their annual consumption of freshwater by more than 3 billion gallons, reduce waste sent to landfills by 80 million pounds, and prevent hundreds of thousands of pounds of hazardous waste from entering our watersheds," the press release states. "The Challenge goes beyond short-term issues and looks at the ways our water use will affect the future of our communities - from how we manage coasts, lakes, and rivers, to reducing polluted runoff." "We want Helena to be a leader in water conservation and waste reduction, and I encourage all residents to go online and take this pledge," Collins said. The foundation has also created a new digital tool called My Volunteer Water Project, giving residents a unique way to do hands-on home, community and workplace projects year-round in support of their citys sustainability efforts. "The more projects residents do throughout the year, the better chance for a city to win the Mayors Challenge in April," the press release states. Love 8 Funny 8 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The year 2021 had the second-highest estimate on record for rainbow trout along the Craig section of the Missouri River, a state fish biologist said. That stretch of the river, which runs from Wolf Creek Bridge to Craig, saw an estimated 6,611 rainbow trout 10 inches or longer per mile, Jason Mullen of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks told people Wednesday at a meeting of Pat Barnes Missouri River Trout Unlimited held at Montana Wild in Helena. That more than doubles surveys from the past two years -- in 2019 FWP saw an estimated 2,860 rainbows per mile in the section. The long-term average for the stretch is about 3,400 rainbows and 570 browns. The highest estimate was 7,068 rainbow trout 10 inches and greater in 2012. The count of brown trout along that same stretch was 362 per mile, which Mullen said was a little below the long-term average but still within the realm of what he has seen in past. In 2019 the survey found 390 brown trout per mile over 10 inches in length. He said 2020 saw a huge number of small fish and 2021 saw more medium-sized fish, more than is usually seen. For the Cascade section of the river, they counted 1,694 rainbow trout 10 inches or longer per mile and 320 brown trout. In 2019 those numbers were 1,100 and 238 respectively. Mullen said they were seeing fat, healthy fish, and did not see many skinny baby fish. He also said the FWP was starting to get a lot more reports of northern pike in the river. Mullen said they looked into it. We caught only one, but they are not in there in great numbers, we think, he said. Mullen said the pike are moving throughout the river in the early spring and looking for a place to spawn. He said they received reports of catching them downstream in Cascade, but are not getting consistent reports throughout the river. Mullen, who has been in his position since 2014, also discussed flows, water temperatures and angler use for those sections of the Missouri River. He said those sites have been monitored since 1982. He said river flow was measured in 2021 at 4,000 cubic feet per second. He said they like to see a minimum flow of 4,100, which he said maintains side channels and keeps them wetted. Mullen said there was a peak of 5,000 cfs in February, which was related to NorthWestern Energy generating more hydropower. Mullen said Montana went into summer with 3,000 cfs, which is where it is at today and where it is expected to maintain throughout the year. We are still in drought conditions, he said. He said the most probable scenario was not filling Canyon Ferry and it would remain 4 feet less than full. Its looking like pretty poor water conditions for this year as well, he said. Mullen said current conditions indicate 2022 may be similar in terms of low flows and high water temperatures unless there is some significant spring precipitation. Mullen said the river temperatures were seeing a daily maximum of 73 degrees a few days. He said water temperatures beyond Craig were beyond 73 degrees, which is warm. He said they implemented hoot owl conditions, which limited hours of fishing through Aug. 17, because of moderate temps. He said 2000 was the last time such restrictions were implemented. He said the Missouri River ranked second in the state in 2019 in terms of angler days, which is a count of one person fishing for any part of a day, at 154,6289. Madison River, which had 172,944, was first. Angler days, which are counted every other year, have been higher in past counts. It was 170,736 in 2017 and 183,479 in 2015. The Missouri ranked second to the Madison with 154,628 angler days. Madison had 172,944. He said the river generates $60,179,182 for the states economy. It is a huge economic driver, he said. Montana State News Bureau Deputy Bureau Chief Tom Kuglin contributed to this story. Assistant editor Phil Drake can be reached at 406-231-9021. Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Crazy Mountain access proponents suffered another defeat on Wednesday after U.S. District Court Judge Susan P. Watters adopted in full a February ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan. Friends of the Crazy Mountains, Enhancing Montana's Wildlife & Habitat, the Skyline Sportsmen Association and Montana Backcountry Hunters and Anglers had appealed Cavans findings. The groups contended the Custer Gallatin National Forest had not acted appropriately in rerouting a trail on the west side of the mountain range and walked away from trail maintenance on the east side. Landowners also joined in the lawsuit on the Forest Services side. The Crazy Mountains contain a checkerboard of landownership, with private and federal holdings interconnected and sometimes isolated. The access groups had contended the Forest Service erred in its management of four trails by not defending prescriptive access rights on routes that date back to the early 1900s. The agency countered that it had appropriately considered alternatives and pursued the best action for the Forest Service. Landowners disputed that the agency had access rights on the old routes. In 2018, the Forest Service reached an agreement with landowners to reroute the Porcupine-Lowline Trail in return for an easement across a portion of private land. The trail opened to the public last year. Access groups contended the reroute wasnt properly considered and vetted by the public. In his findings, Cavan wrote that he was required to determine whether the Forest Services actions were arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion or otherwise not in accordance with the law. He noted the arbitrary and capricious standard is narrow, and the court may not substitute its judgment for that of the agency. He was therefore required to decide whether the Forest Service had considered the relevant factors or made a clear error of judgment. Watters upheld Cavans decision saying that the access groups had failed to demonstrate that the USFS did not take a hard look at the environmental impacts of the project. The judge also agreed with Cavan that the Forest Service did not fail to protect existing access rights because there was no valid legal interest in the potential easements. When we began this journey, we realized the important yet novel nature of our litigation and that our best legal opportunities would be on appeal, wrote John B. Sullivan III, chairman of the Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, in an email. This decision is not surprising, and it reaffirms our fear that nothing in the law prohibits the U.S. Forest Service from abandoning legal public access in favor of the wealthy and politically well-connected. When people lament the transition of the West to a playground for only the wealthy, we need look no further than the decisions currently being made by the Forest Service in the Custer Gallatin National Forest as facilitating that transition. Sullivan added that his group will continue to fight for public access. Judge Watters ruling does nothing to change the fundamental facts of this case: The U.S. Forest Service intentionally abandoned historic public access which they admitted in open court at the request of a few politically well-connected landowners, without any public involvement, Sullivan said. Watters wrote in her finding that courts are prevented from entering into day-to-day management, which is what the groups were requesting with their protest of abandonment of the east side trails. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Moments after the Academy Awards slap heard round the world, Will Smith huddled during a commercial break with Denzel Washington, another of the Best Actor nominees. No one could hear what Smith discussed with the man who is both an A-list player and the rare Hollywood superstar who has after years in hot press spotlights emerged as a mentor on issues of faith and family. But Smith appeared to have Washington on his mind during his emotional remarks after winning the Oscar for his work in King Richard. Smith apologized to his peers for slap-punching Chris Rock after his jest about his wife Jada Pinkett Smiths shaved head. Rock apparently didnt know she was suffering hair loss from alopecia. In this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world. ... Im being called on in my life to love people and to protect people, said Smith, tears on his face. I know that to do what we do, you gotta be able to take abuse, you gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you gotta be able to have people disrespecting you. And you gotta smile and pretend that thats OK. When Washington offered quiet words of encouragement from offstage, Smith thanked him and added: Denzel said to me, at the highest moment, be careful thats when the devil comes for you. This was not ordinary Oscars God-talk. This drama triggered waves of social media angst, with critics and millions of viewers debating who to blame for the crisis during an otherwise-meandering show shaped by politics, pandemics, gender, race and low ratings. Some people appreciate that the King Richard actor was rightly defending his wifes honor, saying Rock went too far when making fun of Pinkett Smith, noted educator Cerith Gardiner, writing for the Catholic website Aleteia. Others were appalled by Smiths violent response to the insensitive joke. Yet, out of all the rapidly forming opinions, there is one voice that made a lot of sense, wrote Gardiner, referring to Washington. His sobering statement about temptation and fame during this normally glamorous evening, she noted, reminds us that these Hollywood stars, (whom) some hero-worship, have their vulnerabilities and their weaknesses. It helped to know that comics have been jabbing at the Smiths for years, in part because of constant social media banter about their unconventional some have said open marriage. There was, for example, this 2013 Facebook comment from Pinkett Smith: Will and I BOTH can do WHATEVER we want, because we TRUST each other to do so. This does NOT mean we have an open relationship ... this means we have a GROWN one. Denzel and Pauletta Washington have, in nearly four decades together, survived their own roller coaster ride of Hollywood rumors and speculation. In 1995, they renewed their marriage vows in rites led by South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu. During a 2013 interview with Ebony magazine, Pauletta was blunt, noting: Hes a sex symbol. Everybodys around him. And when were out, they push me over and run me over to get to him. That part is not so cute. ... I live with this man. I see the down part. I see the sad part. I see every part. He has, and knows he has, that stability in me as his wife. At the same time, Washington has become increasingly vocal about his pilgrimage deeper into the Pentecostal faith of his childhood, when he was raised as the son of a Church of God in Christ pastor. Time after time, he has publicly linked his vows to God and his wife. What did Washington tell Smith? His words may have echoed his 2019 remarks after receiving the American Film Institutes Life Achievement Award. The actor thanked his wife for 40 years of sacrifice, 40 years of forgiveness, of talking about faith, spirituality, love, real love, unwavering love in spite of myself. I would not be alive without Pauletta Washington. The bottom line, said Washington, was an even higher love: Im up here to say thank you to God for giving me this ability, for blessing me, for shaping me, for chastising me, for teaching me, for punishing me, for allowing me to be a vessel and touch people around the world. (Terry Mattingly leads GetReligion.org and lives in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He is a senior fellow at the Overby Center at the University of Mississippi.) Emory & Henry College marked the 185th anniversary of its founding Thursday, March 24, by awarding citations to two people who gave back to their community in honor of the four founders of the college. The Alumni Association awarded the 2021 and 2020 honorees for the Distinguished Alumni Awards as part of the colleges Founders Day ceremonies. Founders Day is the time during which we recognize those individuals and organizations that conceived of and built Southwest Virginias first higher education institution in 1836 and its impact on the region, Mark Graham, vice president for Administration and General Counsel at Emory & Henry, said. The celebration this year was a digital awards ceremony aired on YouTube. Nancy Johnson of Glade Spring, Virginia, was the first honoree. Johnson is a retired African American artist who served as a resident artist for nearly 20 years at the Arts Depot in Abingdon, Virginia. Johnson began painting in 1989 after 17 years of nursing. Her art is a multimedia experience, Johnsons paintings are accented with glued-on features meant to bring the art to life. The second honoree is T. Edward Damer, a retired philosophy professor and chair of the Division of Visual and Performing Arts at Emory & Henry. Damer authored Attacking Faulty Reasoning, while employed at Emory & Henry and continued to be named the 1988 Virginia Professor of the Year a decade later. In addition to the various teaching awards he received, Damer was awarded for his service while a member of the Rotary Club on four separate occasions. We acknowledge the role that local individuals and groups had in supporting Emory & Henry for nearly two centuries by recognizing civic leaders in our community annually during Founders Day, Graham said. In conjunction with the time-honored celebration of Founders Day, the Emory & Henry Alumni Association has chosen annual honorees to award the various Distinguished Alumni Awards. Alumni engagement is important for Emory & Henry because our alumni are important to Emory & Henry, Monica Hoel, alumni director at Emory & Henry, said. We are so proud of what our alumni do in the world, and we are grateful that so many will continue to give back to their alma mater as donors, mentors, career connections and volunteers. The Alumni Association presented awards to honorees selected for both 2021 and 2022 this year. The honorees for the year 2021 are Rob Goldsmith, 71 for the Carl and Ruth Looney Humanitarian Award; Lisa Jordan, 84 for the Distinguished Achievement Award; Kishanna Caesar Heyward, 08 for the A.L. Mitchell Young Alumnus of the Year Award; James Duchamp for the James A. Davis Faculty Award; and every E&H in the City Volunteer for the Fred Selfe Distinctive Service to Emory & Henry Award. The honorees for the year 2022 are Charlie Phillips, 60 for the Carl and Ruth Looney Humanitarian Award; Michael K. Young, 86 for the Distinguished Achievement Award; Stephen and Jessica Curtis Callahan, 11 for the A.L. Mitchell Young Alumni of the Year Award; Cyndi Jennings, 91 for the Fred Selfe Distinctive Service to Emory & Henry Award; and Eric Coley, 04 for the James A. Davis Faculty Award. It is very difficult to choose just a handful of alumni to honor each year because we have so many who are worthy of praise and respect; but each year we get nominations from folks who tell stories of the alumni they hope the selection committee will pay close attention to, Hoel said. We really encourage everyone to make a nomination, right now, while its on your mind. Bethlehem ministers and community members gathered under the Bethlehem Star on Sunday, March 27, to offer prayers for the people of Ukraine. Bethlehem Scout Troop 275 led the assembled community members. They presented a flag ceremony including the scout oath and law and then led the assembled residents in the Pledge of Allegiance. Bethlehem ministers Mike Stone, Dale Bost, Stewart Lankford and Dean Chambers offered prayers for the well-being of the people of Ukraine. Special prayers were said for Poland, which received the bulk of the 4 million refugees from the ravages of the Ukrainian conflict. Other community residents asked guidance for world leaders as they responded to the humanitarian crisis. Love offerings were collected after the conclusion of the prayer service and pizza lunch. Donations of $3,000 have been sent to Samaritans Purse to be used by the organization for its support of displaced Ukrainian citizens. The ministers in this season before Easter asked Bethlehem residents to join the worlds peace-loving brothers and sisters to pray for dialogue, justice and peace. A Newton man was sentenced to at least nine years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple drug charges, according to a release from District Attorney Scott Reillys office. Joshua Jezreel Duncan, 32, pleaded guilty to trafficking heroin by possession and transportation, maintaining a dwelling for a controlled substance, possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver cocaine and possession of a firearm by a felon. In addition to the jail time, Duncan was fined $100,000. The charges stemmed from a July 2019 search of a home when officers found Duncan in possession of a handgun and three bags filled with more than 14 grams of heroin as well as some cocaine, according to the release. Duncan attempted to dispose of two of the bags by throwing them out of the house, according to the release. He was previously convicted of felony opium trafficking in Lincoln County in 2012. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Changed political situation will force Bengal to help BSF in checking infiltration: Shah Kolkata, May 5 (IANS) The political situation in West Bengal will soon be such that the local administration will be forced to assist the Border Security Force (BSF) to check illegal infiltration and cross-border smuggling along the India-Bangladesh border areas in the state, according to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. WCTU to hold meeting MATTOON Woman's Christian Temperance Union women and men will meet at 10 a.m., Monday, April 4, at at Denny's Restaurant in Mattoon. National Reading Program information and literature will be available. Members are also reminded to save empty shoeboxes for the Samaritan Purse Christmas Children project. Visitors are welcome. For more information, call 217-234-9827 Comfort for older adults meeting set CHARLESTON Wesley United Methodist Church of Charleston is welcoming the community to a Sunday Chat about safety and comfort for older adults in living and social spaces at 6 p.m. Sunday, April 10. Aprils Sunday Chat presenter is Kathleen ORourke of Eastern Illinois University's Department of Human Services and Community Leadership. ORourke is graduate coordinator of the M.A. in Aging Studies program. She will lead the group in an examination of strategies to promote safety and comfort for older adults in living and social spaces. The program will feature ORourkes interactive assessment tool for learning about the degree of safety and comfort for accommodating older adults --whether in their homes, social settings or buildings. For more information, go to charlestonwesley.org or call the church at 217-345-3917. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. MATTOON The Mattoon Rotary Club recently presented a check for $20,229 to the Mattoon Food Pantry. The donation was made possible through donations from members, area residents and businesses as part of the clubs annual food drive. Were so grateful to the Mattoon Rotary Club for yet another wonderful donation, said Mary Russell, executive director of the Mattoon Food Pantry. Because of the generosity of Rotarians and other community members, well be able to provide food necessities to literally thousands in need. Russell explained that the pantry has seen an increase in people visiting the Pantry recently who are living in their vehicles in and around the Mattoon community. With this donation, the food pantry will buy food in bulk from the Eastern Illinois Foodbank in Champaign, as well as other items from area businesses such as Dollar Tree and County Market with which the Pantry partners. The pantry also provides special items such as hams and turkeys - during the holidays. Those in need can visit the Mattoon Food Pantry at various times, including a monthly Thursday Drive-Thru or from 1:30-3:30 p.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Food Pantry volunteers also make monthly home deliveries to approximately 120 families. Gary Swearingen, who has led the Rotary Food Drive for 22 years, explained that the local Food Pantry is such a vital community resource, and one that the Mattoon Rotary Club is proud to support. The COVID-19 pandemic and the cost increase in goods and services has resulted in an even greater financial burden on area families, Swearingen said. On behalf of Mattoon Rotarians, we will continue to do our part in supporting this valuable service. PHOTOS: Mattoon Rotary Club Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Broadway The touring company of Hamilton will perform from April 6 to April 24 at Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts, 300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. The show is the story of America then, told by America now. The score blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway to tell the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton. The show takes on culture, politics and education with book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Tickets start at $49 at ticketmaster.com. Concert Pianist Barbara Lister-Sink, Salem College professor of piano, and Jonathan Blake Borton, staff accompanist, will celebrate the Steinway Piano Restoration Project in Shirley Recital Hall, Elberson Fine Arts Center, Salem College at 7:30 p.m. April 8. The performance will feature music for two pianos by Mozart, Milhaud, Bach, Chaminade and Piazzolla performed on the beloved 1938 Steinway concert grand and the newly restored 1952 Steinway. The concert will also be live-streamed on the Elberson Fine Arts Center and School of Music Facebook pages. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. Masks are required. Steam live at facebook.com/salemfineartscenter or facebook.com/SalemCollegeSOM. Film screening RiverRun International Film Festival will present the film Try Harder! at 7 p.m. April 5 alongside UNC-TV PBS North Carolina and as part of the Indie Lens Pop-Up program. San Franciscos Lowell High, one of the best public schools in the country, draws high achievers nearly 70% Asian Americans from across the city into a fiercely competitive universe. The camera follows seniors through the hallways and into classrooms as the pressure intensifies to impress admissions officers at elite universities with their report cards, test scores, and overall awesomeness. The students proudly own their identity as nerds and tell their stories with candor and humor despite the stress. The film asks: How do these kids define their identities outside of acceptance letters? A moderated panel discussion focusing on the challenges faced by students in todays high pressure academic landscape will be after the film. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions and engage in the conversation via the virtual chat. The screening and discussion are both free, but registration is required by visiting riverrunfilm.com. New play Theatre Alliance will present Sordid Lives at Ihrie Theatre, 650 W. Sixth St., Winston-Salem. The play is a black comedy about white trash. Written by Del Shores, the author of Daddys Dyin (Whos Got the Will?), has written a comedy that was nominated for over 30 awards during its long run in Los Angeles. When Peggy, a good Christian woman, hits her head on the sink and bleeds to death after tripping over her lovers wooden legs in a motel room, chaos erupts in Winters, Texas. Performances will be at 8 p.m. April 8-9 and 2 p.m. April 3 and 10 The play is two hours with one intermission. Tickets are $21 for adults and $19 for seniors (62 and older) and students at 336-723-7777 or theatrealliance.ws/box_office. Current COVID-19 protocols will be in effect. Check theatrealliance.ws for the latest rules in force. Visit theatrealliance.ws. Chelsea Clinton As part of its 250th anniversary celebration, Salem Academy and College and Bookmarks will host author Chelsea Clinton in conversation with Salem President Summer McGee at 7 p.m. April 4 at Elberson Fine Arts Center on Salems campus 601 Church St. S in Winston-Salem. Much of the April 4 event will focus on Clintons new book for young readers called She Persisted in Science. Published by Penguin Young Readers Group and illustrated by Alexandra Boiger, She Persisted in Science was released on March 1. The book shares the stories of women who became successful scientists and is part of Clintons No. 1 New York Times bestselling She Persisted series. Salem Academy and College is exclusively focused on developing tomorrows health leaders and change agents in STEAM fields and beyond. The conversation with her will be casual in format and promises to be highly informative about the importance of educating future generations of girls and women in the area of science, said McGee. In She Persisted in Science, Clinton writes, Being a woman in science isnt always easy. Sometimes women are told that their ideas arent smart enough, their research isnt good enough simply because theyre women. But that is not true. The world needs everyones scientific discoveries. The cost to attend the event is $25 at bookmarksnc.org/chelseaclinton and includes a copy of She Persisted in Science. Attendees can donate their books back to Bookmarks as part of its program to increase access to books for children in Winston-Salem. Colored pencil exhibit Yadkin Arts Council presents The Fine Art of Colored Pencil by the Colored Pencil Society of America (District Chapter 114 Raleigh-Durham) through April 29 at 226 E. Main St. in Yadkinville. The group exhibit will highlight the beautiful and versatile medium of colored pencil. Founded in 1990 by Vera Curnow, the Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA) is a nonprofit representing almost 2,000 members worldwide who work with colored pencils. Artwork needed Piedmont Triad Airport Authority is looking for art to feature from N.C. and southern Virginia artists, including two-dimensional paintings, photographs, mixed media and three-dimensional sculpture for inside and outside. The artwork will be on loan to the PTAA for one year. An agreed-upon fee will be paid for installation time. Visit flyfrompti.com/art-walking-tour to see current artwork on display or flyfrompti.com/2022-call-to-artists for art submission details. Dear Dr. Fox: At our police dog kennel, we sell 300 to 400 police service dogs annually. We get many calls from our clients about dogs (whether purchased from us or not) becoming aggressive for no reason after being given flea and tick treatments, while others report dogs vomiting, having diarrhea or having seizures. One dog had to be euthanized for aggression and seizures. These problems are becoming so common that we send flyers out with the dogs to warn handlers of the dangers of these drugs. The problem is with the veterinarians, my own included, who say these drugs do not cause aggressive behavior and only cause seizures in dogs with underlying issues. I find this hard to believe, as I have seen and heard too many stories over the years about young, healthy animals having serious problems with these pesticides. Why do the veterinarians refuse to believe these stories? Why are these side effects not being reported to the FDA, or even the manufacturers of these products? It's like banging your head against the wall. The FDA approved these products, that's the most common rebuttal, as well as the excuse to continue using them and causing harm. L.B., Sharpsville, Pennsylvania Dear L.B.: I appreciate your concerns on this issue, which I have written about many times in recent years. It is patently obvious that the Big Pharma manufacturers and profit-making providers are ignoring the many well-documented adverse reactions. After much pressure from informed veterinarians and other experts, they simply add a warning on the product label. I have long called for the prohibition of these substances and the adoption of safer flea and tick control measures. Now, with climate change, people are finding ticks and fleas on their dogs year-round, leading to "panic buying" of these insecticides over the counter in drugstores, hardware stores and from veterinary clinics. Unregulated marketing of these items leads to dogs, their owners and the environment being contaminated with their chemicals. But these products are convenient, and appeal to those who do not wish to take the time and effort to practice safer methods of pest control and prevention. Another problem is that oral insecticides and parasiticides are regulated by the FDA, while the EPA deals with externally applied insecticides. A unified drug regulation authority is needed, one independent of the USDA's agribusiness alliance and wholesale marketing of insecticides to various crop producers and to the agroforestry, livestock, poultry and fish farming industries. Get a dose of adorable in your inbox Receive local adoptable pets PLUS updates for pet lovers in your inbox every week! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Q: We have been bothered by robocalls from AT&T, sometimes two or three times a day. The caller ID varies from unknown cell phone, or some local business. Today it appeared to come from Forsyth County; a few days ago it appeared to come from Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. Who can we complain to? T.W. Answer: Scammers have the technology and ability to spoof phone numbers. The Federal Communications Commission defines number spoofing as a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity. They can make it appear that the call is from a business or someone in the same area where you are located. Many times the caller is located overseas making it very difficult to catch them. Here are some tips from the FCC about what to do when you get a call that is likely a robocall or scammer: *If you dont recognize the number, dont answer the phone. *If you answer it and realize its a robocall or a scam, hang up immediately. *If the caller tells you to push a button to stop the calls, dont do it, hang up. *Never give any kind of personal information to an unknown caller. *Never assume an unexpected call is legitimate. Hang up and call back using a number you can verify on a bill, a statement, or an official website. *Be suspicious. Con artists can be very convincing: They may ask innocuous questions, or sound threatening, or sometimes seem too good to be true, the FCC said. Scammers may pose as a law enforcement officer or a representative of such companies as Duke Energy, Amazon or AT&T and tell you youll be arrested for failing to show up for jury duty or you have an overdue payment. Sometimes, theyll claim that if you give them the numbers off a gift card or transfer money through electronic sites such as Bitcoin, the situation will be closed. *Dont give them any money or information. Law enforcement will never demand immediate payment. Make sure you know who is on the other end of the call. If they tell you that they are from a company you do business with, hang up and call that business using a number from their website or on correspondence youve gotten from them. *Never give any personal information, including bank information, credit card information, or a Social Security number to an unknown caller. Hang up. The Winston-Salem Police Department recommends the following: *If you do somehow find yourself on the line with a suspected scammer, Get the callers name (or alleged name); get the number they called from and/or email address; and contact law enforcement authorities and file a police report. *If you havent already, you can sign up for the Do Not Call Registry on the Federal Trade Commissions website, FTC.gov. You can file a complaint with the FCC on its website, FCC.gov and to the FTC. Occasionally, robocallers do get caught and hopefully will pay the price for the error of their ways. According to FCC.gov, in the February meeting the FCC proposed a $45 million fine against a robocaller for making pre-recorded calls without consumer consent. The telemarketer apparently made hundreds of thousands of calls with false claims about the pandemic to induce people to purchase health insurance. Email: AskSAM@wsjournal.com Write: Ask SAM, 418 N. Marshall St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Winston-Salem police arrested a second teenager Friday in connection with last weeks shooting that injured a Winston-Salem firefighter and another man at Kermits Hot Dog House, authorities said. Investigators identified Keon Rush, 18, of Winston-Salem as the driver of a blue Hyundai that entered the Kermits parking lot and whose occupants opened fire March 25 on the restaurants patrons, Winston-Salem police said. Kristan Tyshawn Allen, 21, and Elijah Jevon Stanton, 18, were charged March 26 in the Kermits case. The shooting injured Ross Michael Flynt, 29, a Winston-Salem firefighter and the part-time chief of the Walkertown Fire Department. A second customer, Patrick Dawarde Carter, 41, was also wounded. Flynt was released Wednesday from Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Carter was in stable condition at the hospital last week after the shooting. Rush is charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with intent to kill and one count of discharging a firearm into an occupied property, police said. The Winston-Salem Police Departments violent firearm investigations team and gang unit located Rush Friday on Gholson Street driving a Chevrolet Sonic, police said. When officers initiated a traffic stop, Rushs vehicle fled the scene, police said. Police and Forsyth County sheriffs deputies pursued the vehicle. The chase ended on U.S. 52 South near Interstate 40 when Rushs vehicle was involved in a traffic accident, police said. No one was injured during the pursuit. The sheriffs office will pursue additional charges in connection with the incident, police said. A passenger in Rushs vehicle, Reginald Sutton, 28, of Winston-Salem had an outstanding federal arrest warrant for sale and delivery of a controlled substance, police said. Rush and Sutton were taken into custody, police said. In a related development, Judge Kristin Broyles of Forsyth District Court increased the bonds Friday for Allen and Stanton, who are each charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with intent to kill and one count of discharging a weapon into occupied property, in connection with the Kermits shooting. Broyles increased Allens bond from $500,000 to $1.5 million, and Stantons bond from $150,000 to $500,000. In addition to the shooting-related charges, Allen also faces several drug trafficking and possession charges. The Forsyth County District Attorneys Office had requested that Allens bond be increased to $2 million, and that Stantons bond be increased to $1 million. Broyles agreed with the district attorneys office that the two men posed a danger to the community and agreed to increase their bonds, but not by as much as the district attorneys office asked. The next court date for the two defendants will be April 21. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Living a life of concern and support for those with needs is the topic this week. People of many faiths have similar beliefs about providing needed support for family members, neighbors and strangers. Many people are suffering and need prayers and humanitarian aid. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:10) Pray for the refugees! As I see the images of the harsh realities of the world, I am stunned, but I find the scope of humanitarian contributions to be moving. Many countries, secular and religious organizations, and individuals are supporting people who are victims of immoral behavior. We should honor the people who are dedicated to making the world a better place. I cannot name all the good people and helpful organizations, but I hope that readers will turn to the people they know who support those with needs at home and abroad and thank them. I encourage people who have the time and/or means to make a difference to continue their support. I have been troubled by the hardships placed on the Jewish people living in Ukraine. According to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), There are more than 9,900 Holocaust survivors living in Ukraine who need help. (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-russia-invasion-holocaust-survivors/) The JDC is just one among the many humanitarian Jewish organizations providing help to Ukraine. The Womens Philanthropy group of the Jewish Federation encourages Jewish women to help those with needs. Members are also involved in community service by improving womens health, providing shelter for vulnerable children, and helping seniors.(https://jewishfederations.org/how-we-help/womens-philanthropy) As I was thinking about Ramadan (April 2 to Monday, May 2), I read about the Muslim Womens Organization (MWO) which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people. It gives Muslim women the opportunity to serve in worthy causes including the Annual Community Assistance for Ramadan & Eid (C.A.R.E) (https://www.mwo-orlando.org/our-mission-and-goals) Ramadan is a holy month of worship. The faithful spend time studying the Quran, praying, reflecting, fasting and almsgiving. Ramadan occurs during the month in which Muslims believe the Quran began to be revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. It is an important and joyful celebration for Muslims. Lent provides Christians the opportunity to review Jesus life. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. (John 1:9) Jesus, the true light, lived a life of the spirit, and his words and deeds provide guidance for living a spiritual life as a human. The Biblical story of the widows mite reminds us to help each other as we can. A poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in all she had to live on. (Mark 12:42-44) Her story should inspire people to help those with needs by gifts or service. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, spent a short period of time in Egypt with his parents, and most of His childhood in Nazareth. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum which was by the lake. (Matthew 4:13). Jesus served by word and deed as he traveled to different places. Several sources have calculated that Jesus walked 3,125 miles during his three-year ministry. He preached and taught in Galilee and Judea, with activities in surrounding areas such as Peres and Samaria. (https://earlychurchhistory.org/communication/how-many-places-did-jesus-visit/) In Capernaum, He gathered his first disciples. As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Peter and Simon and said, Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people. At once they left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4:19-20) He asked James, son of Zebedee and his brother John to follow him, and later he added the other disciples. Jesus taught with miracles, sermons and parables. He healed the sick and the lame and gave the breath of life to the dead. He taught his disciples to serve God and care for people with needs. Since the first century, Christians have continued to keep the faith alive. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of Gods grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10) Earl Crows column is published Saturdays in the Winston-Salem Journal. Email him at ecrow1@triad.rr.com. The army came marching from the east, its leaders, if not its rank-and-file fighters, filled with righteous indignation that these bumpkins would resist their betters. After all, these invaders had the military might, the wealth and the cultural history, they thought, to show themselves as superior. The citizen soldiers, forced to fight on behalf of the arrogant leader and his henchmen, were not so sure. The people they were marching against, attacking, pillaging and taking into custody for trial and execution were more like them than any enemy they had been told to hate. The lies fed to them portrayed these residents in the adjacent countryside as not respecting the governments power, the interests of political leaders. Such insolence had to be tamed, they were told. Ukraine today? Yes, but also North Carolina two-and-half centuries ago when Royal Gov. William Tryon, enabled by wealthy plantation-owners-cum-elected-legislators, marched into the then-backcountry to put down what they labeled a rebellion. It was not. We observed the 250th anniversary of the War of the Regulation last May, with its destroying of backcountry farmsteads and the colonial governments punitive hanging of six North Carolina citizens that June. In the wake of that destructive invasion by a marauding army in 1771, some of the ex-Regulators emigrated, fled as refugees if you will but thats not the story we tell. Some, but not large numbers, maneuvered northwest around North Carolinas barrier mountains, joining in the general southward migration of frontier settlers streaming down the Wilderness Road through the Valley of Virginia. By the following year, 1772, migrating colonists occupied lands in the Holston River valley. About 70 homesteads were sorted east along the Watauga River. All of them believed they were in Virginia, respectful of the Donelson Line, recently established by British Indian agents with the Cherokees. A few strayed over the boundary, but the accommodating Cherokees were willing to move it in places. Settlers in these western hinterlands knew they were too far from any courthouse that could accommodate their recording of land transactions. Thus, did those Watauga settlers (actually in North Carolina) in the spring of 1772 organize themselves at Old Fields at Sycamore Shoals (Elizabethton, Tenn.) as the Watauga Association. They arranged for their own partial self-governance with the mutual signing of written agreements. That written compact has been romanticized as more than it probably was. Because no copies survive, historians can only estimate its provisions. It is agreed, however, the articles did not create an independent government even though Lord Dunmore, Virginias royal governor, would later disparage it as a dangerous example of colonists thinking about independence. Still, the Watauga Association is a notable event in Americas formative history, its 250th anniversary to be grandly celebrated this coming April 9 in Elizabethton and throughout the year at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Site. During the next four years leading to our Declaration of Independence, more land-hungry colonial settlers amassed on the border against Cherokee lands. Relationships with their Cherokee neighbors were cooperative at first until some of these westering folks much as did those who had just chased some of them out of North Carolina doubled down on their presumptions of superiority and took advantage of the Cherokees. As soon as North Carolinas rebelling legislators had a good enough excuse, they mobilized an assault. Just as we were declaring in Philadelphia that all men are created equal, Gen. Griffith Rutherford led 2,500 North Carolina militiamen to attack and destroy 30 Cherokee towns with the help of invading forces from Virginia, Georgia and South Carolina. They entered the Cherokee Nation intending to eradicate the Cherokee people, chasing women and children into the forest where they would perish in the coming winter without food and shelter. But thats not the story we tell. As we were becoming America, we were refugees and invaders, victims and perpetrators. We both survived and created those contradictory aspects of our collective story. Not all of that is the story we tell because some is not who we want to think we were or are. Most all Americans love America. Some love what they want to believe America once was. Some love what they hope America can yet become. Somehow, we have to survive creating one America for us all. But thats not the story we are telling to ourselves or to each other. Theres battle lines being drawn And nobodys right if everybodys wrong. Stephen Stills, 1966 (For What Its Worth) Randell Jones is the award-winning author of Before They Were Heroes at Kings Mountain. He is the creator of BecomingAmerica250.com. He lives in Winston-Salem. Like Rome, Omaha has seven hills. And a whole lot more. An obscure city newspaper in 1881 made that point, and with an astute prediction. Rome, with her (paltry) seven hills, is nowhere. Omaha is built on at least twice that number and bids fair to cover a dozen more in the next half decade, was from the Omaha Sunday Item. Indeed within that time period arose Walnut Hill, Orchard Hill and Clifton Hill additions, notable in that the hills werent meant solely for mansions or institutions. The working class could live there, too. Walnut Hill was the first of the three. Omaha physician Samuel Mercer bought the Lowe family farm at 40th and Hamilton Streets in 1880 and sold part of it for the waterworks reservoir on the southeast corner. He platted the rest of the land, which stretched across Saddle Creek to 48th Street from Cuming to Hamilton, as Walnut Hill. Contrary to lore, a walnut grove was not there before Mercers purchase. He named the addition after an academy he attended in his youth. To enhance the district, he planted walnut trees on either side of Lowe Avenue (40th Street) that separated the residential section from the waterworks. Mercer seeded the subdivision with a dozen single-family homes and a row of brick flats on Izard Street near 41st Street. His mansion, still in the family, was built in 1887 south of the waterworks at 40th and Cuming. By 1885, according to the Omaha Daily Herald, Walnut Hill included a mix of 75 houses that included handsome two-story structures on the level and humble cottages on the slope across the railway. The railway was the Belt Line. It ran around the northern, western and part of the southern portion of town at a time when the city limits stopped at 48th Street. Once completed in 1886, it was turned over to robber baron Jay Goulds Missouri Pacific for operation. Freight service lasted until the 1980s, but passenger service was discontinued in the 1910s. Walnut Hills depot was at 44th and Nicholas Streets, which remains a light industrial area. North of the depot, the track ran through a 40-foot cut that required a viaduct at the intersection of Hamilton and Military Avenue. An 1890 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows within the eastern part of Walnut Hill the F.L. Cotton lumberyard south of the depot, a Cynthia Presbyterian Church on Nicholas Street west of the depot, and a wooden bridge over the railroad. What it doesnt show is one of the oldest buildings still extant, the two-story red brick building on the southwest corner of 40th and Hamilton. That was built later in 1890 for Fred Nelson and C.E. Knight. Orchard Hill was platted in 1886 by real estate speculator Clifton Mayne northeast of Walnut Hill, from 36th to 42nd Streets, Hamilton to Blondo Streets. The land was the Alec. H. Baker farm for more than a quarter-century. Theres the finest piece of property of its size in the state of Nebraska, remarked the late Dr. Enos Love to the writer one bright autumnal morning 18 years ago, a World-Herald article, really a blurb for the addition, proclaimed in 1886. Yes, he continued, when my brother Jesse and myself came over here from the Bluffs and had all the present site of Omaha and unlimited acres to the west to select from, that tract caught our eye at once; but while we were securing the large strips to the south, others were to quick for us and we lost a prize. Yes, sir, a prize. Orchard Hill included the northwest corner of 40th and Hamilton, which became a business district. In 1890, the block included two grocers, a druggist, the Whitney livery and the Otto Lagesen saloon. Within a decade, the livery gave way to the Thorin grocery and meat market and the saloon replaced by a building that later housed the Winn theater. On the corner was the William Stein grocery. He opened his business in a frame building in 1887 and replaced it in 1909 with the brick structure that is still standing and home to Hargiss String Instruments. It was a grocery store for much of the period, including under the Piggly Wiggly and Safeway brands, until Dixie Cream Donuts moved there in 1950. The business was renamed Martin Doughnuts the following year. While Clifton Mayne platted Orchard Hill, he did not plat Clifton Hill. A.P. Tukey did. Tukey bought the land for $100,000 from John A. Creighton that comprised the area between 40th and 45th Streets, Blondo to Lake Streets. Transportation connections were good. Military Avenue and the streetcar were to the west and the Belt Line to the east with a station eventually established at 40th and Lake Streets. Omaha Lumber and Coal, later Rivetts, opened on the corner in 1909. Churches came to the area, including Lowe Avenue and Clifton Hill Presbyterian, Walnut Hill Methodist, St. Andrews Episcopal mission congregation. The first St. Cecilias Catholic Church was at 4115 Hamilton. As for schools, the first Walnut Hill School opened in 1885 at 39th and Hamilton and three years later was replaced by a two-story building on the north side of Hamilton. That stood until the present one opened next door in 1926. Clifton Hills first classes were in Yoders Hall at 45th and Military in 1891. A four-room building followed in 1892 at 42nd and Miami Streets. Clifton Hill in 1914 was one of the first two Omaha Public Schools to have portable classrooms, a sign a larger school was needed. That came in 1918 with a new 16-room building at 45th and Corby, which was used until 1981. Its now the home of Girls Incorporated of Omaha. So what were the original Seven Hills of Omaha? According to the Omaha Bee in 1881, they were Capitol Hill (Central High School), College Hill (Creighton University), Oak Hill (17th and Jackson Streets), Convent Hill (24th Street and St. Marys Avenue), Bowery Hill (13th and Bancroft Streets), Shinns Hill (maybe Prospect Hill Cemetery) and Riverview and/or Kountze Hill (maybe south of downtown on 10th Street). Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Zach Hammack K-12 education reporter Zach Hammack, a 2018 UNL graduate, has always called Lincoln home. He previously worked as a copy editor at the Journal Star and was a reporting intern in 2017. Now, he covers students, teachers and schools as the newspapers K-12 reporter. Follow Zach Hammack 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 Officials at Lincoln Public Schools have made clear their goal of recruiting more teachers of color to better represent the district's diverse student body. The Lincoln Board of Education even cemented that goal as one of four equity measurables it rolled out last year. Those goals include closing gaps based on race in the hiring of certificated staff, the graduation rate, school suspensions, and Advanced Placement and honors course enrollment. Last Monday's Aspiring Diverse Educators Symposium was just one example of how LPS hopes to reach those benchmarks. About 60 LPS students from diverse backgrounds who have an interest in teaching met with staff for roundtable discussions and workshops at the symposium. The event featured remarks from a number of speakers, including Amanda Morales, an associate professor of education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2022 Nebraska Teacher of the Year Lee Perez, and Ebony McKiver, social studies education specialist at the Nebraska Department of Education. While the symposium concept is new, the district has held similar events in the past, primarily to recruit students to come back to teach at LPS after college, said Pete Ferguson, LPS youth development coordinator. "I think that really put boundaries on the sandbox that we played in," he said. So at the symposium, the focus was broader: Connect students with a career in education beyond just the classroom and even LPS itself. "If they're going to be a principal, a coordinator (outside Lincoln), we at LPS, our community is going to jump up and down," Ferguson said. "We need to celebrate that fact. "Our hope is that we've done a good enough job that they've been recruited and tapped enough that when the situation is right, they see LPS and say, 'I'm going to come back and give back and this is going to be where I make that mark.'" Students at Monday's symposium came from all three school levels and could register for the event, held at the Don Clifton Professional Learning Center. LPS has long wanted to diversify its teaching force to better reflect the changing demographics of Lincoln. Roughly 93% of teachers at LPS are white, compared with just 64% of students. Officials want to grow the percentage of teachers from diverse racial backgrounds to a target of 8.1%, as outlined in the board's equity goals. An action plan to achieve those benchmarks is set to be unveiled later this month. One student at the symposium summed up the importance of this work. "I have never had the experience of a Latino or Latina teacher, and I want to become a teacher to change that for students like me." Lincoln High turns 150 Lincoln's oldest high school started in the basement of an unused church at 12th and K streets in 1871. More than 150 years later, Lincoln High School is still around (although it moved on from its basement beginnings). On Sunday, staff and students will host an open house to celebrate the school's sesquicentennial from 1-4 p.m. The open house will include student-guided tours, an art show, a video-interview booth and a look at the school's archives. Lincoln High's history dates back to 1871, when voters approved a $50,000 bond issue to construct the school at 15th and N streets. The school wasn't ready until January 1873, so in the meantime, classes were held in the basement of Methodist Protestant Church. In 1915, the school moved to its current location at 22nd and J streets, and the old building built on the site where Pershing Center would eventually stand was torn down. Sunday's open house will kick off with introductory remarks in the Ted Sorensen Theater at 1 p.m. In the words of former Principal Mike Wortman: Another Lincoln High job well done. Contact the writer at zhammack@journalstar.com or 402-473-7225. On Twitter @zach_hammack Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Rotary clubs in Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa have combined efforts with dozens more scattered across the upper Midwest to airlift medical supplies to Poland and ultimately Ukraine. The effort was initiated by members of the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America (UMANA) based in Chicago, and resulted in 50 tons of medical supplies, proving that when people of all types and backgrounds work together, good things result. I am so proud of the nearly 2,000 Rotarians in our area, said Rotary District Gov. Carol Horner. They helped answer the call to provide this airlift. And, theyre responding to the need for even more medical supplies by reaching out to hospitals, doctors' offices and other medical facilities to collect donations of supplies for the next shipment. Horner called clubs in her district together when she was contacted by a Rotary colleague in Illinois. Dozens of clubs in the upper Midwest responded to the call and raised the money for the airlift. Rotary is an international organization with more than 1.4 million members, noted Horner. At the international level, we have a very large foundation that provides funds for projects all over the world. Our clubs in this part of the country got together, and with the foundations help, provided for the medical supply airlift. The UMANA members in the Chicago area responded to Ukrainian doctors pleading for medical supplies for hospitals and clinics in Ukraine. The effort started small among doctors in the Chicago area. Because of their connections with Rotary International in Chicago and clubs in that area, the effort soon spread to multiple Rotary clubs and members helping collect the supplies. What was first stored in a UMANA members garage soon became a warehouse full of nearly 100 tons of supplies donated by hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and other medical operations. Weve launched our own medical supply donation effort, added Horner. I was so impressed with what I saw happening in the Chicago area that I challenged the members of the 39 clubs in our area to collect supplies. Were seeking to fill very specific needs including several types of gauze, Neosporin or other topical creams, slings, tourniquets and splints, chlorine tablets for clean water and emergency kits. Anyone with medical supplies to donate is asked to contact their local Rotary club for details, or email District5650Projects@gmail.com. Many clubs in Nebraska and Iowa have also responded to other challenges. Horner asked for donations for the Rotary International disaster relief aid, and members donated $50,000. Steve Glenn, owner of Executive Travel and a member of the downtown Lincoln club, is donating $25,000 toward emergency housing for Ukraine refugees in Poland. The head of the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln has connected with Rotary members in Ukraine and is fostering a special project. Rotary is a 117-year-old organization first established in Chicago. The organization involves people of all ages, genders, ethnic backgrounds and religions, showing that professionals with diverse backgrounds can exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Over time, Rotarys reach and vision has extended to humanitarian service by working to positively help and impact people throughout the world. Today, there are more than 46,000 Rotary clubs around the world. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BURLINGTON A Burlington man has been accused of selling methamphetamine and also traveling 100 mph during a police chase. Russell William Bennett, 32, of the 32300 block of Academy Road, was charged with 31 felony counts of bail jumping, four felony counts of maintaining a drug trafficking place, three felony counts of manufacturing/delivery/distribution of methamphetamine, felony counts of possession of a controlled substance and attempting to flee or elude an officer, in addition to misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and obstructing an officer. According to criminal complaints: First incident A confidential informant met with Bennett in the 32300 block of Academy Road multiple times last spring to purchase drugs. The confidential informant obtained a combined 4.3 grams of meth from Bennett. On June 6, agents executed a search warrant on Bennetts residence and found three plastic bags that contained psilocybin, a marijuana bong and numerous pills, including Gabapentin pills and several gem-sized zip-close bags. Second incident At 11:49 p.m. on Nov. 16, deputies conducted a check on a purple Ford Flex parked on the shoulder at Heg Park Road and in the Town of Norway. The driver, later identified as Bennett, appeared confused. A deputy found that Bennett had numerous active warrants for his arrest. Officers ordered him out of the car, but he said: Dont touch my door, Im out of here! He then sped off. The deputies pursued him, and Bennett disregarded a stop sign and reportedly reached speeds well over 100 mph in a 55 mph zone. The deputies terminated the pursuit after 3.7 miles, and a warrant was issued. He was later arrested and appeared in court for the first time Thursday. Bennett was given $17,500 in cash bonds in Racine County Circuit Court on Thursday. at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave., online court records show. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market. 2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image. 3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers. 4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city. 5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while. Vote View Results SOHR has reported that Russian fighters have executed more than 30 airstrikes, targeting ISIS hideouts and hotbeds in Al-Sokhnah and Palmyra deserts, east of Homs, these airstrikes come in light of a significant decline in military operations by Russia in the Syrian desert. On March 30, Russian military operations in Syria completed their 78th month of military operations in Syria along with Damascus forces. SOHR has documented, killing of nine ISIS gangs and injury of 17 others in over 270 Russian airstrikes on their positions in the Syrian desert. A.K ANHA KEARNEY Retired Kearney pediatrician Sue Greenwald is among the new faces of the Buffalo County Republicans. Greenwald and other newcomers some of whom refer to themselves as patriots were selected Thursday night for some of the county GOPs top leadership roles. Disappointed by the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, the new faces have been looking for ways to be more active as Republicans. For Greenwald, the opportunity to get involved came when the Nebraska State Board of Education proposed controversial changes to state health education standards. Greenwald worried the teaching standards dangerously exposed children and teens to information that was inappropriate for their age or that might desensitize them to sexual materials and leave them vulnerable to abuse. Greenwald co-founded Protect Nebraska Children to fight the proposed standards. Protect Nebraska members and members of similar organizations about 400 in total vigorously opposed the proposed standards when the state Board of Education discussed them in Kearney. The proposed standards have been shelved, but Greenwald said she and her group are vigilant in case the issue resurfaces. She said she became involved in politics because doing so may have been too risky for others. I dont have a job to be fired from or a child who could be harassed at school, she said. On Thursday night at the Kearney Public Library, after GOP delegate votes were counted, Greenwald emerged with one of the local partys top leadership posts: state committeewoman. Kirby Wilson was elected state committeeman. Selected as delegates to the state convention, where the partys plank is drafted and candidates gather support, were Heather Bentley, Judy Derr, Barb Fitzgerald, Cynthia Foote, Jeremy Gove, Aaron Hughes, Larry Mason, Daniel Moos, Anthony Putnam, Monty Shultz, Janet Steffen and Susi Wilkinson. Alternates are Brad Brandt, Jim Brooker, Julie Brooker, Paul Burger, Vicki Gilliland, Timothy Hanley, John Lowe, Frances Madsen, Linda Smedra, Trenton Snow, Alex Straatmann and Amy Wilson. Elected as Buffalo Countys top GOP officers were chairman Joe Maul, vice chairman James Clark, secretary Peg Fong and treasurer Brenda Schultz. Fanchon Blythe, recruitment chair for the Lancaster County Republicans, said the fresh faces selected as delegates and leaders for Buffalo County are part of a trend sweeping Nebraska. Blythe said the fresh faces represent grassroots energy, the kind who will go door-to-door telling people about the party, staking out yard signs and collecting donations, which are the lifeblood of politics. About 600 attended the Lancaster County GOP convention. Blythe said attendance has been high at other county conventions. Attendance at Thursdays Buffalo County event approached 150. Because of fire codes, limits were placed on the number of people allowed into the meeting rooms. For a spell, the gathering became loud enough that some library patrons complained, and Kearney Police officers were dispatched to quiet the meeting back into order. What we have is a bunch of motivated and mobilized Republicans, said one of the participants. After the business meeting was complete, Gov. Pete Ricketts arrived to deliver the send-off for the Buffalo County Republicans. He warned against allowing divisive issues to split the establishment Republicans and the energetic new guard. If conservatives divide, the liberals will win, Ricketts said. The governor recited a litany of GOP strengths and a list of Democrat failings. Their administration has policies in place that will continue to run up the debt. Conservative leadership matters. In 2024 we need to retake the White House so we can put our country back on track and be the great nation were meant to be, Ricketts said as he exited. Now lets win some elections. As April brings a high risk for the often-fatal oak wilt disease across the state, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recommends not pruning or cutting oak trees from April through July. What you cant see can kill a tree. Oak wilt is widespread in southern Wisconsin, but it is still a new and uncommon disease in much of northern Wisconsin. As spring draws people outdoors to start seasonal yard maintenance and cleanup projects, when it comes to the health of oaks trees, keeping those chainsaws and trimming tools a safe distance will go a long way to ensure that your trees stay healthy for many more spring seasons to come. In spring and early summer, pruning and cutting oaks leaves them vulnerable to oak wilt, which rapidly kills trees in the red oak group and weakens those in the white oak group. Any damage during this time, including broken branches caused by storms, exposes living tree tissue beneath the bark and provides an opportunity for the oak wilt fungus to attack the tree. The DNR does not recommend using tree paint or wound dressing on pruned or wounded surfaces. However, for damaged oaks, a light application of these products immediately, if possible within 15 minutes, could be the only defense against oak wilt infection from April through July. Wounds are not susceptible to oak wilt after 72 hours. Although overland infection can occur in mid-July, it is not common. To be very cautious, avoid wounding oaks from April through Oct. 1. If something wounds an oak during this period, immediately and thoroughly apply pruning sealer or tree paint over the wound. Torn branches or roots should be cut clean and the cut surface painted. For additional protection, cover treated roots with soil. Oak wilt spreads overland by sap-feeding beetles that carry the fungal spores from infected oaks to fresh wounds on healthy oaks. It travels underground from infected oaks to nearby healthy oaks through grafted, or interconnected, root systems. Sap-feeding beetles, like most insects, have an incredible sense of smell, which draws them to open wound surfaces to feed on sugary sap in as little as 15 minutes after a tree is wounded, said Paul Cigan, DNR Forest Health Specialist. This is how most new oak wilt infections start. Red, black and pin oaks are highly susceptible to oak wilt. Once infected, they can die within a few weeks. White and bur oaks are much less vulnerable. If infected, they can take months or years to die, or they may even recover. Avoiding tree pruning in spring protects trees from disease and helps trees regenerate. Deciduous (shedding) trees that lose their leaves in the fall are just starting to grow new buds and leaves, so the trees food reserves are low. The best time to prune is in winter, when trees are dormant. As of March 2022, oak wilt is in most Wisconsin counties except Ashland, Iron, Taylor, Door, Kewaunee, Calumet and Manitowoc. Several of these counties contain the states highest abundance of healthy and productive oak forests. Taking recommended precautions will help keep them that way for years to come. Check with your municipality to find out if they have any oak wilt ordinances that you should also follow. Oak wilt and other diseases move easily on or in firewood logs year-round, so keeping firewood local or purchasing Wisconsin-certified firewood is another critical component of protecting trees and maintaining healthy forests. More information is available online on the DNRs oak wilt webpage and the DNRs firewood webpage. Additional information about proper pruning techniques is available from community foresters in the DNRs Proper Pruning Techniques publication. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Mystery still surrounds the position of the international community in dealing with the file of prisoners and families of ISIS mercenaries in northern and eastern Syria. The international community provided military support to eliminate ISIS, but it did not supplement this support with another form of support. After the Syrian Democratic Forces liberated the town of Al-Baghuz in Deir ez-Zor on March 23, 2019, the international community did not provide any tangible assistance to the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. Despite the repeated demands of the Autonomous Administration, the Syrian Democratic Forces and various political and social circles in north and east Syria for the necessity of solving the ISIS dilemma, the international community continues to disregard the fears of the people. The Autonomous Administration has repeated on more than one occasion that ISIS is an international problem. The Autonomous Administration insists on two basic demands, the first of which is the establishment of an international court to prosecute mercenaries, and the second one is the return of mercenary nationals to their countries. ISIS launched the largest attack on the Al-Sinaa prison on January 20 of this year since the victory over it was declared by the Syrian Democratic Forces in 2019. On the 28th of last March, cells belonging to ISIS mercenaries attacked an internal security forces patrol in Al-Hol camp, south of Al-Hasakah canton. The number of ISIS prisoners is estimated at 20,000 from 53 different nationalities. The politician and head of the office of the Conservative Party in the city of Hasakah, Muhammad Barak, stresses the continued danger of ISIS mercenaries lurking in the prisons and detention camps of ISIS mercenaries, saying: "In the city of Hasaka and al-Hol there are time bombs, where there are prisons for the detention of mercenaries, which hosts thousands of mercenaries. ISIS, and the al-Hol camp, which embraces the women and children of mercenaries. In turn, the notable of the Al-Sharabain clan, and a member of the notables body in northern and eastern Syria, Muhammad Al-Obaid, reiterated the same concerns, considering keeping the mercenaries' file pending "a great danger to the peoples of the region and their future," and added, "There are terrorist attacks and the movement of ISIS cells every period, if any. in al-Hol camp or through attempts to target prisons, as happened in al-Sinaa prison in al-Hasakah. He added: "In every attack, our military forces and our sons are targeted, in addition to civilians, which negatively affects the stability of the region and and constitutes a great financial burden on the Autonomous Administration." Al-Obeid believes that the international community's freezing of the ISIS file constitutes a source of continuing danger to NE Syria. The head of the Conservative Party office in the city of al-Hasakah, Muhammad al-Barrak, criticized the international community for ignoring the demands of the Autonomous Administration, saying: "But the international community is silent in front of all these demands." Al-Barrak called on the international community to take a serious action regarding the file of ISIS mercenaries and their families, and not to falter and assume its responsibilities as the people of the region borne in defeating the mercenaries geographically. For his part, the head of the Religious Council in al-Hasakah canton, Muhammad Rashid Abdul Aziz, called on the international community to find a solution to the dilemma of ISIS mercenaries and their families, saying: "The only solution is either to return them to their countries or try them in international courts in northern and eastern Syria, and to support the Autonomous Administration with financial support. and morale in order to maintain the security of the country, and to combat the cells. A ANHA Ballet, contemporary, Irish, jazz, burlesque, lyrical, poms and other dances will be featured in a UW-La Crosse student-produced recital. The Kinesis Spring Dance Recital begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 9, in the Bluffs in the Student Union, 521 East Ave. N. Tickets are $8 at the door. Kinesis, a student organization, hosts a dance recital each year. The ensemble is completely student led, with all the routines performed choreographed by its members. The students have spent hours most weekends during the academic year to create pieces that not only mean a lot to them, but are visual masterpieces, says student Ryley Butler Modaff. The student performers are eager to return to the stage following two years of no performances because of COVID. This recital is very special as it marks our first year back up on stage for many of our members, said student Ryley Butler Modaff. Everyone in the organization has put countless hours into their routines so that when it is time to perform, they can put on the best show for our audience. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The La Crosse community can take to the trails for a digital scavenger hunt organized by graduate students in UW-Ls physical therapy program. The scavenger hunt, running April 3-23, offers an opportunity to get outdoors, explore the community and win prizes. Each week will feature a new location Chad Erickson Memorial Park, the marsh trails near Myrick Park and Pettibone Park where participants can complete missions including uploading photos and video, answering questions and showing off their creativity. These tasks can be completed through the free app Actionbound. Organizers hope the project will inspire campus and community members, particularly adolescents and young adults, to discover La Crosses extensive trial system. I think what we have enjoyed the most about this project is putting together an event that cannot only encourage people to be active, but to help them explore their community as well, says Mikey Friedman, whos in his second year in the physical therapy program. When we visited one of the parks, Chad Erickson Park, we were amazed by all the cool things that the park included, and we had no idea about it. We couldnt help assuming that this was the case for many members of the La Crosse community. While the event will run for three weeks, residents can participate at their convenience. Updates and additional details will be shared on the groups Facebook page. Physical therapy students Aaron Bartz, Gianna Pricco and Campbell Hofstetter joined Friedman to organize the event in partnership the La Crosse Parks, Recreation & Forestry Department. Friedman says it has been a valuable, real-world learning experience, as well as a good change of pace academically. Although it has been a stressful process at times, he says, it gave us the opportunity to take a break from our studies and pushed us to use our critical thinking in other ways. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Because Representation Matters Discussing Tik Tok, Confidence, and the Power of Black Women with Model, Alexa McCoy Alexa McCoy is a vibrant personality who is dominating the Tik Tok universe right now. With over seventy-thousand followers, the young influencer, and now model, is encouraging people to love themselves through her vulnerability and voice. Born with a passion for photography, Alexa has always enjoyed working behind the camera. However, It wasnt until she went to college when she went from behind the camera to in front of it. I started taking photos on Instagram, and really loved it. McCoy told the Los Angeles Sentinel. Ive always had an eye for getting a good photo, and my friends would ask me to help them with posts. But I lived in a small college town, Pullman, Washington, where Instagram wasnt really popping off. ADVERTISEMENT During the pandemic, Alexa moved back to Los Angeles, and while working as a sales representative for a wine and spirits company, social media became her much-needed escape. My life sucked, my job drained the life out of me. But during my breaks Id make videos on Tik Tok, and it was the only thing that really kept me going. With hard work and consistency came Tik Tok traction. Alexa quickly realized that the videos of her discussing her confidence, and how she went about her everyday life (what shed wear, what shed do with her friends, etc.), were the ones people related to most. With more eyes on her, Alexa was able to turn her new influencer title to even more when she picked up modeling. The first major brand I worked with was Savage Fenty, which gave me the confidence to be like okay go crazy, said McCoy. I started blowing off my sales job, which gave me anxiety, but I was like am I going to go to this event and potentially book the gig of my dreams, or sit in my car and sell wine bottles? After quitting her job, the rising influencer began dedicating her time to Tik Tok and modeling. However, with her new Tik Tok fame, McCoy began to absorb herself in the Black community of Tik Tok. Born in Palos Verdes, McCoys family was one of about three black families in the area. No one in my neighborhood was black, no one sitting next to me in class was black. There was always a part of me where I felt like I could fully express myself, ever, because I was constantly being judged or torn down. Alexa then confessed, When I went to college, I was, again, not really around a lot of Black people, but I was around educated people who encouraged me to be myself. My main motivator in moving back to LA was because I needed to be around diversity, and in my first job they lied and said they were actively seeking diversity, but I was the only person of color and only woman on the team. ADVERTISEMENT It was on Tik Tok where McCoy was able to be vulnerable with her followers about being mixed as well as being a Black girl who comes from a white community. I was coming home to a Black family, so I was around Black culture every single day, but I wasnt often around black peers, Alexa told LAS. That was something I was very insecure about, and something I openly talked about on my Tik Tok the desire for black community, and how I have been judged on both sides. Not feeling black enough or white enough and knew I could either stay in my shell and not branch out to people or I can branch out and be who I am. In a video where Alexa discussed this, she found that a lot of women also shared this insecurity. McCoy started a conversation in which Black women discussed mixed girls, skin color privilege, and insecurities that all different sorts of Black women face on a regular basis in their own communities. I think that was really the start of getting in tune with the Black community through Tik Tok, and from there I started talking more about confidence, and my struggles with it because I wasnt fully able to be myself. This allowed the influencer to build a community of Black women who love and support her. Through her influencer platform, shes now able to have a team of sisters and mentors to guide her through her new-found fame. If I didnt have strong black women in my life, I promise I wouldnt be posting anymore, I wouldnt be modeling, I wouldnt be doing anything because this industry beats you down. Its not meant for us. In the modeling world, Alexa has also faced many adversities as a Black woman. Going on set, I bring my own make up and my own hair supplies. I remember after a shoot I did, I was crying because I felt like such a burden on set. No one had the right shade for me or any products for my hair. I felt horrendous and so hideous, like a fish out of water. It was there she realized shed have to come prepared for her gigs in this industry. Alexa told the Sentinel, do not rely on anyone to make you feel beautiful You need to 100% pull that from yourself. If you have to come ready for set, you come ready for set, and dont let anyone take that away from you. Oftentimes, brands have been seen to have diversity quotas for campaigns, but Alexa shared that set crews often lack diversity. This limits models of color from looking there best on set, giving them the extra task of bringing their own supplies to ensure theyre taken care of. Lack of diversity on set also leads to unequal treatment of nonwhite models. Theres neglection on both sizes. Being a Black model and a curve model (most black women with hips and curves can be in curve sizes after size 6), people have referred to me not as my name but as curve model and thats so degrading when other women are being referred to as their names. McCoy continued with, Theres a lot of putting us [black women] in a box. Of all races, black women are the most different. In our complexions and our hair textures, in the undertones of our skinblack has been a blank statement and not something thats catered to specifically. With her struggles, the model has always been very aware that she is a representation of Black women. Alexa said that it was her father who pushed to instill a strong sense of pride in her. Hed make sure I knew that I was not only a representation of myself and my family, but also my race and Black women. So, it didnt matter how people treated me or what was going on, I needed to walk in any room, demanding control. While some people may think being a representative is a burden, I really feel like thats the core of who I am. Its what keeps me centered and a good person, and what makes me work so hard. McCoy continued with, He [her dad] always told me I could be and do whatever I wanted in this world, but just know that all the odds are against you, and you have to work ten times harder than the next person. This instills the mindset that theres no other option but success for Alexa. She carries the black community with me in every decision and success I get. I know that Im doing this for something bigger. For young black women looking to work on their confidence, Alexas advice is to stay away from the comparison game. Its always Im not pretty because these people look like XYZ, but no ones beauty or success takes away from you. She shared that everyone in this world can be beautiful, successful, kind, and smart and it doesnt make me any less of these things. Once that clicked for me, my confidence really started to kick in. Alexa always advised that the moments youre hard on yourself to look for the positives. She shared that even during her worst times, I knew in those moments Im a great daughter, Im a great sister, Im a great friend. She believes that theres always going to be things on the external that we can fix, but what matters is on the inside. When you feel confident in yourself, thats when things change in your outer appearance. For young black women looking to join the industry, the models advice is to get up and work. In both the social media and modeling industries, youll have to start off doing a lot of free work, but get comfortable in front of a camera, build a book, and make a name for yourself. Love who you are, especially on the internet, and dont try to be like anyone else. As the year continues, Alexa will be continuing to dominate the modeling industry and building her social media platforms to inspire Black women, like her. Shes dedicated to pushing through adversity, as well as representing her community. Shes also looking to entwine her modeling and Tik Tok for more behind the scenes coverage. To keep updates on Alexa McCoy follow her on Tik Tok @flexylexxy or her Instagram @alexaaajay. The worlds seafood industry is preparing for higher prices, supply problems and possible job losses as restrictions make products from Russia less available. Experts say the continued restrictions meant to punish Russia, known as sanctions, will also affect the cost of fish in the U.S. and other countries. Russia is one of the worlds top producers of the ocean fish called cod. It also supplies other seafood like crab and Alaska pollock. Glen Libby is an owner of Port Clyde Fresh Catch, a seafood market in the U.S. state of Maine. If a seafood company gets cod from Russia, he said, the situation is quite a mess. The Associated Press said federal data shows that $50 million of Russian seafood products passed through Portland, Maine in 2021. Russia sent 12.7 million kilograms of cod to the United States during a two-year period ending in January 2022 AP reports. In addition, other nations that import a lot of fish, such as Japan, will see higher prices as the supply from Russia is reduced. Europe and Britain also depend on Russia for fish. Andrew Crook is the head of a trade group in Great Britain called the National Association of Fish Friers. He described the situation this way: We are in real dire straits because of rising fish and energy prices. He predicted about 30 percent of the fish and chips stores in Britain would go out of business this year. Fish and chips is a traditional British meal of fried fish and potatoes. He told British broadcaster ITV: Were a massive part of U.K. culture and it would be a shame to see that go. In the U.S., one expert said people who like to eat fish will see higher prices and fewer choices. Kanae Tokunaga is an economics researcher in Maine. Tokunaga said even fish that do not come from Russia will be more costly because seafood is a global commodity. The U.S. depends on cod from other countries because it is harder for Americans to catch that kind of fish than it used to be. In the early 1980s, fishermen in the northeastern U.S. caught about 45 million kilograms of cod each year. Now, restrictions meant to preserve the fish population limit the catch to 900,000 kilograms. Ed Markey is a U.S. senator from Massachusetts. He said seafood workers in his state are worried about losing their jobs. Walt Golet is an assistant professor of Marine Sciences at the University of Maine. He said the U.S may be able to bring in a little more fish from Canada and Norway. But a shortage of traditional species of fish may have one good effect, said Ben Mertens. He runs the Maine Coast Fishermens Association. He said it may be time for the fish business to start harvesting fish they used to leave in the water. If sanctions are going to disrupt supply chains, it does present an opportunity for other species he said. Im Dan Friedell Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. Are you seeing increased food costs where you live? What items are now more costly? Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. Words in This Story a mess n. a situation that is very complex and difficult to deal with dire straits expression: a difficult position a shame n. something that you would not want to do; something regrettable global adj. involving or affecting the whole world commodity n. something that is bought and sold regularly in large amounts that is an important product species n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants disrupt v. to cause (something) to be unable to continue in the normal way; to interfere with the normal progress or activity of (something) supply chain n. the whole system through which products go from producer to user China has delayed construction of an attack submarine for Thailands navy. A Thai naval official says Germany refuses to export the engines needed to finish the submarine to China. The delay could hurt Thailands military relations with China, which has replaced the United States as Thailands biggest arms supplier. The Royal Thai Navy and Chinas state-owned China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Company, or CSOC, signed the $402 million deal for the submarine in 2017. Thailand was expected to receive the submarine by the end of next year. Local media reported in February that construction of what would be the countrys first submarine had stopped. Rear Admiral Apichai Sompolgrunk is director general of the Thai navys purchasing office. He told VOA that the submarine was unlikely to arrive next year. Right now, the process of building the submarine is stuck because the engine is not concluded yet, he said. Apichai said the deal involved three diesel engines from Germanys Motor and Turbine Union (MTU) company to run the submarines electrical system. Philipp Doert is a German representative to Thailand. He wrote about his governments decision to deny China the engines in a letter to The Bangkok Post newspaper in February. The export was refused because of its use for a Chinese military/defense industry item, he wrote. China did not ask/coordinate with Germany before signing the Thai-China contract, offering German MTU engines as part of their product. Trouble with engines Swedens Stockholm International Peace Research Institute follows arms deals made around the world. The institute says MTU has provided China with over 100 of its engines for its destroyers and submarines from 1993 through 2020. Asia-Pacific area expert Jon Grevatt said they do so by claiming the items can be for both military and civilian use. These so-called dual-use items are not included in a European Union trade ban with China. He said Chinas sale of the submarine to Thailand, however, made the deal more difficult. If this submarine wasnt being exported to Thailand, no one would know about it and therefore it would go ahead. But the fact that it is being exported, its in the news, is cause for the German government to say, oh, nowere not allowing that, he said. A spokesperson for MTU confirmed that the company has supplied China with engines but said they were not considered dual-use items. In March, The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported that Chinas Foreign Affairs Ministry said the EU trade ban was inconsistent with the current international order. The ministry added that it hoped the EU would make the correct decision about the engines. Grevatt said CSOC would have a hard time replacing the MTU engine. Thailand, he said, either manages to get the [MTU] engine or sees if China can produce one on its own. But that could be a problem. Grevatt said China still cannot produce engine systems with the power and dependability of those from the United States and Europe. Apichai said CSOC has offered to build another engine for the submarine. But the Thai navy is not yet persuaded the proposed replacement would do the job. The engine is not well proven yet, so the Royal Thai Navy is still waiting for the answer from [CSOC] to ensure that this engine is as good as the MTU, he said. Apichai would not confirm or deny reports that China has also offered to send two other submarines to Thailand instead. But he said the Thai navy would not accept anything other than the model it ordered. He added there was also a long way to go before any talk of canceling the deal altogether. Im Jonathan Evans. Zsombor Peter reported on this story for VOA News. Jonathan Evans adapted this story for Learning English. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story diesel n. a heavy oil used as fuel in diesel engines allow v. to permit inconsistent adj. not staying the same in thoughts or practices SHEBOYGAN FALLS An 8-year-old Sheboygan Falls boy who was hospitalized earlier this week after he was allegedly assaulted by his mother has died, police said Saturday. Sheboygan Falls Police Chief Eric Miller said it appears the cause of death was strangulation. An autopsy will be performed later this week, Miller said. Authorities said the incident happened on Wednesday. The boy's mother was taken to a hospital the same day with self-inflicted injuries. She was booked into the Sheboygan County Jail on Friday. Police have referred charges to the Sheboygan County District Attorney's Office. A former Stoughton man who robbed two banks in Dane County and one in Tennessee all within weeks of his release from prison for robbing two banks in 2007 will spend another 13 years in federal prison. The sentence Friday for Todd A. Templeton, 52, also took into account charges, still pending, that Templeton attempted to break out of the Dane County Jail in January by fashioning a chisel from a metal section of a bunk bed and using it to chip away at a concrete block wall in his cell at the City-County Building. U.S. District Judge William Conley ordered a 10-year prison sentence for the Feb. 24, 2021, robbery of the Associated Bank in Stoughton; the March 3, 2021, robbery of an Associated Bank branch in Madison; and a robbery on March 11, 2021, of a SunTrust Bank in Chattanooga. In addition, Conley ordered the revocation of Templetons supervised release for two prior bank robberies and sentenced him to an additional three years in prison. I share the view of your counsel that theres something inside you capable of doing better than you have, Conley told Templeton. But Templeton will have to wait until hes 65 years old to prove it, and even then he will be back on supervised release for an additional three years. His previous performance on supervision, Conley said, was deplorable. While Templetons lawyer, federal defender Alex Vlisides, argued that a shorter sentence was warranted, based on data showing that in general, people become less dangerous as they age, Conley was skeptical in Templetons case. I dont know how you can say that, Conley said. He can terrorize people with a gun as easily at 70 as he can at 52. Theres nothing in the record to indicate he wont do that. Following the 2007 bank robberies in Baraboo and Janesville, Templeton was sentenced initially to about 19 years in prison, which was reduced to about 11 years due to a law change under which Templeton no longer qualified as a career criminal. Templeton was released from prison in 2019, but his supervision was revoked, and he spent another 13 months in prison before his release again on Jan. 27, 2021. BB gun used The first of the three 2021 bank robberies he was sentenced for on Friday happened within a month of his release. After the SunTrust bank robbery in Tennessee, Templeton was captured by the FBI in Bradley County, Tennessee. He was charged with all three robberies soon after. While witnesses and bank tellers told police that Templeton had said he had a gun and had displayed what looked like a gun, Templeton told police the weapon was a BB gun. It was never found. Still, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan, a threat with a lookalike BB gun doesnt change the effect on the victim. Templeton apologized to all of the tellers he robbed. He said that after prison, he fell back into drug and alcohol use, along with bank robbery, after coming home to find his mothers dementia had gotten so bad she didnt recognize him and his son didnt want to speak to him. I figured my life was going to end, anyway, Templeton said. Made it all worse But in doing what he did, Conley said, Templeton made things worse for a lot of people, chiefly those he threatened with what appeared to be a gun. In February, after Templeton had pleaded guilty to the bank robberies, he was charged in Dane County Circuit Court with attempted escape, a felony, and misdemeanor criminal damage to property after he twice tried to chisel his way out of his jail cell with a makeshift tool. A hole he dug into a wall beneath his bunk bed was about 6 inches in diameter and several inches deep, according to a criminal complaint. Multiple torn shirts and bedsheets were also found tied together in his cell, the complaint states. Those charges are still pending, along with other charges that include taking and driving a vehicle without consent last year. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. President Joe Biden learned the hard way last weekend about the dangers of going off script at the end of a speech heavily criticizing Russian leader Vladimir Putin for his unprovoked war against Ukraine. At the end of the speech, Biden blurted out, For Gods sake, this man cannot stay in power. The words themselves were spot on. The only problem was the person speaking them. As the United States learned during four years under Bidens predecessor, a president who doesnt carefully measure his words, especially in times of crisis, can easily get himself and the country into deep trouble. President Donald Trump potentially incriminated himself on a few occasions and created headaches for his aides when his off-the-cuff remarks insulted foreign leaders, wrecked alliances and inspired people to experiment with dangerous, bogus coronavirus remedies. For all of Bidens careful pronouncements and wartime decisions designed specifically to avert a direct superpower confrontation that could provoke World War III, he managed with a nine-word sentence to confirm Putins warnings that the United States seeks to dominate Russia and install a U.S.-friendly regime. Putin warned as recently as February that there should be no doubt that any potential aggressor will face defeat and ominous consequences should it directly attack our country. As if to raise the specter of nuclear retaliation, he added, All necessary decisions have been taken in this regard. Its a safe bet that any American move toward regime change in Russia would, in Putins mind, constitute a direct attack. Biden, who insisted Monday that his words were personal feelings and didnt reflect a policy change, had the effect of bringing the world a step closer to the very danger he most feared: a provocation that leads to World War III. In truth, Russia is long overdue for a new leader a sane leader who doesnt keep a 30-foot conference table between himself and his guests, and who doesnt concoct bizarre scenarios of denazification to justify invading a neighboring country headed by a Jew. Putin took control of a nascent, far-from-perfect post-Soviet democracy in 2000 and, in the course of a few years, converted it into a full-fledged dictatorship. He has deployed Russian agents to assassinate his critics. He has banned use of the word war to describe the slaughter in Ukraine. Press freedoms have been annihilated. On Sunday, Russian media were banned from carrying reports from four Russian journalists who interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This madman deserves to be replaced by his own people. The way to do it is to flood Russians with the truth about their presidents war crimes and atrocities via the internet, broadcast media, printed information and any other available means. Putin didnt hesitate to meddle in 2016 to help put Trump in office. Its only fair that the United States should return the favor against Putin. Access to a 401(k) can be a huge boon to workers saving for retirement, but it's important to remember this account is only a tool. If you want to get the most out of it, you have to learn how it works so you can use it properly. Failure to understand your 401(k) -- or any retirement account for that matter -- can lead to costly mistakes, like the three described below. 1. Skipping a 401(k) match Whenever possible, make claiming your 401(k) match your top priority. Try to contribute at least enough to the account to get your full match every year. If you don't, you're giving up a bonus that could be worth a few thousand dollars today and possibly tens of thousands or more by the time you're ready to retire. Check with your company's HR department if you're not sure whether it offers a match or how its matching formula works. Most employers offer a $0.50-on-the-dollar or dollar-for-dollar match match up to a certain percentage of your income. That means that for every dollar you put into your 401(k), your employer will contribute $0.50 to $1.00 on your behalf until you reach the cap. In other words, you can enjoy an instant 50% to 100% return on a portion of your 401(k) contributions. You should also inquire about your 401(k)'s vesting schedule if you haven't been with the company long. This determines when you're eligible to keep your employer-matched funds if you leave the company. Ideally, you can stick it out until you're fully vested so you don't lose any of your match. 2. Paying high investment fees All investments charge fees, though not everyone realizes this, because the money comes directly out of your 401(k) each year. There's no way to avoid fees entirely, but you can keep your costs down by choosing your investments carefully. Most companies offer their employees a choice of various mutual funds, and these have expense ratios, or annual fees expressed as a percentage of your assets. If you're paying a 1% expense ratio, that means you're paying the mutual fund company 1% of all the money you have invested in the fund every year. That's only $1 if you have $100 invested in the fund. But if you have $100,000, you're paying $1,000 per year. You should try not to exceed a 1% expense ratio whenever possible, but you may not always have a choice. You're limited to the investment options your employer gives you, and these may not always be the most affordable. If your employer doesn't offer any investment options that suit you, you can talk to them and see if they'll add some more low-cost options such as index funds, but they aren't required to do so. Your other option is to skip your 401(k) altogether and invest in an IRA, which gives you greater freedom to invest in what you want. But if you go this route, remember to max out any matching 401(k) contributions first. You can then switch to your IRA and even go back to your 401(k) if you max out your IRA for the year. 3. Taking a 401(k) loan Borrowing from your 401(k) might not be as bad as taking an early withdrawal, but it's still something you should avoid when possible. Doing this will slow the growth of your savings, forcing you to save even more per month going forward in order to retire when you originally planned. Explore other alternatives before you take money out of your 401(k). If you're looking to purchase a home or car, consider a mortgage or auto loan. You could also look into a personal loan to finance other types of purchases or to help you pay down high-interest debt. Another option is just to wait and save up what you need. If you do have to borrow from your 401(k), try to withdraw as little as possible. Check with your plan administrator to learn the deadline for repaying the loan and make sure you pay it all back by then. If you fail to do so, the government will consider the outstanding balance a distribution, and you'll pay taxes on it, plus an early withdrawal penalty if you're under 59 1/2. When thinking about your 401(k), it's crucial to take a long-term view. A decision like skipping a 401(k) match or taking a loan might not seem like a big deal right now, but you'll feel the consequences of these moves more in a few decades than you do right now. Learning about your 401(k) and making decisions with your long-term goals in mind can make your 401(k) one of the best tools in your retirement arsenal. 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. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 POCATELLO A Murtaugh man and a Pocatello man have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Between Jan. 1 and March 24, 2021, the Idaho Attorney Generals office said, Antonio Verduzco-Arreola, 40, of Murtaugh, and Joseph Alexander Huber, 35, of Pocatello, entered into an agreement to distribute controlled substances in the Pocatello area. On March 21, 2021, two pounds of methamphetamine was abandoned in a Pocatello hotel room rented by Verduzco-Arreola. On March 24, 2021, Pocatello Police officers conducted surveillance near the hotel in Pocatello. Officers observed Huber meet with both Verduzco-Arreola and a third co-defendant. Verduzco-Arreola was later contacted by law enforcement and found in possession of 439 grams of counterfeit oxycodone that contained fentanyl. When Huber was arrested on April 30, 2021, police officers found 82 grams of methamphetamine in Hubers possession and 167 grams of methamphetamine in his hotel room. On March 29 of this year, Verduzco-Arreola pleaded guilty to entering into an agreement with his co-defendants to distribute fentanyl. Verduzco-Arreola is scheduled to be sentenced on June 14 before Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye and faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. Huber pleaded guilty March 30 to entering into an agreement with his co-defendants to distribute methamphetamine. Huber is scheduled to be sentenced on July 25 before Nye and faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr., of the District of Idaho, made the announcement and commended the cooperative efforts of the Pocatello Police Department, Idaho State Police, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, which led to charges. This case was handled by the U.S. Attorney Offices specially deputized Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA), funded by the Eastern Idaho Partnership (EIP) and the State of Idaho. The EIP is a coalition of local city and county officials in eastern Idaho as well as the Idaho Department of Correction. The EIP SAUSA program allows law enforcement to utilize the federal criminal justice system through the EIP SAUSA to prosecute, convict, and sentence violent, armed criminals and drug traffickers. These criminals often receive stiffer penalties than they might in state courts. This program was created in January 2016. Since that time, approximately 186 defendants have been indicted by the EIP SAUSA. Of these defendants, 139 have been indicted on drug trafficking charges. The defendants indicted under the program have been sentenced to 7,982 months (approximately 665 years) in federal prison, representing an average prison sentence of 53.21 months (4.43 years). Defendants indicted for drug trafficking offenses serve, on average, approximately 57.86 (4.8 years) in federal prison. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 One in every four water faucets in Missoula County Public Schools buildings has been turned off after test results indicated the water they produced contained high levels of lead. All buildings in the district submitted samples for testing from every water fixture that produces consumable water, including sinks and drinking fountains. Any fixture in the district that yielded a lead concentration greater than 5 parts per billion has been closed and blocked off with plastic wrap, according to administration. We really want to keep kids safe when theyre in school; this is just one of many things, MCPS Superintendent Rob Watson said. But its an important thing that we continue to check and make sure that were not exposing anyone staff and students to excessive levels in drinking water. In 2020, the Department of Public Health and Human Services created a new rule that required public schools to test their potable water fixtures every three years for lead concentrations. In accordance with the rule, any faucet that had a lead concentration greater than 5 ppb must be fixed or routinely flushed. Fixtures that test higher than 15 ppb must be immediately shut off. The state selected a limit of 5 ppb because it is the lowest concentration at which lead can be accurately measured in water, according to the Department of Environmental Quality. Lead can enter drinking water through corrosion within the fixture or plumbing itself. Schools are particularly susceptible to higher lead concentrations due to extended periods of time when water is not flowing through plumbing, particularly around holiday breaks, weekends and summer release. Children are most at risk to lead exposure because their bodies absorb the metal at higher rates than adults, according to the DEQ. Exposure to lead can damage the brain, red blood cells, kidneys and can even cause cognitive impairments. Of the 812 total fixtures that were sampled, about 6% tested within the red level, meaning they had lead concentrations greater than 15 ppb. Just under 20% of the fixtures had lead concentrations in the yellow level, between 5 ppb and 15 ppb. Willard Alternative High School and Franklin Elementary were the only two of the 19 buildings in the district where all of the fixtures were below a lead concentration of 5 ppb. Jefferson Elementary had the highest amount of water fixtures with high lead contamination levels, with 41% in the yellow range and 18% greater than 15 ppb. The district recently notified staff and families of the results, which can be found online. Watson said that the most surprising results were the number of fixtures in buildings that have recently been remodeled that still showed levels of lead contamination greater than 5 ppb. For example, Lowell Elementary one of the districts most recent renovation projects had a kitchen sink that tested at 17 ppb. Now that all of the contaminated fixtures have been shut off, the district has a few different options on how to remedy the issue. The district could install filters on the faucets, which would need to be routinely replaced, or the fixture could be entirely replaced. The best solution is to change out the fixture and put in a new fixture, and then of course retest because it may not be in the fixture, it could be in the pipe underneath the sink or in the pipe in the wall, Watson said. So it really starts with changing out the fixture and seeing if that fixes it. In terms of financing the repairs, the DEQ and the Montana Office of Public Instruction set aside $40,000 for schools with a limit of $1,000 per school. According to Burley McWilliams, the MCPS director of operations and maintenance, most of that money has already run out. However, there could be an option for the district to dip into American Rescue Plan Act funds through the city of Missoula to help offset costs, McWilliams said. So theres not a lot of funds there for any kind of mitigation, McWilliams said. "Its going to ultimately come back to the school district. There are some funds potentially from ARPA, and well be working with the (city of Missoula) a little bit on potentially getting some funds from here for some mitigation as well." The district will test water fixtures every three years and will make efforts to mitigate those that indicate high concentrations of lead. Those with children who attend school in MCPS who have concerns about their potential lead exposure should consult their doctors about conducting a blood test, Watson said. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 5 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Ellen Crains career at the Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives as director started with a newspaper ad. Although she wasnt an archivist, she had an affinity for history and had done historical research through college as well as conducted independent historical research contracts for environmental and mining companies. The guy at job service said to me, Well, this job looks janitorial. You have to sweep, you have to keep things tidy, you have to shovel your own walk. I said, Yeah, pretty janitorial. Crain said. He was more right than wrong. Thirty-two years later, 64-year-old Crain is retiring from the Archives and leaving a legacy of hard work and passion behind. President of the Butte Archives Board Brian Holland has been on the board since 1996, about six years after Crain started. He said she will be sorely missed. Shes done a fantastic job, Holland said. Especially when you think of what she started with. When Crain started as archives director in January 1990, the Archives called the then 90-year-old Quartz Street fire station home for over nine years. Under her direction, structural improvements were made to the building in 1992, and shelves to hold the Archives collections, which were previously kept on the floor of the basement, were added in 1996. She was instrumental in the effort to garner public support for the Archives acquiring of bonds to rehabilitate the building and construct a new addition on the east side. The bonds totaled $7.5 million, according to Butte-Silver Bow Finance and Budget Director Danette Gleason. Its completely due to Ellens work ethic and dedication, said the Archives assistant director Aubrey Jaap. She started at the Archives in 2007, around the same time the effort began, and has worked with Crain for about 15 years. Working under her has been inspiring," Jaap said. Along with the building, the number of people who use the Archives has expanded. Since Crain started as archives director, the number of visitors has gone from 300 people a year to 5,000 physical visitors a year. The Archives also receives about 2,000 online requests per year processed by Archives staff. Crain explained that the job does require getting your hands dirty. Because I mean, we do a lot of dumpster diving, she said. You know, people do not keep their tons of paper in the dining room, she said, adding that many of the personal documents in the Archives collection were stored in cellars, attics and barns. She doesnt mind this, though, and in fact appreciates the diversity the job offers. Although the bulk of the Archives documents are government records, Crain said its gems are often the personal papers the journals and correspondence that the staff at the Archives finds in these places, or that people bring in to the Archives. You dont have to be an archivist to be in charge, Crain said. She added that organization, knowledge of Buttes history, and an ability to build relationships with people are all important skills for the archives director to have. We are big on public service in this building, she said. And people bring us their stuff because they trust us and they know who we are. According to Jaap, Crain is good at this aspect of the job. She relates to peoples stories, Jaap said. Shes a good listener. Everyone who comes in feels like Ellen knows them, and she does. Crain has done work in the community outside of her job, too. Over the years, shes helped to expand the National Historical Landmark District, been on the board of Humanities Montana, and co-edited three books about Buttes history. She's also received several awards for her work in Butte, including the Governor's Humanities Montana Award in 2019. I dont believe that without Ellens influence, wed be as recognized as we are today, said longtime board member Marissa Newman. She said scholars, diplomats and authors have visited the Archives over the years, all because of Crain. Included in these notable visits is when the then-president of Ireland, Mary McAleese, visited Butte and donated $5,000 to the Archives in 2006 to improve the building because of the documents she and her team discovered there that couldnt be found elsewhere. Crains favorite part of the job, the part she gets to do less often, is research. She spends more time working on the budget, paying bills and writing grants. Her next adventure will include biking, hiking and getting out on Montanas beautiful waters. I live in the great state of Montana, Crain said. And I am going to enjoy every minute of this summer. She said she hasnt had a summer off in many years. As Crain enjoys her retirement, a new director will take her place. A director gets selected after the Archives Board conducts interviews and makes a recommendation on a candidate to the Butte City Council of Commissioners, who vote on the candidate. The Chief Executive gets the final say, and can either accept or decline the recommendation, Holland said. The Archives Board voted unanimously to recommend Jaap to become the new archives director, according to an announcement made at Crain's retirement party Friday. The decision will be voted on by the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners and Butte- Silver Bow Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher at the April 6 council meeting. "It's very exciting," Jaap said Friday of the board's decision. Love 10 Funny 2 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 2 Backers of the gigantic solar project that would sprawl across the landscape south of Butte decided they would not take no for an answer. Their lawyers appeared in District Court Friday morning. They argued that the Butte-Silver Bow Zoning Board of Adjustment erred in July when it denied the special use permit the controversial project needed to move forward. Judge Luke Berger from the 5th Judicial District Court heard oral argument in the case, which was tied to an appeal in August of the boards decision. Lawyers representing the $250 million solar undertaking argued that the Zoning Board had been unduly influenced by strong public opposition to the proposal and by the projects potential impact to neighbors. They said the board had neglected 18 other criteria, as well as public support for the project, from Montana Technological University and others, and had failed to provide adequate written explanation for the basis of the denial. I think they were swayed by emotion, said Joseph Casillas, an attorney representing FX Solutions and Gozden-McDermott Cattle Co., the parties appealing the zoning boards decision. Casillas and co-counsel Peter Lacny, both from the Missoula-based firm of Datsopoulos, MacDonald and Lind, acknowledged during the 90-minute hearing that the concerns of people living near the array were valid, but said many of the impacts could be mitigated. They said that most special use permits, by their nature, draw opposition. The Basin Creek Solar Project would place about 700,000 solar panels on the acreage along both sides of Little Basin Creek. It would cover about 1,630 acres. In turn, Sean Peterson, a deputy county attorney for Butte-Silver Bow, said the sheer scope of the proposed project was relevant to the consideration of all criteria reviewed when the Zoning Board ponders whether to grant a special use permit. This is a huge project, Peterson said. The scope does apply. He said he will consider the arguments from each side and review other materials before deciding whether the Butte-Silver Bow Zoning Board of Adjustments decision to deny the special use permit was flawed. Eleven people watched the court proceedings Friday from the gallery. The boards nix had come in mid-July. It followed a six-hour plus meeting on June 17 when the board heard many emotional comments from project opponents but also heard from proponents. On July 15, the Zoning Board voted 5-0 to deny the permit that could have allowed FX Solutions to build the project. FX Solutions would have leased the land from the Gozden-McDermott Cattle Co. and sold the solar arrays power to Atlas Power, a cryptocurrency-mining facility. In August, FX Solutions and Gozden-McDermott Cattle Co. appealed the Zoning Boards decision and that led to Fridays hearing before Berger. Rick Tabishs FX Solutions built the Atlas Power data center, which is owned by Kevin Washington, son of billionaire industrialist Dennis Washington. Such facilities use immense amounts of energy and Washington has said he would use power from the Basin Creek Solar Project for Atlas Power and buy the solar project once completed. Any extra electricity could be put on the grid and sold. Washington has described plans to expand Atlas Power. And the Butte Local Development Corp. and others backed the solar project because of the potential economic benefits it could generate. But opponents decried possible impacts to viewsheds, property values and wildlife and the potential for noise pollution, along with other concerns. On Friday, Lacny told Judge Berger that his clients felt the Zoning Board abused its discretion by a consuming focus on public opposition while ignoring other criteria that would have favored the granting of a special use permit. They only focused on public opposition, Lacny said. And that concentrated attention did not take into account the private property rights of landowner John McDermott, he said, who wanted to lease his land for the project. Lacny said the property, part of a working cattle ranch, has been in McDermotts family since the 1930s. Casillas said a zoning board creates an impossible standard for a special use permit if all it takes to reject an application is public opposition. He said requests for a special use permit almost always trigger a not-in-my-backyard reaction. Peterson countered that the Zoning Board heard more than six hours of testimony on June 17 and considered other materials before denying the special use permit roughly a month later. Casillas and Lacny asked Berger to overturn the Zoning Board decision and to award the permit sought by developers. Peterson asked Berger to find that the Zoning Board acted within its discretion when denying the permit. Berger did not speculate about when his ruling would be complete and public. Love 4 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 3 Angry 9 A former Napa resident imprisoned for murdering his ex-girlfriend has had his parole recommendation overturned. California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday overruled a two-person state panels recommendation in November that Eric Nathaniel (Nate) Marum, 41, be paroled for the second-degree murder of his former girlfriend Nicole Sinkule in 2005. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Marum, a Napa native and 1998 Vintage High School graduate, pleaded guilty in February 2007 to murdering the 25-year-old Sinkule, who was repeatedly struck with a claw hammer Oct. 16, 2005 at her home in Oceanside north of San Diego. He was making his second attempt to shorten a sentence of 16 years to life at Folsom State Prison, after an unsuccessful parole bid in 2019. KESQ-TV, the ABC affiliate in Palm Springs, first reported the veto of Marums parole on Thursday. The governors veto was a relief if a temporary one for Sinkules parents Glenn and Claudia Sinkule, who with other family members had led a vigorous push through news outlets and social media to keep Marum behind bars since the release recommendation last fall. (Under California law, an inmate must receive another parole hearing within 18 months of his last one if the governor vetoes the release, placing Marums next parole bid in May 2023 or earlier.) Were still fearful; were still going to fight this, Claudia Sinkule said in a telephone interview from the family home in Cathedral City. Glenn told me this morning weve won this battle, but were still in the war. We feel more strongly than ever that (Marum) is a danger if he gets out. Messages left with Marums father Douglass, who continues to live in Napa, were not returned. In a four-page statement, Newsom credited Marum for receiving psychological counseling as well as treatment for the drug abuse that Marum said fueled his violence toward Sinkule but concluded Marum still must do more to show he will not be a danger to women if freed. While Mr. Marums candor is a positive signal that he is on a rehabilitative path, I conclude that Mr. Marum must do additional work to mitigate his risk for intimate partner violence before he can be safely released, the governor wrote. During a Nov. 18 videoconference before two members of the state Board of Parole Hearings, Marum recalled a deepening methamphetamine addiction he said fueled his violent behavior during a year-long relationship with Sinkule, and said the drug drove him into a psychosis on the night he killed her as she sought to break up with him. He also tried to assure commissioners that the counseling he has received in prison, together with welding and plumbing training, have equipped him for a successful life of freedom, according to a transcript of the hearing. I try to show my remorse most through my actions, he told Commissioner Norma Loza. I was horrified after I killed Nicole, and I committed to changing my life. And so I've tried to demonstrate how remorseful and how repentant I am through my actions. Prosecutors rejected Marums assurances, saying he emphasized his past drug use to minimize a pattern of violent behavior toward Sinkule before her death. Sinkules sister, Dinette, warned that Marums release would bring torment and fear to her and her family, and her father Glenn Sinkule blasted Marum as a continuing threat to women. Newsom, in his statement, agreed the events leading to Sinkules death including Marum dragging her out of the restaurant where she worked and smashing out her apartment window reflected a pattern of violence and not solely the effects of substance abuse. At his hearing, Mr. Marum reported that, but for his methamphetamine use, he would not have committed his life crime, the governor wrote of Marum and his year-long relationship with Sinkule. The record evidence demonstrates, however, that Mr. Marum did not commit the crime solely in a rare intoxicated rage, but rather in the pattern of escalating intimate partner violence. In the months since the state panels recommendation of parole, family members gave multiple interviews to TV stations and news outlets, posted an online petition against Marums release on Change.org, and also pressed their case on the social media accounts of the nonprofit Nicole Sinkule Foundation, which is devoted to preventing domestic violence. We will not keep quiet; we didnt choose our life to be like this, Claudia Sinkule said Thursday afternoon. I cant go to sleep at night thinking that I didnt do my best to keep a murderer in prison. After Ive gone through the whole process of it, I cant go to sleep thinking I didnt work to keep other people out of danger. You can reach Howard Yune at 530-763-2266 or hyune@napanews.com Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. NEWS.am digest: Large scale protests continue in Yerevan, people forcibly arrested Scholz to take part in G7 Ukraine discussion with Zelenskyy Resistance Movement rallies in France Square Al-Monitor: More niceties, zero progress in third round of Turkey-Armenia peace talks Apple, Google, Microsoft to introduce passwordless authorization before end of 2023 Japan may start letting tourists into country in June Investigative Committee: Criminal case opened into hooliganism committed by marchers in downtown Yerevan Six people injured in building explosion in Madrid Dollar, euro continue rising significantly in Armenia Swiss police seize more than 500kg of cocaine from cargo for Nespresso factory Law enforcement apprehend 59 people during Fridays civil disobedience actions in Yerevan Karabakh official: Azerbaijani truck committed deliberate crime in Artsakh Committee to Protect Journalists: Armenia law enforcement obstruct journalists covering Yerevan protests Armenia ruling force MP calls on police to inspect opposition 'shelters' where drugs may be kept Artsakh Police investigating Armenian car crash caused by Azerbaijani convoy Situation gets tense on Marshal Baghramyan Avenue in Yerevan, ex-president Kocharyans son also there Police apprehend 48 people during civil disobedience actions in Yerevan Police special forces forcibly remove Armenia ex-Police chief from opposition march in Yerevan Situation gets tense during opposition march in Yerevan Ararat Mirzoyan briefs US Senator McConnell on details of Armenia-Turkey normalization process Azerbaijan holding international regatta in occupied Armenian Mataghis town of Karabakh Many members of US Congress give green light for F-16s to Turkey Law amendments propose that Armenia councils of elders members will also be able to be elected community leaders Resistance Movement holding marches in Yerevan in 4 directions Armenia parliament holding special sitting Copper prices falling Armenia FM Mirzoyan, US Senator Menendez stress inadmissibility of provoking tension by Azerbaijan Oil rises in price Bishkek reports that Uzbekistan border guards shoot, kill 3 Kyrgyzstan citizens at border Azerbaijani military convoy throws Armenian taxi into gorge in Artsakh (PHOTOS) Armenia Police: All roads open in Yerevan, provinces Armenia FM in US, meets with International Republican Institute Eurasia regional director US Strategic Command chief warns of deterrence crisis against Russia, China Armenia ex-Prosecutor General, Investigative Committee former chief to remain in custody Newspaper: Armenia President reacts to oppositions struggle Mississippi becomes last US state to recognize Armenian Genocide Resistance Movement rally ends: Citizens remain on France Square Erdogan and Macron discuss Turkey-France relations and Ukraine CNBC: Elon Musk to become interim CEO of Twitter Saghatelyan: Tomorrow from 12:00 we will completely paralyze Yerevan from four directions Finland ready to cut off gas supplies from Russia Resistance Movement marchers return to France Square NEWS.am digest: Large scale protests continue in Yerevan, people forcibly arrested Greece accuses Turkey of stoking tensions in Aegean Sea Resistance Movement rally starts in central Yerevan US Embassy in Havana resumes issuing visas to Cubans Bloomberg: UK and Japan will help Asian countries reduce dependence on Russian oil Dollar, euro gain considerable value in Armenia FLYONE ARMENIA cancels Yerevan flights to, from Lyon, Paris until June 10 Annual inflation in Turkey reaches 69.97% in April Armenia population as of January 1 announced Poland builds 50 kilometers of fence on border with Belarus Azerbaijan promises Europe gas in the hope of loyalty to Baku's crimes Australia allocates $1.4 billion to modernize its Navy Peskov says events unrolling in Armenia are countrys internal affair Grigoryan: Discussions on setting up Armenia-Azerbaijan commission may be completed in near future Red Cross: No Azerbaijani detainees in Armenia Armenia official: Peace agreement with Azerbaijan also means solution to Karabakh issue Armen Grigoryan: There is need to get answers to questions in order to organize Armenia, Azerbaijan leaders meeting Security Council chief: Baku's statements on Armenia territories belonging to Azerbaijan do not contribute to peace Armenia official comments on Azerbaijan president's words about 'Zangezur corridor' Armen Grigoryan: Armenia and Azerbaijan could exchange enclaves FT: Erdogan used mediation between Russia and Ukraine Person dies after being hospitalized from one of tents at France Square in Yerevan Armenia to get 22.6M loan from International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Armenia ruling force MP: Oppositions goal is not saving Karabakh but changing of power President says Artsakh continues to maintain its vision for future, toward independence Oppositions uncrowded marches show lack of public support, says Armenia ruling force lawmaker Trade in Armenia increased by over $1 billion, PM says Scuffle breaks out during civil disobedience march in Yerevan, police attempt to apprehend opposition MP Pashinyan to Bennett: I am hopeful that Armenian-Israeli relations will flourish in near future Armenia ruling power legislator: This opposition has always run away from truth Civil disobedience motorcade being held in Yerevan EU to ban Russians from buying European real estate US defense industry facing problems due to supply of weapons to Ukraine Armenia FM holds discussion at Atlantic Council, speaks about process of normalization of relations with Turkey Newspaper: Armenia opposition MPs to lose their parliamentary mandates? Newspaper: Artsakh President says we would not have had so many casualties if war had started half year later Civil disobedience march kicks off in downtown Yerevan Civil disobedience actions resume in Yerevan Blinken tests positive for Covid Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia Switzerland braces for serious power shortage Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions' Opposition demonstration reaches government residences Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality' Fox News Special Reports Bret Baier interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday evening, touching on a wide variety of topics, including what a victory looks like for Ukraine and what Putin is hoping to achieve, Fox News reported. "A victory of truth means a victory for Ukraine and Ukrainians," Zelenskyy said through an interpreter. "The question is when it will end. That is a deep question. Its a painful question. Besides victory, the Ukrainian people will not accept any outcome." Baier then asked what Zelenskyy is "willing to agree to" in order to secure a peace deal and specifically brought up the possibility of ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia. "We do not trade our territory," Zelenskyy responded. "The question of territorial integrity and sovereignty is out of discussion." Zelenskyy said that his country is looking for commitments from "leading nations" that Ukraines security will be protected with a treaty if it is to agree to a deescalation with Russia and reiterated his belief that Ukraine would be a beneficial addition to NATO. "Its hard for us to talk about NATO because NATO doesn't want to admit us," Zelenskyy said. "I think it's a mistake because if we join NATO, we make NATO much stronger. We are not a weak state. We are not proposing to make us stronger at the expense of NATOWe are an addition, we are the locomotive. I think we are one of the important components of the European continent." The Ukrainian president added that he has spoken with President Biden and told him he would like to see the United States included in a security agreement that would provide long-term support for Ukraine to address the possibility Russia would to invade again in the future. Zelenskyy said that the United States is "considering this proposition." Baier and Zelenskyy also touched on the accusations from Russian officials that Ukraine attacked an oil depot inside Russia using helicopters. "Did you launch an attack on a Russian military depot on Russian soil using helicopters?" Baier asked Zelenskyy. "Im sorry I do not discuss any of my orders as commander in chief," Zelenskyy responded. "The leader of this state. There are things which I only share with military armed forces of Ukraine and when they talk with me." "What matters for us is that you and the whole world should know that we are a country at war," Zelenskyy continued. "We were attacked. That is what matters. That is the biggest tragedy. And today, to hear those reports about something happening someplace something exploded while there is war in Ukraine - honestly its not professional to talk about it. They occupied our territory. They attacked us. This war going on for 8 years so whatever happens in a certain situation its hard for me to comment." After returning from Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)], I urgently addressed the ambassadors of Russia, the United States, France, and the European Union in Armenia in the wake of our fact-finding activity. Taguhi Tovmasyan, an MP of the opposition "With Honor" Faction in the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia and Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs, on Saturday morning wrote this on Facebook. I drew the ambassadors' attention to the invasion into the Parukh community of Artsakh by the units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, informed that as a result of the criminal actions by Azerbaijan we have victims and wounded. Along with other urgent issues, I presented that the right to life of the residents of Parukh community was blatantly violated, civilians were deprived of their rights to live a peaceful and secure life in their homeland. I asked the ambassadors to make a public assessment and condemn such criminal acts and the gross violations of the International Humanitarian Law by Azerbaijan and take all the possible measures to prevent the genocidal policy and the ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan in Artsakh. I received an answer on behalf of the EU Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin, according to which they follow the situation in and around Nagorno-Karabakh with grave concern. They assure, that the tense situation does not slip their attention and is indeed taken into consideration during any talks/meetings of the EUSR, and even President of the European Council, when speaking to authorities in Baku and in Yerevan. As stated in the reply note, the European Union supports and is ready to complement the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group towards a negotiated, comprehensive and sustainable settlement. But, unfortunately, the situation neither in the world, nor in the region is favourable for negotiations, the Armenian MP added. UK far-range artillery and anti-ship systems, which the United Kingdom has promised to Kiev, will become legitimate targets for Russian troops if delivered to Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin told TASS, the latter reported. "All arms supplies are destabilizing, particularly those mentioned by [UK Defense Secretary Ben] Wallace," he said. They exacerbate the situation, making it even bloodier. Apparently, those are new, high-precision weapons. Naturally, our armed forces will view them as a legitimate target if those supplies get through the Ukrainian border." The Russian diplomat noted that the UK had an illusory perception of the military actions in Ukraine. "I have a feeling that Londons perceptions of what is going on in Ukraine from the military point of view are formed from overly positive reports of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and the leadership of Ukraine. If we look at maps that are being published by papers and magazines here, they rely exclusively on Ukrainian sources," Kelin said. In Kelins opinion, the UK governments moves made in connection with the events in Ukraine are aimed at further escalation. "[The UK governments] perception appears to be similar to the picture seen from [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelenskys shelter. Those ideas serve as a basis for decisions and statements, which, in fact, contradict the reality: [ideas] that more weapons should be supplied to Ukraine, that it will become a game changer, that there is no need for negotiations at this point," he said. "This is the position of an ostrich, an attempt to hide your head in sand in a fit of powerlessness and blind rage. Wrong decisions of this kind are very dangerous, because they are aimed at fuelling the conflict and [expose] reluctance to work on settling it. They reveal the desire to do us as much harm as possible." In his words, the Ukrainian authorities have de-facto handed over control over the situation in the country to their Western partners. "US Ambassador [to Russia John] Sullivan said in a recent interview that the Ukrainian leadership is reluctant to make any practical decisions, it wants someone else to decide for them, most notably the Americans," he said. The Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) foreign ministry on Saturday issued a statement on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the April military aggression launched by Azerbaijan. The statement reads as follows: Six years ago, on the night of April 2, 2016, the Azerbaijani armed forces, violating the May 12, 1994 Agreement on full cessation of fire and hostilities and February 6, 1995 Agreement on strengthening the ceasefire, launched treacherous aggression against the Republic of Artsakh. For four days, the Azerbaijani armed forces had attempted assaults along the entire length of the Line of Contact, employing heavy weaponry, artillery and aircraft. However, after suffering heavy losses in manpower and equipment and failing to achieve its goals, the Azerbaijani side, through the mediation of the Russian Federation, was forced to cease the hostilities. But, the shelling of the border settlements of Artsakh continued until late April. The Azerbaijani aggression was accompanied by numerous war crimes, including torture, premeditated murders and mockery of the bodies of the deceased, committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces against both the military personnel and the civilian population of the Republic of Artsakh. The April 2016 aggression became a touchstone, among other things, to test the reaction of the international community to the violation of the UN Charter and international obligations by Azerbaijan. The fact that these illegal actions did not entail any serious political and legal consequences for Baku only strengthened the confidence of the Azerbaijani authorities in the permissiveness and the prevalence of force over international law. Both the April 2016 war and the subsequent 44-day aggression of Azerbaijan in 2020, despite their local nature, became a real test for the entire system of international relations. Impunity for unleashing aggressive wars has led to the undermining of such fundamental principles of international law as non-use of force, peaceful settlement of disputes, conscientious fulfillment of international obligations, etc. Taking into account that the Azerbaijani authorities refuse to negotiate for a peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabagh conflict, continue to violate their obligations and do not halt the aggressive actions, we expect the international community to take concrete political steps to guarantee the realization by the people of Artsakh of their collective human rights and freedoms, without any restrictions. Australia, India to seal trade pact Containers await loading at Melbourne's port. Australian exports to India will see vastly reduced tariffs under a new deal. File image: Shutterstock Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a trade agreement with India due to be signed on Saturday represented one of the biggest economic doors there is to open in the world today. Morrison is expected to call a general election within days, and has been eager to secure the trade deal before campaigning began, having been in negotiations with India for a decade. The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement would be signed in a virtual ceremony by Trade Minister Dan Tehan and India's Minister of Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal, and both countries would continue to work towards a full free trade deal, the federal government said on Friday. Speaking to reporters in Tasmania, Morrison said he and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi would witness the virtual ceremony. These are never all or nothing deals as far as we're concerned, we see all of these as the next step and the next step and the next step, he said, expressing both countries intention to build closer trade ties. Morrisons government is seeking to diversify export markets and reduce Australia's dependence on its biggest trading partner China, after diplomatic spats led to Beijing sanctioning certain Australian products. The deal with India removes tariffs on more than 85 percent of Australian goods exports to India, worth A$12.6 billion, rising to almost 91 percent over 10 years. Tariffs will be scrapped on sheep meat, wool, copper, coal, alumina, fresh Australian rock lobster, and some critical minerals and non-ferrous metals to India. It will see 96 per cent of Indian goods imports enter Australia duty-free. (Reuters) War-torn Yemen holds breath as truce begins War-torn Yemen holds breath as truce begins Yemen's warring parties laid down their weapons for the first nationwide truce since 2016 on Saturday, with all eyes on whether the UN-brokered ceasefire will hold. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi-led coalition have both agreed to observe the two-month truce, which took effect at 1600 GMT on the first day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. "The two-month truce started at 7:00 pm (1600 GMT) tonight. As of tonight, all offensive ground, aerial and naval military operations should cease," UN special envoy Hans Grundberg said in a statement. Yemen's intractable war has killed hundreds of thousands directly or indirectly and displaced millions, triggering the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations. Previous ceasefires have been ineffective. A national truce ahead of peace talks in April 2016 was violated almost immediately, as were other ceasefires that year. A 2018 agreement to cease hostilities around rebel-held Hodeida port, a lifeline for the Arab world's poorest country, was also largely ignored. Both the Houthis and Saudi Arabia have welcomed the latest initiative, which follows a surge in attacks but also increasing diplomacy including ongoing talks snubbed by the rebels in Riyadh. "This time I am optimistic. This truce is unlike all the previous ones," Asmaa Zayed, said a college student who also works as a cashier in Hodeida. "The fact it comes with Ramadan gives us a lot of hope. This war started when I was 15 years old and turned all my dreams into nightmares." Under the agreement, all ground, air and sea military operations in Yemen and across its borders are to stop. Eighteen fuel ships will be allowed into Hodeida port and two commercial flights a week can resume in and out of Sanaa, also in rebel hands both key demands of the insurgents before they consider peace talks. The two sides have also agreed to meet to open roads in Taez and other governorates, Grundberg said, adding the truce could be renewed with their consent. "The success of this initiative will depend on the warring parties' continued commitment to implementing the truce agreement with its accompanying humanitarian measures," said the Swedish diplomat. "I also hope the goodwill that we saw from all sides in public will translate into long-term de-escalation of inflammatory media rhetoric and hate speech." With fighting in Yemen at a stalemate, the Houthis launched a series of drone-and-missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and coalition partner the United Arab Emirates this year, often targeting oil facilities. The coalition has responded with air strikes. Last week, on the seventh anniversary of the Saudi-led military coalition's intervention, and a day after an attack on an oil plant within sight of the Formula One Grand Prix in the Saudi city of Jeddah, the Houthis announced a three-day unilateral ceasefire. The coalition then announced its own truce from Wednesday, ahead of discussions with international partners in Riyadh. The rebels declined to attend the talks in an "enemy" country. Saudi Arabia expressed its "support" for the UN ceasefire, which was also welcomed by US President Joe Biden, UN chief Antonio Guterres, the European Union and the leaders of Britain, France and Iraq. The major question now is whether the truce will be observed. The Norwegian Refugee Council hoped it would be "the start of a new chapter", while Save the Children said it offered a "much-needed respite from all the violence". The war in Yemen started when the Houthis took control of Sanaa in 2014, prompting the Saudi-led intervention in March of the following year in support of the ousted government. It plunged what was already the Arab world's poorest country into years of crisis, with failing infrastructure and services and 80 percent of the 30 million population dependent on aid. "Everything around us reeks of death and war," said Zayed, the student in Hodeida. "I think I will go into a depression if this truce ends or fails." (AFP) E-commerce giant Amazon is trying to illegally enter India's physical retail market via its deal with the Future Group companies, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said in its appeal to NCLAT. The case pertains to an appeal against the CCI order which had kept the earlier approval given for the Amazon-Future Group deal in abeyance. "CAIT believes that in view of the fraud played by Amazon, the CCI ought to have revoked the order and not kept it in abeyance," the confederation said. "CAIT's appeal was listed along with the two appeals filed by Amazon and the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation," it added. CAIT's appeal, which was heard on Friday, emphasised that "Amazon's entire transaction with the Future Group companies is based on the intention to illegally enter the physical retail market, take over retail stores owned by Future Retail, and cut out the micro, small and medium enterprises and retail traders, a majority of which is represented by CAIT". Besides, CAIT's counsel said that "this (transaction) would be a direct threat to the numerous retail traders who would not be able to compete with such a large-scale e-commerce business model like Amazon's". The CAIT said that FDI laws prohibit retail trading, in any form, by e-commerce entities like Amazon, which are invested in multi-brand retail trade. "Amazon did not obtain any government approval as required by FDI laws for its foreign direct investment into the multi-brand retail market. When the CCI specifically enquired with Amazon of any prohibitions under the FDI laws, Amazon said that since it was investing in FCPL and not FRL, no approvals were required from the government and the FDI laws were not attracted. "It is now evident that Amazon sought to acquire strategic rights in FRL through the back door, by misrepresenting facts to the CCI and concealing the true nature of the transaction. Therefore, the approval obtained by Amazon before CCI did not disclose this FDI violation and is tainted by fraud and misrepresentation." --IANS rv/arm ( 356 Words) 2022-04-01-21:46:03 (IANS) On March 25, the NCLT had declared Noida-headquartered realty major Supertech as insolvent while admitting a plea filed by the Union Bank of India over non-payment of its dues. All financial creditors, including real estate allottees, must submit their claims with proof online by visiting https://www.supertechlimited.com/public-announcement.php. Also, for any claim related queries, home buyers are requested to call +91 8904039001 between 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The NCLT order is likely to hit over 25,000 home buyers who have booked their homes with the company for over several years. The order for insolvency came as a blow to the company as its one-time settlement proposal has not been accepted by the Union Bank. Recently, the Supreme Court had ordered the demolition of its twin towers in Noida and last month, the local authority had informed the top court that Supertech 40-story twin towers will be demolished on May 22. --IANS ad/vd ( 202 Words) 2022-04-01-22:06:04 (IANS) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 2 (ANI/PNN): ORRA, India's leading diamond jewellery brand, commences the anniversary celebration with special offers across all its stores in India and the ORRA website. For this celebratory period, ORRA has also curated a wide range of jewellery designs with timeless pieces of exemplary craftsmanship. With a wide variety to choose from combined with the mega offers, customers can purchase jewellery to suit their varying tastes and occasions. From intricately crafted earrings, and rings, to the ASTRA range of exceptional yet affordable diamond necklaces and earrings, ORRA has constantly made an effort to introduce new designs and offers that suit the needs of the evolving consumer demands. ORRA has announced the following offers: -Up to 25 per cent Off on Diamond Jewellery 0 per cent Interest on EMI facility - only jewellery brand to provide this facility -For the auspicious occasion of Akshay Tritiya and Gudi Padwa, the brand also launched their exclusive Diamond Necklace Set priced at INR 69,999. The 14kt yellow gold necklace is crafted in red and green coloured stones. Expressing his thoughts, Dipu Mehta, Managing Director, ORRA India, said, "We are delighted to announce our offers to celebrate our Anniversary Sale. ORRA has built and maintained a reputation for providing our customers with an enriching shopping experience and the best value for their purchases. Festivals like Akshay Tritiya and Gudi Padwa mark the onset of prosperity, and our customers can look forward to a period of great offers and additional benefits at all our ORRA stores." For Gudi Padwa, the brand exclusively collaborated with Renowned Celebrity Actress Amruta Khanvillkar who can be seen wearing the Specially Designed and launched diamond piece for the celebrations gifted to her by her mother. "For the auspicious occasion of GudiPadwa, ORRA has launched an exclusive Diamond Necklace and Earrings Set. An exquisite 14kt gold necklace, crafted in ORRA's sparkling diamonds, comes with red or green coloured stones. It continues building on the rich legacy, design skill and craftsmanship, our customers have come to love and trust." The exclusive Diamond Necklace Set is priced at INR 69,999. (excl. taxes)" Lucky winners who shop at ORRA During this festive offer and tag the Brand in their favourite Orra Look get a Chance to win a Gold Coin. Check the link here https://bit.ly/3iVs5ax The offers are available from March 25, 2022 to May 7, 2022 across ORRA's retail stores in India and online at https://www.orra.co.in The journey of a million gazes began in 1888 before it metamorphosed into ORRA. From sculpting and manufacturing diamonds to crafting and retailing the finest diamond and gold jewellery, ORRA has come a long way since its inception. Today, ORRA is one of India's finest bridal jewellery retail chains, having spread its glow with 59 Stores across 27 Cities and has consistently been at the forefront of design, leadership and product innovation with five global design centres. Master craftsmen, who have inherited the centuries-old legacy of jewellery making, brilliantly cut Belgian diamonds, delicate designs in 22kt BIS Hallmarked gold, elaborate bridal sets in Kundan, Polki and coloured stones, the 73 facet ORRA Crown Star, the one-of-its-kind ORRA boutique. These are just some of the facets that go into making ORRA - The Finest Bridal Jewellery Destination. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN) New Delhi [India], April 2 (ANI/NewsVoir): Australia's University of Canberra (UC) has opened applications to its VC's Social Champion Scholarships starting, April 1, 2022. Three scholarships will be offered to international students intending to commence at UC in Semester One, 2023. Applications open on 1 April 1, 2022, and close on October 9, 2022. The total combined value of the scholarship is up to AUD 200,000 (approximately up to Rs. One Crore) per student. This includes tuition fees for the course duration, on-campus accommodation, and a yearly allowance of AUD 10,000. To apply, students must complete the VC's Social Champion Scholarship online application form available on the University of Canberra's official website www.canberra.edu.au/campaign/vice-chancellors-social-champion-scholarship. To apply, students will need to submit a written statement that demonstrates their financial need, values, and experience relevant to the following: -Potential to evolve as a leader in ways that embrace and advance the principles of social and economic equity, and their practice -Making a positive difference to the community by doing things differently, innovating, and inspiring others -Curiosity and a desire to learn from, collaborate and engage with perspectives from a range of cultural contexts The Scholarship program, which was unveiled last week, will enable financially challenged offshore students to further their undergraduate or postgraduate studies in Australia. The Vice-Chancellor's Social Champion Scholarships will be offered to students who excel not only academically, but also demonstrate leadership characteristics and a passion for social equity. The scholarship aims to encourage students who want to further and make a positive difference in the community. The University of Canberra is counted among the top 200 universities worldwide and is one of Australia's Top 10 universities. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) American actor Will Smith on Friday (local time) announced that he has resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, days after he slapped comedian Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars. "I have directly responded to the Academy's disciplinary hearing notice, and I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable," Smith's publicist told ANI. The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home, he said. Smith, in a statement, said he was "heartbroken" over the incident and "betrayed the trust of the Academy." "I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work," Smith stated. "I am heartbroken. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film. So, I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate," he added. Smith had previously apologized to the academy and to Rock. A few minutes after the incident, Smith was announced Best Actor at the Oscars. Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock onstage after he got miffed at the latter's joke directed at his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. The 94th Academy Awards took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (ANI) The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has responded to actor Will Smith's resignation, saying that it has accepted the resignation and will "continue to move forward" with disciplinary proceedings against him. David Rubin, President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in a statement, addressed the resignation and ongoing controversy. "We have received and accepted Mr Will Smith's immediate resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences," said Rubin in a statement sent to People magazine. Rubin added, "We will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy's Standards of Conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18." The statement came in response to Smith announcing his resignation after he slapped comedian Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday. "I have directly responded to the Academy's disciplinary hearing notice, and I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable," the actor said in a statement. He added, "The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home. I betrayed the trust of the Academy." The actor further said, "I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film. So, I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate." Smith, who won his first Oscar this year for 'King Richard', concluded, "Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason." The conflict arose after Rock, who was presenting the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, seized the moment to crack a few jokes, including one about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. He compared the 50-year-old actor's appearance to that of Demi Moore's look in 'G.I. Jane'. Jada, who recently opened up about living with alopecia areata, was visibly upset, rolling her eyes from her seat. Seconds later, Smith walked onstage and approached Rock, smacking him in front of the audience. The 53-year-old actor also shouted to a stunned Rock, "Keep my wife's name out of your f---ing mouth." Smith then remained seated with his wife at his table for the rest of the event. Rock has so far declined to press charges. When Smith won Best Actor later in the ceremony, he apologised to the Academy and his fellow nominees but didn't mention Rock by name. In his tearful speech, he spoke about acting out of love and protection, saying, "Love makes you do crazy things." The 'King Richard' actor went on to publicly apologise to Rock on social media the following day. (ANI) On a recent article about the intricacies of passing a Constitutional Carry bill in Nebraska, it was noted people with a recognized permit to carry concealed in Nebraska were not required to register their handguns in Omaha, Nebraska. Omaha, specifically the Omaha Police Officer's Association, was lobbying hard to keep the Omaha requirement of registration of handguns. Under current Omaha regulations, people who do not have concealed carry permits which are valid in Nebraska, are required to register handguns in Omaha. Commentator Jon Anderson of the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association noted: Omaha ALREADY requires registration of all handguns possessed inside city limits UNLESS the possessor has a Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP holders are exempt from registration. This has been the norm for YEARS. Commentator Russnir replied: No, they're not. A concealed carry permit *is* registration! Extensive registration. Both are correct, in a sense. CHP holders in Nebraska are not required to register any firearms, handgun or long gun. A concealed carry permit is "registration" of a sort. It is registration showing the person who has the permit applied for and received a permit to carry a concealed handgun [...] ..... A day after senior Congress leader Kamal Nath claimed that the issues raised by G-23 have been resolved, sources in the group, that is seeking a revamp in the party's functioning, on Friday said that none of their demands raised in meetings with party chief Sonia Gandhi have been met to resolve the issue. The group says that in those state which for polls, the state Presidents have been sacked but the state in charges have not been taken to task yet. While the Congress President has set up new state units in Manipur and Goa where the party fared badly in the recent Assembly elections despite the anti-incumbency factor, but the state units in Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh have not been constituted. The G-23 also seeks that that the state incharges like Harish Chaudhary in Punjab, Dinesh Gundu Rao in Goa, Devendra Yadav in Uttarakhand, and Bhakta Charan Das in Manipur should also face the music as they could not get the desired results. Sonia Gandhi has met some of the vocal leaders from the dissident group while Rahul Gandhi has reached out to former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. But the G-23 leaders say that no forward movement has taken place since then but the group leaders have maintained silence. Kamal Nath, the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and considered very close to Gandhi family, had said that their (G-23 group) demand of organisational polls has been met as elections will be held within three months. He said that all Congress leaders, who are in G-23 group, are his friends with whom he has worked for the party for several years. Replying to the demand for a Congress President outside the Gandhi family, he said: "This G-23 group is very close to me. They have been my colleagues for years. They have never made any such demand. In fact, all their demands have already been met. The party elections are going to be held." "Polls can't be held without membership, so that process is also going on and elections will be held in the next three months," he had added. --IANS miz/vd ( 369 Words) 2022-04-01-20:40:02 (IANS) An official said the blast took place at a drain -- ahead of the Union Minister's arrival here, creating panic in the Vasanthnagar locality. Shah was supposed to pass through that area. The police said the blast took place at around 4.30 p.m. following which a power chamber that was installed nearby broke into pieces Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant rushed to the spot for an inspection. After the blast, a thick smoke emerged due to the short circuit in the underground electric cable, the police said. The vehicular movement was blocked until the inspection was done. Officials said Amit Shah's route was changed following the incident as miscreants issuing threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also come to light. The blast has also led to concerns over the safety and security of the Union Minister. The police have taken up the incident seriously, and are conducting a probe into it, an official said. --IANS mka/pgh ( 206 Words) 2022-04-01-21:38:05 (IANS) Incumbent Indus Commissioner P.K. Saxena retired on Thursday upon his superannuation. He had held office from 2016. Saxena had led India's delegation to Pakistan in early March as part of the annual meeting. Pal was currently posted at CWC's Lucknow office. "The order announcing Pal's name was issued after much delay on Friday," said a CWC official. As per the provisions of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) 1960 signed between India and Pakistan over sharing of water of the six rivers of the Indus basin, both the countries are to have Indus Commissioners and the Permanent Indus Commission is to meet at least once every year, alternatively in India and Pakistan. Pal is expected to take charge at the earliest, but no date was immediately announced. --IANS niv/arm ( 159 Words) 2022-04-01-22:32:03 (IANS) The Kashmiri Pandits (Recourse, Restitution, Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Bill, tabled by Congress MP Vivek Tankha in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, seeks 'Internally Displaced Persons' (IDP) status for Kashmiri Pandits and declaration of the community as a victim of genocide besides social, political, and economic rehabilitation. Coming amid the din created by 'The Kashmir Files' movie, the Bill seeks the release of a white paper on the issue of Kashmiri Pandits documenting all events in the Kashmir Valley pertaining to the atrocities and plight of the minority community starting from 1988 till the enactment of this Act. The Bill says that the white paper be prepared by a high-level committee comprising retired Chief Justice of India as the Chairman; two retired judges of the Supreme Court of India, two sitting MPs; two former MPs; four sitting or former MLAs/Council of Jammu; and four other individuals. The high-level committee should rely on depositions given by witnesses and lay special focus on the reports and judgments of the Supreme Court and the high courts of India, the National Human Rights Commission, reports of any Parliamentary standing committee/sub-committees set up for the purpose of examining the issue of Kashmiri Pandits. The Bill also seeks granting minority status to Kashmiri Pandits in terms of Clause (c) of Section 2 of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 within two months from the date of enactment of this Act. It also seeks the declaration of Kashmiri Pandits as victims of genocide and change in their official nomenclature to 'Internally Displaced Persons' (IDPs). It has been a long standing demand of the Kashmiri Pandit community to probe the exodus and to bring justice to the community. The community claims that over 700 members have been killed of which around 100 were killed from March 1989 to March 1992. However, in the majority of the cases, FIRs were never registered. Besides the targetted killings, many women were rape, hundreds were kidnapped and tortured, thousands of houses looted and burnt and several temples desecrated. After they were forced to leave, many properties were usurped and lands grabbed. Recently, the US-based non-profit, International Commission for Human Rights and Religious freedom (ICHRRF), recognised the 1989-1991 atrocities on Kashmiri Hindus as an act of genocide. It called upon the Centre and the government of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir to acknowledge and recognise the 1989-1991 atrocities on Kashmiri Hindus as an act of genocide. (Deepika Bhan can be contacted at deepika.b@ians.in) --IANS dpb/arm ( 431 Words) 2022-04-01-22:42:03 (IANS) The accused, Dipak Chaudhary, is said to be a manic depressive. After committing the crime, he surrendered before the Govindpur police station. The gruesome incident occurred in Madhopur village around 3.30 pm on Friday. Govvindpur SHO, Dr Narendra Prasad, said that Chaudhury did not mention any specific reason for the killings. "The accused used a sharp-edged weapon to slit the throats of the victims. He first slit the throat of his wife Savitri Devi. The two toddlers were asleep when Chaudhary slit their throats. They are identified as Kajal (one year) and Divya (two years)," Prasad said. "We have arrested the accused and also recovered the dead bodies from the crime scene. The accused is said to be a manic-depressive person. We are investigating the incident from all angles," Prasad said. --IANS ajk/vd ( 168 Words) 2022-04-01-22:48:01 (IANS) A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced to reduce the disturbed areas under the Armed Forces (Special Power) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) in three northeastern states -- Nagaland, Assam and Manipur -- Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday that the step would facilitate the continuance of peace and boost industrialisation and economy in the state. The AFSPA has been in force in Assam since 1990 and as per the Centre's announcement on Thursday, it would be removed completely from 23 districts, and would remain enforced in 9 districts and one sub-division in Assam with effect from Friday. Urging the militant outfits to come forward for talks to ensure lasting peace in Assam, the Chief Minister, while making a statement on AFSPA in the state Assembly, said that the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent and other outfits can take the opportunity to resolve their issues. "Following improved security situation, the Central government has decided to withdraw AFSPA from 23 districts and one sub-division of the state with effect from April 1," said Sarma, who also holds the home portfolio. "From today (Friday), AFSPA will not be operational in 80 per cent areas of Assam. Since 1990, the term of AFSPA was extended 61 times," Sarma said, as he thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah for the decision to reduce AFSPA. The special law was last extended in Assam for six months on February 28 this year. The Chief Minister said that at present, the army is deployed in only five districts -- Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Karbi-Anglong and Dima Hasao. The AFSPA will be in operation in Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong, West Karbi Anglong, Dima Hasao and Lakhipur sub-division of Cachar district, he said, adding that there would be no AFSPA in central, lower and northern Assam. It would only be operational in the hill districts and in eastern Assam, he added. Shah on Thursday announced to reduce the operation of AFSPA in Assam, Nagaland and Manipur following similar demand by many political parties and NGOs. The demand intensified after the security forces killed 14 people and injured 30 others in Mon district of Nagaland in December last year. Almost all Chief Ministers of the northeastern states and most political parties welcomed the Central government's announcement to reduce the number of disturbed areas under AFSPA. AFSPA -- which allows the army and other central para-military forces to conduct raids, and arrest anyone anywhere without prior notice or arrest warrant -- was in force in Nagaland, Assam, Manipur barring the Imphal municipal council area and certain districts of Arunachal Pradesh. --IANS sc/arm ( 446 Words) 2022-04-01-22:58:01 (IANS) A joint security conference of the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police was held at Awantipora to discuss security-related issues in the valley. The meeting was chaired by Corps Commander, Chinar Corps, and attended by senior Army officers including GOCs, Sector Commanders and COs as well as senior Police officers in the Kashmir Division. According to a statement from PRO (Defence) Srinagar on Friday, the recent terror attacks on civilians and security forces personnel were discussed in detail. The forces also voiced concern on children of young age being manipulated by people with nefarious designs with drugs and false narratives. The alarming trend of the terrorists taking refuge in Masjids and Madrasas prior to or after the act of committing terror activities in an attempt to create communal disturbance was also pointed out. The drug menace and the negative effects manifesting because of it was deliberated upon. Among the myriad of issues discussed in the forum, the aspect of secure and smooth conduct of the Shri Amarnathji Yatra in the forthcoming summer factored prominently. The yatra this year is expected to draw a large number of pilgrims as it is being resumed after a gap of two years. The agencies deliberated on the safety measures to be put in place and synergised efforts at ensuring a smooth flow of traffic of yatris and provision of administrative and medical assistance from available resources. (ANI) The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday said it would install 40 automatic weather stations (AWS) on the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh. Once set up, the installations are expected to be helpful not just for enhanced weather observation from the region but also to the armed forces. The IMD would be installing the 40 AWS in Arunachal Pradesh as part of the expansion of the AWS network for better monitoring and capturing of all-weather events. This will be useful not just for the IMD but also for the Air Force and the Indian army troops, and also the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), that move along the difficult terrain in the eastern Himalayas in the northeastern state. The demand for augmentation of the existing observation network in Arunachal Pradesh has been pending for many years. Barely 1/3rd of Arunachal Pradesh's area that is along the Assam is plains and the undulating foothills but the rest of the 2/3rds is all mighty Himalayas and much of it is high altitude terrain that witnesses almost round the year snow-fall too. The state is also known for its extremely high rainfall for almost eight months of the year. "We also plan to commission Aviation Weather Observing Systems for all Heliport stations of NE India for unmanned and safety of landing in hilly terrain of NE region," KN Mohan of IMD Guwahati said in his presentation during a virtual event to mark the 25 years of operations of the IMD's Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati. "The Met Department has recently installed one snow gauge each in Tawang and Bomdila districts and plans to install 2 AWS in each district, apart from the 40 in the border areas," another scientist from Guwahati, Sanjay Shaw told IANS. The work for these installations has already started, Shaw said. Mohan also said that the team has also planned expansion of Automatic Rain Gauge (ARG) network to urban cities of Agartala, Shillong, Itanagar and other developing cities of northeastern India for real time monitoring of special distribution of rain. The other installations planned include eight X-Band Doppler Weather Radars in seven states of the NE India; data processing server for reception, quality checks & GIS representation of data from all AWS/ARG/Airport & other data of NE India. Among others, IMD director general (meteorology) Mrutyunjay Mohapatra and secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, M Ravichandran also spoke on the occasion. "Get feedback from respective states and the districts as you plan expansion of observatories and customized forecasts," Ravichandran advised. --IANS niv/pgh ( 434 Words) 2022-04-01-23:18:04 (IANS) A Kashmiri Pandit Organization, Vomedh on Friday celebrated Navreh, a key festival of the community, at Zabarwan Park in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar by organizing a day-long extravagant cultural program and an exhibition on Kashmiri pandits. The Program titled 'Kashmir Navreh Milan 2022' was attended by a large number of people including Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, PK Pole and Kashmiri Muslims who took a keen interest in understanding the lifestyle and culture. "Navreh is one of the key festivals of Kashmiri Pandits and marks the beginning of the New Year. The program started with a painting competition organized in collaboration with the private schools association. It was attended by scores of children across many schools. Different stalls were also installed in which traditional Kashmiri items were displayed in this event. Speaking to the reporters, PK Pole said that the main motive of the organisers was to apprise the new generation of the culture of the Kashmiri pandits. "The main motive of the organisers behind it was to let the new generation know about the culture and understand its importance," he said. The Commissioner informed that many Kashmiri Pandits have started rebuilding their broken homes and believed that many will come to live in the valley. "The Kashmiri Pandits have started rebuilding their broken homes from the last year. I think many people will come here. The situation is changing. The anti-national section now knows that their days are over and thus have become less," Pole said. Organiser of the event, Rohit Bhat told ANI that the group is trying to revive the culture and language through such events. "Our group is trying to revive our culture and language. We organised this event where we have presented an exhibition after 32 years depicting our dresses, and culture so that the youth could be connected. We have also organised a painting competition with the theme of communal harmony. We want the gap that was created to be fulfilled," he said. Artist Bharti Koul said that they want to promote harmony and brotherhood through such events. "We are feeling good as we have always celebrated Navaratri and other such festivals together. We have come to promote harmony," she said. A stall owner Sameer Ahmad who hails from Srinagar expressed his pleasure upon knowing the culture of the Kashmiri Pandits and said that such events should be organised in the future also. "I have seen such goods for the first time in my life. The items belonging to the Kashmiri Pandits were showcased. It felt good to come here and participate. More such functions should be organised," he said. (ANI) Three criminals were killed in an encounter in the Goalpara district of Assam after they refused to surrender to the police, said Assistant Superintendent of Police Mrinal Deka on Friday. The criminals were identified as Shahjahan, Nazmul and Sajal against who many criminal cases were registered. Speaking to the reporters, ASP said, "They were trying to escape by hiding in a truck. Acting on a tip-off, we stopped the vehicle but they tried to run away and opened fire on us. They got badly injured and were taken to the hospital where the doctor declared them dead. The three miscreants were involved in crimes like murder and kidnapping." The incident is said to have taken place at around 8.30 pm on Friday near Alok Bazar of Goalpara district. (ANI) Your browser does not support the video tag. Marking the first day of Chaitra Navratri and New Year in Hindu mythology, early morning 'aarti' was performed at New Delhi's Jhandewalan temple on Saturday. Devotees visited the temple to offer prayers and seek blessings from Goddess Durga. People were seen standing in the queue waiting for their chance patiently to offer prayers on a holy day. Devotees from all age groups were seen visiting the temple early in the morning to mark the first day of New Year in the Hindu faith. Speaking to ANI, Ravindra Goyal from the Jhandewalan Temple trust welcomed the devotees back to the temple and said that they have made proper arrangements for security. "I extend my best wishes for the new year. India has come out of the trouble of COVID-19 after two years. There is excitement among people and we are also prepared to welcome them. They can come and seek blessings. The temple has been decorated. More than 2,500 workers are handling the security management of the place. We have installed 160 CCTV cameras. A control room has been made where our people keep an eye on the events along with the police officials," Goyal said. Chaitra Navratri or Vasant Navratri is celebrated during the spring season in India and it is considered to be an important nine-day celebration for the Hindu community. This year, the festival will commence on April 02, 2022, and will end on April 11, 2022. The first day of Chaitra Navratri falls during the 'Shukla Paksha' of the moon i.e., the full moon phase. The rituals performed during the nine days in order to praise Goddess Durga, vary each day. It also marks the birthday of Lord Rama, which usually falls on the ninth day during the Navratri festivity, hence it is also known as Rama Navratri. The festival is much like Maha Navratri, dedicated to the nine different forms of Goddess Durga, collectively known as Navdurga. (ANI) Sanjay Dutta, Ranger, Belacoba forest range under Baikunthupur forest division said the kangaroos were found during the patrolling. The officials found some critical injuries on the bodies of both the kangaroos after which they were immediately brought to Bengal safari park for further treatment. The RO informed that a team of special officers have started an investigation into the matter. "The kangaroos had some serious injuries on their bodies and have been sent to Bengal Safari Park for further treatment. A team has been formed to probe the matter," Dutta said. (ANI) The Supreme Court on Saturday directed Faridabad Municipal Corporation to speed up the process of redevelopment and afforestation of the Khori Gaon area. "In addition, the Corporation shall speed up the process of redevelopment/afforestation of the entire area and to facilitate that, the Secretary of the Forest Department, Government of Haryana shall issue appropriate directions for providing suitable species of plants and herbs through Forest Court Department, as indicated in the Status Report already filed in this Court," the SC said. The direction came by a bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice CT Ravikumar. The court noted that land from where unauthorized structures have been removed is being misused by the locals. The court directed the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Faridabad to ensure that any type of misuse of the subject land is stopped with immediate effect and encroachments thereon are removed forthwith. To facilitate the Corporation to comply with this direction, the Superintendent of Police, Faridabad shall provide necessary police assistance to the Corporation, the court directed the Municipal Commissioner, as well as the Superintendent of Police, Faridabad. It also directed the civic and police officials to ensure that the land in question is not improper utilization or encroached upon in the future after the removal of existing encroachments thereon, if any. The court also directed the Corporation to pay the ex-gratia solatium amount of Rs 2,000 per month to the eligible persons (about 1027 in number) until the date of issue of the possession letter by the Corporation. It further noted that the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad submits that the eligible persons, will be allotted premises on a permanent basis by end of April 2022 in habitable condition. The Supreme Court was hearing the case involving Khori Gaon Residents Welfare Association. Khori Gaon, RWA had moved the Supreme Court seeking its direction for a stay of its earlier order directing the Haryana government to demolish around 10,000 residential houses constructed illegally at Khori village in Faridabad, as it falls in the Aravali area. It had, on June 7, 2021, in its order directed the Haryana government and the other authorities concerned, to remove around 10,000 residential houses constructed illegally at Khori village in Haryana's Aravali forest area. (ANI) Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday said that parent-teacher meetings (PTM) have been celebrated like a festival for the past seven years in the national capital. His remark came during his visit to a government school in Andrews Ganj where he interacted with the students and parents during a mega parents-teacher meeting session on Saturday. While speaking to ANI, Sisodia said, "All the government schools will have parents-teacher meeting session today. For the last seven years, parent-teacher meetings (PTM) have been celebrated like a festival. Students, parents, and teachers are very excited for this day." "People are crawling back to normalcy gradually. In the coming two-three months, the entire focus will be on emotional well-being. The learning gap will be covered. Online was never a solution but a stop-gap arrangement," said Sisodia. "Children are very excited to come back after two years. We hope that the classes take place only physically and not through online mode. Children have faced a lot of loss during online classes, they missed the opportunity to interact with the teachers," said Madan Singh Rawat, father of a student studying at the school. "Parents and students are both feeling very energetic and happy after coming back to school after two years," said another parent. "It is good to come back to school after two years. Through the PTM, Children will know about their shortcomings through this PTM," said Sakshi Sharma, a student. "We are feeling very good after coming back to school after two years. Manish Sisodia sir is also here to motivate us," said another student Anju. This mega Parents Teachers Meeting (PTM) is being held in all schools under the Delhi government from April 2 to discuss the academic performance of students, who will return to classes after a gap of almost two years, the Directorate of Education (DoE) has said. The mega PTM will be held today from 8.30 am to 12.30 am in morning shift schools and 2 pm to 6 pm in evening shift schools. The Arvind-Kejriwal-led Delhi government launched mega PTM session in the year 2016 which aimed at facilitating the communication platform for teachers and parents of students. (ANI) The Delhi High Court on Friday reserved its order on the plea challenging the extradition proceedings initiated against a person of Indian origin, who is also a Portuguese Citizen, in a case of rape at a London pub in 2017. The petitioner has challenged the proceeding on the basis of judgement in the Hinduja Vs CBI case related to the Bofors corruption case. Allegations in the Hinduja case were based on the Xerox copies of documents provided to CBI by an editor of a newspaper which could not be testified by him as his source of information did not want to be disclosed. The petitioner in the present petition argued that the accompanying document of the Extradition proceeding is a Xerox, which is not authenticated, and tampered with, thus not admissible in law. Justice Asha Menon reserved the order after hearing the submissions made by the counsels for the petitioner and the Centre. Before reserving the judgement, the Court gave a prima facie view that High Court should not get into this. Advocate Arpit Batra, counsel for the petitioner placed reliance on the judgement passed by the Delhi High Court in the case title Srichand P Hinduja Vs State through CBI related to Bofors corruption case, where in the same circumstance, proceeding against the petitioners therein was quashed by the Delhi High Court. The petition moved by Jose Inacio Cota stated that on the perusal of the set of documents provided/annexed with the Extradition Petition, it is clear that none of the documents is authenticated as per the India Evidence Act. It was also argued by Advocate Barta that the names of the judges were changed and later cancelled by a pen. It is visible that originally most of the accompanying documents were to be signed by either "Angus Hamilton" who at some parts has been mentioned as "Angus Nicholas", however, strikingly, the said names were cancelled by a pen later on, and the name of One Denis Brennan was added adjacent to that with a pen, and his office was mentioned as " District Judge (Magistrate's Court). This kind of tampering with the court's documents makes its authenticity suspicious. The Counsel for the petitioner also argued that neither the Extradition petition contains a duly authenticated warrant of arrest issued by a Judge/Magistrate or other competent authority in the UK nor it is accompanied with evidence according to the law of India. It was also stated that all the documents which are accompanying the Extradition petition are Xerox copies, and not the original copies or certified copies of the originals. The signatory of such documents has not affixed the seal /stamp of its office and documents seem to be manipulated/fabricated on the face of it. On the other hand, the petition was strongly opposed by the Additional Public Prosecutor Rekha Pandey submitting that the petitioner is an accused in a rape case in the United Kingdom and not joining the enquiry in Extradition proceedings. This case is related to an alleged rape at a Pub 'Two Rivers' in Staines London on 28 May 2017 by the petitioner where he was working as a chief manager in the pub. The Extradition proceeding was initiated in 2021 at the request of the government of the United Kingdom at Patiala House Court, New Delhi. (ANI) "We are on two days tour of Gujarat. We came to the ashram to pay tribute to Gandhiji. This is my maiden visit to the Ashram after becoming the chief minister," Kejriwal told media persons here. "I come from the land of freedom fighters. The people of Gujarat are revolutionaries. I believe the people in Gujarat are ready to play a great role in the country's prosperity and security," said Mann. Assembly polls in Gujarat are slated to be held later this year. Kejriwal will be holding meetings with party leaders of the Gujarat unit on Sunday. Charged with its landslide victory in the recently held Punjab Assembly elections, AAP is seeking to expand its footprint in other states. AAP plans to contest all 182 assembly seats in Gujarat, Kejriwal had said last year. The party had made its debut in Gujarat in the 2017 assembly polls, but could not open its account. In the local bodies elections held last year in March AAP had won 42 seats.(ANI) The visit of the Ambassador of Norway has strengthened the partnership between the Indian Institute Of Technology-Roorkee, and Norway, said an official statement issued by IIT, Roorkee. Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) hosted the Ambassador of Norway Hans Jacob Frydenlund along with a delegation from the Norwegian Embassy and Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). "A boardroom meeting was held between the Norwegian delegation and the Director of IIT Roorkee along with a group of Deans and faculty members, graced by the presence of various dignitaries," said the statement. "Among them were, the Dean of Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy; Dean of Resources and Alumni Affairs; Professor M.K. Singhal, Head of Hydro and Renewable Energy; Professor Mahendra Singh, Professor N.K. Samadhiya, and Professor Priti Maheshwari from Civil Engineering; Professor Yogendra Singh from Earthquake Engineering, Professor Ranjana Pathania from Biosciences and Bioengineering; Professor Ameya Nayak from Mathematics department; Dr Rajinder Kumar Bhasin from Regional Manager Asia, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute; Ms Marit Marie Strand, Counsellor for Cooperation, Norway Embassy," it read further. There has been a long-standing research collaboration between IIT Roorkee and Norwegian Institutes. According to the statement released, "Researchers from IIT Roorkee and Norwegian Institutes have jointly published more than 80 research papers in the past 10 years. There are a number of ongoing projects between IIT Roorkee and Norwegian agencies, Norwegian Seismic Array (NORSAR), NGI, and the University of Tromso etc." "It was pointed out that there are past and ongoing collaborative research projects such as Earthquake Hazard and Risk Reduction on the Indian Subcontinent; Earthquake Risk Reduction in Himalaya with Institutional Cooperation between India and Norway; Indo-Norwegian Institutional Collaboration on Earthquake Engineering between Norwegian Seismic Array (NORSAR) and Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), Norway and IIT, ICARBA project between IIT Roorkee and the University of Tromso, Norway among others," it added. These past and current projects testify to the strong research collaboration between IIT Roorkee and Norway. Furthermore, it was stressed in the meeting that the existing collaborations between IIT Roorkee and Norwegian institutes can be leveraged to explore new areas of research partnerships. Addressing the meeting, Professor A.K. Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee, said, "Researchers from Norway and IIT Roorkee are working together on multiple projects, over a long period of time. These collaborations should be leveraged to initiate more joint activities between IIT Roorkee and Norwegian Institutes." "They could be in the form of student exchange programs, internships, faculty visits etc. Opportunities for involving Norwegian and Indian industries need to be explored. Also, faculty members from the departments other than the ones already collaborating need to be made aware of this long and productive collaboration," he added further. While thanking the Director and the faculty members for the hospitality and a very productive discussion, Frydenlund avered, "The ongoing cooperation happening between IIT Roorkee and Norwegian Institutes is a step towards building a resilient relation. He further said, "Moreover, Energy, Environment, and Renewable Energy are areas where researchers from IIT Roorkee and Norwegian institutes can look to collaborate besides rock science and tunneling technology." "Additionally, as per the Norwegian government mandate, at least 50% of the students should attend a foreign institute during their study years. Furthermore, IIT Roorkee could be a good place for students from Norway to have international exposure," said Frydenlund. Later on, the Norwegian delegation was given a tour of research facilities at the Departments of Civil Engineering and Biosciences, and Bioengineering. The members of the delegation interacted with the research scholars and students at the labs and learned about the ongoing collaborative projects. (ANI) The Bharatiya Janata Party Tamil Nadu unit president and K Annamalai has been given Y security in the wake of heightened threat perception by the Ministry of Home Affairs while he is aggressively seen working to raise the footprint of the party in the state. The "Singham" fame former IPS officer is allegedly facing threats from Maoists and religious extremists. The Union Home Ministry on Saturday ordered the 'Y' security by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for Annamalai. The move has come on the back of three petrol bombs having been hurled at the party's headquarters in Chennai in February this year. "The CRPF is requested to provide 'Y' category security cover to K Annamalai in Tamil Nadu, over and above the security cover provided to him by the State Police, till further review, under intimation to this ministry," an official statement read. As many as three petrol bombs were hurled at the Tamil Nadu BJP headquarters 'Kamalalayam' at T Nagar in Chennai in February this year. Annamalai had demanded that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) should probe the incidents of throwing bombs, besides alleging a larger conspiracy. The BJP leader Karate Thiagarajan had blamed the Tamil Nadu government for the alleged bomb attack at the state party office. Annamalai, the policeman-turned-politician took charge of the BJP's Tamil Nadu unit in July 2021. A former IPS officer from Karnataka cadre, he joined the BJP in August 2020 after quitting civil services. Notable, Annamalai was also given 'Y' security last year following the threats to his life by religious extremists when he was serving as the vice-president of the Tamil Nadu BJP unit. He also earned praises from the BJP top brass after taking the party to a credible performance in this year's civic polls. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) swept the Tamil Nadu civic polls in February 2022. However, the BJP managed to increase its vote share in the state and bagged an important seat in Chennai Corporation. (ANI) As per reports obtained by GSM Arena, the entry-level model has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and will be offered for Rs 41,999, while the upgraded version doubles the storage for Rs 44,999. If a user pre-reserves a Galaxy A73, then Samsung will provide a pair of Galaxy Buds Live true wireless earbuds for just Rs 499 instead of the usual selling price of Rs 6,990. Additionally, as a special introductory offer, a user can get up to Rs 3,000 cashback through Samsung Finance+, ICICI Bank cards, or SBI credit cards. Samsung will also host an exclusive sale event on its website on April 8 at 6 pm where other extra benefits will be available. The phone will be sold in India in three colours -- Awesome Mint, Awesome Grey, and Awesome White. The Galaxy A73, which runs Android 12, comes with a 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED screen with 120 Hz refresh rate and Gorilla Glass 5 on top, the Snapdragon 778G chipset at the helm, a 108 MP main rear camera with OIS, a 12 MP ultrawide, 5 MP depth sensor, and 5 MP macro cam on the rear, a 32 MP front-facing camera, an in-display fingerprint sensor, and a 5,000 mAh battery with support for 25W fast charging. (ANI) Haryana Cabinet Minister Anil Vij on Saturday lashed out at the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab and called them a "baccha party" (a party of kids), adding that the latter doesn't have complete knowledge of issues. This comment by Vij came a day after the Punjab Assembly on Friday passed a resolution reiterating the state's claim on Chandigarh, the capital it shares jointly with Haryana. The resolution, moved by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, was passed by the House by a voice vote in the absence of the two BJP legislators, who had staged a walkout. Speaking to reporters today, Vij said, "Punjab Government is a 'baccha party'. They don't have complete knowledge of issues. Chandigarh isn't the only issue. Many other issues are linked to it. Satluj Yamuna Link Canal, Hindi speaking areas issues...They said nothing on it. Only a single decision can be taken, whenever it happens." Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday moved a resolution in the assembly seeking the transfer of Chandigarh to the state. The resolution has been moved against Union Home Minister Amit Shah's decision to put Chandigarh under central service rule. Bhagwant Mann while reading the resolution said that this decision is a direct attack on the right of Punjab on Chandigarh. Mann read the resolution at a one-day special assembly session in Chandigarh in Punjab. On March 27, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced that the service conditions of the employees of the Chandigarh administration will now be matched to that of the Central Civil Services. This decision by the Home Minister is expected to bring big gains to the employees. (ANI) We are a Finnish company. We sell firewood in bulk to Europe on DAP terms. We are looking for permanent partners for joint work. Condemning a resolution moved in the Assembly seeking the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday demanded an apology from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. "Party chief Arvind Kejriwal should condemn it, or they should apologize to the people of Haryana. Punjab Chief Minister should also apologize to the people of Haryana. What they have done is condemnable," said Khattar. The Haryana Chief Minister further said that the Rajiv-Longowal Accord was signed 35-36 years ago and as per the Accord Chandigarh is the capital of both Haryana and Punjab. "Condemnable. They should not have done this," he said. "I had said yesterday too that there are several issues related to it," he added. He further said that if they want to do something like this, they should first go to the Supreme Court and resolve the Sutlej-Yamuna link issue. "The Hindi-speaking areas were not given to Haryana, which delayed the rest of the issues. They should say that they are ready to give Hindi-speaking areas to Haryana," he added. Khattar further asked Arvind Kejriwal to clarify his stand on the matter of the Sutlej-Yamuna link issue. "Arvind Kejriwal demands water on one side and does not want to give water on the other. So he should clarify his stand in the matter of SYN," he added. Earlier on Friday, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann moved a resolution in the assembly seeking the transfer of Chandigarh to the state. The resolution has been moved against Union Home Minister Amit Shah's decision to put Chandigarh under central service rule. Bhagwant Mann while reading the resolution said that this decision is a direct attack on the right of Punjab on Chandigarh. Mann read the resolution at a one-day special assembly session in Chandigarh in Punjab. Earlier on Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced that the service conditions of the employees of the Chandigarh administration will now be matched to that of the Central Civil Services. This decision by the Home Minister is expected to bring big gains to the employees. (ANI) It began with an art workshop today and will be followed by an interactive session with eminent doctors, teachers and art educators specialising in the field on Sunday. To highlight the creative energy of children with autism, drawings and paintings created by the participants would be on display between April 3 and April 8. Under the program, NGMA is committed to inclusivity and has worked consistently to bridge the gap between art and the common man. NGMA's program is welcoming in nature and has made a conscious effort to make, what could seem like an intimidating public space, more welcoming to neuro-diverse people. Writer and autism activist Neena Wagh, special educator Anshul Batra, counsellor Kittu Sekhon, child psychologist and psychotherapist Dr Deepinder Sekhon, disability activist Madhavi Gupta, clinical psychologists Swati Hans and Renu Goyal, art therapist Ishani Ahuja and special educator Prof Subhash Arya will lead the session. (ANI) According to the police, the van was carrying about 30 persons from a village located in a hilly region. They were going to attend a temple festival. As the van was nearing Pudutnadu, it suddenly plunged into a valley. The police said that seven persons have lost their lives while several others have been injured. The police and fire service personnel are involved in rescue efforts. --IANS vj/arm ( 109 Words) 2022-04-02-19:16:12 (IANS) Karnataka police on Saturday shot Mohammad Avez, a rowdy sheeter in the leg during an encounter. Avez is accused of attempting to rape a Nepali woman at her residence in Bengaluru. The police launched a hunt for the accused after he escaped from the custody of police when he was being taken for the medical test on Thursday. The police on Saturday came to know that the accused is hiding in Veerannapalya area and launched a search operation and finally shot him in the leg during a brief encounter. DCP (East) Bheemashankar Guled said that the accused was shot after he attacked policemen with a knife. Accused Mohammad Avez was working at a puncture shop. Presently, there are 27 serious crime cases against registered him in 18 police stations in 8 divisions of Bengaluru. He was banished from the city last year. The accused had not only come to the city violating the order, but attempted to rape a woman from Nepal when she was alone at home on Thursday. The neighbours who rushed to help after listening to her screams, caught the accused and handed him over to the police. He had been jailed 10 times before. Further investigation is on. --IANS mka/skp/ ( 216 Words) 2022-04-02-19:58:03 (IANS) Grand prayer meetings were held on Saturday by Kashmiri Pandits at the historic Durganag temple and the Mata Sharika Devi temple in Srinagar to celebrate 'Navreh', the first day of the new year, according to the Kashmiri Pandit calendar. Kashmiri Pandits held special prayers at the Mata Sharika Devi temple situated on a hillock called the 'Hari Parbat' in the middle of the old city. This was the first such prayer meeting held on Navreh at the Sharika Devi temple 32 years after the migration of the local Pandits from their native land. Before their exodus, local Pandits used to celebrate the beginning of the new year at this temple. Those who had gathered for the celebrations said the situation has improved Kashmir in the last couple of years, and the number of terror incidents have also decreased. People exuded confidence in the positive steps taken by the administration and the government and hoped to return to their homeland soon. A grand Puja was also held at the Durganag temple in Dalgate area in Srinagar where a large number of people joined the prayers held for peace, prosperity and development of humanity in general and Kashmir in particular. Murarji Kaul, trustee of the Durganag temple trust, said the main purpose of Saturday's Navreh prayers was to strengthen the traditional amity between the various communities of Kashmir. "Huge damage has been caused to this brotherhood of ours by political forces of different shades. Despite their worst doing, the bond between the Muslim majority community and the Pandit minority community remains strong and vibrant as ever, and now their is a renewed effort to further strengthen this bond," Kaul said. "Peace is gradually returning to the Valley and people are keen to safeguard the interests of the future generations. This year, Navreh coincides with the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan and this augers well for the entire population of the Valley," Kaul added. --IANS sq/arm ( 339 Words) 2022-04-02-19:58:04 (IANS) In a bid to reinforce European Security, British Air Force conducts a NATO air policing mission at Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in Romania. Four Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighters landed at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Southeast Romania on March 30 to support NATO's enhanced Air Policing in the South, said NATO's allied air command. "The deployment is a pre-planned UK operation which seeks to reinforce our commitment to European security, highlighting that NATO remains ready to counter any threat within the region," it added. On the arrival of the Typhoons, Wing Commander Dutch Holland, Officer Commanding 140 EAW, was present to watch the aircraft arrive and welcomed the pilots alongside Romanian Air Force Colonel Eduart Dodu, Commander of Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base. "140 EAW forms a key part of the UK's contribution to NATO enhanced Air Policing within the Black Sea region which will involve us operating closely without NATO partners throughout the deployment," Wing Commander Holland said. "The deployment is a pre-planned UK operation which seeks to reinforce our commitment to European security, highlighting that NATO remains ready to counter any threat within the region," he added. The present deployment is the fourth time that the RAF has deployed to Romania to undertake NATO enhanced Air Policing. Personnel from across the RAF and British Army have been deployed in Romania since early March as part of 140 EAW in preparation for the Typhoons' arrival. This deployment also offers them an opportunity to represent the RAF in support of key Romanian public engagement events. "It's a privilege to command a team of skilled RAF and British Army personnel who enable us to fulfill our purpose and effectively co-operate with our NATO Allies," said Wing Commander Holland. Previous deployments were in 2017, 2018, and 2021. The mission was instated in 2014 as NATO's response to Russia's annexation of Crimea. At this time of the "worst military aggression in Europe" for decades, the Alliance and all Allies are continuing efforts to bolster their military posture along the eastern flank shielding the region from potential aggression, said the official statement by NATO's Allied Air Command. (ANI) The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said that nearly 2.4 million people have crossed into Poland, reported NHK World. Romania follows as a destination, with about 620,000 evacuees, while Moldova has 390,000 and Hungary has 370,000. About 350,000 others have crossed into Russia by Tuesday. The UN children's agency, UNICEF, says more than 2 million children have been forced to flee Ukraine and over 2.5 million children are estimated to have been displaced inside the country, reported NHK World. Prosecutors in Ukraine said on Friday that 153 children have been killed and at least 245 others wounded due to the continued fighting. Ukraine's education ministry says 776 educational institutions such as schools were damaged by bombing and shelling, with 83 of them completely destroyed, reported NHK World. (ANI) Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that Pakistans strong establishment gave him three options to end the ongoing political turmoil in the country -- face no-trust vote in Parliament, hold fresh elections, or step down, Express Tribune reported. This he revealed in an interview with a local TV channel on Friday. "I said early elections are the best option... I could never think of resigning... and for no-trust motion, I believe that I will fight till the last minute," the premier said. Khan also claimed that he knew that a "foreign conspiracy" was being hatched in London to topple his government since August last year. "This game started in August [last year]... I received reports about people frequently visiting London from here [Pakistan]... and [also received] reports from agencies," said the premier. Khan alleged that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, who has been living in London since 2019 for medical treatment, was plotting against his government. "He [Nawaz] was frequently holding meetings with individuals who are against the military and held the last meeting with Husain Haqqani on March 3," Khan claimed. While responding to a question, Khan rubbished 'rumours' that he was mulling to de-notify army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, adding that it was a "propaganda spread by PML-N". "I can never think of doing anything which is detrimental to our armed forces... our country needs a strong military," he said. The Prime Minister said that he will never speak against the country's military. "Despite the issues, I will never discuss them publicly because Pakistan needs a strong army and we should not do anything which causes harm to the military," he added. --IANS san/arm ( 289 Words) 2022-04-01-23:18:05 (IANS) The United States on Friday (local time) imposed sanctions on five North Korean entities in response to ballistic missile tests. "The United States is sanctioning five Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DMRK) entities pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their means of delivery. Today's action is in response to the DPRK's ongoing development of its WMD and ballistic missile programs in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. According to the statement, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating the DPRK Ministry of Rocket Industry and four of its subordinate companies, Unchon Trading Corporation, Sungnisan Trading Corporation, Hapjanggang Trading Corporation, and Korea Rounsan Trading Corporation. The DPRK Ministry of Rocket Industry is subordinate to the DPRK's Munitions Industry Department, which is responsible for overseeing the DPRK's ballistic missile programs and was sanctioned by the Department of State in 2010. The DPRK Ministry of Rocket Industry works with DPRK overseas representatives from other DPRK organizations to support Ministry of Rocket Industry procurement goals, the statement said. The DPRK's escalatory launches of ballistic missiles - including at least three recent intercontinental ballistic missile tests - are a blatant violation of UNSC resolutions and pose a grave threat to regional stability and international peace and security, according to the statement. "We continue to coordinate closely with our allies and partners to address the threats posed by the DPRK's destabilizing activities and to advance our shared objective of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." "We remain committed to diplomacy with the DPRK and call on the DPRK to engage in dialogue. At the same time, we continue to urge all UN Member States to fully implement the UNSC resolutions addressing the DPRK in order to constrain its ability to advance its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs," the statement said. As a result of today's sanctions, any property or interests in property of the designated persons in the possession or control of U.S. persons or entities or within the United States must be blocked, and U.S. persons are prohibited from dealing with any of the designated parties, it added. (ANI) Daleep Singh was on a two-day visit to India from March 30-31. "This week, Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh was in New Delhi to discuss ways to deepen U.S.-India economic cooperation and advance our shared interest in a free and open Indo-Pacific," read the statement from the White House. The statement further said that Singh also "continued our close consultations with Indian counterparts about the destabilizing economic impacts of Russia's war against Ukraine". During his India visit, Singh met with Principal Secretary P.K. Mishra, Minister of Commerce and Indian G20 Sherpa Piyush Goyal, Foreign Secretary Harsh V. Shringla, Deputy National Security Advisor Vikram Misri, and Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth. "Singh consulted with Indian counterparts on the goals and mechanisms of U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia and ways to cooperate on addressing global food insecurity and global energy prices," the statement said. Singh and his counterparts also advanced ongoing discussions about the development of an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, delivering high-quality infrastructure through Build Back Better World, the development of an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, and strengthening the global economy, said the statement. The conversations were productive and both sides committed to continue their close consultations, it added. Meanwhile, India and United States are scheduled to hold 2+2 dialogue in Washington on April 11. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will meet their counterparts Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh will also have other meetings scheduled on the sidelines. (ANI) The operation was conducted on March 23-31 in the Mora area, the Agence France-Presse reported, citing the Malian military. The Malian forces also detained 51 militants and seized large number of weapons. The situation in Mali was destabilized in 2012 when the Tuareg militants seized vast territories in the northern part of the country. The conflict escalated even more over the activities of Islamists, forces loyal to former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi as well as French interference. (ANI/Xinhua) US President Joe Biden on Friday (local time) blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for rising gas and food price due to his invasion of Ukraine. In lieu of the rising prices, Biden announced the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation's strategic petroleum reserve for six months in a bid to control gas prices that have spiked after the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war that entered its 38th day today. "Putin's invasion of Ukraine has driven up gas prices and food prices all over the world. To help deal with that, yesterday I authorized the release of 1 million barrels per day for the next six months from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve," tweeted Biden. Biden said that it was not known how much gasoline prices could decline as a result of his move, but he suggested it might be "anything from 10 cents to 35 cents a gallon." "The bottom line is if we want lower gas prices we need to have more oil supply right now," Biden said. "This is a moment of consequence and peril for the world, and pain at the pump for American families," he added. Meanwhile, Pentagon announced USD 300 million more in security assistance to Ukraine. The new package means the US has now committed more than USD 2.3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of the Biden administration, according to the statement from Pentagon press secretary John Kirby. The new package includes -- Switchblade suicide drones, Anti-drone systems, Armoured vehicles, Night-vision equipment, Ammunition and more. The new package comes as Ukraine has pushed for more advanced weaponry from the US and European nations. Much of the equipment provided to Ukraine fulfils those requests, but the US has not acquiesced to some of the biggest requests, such as aircraft. The statement on security assistance is an unusual departure from past practice, in which the Pentagon and the administration have been discrete about the equipment provided. This time, the Pentagon laid out in some detail the systems and equipment that Ukraine will receive. (ANI) School closures and class cancellations were announced in 10 counties in cities due to COVID infections, reported Taiwan News. Many teachers and students were reportedly infected as new COVID cases are being reported in multiple locations across Taiwan. 39 schools have announced either the closure of the whole campus or the suspension of specific classes, reported Taiwan News. Taiwan on Friday reported 104 local COVID cases, most in 281 days, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC). CECC head Chen Shih-chung also confirmed 132 imported cases. The command centre did not report any new deaths, leaving the COVID death toll at 853. The 104 local cases reported include 45 males and 59 females ranging in age from under five to their 80s. Forty COVID cases were reported in New Taipei City, 20 in Taoyuan City, 20 in Keelung City, 12 in Taipei City, four in Changhua County, three in Hualien County, two in Taichung City, two in Kaohsiung City, and one in Hsinchu County, reported Taiwan News. The 132 imported cases include 71 males, 59 females, and two cases under investigation ranging in age from under five to their 70s. Of these, 75 tested positive upon arrival at the airport and 57 tested positive during quarantine. Since the pandemic began, Taiwan has carried out 7,033,816 COVID tests, with 7,009,862 coming back negative. Of the 23,629 confirmed cases, 7,602 were imported, 15,973 were local, 36 came from the Navy's "Goodwill Fleet," three were from a cargo pilot cluster, and one is unresolved, reported Taiwan News. (ANI) Amid increasing Chinese military activities, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday spoke out against the use of military force in the Taiwan Strait. Lee during a visit to the United States in the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine defended the status quo in the Taiwan Strait in discussion with Council on Foreign Relations, reported Taiwan News. He called for the status quo in the Taiwan Strait to be maintained. He said during a discussion hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington that military force or other non-peaceful means could not be allowed to change Taiwan's situation, the Liberty Times reported. Lee emphasized that Ukraine and Taiwan were two different cases, as Europe had the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and clear "red lines" that could not be crossed. East Asia had no such alliance, but was the site of confrontation hotspots, he said. Taiwan's status could in no way be changed by military or other non-peaceful means, as the issue not only involved the economy and strategy but also politics and the feelings of the people, Lee said. The issue could only be resolved after a long period, according to the Singaporean leader. He remarked the Russian invasion of Ukraine had touched upon several issues important to China, including sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the principle of non-interference, turning the war into a tricky question for Beijing, reported Taiwan News. Taiwan's fine balance in its relationship with China is coming under stress in recent times. China asserts that there is only "one China" and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of it. China put forward a formula, known as "one country, two systems", under which both Beijing and Taipei agree that Taiwan belongs to China, while the two still disagree on which entity is China's legitimate governing body. The tacit agreement underlying the formula is that Taiwan will not seek independence. China also stated its right to use "non-peaceful means" against Taiwan if it tried to secede from China. China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province that it has vowed to retake, by force if necessary. (ANI) Amid the fluid political situation, the Pakistani military establishment has denied the allegation of Prime Minister Imran Khan that he was given three options ahead of the no-trust vote by the "establishment" -- resignation, holding early elections or face the no-confidence motion. The military establishment said that it did not bring the Opposition's options, and rather it was the federal Government that telephoned the top brass while asking for a meeting to discuss the ongoing political scenario, The News International reported. The Chief of Pakistan Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the Directive General (DG) of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) met Pakistan PM on Wednesday at the request of the ruling government, according to The News International citing sources. During the meeting, three "options" were mutually discussed between the government and the military side. However, Khan agreed to the third option -- 'dissolving the National Assembly', sources said, adding that this was stated by the Prime Minister as workable. According to sources, after meeting the Pakistan PM, the military General and DG ISI met the Opposition and conveyed the three options that were discussed between the military and Pakistan PM. But the Opposition rejected those options, including the dissolution of the Assembly, sources said. Military leadership met the Opposition to convey the three options that were discussed with the Prime Minister and also its intention not to interfere in the political sphere. The military is staying neutral but encourages both Khan and the Opposition to sit together and discuss the economy and political stability of the country, reported The News international citing sources. Imran Khan had made the claims of having been given options during an interview to a media outlet, saying that he was offered either to resign or dissolve the Assembly or face the no-confidence motion. Meanwhile, the estranged leader of Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jahangir Khan Tareen, met Pakistan's former Finance Minister and Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar on Friday in London and discussed the upcoming no-confidence vote on Sunday and the election of the Chief Minister of Punjab, Geo News reported citing sources. The meeting comes two days after it was reported that Dar and Tareen spoke over the phone. The two leaders discussed possible ways of cooperation in Punjab and the Centre, Geo News reported. (ANI) "I'm sorry I do not discuss any of my orders as commander in chief, the leader of this state. There are things which I only share with military armed forces of Ukraine and when they talk with me," Zelenskyy said, when asked if he had ordered such an attack. "You need to understand that on that territory that you mentioned they were placing their shooting systems and were firing missiles themselves," he added. A fire broke out at a fuel depot in Belgorod on Friday, a Russian city near the Ukrainian border. Russia accused Ukraine of the attack and said that it was caused by an airstrike from Ukrainian helicopters. The Russian Ministry of Defense on Friday stated that two Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopters carried out an attack on a fuel storage facility in southern Russia. UK Defence Ministry said in the latest intelligence update that oil tanks at a depot in the Russian city of Belgorod mean probable loss of fuel and ammunition supplies to the Russian forces. The update further suggested that the Friday strike at the depot will likely add more strain to Russia's already stretched logistic chains. (ANI) Leaders of the Opposition in the National Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif accused Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan of staging a drama about 'international conspiracy' They also said the so-called 'threatening letter' received from America was another last-ditch effort of Khan to escape the no-confidence resolution against him in the name of national security threat, Pakistan newspaper Dawn reported. Addressing a presser on Friday, Sharif said, "You [Imran Khan] are doing so because your defeat is imminent on Sunday and you are seeing the writing on the wall." PML-N President claimed that the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came into power through massive rigging, but the Opposition jointly chose the constitutional and democratic way to oust him, according to Dawn. The opposition leader questioned Khan about the delay in responding to the threat letter which he waved at the public rally on March 27. "Where did you spend those three weeks? You did not take the issue to the National Security Committee and waved the letter at a public meeting on March 27," he asked. Sharif asked Khan if the 'threatening letter' was from America then why US delegations were called to the OIC meeting and why the Pakistan Foreign minister talked about celebrating 75 years of Pakistan-US of diplomatic relations. He claimed that the Imran Khan government had also strained their relationship with China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Dawn reported. Meanwhile, the Pakistani military establishment denied the allegation of Prime Minister Imran Khan that he was given three options ahead of the no-trust vote by the "establishment" -- resignation, holding early elections or facing the no-confidence motion. The military establishment said that it did not bring the Opposition's options, and rather it was the federal Government that telephoned the top brass while asking for a meeting to discuss the ongoing political scenario, The News International reported. During the meeting, three "options" were mutually discussed between the government and the military side. However, Khan agreed to the third option -- 'dissolving the National Assembly', sources said, adding that this was stated by the Prime Minister as workable. (ANI) Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Saturday laid a wreath and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat. The Prime Minister is on a three-day India visit. He met Prime Minister Narendra Modi today at Hyderabad house in Delhi. A day earlier, Deuba met Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda at the party headquarters on Friday and discussed strengthening the ties between the Nepali Congress and the BJP. The Nepal PM was accompanied by his wife Arzu Deuba, Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka, Energy and Water Resources Minister Pampha Bhusal and Health Minister Mahendra Rai Yadav during the meeting. PM Deuba was attending the meeting at the invitation of BJP President JP Nadda. The discussion was held in a cordial environment and political ideas were also exchanged, BJP Foreign cell head Dr Vijay Chauthaiwale informed about the meeting. The two leaders discussed exchange programs involving youth exchange as well as women delegation exchange and said that they will take forward 'party-to-party' dialogues between the BJP and the Nepali Congress. After meeting BJP President, Nepal PM met the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla in Delhi. The Nepal PM arrived in New Delhi on Friday, to kickstart his first visit to the country since assuming office in July last year. Nepal's Prime Minister is visiting India at the invitation of PM Modi.Besides official engagements in New Delhi, the Nepal PM will visit Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. In a press statement, the MEA said India and Nepal enjoy age-old special ties of friendship and cooperation. The last Head of State/Head of Government-level visit from Nepal was in May 2019, when then PM K P Oli visited India for the swearing-in ceremony of PM Narendra Modi and the Union Council of Ministers. Before that PM Modi had visited Nepal in August 2018 for the 4th BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu, which was preceded by a State Visit to Nepal in May 2018. Sher Bahadur Deuba is a veteran politician of the Nepali Congress with a political career spanning over seven decades. This is Deuba's fifth tenure as PM. His first term was from September 1995 to March 1997. He has visited India several times, both when in and out of power. This will be his fifth visit to India as PM, with the last visit being in August 2018. The previous three visits took place in 2004, 2002 and 1996. (ANI) Imran Khan is himself "conspiring" against Pakistan as his actions have put the country, grappling with an economic crisis, in a difficult spot as relations with America have come under further strain and despite a recent visit to Moscow, the Prime Minister has failed to secure Russia's support. Speaking to London-based Kashmiri leader Shabir Choudhry at an event here on Saturday, an expert on the geopolitical situation of India and Pakistan highlighted the true face of the Pakistani Prime Minister. "Imran Khan is conspiring against Pakistan", Choudhry said. "Imran Khan has challenged the US in many ways - America did not ask for military bases during the Afghanistan war but he (Imran Khan) provoked it, later he requested for a phone call, then the remarks made by him in Russia, especially at a time when Moscow was all set to attack Ukraine. Now he is talking about some letter....," the speaker said. Comparing India's stand with Pakistan, the geopolitical expert claimed that Delhi managed to obtain oil from Russia at discounted rates, while the Pakistan Prime Minister despite travelling to Moscow could not do anything for the betterment of the country. "India is taking enjoying its relations with Russia as it got a discount on oil. But it is a matter of thinking that what Imran Khan has got from Russia trip," he said. He added that Imran Khan wants to become a Siasi Shaheed (Political Martyr). Dismissing Minister Imran Khan's claim of a "death threat", the expert said that America has not issued any threat. Earlier, he said "I don't care if I die, but now he said, "my life is in danger." Pakistan Prime Minister ahead of a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly, said he has credible information that his "life is in danger". He said not only his life was in danger but the Opposition, which is playing in foreign hands, will also resort to his character assassination, Khan said in an interview with ARY News. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba met and held delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Saturday. "Wide-ranging talks on our multifaceted partnership are on the agenda," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. This is Prime Minister Deuba's first bilateral visit abroad since assuming office for the fifth time in July last year. Deuba, who is accompanied by a high level delegation. is visiting India at the invitation of PM Modi. Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi informed that the wide-ranging talks between India and Nepal's multifaceted partnership are on the agenda during the meeting. "Working together to take India-Nepal relations to newer heights. The meeting between PM @narendramodi and PM @SherBDeuba of Nepal gets underway. Wide-ranging talks on our multifaceted partnership are on the agenda," Bagchi tweeted. Earlier in the day, the Nepal PM paid respects to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in New Delhi. Yesterday, Nepal Prime Minister met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla in the national captial. Earlier, he met Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) President JP Nadda at the party headquarters in a courtesy meeting. "Had a courtesy meeting with Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba today. India and Nepal are not just neighbours but are very close to each other even from religious, cultural, linguistic and historic viewpoints," Nadda said in a tweet. The last Head of State/Head of Government-level visit from Nepal was in May 2019, when then PM K P Oli visited India for the swearing-in ceremony of PM Narendra Modi and the Union Council of Ministers. Before that PM Modi had visited Nepal in August 2018 for the 4th BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu, which was preceded by a State Visit to Nepal in May 2018. PM Modi had extended a congratulatory message to Sher Bahadur Deuba soon after he won the Vote of Confidence in Nepal's Parliament. This was followed by a congratulatory telephonic conversation on 19 July 2021. The most recent meeting between PM Modi and Sher Bahadur Deuba took place on November 2, 2021, on the sidelines of COP 26 in Glasgow. Sher Bahadur Deuba is a veteran politician of the Nepali Congress with a political career spanning over seven decades. This is Deuba's fifth tenure as PM. His first term was from September 1995 to March 1997. He has visited India several times, both when in and out of power. This will be his fifth visit to India as PM, with the last visit being in August 2018. The previous three visits took place in 2004, 2002 and 1996. (ANI) This announcement followed talks held in London between former senior PML-N leader and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar with the PTI's estranged leader, Tareen. The two sides discussed the upcoming voting for the no-confidence motion against Pakistan's ruling party led by Prime Minister Imran Khan scheduled on Sunday and also discussed the election of Pakistan's Punjab province chief minister, Geo TV reported citing sources. Meanwhile, all efforts of Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) leader Moonis Elahi went in vain as they wanted Tahreen to support Pervaiz Elahi as Punjab CM. Just a few minutes before Tareen made the announcement, Moonis had a four-hour-long meeting with Tareen and other lawmakers who are associated with Tahreen but the meeting did not end on a positive note, according to Geo TV. Punjab province Governor, Chaudhry Muhamad Sarwar accepted the resignation of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Friday, after the PTI announced to support PML-Q in Punjab province. Following the acceptance of the resignation, the Punjab cabinet was dissolved, reported Geo TV. The Joint Opposition had submitted a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar in the Punjab Assembly, citing that they had been "dissatisfied with his performance." Sarwar sought approval from Imran Khan before taking his final decision, sources said, adding that he has summoned a session of the Punjab Assembly today (April 2) to elect the new leader of the House, reported Geo TV. (ANI) Speaking at India-Australia Economic Cooperation & Trade Agreement virtual signing ceremony today, the Union Minister said that both India and Australia supported each other during the COVID-19 pandemic. "India-Australia are natural partners, connected by shared values of democracy, rule of law and transparency. Like two brothers, the two nations supported each other during the pandemic," he said. Piyush Goyal also said the relationship between the countries rests on the pillars of trust and reliability. "Our relationship rests on the pillars of trust and reliability. Aptly reflected in our deepening geostrategic engagement through the Quad and the supply chain resilience initiatives" he said. Union Minister noted that India and Australia signed the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA). Recalling Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's words when he visited Australia in 2014, Goyal said: "I see a great future of the partnership between India and Australia and a shared commitment to realising it." India signed a massive historic trade deal with Australia, aiming to boost economic ties between the two countries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement is a "watershed moment" for bilateral ties. The interim free trade deal aims to eliminate 85 per cent tariffs on Australian goods exported to India. "Consensus on such an important agreement in such a short period of time shows the mutual trust between the two countries. This is truly a watershed moment for our bilateral relations," PM Modi said at a virtual signing ceremony of the agreement. He added that the newly signed trade deal will contribute to the increasing supply chains resilience and stability of the Indo-Pacific region. (ANI) Provincial officials of Helmand said that the incident took place on Friday in the Marja district of the province, reported The Khaama Press. The artillery exploded as children were busy playing with it. Member of former provincial council Abdullah said that two wounded are under treatment in the health centre of Marja district. Unexploded pieces, artillery, and rockets still claim the lives of tens of civilians mostly children every year across Afghanistan. (ANI) Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif has called on the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration to ensure the security of every Member of the National Assembly (MNA) irrespective of party affiliation referring to Prime Minister Imran Khan's statement to gather 100,000 supporters outside the Parliament House on Sunday when voting will be held on the no-confidence motion. In a letter addressed to the Chief Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner (DC) and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad, Shehbaz Sharif sought complete security for all MNAs who would be voting on Sunday (April 3), reported Dawn. "It is your constitutional and legal duty and responsibility to ensure full security/protection to all MNAs, irrespective of political affiliation, when they attend the National Assembly for exercising their right to vote on the resolution for a vote of no-confidence against the prime minister under Article 95(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan," wrote Sharif. He said the National Assembly was scheduled to meet on Sunday at 11:30 am when voting on the above-mentioned resolution would be held. Referring to Prime Minister Imran Khan's conversation with media representatives on March 29 during which he said 100,000 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) supporters would gather outside the Parliament House on the day of the voting, the opposition leader, in his letter, said any such gathering would be in blatant violation of the additional district magistrate's order dated March 18 that prohibits the gathering of five or more persons inside the Red Zone under Section 144 of the CrPC. The letter further said any such gathering would inevitably provoke other parties to bring their own supporters for self-protection, which might lead to bloodshed and chaos, reported Dawn. Shehbaz Sharif said the onus was on the capital administration to enforce the law and ensure safe passage to all MNAs to and from the National Assembly on Sunday (April 3) when the resolution was voted upon, adding that security arrangements must be fool proof as no negligence or any excuse of inadequate preparation would be accepted as in the Sindh House incident. Speaking on condition of anonymity, officers of the capital administration and police told Dawn that the prevailing political situation had put prominent leaders of the opposition parties, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) as well as dissident PTI members and lawmakers from the former coalition partners under severe threat. "Their security is at high risk, especially after a call was given to PTI activists and members to reach Islamabad on the day of the no-confidence vote scheduled for Sunday," the officials added. Meanwhile, a dissident MNA from PTI has accused Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan of creating an "Afghanistan-like situation" after an audio of the chief minister got leaked in which he can be heard directing cabinet members and party MPAs to stage protests and carry photographs of those PTI parliamentarians who had switched sides, reported Dawn. In the leaked audio, the chief minister was heard asking cabinet members and MPAs to take out rallies across the province to show solidarity with the prime minister and against 18 dissident MNAs as well as the US after Friday prayers. "This is an order from the prime minister and he had called me to tell the ministers and MPAs to take out rallies in their respective constituencies against the MNAs who ditched the party," the chief minister is heard telling cabinet colleagues and MPAs in a voice message, reported Dawn. "Chant slogans against the traitors (MNAs) who have sold themselves out, find their portraits and also raise slogans against America," he said. Protests were also held in various parts of the country against the letter in which PM Khan was threatened. Talking to Dawn, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan owned the voice message but clarified that his message was for staging peaceful rallies. "Yes, I directed my ministers and party workers to take out peaceful rallies after Friday prayers," he said. Pakistan is in political turmoil after the Opposition brought a no-trust vote against Imran Khan. Moreover, Khan lost the majority on Wednesday after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) -- the ruling PTI's main ally -- announced that it would support the joint opposition in the no-trust resolution. The MQM-P has seven seats in the National Assembly and after its decision to part ways with the government, the opposition has the support of 177 MNAs, five more than the 172 required to gain a majority. Khan's government survival depends on the support of allies such as MQM-P (7 seats), BAP (5 seats), PML(Q) (5 seats), GDA (3 seats), AML (1 seat), JWP (1 seat) and two independents. (ANI) Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that the signing of the India-Australia trade agreement will further deepen economic relations between Canberra and Delhi while opening a big door into the world's fastest-growing major economy. Speaking at India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement virtual signing ceremony on Saturday, the Australian PM said that this deal is the single largest government investment in Canberra's relationship with Delhi. "This agreement opens a big door into the world's fastest-growing major economy for Australian farmers, manufacturers, producers and so many more," he said. India and Australia signed a massive historic trade deal aiming to boost economic ties between the two countries. "The pace and scale of our cooperation since we announced our comprehensive, strategic partnership has been remarkable. Some US$ 282 million in new initiatives that my Government has announced, including at the Summit, will drive our expanding cooperation," Morrison said during the virtual event. "This is the single largest Australian government investment in our relationship with India, but it won't be the last and now marks another milestone in that relationship. The signing of the India Australia agreement further develops on the promise of our economic relationship," he added. The Australian Prime Minister further said: "By unlocking the huge market of around 1.4 billion consumers in India, we are strengthening the economy and growing jobs right here at home." "This agreement has been built on our strong security partnership and our joint efforts in the Quad, which has created the opportunity for our economic relationship to advance to a new level," he added. The deal with India removes tariffs on more than 85 per cent of Australian goods exported to India, worth USD 12.6 billion, rising to almost 91 per cent over 10 years. Tariffs will be scrapped on sheep meat, wool, copper, coal, alumina, fresh Australian rock lobster, and some critical minerals and non-ferrous metals to India. It will also see 96 per cent of Indian goods' imports enter Australia duty-free. (ANI) With aims to take India-Nepal relations to new heights, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepali counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba on Saturday launched multiple projects to boost connectivity between the two countries. Both PMs first inaugurated a 35-km long cross-border rail link from Jayanagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Nepal and also a passenger train service built under India's Grant Assistance in a joint address at Hyderabad House. Deuba is on a three-day India visit. "PM Deuba and I also agreed to give priority to trade and cross-border connectivity initiatives in all respects. The beginning of the Jayanagar-Kurtha rail line is part of this initiative. Such schemes will make a great contribution to the smooth, hassle-free exchange of people between the two countries," said PM Modi. They also jointly inaugurated "Solu Corridor 132 KV Power Transmission Line and Substation" in Nepal built under the Government of India's Line of Credit. "We also agreed on the subject of greater participation by Indian companies in Nepal's hydropower development plans. It is a matter of happiness that Nepal is exporting its surplus power to India. It will contribute well to the economic progress of Nepal," added PM Modi. Along with the above-mentioned projects, documents and MoUs were signed and exchanged between India and Nepal in the presence of PM Modi and Nepal's PM Deuba. "PM Deuba is an old friend of India. As the PM, this is his fifth visit to India. He has played an important role in developing India-Nepal relations. The friendship between India and Nepal, relations between our people is an example that can't be seen anywhere else in the world. Our civilization, culture, and the threads of our exchange have been linked since ancient times. We have been companions of each other's happiness and sorrow since time immemorial," said PM Modi. Both leaders also jointly launched RuPay in Nepal. "The introduction of RuPay card in Nepal will add a new chapter to our financial connectivity. Other projects like Nepal Police Academy, Integrated Check Post in Nepalganj, Ramayana Circuit etc. will also bring the two countries closer," said PM Modi. Meanwhile, Nepal also became a member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). "I am very happy that Nepal has become a member of the International Solar Alliance. This will promote sustainable, affordable and clean energy in our region," said PM Modi. Talking about the "Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project (PMP)" to be developed in Mahakali River bordering Nepal and India, PM Modi said, "Our joint vision statement on power cooperation will prove to be a blueprint for future cooperation. We emphasized the importance of moving ahead at a fast pace in the Pancheshwar project. This project will prove to be a game-changer for the development of this region." He also stated that the two countries discussed various aspects of cooperation, besides reviewing the progress of projects and also discussed the blueprint of the future. Both of us agree that we must reap the benefits of the opportunities for cooperation in the power sector, he added. PM Modi further reiterated India's firm support in Nepal's journey of peace, prosperity and development. (ANI) Former Sri Lanka Ambassador to the US, Jaliya Chitran Wickramasuriya, on Saturday pleaded guilty to defrauding the Lankan government. Zulfick Farzan, writing in Sri Lankan publication 'News 1st' said that Jaliya Chitran Wickramasuriya, 61, of Arlington, Virginia attempted to misappropriate USD 332,027during the Sri Lankan government's 2013 purchase of a new embassy building in Washington. An investigation led by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Washington, field office led to a guilty plea by Wickramasuriya for diverting and attempting to embezzle funds from the government of Sri Lanka. Wickramasuriya served as an ambassador for the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the United States and to Mexico from 2008 to 2014. He pleaded guilty in the US District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The charge carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and potential financial penalties reported 'News 1st'. According to court documents, Wickramasuriya devised a scheme to defraud the government of Sri Lanka by inflating the price of the real estate transaction by USD 332,027 and, at closing, diverting those funds from the government to two companies that had no role in the real estate transaction. "Wickramasuriya attempted to use the position of authority to defraud his own government and steal from the people he represented," said Special Agent in Charge Ray Villanueva of HSI Washington. "He did not expect the American authorities to get involved and call on HSI Washington to investigate. Today he begins the process of paying for his crimes," he added. The HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. (ANI) Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba hailed his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi's leadership, saying Kathmandu has seen his visionary and effective management of the COVID-19 pandemic while also receiving the first vaccine aid as well as medicines, equipment and logistics. The two Prime Ministers jointly launched multiple projects which are likely to boost connectivity between the two countries while they expressed hope that the key initiatives being taken by them would take India-Nepal relations to new heights. "I admire the progress that India is making under the visionary leadership of PM Modi. We've seen India's effective management in battling COVID-19 and Nepal received the first vaccine aid from India as well as medicines, medical equipment and logistics to combat the virus," he said. He further said that both the countries had friendly talks and fruitful discussions on various aspects of India-Nepal relations. "We had friendly talks and fruitful discussions on various aspects of India-Nepal relations. We shared our perspectives on further strengthening our friendly ties," he said at Hyderabad House. Both PMs first inaugurated a 35-km long cross-border rail link from Jayanagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Nepal and also a passenger train service built under India's Grant Assistance in a joint address at Hyderabad House. Deuba is on a three-day India visit. "PM Deuba and I also agreed to give priority to trade and cross-border connectivity initiatives in all respects. The beginning of the Jayanagar-Kurtha rail line is part of this initiative. Such schemes will make a great contribution to the smooth, hassle-free exchange of people between the two countries," said PM Modi. They also jointly inaugurated "Solu Corridor 132 KV Power Transmission Line and Substation" in Nepal built under the Government of India's Line of Credit. "PM Deuba is an old friend of India. As the PM, this is his fifth visit to India. He has played an important role in shaping India-Nepal relations. The friendship between India and Nepal, relations between our people is an example that can't be seen anywhere else in the world. Our civilization, culture, and the threads of our exchange have been linked since ancient times. We have been companions of each other's happiness and sorrow since time immemorial," said PM Modi. Both leaders also jointly launched RuPay in Nepal. Talking about the "Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project (PMP)" to be developed in Mahakali River bordering Nepal and India, PM Modi said, "Our joint vision statement on power cooperation will prove to be a blueprint for future cooperation. We emphasized the importance of moving ahead at a fast pace in the Pancheshwar project. This project will prove to be a game-changer for the development of this region." He also stated that the two countries discussed various aspects of cooperation, besides reviewing the progress of projects and also discussed the blueprint of the future. Both of us agree that we must reap the benefits of the opportunities for cooperation in the power sector, he added. PM Modi further reiterated India's firm support in Nepal's journey of peace, prosperity and development. (ANI) President Ram Nath Kovind and his Turkmenistan counterpart Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow on Saturday held delegation-level talks at Oguzhar palace Ashgabat and exchanged views on various issues including regional and international. "During meeting with Turkmenistan President, we held a detailed discussion on the state and prospects of bilateral relations. We also exchanged views on various regional and international issues of importance. We have agreed to intensify efforts to further strengthen our multifaceted partnership," President Kovind said in a joint statement on Saturtday. Expressing gratitude to the President of Turkmenistan for the warm welcome and generous hospitality, President Kovind said this gesture reflects the "vibrancy of the friendship between our two great nations." He added that it is the first-ever visit by a President of India to Turkmenistan, and also one of the first visits hosted by the new and young leader of Turkmenistan. Speaking about the other milestone, President Kovind said that "we mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Turkmenistan. We have good reasons to be satisfied with the development of our multifaceted bilateral ties over the last three decades, and especially in the last decade". In a joint statement, President Kovind said that economic relations strengthen bilateral ties. "We agreed to do more to expand bilateral trade which has remained modest. Our business communities must deepen their engagement, understand each other's regulations and identify new areas of trade and investment," he said, adding that the MoU between the Financial Intelligence Unit of India and Financial Monitoring Service of Turkmenistan signed today would strengthen the framework of economic cooperation between the two countries. Asserting that connectivity is critical for any trading arrangement, President Kovind highlighted the significance of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the Ashgabat Agreement on the international transport and transit corridor. He pointed out that the Chabahar port built by India in Iran could be used to improve trade between India and Central Asia. "Cooperation in energy was one of the key areas of our discussions today. On the TAPI pipeline, I suggested that issues related to the security of the pipeline and key business principles may be addressed in technical and expert level meetings" said in the Joint statement. President Kovind also said that both India and Turkmenistan identified new areas of cooperation such as disaster management on which we have signed an MoU today. I conveyed India's readiness to partner with Turkmenistan in its drive towards digitalisation, he said, adding that space can be another area of mutually beneficial cooperation. "Our countries share centuries-old civilizational and cultural linkages. During the talks, I underlined the importance of holding regular cultural events in each other's territory. I am sure the Programme of Cooperation on Culture and Arts for the period 2022-25, signed today, will give direction to our cultural cooperation" he said in the joint statement President Kovind said that Turkmenistan is an important partner for India in the India-Central Asia Summit framework, the first of which India hosted virtually in January this year. "We agreed to further enhance cooperation under the framework flowing from the India-Central Asia Summit," he added. Mentioning Afghanistan, Kovind also said that as immediate neighbours of Afghanistan, our countries are naturally concerned about the developments within that country and their external repercussions. "We share a broad 'regional consensus' on the issues related to Afghanistan, which includes the formation of a truly representative and inclusive government, combating terrorism and drug trafficking, the central role of the UN, providing immediate humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan and preserving the rights of women, children and other national ethnic groups and minorities," he added. (ANI) Indian Oil Corporation subsidiary in Sri Lanka on Saturday has supplied 6,000 MT of fuel to the Ceylon Electricity Board, to help ease the power crisis in the island country which is witnessing acute power cuts. The consignment of fuel is part of US 500 million oil line of credit extended by India. "Standing with #Srilanka!!! @LankaIOCPLC supplied 6000 MT of fuel to the Ceylon Electricity Board today," the High Commission of India in Colombo posted today. The island nation is reeling from the worst economic crisis since its independence. Triggered by a lack of foreign exchange, apart from fuel shortages and power outages there is also a severe shortage of essential commodities like cooking gas, food and medicines. Petrol and diesel have are not been available in many places since Thursday.Moreover, trading on the Colombo Stock Exchange had to be restricted for half to two hours. Non-essential employees in the office have been asked to work from home till further notice, in a bid to save fuel. On Friday, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a nationwide public emergency, after protestors angry over shortages of fuel and other essential commodities gathered outside his residence clashed with police. At least 10 people were injured including journalists. Sri Lanka's economy has been in a free fall since the COVID-19 pandemic due to the crash of the tourism sector. (ANI) By Trend Uzbekistan's Fly Khiva Group LLC airline together with Azerbaijan Airlines CJSC (AZAL) will open direct flights on the Baku-Tashkent-Baku route once a week from April 2, 2022, Trend reports. According to the AZAL schedule, the aircraft leaving Baku at 22:00 (GMT+4) will arrive in Tashkent at 01:25 (GMT+5). The arrival time for the flight departing from Tashkent at 02:45 (GMT+5) to Baku is at 04:35 (GMT+4). The flights are expected to be carried out twice a week (on Wednesdays and Saturdays) from May 4. Pakistan's Punjab Assembly Secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti on Saturday said that voting for electing the new Punjab Chief Minister (CM) would not take place on Saturday. Addressing the media, Bhatti said that in today's assembly, a new date for the election of Punjab Province CM would be issued and "there will be no [other] proceeding," Dawn reported. Bhatti did not give any reason behind postponing the voting but did say that it was the assembly Speaker's right to set the date for voting. Earlier, the voting for the new leader of the Punjab province was scheduled to begin at 11 am on Saturday. Punjab province Governor, Chaudhry Muhamad Sarwar accepted the resignation of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Friday, after the PTI announced to support PML-Q in Punjab province.Following the acceptance of the resignation, the Punjab cabinet was dissolved, reported Geo TV on Friday. The Joint Opposition had submitted a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister of Punjab Usman Buzdar in the Punjab Assembly, citing that they had been "dissatisfied with his performance." Sarwar sought approval from Imran Khan before taking his final decision, sources said, adding that he has summoned a session of the Punjab Assembly on Saturday to elect the new leader of the House, reported Geo TV. Earlier today, the estranged leader of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jahangir Khan Tareen said that he will support the Opposition's joint candidate, Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader Hamza Shahbaz for the position of Punjab's Chief Minister slot. This step was another shock for Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan as PTI announced that they will support Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) in Punjab province. This announcement followed talks held in London between former senior PML-N leader and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar with the PTI's estranged leader, Tareen. The two sides discussed the upcoming voting for the no-confidence motion against Pakistan's ruling party led by Prime Minister Imran Khan scheduled on Sunday and also discussed the election of Pakistan's Punjab province chief minister, Geo TV reported citing sources. Meanwhile, all efforts of Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) leader Moonis Elahi went in vain as they wanted Tahreen to support Pervaiz Elahi as Punjab CM. Just a few minutes before Tareen made the announcement, Moonis had a four-hour-long meeting with Tareen and other lawmakers who are associated with Tahreen but the meeting did not end on a positive note, according to Geo TV. (ANI) The legal wing of the Pakistan government has warned Prime Minister Imran Khan against sharing classified Foreign Office documents, saying it can lead to serious consequences like the premier's lifetime disqualification as a member of parliament, reported local media. According to the sources, Imran Khan had sought legal advice from the official legal wing on the Foreign Office cypher wherein he claimed that a foreign country had sent a threatening message through Pakistan's envoy, reported The Express Tribune. However, the legal wing has warned Imran Khan against sharing the diplomatic cypher that comes under the purview of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, according to which neither the sender could share it with anyone nor the receiver (PM) could make it public, the media outlet reported citing sources. Further, if the premier shares the diplomatic cypher, it would be considered a violation of his oath, following which he may be disqualified for life under Article 62(1)(f) of the country's Constitution. This comes at a time when Imran Khan on Thursday reiterated his claims of "foreign conspiracy" in the country, saying that a foreign nation is trying to oust him over the "independent" foreign policy choices made by him. Addressing the people of Pakistan, ahead of the no-confidence motion, Imran claimed a foreign nation sent a message that Imran Khan needs to be removed else the country will suffer consequences." "The United States", Imran Khan said in a slip of the tongue and then stated that "a foreign country" had sent a "threatening memo" which was against the Pakistani nation."On March 8 or before that on March 7, the US sent us a...not the US but a foreign country sent us a message. The reason why I am talking about this...for an independent country to receive such a message... this is against me and the country," he said. Notably, Imran Khan had earlier said that he will share the 'foreign-funded conspiracy' letter with senior journalists and ally party members which has evidence that outside elements are trying to topple the government. Following this, the Islamabad High Court had barred the premier from making public the details of a 'threatening' or 'secret document' as it would lead to a violation of his oath taken by him under the constitution. Meanwhile, in Pakistan's National Assembly, the no-trust vote against the Imran Khan government was deferred to April 3. The proceedings of the National Assembly were adjourned till April 3 soon after it met on Thursday to discuss the no-confidence motion. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba undertook a wide-ranging discussion during the latter's India visit, including a brief deliberation on the border dispute between the two countries, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla informed in a press briefing on Saturday. "There was a general understanding that both sides needed to address this in a responsible manner through discussion and dialogue in the spirit of our close and friendly relations and politicisation of such issues need to be avoided," Shringla said. Shringla was addressing a briefing on the three-day visit of the Nepal Prime Minister to India that began on Friday. Saying that the security-related issues such as the border dispute were discussed briefly, Shringla said, "essentially there was a sense that it (the boundary issue) should be addressed through discussion and dialogue." Further elaborating on the boundary question, the Foreign Secretary said, "Between any two countries there are a number of issues that are always outstanding... I think what is important between two close and friendly neighbours is that you have the ability to sit down and discuss and sort out these issues in a manner that is satisfactory to both sides." "We have sorted land and maritime boundary issues with Bangladesh. Similarly, there is a mechanism to resolve this. We have no doubt we will find a way to sort out these issues," the Foreign Secretary added. Tensions between New Delhi and Kathmandu arose last year after the issuance of the revised political map by Nepal as India had included the tri-junction in its map issued in November 2019. Diplomatic ties between the nations worsened after the inauguration of a road linking Kailash Mansarovar via Lipulekh on May 8, 2020, after which Nepal handed over a diplomatic note to India objecting to the move. New Delhi had called Nepal's move a "unilateral act" and cautioned Kathmandu that such "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims will not be acceptable to it. Foreign Secretary Shringla also elaborated on the other aspects of the discussion between the countries, as well as the significance of the ongoing visit. "He arrived yesterday, this is his first bilateral visit abroad since he assumed the office of PM in July last year. This is PM Deuba's landmark 5th visit to India in his capacity as PM. He had visited India in each of his previous terms with his last such visit taking place in August 2017," Shringla said. "Our relations with Nepal occupy a very special place in our Neighbourhood First policy... It is a unique relationship, characterised by open borders, people-to-people of kinship and culture which have very few parallels in the world," he added. On the cooperation between the two countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, Shringla informed that the Nepal PM thanked India for the support extended during the pandemic. "PM Deuba thanked India for standing by Nepal during the COVID pandemic and supporting the country with the supply of essential vaccines, liquid medical oxygen, medicines and equipment... He also appreciated efforts to keep the bilateral ties and supply chains running unhindered during the hype of the pandemic," Foreign Secretary informed. The visit of PM Deuba led to several positive outcomes in the bilateral cooperation between the two countries including cooperation in the power sector, the Launch of the RuPay card in Nepal, technical cooperation in railways including the launch of the first cross-border passenger train service between India's Jayanagar and Nepal's Kurtha, and Nepal joining the International Solar Alliance, Foreign Secretary informed. Yesterday, Nepal Prime Minister met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla in the national capital. Earlier, he met Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) President JP Nadda at the party headquarters in a courtesy meeting. The last Head of State/Head of Government-level visit from Nepal was in May 2019, when then PM K P Oli visited India for the swearing-in ceremony of PM Narendra Modi and the Union Council of Ministers. Before that PM Modi had visited Nepal in August 2018 for the 4th BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu, which was preceded by a State Visit to Nepal in May 2018. PM Modi had extended a congratulatory message to Sher Bahadur Deuba soon after he won the Vote of Confidence in Nepal's Parliament. This was followed by a congratulatory telephonic conversation on 19 July 2021. The most recent meeting between PM Modi and Sher Bahadur Deuba took place on November 2, 2021, on the sidelines of COP 26 in Glasgow. Sher Bahadur Deuba is a veteran politician of the Nepali Congress with a political career spanning over seven decades. This is Deuba's fifth tenure as PM. His first term was from September 1995 to March 1997. He has visited India several times, both when in and out of power. This will be his fifth visit to India as PM, with the last visit being in August 2018. The previous three visits took place in 2004, 2002 and 1996. (ANI) Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Saturday said that the inauguration of a cross-border rail link between India and Nepal has fulfilled a longstanding demand of the people of both countries. While addressing a press conference, following the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Shringla said, "It will fulfill a longstanding demand of the people of both sides of the border for resumption of cross-border passenger train services." Shringla stated that the meeting had led to "important outcomes in the area of connectivity." The Foreign Secretary further said, "It is a historic day in many ways for the people of India and Nepal. The first passenger train on the first cross-border broad gauge rail link was jointly flagged off by the two Prime Ministers. The inaugural passenger service Jaynagar which is in the state of Bihar to Kurtha in Nepal will now connect the two countries via rail in addition to road and air links," he added. Notably, both PMs first inaugurated a 35-km long cross-border rail link from Jayanagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Nepal and also a passenger train service built under India's Grant Assistance in a joint address at Hyderabad House. Deuba is on a three-day India visit. "PM Deuba and I also agreed to give priority to trade and cross-border connectivity initiatives in all respects. The beginning of the Jayanagar-Kurtha rail line is part of this initiative. Such schemes will make a great contribution to the smooth, hassle-free exchange of people between the two countries," said PM Modi. PM Modi further reiterated India's firm support in Nepal's journey of peace, prosperity and development. (ANI) Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba extended his thanks to India for medical and economic assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla informed on Saturday. Shringla was addressing a special briefing on the three-day visit of the Nepal Prime Minister to India that began on Friday. "PM Deuba thanked India for standing by Nepal during the COVID pandemic and supporting the country with the supply of essential vaccines, liquid medical oxygen, medicines and equipment," the Foreign Secretary said talking about the meeting between the Nepalese Prime Minister and Narendra Modi. "He (PM Deuba) also appreciated efforts to keep the bilateral ties and supply chains running unhindered during the peak of the pandemic," Foreign Secretary added. The Foreign Secretary also mentioned the economic relations between the two countries, as well as the India-assisted projects in Nepal. "Despite the pandemic, there have been many meetings, various bilateral mechanisms, and trade and commerce continue to flow... Indian assisted projects in Nepal also have made steady progress," Shringla said. The Nepal PM had earlier during his meeting with PM Modi had hailed India's COVID-19 response. "I admire the progress that India is making under the visionary leadership of PM Modi. We've seen India's effective management in battling COVID-19 and Nepal received the first vaccine aid from India as well as medicines, medical equipment and logistics to combat the virus," he had said. Foreign Secretary Shringla also elaborated on the other aspects of the discussion between the countries, as well as the significance of the ongoing visit. "The two Prime Ministers held wide-ranging discussions marked by warmth and cordiality. The two leaders reviewed the entire spectrum of the bilateral agenda between India and Nepal covering political, economic, trade, energy security and developmental issues," Shringla said. The two leaders also briefly discussed the boundary dispute between India and Nepal, with an understanding that such issues need to be solved through dialogue and deliberations, and politicisation of the boundary issue needs to be avoided. "There was a general understanding that both sides needed to address this in a responsible manner through discussion and dialogue in the spirit of our close and friendly relations and politicisation of such issues need to be avoided," Shringla said. The visit of PM Deuba led to several positive outcomes in the bilateral cooperation between the two countries including cooperation in the power sector, the Launch of the RuPay card in Nepal, technical cooperation in railways including the launch of the first cross-border passenger train service between India's Jayanagar and Nepal's Kurtha, and Nepal joining the International Solar Alliance, Foreign Secretary informed. Yesterday, Nepal Prime Minister met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla in the national capital. Earlier, he met Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) President JP Nadda at the party headquarters in a courtesy meeting. The last Head of State/Head of Government-level visit from Nepal was in May 2019, when then PM K P Oli visited India for the swearing-in ceremony of PM Narendra Modi and the Union Council of Ministers. Before that PM Modi had visited Nepal in August 2018 for the 4th BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu, which was preceded by a State Visit to Nepal in May 2018. PM Modi had extended a congratulatory message to Sher Bahadur Deuba soon after he won the Vote of Confidence in Nepal's Parliament. This was followed by a congratulatory telephonic conversation on 19 July 2021. The most recent meeting between PM Modi and Sher Bahadur Deuba took place on November 2, 2021, on the sidelines of COP 26 in Glasgow. Sher Bahadur Deuba is a veteran politician of the Nepali Congress with a political career spanning over seven decades. This is Deuba's fifth tenure as PM. His first term was from September 1995 to March 1997. He has visited India several times, both when in and out of power. This will be his fifth visit to India as PM, with the last visit being in August 2018. The previous three visits took place in 2004, 2002 and 1996. (ANI) Officials are offering bleak assessments of Russias military progress in Ukraine as Moscow fails to seize Kyiv more than five weeks into its invasion. Talks between the two countries have remained fruitless as the international community continues to put economic pressure on Russia through a series of sanctions and other restrictive measures on key sectors, elites, politicians and more. Still, civilians have struggled at times to safely evacuate some of Ukraines hardest-hit cities, including Mariupol. The ongoing conflict has already generated a humanitarian crisis that has led millions of people to flee Ukraine since the invasion began on Feb. 24. Heres what you need to know this morning. 1. 7 evacuation routes anticipated to be available, including from Mariupol Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a Facebook post on Saturday that seven evacuation routes are anticipated to be available for civilians, including from the besieged city of Mariupol, CNN reported. Other routes from Lysychansk, Rubizhne, Severodonetsk, Berdyansk, Popasna and Nizhny are also expected to be available on Saturday, according to the Ukrainian official, the network noted. More than 6,200 people were evacuated from cities on Friday, including close to 800 from Mariupol, according to Vereshchuk, CNN reported. The development comes as civilians have struggled to safely evacuate within the country. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Ukraine said on Friday that it had tried to facilitate the safe passage of people out Mariupol but was unsuccessful. Our team had to return to Zaporizhzhia after conditions made it impossible to proceed. We will try again tomorrow. Its critical the parties respect agreements and provide the necessary security guarantees, ICRC Ukraine tweeted. 2. US sending $300M in aerial systems, weapons to Ukraine The Pentagon announced on Friday that it would be sending $300 million dollars worth of aerial systems, rocket systems and other weapons to Ukraine. Story continues Among some of the specific weapons included in the latest package are laser-guided rocket systems, Switchblade drones, armored high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles and nonstandard machine guns. The Pentagon noted that the U.S. has provided more than $1.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion. The announcement comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to appeal to Western countries for missiles and warplanes. We dont want a million of quality bulletproof vests or some special brand helmets, Zelensky said in an interview with Fox Newss Bret Baier that aired on Friday. Just give us missiles. Give us airplanes. You cannot give us F-18 or F-19 or whatever you have. Give us the old Soviet planes. Thats all. Give them into my hands. Give me something to defend my country with, my state. 3. Ukraine makes inroads around Kyiv The British Defense Ministry reported in a daily update on Saturday that Ukrainian forces are continuing to make inroads near Kyiv, highlighting how Russian troops remain unsuccessful in their bid to take the capital. Ukrainian forces continue to advance against withdrawing Russian forces in the vicinity of Kyiv. Along the north western axis, Ukrainian forces attempts to advance from Irpin towards Bucha and Hostomel are ongoing, according to the British Defense Ministrys intelligence update. Russian forces are reported to have withdrawn Hostomel airport, which has been subject to fighting since the first day of the conflict. Along the eastern axis, Ukraine has re-taken several villages, it added. 4. Zelensky quiet on alleged attack on Russian fuel depot Zelensky would not say during an interview with Fox News whether he had ordered Ukrainian forces to hit a Russian fuel depot just some 20 miles from its border with Ukraine. Zelensky was asked i n the interview with Baier if the attack on a Russian fuel depot, which a Russian regional governor alleged had been carried out by two Ukrainian helicopters, had been undertaken at his order. Im sorry. I do not discuss any of my orders as commander in chief, the leader of this state, and there are things which I only share with the military armed forces of Ukraine and when they talk with me, Zelensky replied. Its not professional to talk about it. They occupied our territory. They attacked us, he said later. So whatever happens in a certain situation its hard for me to comment. News outlets noted on Friday that if Ukraine had indeed attacked the Russian fuel depot, it would be the first time that Ukraine has conducted a strike on its neighbor since Moscows invasion began. 5. Zelensky alleges Russian forces are landmining Ukrainian territory Zelensky claimed in an address on Friday that the Russian military is planting landmines throughout Ukraine, making it difficult for civilians to navigate within the country. They are mining all this territory. Mining houses, equipment, even the bodies of killed people. Too many tripwire mines, too many other dangers, Zelensky said. We are moving forward. Moving carefully. And everyone who returns to this area must also be very careful. It is still impossible to return to normal life as it was, he continued. Even in the areas we return after the fighting. You will have to wait. Wait for our land to be cleared. Wait until you can be assured that new shelling is impossible. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A married couple in New York City has been accused of operating a sex-trafficking ring. JANIFEST/Getty Images A hit-and-run victim walked away after being struck by a driver in California on Thursday. The man refused help from bystanders at the scene, the LAPD said. Police said the man is described as a Hispanic male in his 50s. A hit-and-run victim walked away from the scene and was found dead by police in California hours later. The incident happened on Thursday afternoon, just after 10:00 p.m., near Victory Boulevard and Kester Avenue, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release. Police said the car collided with the victim on the road. The driver did not stop to help the man, leaving the location. Bystanders tried to aid the injured man, "he refused, got up from the ground, and walked south through an alley from the location," the LAPD said. Van Nuys Area police arrived at the scene but did not find anyone connected to the incident. The next morning, at about 6:45 a.m, officers spotted the man not breathing in front of an apartment building near Victory Boulevard, according to the news release. The victim, identified as a Hispanic male in his 50s, was pronounced dead at the location by paramedics. According to the news release, the LAPD is looking for the suspect responsible for striking the man. "Drivers are reminded that if they become involved in a collision, they should pull over and stop as soon as it is safe to do so, notify emergency services, and remain at the scene to identify themselves," the LAPD said. Read the original article on Insider AZTEC The future is indeed bright at Aztec Speedway. As the calendar turns to opening day of the 70th season of live auto racing at Aztec Speedway coming up on Friday, April 15, a new generation of younger drivers are about to take center stage. Drivers from across the region, all with varying levels of skill and experience will hit the dirt track running when Aztec Speedway, the oldest continually operated dirt stock car track in the state, hosts non-wing sprint cars as well as IMCA Modifieds and more for the opening weekend program. More: A wish list for San Juan County's sports scene in 2022 In all, Aztec Speedway will host nearly a half-dozen nights of sprint car racing, with more than a dozen race dates set up for Utility Task Vehicle and Go Kart racing. The live season of racing is scheduled to run through Oct. 8. "We're getting some new blood into the sport and that's very exciting," said Aztec Speedway general manager Mike Tenski. "The go-kart class always feeds into our roster and these kids are coming from all across the region." One of those young drivers who may have an impact this season is 13-year-old Maleigha Estrada, who's already earned a pair of victories this year in the Mini Dwarf Masters division at Cocopah Speedway in Yuma, Arizona. Maleigha Estrada (left) closes in on Brody Lopez as the two race in a Mini Dwarf Masters heat race, Feb. 26, 2022 at Cocopah Speedway at the Yuma County Fairgrounds in Arizona. "You get started somewhere and it's a progression and you can go as far as you want," Tenski said. "It's a passion for the sport." More: PVHS student Jackson Harpole looks to continue success at Aztec Speedway 16-year-old Jackson Harpole, who won races last year at both Aztec Speedway and at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Cortez, Colorado, also will be back driving IMCA Northern SportModifieds this season. Herman Garcia (96) and Aaron Spangler (16) duel into a turn during an IMCA Stock Car race at Aztec Speedway last season. After getting back to the business of racing in 2021 coming off a pandemic which forced the closure of the facility in 2020, the upcoming season is seen as a welcome relief for fans, drivers and all involved in the day-to-day operation of Aztec Speedway. Story continues "I think it's going to be a real positive season," Tenski said. "As far as spectator counts and not worrying about masks and things like that, I think it's finally our return to normal." There may well be an influx of drivers and fans this season coming in from Colorado, with the Cortez track, located on the fairgrounds, forced to close down for the time being while it seeks new management after a contract dispute with the Montezuma County Board of Commissioners. "Now that we're limited to just one track in the area, it means if you want to race here, you're going to race here," Tenski said. "Participation will go up a little bit but our fan count will benefit from both the lesser restrictions and having a wide variety of races to choose from." For more information about the upcoming racing season at Aztec Speedway, make sure to visit their website or find more driver information at MyRacePass.com. Steve Bortstein can be reached via email at SBortstein@Gannett.com, via Twitter @DTSBortstein or on the phone at (505) 635-2680. Support local journalism with a digital subscription. This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Aztec Speedway hosts variety of dirt racing for young and old drivers Apr. 2TIFTON The Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Advancement Foundation has been awarded an $11,095 grant from the Georgia Young Adult Program. Funded through the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, the grant helps to promote education and awareness for young, inexperienced drivers ages 16-24 about highway safety issues such as underage drinking and impaired driving. "With the increase in the number of persons killed in traffic crashes in Georgia and across the nation over the last year, the Governor's Office of Highway Safety is working with partners like ABAC to implement programs designed to stop the risky driving behaviors that are contributing to a majority of our serious-injury and fatality crashes," Allen Poole, director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, said. "Many of the fatal traffic crashes on our roads are preventable, and we will continue to work with our educational and enforcement partners to develop programs and initiatives that are designed to get Georgia to our goal of zero traffic deaths." This is the 19th year of the Young Adult program on ABAC's campus. Projects within the program involve collaborations with the campus Greek community, student athletes, camps, police, health and wellness departments, and counseling services. Activities will include a DUI simulator and ThinkFast alcohol awareness training. In 2020, the program reached approximately 2,000 students. Everyone from the Tifton area between the ages of 16 and 24 is invited to participate. "We are very pleased to have this grant come to ABAC again this year," Scott Pierce, ABAC's director of sponsored programs, said. "Through partnerships with the Tift County Commission on Children and Youth, the city of Tifton Police Department, and the Tift County Sheriff's Office, this grant helps us reach out through our community. "It gives us the opportunity to help lower the number and severity of alcohol-related incidents, making a real difference here in southwest Georgia." Story continues Master Sgt. Todd Daunhauer will spearhead the Young Adult program. He will seek to provide the students of ABAC with a safe environment to learn and address the dangers of impaired driving. Through the educational opportunities of the GOHS Young Adults program, ABAC students can face these dangers without facing the harsh consequences of personally making mistakes while behind the wheel of a vehicle. The grant runs through Sept. 30. For more information, interested persons can contact GOHS at (404) 657-9079. For more information on GOHS and its other highway safety programs, visit www.gahighwaysafety.org. By Trend Azerbaijan is an important energy partner of Italy, the countrys Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said, Trend reports. Di Maio made the remark at the "Azerbaijan - Italy: path to multifaceted strategic partnership" conference at the ADA University. According to him, gas cooperation has become a very important part of relations between Azerbaijan and Italy. The minister added that thanks to the creation of the Italian-Azerbaijani University, relations between the countries will reach a new level. "Today's ceremony is another confirmation of strong ties between Azerbaijan and Italy," Luigi Di Maio emphasized. He also added that its important to strengthen the academic partnership between the two countries. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov, Azerbaijani Education Minister Emin Amrullayev and Di Maio took part in the groundbreaking ceremony for the building of the Italian-Azerbaijani University. Previously, the first meeting of the Azerbaijan-Italy Strategic Dialogue has been held, and a protocol on the first Strategic Dialogue between the countries was signed in Baku. Besides, the ceremony of laying the foundation of the building of the Italian-Azerbaijani University was held. The Daily Beast Chingis Kondarov/ReutersChechen troops in Ukraine loyal to Ramzan Kadyrov have claimed a reputation for being the most brutal in Putins war, but a new report says theyre actually suffering major losses and going to great lengths to cover them up.According to an investigation by Russias independent news outlet IStories, the official figure of 13 Chechen soldiers killed in Ukraine is a major undercount; a source in the Chechen Health Ministry tells the outlet the true death toll of the so-calle A commercial turkey operation in North Carolina has tested positive for avian flu following a test by a veterinary lab, the first time the virus has been found in the states poultry industry, officials said Wednesday. The N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services said in a news release that the flock of 32,100 birds at the operation in Johnston County was killed and was being composted to guard against spread of the avian flu. The operation was not identified. ALSO READ: Bird flu outbreak on Indiana poultry farm results in nearly 30K turkeys being euthanized Mike Martin, state veterinarian, said in the news release that the department will test other flocks within a 10-kilometer (6-mile) zone in collaboration with federal and industry associates. The 10 kilometer zone includes Johnston County and portions of Sampson and Wayne counties, according to the department. Since late January, the virus has been found in 48 commercial farms in 12 states and 32 backyard flocks in 13 states. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says avian flu is considered a low risk to humans but is highly contagious to other birds, including commercial and backyard flocks of poultry. The virus is also not considered a food safety threat and infected birds do not enter the food supply, the center said. (WATCH BELOW: Bird flu outbreak on Indiana poultry farm results in euthanizing of nearly 30k turkeys) Apr. 1MANKATO Bethany Lutheran College athletics director Don Westphal will be stepping away from his current role and into a different position, the college announced Friday. Westphal will work in the school's advancement department as the director of the Bethany Fund and annual giving starting July 1, 2022. Westphal, who has worked 29 years at Bethany, has been the AD for the last nine years. He previously worked as the school's director of admissions. Bethany teams have won eight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference championships, nine UMAC tournament championships and made nine NCAA tournament appearances under his watch. "It has been my privilege and honor to represent our coaches, staff members, and certainly our student-athletes these past nine years as the Director of Athletics at Bethany," Westphal said. "Our collective efforts have been blessed many times over both on and away from the competition setting. I'm obviously very proud of the winning tradition that has been nurtured by our Vikings with various conference championships and the NCAA tournaments we've competed in. But the success of our teams is more than the wins, it's the academic achievements, the expanded role our teams have in the community, and the pride and determination they've shown in representing our institution and the mission of Bethany." President Joe Biden speaks on the March jobs report at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Friday, April 1, 2022. President Biden and first lady Jill Biden marked the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Friday. For so many around the globe, including fellow Americans all across the country, this sacred month is a time for reflection and spiritual growth. Communities come together to practice forgiveness and resilience, to show compassion and generosity of spirit to those in need, of giving, and to celebrate the many blessings of life with loved ones, Biden said in a statement. This year, the simple act of breaking the fast will be an even more poignant reminder of the joys of health, family, and community. And we will continue to hold in our hearts all those families grieving a lost loved one who are facing an empty chair at the table, he added. The president also took the opportunity to highlight Muslim communities in China, Myanmar and elsewhere that have been subject to persecution. During this holy month, as Muslims everywhere honor Gods great mercy let us also renew our shared commitment to show kindness, mercy, and understanding to one another. Let us honor the simple yet profound truth that all people are equal in dignity and rights, he said. Thats why the United States will continue to speak out for human rights everywhereincluding for Uyghurs in China, Rohingya in Burma, and other Muslim communities all over the world. During Ramadan the holy month for Muslims Muslims refrain from drinking and eating between dawn and dusk, breaking their fast after the sun sets (known as an iftar), according to Vox. During that daytime period, Muslims also avoid engaging in sexual activity and smoking. The holy month, which is based on a lunar calendar, is meant to be a time of studying the Quran, being more generous and charitable, praying more, and thinking about ones relationship with God, according to the news outlet. There are close to 2 billion Muslims worldwide, according to the Pew Research Center in 2019. Updated 11:08 a.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Small high street firms - Mike Egerton/PA Rishi Sunak must overhaul business rates levied on high street firms if he is serious about tackling the cost of living crisis, the shadow business secretary said on Sunday. Jonathan Reynolds warned that workers pay was likely to be hit as a result of joint pressure businesses were facing from the levy and this weeks National Insurance rise. The Labour frontbencher told The Telegraph that the current system of business rates was acting as a tax on growth, with smaller firms facing sharp rises in their bills if they expanded. Under the current system of small business rate relief, the bill for a typical hairdresser that expands from one to two sites would increase from 0 to 5,000, while an average shop would go from paying 0 now to 10,000, according to Labour analysis. Small business rate relief allows firms with one property with a rateable value of 12,000 or less to avoid paying the levy altogether. Any business that only uses one property is eligible for the relief if that property has a rateable value of less than 15,000. Mr Sunak used Octobers budget to announce a temporary 50 per cent cut in the rates paid by pubs, music venues, cinemas, restaurants, hotels, theatres and gyms. He also scrapped a planned increase in rates for all firms. But Mr Reynolds said the Chancellor should have provided significantly more help for firms in last months Spring Statement. Less cash available for wages He said: The more pressure that a business is undergoing in terms of its costs, whether thats energy, or National Insurance going up, the less resource theyve got to put into wages. All the pressure that is added to businesses is going to make the overall position on wages even harder ... and that will feed into further cost of living pressures. I just didnt get a sense from the Chancellor at all that he understood that. Mr Reynolds, the MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, in east Manchester, added: If I took you around Stalybridge and Hyde, around our town centres, I would be able to demonstrate to you the real problems with the business rates system. Ive had cases where successful independent businesses have expanded to a second premise in the next door town and then have to pull away from that because the overheads are just so high. Its how business rates work. Last year the Chancellor said: Reckless, unfunded promises to abolish a tax which raises 25 billion every year are completely irresponsible. However, he pledged that the system would be made fairer and timelier with more frequent revaluations every three years. An increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, combined with public health indicators, is pushing Canada to recommend second vaccine booster shots. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization is to release guidance on more doses of the vaccine in the next week. Many health practitioners are calling this the sixth wave that is causing growing concerns about hospital capacity and staff burn out, said Anna Maddison of Health Canada. NACI earlier recommended that people who are moderately to severely compromised receive a fourth dose of the vaccine six months after getting their third one. The number of cases of infection has been growing since most provinces dropped mask-wearing rules and eased restrictions on public events. Colin Furness, a University of Toronto epidemiologist, said it has been a bad idea to say everyone take off your mask and well have a hospital bed when you need it. Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said the province isnt considering bringing back any COVID-19 measures despite rising infections and hospitalizations. Thats because there is a highly vaccinated population with increased hospital capacity and access to antiviral medications, she said. Testing requirements eased for international travel The Canadian government has eased testing requirements for international travel as demand surges after two years of the pandemic. Gone are the pre-entry testing requirements for fully vaccinated Canadians to enter Canada by air, land or water, but some rules remain. Travelers must still show proof of vaccination and still have to use the ArriveCAN app prior to returning, including those taking a cruise or flying within 72 hours before boarding. There are no changes to rules for those partially vaccinated or unvaccinated to provide a positive molecular or negative rapid antigen test. For those cruising, an antigen test is required to board a ship no more than one day before departure but isnt required to leave the ship. Story continues Details are at https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid. News in brief A $5 billion investment will create a large-scale electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Ontario, across from Detroit. Automaker Stellantis and South Korean battery-maker LG Energy Solution will build the plant to make the cars of the future from start to finish. It will be the largest investment in Canadian automotive manufacturing history, said Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. The plant will employ about 2,500 people along with work at auto parts-makers for a total impact of about 10,000 jobs. Construction is to start this year with a goal of being operational by 2025. Facts and figures Canadas dollar is steady at 80 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.25 in Canadian funds, before exchange fees. The Bank of Canadas key interest rate is steady at 0.5% while the prime lending rate is 2.7%. Canadian stock markets are mixed, with the Toronto index down at 21,890 while the TSX Venture index is up at 892 points. The average price for gas in Canada is lower at $1.74 a liter or $6.61 for a U.S. gallon in Canadian funds. Lotto Max: (March 29) 7, 17, 32, 34, 39, 45 and 47; bonus 42. (March 25) 3, 7, 16, 18, 27,32, and 37; bonus 17. Lotto 6/49 :(March 30) 3, 7,15, 21, 35 and 40; bonus 37. (March 26) 5, 11, 21, 22, 38 and 45; bonus 44. Regional briefs Live Nation is planning to open a new concert hall in Torontos Beaches neighborhood to host about 150 events annually. Called 713 Music Hall on Queen street, representing the areas phone code, the opening performance will be Willie Nelson & Family on Nov. 17. The Rolling Stones' Live at El Mocambo nightclub recordings in Toronto have been released after 45 years. Over the years, the Stones have played at the club and others in Toronto to prepare for their upcoming concerts. The 23 songs from the two secret 1977 shows had the band billed as the Cockroaches to keep crowds away. This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Canada Report: Another COVID shot recommended as cases begin to rise An arbitration court has fined a Chinese company $7,650 for unlawfully firing a pregnant woman after she repeatedly fell asleep during overnight shifts. The woman, Xiaoyi, who was on parking duty, was fired by her managers in June 2019 after the company, whose name was not disclosed by the Intermediate Peoples Court in Zhuhai, had determined that she had violated the companys rules by falling asleep four times for six to 28 minutes at a time, reported South China Morning Post. In April 2019, the company changed Xiaoyis schedule to an overnight shift without consulting her or considering her physical condition as a pregnant woman. Although the woman had been working with the company for seven years, they refused to give Xiaoyi compensation for the shifts she had served after her dismissal. She then took the matter to an arbitration court where she demanded that the company pay her $7,650. After she won, the company filed an appeal with the Xiangzhou District Peoples Court. The intermediate court, however, stated that the companys firing of the woman was unreasonable as Xiaoyi had fallen asleep when few cars were entering or leaving the parking lot where she was working. Additionally, the court stated that because Xiaoyi was in the early stages of her pregnancy, the changes in her sleep behavior were understandable. Disputes between pregnant women and their employers are not uncommon in China. In 2018, a privately-run medical center demoted a woman from working as a doctor to a nurse after she gave birth, the Morning Post reported. The medical centers reasoning was that the woman had just given birth and would need more days off. After refusing to work as a nurse, the medical center made the decision to fire her. After filing a complaint with an arbitration court, the medical center was forced to pay the woman $9,430. Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! Sumo Wrestler Becomes One of Japan's Youngest COVID-19 Deaths at 28 Story continues Grow Some F*cking Balls: China Mac Rips Into Asian Celebrities Staying Silent About Racism SF's Famous Turtle Tower Restaurant Robbed During the Day, Police Respond 2 Hours Later China Sends Expert Medical Team to Help Fight Coronavirus in Italy and Spain By Azernews By Sabina Mammadli Seven Azerbaijani citizens were repatriated on March 31, 2022, on an Ankara-Baku flight from the Amerna camp in the Syrian city of Jerablus, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has informed. The citizens were repatriated as a result of phased and coordinated measures taken by the government of Azerbaijan, the ministry said. It emphasized Turkey's assistance in putting this process in place. First, the location, identity, and Azerbaijani citizenship of persons subject to repatriation to their homeland were determined. Following that, they were transferred to Turkey under a joint agreement. As a result, representatives from the relevant state bodies, who are part of the working group in charge of repatriating Azerbaijani citizens from Iraq and Syria, were dispatched to Turkey. The delegation conducted an initial medical and psychological examination of the repatriates and provided them with the necessary assistance. The ministry added that later, Azerbaijani Embassy in Turkey issued "Certificates of Return to the Republic of Azerbaijan" to our citizens. The statement noted that the government provides for the adoption of all necessary measures for the reintegration and rehabilitation of the individuals involved. The Azerbaijani government will continue to take the necessary measures to protect the rights and freedoms of its citizens in accordance with national legislation and international treaties to which our country is a party," the Foreign Ministry said. Twelve Azerbaijani citizens held in the Amerna camp in Syria's Jerablus city were repatriated to the country on November 24, 2021, Some 38 children - Azerbaijani citizens, who were in correctional institutions and orphanages in Iraq were also repatriated to Azerbaijan, on October 28, 2021. The citizens were returned to the country as a result of consistent and coordinated measures taken by the Azerbaijani government. Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has backed her players to handle the pressure as they chase a third successive Womens Super League title (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire) Chelsea boss Emma Hayes is backing her players to deal with the pressure of holding off the chasing pack as they close in on a third successive Womens Super League title. The Blues, who have won the league in five of the last seven seasons, entertain Reading on Sunday evening and currently sit a point clear of Arsenal at the top of the table with both sides having five games to play. They have bounced back from the disappointment of League Cup final defeat with five successive wins in all competitions, the most recent of them last Sundays 9-0 demolition of Leicester. Squad update Having fans back Bethany Englands form All that and more as the boss previews Chelsea v Reading! Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) April 1, 2022 Hayes, who will be without injured duo Fran Kirby and Pernille Harder, told the clubs official website: Were used to being in this position and to be honest the pressures we dont feel that because Id rather be in the position where somethings within our control than the other way around. We know weve got a tough run-in; it doesnt change. For us to win the league we still have some really tricky opponents. Weve just got to stay in our lane, keep doing the work every day and let the results take care of themselves. The fact that Chelsea have scored 22 goals in those last five games looks ominous for the Royals, although they are one of only two teams to have beaten Hayes side in the league this year with Deanne Roses goal securing a shock 1-0 win on December 11. Reading manager Kelly Chambers is expecting a tough encounter with Chelsea (Bradley Collyer/PA) (PA Wire) Reading manager Kelly Chambers told the clubs official website: Its going to be a tough encounter with the way they performed at the weekend and that scoreline, which reflected their performance, and they were very, very ruthless in front of goal. So yes, were not hiding from the fact itll be difficult, but for us its a case of stepping up to the occasion and probably stepping up higher than what we did in the home game because they are now playing for something extra, maintaining top position and a part of them thinking back to December. Story continues Arsenal will look to bounce back from their midweek Champions League exit at the hands of Wolfsburg when they travel to lowly Leicester at lunchtime. The Gunners have lost only one league game to date, a 2-0 defeat at bottom-of-the-table Birmingham in January, and head coach Jonas Eidevall is expecting a response. Another game on Sunday. All eyes on the @BarclaysFAWSL. COYG pic.twitter.com/Rlh2uJBID3 Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) April 1, 2022 Eidevall told the clubs official website: Its one thing to lose one game, but we need to be ready for the next one and that requires a lot from everyone. Manchester United face Brighton as they attempt to reel in the top two, while Tottenham will hope to consolidate their place in the top five when they host Aston Villa. Welcome to Fridays Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. Subscribe here and view the full edition here. Today were looking at more stringent car mileage standards, a revived Obama-era EPA rule abandoned under the Trump administration and a stark prediction for post-wildfire weather patterns. For The Hill, were Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Write to us with tips: rfrazin@thehill.com and zbudryk@thehill.com. Lets jump in. Biden administration boosts mileage standards The Transportation Department on Friday announced that it boosted car efficiency standards that had been cut by the Trump administration. The department finalized standards that would require automakers to produce fleets of cars and light trucks averaging 49 miles per gallon in model year 2026. How do they compare to past rules? The new standards are more stringent than the Trump-era standards, which would have required 40 miles per gallon for the 2026 fleet. However, the real-world totals may look slightly different under each standard, as the department has noted that real-world fuel economy levels are typically lower than the test conditions under which the standards are applied. Nevertheless, the standards are expected to have both climate and consumer benefits, and officials made the case on Friday that they will also improve the countrys energy independence by decreasing its reliance on oil. We cannot let families futures or our national economy be decided in oil company board rooms, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters. Todays rule is going to save 234 billion gallons of fuel by 2050 and move us into a less dependent future. What does it mean for climate change? On climate change, the rule is also expected to have significant impacts. Buttigieg said that it would prevent 5.5 trillion pounds of planet-warming carbon dioxide from going into the atmosphere by 2050. Story continues And the administration said that the new regulation would save consumers almost $1,400 in fuel expenses over the lifetimes of vehicles produced during these model years. The transportation sector is the largest contributor to climate change in the U.S., and light duty vehicles are responsible for more than half of those emissions. The move comes after the Environmental Protection Agency late last year also reversed the Trump administrations cuts to regulations on how much planet-warming carbon dioxide cars can emit through their tailpipes. Read more about the new standards here. EPA revives Obama-era rule on polluters The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has resurrected an Obama-era proposal shelved during the Trump administration that would remove Clean Air Act (CAA) liability protections frequently invoked by industrial polluters. Under the new proposal, state and federal operating permits would no longer have the option to make a so-called emergency affirmative defense. This defense allowed sources that exceeded the Clean Air Acts emissions limits to avoid liability by attributing the violation to emergency circumstances. EPA Administrator Michael Regan signed the rule earlier this week, with a 45-day public comment period to follow. These provisions, which have never been required elements of state operating permit programs, are being removed because they are inconsistent with the enforcement structure of the CAA and court decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the proposed rule states. The removal of these provisions is consistent with other EPA actions involving affirmative defenses and would harmonize the enforcement and implementation of emission limitations across different CAA programs. The story so far: The rule has been in limbo for years after it was originally introduced in 2016 by the Obama administration and later withdrawn by the Trump administration in 2018. The Biden administration in October withdrew Trump-era guidance allowing state governments to create exemptions like those covered by the rule, which environmental groups praised but said should be followed up with the revival of the Obama-era efforts. Read more about the rule here. POST-WILDFIRE EXTREME RAINS TO DOUBLE IN WESTERN US: STUDY Extreme rainfall events in the wake of Western wildfires on the rise due to climate change may more than double by the end of the 21st century, posing a serious threat to human lives, a new study finds. When precipitation drenches an area that has just experienced a blaze, the soil is unable to easily contain the moisture resulting in significant destruction such as debris flows, mudslides and flash floods, scientists warned in a Science Advances article on Friday If Americans continue to emit excessive amounts of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, then by the end of the century, extreme rainfall will be eight times more likely to occur within a year of a Pacific Northwest wildfire, the authors found. In California, the incidence of such consecutive extreme events will more than double. Its very concerning, given the destruction that comes with these kinds of events, lead author Danielle Touma, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), said in a statement. Clearly we need to understand the risks better, as this creates a major threat to people and infrastructure. Read more from The Hills Sharon Udasin. WILL BIDENS SPR RELEASE LOWER GAS PRICES? President Bidens move to release about 180 million barrels of oil from the U.S.s strategic reserve is expected to result in a modest drop in gasoline prices. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at gasoline price website GasBuddy, said that prices could drop by 10 to 20 cents per gallon as a result of Bidens announcement that oil will be released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). But he warned that exactly where prices will land in the coming weeks is unclear, since the release isnt happening in a vacuum and other factors may drive prices up or down. Read more here. ON TAP NEXT WEEK Tuesday The House Oversight and Reform Committee will hold a hearing on the benefits of challenges of electrifying the Postal Service fleet. The Postal Services Inspector General is slated to appear. The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee will hold a hearing to examine implementation of the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act, focusing on stakeholders needs and experiences. The House Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing on the Farm Bill and renewable energy opportunities in Rural America The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on wildfire management, ecosystem restoration and resilient communities Wednesday The House Energy & Commerce Committee will hold a hearing featuring testimony from executives of Exxon, BP, Chevron and Shell, among others, entitled Gouged at the Gas Station: Big Oil and Americas Pain at the Pump The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee will hold a hearing to examine the Presidents proposed budget request for fiscal year 2023 for the Environmental Protection Agency. The Senate Environment & Public Works Committees Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety will hold hearings to examine the nominations of Beth Pritchard Geer, Robert P. Klein, and L. Michelle Moore, to be members of the Board of Directors, and Benny R. Wagner to be Inspector General of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Thursday The House Committee on the Climate Crisis will hold a hearing entitled Cost-Saving Climate Solutions: Investing in Energy Efficiency to Promote Energy Security and Cut Energy Bills WHAT WERE READING Feral pigs are biological time bombs. Can California stem their exponential damage? (The Los Angeles Times) This Texas Citys Water Crisis Is Shaping A Democratic Congressional Primary (HuffPost) Shes Supposed to Protect Americans From Toxic Chemicals. First, She Just Has to Fix Trumps Mess and Decades of Neglect. (ProPublica) How war has upended life for climate activists in Russia (The New York Times) And finally, something offbeat but on-beat: Rest well. Thats it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hills energy & environment page for the latest news and coverage. Well see you Monday. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Alan Guebert writes "Farm and Food" Contrary to the woeful baying by Big Agbiz, the United States and any nation with enough money will not run out of food this year. This can be said without reservation for two reasons. First, war or no war, there is no global shortage of wheat, the crop todays Chicken Littles are cluck-cluck clucking about. In the last week of March, numerous sources pointed out that the estimated shortfall in Russian wheat export sales due to its war in Ukraine will be about 7 million metric tons (mmt) this marketing year. Although that sounds like a lot, 7 mmt is, in fact, 0.9 percent of Russias staggering 778 mmt 2021 wheat crop. So, no, the loss of less than one percent of any nations farm production in any commodity will not lead to global famine. The second reason the world will not run out of wheat is that when properly functioning markets operate in an open, transparent manner, price rations supply and demand. Yes, that can get coldly expensive, but it also ensures the global cupboard never really empties. And that is what happened in the wheat futures market from mid-February to early March as Russia invaded Ukraine. On Feb. 18, a week before the invasion, Chicago May wheat futures prices were $8.04 per bu. After three weeks of volatile, war-fueled trading, May futures had soared to over $12 per bu. On March 8, however, the May contract rocketed to $13.63 per bu. just as futures trading began that day. Shortly thereafter, something or someone hit the market and May futures fell off the table, down $2 per bu. By the close of the bruising session, prices had clawed back to $12.86 per bu., or almost exactly where they had finished the day before. What happened? No one really knows and, worse, its likely no one will ever know because the futures markets key regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) like many government agencies in the past decade has given most of its oversight functions to the markets themselves, notes Dr. Steve Suppan of the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy in Minneapolis (IATP). Story continues In a prescient March 16 post on the IATP website titled Wheat futures prices and the war on regulation, Suppan describes the long, anti-oversight game most futures exchanges played with federal watchdogs after post-2008 laws gave regulators greater power to oversee markets. That fight culminated with a 3-to-2 vote in late 2020 by the five-member board that relinquished nearly all CFTC authority to the exchanges One of the two dissenters on the panel, Suppan notes, said the shift made the players on the field the referees. In this arena, however, the public interest loses. Its hard for the public to see that because futures markets appear to be arcane exchanges where cab drivers become millionaires by buying soybean futures. Not so ever. U.S. futures exchanges are a $610 trillion dollar a year marketplace where speculators traders looking to profit and hedgers, usually buyers and sellers of products or derivatives of products traded on the exchange, meet to establish price based on key ingredients like supply, demand, weather and war. And they are critically important in our everyday lives: If the markets dont function fairly, everyone pays, from the trader who was clipped on some shady deal to the single mother of five struggling to pay the weekly grocery tab. Farmers and ranchers know this. In fact, todays volatile wheat market means some rural grain purchasers only buy farmers grain when the Chicago futures market is open so the buyer can immediately transfer their ownership risk to someone else. That also means these purchasers dont offer any farmer a market after 1:15 p.m. each weekday and not at all on the weekend. Almost every farmer or rancher will tell you that this is a highly risky, potentially costly failure to both you and them. So, no, were not going to run out of food. The real threat is that well run out of markets we can trust. Alan Guebert is an agricultural journalist. See past columns at farmandfoodfile.com. This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Farm and Food: If futures markets dont work, your markets wont work Former Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who was pardoned by former President Donald Trump in 2020, has agreed to pay a Federal Election Commission fine over misuse of campaign funds. Hunter and his wife Margaret Hunter, his former campaign manager, said they would pay $12,000 solely for the purpose of settling this matter only and without admitting liability, according to an FEC document made public this week. Hunters campaign committee agreed to pay a separate $4,000 fine. The FEC said that due to his campaign's "lack of financial resources," the agency sought a smaller than usual fine, noting it would typically seek a "substantially higher civil penalty" of $133,000 based on the violations. A quarterly report from October 2021 revealed that Hunters campaign had $14,000 cash on hand and roughly $40,000 in outstanding debts, the FEC said, and the campaign appeared unable to raise additional funds. In 2019, federal prosecutors said Hunter and his wife "converted and stole" more than $250,000 by using campaign cash used for purchases such as family trips to Hawaii and Italy, plane rides for relatives and their pet rabbit, and even $1,500 for video games. Hunter also used campaign cash to pay for romantic flings with lobbyists and congressional aides, prosecutors said. The couple claimed that many of the alleged violations were attributable to the nature of a tight-knit, family-run campaign, and that many of the personal disbursements were repaid, according to an agreement signed with the FEC. NBC News has reached out for comment to the lawyer representing Hunter's campaign committee. Hunter pleaded guilty to misusing campaign funds in December 2019 and resigned from his House seat a month later after serving more than a decade in Congress. He was later sentenced to 11 months in prison. His wife pleaded guilty in 2019 to conspiracy to misuse campaign funds and was expected to testify against her husband of more than 20 years if the case went to trial. But as Trump neared the end of his presidency, he issued a flurry of pardons and offered Hunter and his wife full and unconditional pardons for their criminal convictions. A 2021 report from the FEC's general counsel, however, raised doubts about whether Trump's pardon extended to civil offenses, arguing the now-former president "limited the text of the Hunters pardons specifically to the criminal matter," which paved the way for the recent fines. Russian opposition activists Ilya Yashin, right, and Vladimir Milov in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, March 14, 2018. AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin A former Russian official told CNN that Russia's elite will begin to question Putin's leadership. Vladimir Milov said officials are already concerned about Putin's aggression in Ukraine. Milov said officials are monitored and are afraid to communicate with each other about the policies. A former Russian deputy energy minister who is now an adviser to opposition leader Alexy Navalny said Russian President Vladimir Putin's time in office is numbered. Vladimir Milov told CNN's Erin Burnett on Saturday that top officials in the Russian government are "personally devastated" by Putin's aggression in Ukraine. "For the first time ever, we are moving in a backwards direction. We had a lot of difficulties in the 70s, and the 80s, and the 90s, but we were still somewhat opening to the world and the direction was very different," Milov said. "Now Russia is being disconnected from global markets, global financial architecture, technology, logistics, and so on." Milov said this disconnection isn't something that's happened before and those in positions of power recognize that. "So, when I say devastated, I mean it," Milov said. In a March 18, op-ed in the Journal of Democracy, Milov wrote that Putin's "days are numbered." He told Burnett on Saturday, that Putin still maintains a strong grip on power but most likely not for long. "He can hang on for some time, but few weeks, months, down the road, many more people inside the system will begin questioning what he's doing, ordinary Russians will express discontent with deteriorating economic situation, huge losses in the war. This is something Putin never experienced," Milov said. Milov said Russian elites will start questioning the direction of the country and if Putin is the right leader. Right now, however, he said communication between government officials is monitored significantly, possibly even greater than surveillance of opposition. Opponents are afraid to speak up about Putin's policies in Ukraine. "If like two people, three people, or more will start to discuss that Putin is taking the country in the wrong direction, this is with large certain going to be recorded and reported to Putin," Milov said. Read the original article on Business Insider By Trend The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio, assisted by Undersecretary of State, Manlio Di Stefano, will visit Azerbaijan on April 2, Trend reports citing the press service of the Italian Foreign Ministry. According to the Italian Foreign Ministry, the visit in Baku is part of the energy diplomacy activity promoted by Minister Di Maio, aimed at speeding up the process of energy diversification by strengthening existing cooperation with reliable partners with great potential. "In his meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Bayramov and with the Minister of Energy, Mr Shahbazov, Minister Di Maio will discuss a possible increase in gas supplies from Azerbaijan through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), a strategic infrastructure that connects our two countries and the only European pipeline built in recent years that does not convey Russian gas. Minister Di Maio will also review, together with his interlocutors, the major issues of the bilateral and regional agenda, and will co-chair, along with his counterpart, Mr Bayramov, the first meeting of the multidimensional bilateral Strategic Dialogue." In addition, Di Maio also plans to discuss the need for a ceasefire in Ukraine. BERLIN (Reuters) - Berlin is considering buying a missile defence system from Israel or the United States to defend against threats including Russian Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad, German weekly Welt am Sonntag reported on Saturday. The Iskander missiles can reach almost all of western Europe and there is no missile shield in place to protect against this threat, Germany's chief of defence Eberhard Zorn told Welt am Sonntag in an interview published on Saturday. "The Israelis and the Americans possess such systems. Which one do we prefer? Will we manage to establish an overall (missile defence) system in NATO? These are the questions we need to answer now," Zorn said. He did not specify the names of the systems but was most likely referring to Arrow 3 built by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and the U.S. system THAAD produced by Raytheon. Russia said in 2018 it had deployed Iskander missiles to its Kaliningrad exclave, a slice of Russia wedged between Poland and Lithuania. A mobile ballistic missile system, the Iskander replaced the Soviet Scud missile and its two guided missiles can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads. In a landmark speech days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Berlin would hike its defence spending to more than 2% of its economic output by injecting 100 billion euros ($110 billion) into the military. Zorn belongs to a group of high-ranking officials consulting with Scholz on how to spend this money. "So far, only one thing is clear: We have neither the time nor the money to develop these (missile defence) systems on our own because the missile threat is known to already be there", Zorn said. Referring to Germany's lack of a short-range missile defence, which can be used to protect troops on the move or under threat while deployed, he said Berlin had started looking into the purchase of such systems and it now had to make a decision. Beyond this, the Bundeswehr will have to invest 20 billion euros by 2032 to replenish its ammunition storages, Zorn added. (Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Editing by Zuzanna Szymanska, William Maclean) Vice President Harris said that the Biden administration was not looking for a regime change in Russia after President Bidens remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin during a speech he made last week in Warsaw, Poland. Following several meetings with allies in Europe last week, Biden gave a speech in front of the presidential palace in Warsaw on the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, for free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness. We will have a different future, a brighter future, rooted in democracy and principles, hope and light, of decency and dignity, of freedom, and possibilities, Biden said Saturday night. For Gods sake, this man cannot remain in power. On an interview with Joy Reid, the host of MSNBCs show The ReidOut, Harris sought to underscore that the administration is not calling for a regime change. Let me be very clear. We are not into regime change. And that is not our policy. Period, Harris told Reid. Our policy from the beginning has been about ensuring that there are going to be real costs exacted against Russia in the form of severe sanctions, which we know are having a real impact and an immediate impact, not to mention the longer-term impact, which is about saying theres going to be consequence and accountability when you commit the kinds of atrocities that he is committing. Bidens comment in Poland sparked widespread controversy. The White House immediately attempted to walk back the statement, with Biden also clarifying he was not changing the U.S.s position on regime change. I think the president, the White House, made the point last night that, quite simply, President Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after the incident. Biden has previously called Putin a war criminal for his actions in Ukraine as the U.S. has said Russia is committing human rights violations in the war. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's foreign minister on Friday strongly rejected criticism of its relief efforts for Ukraine from China, saying the aid came "from our heart" and was not an exercise in political manipulation. China's government last month described Taiwan's humanitarian aid for Ukraine and sanctions on Russia as "taking advantage of other's difficulties", after the island announced it was sending funds donated by the public for refugees. The war in Ukraine has garnered broad sympathy in Taiwan, with many seeing parallels between Russia's invasion - which Moscow terms a "special military operation - and military pressure from China, which views the democratically governed island as its own territory. Speaking at an event in Taipei detailing the donations, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Chinese authorities criticised Taiwan no matter what it did. Wu, to applause from an audience that included Ukrainians and senior European diplomats in Taiwan, cited an unnamed U.S. diplomat previously based in Taiwan as telling him: "You must be doing something right when the Chinese government is upset". "For those people who live in Taiwan, the outpouring of support to the Ukrainian people and to the Ukrainian government is spontaneous, is natural and is genuine," he said. "...It comes from our heart; it's not political manipulation." China has not condemned the Russian invasion, unlike Taiwan's government which has also joined Western-led sanctions against Moscow. Wu said Russia was killing innocent people indiscriminately. "These kinds of behaviour should be condemned," he said. Taiwan has donated $20 million for refugees, mostly raised from the public, and plans a further $12 million disbursement. China has announced only 15 million yuan ($2.37 million) in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, via the Chinese Red Cross. Taiwan has no diplomatic relations with Ukraine, but Wu said Ukraine's government had expressed its appreciation. "We would like to develop mutually beneficial relations, but at this moment we will focus on how to help the Ukrainian people." ($1 = 6.3393 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; editing by John Stonestreet) The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) confirmed that it had deducted Fox Newss score from its Corporate Equality Index, removing its status as an LGBT preferred employer. Fox News has a history of sharing misinformation and disinformation about the LGBTQ+ community. We know from our own research, which we put out earlier this week, what their disinformation and misinformation means for the LGBTQ+ community: perpetuating stigma and marginalization of transgender and non-binary people, Aryn Fields, senior press secretary at HRC, said in a statement. At a time when transgender people especially transgender children are under attack in statehouses across the country, rhetoric has real consequences, Fields added. Fields said the networks coverage of the LGBTQ community within the last 72 hours had contributed to a drop in its Corporate Equality Index score, which dropped from 100 to 75. We can no longer allow Fox Corporation to maintain its score if Fox News personalities and contributors continue to deny the existence of transgender people, minimize the violence transgender individuals face, refer to parents of LGBTQ+ youth as perverts, or equate leaders of LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusions efforts with sex offenders, Fields said. Each of these actions happened in the last 72 hours. Enough is enough. The cable news network told The Hill that it offers a variety of LGBT benefits, including puberty blockers for transgender adolescents in addition to facial feminization surgery, reduction thyroid chondroplasty or tracheal shave, and mastectomy surgery for adults. Fox News also pointed to its recent hiring of former California gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner, who is transgender, as a contributor. The development comes in the wake of recently signed legislation in Florida, known as the Dont Say Gay bill to critics, that bars classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation by teachers from kindergarten through third grade. Content has to be age appropriate for older students. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. WASHINGTON An Iowa man is among 12 people, including three U.S. Army soldiers, are accused in a large-scale gun trafficking ring that prosecutors allege supplied nearly 100 guns to gang members in Chicago and led to at least two killings, the Justice Department said Friday. The soldiers Demarcus Adams, 21; Jarius Brunson, 22; and Brandon Miller, 22 were enlisted in the Army and stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, where they would legally purchase guns from local dealers in Tennessee and Kentucky, prosecutors charged. The soldiers are accused of selling them to members of the Gangster Disciples street gang in the Pocket Town neighborhood on Chicago's south side, according to the 21-count indictment. Among the others charged was Terrell Mitchell, 27, of Davenport. More: U.S. education secretary speaks on Des Moines East High shooting: Schools are 'havens for learning,' not gun violence The indictment charges the group with conspiring to violate federal firearms laws, among other crimes. If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison. The case is part of the Justice Departments push to investigate and prosecute gun trafficking amid rising crime across the U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has vowed to prioritize prosecutions of firearms traffickers and so-called straw purchasers, who legally purchase firearms to sell them to people who cant legally poses guns, often in states with more restrictive gun laws. The Justice Department will spare no resources to hold accountable criminal gun traffickers, Garland said at a news conference Friday. There is no hiding place for those who flood our communities with illegal guns. It does not matter where you are, or how far away you are. If you illegally traffic guns, we and our law enforcement partners nationwide will find you. More: Iowan Kyle Young to plead guilty on Capitol riot charges, prosecutor says Prosecutors allege Miller would receive orders from members of the Gangster Disciples in Chicago for specific guns to purchase and he, Brunson and Adams would then buy them from dealers in Clarksville, Tennessee and Oak Grove, Kentucky, and give them to gang members, who paid through money transfer apps, including Zelle and CashApp. Miller also advertised that he had 1,000 rounds of ammunition available for sale, prosecutors say. Story continues Authorities believe the trio provided over 90 illegally obtained firearms to the gang to facilitate the on-going violent disputes between the Pocket Town Gangster Disciples and their rival gangs, the Justice Department said. More: What's happening to curb growing gun violence injuries in Des Moines? Plenty but more is needed, youth say Investigators believe one of the guns was used in a shooting at a party in Chicago last March that left one man dead, and seven others wounded. Another was used in a killing at a Chicago barbershop in January 2021, according to officials. The eight others charged in the indictment are: Blaise Smith, 29; Rahaeem Johnson, 24; Bryant Larkin, 33; Corey Curtis, 26; Elijah Tillman, 24; Lazarus Greenwood, 23; Dwight Lowry, 41; and Dreshion Parks, 25, all of Chicago. Two people who were alleged to be part of the conspiracy were killed as a result of gang violence, which was facilitated by the firearms illegally transferred to individuals in the Chicago, prosecutors say. The indictment spells out how Miller would exchange messages with his associates in Chicago to negotiate the prices of the guns. The silver one a 380 u still want it its a steal, Miller wrote to Lowry in December 2020, the indictment says. Lowry wrote back, Yup cant beat it, according to court papers. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Indictment: Iowa man part of gun ring that included 3 Army members DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran on Saturday welcomed a U.N.-brokered truce in Yemen between a Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi group aligned with Tehran, and called for seeking a negotiated solution to the seven-year conflict. "Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh expressed hope that the move could be a prelude to a complete lifting of a blockade and a permanent establishment of a ceasefire in order to find a political solution to the Yemen crisis," Iranian state media reported. Saudi Arabia and Iran, the region's Sunni Muslim and Shi'ite powerhouses, are bitter rivals but they launched direct talks last year as global powers try to salvage a nuclear pact with Iran and as U.N.-led efforts to end the Yemen war have had little success before the truce due to start on Saturday. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Alison Williams) By Trend The U.S. Ambassador Litzenberger traveled to Astara and Lankaran and participated in the opening of two computer labs funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) at local educational institutions on March 31 and April . The computer labs, funded by USAID and implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), include 21 new computers at Astara Pedagogical College and 17 computers at Lankaran State University for the use of students. At Astara Pedagogical College, Ambassador Litzenberger greeted Director Aghababa Ibrahimov and Astara students who are using the USAID computer lab in the course of their studies. While at the subsequent opening at Lankaran State University, the Ambassador met with Director Natig Ibrahimov and Lankaran students who use the Lab. Both Directors thanked the Ambassador, USAID, and IOM for their respective computer labs, and explained how the new computers are benefiting their students. Explaining the purpose of USAIDs funding for these computer labs, Ambassador Litzenberger stated, We want to do everything we can to help young Azerbaijanis become successful. I see such potential in young people here, and I know that with only a little bit of extra help, they can achieve so much in the future. That is why the U.S. Government is making an investment in Azerbaijani youth. As part of a $1 million, three-year project focused on strengthening the economic resilience of youth and women, USAID and IOM established five USAID computer labs at educational institutions in Azerbaijan in order to provide students with better opportunities to study information technology, computer science, and languages. Along with these five computer labs, USAID worked with Azerbaijan State Agricultural University to launch a dual-degree program with Oklahoma State University in the United States, as well as a Technical Certificate Program in hazelnut production in partnership with Italian agricultural firm Ferrero. A convicted New Jersey serial killer has been charged with another murder. Khalil Wheeler-Weaver, now 24, strangled 15-year-old Mawa Doumbia in 2016 near Newark, the Essex County Prosecutors Office said in a press release. Wheeler-Weaver has already been sentenced to 160 years in prison for killing three other women, Sarah Butler, 20, Robin West, 19, and Joanne Brown, 33, within 88 days in 2016. Doumbia was last seen Oct. 7, 2016, after leaving her home in Newark, according to prosecutors. Her body was found in 2019 in Orange. Her remains were identified in November 2021. Prosecutors said Wheeler-Weaver, who was a teenager at the time, tried to meet Doumbia for sex after connecting with her through a dating app. He then killed her and discarded her body in a vacant building, prosecutors said. Extensive digital evidence tied Wheeler-Weaver to the killing, prosecutors said. The allegations matched the description of Wheeler-Weavers other killings. Prosecutors did not say if Doumbia had been sexually assaulted before she was killed. Wheeler-Weaver also tried to kill a fifth woman, but she escaped and testified at his trial. Wheeler-Weaver claimed he was framed. FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) The Kentucky Court of Appeals on Friday rejected trainer Bob Bafferts motion for emergency relief from a 90-day suspension. As a result of the order signed by Acting Chief Judge Allison Jones, the Hall of Fame trainers suspension is scheduled to begin on Monday. The Court emphasizes that it makes no determination of the merits of Bafferts contentions of error, Jones wrote. The underlying motions for interlocutory relief along with any additional, dispositive motions shall be assigned to a three-Judge panel of this Court following expiration of the response time provided in the Civil Rules. Signage outside Bafferts barn at Santa Anita was removed as part of a California Horse Racing Board rule that mandates any trainer who is suspended for 60 days or more be banned from all CHRB-licensed facilities. Baffert had already transferred four promising 3-year-old colts to other trainers so they can run in major prep races and potentially earn points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby on May 7. One of those, Doppelganger, is entered in Saturdays $1.25 million Arkansas Derby. Churchill Downs has suspended Baffert for the 2022 and 2023 Kentucky Derbies. Baffert is fighting that ban in federal court. The suspension will be honored in all 38 racing states. We were disappointed by todays decision, but its important to understand that the court made it clear that it denied the stay purely on procedural grounds and not on the merits, all of which point to Bob ultimately winning this case, said Clark Brewster, an attorney for Baffert. Baffert has repeatedly come up short in his other attempts to obtain a stay order, including from Marc Guilfoil, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, and Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate, who turned down Bafferts request on March 21. We will continue to fight for Bobs ability to race and win in Kentucky and against the injustice of KHRC against Bob, Brewster said. Story continues The Hall of Fame trainers suspension is the result of medication violations involving some of his horses, including Medina Spirit. The colt finished first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby and tested positive after the race for the corticosteroid betamethasone, which is not allowed in Kentucky on race day. Medina Spirit was later disqualified. ___ More AP Sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports (Reuters) -Russia's talks with a "hostile" Ukraine have not been easy, but the main thing is that they are continuing, RIA news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Saturday. "Ukraine is a very difficult country, very difficult for us. In its current state it is hostile towards us," the agency cited him as telling Belarus television. Russia and Ukraine have held several rounds of negotiations, both in Turkey and by video conference. "The main thing is that the talks continue, either in Istanbul or somewhere else," said Peskov, adding that the negotiations were "not easy". Russia would like to continue talks in neighbouring Belarus but Kyiv opposed the idea, he said. Peskov said Moscow had launched the invasion to "save" two eastern regions seized by Russian-backed separatists in 2014 and said he trusted that the Russian language would be restored to its rightful place in the country. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia's "special operation" in Ukraine was needed "to protect people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide". By this meant those whose first or only language is Russian. Ukraine dismisses as invented the accusations of genocide. (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Daniel Wallis) Crime scene tape closes off an area near the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church in Van Nuys on Jan. 20, 2020. (Associated Press) A Los Angeles paralegal has agreed to plead guilty to helping a Philippines-based church commit immigration fraud by filing fraudulent paperwork in a sham marriage scheme, and whose unwitting victims were then forced to solicit donations in the U.S. to finance the lavish lifestyle of church leaders, federal prosecutors said Friday in court documents. Maria De Leon, a 73-year-old resident in Koreatown who owned and operated Liberty Legal Document Services, could be sentenced to up to five years in federal prison, prosecutors said. De Leon was arrested in November at her home along with five other administrators. As a part of a plea deal, De Leon has agreed to cooperate in the federal government's case against the church's administrators, including its founder, Apollo Carreon Quiboloy. A federal grand jury in November indicted Quiboloy and other administrators of the church called Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, in connection with accusations of a labor and sex trafficking scheme in which they recruited females 12 to 25 years old to work as personal assistant for Quiboloy, including having sex with him. Quiboloy and three other church administrators are fugitives and are believed to still be in the Philippines, according to federal prosecutors. Quiboloy was placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list earlier this year. According to her plea agreement, De Leon filed fraudulent paperwork in at least 10 separate instances between 2013 and 2020 on behalf of the church's members, helping them get permanent residency in their sham marriages with other followers who already have U.S. citizenship. Once the members entered the U.S., administrators confiscated their identification forms and forced them to solicit money on the street for the church, the indictment said. The members often worked very long hours and slept in cars, according to the indictment. Although workers told potential donors that the money would go toward a Glendale-based Children's Joy Foundation, the donation instead went to Quiboloy and the church. The money went to build a stadium in the Philippines and to reward the "personal assistants" who were obedient to Quiboloy, according to the indictment. Story continues Quiboloy threatened and physically abused those who refused to have sex with him or attempted to leave the church, telling some of them that "they had the devil in them and risked eternal damnation," according to the indictment. Quiboloy's lawyer Ferdinand Topacio on Saturday said De Leon is not affiliated with Quiboloy's church, according to Inquirer.net, a Philippines-based website. But Topacio called De Leon's plea "part of the pattern of harassment" against Quiboloy and the church. Topacio said the charges against Quiboloy, who is a spiritual advisor to Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, were sparked by "purely political motives." De Leon is expected to formally enter her guilty plea at an upcoming hearing, which has not been scheduled yet, federal prosecutors said. Trials for other administrators are scheduled for March 2023. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Molcajete's opened for students, faculty and staff one week before the grand opening, and already received plenty of customers who are excited about having another option to eat delicious meals on campus. LAS CRUCES - New Mexico State University Dining Services is welcoming local restaurant Molcajetes to campus for the NMSU community to enjoy. The restaurant, which will replace Aggie Grill inside Gerald Thomas Hall, will serve traditional Mexican food and will host a grand opening on April 4. The family restaurant offers tacos, tortas, hamburgers, aguas frescas and tasty Mexican snacks. Here at Molcajetes, we believe that no dream is too big, said owner Karla Villalobos. As long as you work hard and believe in your dream anything is possible. Everything we do is with passion and a lot of love. The family restaurant offers tacos, tortas, hamburgers, aguas frescas and tasty Mexican snacks. We are thrilled to have Molcajete's joining our NMSU Dining family, and they are thrilled to be serving up traditional Mexican food to our campus community, said Candice Nanco, director of marketing for NMSU Dining. The restaurant opened for students, faculty and staff one week before the grand opening, and already received plenty of customers who are excited about having another option to eat delicious meals on campus. More: Got the munchies? These 5 restaurants opening soon in Las Cruces may have what you're looking for. Were in the Thomas and Brown Hall building, so its just easier to get here and its fresh food, said Bertha Majalca, a junior at NMSU. It feels like home, because its Mexican food. The ribbon-cutting for the restaurants grand opening will be at 10 a.m. Monday, April 4. For more information, contact Candice Nanco at candice.nanco@sodexo.com. Tatiana Favela writes for New Mexico State University Marketing and Communications and can be reached at 575-646-3221 ext. 7953, or by email at tfavela5@nmsu.edu. Others are reading: This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Las Cruces restaurant opens location on NMSU main campus After not speaking to each other for years, Lee Daniels has issued a public apology to MoNique. In a video shared on Twitter, Daniels joined MoNique on stage during her appearance at the St. George Theatre in Staten Island for her MoNique and Friends: April Fools Day with the Queen of Comedy show. At one moment, Daniels had his arm draped around the comedians shoulders, issuing his apology to her directly and seemingly ending their feud of more than a decade. I am so sorry for hurting you in any way that I did, Daniels said. Yall, she was my best friend, my best friend. Yall think that Precious, was just that was God working through both of us and were gonna fing do it again. At the end of the clip, Daniels said I love you to MoNique, who took the mic and said the same back. MoNique shared a sweet photo of the reunited friends on Instagram, posting a photo of Daniels kissing her temple while his arm was wrapped around her shoulder. NO CAPTION NEEDED, she wrote alongside the photo. I LOVE US 4REAL. Daniels, 62, shared the same photo on his Instagram, adding a second shot capturing the friends sharing a sweet embrace. The Oscar-nominated director took a similar approach to his caption, simply writing, no caption needed @therealmoworldwide. The pair stopped speaking to each other after working on "Precious." The 54-year-old actor won the Oscar for best supporting actress in 2010, but rather than being met with more opportunities, she said in a 2015 interview with The Hollywood Reporter that she was blackballed." I got a phone call from Lee Daniels maybe six or seven months ago. And he said to me, MoNique, youve been blackballed, Mo'Nique explained at the time. And I said, Ive been blackballed? Why have I been blackballed? And he said, Because you didnt play the game. And I said, Well, what game is that? And he gave me no response. In response to MoNique at the time, Daniels told the outlet in part, Monique is a creative force to be reckoned with. Her demands through Precious were not always in line with the campaign. Story continues This soured her relationship with the Hollywood community, he continued. I consider her a friend. I have and will always think of her for parts that we can collaborate on. However, the consensus among the creative teams and powers thus far were to go another way with these roles. On Friday, April 1, Deadline announced that Daniels and MoNique would reunite for a new project. News broke this week that Daniels replaced Octavia Spencer in Demon House with MoNique. Spencer had to back out of the Netflix movie because she had a scheduling conflict with her show Truth Be Told on AppleTV+. MoNique will be portraying the role of a social worker who helps a family through a series of exorcisms throughout the film and will star alongside Andra Day, Caleb McLaughlin, and Aunjanue Ellis. Related: By Laman Ismayilova The Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejcinovic Buri? will pay a working visit to Azerbaijan on April 4-5. During her visit, she will present the Council of Europe Action Plan for Azerbaijan for 2022-2025. The Action Plan for Azerbaijan 2022-2025 was adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 16 February 2022. It is a strategic programming instrument that aims to bring Azerbaijans legislation, institutions and practice further in line with Council of Europe standards in the areas of human rights, the rule of law and democracy. The Action Plan is intended to support the countrys efforts to honour its obligations as a Council of Europe member State; it serves to bring the legislation into line with European and international standards, enhance institutional capacities, introduce best practices and, ultimately, to improve living standards for the citizens of Azerbaijan. Representatives of the Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Council of Europes Office in Baku will attend the presentation. For many students, the last two years have been a challenge, juggling school with the pandemic. A group of local students took on a new mission to raise money for an important cause. Olivia Supp and Emma Martinis have been watching the clock for weeks. The countdown is on, for all their hard work and fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Its really rewarding, said Supp, a junior at Thomas Jefferson High School. Its a lot of work, but every single minute we put into it, its just always something given back to us. For seven weeks, nominated high school students all across Pittsburgh fundraised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Societys 2022 Students of the Year competition. 19 teams of 28 students from 11 schools have been battling it out to raise money for blood cancer research and patients families. This years goal is $655,000. Supp and Martinis are part of team 4 The Cure. The whole community has been involved with everything, Martinis said. The Jefferson Hills Intermediate School has helped us a lot with all the money they raise with the coin drives. These students at Thomas Jefferson High School said its not just about the money. Its also about being there for people, like 10-year-old Scarlett, who is bravely battling leukemia. They learned to put others first, and its not all about them, said Stephanie Martinis, Emmas mom. Theres more important things in life, and the daily problems that they think they might have at that moment. The competition wraps up Friday night when the winners are announced at an award ceremony. While Olivia and Emma cant wait to meet the other teams and see who wins, they said theyve already won the biggest prize. The top fundraiser will receive a $1,250 scholarship, and two others will receive prizes for top essays. TOP STORIES: 2 children stabbed in Pittsburghs Crawford-Roberts neighborhood Pittsburgh Fish Fry List 2022 New waterslide part of big improvements for Sandcastle Water Park VIDEO: Mayor Gainey, community leaders address uptick in gun violence in Pittsburgh area DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts LOS ANGELES The city of Los Angeles has agreed to spend up to $3 billion over the next five years to house some of its 41,000 residents who are homeless, according to a proposed settlement announced Friday. The city has also agreed to create enough shelter to accommodate 60 percent of homeless people in each of the 15 council districts. Those who are considered chronically homeless or who have a chronic illness would remain the county's responsibility. The settlement stems from a complaint filed in 2020 by a group of business owners, residents and community leaders that accused city and county officials of failing to address the desperate circumstances homeless people face, including hunger, crime, squalor and the coronavirus pandemic. Litigation involving the county and the group, the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, remains ongoing. Under the settlement, which must be approved by the council, the city would spend $2.4 billion to $3 billion over the next five years to provide 14,000 to 16,000 beds. We have families living in tents, women fleeing domestic violence sleeping in parks, people clearly struggling with mental illness walking our streets alone at night, City Council President Nury Martinez said in a statement. She added that the county must to do its part by providing mental health care, substance misuse treatment and outpatient rehab beds. Last year, U.S. District Judge David Carter ordered Los Angeles city and county to find shelter for all unhoused residents on Skid Row within 180 days and audit its spending on homeless services. In a fiery 110-page order, Carter slammed officials inability to restrain the unprecedented growth of homelessness, which has led to encampments spreading into nearly every neighborhood in the region. All of the rhetoric, promises, plans, and budgeting cannot obscure the shameful reality of this crisis that year after year, there are more homeless Angelenos, and year after year, more homeless Angelenos die on the streets, he wrote in granting a preliminary injunction sought by the plaintiffs. Story continues City leaders have said the impetus to solve the region's homelessness crisis falls to the county, while attorneys representing the county have repeatedly said the lawsuit has "no merit." "The County is more than doing its job and doing everything possible to address homelessness without stigmatizing it as a crime," said Skip Miller, outside counsel for Los Angeles County, in an emailed statement. "Any assertion that the County has failed on this obligation is utterly baseless." The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors struck a softer tone after Friday's announcement, saying in a statement that "the county will continue to use its resources to support people experiencing homelessness within the area of Los Angeles that is the subject of this lawsuit." The back-and-forth between county and city officials has become emblematic of a crisis that continues to plague California's largest cities. The state pours billions of dollars into alleviating homelessness, while experts warn that thousands of people living on the streets could die before enough housing is found. In response to the proposed settlement, Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de Leon said the city was left with "two choices" as the county continued to fight the lawsuit. "When it became clear that our partners at the county were not interested in collaborating, we were left with two choices: We could ride the litigation merry-go-around while people live and die on our streets or cut our own pathway forward to help as many people as possible," he said. "We decided to lead because it isn't our job as city leaders to play nice, country club politics with anyone," he added. The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office reported that it responded to a shooting Friday night at 2000 Baldwin St. STORY: Fire marshal called for 2 overnight fires in Jacksonville At approximately 10:30 p.m., officers were dispatched for a report of a person who was shot. Upon arrival, a man was located with multiple injuries to his upper extremities. Jacksonville Fire and Rescue was called to the scene and transported the man to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Several people were detained at the scene as persons of interest in this case. JSO says they could be both possible witnesses and suspects. STORY: Action News Law and Safety expert examines whether police followed protocols in fatal car chase The Violent Crimes Unit was notified and responded to both the hospital and the scene. The investigation is currently underway. Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact JSO by calling 904-630-0500 or emailing JSOCrimeTips@JaxSheriff.org. Persons wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS. Action News Jax will continue to follow the story and update as events unfold. STAY UPDATED: Download the Action News Jax app for live updates on breaking stories Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is putting public and private pressure on his Senate Republican colleagues to oppose President Bidens nominee to the Supreme Court, despite the historic nature of her nomination to be the first Black woman on the court. McConnell has dug in against Bidens nominee, arguing the vote isnt about race or gender but about Judge Ketanji Brown Jacksons record, which he says is too soft on crime and indicates shell likely turn into an activist judge on the bench. McConnell made an impassioned plea at a recent Senate GOP lunch for his colleagues to oppose Bidens choice, according to senators who attended the meeting. One Republican senator said McConnell leaned in hard on Jacksons nomination. He sought recognition and said, I just want to thank the members of the Judiciary Committee for the great work theyve done in exposing this judges radical record, and in particular her record on child pornography cases are alarmingly extreme, the source said, recounting McConnells message to the conference. McConnell talked about Jacksons record in detail, including her decision to give one offender, Wesley Hawkins, a three-month sentence when federal prosecutors asked for him to be sent to prison for two years. McConnell said, I think the Democrats thought this would be an easy process, confirmation, but its not going to be because shes a radical nominee, and I would hope that every Republican would look seriously at her record, which I think is troubling. The message is putting pressure on GOP swing voters such as Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Mitt Romney (Utah) to toe the party line and vote no. Murkowski was present at the meeting where McConnell delivered his comments about the nominee but didnt say anything. The Alaska Republican, who is up for re-election this year and faces a Republican primary challenger, also declined to comment about Jackson when asked about it by reporters on Tuesday and Thursday. Story continues Romney says he still has to dig deeper into Jacksons record before announcing his decision. He said he enjoyed meeting with her Tuesday and that her dedication to public service and her family are obvious. Republican strategists and longtime observers of McConnells leadership style say he views a unified Republican vote against Jackson as good politics heading into the midterm election and good for his own standing within the Senate GOP conference, which he plans to lead again in 2023 and 2024. Scott Jennings, a Kentucky-based GOP strategist who has advised McConnells past campaigns, said Bidens nomination of Jackson fits into the overall [message that] the Democrats are soft on crime and criminals, and Republicans arent. That is going to be a big narrative in this campaign. Youve already seen that, he added. Anytime you can throw another piece of evidence on that, I do think it furthers that narrative. Republican aides say Jacksons record in sentencing child pornography offenders will be a tough one for vulnerable Democrats such as Sens. Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.) to defend on the campaign trail later this year. The more Republicans who vote this week for Jackson, the more political cover it gives to Democrats on the campaign trail. So far, Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), who represents a state that Biden won by 9 points, is the only Republican who has said she will vote to confirm Jackson. Democrats have pushed back against this criticism. They argue that Republicans have taken Jacksons sentencing decisions in seven child pornography cases out of context by harping on the fact that she handed out prison terms below what federal prosecutors demanded and below the advisory guidelines. Democrats say that Jackson is one of many federal judges who view the federal advisory guidelines as out of date and in need of updating since they were established in 2003 with the Protect Act because internet use became more prevalent. Al Cross, a professor of journalism at the University of Kentucky and a longtime commentator on Kentucky politics, says McConnell likely sees a good opportunity to stand with some of the rising young conservatives in his conference, such as Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), with whom he clashed over their efforts to halt the certification of Bidens election victory on Jan. 6, 2021. Once Cruz and the others made this a big issue, it gave McConnell an opportunity to practice some solidarity with his caucus, he said. Hes in a difficult position. Hes got to deal with Trumpers. Hes got to keep the caucus together. And anytime the caucus can find something to essentially agree on, then thats probably a good thing for his leadership of the caucus, he added. Cross noted that McConnell is known to view the unity of the caucus as a prime directive. I cant imagine he really believes her judgment in these child porn cases is a disqualifier to be on the Supreme Court, but once its been such an issue in conservative media, then it takes on a life of its own, he said. McConnell has come out strongly against Jackson in his public statements as well. She has a particularly curious view about certain kinds of criminal behavior, in this particular case, people who distributed child pornography, McConnell told Fox Newss Shannon Bream. Shes a judicial activist. Shes very smart. Shes very capable. Shes going to be exactly what President Biden wants: a very liberal Supreme Court justice. McConnell dismissed the public lobbying of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) who has called on his GOP colleagues to recognize the historic significance of this nomination and stressed the importance of Abraham Lincolns party, the Grand Old Party, being on board. The Democrats want to make this confirmation about race or gender. We dont look at judges that way, McConnell said. Most all Republicans believe in whats called a strict construction, that is judges who make their very best effort, as [late] Justice [Antonin] Scalia put it, to follow the law. Jennings, the GOP strategist who has advised McConnell, said Jacksons refusal to express her opinion about adding more justices to the Supreme Court was a big red flag for the leader. Hes extremely worried about left-wing, progressive attacks on the institution of the court, he said. When she would not take the Ginsburg, Breyer line on keeping the Supreme Court at nine, it was as signal to him that shes pretty beholden to the liberal allies who have been the very people calling for court packing. McConnell in recent days has repeatedly raised his concerns about Jacksons refusal to take the same public stance as late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Stephen Breyer against expanding the court. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Azerbaijan is commemorating the 6th anniversary of the countrys military success in 2016 April battles. On April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions and settlements of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire by the Armenian Armed Forces. As a result of the shelling of Azerbaijans settlements located along the line of contact, six civilians were killed, including two children under the age of 16. Numerous public and private facilities, including civil infrastructure, were severely damaged as a result of the attack. Azerbaijan responded with an armed offensive, which resulted in four days of fighting, as the country liberated several important strategic spots previously occupied by Armenian Armed Forces. Among the liberated territories during the four-day fighting were heights around the village of Talish, as well as Seysulan settlement, and Leletepe hill located in the direction of Fuzuli district. As a result of the April battles, 30 Armenian tanks, up to 15 artillery installations and engineering fortifications were subjected to destruction, 320 Armenian soldiers were killed and over 500 enemy soldiers were wounded. Military operations along the line of contact between the Azerbaijani and Armenian forces ceased on April 5, by agreement of the parties. As a result of the successful counteroffensive, more than 2,000 hectares of territory were liberated from the Armenian occupation. The April battles, in general, demonstrated President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev's special attention to the army, the high combat readiness of the Azerbaijan Armed Forces, their ability to liberate the occupied territories. Azerbaijani armys victories in the April battles have laid the foundation for the liberation of Azerbaijani lands from the Armenian occupation during the 44-day war (from late Sept. through early Nov.2020). Today, every citizen of Azerbaijan is proud to see the country's flag flying in Shusha and other lands liberated from Armenian occupation. Apr. 2Two men were arrested on felony drug charges Friday morning after officers from the Morgantown Police Department responded to suspicious activity in the parking lot of a hotel in the city. Shortly after 4:30 a.m. Friday, law enforcement was notified of a male that had been wandering in the back parking lot of the EuroSuites hotel on Chestnut Ridge Road for about 10 minutes, a criminal complaint said. The man was also seen speaking to another man who had left the lot. MPD officer Breakiron arrived and noticed a white Volkswagen Jetta parked in the hotel's rear lot that was not in a parking space, the officer stated in the complaint. As Breakiron drove by, he said he saw two males occupying the front seats of the vehicle, he wrote in the complaint. According to the complaint, Breakiron approached the vehicle and began a conversation with the men. While speaking to the driver, later identified as Jeremy Allen Stickley, 39, of Hagerstown, Md., the officer asked if he would step out of the vehicle. "As Stickley exited the vehicle, a clear baggie of white powdery substance fell from his person onto the ground, " the complaint stated. "The substance was later determined to be crack cocaine." Stickley was found to have multiple baggies of crack cocaine during the investigation as well as 6 Xanax bars, 4 strips of suboxone, approximately 15.3 grams of marijuana and a scale containing white residue, the complaint said. The passenger in the vehicle, identified as Adbulazim Hasan Bin-Ali of Philadelphia, Pa., was also found to have multiple individually wrapped baggies of crack cocaine, along with a ledger and money. Both Stickley and Bin-Ali were charged with felony possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance. TWEET @DominionPostWV Nearly 300 people have been buried in mass graves in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, the town's mayor said on Saturday. Bucha stands just outside of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, a target of the Russian invaders. On Sunday, the US embassy in Kyiv said the images from Bucha were "horrific" and called for action. Nearly 300 people have been buried in mass graves in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, just outside of Kyiv, the town's mayor said. "In Bucha, we have already buried 280 people in mass graves," Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk told AFP News Agency by phone. Fedoruk said the streets are "littered with corpses," according to the news agency. AFP journalists reported earlier on Saturday that they saw at least 20 bodies in civilian clothes laying on a single street in Bucha. "Corpses of executed people still line the Yabluska street in Bucha. Their hands are tied behind their backs with white 'civilian' rags, they were shot in the back of their heads. So you can imagine what kind of lawlessness they perpetrated here," Bucha mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk told Reuters, according to CNN. AFP News Agency (@AFP) April 2, 2022 The US embassy in Kyiv called the images from Bucha "horrific." "The U.S. government is committed to pursuing accountability using every tool available. We can not stand quiet, the world needs to know what happened, and we all must act," the embassy said in a tweeted statement. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of "genocide" and war crimes. "Indeed, this is genocide," Zelenskyy said on Sunday. "The elimination of the whole nation and the people. We are the citizens of Ukraine we have over 100 nationalities. This is about the destruction and extermination of all these nationalities." The European Union condemned "atrocities" by Russian forces following reports of mass casualties in Bucha. Story continues "Shocked by news of atrocities committed by Russian forces. EU assists Ukraine in documenting war crimes," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted on Sunday. He added that the "EU assists Ukraine in documenting war crimes" and "all cases must be pursued." Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba called on the International Criminal Court to visit Bucha "to collect all the evidence of these war crimes," the Washington Post reported. Russian forces have been trying to seize the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv since the invasion began on February 24, but have been met with fierce resistance across the country. The death toll has been high on both sides, prompting the use of mass graves in other Ukrainian cities, such as Mariupol. Last week, Russia's Defense Ministry announced that it would reduce its military assaults on Kyiv, although the United States has remained skeptical of those claims. Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Saturday that the country had regained control of the "whole Kyiv region," per AFP. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Saturday that retreating Russian troops were leaving mines around Ukrainian homes and "even the bodies of those killed," creating a "catastrophic" situation for civilians, the Associated Press reported. "It's still not possible to return to normal life, as it used to be, even at the territories that we are taking back after the fighting," Zelenskyy said, per AP. "We need wait until our land is demined, wait till we are able to assure you that there won't be new shelling." Read the original article on Business Insider New Mexico State University has named Yoshitaka Iwasaki as the inaugural dean of the College of Health, Education and Social Transformation. Iwasaki will begin his new role on July 1. LAS CRUCES - After a nationwide search, New Mexico State University has named Yoshitaka Iwasaki as the inaugural dean of the College of Health, Education and Social Transformation. Iwasaki will begin his new role at NMSU on July 1, NMSUs interim provost, Dorothy Campbell, announced Thursday. Iwasaki has more than 20 years of higher education experience and expertise in community-engaged research and education, knowledge mobilization and capacity-building. He currently serves as a professor and department chair of the Department of Public Health and Recreation at San Jose State University. More from NMSU: NMSU research team launches nesting box project to study small falcon Dr. Iwasakis research and experiences will align with our community and NMSUs mission and goals of academic excellence, community engagement and social justice, Campbell said. Iwasaki, who has a Ph.D. in recreation and leisure studies from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, will arrive at NMSU at a pivotal time to lead the universitys newest college. Established in 2021, the College of Health, Education and Social Transformation is the result of a merger between the former colleges of Education and Health and Social Services and the Department of Sociology. The college houses eight academic departments and offers degrees, certificates and stackable credentials in several areas, including communication disorders; counseling and educational psychology; kinesiology; nursing; public health; social work; sociology; and teacher preparation, administration and leadership. As dean, Iwasaki will work to develop initiatives that support and advance NMSUs strategic plan, its mission as a land-grant university and its commitment to student social mobility. He will also have an opportunity to have a significant impact throughout the borderland region and its education, health and socioeconomic outcomes while contributing to NMSUs teaching, service, and research efforts through strategic leadership and relationship-building. Story continues New Mexico State University established the College of Health, Education and Social Transformation in July 2021 after merging the former colleges of Education and Health and Social Services and the Department of Sociology. Iwasakis areas of interest and expertise include culture, diversity and community-university engagement, active living and quality of life. He also specializes in participatory action research to address social justice issues such as human rights, poverty, empowerment, youth engagement, mental health and social change. I am very inspired and attracted to two distinct areas of recognitions and differentiations that NMSU and HEST possess, Iwasaki said. The first are the people who have founded and are mobilizing this preeminent land-grant public research university with its commitment to transformative student-centered education, community-university engagement and innovative translational research, as guided by diversity, equity and inclusion, social justice and entrepreneurial orientations. More from NMSU: NMSU, UTEP collaborate to expand CAHSI mission with $2.8 million NSF grant Iwasaki continued: The second is the organizational structure of HEST, which is a distinctive, truly interdisciplinary solution-oriented college that integrates both human and health dimensions across clinical and community contexts with its emphasis on holistic health, well-being and human development, and a fierce commitment to addressing health, educational and socio-economic disparities across New Mexico. Before joining San Jose State University, Iwasaki served as a professor, associate dean for research and director of a research center at the University of Albertas Faculty of Extension from 2011 to 2018. He also worked as a professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health Professions and Social Work at Temple University in Philadelphia from 2006 to 2011. Iwasakis professional experience includes more than a decade of serving in leadership roles at higher education institutions. In 2017, he received the inaugural McKinnon Walker Trust Global Fellowship from the University of Wollongong in Australia. In 2008, he was inducted into the Academy of Leisure Sciences. At NMSU, Iwasaki will succeed Henrietta Pichon, who has served as the colleges interim dean since July 2021. As we embark on our transformational journey together, Iwasaki said, we should invest into organizational culture and community-building to co-create one college under one umbrella, while embracing the legacy and strengths of each unit embedded within one college. For more information about the college, visit https://hest.nmsu.edu. Carlos Andres Lopez writes for New Mexico State University Marketing and Communications and can be reached at 575-646-1955, or by email at carlopez@nmsu.edu. Others are reading: This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: NMSU names permanent dean to lead new college Students in 2019 participated in the last fully in-person Undergraduate Research and Creative Arts Symposium, or URCAS, at New Mexico State University. The URCAS returns in person this year with events at Domenici Hall and the Hardman and Jacobs Undergraduate Learning Center April 29. LAS CRUCES - After two years of being hosted mostly online, New Mexico State Universitys Undergraduate Research and Creative Arts Symposium, now in its 27th year, returns in person next month. The symposium, hosted by NMSUs new Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity, will take place April 29 at Domenici Hall and the Hardman and Jacobs Undergraduate Learning Center. Commonly known on campus as URCAS, the symposium celebrates and showcases undergraduate scholarly activity in all fields. Students pursuing research and creative activity under the mentorship of an NMSU faculty member are encouraged to present a poster, exhibit or 15-minute talk. Virtual presentations and exhibits are also welcome and will be posted on the symposium website. Abstract proposals should be submitted at https://tinyurl.com/u4d9ha7j. Review of abstracts began March 31. More from NMSU: Las Cruces restaurant opens location on NMSU main campus A large poster session will take place in Domenici Hall, along with performances of original music compositions and other plenary events. Panel sessions will take place in Domenici Hall and Hardman and Jacobs Undergraduate Learning Center throughout the day. Students participating virtually will post their presentations on the symposium website, which will also host an online art exhibit from this years Juried Student Art Show courtesy of the NMSU Art Museum. NMSU has a long-standing tradition of undergraduates working with mentors on research and creative activities, from lab experiences in STEM to capstone projects, student exhibits and performances in the arts, said Tracey Miller-Tomlinson, director of the NMSU Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity, which is housed in the Honors College. Few research institutions offer undergraduates as many opportunities to work closely with mentors in their fields to identify and solve problems, learn cutting-edge skills and design original projects. These experiences can be life-changing. Story continues Last year, 69 students participated in the fully online URCAS by presenting posters or talks. Miller-Tomlinson said all colleges were represented, with a particularly strong showing from students in biology and other STEM fields. She said she hopes there will be additional participation this year from students in the arts, humanities and social sciences. More from NMSU: New NMSU program teaches youth about commercial beef production Since 1995, the spring Undergraduate Research and Creative Arts Symposium has celebrated the work of undergraduate scholars and brought it to a larger audience, Miller-Tomlinson said. We are excited that the event will return in person this year and invite the entire university community to join us in honoring these scholars and their dedicated mentors. For more information, visit https://nmsu.news/urcas or contact Miller-Tomlinson at tomlin@nmsu.edu. Adriana M. Chavez writes for New Mexico State University Marketing and Communications and can be reached at 575-646-1957 or by email at adchavez@nmsu.edu. Others are reading: This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: NMSU student research and creative arts symposium returns April 27 "Pages of history" features excerpts from The News Journal archives including The Morning News and the Every Evening. April 3, 1917, Every Evening U.S. actually at war; Congress certain to back Wilsons stand The United States really is at war with the German Empire today, the action awaiting only the formal recognition of Congress. The administration resolution declaring a state of war exists with Germany and directing President Wilson to prosecute a warwas presented to the Senate today. Front page of the Every Evening from April 3, 1917. Sen. Hitchcock, for the Foreign Relations Committee, asked unanimous consent for its immediate consideration. Sen. La Follette objected and it went over under the rules for one day. House leaders predicted unanimous support to the President. Every agency was moving to gird the nation against the German government which President Wilson in his address to Congress last night characterized as a natural foe to liberty. The cabinet, at a war session today, was to discuss the extension of credits to the nations already at war against Germany; the raising of money by taxation for use of the United States in the war; the equipment of the navy to the fullest state of efficiency to cope with the submarine menace and the raising of a great army the first increment of which is to be 500,000 men. Wilmingtonian on torpedoed Aztec When the story is told of the Aztec, the second armed American merchant vessel to sail from an Atlantic seaport, sunk by a German submarine Sunday night, it may be a recital of the bravery of 26-year-old Herbert Collins, engineer of the boat, whose home is at East Fifth Street, Wilmington. What fate he met when the U-boat torpedoed the Aztec is not known yet. When Collins was 12, he took a great liking to the water. All of his spare time was spent on the creeks and rivers around the city. He was a well-built boy and soon succeeded in getting work on a United Fruit Company steamer. His first trip was to Jamaica. The vessel encountered a severe storm. Some of the crew became frightened and refused to remain on deck. Young Collins told the officers he would do all that was possible and in spite of the rough seas and the desertion of the older crew members, the boy remained at his post until the storm passed. Story continues It was this same determination and devotion to duty that won him quick promotion. He has been on voyages to Australia, China, Japan, Alaska and around the Horn. On the east side of this city, where his mother has made a home for a number of years, everyone speaks highly of the fine young seaman. The freighter Aztec steamed from New York for Havre March 18 with a full cargo of foodstuffs and supplies. She was less than 100 miles from port when torpedoed. This fact has given hope to her owners that all the crew may be saved if they had an opportunity to take to the boats. SUBMARINE IN WILMINGTON: A nuclear submarine bearing Delaware's name is coming to Wilmington's port. What to know April 5, 1968, The Morning News Dr. King slain by sniper in Memphis The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Prize-winning civil rights leader, was shot fatally in Memphis last night while leaning over a second-floor railing outside his motel room. Four thousand National Guard troops were ordered into Memphis by Gov. Buford Ellington. A curfew was imposed on the city of 550,000 inhabitants. Front page of The Morning News from April 5, 1968. The 39-year-old Negro leaders death was reported by Frank Holloman, director of Memphis police and fire departments, after King had been taken to St. Josephs Hospital. Police broadcast an alarm for a young white male, well dressed who was reported to have been seen running after the shooting. Police reported that a Browning automatic rifle with telescopic sights had been dropped by a fleeing suspect. King had come back to Memphis yesterday to organize support once again for 1,300 sanitation workers who have been on strike since Lincolns birthday. Just a week ago, he led a march on behalf of the strikers that ended in violence with a 16-year-old Negro killed, 62 persons injured and 200 arrested. Violence erupted again shortly after King was shot. CATCH UP ON HISTORY: From The News Journal archives, week of March 6 April 9, 1968, The Morning News City unrest quelled after 4-hour burst Police restored order in Wilmington last night after a 4-hour outbreak of sniping, looting and firebombing that put the city under a state of emergency. A 10:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew was imposed. Helmeted officers had little trouble clearing the streets. The curfew will begin at 7:30 tonight, according to Mayor John E. Babiarz. Front page of The Morning News from April 9, 1968. The wave of violence left 12 persons injured, one seriously. At least two persons suffered gunshot wounds. There were 13 firebombings and 19 reported lootings, mostly in a 12-block area of West Center City. Fifty-one persons were arrested. About 50 state troopers were ordered into the city by Gov. Charles L. Terry Jr. and 1,200 National Guard troops were activated. Neither the troopers nor the guardsmen were needed to quell the disorders. Terry issued an order that sent 1,100 of the guardsmen home. The disturbances began just before noon yesterday as gangs of young Negroes roamed Market Street following a memorial service in Rodney Square for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: News Journal archives U.S. enters WWI assassination of MLK Pakistan's Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa attends a military parade to mark Pakistan National Day in Islamabad, Pakistan on March 23, 2022. Anjum Naveed/ Associated Press A Pakistan official called for the "immediate cessation" of conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa made the comments during a speech on Saturday. Bajwa said that the war is " a huge tragedy," according to CNN. A Pakistan official called for "immediate cessation" of the war between Russia and Ukraine, CNN reported. During a speech on Saturday, Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa said Russia's invasion, which has left thousands dead, is "very unfortunate" and a "huge tragedy," according to the report. "Pakistan doesn't believe in camp politics and wants excellent relations with all countries, especially the United States, the European Union, China, Russia, and others," Bajwa said, CNN reported. Hamza Azhar Salam (@HamzaAzhrSalam) April 2, 2022 Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a war on Ukraine in late February, causing millions to flee to neighboring countries. His move was met with a wave of international condemnation. Bajwa's comments come as Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan previously did not publicly denounce Putin's actions following pressure from the West, The Hill reported. "What do you think of us? Are we your slaves ... that whatever you say, we will do?" Khan said in response to a letter calling for Pakistan to back a resolution to condemn Moscow's attack last month, the outlet reported. However, Pakistan sent emergency aid to Ukraine after the request from the country's embassy in Islamabad, according to reports. Read the original article on Insider ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said the move to remove him was an attempt at regime change backed by the United States. Khan is facing a vote to oust him on Sunday. Khan told a group of foreign journalists that, "the move to oust me is (a) blatant interference in domestic politics by the United States". The White House has denied that the United States is seeking to remove Khan from power after he made similar accusations in the past days. (Reporting by Gibran Nayyar Peshimam; Writing by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Alison Williams) President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping has sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Dear Mr. President, On behalf of the government and people of the People's Republic of China and on my own behalf, it is my honor to extend my sincere congratulations and best wishes to you and through you to the friendly people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of Azerbaijan. China and Azerbaijan are traditional partners of friendship and cooperation. For 30 years, the China-Azerbaijan relations have been maintaining healthy and stable development dynamics. The mutual political trust is steadily deepening, the cooperation in all areas is actively advancing, both countries are interacting closely at regional and international levels. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Azerbaijan have been assisting and supporting each other, combining their efforts to cope with the difficulties, which is the indicative of traditional relations of friendship between our peoples. I attach great importance to the development of bilateral relations, and on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Azerbaijan, I would like to note that I am ready to make joint efforts with you to achieve new accomplishments in China-Azerbaijan relations and cooperation in various fields to the benefit our countries and peoples. I wish you the best of health and success in your endeavors, and the friendly Azerbaijan prosperity and progress, and its people happiness and tranquility. Xi Jinping President of the People's Republic of China The Department of Defense announced on Friday the U.S. will provide Ukraine with $300 million of additional security assistance to Ukraine. In a press release, the department said that it had notified Congress of additional assistance activities under authority provided by the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). The money is aimed to bolster Ukraines defenses against Russias invasion that has been going on for more than a month. This package includes tactical secure communications systems, a counter-unmanned aerial system, non-standard machine guns and other defense systems. This decision underscores the United States unwavering commitment to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity in support of its heroic efforts to repel Russias war of choice, the Department of Defense stated. Since the war began, the U.S. has given Ukraine more than $2.3 billion in defense assistance. The money came the same day a U.S. official told The New York Times the U.S. will be assisting allies in giving Ukraine Soviet-made tanks in response to an appeal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The official, who spoke to the outlet on the condition of anonymity, did not give a specific timeline when the tanks would be transferred, but said that it would be happening soon. Thus far the U.S. has provided military and humanitarian resources to Ukraine and issued crushing economic sanctions on Russian institutions and officials with close ties to the Kremlin. In addition Congress passed a massive bill in early March to fund the government which included $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine. However, the Biden administration and other western leaders have stopped short of granting Zelenskys request from a no-fly zone to protect the countrys airspace. President Biden himself said that the U.S. would not declare a no-fly zone in order to keep the country out of direct conflict with Russia, a nuclear power. Countries in NATO have been careful not to get directly involved in the war, but have committed engaging, should Russia attack any member of the alliance. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. In January 2018, neighbors leave messages and gifts for the 13 Turpin children at the Perris house where their parents tortured, starved and shackled them. Their parents were sentenced to life in prison, and the children have been under Riverside County custody. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press) A Riverside County couple and their adult daughter who are accused of abusing nine children, including some believed to be among the Turpin siblings rescued in 2018 after decades of abuse by their parents, pleaded not guilty to a series of child abuse charges on Friday. Marcelino Olguin, 63, faces three counts of committing a lewd act on a child under 14 years old, four counts of committing a lewd act on a child 14 to 15 years old when the defendant is 10 or more years older than the victim, one count of inflicting injury on a child, three counts of willful child cruelty and two counts of false imprisonment, according to Riverside County court records. His wife, 58-year-old Rosa Olguin, faces four counts of willful child cruelty, two counts of false imprisonment, two counts of dissuading a witness, and one count each of inflicting injury on a child and grand theft over $950, court records show. Their 37-year-old daughter, Lennys Olguin, faces four counts of willful child cruelty, two counts of false imprisonment, and one count each of inflicting injury on a child and dissuading a witness, the records show. The Olguins' next court date is a June 6 felony settlement conference, according to the court records. An attorney representing the adult Turpin siblings could not be reached for comment Friday. The 13 siblings suffered decades of abuse and were discovered in 2018 after one of the children sneaked out and called 911. David and Louise Turpin tortured and abused their children, who ranged in age from 2 to 29 at the time. When the children were found in their Perris home, they were severely malnourished, and some showed signs of cognitive impairment and nerve damage. Their parents were sentenced to life in prison in 2019 for the treatment of their children, and the Turpin siblings have been in the custody of Riverside Countys Public Guardian and Department of Public Social Services since they were rescued. Court records do not name the victims in the Olguins' case and do not state whether any of them are members of the Turpin family. Story continues A Riverside County district attorney's office spokesman said he could not confirm or comment on the victims. The Press-Enterprise cited an investigator's affidavit that "seemed to suggest" five of the Turpin children were taken in by the Olguin family in April 2018, three months after they were rescued from their parents' house. Last month, a Riverside County judge ordered the unsealing of records related to the countys care of the siblings. The decision came after some of the siblings made complaints in a nationally televised interview on ABC last November about their treatment under the countys conservatorship. In the interview, the siblings said the county housed them in crime-ridden neighborhoods. They also said they struggled to receive basic food, shelter and transportation, and that they had difficulty accessing the money in a trust fund controlled by the county. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. VALLETTA, Malta (AP) Pope Francis said Saturday he was considering a possible visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and blasted the leader who launched a savage war, delivering his most pointed denunciation yet of Russias invasion of Ukraine. In his remarks in Malta, Francis didnt cite President Vladimir Putin by name, but the reference was clear when he said some potentate had unleashed the threat of nuclear war on the world in an infantile and destructive aggression. We had thought that invasions of other countries, savage street fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past, Francis told Maltese officials on the Mediterranean island nation at the start of a weekend visit. Francis has to date avoided referring to Russia or Putin by name, in keeping with the Vatican's tradition of not calling out aggressors to keep open options for dialogue. But Saturdays criticism of the powerful figure responsible for the war marked a new level of outrage for the pope. Once again, some potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interest, is provoking and fomenting conflicts, whereas ordinary people sense the need to build a future that will either be shared or not be at all, he said. Francis told reporters en route to Malta that a possible visit to Kyiv was on the table, but no dates have been set or trip confirmed. The mayor of the Ukrainian capital had invited Francis on March 8 to come as a messenger of peace along with other religious figures, but has recently warned even healthy city residents who fled that the city is still endangered by Russian hostilities. Francis also said the war had pained his heart so much that he sometimes forgets about the pain in his knees. Francis has been suffering for months from a strained ligament in his right knee. The inflammation got so bad that the Vatican arranged for a tarmac elevator to get him on and off the plane for Saturdays flight to Malta, and his limp was more pronounced Saturday. Story continues The Malta visit, originally scheduled for May 2020, was always supposed to focus on migration, given Maltas role at the heart of Europes migration debate. The issue took on more import with the forced exodus of over 4 million Ukrainian refugees. Francis focused his remarks on the perilous Mediterranean migration route and Europe's flawed migration policies in welcoming people fleeing war, poverty and conflict. Speaking with Maltas president by his side, Francis denounced the sordid agreements the European Union has made with Libya to turn back migrants and said Europe must show humanity in welcoming them. He called for the Mediterranean to be a theater of solidarity, not the harbinger of a tragic shipwreck of civilization. Francis was referring to the EU's program to train Libyas coast guard, which patrols the North African countrys coast for migrant smuggling and brings the would-be refugees back to shore. The program was strongly backed by Italy and other front-line Mediterranean countries to try to stem the flow of hundreds of thousands of desperate migrants each year. But human rights groups have condemned the EU-funded program as a violation of the migrants rights and documented gross abuses in the Libyan detention camps. Just this week, German said its military would no longer provide training to the Libyan coast guard given its unacceptable, and in some cases illegal, treatment of migrants. Francis has condemned the Libyan detention facilities as concentration camps, but he went further Saturday to shame the EU for its complicity in the abuses there. Civilized countries cannot approve for their own interest sordid agreements with criminals who enslave other human beings, he said. Malta, the European Unions smallest country with a half-million people, has long been on the front lines of the flow of migrants and refugees across the Mediterranean and often has come under fire for refusing to let rescue ships dock. Just this week a German aid group sought port for 106 migrants rescued at sea and, by Saturday, the ship was heading to Sicily instead. Malta has frequently called upon its bigger European neighbors to shoulder more of the burden receiving would-be refugees. Francis has frequently echoed that call, and linked it on Saturday to the welcome the Maltese once gave the Apostle Paul, who according to the biblical account was shipwrecked off Malta around A.D. 60 while en route to Rome and was shown unusual kindness by the islanders. Later Saturday, Francis travelled by catamaran ferry to the island of Gozo, making his own the Mediterranean seafaring tradition to celebrate a prayer meeting at Maltas national shrine. Flanked by two Maltese churchmen who are key aides at the Vatican, Francis sat on a white chair on deck for the hour-long trip and was welcomed by thundering canons as the ship came in Gozos port. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. By Philip Pullella VALLETTA (Reuters) - Pope Francis had to use an elevator to board a plane taking him to Malta on Saturday, with Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni saying it was to "avoid unnecessary strain". It was the first time in the pope's 36 trips abroad that he did not walk up the plane steps on his own. The 85-year-old pope, who is making a two-day visit to Malta, suffers from sciatica, a nerve condition that causes pain in his legs. While on the plane, the pope was in good spirits when greeting journalists onboard, but he was walking down the aisle of the aircraft with difficulty. He also used an elevator to disembark the plane once it landed in Valletta, Malta's capital. Francis was forced to cancel a trip to Florence in February and did not take part in the Ash Wednesday services this year because of an acute flare up of pain in his knee. The pope was hospitalised for 11 days in July for surgery to remove part of his colon. After a period of rest he made a gruelling trip to Hungary and Slovakia in September. He has been in general good health since but has occasionally complained of pain in his leg and knee. (Additional reporting by Antonio Denti; Writing by Agnieszka Flak; Editing by Frances Kerry, Kirsten Donovan) Rent is up 30% since last year in Atlanta, and now theres a grassroots movement to keep it from going up more. Channel 2s Justin Carter was at Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta where dozens were preparing to march to the state capitol. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The Housing Justice League said its goal is to protect tenants and bring down Atlantas rent prices. Carter was told there are almost 60,000 properties in Atlanta owned by corporate investors, making the housing market tough for everyday people to rent or buy affordable properties. TRENDING STORIES: Organizers also said Black neighborhoods south and southwest of downtown are being targeted the most. They said wages of working-class people have not significantly increased in decades, and rent prices are driving people out. Protestor said they want the state-wide ban on rent control lifted. The existing ban on rent control allows landlords to raise rates that can displace people. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] They also want rules in place to stop corporations from buying large amounts of property. IN OTHER NEWS: Evacuation buses in Mariupol EMRE CAYLAK/AFP via Getty Images A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross will launch a new effort on Saturday to lead a convoy of civilians out of Russian-encircled Mariupol after failing to do so on Friday due to "impossible" conditions, the group said according to NBC News. The Friday convoy was set to comprise around 54 buses and numerous private vehicles. A previous Red Cross attempt to evacuate civilians from Mariupol failed in early March, Reuters reports. Ukrainian government sources accused Russian troops of continuing to shell the city during the agreed-upon evacuation window, while Russia claimed Ukrainian forces were forcing civilians to remain in Mariupol as human shields. On Monday, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko who is no longer in the city said in a televised interview that Russia's assault on Mariupol has killed nearly 5,000 people and that some 160,000 remain trapped in the city without electricity or clean water. Ukrainian sources have also accused Russian troops of forcibly deporting thousands of Mariupol residents to Russia, a claim Russia denies. Mariupol is strategically located on a "land bridge" that would connect the Donbas, which is controlled by Russian-backed separatists, with Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. After failing to quickly capture major cities, Russia has made taking Mariupol a major focus of its "special military operation" against Ukraine. You may also like Russia threatens to end cooperation at International Space Station unless 'illegal sanctions' are lifted 7 brutally funny cartoons about Will Smith's Oscars slap Why conservatives are so mad about Hunter Biden The concluding remarks of the International Conference on 'Humanitarian Mine Action and the Sustainable Development Goals', held on March 31 1 April 2022 in Azerbaijan, have been published. The conference was attended by representatives from 37 countries. Preamble 1. The Participants expressed their sincere gratitude to the Government of Azerbaijan, the Mine Action Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United Nations Development Program for organising the conference and to all participants for their collaboration and support. 2. The aim of the Conference was to bring together key actors of the demining sector from the international community, mine action operators, government agencies and civil society to discuss the importance of humanitarian mine action in addressing the threat of mines to peoples lives and livelihoods. 3. The Conference focused on exploring linkages between the potential of humanitarian mine action for lasting peace and socio-economic development and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, more specifically SDG 16th that seeks to significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere. 4. In a stimulating environment of cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary knowledge sharing best practices were exchanged on the most advanced technologies currently available worldwide as well as lessons learned from intense demining activities, which were of particular importance for Azerbaijan as it is currently undertaking major reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in its conflict-affected areas. The conclusions and the recommendations of the conference will be calling upon stakeholders to strengthen cooperation and explore options for further collaboration. The establishment of a in-country donor coordination mechanism such as mine action forum was suggested and at technical level it was recommended to establish various technical working group to address key challenges. 5. The conference papers and summary of discussions, challenges and opportunities identified, and recommendations for further action shall be published as a compendium, providing the means by which a broad audience can updated on the development of the sector, and above all gain understanding about the importance of continuous investment into humanitarian mine action programs. The Participants: I. Recognize that the multi-lateral and interdisciplinary approach promoted by the Conference can lead to new opportunities for peace-building, sustainable development and international cooperation on humanitarian mine action. II. Acknowledge that humanitarian mine action cannot be sustainable without partnerships at all levels. III. Recognize the need for sustainable support structures and financing, as well as the necessity of moving away from one-off project financing to built-in mechanisms to ensure timely and continuous funding for humanitarian mine action program in Azerbaijan. IV. Recommend to consider the introduction of a new Sustainable Development Goal for humanitarian demining, to further strengthen and harness synergies between mine clearance and measurable progress towards a blueprint for a better, safer and more sustainable future for all. V. Acknowledge that humanitarian mine action is crucial for sustainable development and vital for saving lives, preventing injuries and rebuilding infrastructure, education and agriculture and underline the importance of strengthening assistance to Azerbaijan in humanitarian demining to support the ongoing reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in conflict affected areas. Explosive Ordnance Risk Education and victim assistance are important and a integrated part of any mine action program. VI. Acknowledge that capacity-building and capacity exchange on humanitarian mine action are a continuing process, based on trust and enduring relationships that require a long-term commitment. VII. Further acknowledge that capacity-building and capacity exchange constitute a continuous dialogue between all stakeholders and awareness raising hence recommend that this Conference is considered as a cornerstone for the continued sharing of practical experience and lessons learned in the area of humanitarian mine action, and is held annually in Azerbaijan. Crime, abandoned vehicles, redistricting, drainage, education and other issues were addressed during a town hall meeting this week at the South Thibodaux Fire Station. Organized by City Councilwoman Constance Johnson, the public meeting Thursday evening allowed local officials to update residents about some of the projects they are working on and address questions and concerns. The crowd heard presentations from state Sen. Ed Price, D-Gonzales, who represents parts of Lafourche, Lafourche School Board member Cheryl Thomas; Lafourche Councilman Jerry Jones; Thibodaux City Marshal Cavlin Cooks; Sheriff Craig Webre; Thibodaux Police Chief Bryan Zeringue and Fletcher Technical Community College science instructor Christie Landry. Redistricting battle Price updated residents about the ongoing redistricting battle in the state Legislature. Louisiana's congressional map is redrawn every 10 years to reflect changes in the state's population reflected in the U.S. census. Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed the map because he said lawmakers failed to create a second majority-minority district out of six seats despite the Black population growing to about 33% over the past 10 years. The state House and Senate voted Wednesday to override the governors veto. Price told attendees that the override wont end the issue because a lawsuit has been filed in federal court by civil rights groups that ague the new districts dilute Black voters' representation. Its going to be in the courts, so we dont know how its going to turn out, Price said. This thing will probably go to the Supreme Court before its all over. Drug overdoses Webre said the effects of the pandemic and Hurricane Ida are taking their toll. Were seeing an uptick in overdoses, some of them fatal but many are not, the sheriff said. Weve also seen an uptick in suicides, attempted suicides and domestic violence. Theres probably not a week that goes by when first responders wont revive two, three and sometimes four people. We had one individual we revived five times already this year and one we revived twice in the same day. So the numbers are alarming. Story continues 'It's all over the place':: Drug overdoses increase in Terrebonne, Lafourche and nationwide Webre said he has been meeting with the district attorney, judge and other officials to create intervention strategies like specialty courts to help people with addiction. He said he also hopes to hire a mental health specialist to work with those who are suffering from depression or other mental issues. City Marshals Office helps landlords Thibodaux Councilwoman Constance Johnson, State Sen. Ed Price, City Marshal Calvin Cooks, Police Chief Bryan Zeringue, Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre, Councilman Jerry Jones and School Board member Cheryl Thomas conduct a town hall meeting Thursday in Thibodaux. Cooks, the first Black person ever elected as Thibodauxs city marshal, described some of the newer services his office provides, including free car door unlocking and prisoner transports. Cooks also helps landlords with evictions and inspections upon request. However, he said landlords must give tenants a 24-hour notice before an inspection if they want an officer to be present. Im not just going to pop up at a house, Cooks said. Were law enforcement. If we pop up with the landlord and we see drugs in plain view, were taking you into custody. Technically, you need a search warrant to go into someones house, but a landlord has a right to inspect their property. If they want us to come with them, they need to give their tenant a 24-hour notice that theyre coming with the Marshals Office to inspect the property. We will then go along to make sure there are no issues and the landlord is safe. Abandoned vehicles Reisdents attend a town hall meeting Thursday in Thibodaux to address concerns about crime, housing, flooding, education and other issues. Zeringue said police are going to start cracking down on abandoned and neglected cars in public places or private properties. Police had not been enforcing city laws regarding abandoned junk cars during the last two years because of the pandemic, Zeringue said. If the abandoned vehicle is on private property, the violator will receive a letter to remove it in 14 days. If the vehicle is not removed, the violator will be issued a court summons, Zeringue said. If the abandoned car is on public property, the violator will have 24 hours to remove it, he said. If we see something thats not roadworthy sitting in a public place with grass growing around it and broken glass all over the place, you will get a sticker saying you have 24 hours to get it removed, Zeringue said. If its not removed, the vehicle will be towed at your expense." Zeringue said he counted about 100 abandoned cars parked on both public and private properties within the city limits that are creating eyesores and potential health hazards. "Were basically just trying to clean up the city," Zeringue said. Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 448-7639 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanVCopp. This article originally appeared on The Courier: Drug ODs and redistricting discussed at Thibodaux town hall meeting Apr. 1'It's like a second family out here' Austin native Mike Matyas can't help but get nostalgic whenever he walks into Echo Lanes. The soothing sound of a ball rolling down the wooden lanes and the thunderous applause of the pins flying in 10 different directions after a spot on strike bring a grin to his face as he recalls all of the hours he has spent at Austin's lone bowling alley. "It's like a second family out here," Matyas said. "There are a lot of good people out here. I'm surrounded by a bunch of good people and there's been a lot of great bowlers in town." Mike Matyas was recently inducted into the Mower County Bowling Hall of Fame. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com Matyas was recently named the latest inductee into the Mower County Bowling Hall of Fame and his name will now be placed at Echo Lanes, along with the other great bowlers who have played in Austin. Matyas is a 1997 grad of Austin High School and he worked at Echo Lanes as a youngster. He began bowling in fifth grade and he took the sport seriously by the time he was in high school. Matyas is the holder of the all-time series record at Echo Lanes when he rolled an 856 about 15 years ago. "I don't even remember it, but that was a special night for sure," Matyas said. "I had broken it, someone else broke it, and then I would break it again." Al Smith, who was inducted into the Mower County Bowling Hall of Fame in 1998, was a big influence for Matyas, along with his mother Lori, his grandpa Dennis Olund, and his youth coach Dave Schafer. Matyas also recalls working with Marilyn Ryks and Marilyn Pederson at Echo Lanes. "They gave me the key to the place, so I would bowl after work," Matyas said. I had a lot of late nights bowling with Marilyn and Al." Matyas has had a lot of success as bowler as he won four amatuer tournaments in the cities. Matyas used to bowl at Echo Lanes three times a week, but now he plays in a league just one time per week. He treasures his time with bowling, but he wishes that the current generation would appreciate the sport as well. "The youth bowling for the kids was really popular out here when I was younger," Matyas said. "I wish it was still like that." Here's a roundup of recent incidents and announcements from Ventura County agencies: Police seek info on Oxnard homicide OXNARD Oxnard police are asking the public for help finding information and witnesses related to a fatal shooting last month. The incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. on March 12 at an abandoned Goodwill Store at 3075 Saviers Road, according to the Oxnard Police Department. Adrian Sandoval, 21, of Oxnard, died and two other victims were hospitalized. It is the first homicide reported in Oxnard this year. Anyone with related video or photographs can submit files directly to investigators at: oxnardpd.evidence.com/axon/citizen/public/3075saviersroad. If you saw the incident or have information, you can call Detective Justin Songer at 805-385-7680. The city of Oxnard offers a reward of $25,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of anyone who commits a homicide in the city. Smoke shop sting targets 3 sites VENTURA COUNTY An investigation into suspected illegal drug sales at a Thousand Oaks smoke shop ultimately led to warrant searches of six locations around the county and multiple arrests. Narcotics detectives with the Ventura County Sheriff's Office initially investigated operations at a Thousand Oaks smoke shop in the 700 block of East Thousand Oaks Boulevard. The business was suspected of selling marijuana, other illegal drugs and tobacco products to underage customers, according to the sheriff's agency, which is contracted to provide police services in Thousand Oaks. Sheriff's authorities seized a pound of psilocybin mushrooms, 20 pounds of marijuana and other drugs they were were being sold illegally at three local smoke shops. The owner, a 49-year-old Ventura resident, also owns two smoke shops in Ventura, in the 800 block of North Ventura Avenue and the 9500 block of Telephone Road, officials said. During controlled operations at all three sites, detectives reportedly bought illegal drugs, including ketamine, an anesthetic with some hallucinogenic properties. The detectives confirmed all three sites had conducted unlicensed and illegal marijuana sales, according to the sheriff's account. Story continues On March 25, authorities executed search warrants at all three smoke shops and at three homes in Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and Ventura. Detectives reportedly found evidence of illegal drug sales at all six sites. They seized about 20 pounds of marijuana, a pound of psilocybin mushrooms, an ounce of ketamine and other drugs. For subscribers: Landmark Latino grocery in Santa Paula closes after 25 years A Ventura man, 22, and an Oxnard man, 42, were arrested the same day on suspicion of conspiracy and narcotics violations. Additional arrests are pending, officials said. The agency's release listed three other suspects, including the smoke shop owner. Catalytic converter theft bust Items seized from a vehicle with three men suspected of stealing catalytic converters in Fillmore on Wednesday. FILLMORE Fillmore deputies arrested three Los Angeles men suspected of stealing catalytic converters earlier this week, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office. Deputies were first contacted around 2:40 a.m. Wednesday about a catalytic converter theft in the 1000 block of King Street. Four other theft victims later came forward that day, authorities said. A witness reported seeing two vehicles speed away from the initial location. Deputies stopped one of the cars that matched the witness description and spoke with the three men inside, all Los Angeles residents aged 31 to 36. The second car was not located. Detectives believe both vehicles were involved in the theft and the suspects are part of a catalytic converter theft ring out of Los Angeles, officials said. Deputies found narcotics, burglary tools and floor jacks inside the vehicle. Two of the men also had outstanding arrest warrants from Los Angeles County. All three were arrested on suspicion of grand theft, conspiracy and possession of burglary tools and a controlled substance. They were booked into county jail with bail set at $250,000 each. Anyone with information about the ongoing investigation can contact Detective Frank Valdez at 805-947-9128. Jeremy Childs is a breaking news and public safety reporter covering the night shift for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached by calling 805-437-0208 or emailing jeremy.childs@vcstar.com. You can also find him on Twitter @Jeremy_Childs. This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oxnard police seek help with fatal shooting, more Ventura County news (Reuters) - Local authorities in the occupied Ukrainian town of Enerhodar said Russian forces had violently dispersed a pro-Ukrainian rally on Saturday and detained some participants. Residents had gathered in the centre of the town in the south of the country to talk and sing the Ukrainian national anthem, when Russian soldiers arrived and bundled some into detention vans, the local administration said in an online post. "The occupiers are dispersing the protesters with explosions," it said in a separate post on Telegram, sharing a video of what appeared to be multiple stun grenades landing in a square and letting off bangs and clouds of white smoke next to the town's main cultural centre. It also accused Russian forces of shelling another part of the town on Saturday and said as a result four people had been wounded and were being treated in hospital. Reuters could not immediately verify the video or the local administration's reports. Moscow denies targeting civilians and describes its invasion of Ukraine as a "special military operation." Ukraine and the West say it is an unprovoked war of aggression. Residents of some towns and villages seized by Russian troops since they invaded on Feb. 24 have staged regular rallies against the occupation. Enerhodar lies on the Dnipro river in southern Ukraine and is home to workers of the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, which has also been occupied by Russian troops. (Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by David Holmes) A mother who is a school security guard is accused of using a police radio to warn her teen son and his accomplice that deputies were seeking them after they shot into a home, according to the Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office. The office on Friday charged 44-year-old Deborah Tucker with obstructing justice, and her 17-year-old son, Isaiah Tucker, with three counts of attempted murder. Mark Harper Jr., 17, was charged in the shooting Tuesday with three counts of attempted murder. The more we investigated this case, the uglier it became, Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said. On March 22, the younger Tucker and Harper drove by and shot into a home on the 1100 block of Sheppard Lane, the office said. Thats about four miles from the Orangeburg exit on Interstate 26. Three people were in the house when it was shot, the office said. At least one bullet went through a window and lodged into a wall. When a deputy arrived, he found bullet holes in the house and shell casings in the road. A resident of the house told deputies that he saw the shooters and identified them as Tucker and Harper, according to arrest warrants. Orangeburg deputies put out over police radio that they were looking for the younger Tucker and Harper, according to the office. Tuckers mother, Deborah, through her job as a security guard at an Orangeburg County school had a radio that broadcast police signals. When she heard deputies radio that they were looking for her son and the car he was in, the elder Tucker contacted her son and told him to get off the road, warrants said. Deputies jailed the Tuckers and Harper at the Orangeburg-Calhoun Regional Detention Center. A judge gave the elder Tucker a $20,000 bond. She paid and was released from jail, according to court records. Whether the younger Tucker and Harper were still jail is not listed in public records. A telephone request to the jail about the duos status was not responded to. Typically with an attempted murder charge, the suspect is kept in jail and the decision to release is left to a state judge at a later court hearing. As deputies arrested Harper at his mothers house, methamphetamine was found in the home, the office said. Deputies charged Harpers mother, 37-year-old Kimberly Thompson, with drug trafficking. A judge gave her a bond and released her from jail, court records show. Attempted murder is punishable with up to 30 years in prison. Meth trafficking is punishable with three to 30 years in prison, depending on the quantity of the drug and the offenders criminal record. By Trend The first Strategic Dialogue between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Italian Republic started in Baku on April 2, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote on Twitter, Trend reports. Italia's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Luigi Di Maio is on a visit to Azerbaijan. Will be updated (Getty) Actors Shia LaBeouf and Mia Goth have welcomed their first child together. According to a new report, LaBeouf, 35, and Goth, 28, were spotted walking in Pasadena, California, on Friday pushing a baby stroller. It it unclear when the baby was born or what sex the baby is, however Goths pregnancy was confirmed in Febrary after the actors baby bump was spotted while she was running errands, People reports. LaBeouf and Goth were first linked after they filmed Nymphomaniac: Vol. II together in 2012. Goth later appeared in a music video that LaBeouf directed in 2014. The couple have been married since 2016, when they wed in Las Vegas. They briefly split in 2018, even filing for divorce, before rekindling their romance soon after. Meanwhile, earlier this week Hilaria Baldwin revealed that she and actor Alec Baldwin were expecting their seventh child together. Hilaria shared her pregnancy news to Instagram on Tuesday, where she shared a video of her family and wrote: After many ups and downs over the past few years, we have an exciting up and a huge surprise: another Baldwinito is coming this fall. Hilaria said that she and Alec were beyond happy with the surprise and before she fell pregnant they were pretty sure their family was complete. Hilaria and Alec share six children together, Carmen, 8, Rafael, 6, Leonardo, 5, Romeo, 3, Eduardo, 1, and Lucia, 1. In the Instagram video, Hilaria adds: Im sharing with you the moment we told the kids - as you can see, they are super excited! Our new baby is a very bright spot in our lives. A blessing and a gift during such uncertain times. It comes just months after Alec was involved in a fatal shooting on the set of his film Rust which killed Halyna Hutchins. Will Smith said Friday night that he is resigning from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, less than a week after he slapped Chris Rock during the Oscars. "My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable," Smith said in a statement. "The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home." Smith said his actions both "betrayed the trust of the Academy" and "deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work," adding that he's "heartbroken." "I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film," he said. "So, I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate." "Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason," he added. Academy president David Rubin said the organization has "received and accepted" Smith's resignation, and "will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy's Standards of Conduct." Actor Will Smith slaps comedian Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, March 27, 2022. / Credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images The slap, which sent shock waves across Hollywood, came after Rock made a joke about Smith's wife. Rock said he was looking forward to a sequel to "G.I. Jane" starring Jada Pinkett Smith, which was a reference to her shaved head. Pinkett Smith has spoken publicly about losing her hair from the autoimmune disease alopecia. Smith then walked onstage and slapped Rock, before returning to his seat and yelling, "Keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth." Rock declined to press charges, and the LAPD did not take any action against Smith, though the incident has sparked intense public debate about whether his actions were justified. The Academy said Wednesday that Smith had been asked to leave after the slap, but he refused. Story continues Smith's decision to resign comes days after the Academy said it had launched a formal review into his conduct, which included "inappropriate physical contact, abusive or threatening behavior, and compromising the integrity of the Academy." Though it's possible the Academy could take back the Oscar he won for "King Richard" soon after the slap, Whoopi Goldberg, who serves on the Academy's Board of Governors, has said they would not strip him of the award. Ukrainian children use art to document war Minnesota priest's podcast reaches 200 million listeners Actor Will Smith resigns from the Academy Thursdays decision by the Constitutional Court of Seoul to uphold a law banning the practice of tattooing by non-medical professionals has sparked outrage among tattoo artists and advocates across the country. The ban, originally set in place by a Supreme Court decision in 1992, argues that tattooing is dangerous and could cause infections among other negative health effects. Only those with a medical license were given the right to perform the practice. The Constitutional Court upheld the ban on Thursday in a 5-4 vote. Well-known artist Kim Do-yoon, who heads a union of 650 tattooists, criticized the ruling, saying, No one in the world believes that tattooing is a medical practice and requires medical expertise. Its just pathetic because only the judges of the Constitutional Court dont seem to know this, she added. Kim, a 14-year industry veteran who has tattooed the likes of Brad Pitt and several K-pop stars, has led campaigns and petitions to legalize the practice in Korea in the past but has met no success. He, along with some of the 220,000 estimated tattooists in Korea, have faced penalties including fines of up to 10 million won (approximately $8,200) and up to two years of prison time. Many artists advertise their services on social media platforms, including Instagram, where they post pictures of their finished work and are less likely to be caught by authorities. The Korea Tattoo Association says that the industry is worth 200 billion won (approximately $170 million) a year, and studies show there are 13 million people that have at least one tattoo in Korea. A 2021 poll showed that four out of five South Koreans in their 20s, and a majority of overall participants, were in favor of lifting the ban against tattooing; however, the struggle to legalize tattooing in Korea has long been undermined by the lasting stigma that tattoos have in the country. They have been associated in the past with gangs and those who engage in criminal activity. This stigma, along with the opposition of doctors and medical associations questioning the health risks of using needles on the body, has stymied many attempts by advocates at legalizing tattooing. South Korea remains one of the only developed countries to prohibit the practice of tattooing by non-medical professionals. Story continues Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! 'Did You Just Call Me a P*ki?': South Asian Man Knocks Down Alleged Racist in London Japan dismisses South Korea complaint over new textbooks that distort historical, territorial facts South Korea sends over 170 million photos of travelers' faces to a facial recognition company Bay Area heiress acquitted of killing ex-lover says she is a victim of anti-Asian hate COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) Sri Lanka imposed a countrywide curfew starting Saturday evening until Monday morning, in addition to a state of emergency declared by the president, in an attempt to prevent more protests blaming the government for the worsening economic crisis. The government's information head Mohan Samaranayake said that the curfew is being imposed under powers vested with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He drew the ire of protesters who called for his resignation outside his residence on Thursday night, leading to police firing tear gas and arresting scores of people. The curfew is an attempt to shut the people up, said Ruki Fernando, a human rights activist who headed to a protest in the capital, Colombo, which dispersed early after the curfew came into force. I don't know why a curfew has been declared. What we need now is not a curfew, we need food, gas, fuel and the freedom to express ourselves, Fernando said. Rajapaksa assumed emergency powers on midnight Friday amid widespread calls for protests throughout the country on Sunday, as anger over shortages of essential foods, fuel and long power cuts boiled over this week. Sri Lanka faces huge debt obligations and dwindling foreign reserves, and its struggle to pay for imports has caused a lack of basic supplies. People wait in long lines for gas, and power is cut for several hours daily because theres not enough fuel to operate power plants and dry weather has sapped hydropower capacity. The island nation's economic woes date back a failure of successive governments to diversify exports, instead relying on traditional cash sources like tea, garments and tourism, and on a culture of consuming imported goods. The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a heavy blow to the economy with the government estimating a loss of $14 billion in the last two years. Protesters also point to mismanagement Sri Lanka has immense foreign debt after borrowing heavily on projects that dont earn money. Its foreign debt repayment obligations are around $7 billion for this year alone. Story continues The crisis has hit people from all walks of life. Middle class professionals and business people who would normally not take part in street protests have been holding nightly rallies with candles and placards in many parts of the country. On Thursday, angry crowds demonstrated along the roads leading to Rajapaksas private residence on the outskirts of Colombo and stoned two army buses that police were using to block their path. The protesters set fire to one of the buses and turned back a fire truck that rushed to douse it. Rajapaksas office blamed organized extremists within the thousands of protesters for the violence. Police fired tear gas and a water cannon and arrested 54 people. Dozens of other people were injured and some journalists beaten by police. Senior police spokesperson Ajith Rohana said that 24 police personnel and several other civilians were injured. Total damage was estimated to be around $132,000 and the suspects will be charged with damaging public property, Rohana said. Nuwan Bopage, who represents some of the suspects, said 27 were released on bail when they appeared in court on Friday night and the others were waiting to be processed. The emergency declaration by Rajapaksa gives him wide powers to preserve public order, suppress mutiny, riot or civil disturbances or for the maintenance of essential supplies. Under the emergency, the president can authorize detentions, seizure of property and search of premises. He can also change or suspend any law except the constitution. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka, the largest lawyers' group, said the emergency declaration was not the answer to the country's problems. These protests reflect the desperate situation of the people who are seeking to secure for themselves and their families some of the most basic essentials in life, the lawyers said in a statement, urging Rajapaksa to revoke the emergency and ensure people's rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. A curfew already had been implemented in the suburbs of Colombo following Thursday's protests but was lifted Friday morning. The powerful Rajapaksa family includes not only the president but his older brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. He was credited with a military victory that ended the countrys 25-year civil war against Tamil rebels in 2009. Five other family members serve as lawmakers, including Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Irrigation Minister Chamal Rajapaksa and a nephew, Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa. The Rajapaskas' immense political clout has raised fears of the family control over key state functions and of weakening independent government institutions. STORY: I would like to thank Switzerland for opening its warm hearts and warm houses for Ukrainians, Rybchenko said. We're thankful also that we can find new steps, we can find new solutions, to some important issues for Ukrainians here in Switzerland and in Europe, he added. Since Russias invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, up to 4.1 million civilians have left the country, according to figures from the United Nations. On Wednesday, civic groups in Taiwan met to discuss alternatives for the term hymen in Mandarin, which literally translates to virginity membrane (). In a March 30 conference with Taiwans Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Deputy Secretary-General Lin Tzu-yin and Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Shu-fen, along with other members of womens rights groups leaders, discussed the need to change several Mandarin health terms that purportedly discriminate against women. In addition to the word for hymen, they also brought up the term lochia, which is the normal vaginal discharge from the uterus following childbirth and literally translates to mean bad excretion () in Mandarin. Both terms can be found anywhere from dictionaries to medical journals throughout Taiwan and China. Advocates for changing the terms describe how this would not only allow for more neutral perceptions of womens anatomy, but also challenge false associations between a womans hymen and her virginity. The hymen is the thin tissue located at the opening of the vagina. In many countries, including Taiwan and the U.S., it is not considered a foolproof way to determine whether a woman has had sex before or not. The reality is that it can tear for a wide array of reasons other than vaginal intercourse, including horseback riding and periods. The idea of the virginal hymen is so enduring, however, that a market for artificial hymens the earliest reports of which showed them being sold in China and virginity products exists. Women can even undergo surgery to supposedly replace their hymen. The Deputy Director of the Ministry of Health and Welfares Health Promotion Administration Dr. Wei Shi-lun () gave her strong approval of the proposal at the conference, and stated that the Ministry of Health will push for more neutral ways to describe body parts. Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! Missouri Restaurant Deletes Social Media Accounts After Hanging Racist Coronavirus Pinata Story continues Chicago Sun-Times apologizes for pairing US-related COVID article with photo of masked Tokyo residents Asian American Actors Want More Opportunities for Asians in Anime Voice Acting 100 Racist Attacks on Asians Reported Each Day With Women 3X More Likely to Be Targets Texas students and campus leaders held the states first Texas Historically Black Colleges and Universities Conference in Austin over the weekend to discuss the need for increased investments in HBCUs. The event, held at Huston-Tillotson University, featured speeches from campus leaders, a conversation with state lawmakers who represent HBCUs in their districts and a roundtable discussion with students who spoke about the experience and challenges of attending HBCUs. Archie Vanderpuye, Huston-Tillotson University provost, said organizers developed the conference to create opportunities for students to learn and shed light on the need for more resources and support for HBCUs in Texas. He said he hopes the conference leads to more support for HBCU's in the state and across the country. Related: Colette Pierce Burnette, president of Huston-Tillotson University, named Austinite of the Year From left, Robert Ceresa, Doug Greco and Theodore Francis hold a panel discussion about a public leadership project at the inaugural Texas Historically Black Colleges and Universities Conference on Friday at Huston-Tillotson University. While we focus on Texas, we are definitely aware that our sister institutions in other states share this common goal, and it is our hope that we're going to share what we learn here with them so that we can build a shared future together, Vanderpuye said. Jeffrey Clemmons, a Huston-Tillotson alumnus, who graduated in 2021, said there has been a funding inequity from day one between money for HBCUs and the flagship state university systems. In addition to addressing inequities, he said one of the conference's goals is to develop a coalition of HBCUs that can address shared issues in the future. Prior to this moment, as far as we could tell, while there were informal channels, there was never a unified conference of HBCUs, Clemmons said. We were never able to come together in a unified fashion and advocate for issues, and so I certainly hope that the one thing that comes out of this is that we will no longer be strangers to one another and we will be united More: First United Methodist Church of Austin eliminates debt for HBCU Huston-Tillotson students Story continues Joseph Robinson speaks Friday during a student roundtable discussion at the HBCU Conference at Huston-Tillotson University. The business model is broken Multiple conference speakers noted that state and federal governments have a history of providing inequitable funding and investments to HBCUs compared with other universities, and that lack of funding has continued to persist, including in Texas. The two public four-year HBCUs in Texas Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M University received nearly $2,500 less in combined average state funding per student compared with the states two flagship universities in 2019, according to data from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. That gap doubled in 2021. The majority of HBCUs in Texas are private, including Huston-Tillotson University, and dont receive funding from the state, but they have to compete with the other universities across the state for other investments and donations. More: Huston-Tillotson University president to retire in 2022 Colette Pierce Burnette, president and CEO of Huston-Tillotson University, said the business model is broken, and its an uphill battle to get for funding for HBCUs. She said she has to balance the costs of the school with serving Pell Grant-eligible students, which means seeking out alternative sources of revenue to try to keep tuition costs low. Our schools are often called resilient, ... but at some point, resilience becomes abusive. We should not have to be resilient to move from surviving to thriving, Burnette said. I do see light. My institution has come a very long way, but we need investments in us in order for us to be able to increase the number of textbooks that we can use to educate. State Rep. Jarvis Johnson, D-Houston, encouraged HBCUs to prepare funding strategies and lobby state representatives to get more support at the Capitol. "Unfortunately, a lot of (legislators) don't know the importance of HBCUs. They only see it from afar," Johnson said. "When they see it from afar, they only see it as, 'Oh look at that small campus. Look at the older buildings that are falling down. Why should we give you money?' Because the buildings are falling down. Because the campus is small." Students from historically black colleges across Texas hold a discussion Friday at the HBCU Conference. HBCU advocacy Students and community members from seven of the nine HBCUs in Texas Jarvis Christian College; Prairie View A&M University; St. Philip's College; Southwestern Christian College; Texas Southern University; Wiley College and Huston-Tillotson University attended the event. Samarya Howard, a Huston-Tillotson University student, said shes faced challenges with inconsistent public transportation while attending college, which has led her to miss class and spend hundreds of dollars on Uber and Lyft. At her alma mater, Southwestern Christian College, Howard said buildings were falling apart, but there was not enough money to rebuild them. She said she wants more money invested in HBCUs to repair buildings and fund programs in which students can develop their talents. More: Huston-Tillotson looks to boost ranks of Black men in teaching jobs with Apple partnership There's so many different things that we experience as students, but I think, if we start to really talk together, we can show people, OK, this is what we need, Howard said. I think we need to get people to be more vocal (and) actually lock in to what they're trying to accomplish because its not only important for them, but also for the HBCU and for the other students. Clemmons said he wants more funding to go toward scholarships and financial support for students, facility upgrades for HBCUs without proper ventilation systems or air conditioning systems, and civic centers on every campus to get students of color more involved. I hope that legislators who are not here will see what we did at this conference and will hear the stories from this conference and say, Hey, I need to go talk to my HBCU that's in my district, Clemmons said. I really want them to come to the table ... and have a transparent conversation about the inequities that have not been fixed in our state. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas HBCUs address funding inequities at first statewide conference BANGKOK (Reuters) - The Thai government on Saturday hailed "significant progress" in the latest talks with the main group fighting an insurgency in Thailand's Muslim deep south after the sides agreed to stop violence during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan. A Thai government delegation and representatives of the main rebel group, the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), met face-to-face earlier this week in Malaysia in the latest round of talks after peace dialogue resumed in January after a two-year pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 7,300 people have been killed in insurgency related violence since 2004 when a decades-old rebellion flared up in the provinces of Narathiwat, Yala, Pattani and parts of Songkhla, a predominantly Malay-speaking Muslim area in majority Buddhist Thailand. The BRN said in a statement that the two sides have agreed to stop violence during Ramadan, which runs from April 3 to May 14, to "create a safe and prosperous atmosphere" for the community as a process of "confidence-building" to "establish meaningful peace." Thailand said in a statement that the creation of an "environment conducive to peace" during Ramadan will allow people to "safely perform their religious practices" and boost public confidence in the peace dialogue. Both sides have also agreed to established joint working groups in three areas, including the reduction of violence, public consultations and a political solution, the Thai government said. Shadowy rebel groups have called for independence for the southern Malay-Muslim majority provinces, which were part of a sultanate called Patani and annexed by Thailand in 1909 as part of treaty with Britain. Separatists have long complained Malay Muslims were forcibly assimilated by Thailand and accused Thai security forces of past atrocities. The Thai government has defended its operations in the area. Talks between the Thai government and rebel groups started in 2013 and thought they have been disrupted frequently. The latest round of talks restarted in 2019, leading to formal peace talks facilitated by Malaysia in early 2020, but those were interrupted by the pandemic. (Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) By Trend Italy and Azerbaijan provided friendly support to each other during the COVID-19 pandemic, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said at a joint press conference with Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Luigi Di Maio, Trend reports. The minister stated that Azerbaijan provided assistance to Italian hospitals during high-level coronavirus infection in the country. "When there was a high spread of COVID-19 in Azerbaijan, specialists from Italy came to our country to help us," Bayramov said. Former President Donald Trump has history of aces. Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images A video shows Trump telling a Gays for Trump supporter that they did not look gay. The incident took place during a fundraiser at Trump's Florida Mar-a-Lago resort. The Gays for Trump founder said they don't have "the 'typical 'look' of leftist LGBT." Former President Donald Trump told a Gays for Trump supporter that they didn't look gay during an event at Mar-a-Lago. The former president addressed a crowd at a fundraiser for Michigan Republican congressional candidate John Gibbs in a video posted online. Trump asks, "where's Gays for Trump?" after someone in the crowd shouts the group's name. "We're over here. Gays for Trump!" the person in the crowd replies. The former president points at the person and says, "you don't look gay," causing the crowd to erupt in laughter. As the laughter dies down, Trump says, "We did great with the gay population, as you know." Peter Boykin, the founder of the Gays for Trump organization, told Newsweek that people in the group "probably wouldn't 'look gay' because it's a stereotype that fits more with the typical 'look' of leftist LGBT. Not saying some of us might look fabulous and 'gay.'" "Otherwise, it was a suit and tie event, so unless one of us was wearing a joker suit, meh," Boykin told the outlet. Boykin explained that the group is "a nationwide movement full of various types of gays and the gay community has a lot of diversitythe difference is the Gays for Trump lean right." During Trump's time in office, his administration was accused of introducing harmful policies that weakened protections for LGBTQ people. It included banning transgender people from serving in the military and rolling back Obama-era anti-discrimination policies. Story continues The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ rights group, has previously said that Trump-led "the most virulently anti-LGBTQ administration in decades." While LGBTQ voters overwhelmingly favored Biden, Trump did gain LGBTQ voters between the 2016 and 2020 elections. Read the original article on Business Insider LONDON (Reuters) - British police said they had arrested 83 people in Essex, east of London, in the space of 48 hours as climate change protesters blockaded oil terminals. Hundreds of activists from groups Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil started blocking oil terminals across Britain on Friday, with some climbing on top of oil tankers as part of their campaign to force the government to speed decarbonisation efforts. Essex police said in a statement on Saturday that 63 people were arrested on Friday following protests at three locations. It said a further 20 were arrested on Saturday. The police said the people were arrested on suspicion of a variety of offences. Our officers are continuing to work in exceptionally challenging circumstances with a view to bringing these protests to a safe and swift conclusion," said Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Nolan. Extinction Rebellion said on Friday it planned to increase the pressure on the government with daily protests in London, which are due to begin on April 9. (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by David Holmes) Ukrainian forces have regained control over the "whole Kyiv region," the deputy defense minister said Saturday. It comes after a weeks-long assault by Russian forces bent on seizing the Ukrainian capital. Russia's Defense Ministry announced last week that it would reduce its military assaults on Kyiv. Ukrainian forces have regained control of the "whole Kyiv region," Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Saturday. "The whole Kyiv region is liberated from the invader," Malyar said in a post on Facebook, according to Reuters. The Ukrainian capital was under assault for weeks at the hands of Russian forces bent on seizing the city. Last week, Russia's Defense Ministry announced that it would scale back assaults on Kyiv amid peace talks between the two countries. One Ukrainian MP said the move was an attempt to "save face," and that Russian forces were really "kicked" out of the city, causing concerns about whether the Kremlin really wants peace. US leaders were also skeptical of Russia's claims, stating that the threat to Kyiv may not be over. "We believe that this is a repositioning, not a real withdrawal, and that we all should be prepared to watch for a major offensive against other areas of Ukraine," Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said. On Friday, a top Ukrainian official accused Russian troops of abducting Ukrainian children and using them as human shields as they reposition from Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Saturday that retreating Russian troops were leaving mines around Ukrainian homes and "even the bodies of those killed," creating a "catastrophic" situation for civilians, the Associated Press reported. "It's still not possible to return to normal life, as it used to be, even at the territories that we are taking back after the fighting," Zelenskyy said. "We need wait until our land is demined, wait till we are able to assure you that there won't be new shelling." Read the original article on Business Insider BERLIN (Reuters) - Wladimir Klitschko, a Ukrainian former boxing champion whose brother is the mayor of Kyiv, heaped praise on Germany for its help after meeting officials in Berlin in an effort to drum up more support for his country. Klitschko and his brother Vitali, also a former boxing star, have strong ties to Germany, having spent most of their professional careers there. But they have previously accused Berlin of failing to do enough to help Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion. In a video shot outside the Bundestag and posted on his Twitter feed, Wladimir Klitschko said he had been able to see for himself during his two-day visit that the two nations were "truly brothers and sisters figuratively now" and he would never forget Germany's support. The German government has made several policy U-turns in the last six weeks, agreeing to send Ukraine weapons, suspending a gas pipeline project with Russia that bypassed the former Soviet state, and vowing to boost defence spending. During the visit by Wladimir Klitschko, who enlisted in the Ukrainian reserve army shortly before war broke out, German media showed pictures of him meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the foreign, finance and economy ministers. "Klitschko and his delegation brought the Ukrainian fighting spirit that reaches us in countless images every day into the foreign ministry," Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on Instagram. "For the government and me it is clear: we will continue to support Ukraine with all our force." Klitschko's praise contrasted with ongoing criticism of Germany from the Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin Andrij Melnyk, who on Saturday criticised it for resisting a European embargo on Russian energy imports. "When will the cruel actions against Ukrainian civilians be bad enough for Germany to finally turn off war criminal (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's money tap and impose an embargo for oil, gas, coal and metal? How long will you still hesitate?" he said in a tweet he addressed to the federal government. Moscow has denied targeting civilians in what it calls a "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" its neighbour. (Reporting by Sarah Marsh and Andreas Rinke; Editing by Frances Kerry) Ukrainian soldiers sit on top of a military vehicle parked outside the hotel in Prypiat, Ukraine on February 4. Volodymyr Tarasov/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Image Russian forces began withdrawing from Chernobyl on Thursday, Ukraine's state nuclear agency said. On Saturday, the agency said Ukraine's flag was raised over the plant. Russian troops took over the facility in late February at the start of the invasion. The Ukrainian flag has been raised over the Chernobyl nuclear plant after Russian forces completely withdrew, Ukraine's state nuclear agency said on Saturday. "Today, April 2, at 11:00, Ukrainian flag was raised over the Chernobyl NPP and the anthem was sung," Energoatom said in a Telegram statement. This comes after the agency announced on Thursday that Russian forces were beginning to withdraw from the plant after suffering "a significant doses of radiation." Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 1, 2022 Energoatom's announcement came shortly after the US defense official also said Russian troops were withdrawing the facility. The announcement came as Russia said its planning to scale back military operations in the northern parts of Ukraine. Russian forces invaded Chernobyl in late February at the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops had forced workers to stay on-site for close to a month before allowing another group of co-workers to switch with them. Two Ukrainian staff told Reuters on Thursday that Russian soldiers drove armored vehicles through the 'Red Forest," Chernobyl's most contaminated area without any protective gear when they invaded the site. On Friday, the United Nations atomic watchdog said it's opening an investigation into Russian soldiers' exposure to radiation. Ukrainian scientists from the Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants have also said that Russia's invasion of the exclusion zone allowed looters to take radioactive isotopes used to calibrate instruments, and nuclear waste left over from the 1986 nuclear accident from a radiation monitoring lab near the nuclear site at Chernobyl. Ukraine's defense ministry also said that withdrawing Russian troops "took kettles, lab equipment, and radiation," before leaving. Read the original article on Business Insider Ukrainian servicemen climb on a fighting vehicle outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 2, 2022, as Russian forces pull back from Ukraine's capital region. Vadim Ghirda/AP A missing Ukrainian photojournalist was found dead outside Kyiv on Friday, per The New York Times. Maks Levin, who had been documenting the Russia-Ukraine conflict, went missing on March 13. The office of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General said that per early reports, he was shot with "small arms fire." A noted Ukrainian photojournalist who disappeared last month while covering the Russia-Ukraine conflict near the capital city of Kyiv has been found dead, The New York Times reported on Saturday. Maks Levin, a 40-year-old freelance photojournalist and videographer, had performed work for many Ukrainian and international publications over the years. While reporting in a conflict zone near Kyiv with a colleague, he went missing on March, 13, per The Associated Press. Levin's body was discovered in the Huta Mezhyhirska village on Friday, according to the Institute of Mass Information, an organization that reports on press freedom in Ukraine. He is survived by his wife, four sons, and his parents, per The Times. The office of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General reportedly said Levin was killed by "small arms fire," with the act allegedly carried out by Russian military forces. An investigation into Levin's death is currently ongoing. Oleksiy Chernyshov, the colleague that accompanied Levin, has not yet been located, per the Institute of Mass Information. Shortly before he vanished, Levin published a set of agonizing visuals on his Facebook page where he showed the evacuation of residents from their homes, with many of them wearing white cloth "to signal their civilian status," according to The Times. "It's like a horror movie," he wrote in a message on the page. On Saturday, journalists who worked with Levin were in shock, as many of them had been searching for him since last month. During his career, Levin worked with Reuters and The Associated Press, among other leading news organizations. Read the original article on Business Insider Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Zelenskyy suggested that some Western partners are "playing games" as there are delays in the delivery of weaponry. "I don't want to believe that some partners of ours are playing games," he said on Fox News. Zelenskyy said that Ukrainians would not accept "any outcome" of the conflict other than victory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said some Western partners were "playing games" with the delivery of weaponry, while also questioning if the current level of aid from the US and other nations would be sufficient in beating back against Russian military forces. During an interview on Fox News, Zelenskyy told host Bret Baier through an interpreter that he had confidence in the West, and believed that Ukraine and US shared similar values. However, he said that such sentiments among the Ukrainian people could deteriorate if vital military equipment and other forms of aid fail to materialize in a timely manner. "I believe that the United States, the people of the United States want that but if this process gets longer, continues to be delayed, if we can see that the process of transferring those weapons is getting slower, then people begin to ask the question, 'Is it really true?'" Zelenskyy said during the interview. "Maybe there is some game behind it. I don't want to believe that some partners of ours are playing games." Zelenskyy's efforts to secure more aid for Ukraine comes as a contingent of countries have sent weaponry to the country in their fight against Russia. The European Union last month greenlit a $551 million package to aid in arming Ukrainian soldiers, and US President Joe Biden signed a bill authorizing $13.6 billion in funding for Ukraine, which helped send missiles and ammunition to the country, among other vital priorities. On Friday, the US Department of Defense announced that it would send $300 million in additional aid to Ukraine, which would include laser-guided rocket systems, armored off-road vehicles, and small-to-large caliber ammunition. Story continues During the interview, Zelenskyy continued his plea for additional defense mechanisms. "We don't want a million of quality bullet proof vests or some special brand helmets," he said in what appeared to be a swipe at Germany's offer to send 5,000 helmets to the country back in January. He added: "Just give us missiles. Give us airplanes. You cannot give us F-18, F-19, or whatever you have. Give us the old Soviet planes. That's all. Give them into my hands. Give me something to defend my country with, my state." Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have sat down for peace talks, and Zelenskyy this week floated adopting "neutral status" with Russia in order to stop the conflict. However, such an arrangement would require security guarantees from Ukraine. Zelenskyy said that Ukrainians would not accept "any outcome" of the conflict not involving a defeat of Russian forces. "A victory of truth means a victory for Ukraine and Ukrainians," he said. "The question is when it will end. That is a deep question. It's a painful question. Besides victory, the Ukrainian people will not accept any outcome." Read the original article on Business Insider Douglas Sacha/Getty Images A Washington man is accused of sending several threatening voicemails to Sen. Ted Cruz, per The Daily Beast. In one message, Eric Kikkert said: "I'm gonna blow your brains out." Kikkert, a convicted felon, was reportedly arrested by federal authorities. A man who threatened to shoot Texas Sen. Ted Cruz with "an assault rifle" was arrested and charged by federal authorities in Washington state, the Daily Beast reported. The man, identified as Eric Kikkert of Kent, Washington, is accused of calling the senator's office last month, on March 21, saying, "answer my questions by giving me a call or at the end of my rifle," according to court documents obtained by the outlet. On March 22, an unidentified person showed US Capitol Police a text message from Kikkert in which he said that the senator should call him "or ill end up in his fucking face with an assault rifle," according to the criminal complaint. Attached to the text message was a photo of Kikkert, which is included in the document, from when he served in the military. His mother told an agent that he "suffers from mental illness" and that she has not seen him act violent, per the complaint. The complaint notes that Kikkert is also a felon who is not allowed to have firearms. The same day, Kikkert also allegedly left multiple voicemails to Sen. Cruz's office making extreme threats, the complaint said. According to the complaint, Kikkert, said: "That's a fucking vaccine. And if you don't fucking talk to me about it. If you don't advocate for it, I'm gonna blow your brains out" adding, "I'm willing to put a gun in your face. You better fucking think about it." The court documents alleged that at one point during his rant he reached a live person at the office, saying that he was "one step away from getting an assault rifle and pointing it at the Senator." In addition to the threats, officials were accused of telling an agent that he wanted to start a militia, and sending "nonsensical" emails to US Capitol Police, and making social media posts asking for weapons, including an AR-15. Read the original article on Insider By Trend Azerbaijan celebrates the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations with the Italian Republic, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said at a joint press conference with Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Luigi Di Maio, Trend reports. The joint statement on strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries during Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Italy in February 2020 is of particular importance, Bayramov said. The minister noted that Azerbaijan-Italy relations reached the level of strategic cooperation and partnership. Muslims prepare for Ramadan across the globe (AFP via Getty Images) The holy month of Ramadan is right around the corner, a month where Muslims find a sense of peace, spiritual healing and test their strength and devotion to God. Muslims gather in prayer, Quranic reading and mindfulness to make the most out of the fasting month. Ramadan is celebrated in many different ways around the globe to mark the special occasion, from Iftar gatherings (Iftar- the opening of ones fast), to household decorations and traditional foods, to mark its arrival. Why do Muslims celebrate Ramadan? Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and changes every year in accordance with the moon. Before the fasting month begins, Muslims around the world prepare and wait for the arrival of Ramadan to be announced by the Saudi moon sighting committee or their local mosque. Ramadan is an essential part of the Islamic faith and it is believed, that it is the month whereby the Holy Quran was first reveal to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). How do Muslims fast? The fasting process is between dawn to sunset and is a sign of loyalty to the Islamic faith, which means that Muslims must abstain from eating and drinking, and yes, not even water. Many Muslims fast as a reminder to remain patient, learn self-discipline and to build an understanding of those that are suffering around the world. Among many others, Ramadan is also one of the five pillars of Islam. The pillars are key practices that Muslims are obligated to fulfill throughout their lifetime. Who is exempt from fasting? Fasting is not permitted to those that are suffering from a mental or physical illness. Pregnant women who are breastfeeding and women who are menstruating, are also exempt. As well as travellers, and children who have not yet reached puberty. How should you wish someone a Happy Ramadan? A saying familiar to many Muslims around the globe is, Ramadan Mubarak which simply means Blessed Ramadan. Another commonly used term is, Ramadan Kareem, which translates to Generous Ramadan, both terms are from Arabic origins. Story continues These are some of the ways in which many Muslims welcome the fasting month between family, friends and neighbours, and is well used throughout the fasting month, when greeting people for the first time. Ramzan, which is a Parsi word and stems from Persian roots, is often used around the globe too, mainly around countries such as India and Pakistan. If you have Muslim colleagues, friends or neighbours, the simplest way to wish them a Happy Ramadan is by saying, Ramadan Mubarak or Ramadan Kareem . Happy fasting and Ramadan Mubarak to Muslims around the globe! In 2021, a record number of Iowans transformed lives through organ and tissue donation. Yet, the number of people who need transplants continues to outpace the number of donor organs. There are currently more than 106,000 Americans waiting for a life-saving organ transplant, and 600 of them are Iowans. On Friday, Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital leadership and staff held a Donate Life Ceremony to commemorate the importance of organ donation. With April being National Donate Life Month, we want to take a few minutes this morning to recognize the collaboration between Methodist Jennie Edmundson and the Iowa Donor Network, said Dave Burd, president and CEO of the hospital. Through this collaboration, we dont just facilitate donation but are truly impacting the lives of patients and their families in our region. Most importantly, today we are also remembering and celebrating the lives of seven donors and their families from 2021 and also all of the donors since our last celebration in 2019, he said. A letter was read from Michaela Kreitler, whose fathers organs were donated in 2020. My dad, John William Hynes Jr., was a selfless man. Now, dont get me wrong, he was a stubborn yet funny Harley guy with the beard and the tattoos to match, and he looked a little scary if you didnt know him; but to me, he was always just Dad, she wrote in the letter. He wanted to help as much as he could in this life. On Halloween night 2020, Hynes was eating out with his wife, Carrie, when he suddenly went into cardiac arrest. They lived in Omaha, but because they were in Council Bluffs, he was taken to Jennie Edmundson. His heartbeat eventually stabilized but, after several days, Critical Care Unit staff found that his brain activity had stopped. Apparently, a lack of oxygen to his brain before he reached the hospital made a full recovery impossible, according to an article that was posted on the Methodist Health System website in December 2020. The staff at Jennie Ed that took care of my dad were very thoughtful and comforting to us in this dark time, Kreitler wrote in her letter. They made sure to take care of not just dads physical needs but our emotional needs, as well. After a sober discussion, his family decided to donate his organs, Kreitler said. Obviously, its a very, very emotional decision, she said. Youve just gotten the worst news ever. It was really hard. Dad was only 52. We just wanted something positive to come out of it. Kreitler had already designated herself as an organ donor at the urging of her mother, Robin Malfait, who was an ICU nurse. In her letter, she wrote, Iowa Donor Network staff were class acts. I will never forget that last Friday with my dad, because John (Jorgensen) at Iowa Donor made it so special. He made glitter handprints of my dads hands for all of us to have. It was special and obviously very hard at the same time. Another special memory was what Kreitler calls the hero walk. It was a Friday night at 7:30 p.m., and all the staff from the week (who were not even working) and many other staff members lined the hall as we walked with my dad to elevators for him to head to the operating room, she wrote. Seeing all those faces (with masks) line the hall and just care so much about people they didnt know a week prior was truly a beautiful and moving moment. The walk to the car that night was just nothing but tears and immense pain, Kreitler wrote. I could not stop crying. In that moment, there was a finality of knowing I would never see my dad again that left a physical pain in my heart. But something beautiful happened again something that gave me just a glimmer of hope that everything was going to be OK. A young woman (employee in scrubs) stopped me and said, I was just a part of that walk I was lined up in the hallway. Was that your dad? and I told her it was. She then proceeded to ask me if she could hug me, and together we cried. She, too, was moved beyond words by what she had seen and experienced being part of the hero walk. It was a beautiful moment between two strangers that I will never forget in my lifetime. Kreitler thinks it is important to register as a donor, even though it might make the final farewell seem awkward. I know a lot of times this is the worst day of someones life, she said. In my mind, its a gift that you would be giving another family. This week, the family received a letter from someone who received some of Hynes skin, Kreitler said. That was really cool and it made it worthwhile, she said. Meanwhile, a relative of hers now needs a kidney, Kreitler said. That makes the need for organ donors even more personal. Those who donate their organs are heroes, said Jorgensen, donation services coordinator for the Iowa Donor Network. Its a legacy that lives on, he said. A 15-year-old Iowa athlete was sidelined by an injury and was no longer able to participate in activities, Jorgensen said. When she received a tissue donation, it changed her life. She can now go back to running and competing at a high level, he said. People sometimes misunderstand what organ recovery does to a deceased loved ones body, Jorgensen said. When a donation happens, people are still able to have an open-casket funeral, he said. We (pay) special attention to asking what kind of a funeral theyre going to have so we dont change their appearance so open-casket can happen. When a donor passes away, the Iowa Donor Network is ready to respond, Jorgensen said. We have a surgical team that comes in, he said. Well have people come in from Iowa or it could be from the area. Where surgeons come from to recover the organs ultimately depends on where the organs are needed, Jorgensen said. They are taken to the next person on the national organ transplant waiting list, and travel time is a prime consideration. Kidneys can go longer than hearts can, he said. Hearts can only be out of the body for four to six hours. Kidneys can be out for 24 to 36 hours. Kidneys oftentimes will go on a pump which has some preservative fluid that circulates through them. Lungs are sometimes hooked up to a pump that inflates them at regular intervals, Jorgensen said. There are certain ways to package them, he said. Every nine minutes, a new person is added to the national organ transplant waiting list, according to the Iowa Donor Network. Each day, an average of 17 people die while waiting. An average of 112 transplants are performed every day in the United States. In 2021, the lives of nearly 41,000 Americans were saved by organ donation. In Iowa, 128 people donated organs and 365 organs were transplanted. One donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation and save and heal 50 to 300 lives through tissue donation. Those interested in donating can indicate that when getting or renewing their drivers licenses. The Iowa Donor Network is able to link to Department of Transportation records to retrieve that information. However, registering to become a donor is the most effective way to help ensure that more lives are saved through donation, according to the Iowa Donor Network. Those interested in registering can do so at IowaDonorNetwork.org. National Donate Life Blue and Green Day to promote organ and tissue donation is April 22. Companies across the state will Light Up for Life and illuminate their buildings in green. For more information about Iowa Donor Network activities, visit IowaDonorNetwork.org. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Sierra Club-sponsored public hearing on the use of eminent domain for the construction of proposed CO2 pipelines across Iowa drew both opposition and support. The majority of the more than 100 people who gathered in the Statehouse rotunda on Tuesday were opposed. Maria Trinidad of Des Moines was with dozens of members of Laborers Local 177 supporting construction because local jobs mean local paychecks. An amendment on the administration and regulation budget would prohibit the Iowa Utilities Board from scheduling hearings on the use of eminent domain until after Feb. 1, 2023. POACHERS SENTENCED: An investigation that began as a turkey poaching case last fall has concluded with five people pleading guilty to 48 wildlife charges. They were assessed nearly $83,000 in fines and liquidated damages. State conservation officers were executing a search warrant at the home of Devon Lewis, 26, of rural Washta, in November when they discovered evidence of other poaching activity. Once an additional search warrant was secured, investigators uncovered evidence of a year-round poaching network involving at least 70 deer, four turkeys, ducks, raccoons and red fox dating back to at least 2018. State Conservation Officer Kirby Bragg said evidence from the lengthy investigation showed the poachers would shoot wildlife out of season, over bait and from vehicles, often without the proper tags. The deer were primarily bucks with antlers. Lewis pleaded guilty to 23 citations with fines and damages totaling $37,600 and a minimum seven-year hunting license suspension. The others pleading guilty were Taylor Luvaas, 27, of Schaller, 14 citations, fines and damages of $31,118, seven-year hunting license suspension; Jacob Fouts, 23, of Cherokee, six citations, fines and damages of $5,861 and hunting license suspension; Dylan Lewis, 22, of Cushing, three citations, fines and damages of $5,251, hunting license suspension; Austin Lewis, 19, of Cushing, two citations, fines and damages of $4,300. The judge condemned five rifles, three shotguns and three bows used to commit the crimes. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources was assisted by the sheriffs offices and conservation boards in Ida and Woodbury counties. JUDICIAL NOMINATING: The Iowa Senate on Tuesday approved changes to the judicial nominating process. The changes boost the number of recommended candidates for appellate court openings from three to five, have the governor select lower-level judges instead of district court judges making that selection, and allow judges in contiguous counties to be eligible for a judicial opening, provided they move into the new district if selected. HF 2481 passed on a party-line 31-16 vote, with Republicans supporting. The bill previously passed the House, so with its Senate passage it heads to Gov. Kim Reynolds desk for her consideration. RADON TESTING: The Iowa Senate on Tuesday unanimously approved HF 2412, which requires schools to establish a plan for at least one radon test in each attendance center before July 2027. The House approved it earlier, 93-2. Radon is colorless, odorless and tasteless radioactive gas is produced by the natural breakdown of uranium, which is found in soil and rock throughout the United States. Radon travels through soil and enters buildings through cracks and other holes in the foundations. An estimated 400 Iowans die each year from radon exposure. According to the Legislative Services Agency, the initial cost of radon testing in schools would range from $220,000 to $330,000. School districts may choose to use district employees trained in radon testing. Initial measurement specialist certification for radon testing is $275. Initial mitigation specialist certification for radon testing is $175. Training for an individual to receive both certifications is $400. ABSENTEE BALLOTS: Voters wishing to vote by mail in the June 7 primary election now may request an absentee ballot. The 70-day absentee ballot request period for the primary election is now open, and county auditors can begin mailing absentee ballots 20 days ahead of Election Day, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced. Iowans can download the request form directly from the Iowa Secretary of State Offices website. Requests must be received by the county auditors office by May 23. In-person absentee voting at the county auditors office is available through the day before the election, June 6. HOOVER AWARD: Rep. Cecil Dolecheck, R-Mount Ayr, and Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, were presented the 2022 Hoover Uncommon Public Service Award on Wednesday. The award, named for Iowa native President Herbert Hoover, is presented annually to Iowa legislators who exemplify Hoovers humanitarian efforts and who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to demonstrate uncommon service and commitment to the people of Iowa. Dolecheck is retiring after the 2022 legislative session. Dolecheck, 70, a retired farmer, has served in the House since 1997. Over the years, he has chaired the Education Committee as well as Education Appropriations Subcommittee. Hes also served on the Human Resources, Labor and Environmental Protection committees. Petersen, 51, who works in marketing communications, served six terms in the House before being elected to the Senate three times. The first woman elected Senate Democratic leader, she led her caucus from 2017 to 2020. She has served on the Appropriations, Commerce, Government Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means committees as well as Transportation, Infrastructure and Capitals Appropriations Subcommittee. RIIF FUNDING: Higher than projected gambling revenue will make it possible for the Legislature to bump up the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund, or RIIF, by $87 million in the coming year. The House Transportation, Infrastructure and Capital Appropriations subcommittee on Monday voted 7-2 to send a $289,687,568 proposed RIIF budget to the full committee. It likely will be considered Tuesday. Some of the additional funding proposed in fiscal 2023 is due to concerns that Iowa gambling revenue may dip or nose dive as Nebraska casinos come online, said Rep. Jacob Bossman, R-Sioux City. Some projects are being accelerated, and others are being paid for sooner than previously scheduled. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission has received studies projecting Iowa gaming revenue could fall somewhere between $183 million and $256 million a year. One study said Council Bluffs casinos indicated that as much as 80% their revenue is from Nebraska residents. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced Monday that the annual National Change of Address process to update and maintain Iowas voter registration records is underway. Notices have been sent to 123,634 registered Iowa voters who have filed a change of address with the U.S. Postal Service. Its part of the annual National Change of Address process to update and maintain Iowas voter registration record. Pate encourages voters who receive the notices to indicate if the new address is incorrect and quickly return the card to the county auditors office. The mailing is being conducted to ensure full compliance with the National Voter Registration Act, which requires periodic contact with voters to ensure the most accurate information is on file. Data indicates 59,718 registered voters moved within their county during the past year and 63,916 moved outside their county, but still within Iowa. For additional information, contact your county auditors office. The opening of a consulate representing the six countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in Dakhla confirms the growing support for the Saharas Moroccanness, and reflects the strong relations between Morocco and this regional grouping. The remarks were made at a joint news conference in Dakhla by the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, following the inauguration Thursday in Dakhla of a consulate general of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). This very significant and promising diplomatic presence will certainly represent a great opportunity to further boost bilateral exchanges between Morocco and the six member countries of the OECS, said Roosevelt Skerrit. The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica also reaffirmed his countrys recognition of Moroccos sovereignty over all its territory, including the Moroccan Sahara, and full support for the Moroccan autonomy initiative as the only basis for a consensual political resolution of this regional dispute. Skerrit noted that this is a position of principle adopted by his country, because the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each country must be respected by everyone. On the other hand, the Prime Minister hailed the pioneering role of King Mohammed VI in favor of South-South cooperation and the Sovereigns leadership in the face of many global challenges. The Kingdom has led the fight on issues of climate change, migration, access to education and economic prosperity, he explained, while welcoming Moroccos support to his country, especially during natural disasters. Bourita on his part said the advantage of this consulate is that it represents not only one country, but six member states of the OECS. [] This confirms the growing support for the Moroccan Sahara and the consolidation of Moroccos sovereignty over its southern provinces. Bourita highlighted the depth of relations between Morocco and the Commonwealth of Dominica and the strong partnership that unites them. He also noted the special nature of PM Skerrits visit in the city of Dakhla, in particular, and in the Moroccan Sahara, in general; a visit with particular symbolism marked by the opening of a consulate for OECS member countries. The minister stressed that this trip is also of great importance because it was marked by the signing of a roadmap of cooperation for the coming three years (2022-2024). He also praised the personal support of the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, which has been decisive in strengthening the presence of Morocco in the Caribbean. Skerrits personal and consistent positions in favor of Moroccos territorial integrity and sovereignty over its Sahara have been clear from day one and have been expressed in all regional organizations and at the level of the United Nations, said Bourita. He underlined, in this regard, that the inhabitants of the region testify to this position of solidarity and clarity, as they have participated more than once in the 24 workshops organized by the United Nations in the Caribbean region, highlighting Skerrits clear support to the participation of representatives of the southern provinces in these meetings as well as his refusal to all allegations relating to the representativeness of the inhabitants of these regions. Prince Albert II of Monaco paid, on Friday afternoon, a visit to the emblematic space of Bayt Dakira in Essaouira, a highly spiritual and patrimonial place for the preservation and promotion of the Jewish-Moroccan memory. Exhaustive explanations were given to the Monegasque Sovereign who is on a private visit in Essaouira by Andre Azoulay, Advisor to King Mohammed VI and Founding President of the Essaouira-Mogador Association, on the emblematic Slat Attia synagogue, as well as on the richness and diversity of the cultural and religious heritage of the Moroccan Jewish community. Azoulay also provided clarifications on various objects, texts and photos, in addition to Judaisms exceptional saga in Essaouira and its heritage, including tea ceremonies, the Hebrew poetic art, goldsmithing and embroidery, which all influenced Mogador during the 18th and 19th centuries. In a statement to the media at the end of the visit to Bayt Dakira, Prince Albert II said that he was very happy to be in Morocco and in this beautiful historic city of Essaouira, and that he was very impressed by what has been achieved in this magnificent space of memory. The sovereign of Monaco also said he was pleased to see how this highlights Essaouiras rich heritage, and goes in the perspective of showing the importance of the Jewish and Muslim cultures, without forgetting the Amazigh culture, which are all part of the history of this city and Morocco. This is an example for all of us that there can be a peaceful coexistence, which can contribute to the richness of a city and a country, he argued. I am very happy to have made this visit and I will really keep a moving memory. Bayt Dakira, which presents and explains all the passages of Jewish life in Essaouira, from birth to death and from Bar Mitzvah to marriage, is also a place of education thanks to the Haim and Celia Zafrani Research Center on the history of relations between Judaism and Islam, which constitutes a space of exchange between researchers of various horizons and a space of sharing, transmission and resistance to amnesia. A 31-year-old McCook woman is charged with three felonies for a series of incidents in March in which police say she purchased goods with a bad check or attempted to do so. Dawnovan M. Polfus appeared in Lincoln County Court on Friday afternoon, a day after she was arrested on a warrant. Polfus is charged with issuing a no-account check for an amount of $5,000 or more; theft by deception, $5,000 or more; and conspiracy to commit theft. County Judge Tanya Roberts-Connick set bail at 10% of $50,000 and scheduled a preliminary hearing for Thursday. The value of the items totals $9,185.71, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. A police affidavit documents four incidents in March in Lincoln County, but the officer also wrote that additional crimes were committed in adjacent counties. On March 9, a North Platte police officer responded to a report of theft by deception at the Kwik Stop on South Dewey Street. A store employee said Polfus and two other individuals purchased goods and fuel for $172.87 with a check from a closed account. On March 10, an employee at Orscheln Farm & Home told a police investigator that Polfus and two other individuals had purchased items totaling $1,072.77 with a check from a closed account. On March 23, an officer responded to a report of attempted theft by deception at Menards. An employee told the officer that Polfus and three other individuals had attempted to make two purchases, each for $3,000, at two separate checkout registers with checks from a closed account. The incident was stopped when both clerks asked for identification. On March 24, an officer responded to a reported theft by deception at Ace Hardware. A store employee said Polfus and another individual had purchased $1,700.84 in construction materials and tools with a canceled check from an open account belonging to another individual. Polfus later returned items to the store and $240 was refunded to a debit card. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Azerbaijan is currently one of the key partners of Italy, the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Italy Luigi Di Maio said at a joint press conference with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Trend reports. According to Di Maio, its necessary to diversify energy resources, and Italy has plans for energy security. He emphasized that Azerbaijan and Italy cooperate at a high level not only in the energy sector, but also in other sectors of the economy. A coalition of Jewish organizations, rabbis, and elected officials express their support for bail reform at a City Hall rally on January 16, 2020. Photo: Gabriele Holtermann-Gorden/Sipa USA via AP After two NYPD officers were gunned down while responding to a domestic disturbance call in January, critics of the states bail-reform law pressed Governor Kathy Hochul to roll back the reforms that they blamed for a surge in violent crime. When asked about the issue at a press conference at the time, Hochul accused Republicans of attempting to politicize it. I will absolutely stand behind the fundamental promise on why we needed bail reform in the first place, Hochul said. Today, Hochul is the one trying to roll back bail reform. In a ten-point plan for public safety she unveiled to lawmakers in Albany in mid-March, four of the points concern changes to the bail-reform law. The plan would make hate crimes and crimes against transit employees eligible for arrest rather than just a desk-appearance ticket, make certain gun offenses eligible for bail, allow arrests for repeat low-level offenses, and permit judges more discretion in considering criminal history when determining bail for serious felonies. The politics surrounding bail reform have continued to change as proponents of the legislation attempt to balance their support for criminal-justice reform against vocal critics who believe the bill is responsible for an increase in crime in New York City and statewide though there is no strong evidence to prove this. The fight to change the law to spare people from pretrial detention because they cant afford bail had long been a priority of criminal-justice reformers. But it was supercharged following the 2015 death of Kalief Browder, who was detained on Rikers Island as a teenager for three years because his family was unable to pay his $3,000 bail. Browder, who had been accused of stealing a backpack full of valuables, spent a significant portion of his time in solitary confinement and endured attacks from guards and his fellow inmates. In 2015, two years after the charges were dismissed and he was released from Rikers, he committed suicide which his family says was the result of the trauma of being imprisoned . The effort to change the law so that people wouldnt be detained just because they could not pay bail culminated in 2019 when the state legislature passed legislation eliminating bail and pretrial detention for most nonviolent felonies and misdemeanors. Almost as soon as the law went into effect in January 2020, attacks on it began. The reform coincided with a rise in violent crime across the country during the onset of the pandemic. In New York, law-enforcement officials and politicians critical of the reforms latched onto them as the cause of the crime spike in the city, arguing that bail-reform essentially returned violent criminals caught by police to the streets where they reoffended. With criticism of the bail law continuing to mount, state politicians passed an amendment of the law in April 2020 as part of that years budget, which increased the number of bail-eligible offenses and provided judges more leeway in setting bail for repeat offenders. The change received the approval of Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio who had been advocating for additional revisions to the law. Through the next year, concerns about crime were a major focus of the 2021 mayoral race. The new mayor, Eric Adams, is a former police officer who made public safety the signature issue of his campaign. He has repeatedly advocated for reforms to the states bail law, even traveling to Albany in February to press lawmakers on his position. Hochuls plan includes other changes that Adams has called for, such as adjusting the Raise the Age law, which increased the age at which a minor can be prosecuted as an adult to 18. After Hochul rose to the governors seat following her predecessors resignation, debates about bail reform continued to simmer as state Republicans wielded the issue in last Novembers elections to great success. Bail reform is expected to play a significant role in this years elections as well. Hochul, who is currently running for a full term, has received pushback from both her Democratic and Republican rivals, simultaneously fielding arguments that her changes go either too far or not far enough. (The governors office did not respond to a request for comment.) A recent Siena College poll found that 56 percent of total voters believe that the 2019 bail-reform law has been bad for New York. Sixty-four percent of those same voters said that they believed that the law has resulted in an increase in crime. However, when asked how concerned they were that giving judges increased discretion to set bail will result in poor people and people of color being unfairly incarcerated, 24 percent of voters said they were very concerned while 32 percent said they were somewhat concerned. Many advocates for the law reject the notion that bail reform can be linked to a recent rise in crime. Brad Lander, the citys comptroller, said that discussions about the issue have become divorced from the data. A report released by his office office last week found that recent increases in crime in New York City mirrored by upticks around the country are not a result of the reforms. According to the report, 14,545 people were subject to bail in 2021, compared to 24,657 people in 2019. However, in 2021, $268 million in bail was posted on behalf of defendants, an increase from $186 million posted in 2020. The analysis also found that in December 2021, 96 percent of the people who were released pending trial were not rearrested, and that 99 percent of people were not rearrested on a violent felony charge, regardless of the pretrial conditions in place. Advocates of the 2019 bail reform feel that any rollback of the legislation will only increase racial disparities in the justice system, and have an adverse effect on poor New Yorkers who might struggle to pay excessive bail. I wouldnt call it a public-safety plan. I call it a mass-incarceration plan, said Marie Ndiaye, a supervising attorney with the Legal Aid Society. She labeled the proposal regressive, citing the provision that would allow judges to account for community safety when setting an individuals bail. Mayor Adams has called for judges to be able to factor in dangerousness, while many detractors say such a standard risks potential racial bias in sentencing. Akeem Browder, Kaliefs older brother, believes that Hochuls proposal undoes years of reform work from advocates without tackling underlying societal problems, adding that he doesnt believe the governor is genuine in her approach. Browder, who founded the Kalief Browder Foundation, which advocates for pretrial detention reform, said that, as a single father raising a son in the Bronx, he knows violence in the city is a concern. But he believes politicians arent doing enough to invest in underfunded communities and to address issues of poverty and mental health. We do need safety, but we dont need over-policing, because what will happen is what has happened in the past. Over-policing only happens in our communities of Black and brown, poor or disenfranchised communities. So, over-policing, arrests and incarceration and surveillance is what will happen, Browder said. He continued, What we need is safe housing and good health care, child care, reliable transportation. We need a better living wage. But thats not whats going to be looked at when were talking about public-safety concerns. Refugees wait for transfer to Poland outside the train station in Lviv, Ukraine. Photo: Kai Pfaffenbach/REUTERS When the Russian attack on Kharkiv began around dawn on February 24, Irina Victor opened a window in her fifth-floor apartment, leaned out, and listened. What she heard in the distance was a faint thud-thud like the beat of drums. It was almost soothing. Then she looked down and saw people crowding outside shops to buy water, bread, and medicine. Normally at this hour, in below-freezing temperatures, the streets would be empty. It was at that moment she first felt fear. Victor, a 41-year-old university lecturer living with her partner, her 18-year-old daughter, and her 65-year-old mother, soon learned how to tell the difference between bombs and rockets, how to gauge the distance, and even how to distinguish between friendly and enemy fire as it traveled away or toward her. With each sound, her fear of being killed grew. She was racked by cramps, vomiting, fever, and insomnia. At first, no one in the family wanted to leave because they believed the war would be over soon. Then on her birthday, March 13, a cluster bomb exploded near their home. My mother and I jumped out of our chairs, she says. Two seconds later, there was another explosion, then a third and a fourth. A piece of flying glass cut her daughter, Elyas, arm. They ran to the basement, where they could feel the building shake as they waited out the bombardment. When they came back upstairs, Victor found all the windows blown out and metal shrapnel scattered everywhere and melted into surfaces one piece lodged into the floorboards beside Elyas bed. Outside in the courtyard, a van wrapped in flames burned bright against the frozen darkness. When the bomb hit our home, Victor says, Mom and Elya wanted to go. And I didnt. By now, she was paralyzed by panic attacks and resigned to what seemed inevitable. For me, its more beautiful to die in your own home, she says, but I couldnt do that to my mother or Elya. She asked a friend to find her professional help. After a few virtual sessions with therapists, a psychiatrist prescribed antidepressants which she was able to obtain despite being in the middle of a war but they didnt help. Finally, she was put in touch with Yana Stanislavivna, a psychologist from Kharkiv. Every evening, Stanislavivna hosted a group meditation session for about 30 people on Viber, and slowly the fist that had clenched around Victors chest began to loosen. Yana has a magical voice, and the sessions gave me a sense of hope and unity. We meditated. She used visualization techniques. I imagined myself at home, in the safety of my apartment, a pure white light passing through me to my house, my neighborhood, my city. After five days of therapy, Victor reached a place where she finally felt she could breathe. Every day, we waited for the morning to understand how I was doing. And if my health felt normal, we would leave the same day. Then one morning, it happened. There was no breakthrough or specific thought, Victor says the panic attacks were just gone. So she gathered her mother and daughter and said good-bye to her partner, Yuri, who stayed behind to take care of his mother, who is too old to travel. Before leaving, Victor had one more session with Stanislavivna. I was worried that morning, and I called her, but she worked with me. She taught me not to look at the situation as a refugee but as someone taking the opportunity to safely see a new country. She saved my life. It may not seem like a choice whether to run from bombs, but for some people, the idea of leaving home can be so anxiety-inducing that it leaves them in a death trap. For them, Stanislavivna says, there is a great fear of the unknown that can outweigh the fear of death itself. Her method involves forming a positive motivation by focusing patients attention away from themselves and their own safety and onto loved ones and the need to get them out of danger. Fear always paralyzes or turns into uncontrolled activity, panic, rushing without thinking. Mans ego thinks only of itself. But we must think of others, the family, to activate a sense of responsibility, of the common good. Then fear fades, and we begin to think soberly again. Not long after we spoke, Stanislavivna fled Ukraine for Germany. Natalia Starkova, a psychotherapist from Kyiv, says some of her patients cannot even call her because they are shaking with fear. These people do not have psychological issues, she says. They are normal. But in this situation, they are going crazy. They lose functioning. They cannot recognize themselves. They cant sleep. They cant eat. So I help to reduce that. Starkova said she doesnt ask her patients how they feel. Instead, she asks, Are you safe? Did you eat? Do you have enough water? Did you sleep? She doesnt want to unpack their emotions because, when you have to do something, you kind of hold yourself together till its done. So mostly with people who are refugees, when they are safe, then they can kind of relax. So I dont calm people because anger is a driving energy. I focus on who they are angry with and not to put their anger on loved ones because thats also what can happen. Starkova gave the example of a woman from Kharkiv who, like Victor, didnt want to leave her home. Her 8-year-old son, husband, and mother were with her. According to Starkova, the woman felt, This is my home, my walls, everything I know. My life is here. If I leave, I leave my life. When they did finally leave, their car broke down on the way, and again the woman became overwhelmed with fear. Her husband went into the city to get parts to fix the car, and the woman contacted Starkova, fearing he would not return. She felt like its never gonna stop, said Starkova. Like it will be forever. It was hard. And I felt kind of useless. My intention was just to take her from there and put her in a safe place. But I am physically not able to do that. Starkova said another patient who made it from Kyiv to Berlin is now experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder and is terrified she will lose it all again at any moment. When I first spoke to Starkova on March 15, I asked if she would ever consider leaving her home, as her patients had, and she said that was not necessary. Everyone felt the fighting would be over in a few days, she said. But when it didnt stop, it had become difficult to change her mind. Starkovas home was on an island in the middle of the Dnipro River, in the heart of the city, and the three bridges were now blocked off by militias. When Russian strikes nearby shook the walls of her home, she went to a bomb shelter but found that people were lying on the cold basement floor with no toilets or water. So she returned home and slept in the hallway, hoping the walls would protect her. Then one evening, she pulled the blankets and pillows off the floor, put them back on her bed, and slept there again. Its really important for me to have my space, my boundaries, she said, explaining why she would never leave Kyiv. And I hear the stories from my patients. How they are living now. How they are stuck for 24 or even 48 hours on the border. And I am scared of that more than of staying. Days later, she told me she was headed to Lodz, Poland. It was the most difficult decision of her life, she said. Five days after that, she arrived in Norway. As for Victor, she slowly began to feel better once she and her family settled in Lviv. But there was still anxiety, nausea, and, most of all, guilt for leaving behind the people of Kharkiv including Yuri. My heart is breaking. I want to go home. Here in Lviv, everything is as if there is no war at all. Everyone is walking, sitting in cafes, laughing, she says. I am tormented by my conscience because I can take a hot shower while many in Kharkiv and Mariupol have no water, electricity, or food. My life is good here, and I suffer because of it. On March 26, only days after arriving in the city, Russian missiles struck eastern Lviv, injuring five people. The next morning, Victor woke up, got dressed, and took her daughter and mother to the border with Poland and left her homeland behind. Canadian Gaming Association TORONTO, April 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA), in partnership with the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange, will be gathering with representatives from Ontarios iGaming industry to celebrate the launch of Ontarios regulated iGaming market at the TSX Market Centre on April 4 at 8:30am. Speakers include: Paul Burns, President & CEO, CGA Dave Forestell, Chair, iGaming Ontario Jordan Gnat, CEO, Playmaker Capital John Levy, CEO, theScore Inc. Steven Salz, CEO, Rivalry This event will be live streamed at https://youtu.be/3LjQVclHzb4 . Media are welcome to attend. What: Launch of Ontarios iGaming Market Where: TSX Market Centre, 125 Adelaide Street, Toronto When: April 4, 2022, from 8:30am 9:30am ET About the Canadian Gaming Association The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) is a not-for-profit organization that works to advance the evolution of Canadas gaming industry. The associations mandate is to promote the economic value of gaming in Canada; use research, innovation, and best practices to help the industry advance; and create productive dialogue among stakeholders. Visit www.canadiangaming.ca to learn more about the CGA and gaming in Canada. For further information please contact: Paul Burns, Canadian Gaming Association (416) 579-3922 pburns@canadiangaming.ca ReportLinker Major players in the smart speakers market are Amazon Inc. , Apple Inc. , Xiaomi, Alibaba Group Holding Limited, Sonos. Inc. , Harman International, Bose Corporation, Sony Corporation, ONKYO CORPORATION, and Panasonic Corporation. New York, March 23, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Smart Speakers Global Market Report 2022" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06247523/?utm_source=GNW The global smart speakers market is expected grow from $6.16 billion in 2021 to $6.60 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1%. The growth is mainly due to the companies resuming their operations and adapting to the new normal while recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $8.63 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 6.9%. The smart speakers market consists of sales of smart speakers and related products that include Bluetooth-, Wi-Fi-enabled and wireless devices which are integrated with virtual assistant device powered by artificial intelligence.The smart speakers market consists of revenue generated through the sales of speakers with virtual assistant intelligence such as Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, and Cortana, among others which are distributed through online or offline channels to personal and commercial users for smart home, smart office, automotive, commercial and more applications. The companies involved in the smart speakers market are engaged in designing, manufacturing, producing artificial intelligence assisted speakers which are activated with one hot word using voice recognition systems to perform wide range of wireless activities. The main intelligent virtual assistant of smart speakers are Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, Cortana and others.Google Assistant is a virtual assistant powered by artificial intelligence that is primarily available on mobile and smart home devices. The various applications of smart speakers include smart home, smart office, consumer and others that are distributed through online and offline channels. The smart speakers are used by personal and commercial end-users. Asia Pacific was the largest region in the smart speakers market in 2021.Africa is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. With increasing consumer preference for technologically advanced products there is a rise in penetration of smartphones and smart devices.The enhanced personal use of smart devices points at integration of smart devices with devices such as smart lightbulbs, thermostats, and TVs. The consumer interest in technologically advanced products has resulted in 205 million installed smart speakers in 2019 and reached 325 million by 2020.In 2019, Amazon could integrate LIDAR technology into Amazon Echo through which it will be able to recognize hand gestures, type of food, and even the clothes being worn. In India, in 2019 the total number of smartphones users are 502.2 million and the smartphones market is expected to gain 859 million users by 2022. Regional manufacturers are being encouraged to produce innovative and advanced products with customer interest to accept and adopt emerging technology which is expected to drive the market. Apart from increasing consumer preference for smart speakers the major drawback thats concerning the market is the data privacy and security.These devices have access to the personal information stored in Gmail like contact details, bank details, login credentials which raise security issues. The devices of a smart home have access to sensitive data like videos, photos, personal information which can be accessed and operated from anywhere.In 2019, a survey conducted in US states that smart speaker non-users are more concerned about data and privacy reasons like hacking risk (63%), smart speakers are always listening (55%) and monitoring by government (40%). When compared with smart speaker users, they also agreed with the above data and privacy issues similarly. These issues may hinder the market growth if appropriate development in security concerns are not addressed. Virtual assistant devices are powered by artificial intelligence which offer ultimate luxury to the owner.They keep on listening to the command, analyze the needs and performs the task when necessary. The Amazon Echo with smart assistant Alexa can be activated with voice command of one hot word Alexa.Siri, the Apple voice assistant provides hands-free activation with deep integration technology and high-quality virtual surround sound and exhibits features like setting timer, managing calendar events and more. Google assistant activated with Ok Google provides instant access to all of the Google services and the data associated with the Google account.In 2019, a survey states that Amazon Alexa/Echo dominates the US market with 70% market share followed by Google home with 25% and Apple HomePod with 5% which was largely because of the high sales of entry-level devices like Google Home Mini and Amazon Echo Dot with reasonable price. The proliferation of virtual assistance is, in turn, driving the smart speaker market. In November 2019, Sonos a US-based leading sound experience brand which allows its customers to listen better by giving access to their favorite content by controlling as they wish announced the acquisition of Snips for $37.5 million. The deal will benefit Sonos by improving the voice experience of Sonos with the addition of Intellectual Property of Snips and benefit Snips by taking its France technologies to international customers. Snips is a US-based private-by-design voice technology company which uses artificial intelligence integrated in connected devices. The countries covered in the smart speakers market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06247523/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Story continues CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 Whats your hugging stance? Reply Thread Link Oh ew why did I click. Reply Parent Thread Link I do side hugs if Im initiating. If someone else is initiating I just follow lead. I have really bad neck pain so I prefer not to be hugged. Haha. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Only loved ones and I want only those that are willing to invest: no nonsense sidehugs patting nonsense. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link loved ones only, and even then not a lot of the time. hard no at strangers who are like oh im a hugger~, i hate that so much. RESPECT MY SPACE. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Its all about the person Like I have some friends that I could hug for days and then one of my best friends I actually dont like hugging lol Reply Parent Thread Link Unless you're family and maybe 3 of my friends. Unless you're family and maybe 3 of my friends. Reply Parent Thread Link I love to hug my husband and kid but anyone else? Sometimes, but mostly no. Reply Parent Thread Link Does ONTD seem like the type of community that hugs??? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link No, don't touch me. Reply Parent Thread Link i only enjoy hugging people i am dating, and my style is my arms around their shoulders and their arms around my waist. i'll hug my mom like that sometimes, too. otherwise i just follow the lead of whoever is hugging me because i would never initiate one otherwise lol. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Not really. Or Im a poor hugger. My aunt recently died. And my cousin kept remarking about how is this what it takes to get a two arm hug. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Ive been told I give good hugs. I like hugging loved ones, especially if I havent seen them in awhile. I dont like hugs from people I barely know. Reply Parent Thread Link Kinda? I mostly give hugs for greetings & goodbyes to my friends and family I dont see everyday. Cant say Im an a spontaneous hugger. Reply Parent Thread Link I'm a hugger to the people that I care about (and Disney parks characters, it must be said). Reply Parent Thread Link I hug my nephews and niece with enthusiasm! Everyone else NO. My parents and my husband I'm comfortable hugging, I can handle hugging certain family members (the ones I like). Lol I actually had to bring this up with my mom before we went to my Aunt's for thanksgiving, I asked her not to show everyone my wedding pictures. Idk I rarely show physical affection in front of people so I didn't want everyone awwwwwwwing over pics of us kissing and hugging?! Reply Parent Thread Link Ive had a lot of people tell me I seem like a hugger and to be completely honest, theres really just a handful of people I enjoy hugging. Stranger bitches need not apply. But if its someone I really love and they dont mind hugs, Im a medium-length hugger and because Im taller than a lot of people (and tbh I used to nanny for years so I was cradling a lot of kids), I do the hand gently on the back of the head. I love that season of RHOBH with the lady who gives the 30 second hugs, watching Kyle and Rinna react still makes me cackle. Tbh I prefer a good lean on the couch. Edited at 2022-04-02 06:33 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link hugging is my love language. i will hug anyone even if i'm just meeting you! definitely in my top three forms of intimacy! Edited at 2022-04-02 06:34 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I do love and appreciate hugs especially big bear hugs, tender hugs from behind and tight hugs. Like there are types of great hugs lol. Even sometimes when you got in an intense discussion whether over something important and then cool off, depending on the person knowing you long enough to just have to make amends and hug it out, and then blow off steam together. Out of respect for personal space, it really depends on the person who want to do it out of genuine gestures or a way of showing their love and appreciation for me, and friendly stuff like that. The only hugs that I dislike that come off very insincere or Ill-intended,or out of pity like Id see it coming a mile away and Id automatically peace out by hitting the ejection button lol. You wont believe how many times Ive received scary unwarranted drunken hugs though it was sweet Im sure but Im like welp, sober up pls do not do that again bc idk you lol. Tldr: I accept hugs. Please see the terms and conditions prior to proceeding your hugs. Thank you and have a nice day. Lol Reply Parent Thread Link Definitely not a hugger. The only people I'll hug are my mom and my niece. Most people respect this, but one of my cousins literally forcibly pulls me into a tight hug every time he sees me and won't let me go until I reciprocate, and I fucking hate that. Reply Parent Thread Link Its pretty coming in Germany to hug one another after the first meeting so I do it every time. I dont like hand shakes though, so I am glad that seems to be gone forever Reply Parent Thread Link Not a huge fan but I'll hug family and friends. Now, it's a different story with the kids in my family. They crawl all over me and I'm totally used to it. Reply Parent Thread Link I don't really like being hugged (or touched tbh) but I try to engage some people's desire for hugs to show I care for them. Not strangers, though. Reply Parent Thread Link Only with close family. Reply Parent Thread Link The pandemic is officially over! Reply Thread Link The pandemic is cancelled until profits improve. Reply Parent Thread Link literally just got into a huge fight with my sister over her we have to get back to normal!!! stance. she wears a mask sometimes but is generally just so selfish. it makes me feel like IM the crazy one overreacting. were in the uk and there are no restrictions here at all. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Id love to know what their union thinks about this (know they were opposed last year due to the risk) Reply Parent Thread Link Biden doesnt even wear a mask anymore. Reply Parent Thread Link i used to be the person in the cartoon costumes for story time at the local bookstore, and one time a dad saw me walking back to the break room as clifford and was like omg my son is obsessed with clifford would you mind waiting for him, my wife is bringing him over RIGHT NOW. and they showed up about 5 minutes later and this little 2 year old was in pjs and everything and just LIT UP when he saw me haha. it was so cute that it stayed with me all these years later. Reply Thread Link I absolutely love magical lil kids. So pure and cute. A toddler thought my yorkie was Toto once and she was beside herself! But having a child is a crapshoot, so I'd rather not. Reply Parent Thread Link that is adorable! I worked for a friend who had a side business entertaining for kids' birthday parties. She would dress up as Cinderella. She even had a custom made glass carriage. Another of our friends would be either Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and I would always be Tinker Bell. It was one of the funnest jobs I've ever had. When we would pull up in the horse drawn carriage the little girls would lose their minds and start screaming. Reply Parent Thread Link I deeply hate interacting with people who are in character, whether that be mascots, at haunted houses or at theme parks like this. I try not to spoil the experience when I'm with other people since it brings them a lot of joy but I hate when I shake my head or indicate that I don't want to be involved and they just come over anyway and try to interact with me. Reply Thread Link the topic of hugs reminds me of when my niece was a toddler she would hug any huggable inanimate object (even in public) but did not like hugging humans. weirdo. but i get it. Reply Thread Link This pleases me immensely. I love hugging Donald and Pooh and the like. I waited like 2 hours to hug Baymax the year Big Hero 6 came out. It was like hugging a cloud and it was glorious... though I found out later that a cast member was in the suit and I thought to myself that cast member's a god damn champ because that set up seemed VERY claustrophobic. Reply Thread Link Dressed in a hot full body costume hugging kids all day for what I assume is shit pay sounds like my version of hell. I've changed my mind, hugging the adults would be worse. Edited at 2022-04-02 06:39 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link Me too I know that most of the princesses dream of that job because they get to be seen and feel like a princess so I at least understand why that appeals to them But I wonder if any of the people who wear the hot full body costumes like dream of that job lol Probably they do Reply Parent Thread Link The shit pay part aside, I have volunteered to be in a big mascot costume before and walk around because it's genuinely joyful and fun to see little kids get super excited about it. I would 100% love to just be Winnie The Pooh all day and make people happy even if it was kind of sweaty... if it paid better. Reply Parent Thread Link They only go 30 min at at time, but I agree it is a nightmare. Reply Parent Thread Link It's honestly the easiest job and one of the best paid at Disney. You only work 15 minutes of every hour, you spend the rest of the 45 in the break room half dressed (if you are a fur character you can remove parts of it) and you play cards and eat and just chill. If there is any rain (IE florida) you don't work at all and you just sit there getting paid. Reply Parent Thread Link I was a shy kid and I always felt forced to meet characters so I never really liked it. The first time I went to Disney World with my ex he made me go meet Rapunzel and Cinderella- he was obsessed with Tangled and I thought it was weird because he didn't want pictures with them- he just had me take pictures with them. I kind of wonder if he just wanted pictures of the girls in costume. I did stop during the marathon one year to take a picture with Meeko. Reply Thread Link I went to Disneyland as a kid and character hugs made me super anxious and I dreaded it, but I blew a kiss to Mulan during her parade and she blew one back and that worked really well for me. Reply Parent Thread Link Thats cute Reply Parent Thread Link I used to be the mascot at my old work, one day a man asked if I was a boy or a girl. I couldnt talk and I was a bird so I flapped Arms as if to say Im a bird and he asked again and I pointed to my name tag. He asked again and reached into the crotch (I had Tights and the top part went into a V around the crotch) and got a full grip of my balls. He was arrested. Reply Thread Link holy shit, glad he got arrested there are so many stories of people assaulting costumed mascots/characters Reply Parent Thread Link W H A T Reply Parent Thread Link Has anyone ever gone on the Disney cruise? Considering it, but I've never been on a cruise before and unsure if I'd like it. Reply Thread Link If you have kids I imagine it would be a blast. At least from the people I know who have gone on it, they enjoyed it. Being child-free though, I don't know if I'd like it. Depends on if they have gambling and drinks which with it being a more family friendly environment I dunno if they do. Reply Parent Thread Link Depends on if they have gambling and drinks which with it being a more family friendly environment I dunno if they do. I looked up the ships once & if I recall, they have bars and adults only restaurants. Reply Parent Thread Link Yep, been on a few and really enjoy them (as an adult with no kids). Im not a big drinker or party-er so the atmosphere onboard (no alcohol packages, no casino and no indoor smoking) suits me. The main thing that I enjoy about DCL is that theres always stuff to do onboard when at sea. I did a Norwegian cruise as a teen and was practically suicidal I was so bored. Theyve just dropped most of their covid protocols though so if thats a concern Id avoid for a bit. Happy to answer any questions about it :) Reply Parent Thread Link I was a guest performer for a week in December. It was cute and the stops were fun. If youre not into the party scene or a big drinkerI think its nice. Edited at 2022-04-02 07:58 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link I did one several years ago. The ship was really nice (it's basically an at-sea version of their Deluxe resorts) and the food and entertainment were good but idk if it's worth the high price compared to other cruise lines. You're better off doing a cheaper trip to see if you even like being on a cruise ship before paying the Disney markup. I had just as good of a time on Princess and it's a lot cheaper than Disney. Reply Parent Thread Link Lol welp! Reply Thread Link My dad wanted me to hug Pinocchio for a picture and toddler me ran the other way in a fright before falling flat on my face and divorcing two teeth. This is my Disney park experience. Reply Thread Link i just went to disney world for the first time a few months ago and i wonder if there's usually way more characters out and about during non-covid times. i only saw like 4 or 5 the whole week i was there and they were always far away like up on bridges or on stages. not that i would have been hugging and getting autographs if they were out and about, i probably would have avoided them lol i have childhood trauma with costumed characters specifically going to chuck e cheese around 6 or 7 and having a full on freak out when i saw the rat for the first time Edited at 2022-04-02 07:32 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link I went back in October, and I didn't see any of the traditional characters around... only a bunch of Avengers characters. I wanted to meet Mickey, not effing Iron Man! Reply Parent Thread Link Disney World before Covid always had to have stationed areas where characters meet, and a line to meet them. At Disneyland they were able to wander about more, but Disney world is too crowded and the guests are too rambunctious that the characters cant just roam. Reply Parent Thread Link I already found this creepy as a kid not knowing what kind of person is underneath it Reply Thread Link The immediate supply chain crunch for the major battery metals is not going away anytime soon. Currently, the United States imports more than half of its annual consumption of 31 of the 35 critical minerals. The Biden Administration is preparing to give legislative impetus to domestic mining of key battery minerals as it aims to reduce foreign reliance on critical metals in the push for clean energy. U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to invoke this week a defense law to allow access to funding for American companies, which can be used to boost productivity and safety and upgrade existing operations, sources with knowledge of the plans told Reuters. Still, the planned addition of key battery metals to the list of items in the 1950 Defense Production Act is not expected to ease the permitting process for mining of critical minerals in the United States, Bloomberg reports. Permitting and other state and federal regulations, as well as building a domestic supply chain of lithium and other minerals crucial to President Bidens push for greener energy sources and electrification of transportation would take years, and even a decade, analysts and industry officials say. The immediate supply chain crunch for the major battery metals is not going away in the short and possibly medium-term as demand for lithium, nickel, cobalt, and other key metals are soaring and so are prices. Meanwhile, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the National Mining Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are calling for more support from the Administration to make sure America has the opportunity to procure domestically a larger portion of the key minerals. We Must Ensure That We Secure The Materials We must ensure that we secure the materials necessary for the clean energy economy in a way that holds to our strong environmental, labor, Tribal engagement standards and does not leave us reliant on unreliable and unsustainable foreign supply chains, a source with knowledge of the Administrations plans told Reuters. In the global race to secure critical minerals, the United States is currently losing to China. The U.S. imports more than half of its annual consumption of 31 of the 35 critical minerals, the Department of Energy said at the start of President Bidens term in office. America does not have domestic production for 14 of those critical minerals and is completely dependent on imports to supply its demand. As of early 2021, the U.S. imported 80 percent of its rare earth elements (REEs) directly from China, with the remaining portions indirectly sourced from China through other countries, DOE said. At the end of a 100-day review of critical supply chains and critical minerals, the White House and the Administration decided in June 2021 to establish a working group comprised of federal agencies to identify potential sites where critical minerals could be sustainably and responsibly produced and processed in the United States while adhering to the highest environmental, labor, community engagement, and sustainability standards. The planned imminent inclusion of key minerals in the items covered by the Defense Production Act could help U.S. domestic production down the road, but it could take years to see Americas dependence on metals from China and Russia shrink. The United States needs to move faster in securing key minerals domestically and from allies such as Australia; otherwise, Americas clean energy goals and hi-tech and automotive supply chains could depend on China. On Critical Minerals, Actions Speak Louder than Words This week, a month after Russias invasion of Ukraine rattled energy and metals markets, the U.S. businesses reaffirmed their calls that America moves faster to procure as many critical minerals at home as possible. The war in Ukraine and sanctions imposed against Russia have once again underscored the precarious nature of Americas growing dependence on critical mineralsand lack of homegrown supply, Ruth Demeter, Senior Director of Policy, Global Energy Institute at the US Chamber of Commerce, wrote on Wednesday. Currently, the U.S. relies on China, Russia, and other countries for most of its critical minerals needs, Demeter says. Earlier this year, the Biden Administration canceled two leases, halting a project that would have provided a domestic source of copper, nickel, cobalt, and platinum, Demeter noted. The White House is right to prioritize supply chain issues, but their clean energy goals further highlight the importance of a comprehensive strategy for a secure and reliable supply of critical minerals. Without increased development, production and processing of critical minerals domestically, the Administration is impeding its own clean energy promises, the US Chamber of Commerce said. However, actions speak louder than words, and right now the Administrations actions do not match its commitments, Demeter wrote. Rich Nolan, president, and CEO of the National Mining Association, said last week that the U.S. has nickel, cobalt, graphite, copper, lithium, and rare earths resources. But producing these resources remains an enormous challenge made only more difficult by self-imposed barriers, Nolan wrote in a post in RealClearEnergy. While the Biden administration has shown important leadership in identifying the scale of the materials challenge and signaled willingness to address it, comprehensive policy to attack the problem has yet to materialize, he added. While a battery megafactory could take as little as two years to build, it could take a decade right now just to obtain the permits for a mine to supply just one of the metals for said megafactory, Nolan said. The speed at which we are creating demand for these minerals and metals is only growing increasingly out-of-sync with our ability and that of our allies to bring supply online to match it, Nolan noted. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Coal has maintained a surprising degree of political power in the United States, even as the economic sway of the sector wanes and the dirty fossil fuel increasingly falls out of favor with the global community under the mounting pressure of climate change. Last year, at the COP26 climate summit in Scotland, the United States was conspicuously absent from a consortium of 40 countries pledging to end coal, a decision which seems to be directly related to the countrys still powerful coal lobby. While the White House is unwilling or politically unable to put an end to coal through policy, it seems that economic forces may do the job for them. As the technology for renewable energies including wind and solar has advanced and economies of scale have kicked into gear, the rapidly dropping prices of clean energy have allowed renewables to undercut coal prices in most of the world. A 2021 report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) found that in the US renewable energy could undercut between three-quarters and 91% of existing coal-fired power plants, while in India renewable energy would be cheaper than between 87% and 91% of new coal plants, according to reporting from the Guardian. Indeed, according to the most recent Annual Coal Report from the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA), coal continued its seemingly terminal decline in 2020, having peaked way back in 2007. The United States, however is no exception to the current global spike in coal usage as supply chain issues, pandemic-fuelled economic woes, and the Russian war in Ukraine continue to rock energy markets and imperil energy security worldwide. Thanks to this confluence of unfortunate events, in 2021 the United States saw the biggest increase in coal usage in more than a decade. The EIA expects this uptick to be temporary, however. And even with the dramatic 17% increase in coal-powered electricity generation last year, coal consumption is still 6% lower than pre-pandemic levels. Whats more, Unlike fossil fuels, renewable energy continued to increase throughout the pandemic, and renewable energy generation (shown here as hydro, wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal combined) has increased steadily every year since 2013, reports Yale Climate Connections. EIA projections show renewables catching up to coal this year, then surpassing coal in 2023. How likely is a scenario in which renewables overtake coal in the United States, and where will all of that renewable energy come from? It could be coming sooner than you think. According to new research from Rice University, the fossil fuel bastion state of Texas could replace nearly 100% of its coal output with wind and solar, as the state has unique climates that can work at complementary times to power its entire electric grid. This transition is not only possible and ideal for the climate, but would also be economically beneficial for the Lone Star State with the increasingly cheap costs of renewables. The size and climate of Texas make this plan especially feasible and particularly appealing, according to the scientific paper entitled Can wind and solar replace coal in Texas? As stated by the papers authors: Simply put, its not always windy and not always sunny, but its almost always windy or sunny somewhere in Texas. Strategically spread out wind and solar power could allow Texas to increase the reliability and constancy of renewable energy flow to the grid, but reaching this point will require considerable infrastructure improvements including smarter grids and expanding transmission lines to bring the energy to urban areas. With proper investing and infrastructure, an increase of installed solar and wind capacity in Texas would not only grant the state greater energy security and reliability, as well as cheaper and cleaner energy sources, it may also push the state to connect its infamously isolated grid to the national network in order to capitalize on surplus wind and solar power, which could be sold to other states at a profit not to mention mitigate the risk of another fatal blackout like the 2021 deep freeze. By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Despite the gradual lifting of OPEC quotas, Nigeria has struggled for several months to increase production back up. While the country has a production capacity of over 2 million barrels of oil per day (bopd), oil output stood at 1.3m bopd last year according to government data. As oil prices enter a new supercycle, Nigerias production underperformance coupled with continued imports of finished petroleum products expose it to several macroeconomic risks. Since the start of the year, for instance, the countrys petrol subsidies program has become so expensive that the government is now planning to tap into its 2bn Eurobond sale of 2021 to fund it. But while Nigeria cannot control oil prices, it certainly can work towards improving oil production to mitigate vulnerabilities and try to make the best of the current oil prices cycle. In fact, a closer look at current shallow water market activity has observers hopeful that competent local players could be starting to make the difference the country needs. Almost half of Nigerias oil production relies on its onshore fields, but repeated crude theft and pipeline vandalism make it challenging to ramp up output there in the short term. Meanwhile, deep-water fields are maturing and there is no clear indication that the recently enacted Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) will revive interest in capital-intensive greenfield deep-water activity in Nigeria. That leaves shallow-water fields as the most promising opportunities to increase output in the short term. So far, shallow-water assets have represented less than a fourth of Nigerias oil output despite offering cheaper development options. But as local independents step up to replace IOCs in the country, several developments are back on the table. In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigerian independent First E&P already achieved first oil at its Anyala & Madu complex on OMLs 83 and 85. Since starting production in October 2020, the company has become the third biggest local producer after SEEPCo and Seplat Energy. Related: What The West Is Getting Wrong About OPEC First E&Ps joint-venture with Dangote Industries, West Africa E&P (WAEP), is now embarking on the development of the Kalaekule field on OML 72. Further west, General Hydrocarbon Limited (GHL), the new operator of OML 120, is also moving ahead with the redevelopment of the Oyo field this year. These projects are currently supporting offshore market activity in Nigeria and have all one thing in common: local content. As IOCs shy away from additional investments in Nigeria and exit some of their licenses, Nigeria is left to rely on its local operators and local services companies to take the lead. Both WAEP and GHL have selected the Century Group, the only Nigerian wholly-owned company providing FPSO solutions at the moment, to provide the FPSOs required for the Kalaekule and Oyo fields. The company is one of the often-overlooked Nigerian services providers that have, over the years, developed the capacities required to operate and maintain critical oil & gas assets safely and cost-efficiently. While the narrative on Nigeria is dominated by the exit of its biggest foreign investors, the local capacity that the country has built over the past decades is often under-estimated. Since the adoption of the Local Content Act in 2010, several Nigerian energy companies have developed expertise in operating and maintaining critical infrastructure assets. These local players may lack the financial power of IOCs, but they have proven their ability to successfully navigate the countrys above-the-ground risks. The ongoing development of shallow-water fields in Nigeria is sending promising signs to an industry deeply worried about the impact that IOCs divestment will have on its future. By not taking chances on new market entrants and putting the right assets in the hands of the right team, the country is steadily finding new equations that could help it navigate current market volatility. By Hawilti More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: By Trend Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has informed Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy Luigi Di Maio about the proposals of the Azerbaijani side to Armenia to open communications in the region, Trend reports. Bayramov made the remark at a joint press conference with Di Maio. The Azerbaijani minister also informed his counterpart about the need to create a working group on the delimitation and demarcation of the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the proposals made to Armenia for a peace agreement, and the main basic principles of this agreement, presented by Azerbaijan in February. "In recent days, we have been hearing positive messages from Armenia in this direction. I hope this is indeed a display of a serious approach. Azerbaijan has openly expressed its position. If Armenia is really serious about this process, then Azerbaijan is ready to meet halfway and take concrete steps," he added. A prolific Omaha gang member will spend more than two decades in prison for plotting a failed home invasion while on parole for a previous murder conviction. Rufus E. Dennis, 43, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison Friday for the attempted home invasion and various gun charges. Dennis planned the home invasion while he was out of prison on parole. He had served as a getaway driver in a 1995 killing, leading to a second-degree murder conviction. He was paroled in 2016 after spending 20 years behind bars. Within two years of being paroled, Dennis was named a suspect in two drug-related killings: the shooting of 25-year-old Laron Rogers in 2017 during a purported marijuana deal, and the robbery and murder of Frederick Green, 57, in 2018. Dennis denied involvement, and officers never had enough evidence to press charges. But a detailed plan for a violent robbery eventually landed him back in custody. According to the indictment, evidence showed that Dennis cased a home occupied by a single mother, two young children and the childrens elderly grandmother multiple times in January 2020. The FBI obtained recordings of Dennis detailing his plans for the home invasion, in which he said he would leave no witnesses behind. His plan was to pose as a utility repair technician and use a taser on the woman when she opened the door. He also planned to shoot anyone who saw his face. A convicted felon, Dennis was barred from possessing a firearm. He attempted to obtain a gun from an undercover officer, offering to trade a stolen assault rifle in his possession for multiple handguns. In a further blow to his plan, the getaway driver and lookout whom Dennis recruited to assist with the home invasion was an FBI informant. On the morning of the planned invasion, officers with the Greater Omaha Safe Streets Task Force and FBI agents executed a search warrant at Dennis home, where they found a stolen assault rifle with his DNA on it. It was the same gun that Dennis had attempted to trade with the undercover officer for handguns. He was arrested. Dennis was convicted of attempted interference with interstate commerce by way of robbery, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and felon in possession of a firearm. Chief U.S. District Judge Robert Rossiter took an upward departure from federal sentencing guidelines in handing down the 270 month sentence, because Dennis intended to murder victims during the planned home invasion, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorneys Office. His status as a parolee was also taken into consideration. Omaha is a better place today following the arrest and conviction of Rufus Dennis, said U.S. Attorney Jan Sharp. The lengthy sentence imposed on Mr. Dennis represents a win for the citizens of Omaha. There is no parole in the federal system. When Dennis completes his prison sentence, he will begin a five-year term of supervised release. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The City of Omaha intends to spend millions of dollars on initiatives meant to shut the door on the pandemic and jump-start an era of reinvestment and rebuilding, Mayor Jean Stothert said Friday. Omaha is positioned for unprecedented growth in population, employment, reputation and world-class initiatives, Stothert said during her ninth annual state of the city address during which she outlined investments in affordable housing, public safety, mental health and more. We are all hopeful that the worst is behind us, she said. Since the citys first COVID-19 death in March 2020, 1,106 people have died of COVID in Douglas County. But for two months, Nebraska has seen a statewide downward trend in COVID cases and hospitalizations. I know I speak for our community when I say, we are ready and prepared for life as we knew it, Stothert said. The city will attempt to usher in life as we knew it with the allocation of millions of dollars in federal funding. Omaha has already received $60 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, and is on track to receive $60 million more in May. Unlike many cities and counties that will focus on their own financial recovery, much of our ARPA money will go directly into our community where the need is great, and urgent, Stothert said. United Way and the Omaha Community Foundation were chosen to administer $15 million of those dollars to nonprofits with a focus on basic needs such as food, housing, homeless services and mental health services. Programs in violence prevention, intervention and job training will also be considered. An affordable housing program between the city and the nonprofit Front Porch Investments will be funded with $20 million in ARPA money, an amount matched by a $20 million philanthropic donation, and another $20 million from an undisclosed third source making it the largest local program funded with ARPA dollars. In addition to ARPA, Omaha has received more than $100 million from the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). Those dollars, half of which have been spent, continue to be used for utility and rental assistance, Stothert said. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has resisted seeking additional ERAP funding for the state, which could have requested up to $120 million for additional rent aid. With the state, thus far, failing to seek the additional funding, most of the $120 million could be made available to the states most populated areas, including Omaha. Omaha would be interested in applying for the funds, which would have to be spent by 2025, Stothert said. Beyond the citys COVID-19 recovery, the mayor highlighted public safety as a primary responsibility. The city experienced a spike in overall crime as the pandemic started in 2020, Stothert said. Omahas crime trends largely followed what occurred in major cities across the country last year: Property crimes generally fell while violent crimes rose. Homicides increased 61% in 2020, a stark increase after years of record lows. Stothert said Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer is confident that we are on the way back to pre-pandemic crime levels. In 2022, residents will see a greater emphasis on mental health programs, including the Omaha Police Departments mental health co-responder program, Stothert said. Our city prosecutor will expand the mental health diversion program to help mentally ill people avoid the cycle of incarceration, and we will expand the restorative justice program to make more people eligible to participate, Stothert said. The city is also in planning stages for an additional northwest Omaha fire station, and a new public safety headquarters to house the Omaha Police and Fire Departments. Other highlights from Stotherts speech: Street improvements Stothert touted the success of a voter-approved $200 million bond issue that created the street preservation fund. Since then, the city has spent $80 million on new street repair and resurfacing, and in 2022, at least 50 additional road repair projects are planned, Stothert said. Omaha also saw a massive reduction in pothole complaints. In 2019, the city received over 40,000 pothole reports. In the first three months of this year, about 500 reports have been made, Stothert said. A revived urban core Stothert highlighted a redevelopment plan that calls for roughly 1,000 new units of affordable and workforce housing to be built in the citys urban core during the next two decades. The Urban Core Housing and Mobility Redevelopment Plan aims to bring 30,000 residents and 30,000 jobs to the urban core within the next 30 years. The plan also advocates for construction of a proposed streetcar system. Since 1963, Omahas downtown has lost 21,000 workers. Bringing those jobs and housing back into the urban core wont be possible without redevelopment and changes to housing and transit mobility, said Troy Anderson, a deputy chief of staff with the Mayors Office. Billions of dollars in development The streetcar system is tied to a massive corporate skyscraper set to rise on the lot where the downtown W. Dale Clark Library currently sits. Mutual of Omaha aims to build its headquarters on the site, just west of the soon-to-reopen Gene Leahy Mall. We are now at a point of historic transition, Stothert said. What will be created in the next three years and enjoyed for decades, will be truly remarkable. That includes the $100 million privately funded Kiewit Luminarium, a science center that is under construction on the riverfront. It will be the eastern bookend of the streetcar system. Project NExT would be the western bookend. The potential multibillion-dollar project on the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus would combine a state-of-the-art teaching hospital and federally funded spaces designed to enhance the nations response to a host of different hazards. The city has pledged up to $93 million over 10 years to include infrastructure and parking needs for UNMCs new Saddle Creek campus. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. By Trend Azerbaijan hopes for Italy's participation in the development of joint projects on renewable energy sources, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov told reporters, Trend reports. "Azerbaijan is paying great attention to the development of renewable energy sources. We hope that Italian companies will take part in the development of joint projects in this area," Bayramov said. Previously, the first meeting of the Azerbaijan-Italy Strategic Dialogue has been held, and a protocol on the first Strategic Dialogue between the countries was signed in Baku. Besides, the ceremony of laying the foundation of the building of the Italian-Azerbaijani University was held. A Lincoln man will have a confiscated shotgun returned to him nearly two years after he completed probation for a non-violent and non-gun-related offense. The Nebraska Supreme Court, in an opinion published Friday, determined a lower court erred when it denied Matthew Zimmers request to have his shotgun returned. Zimmer, 37, had made multiple attempts to get the firearm back after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor stemming from an incident in November 2018. Thats when police were called to Zimmers Lincoln residence in response to a disturbance between Zimmer and an ex-girlfriend, according to court documents. No arrests were made and officers left the scene. Officers were dispatched to the same area minutes later when five separate neighbors called police to report hearing three gunshots, according to the probable cause affidavit. When they returned to the residence, officers characterized Zimmer as uncooperative, intoxicated and hostile. He was placed into emergency protective custody and housed at a mental health facility. The ex-girlfriend allowed police to search the home once Zimmer was in custody. Police found a shotgun, ammunition and a spent shell casing. Zimmer denied that he had fired a gun, but he was initially charged with and taken into custody for discharging a firearm within Lincoln city limits. Prosecutors did not pursue the firearm charge. Instead, Zimmer was charged with refusing to comply with police orders, a misdemeanor. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months of probation. At sentencing, lawyers for Zimmer argued that the shotgun should be returned to Zimmer or his mother. The firearm was one of the only things that Zimmer had inherited from his deceased father, according to the court opinion. The court decided that it would hold the weapon until Zimmers successful completion of probation, at which point they would consider releasing it to him or his mother. After completing probation in April 2020, Zimmer filed a motion to have his property returned, which was twice denied by the Lancaster County Court. At both hearings, prosecutors argued that Zimmer had made comments about retrieving his gun during the confrontation with police, and stated that the firearm formed the basis for the police officers orders to Zimmer. Zimmer appealed to the district court, which affirmed the county courts decision. He then appealed to the Nebraska Court of Appeals, at which point the Nebraska Supreme Court put the case on its docket. In reviewing the case, the Supreme Court noted the general rule is that seized property, other than contraband, should be released to the rightful owner once criminal proceedings finish. If the government wishes to keep the property, it must prove a compelling and legitimate reason. The Supreme Court found that the state failed to present a legitimate reason for continuing to seize the property. The courts analysis notes that multiple shots were reportedly fired, but only one shell casing was found in Zimmers home. Zimmer continuously denied firing a weapon and no evidence was presented to suggest that his gun had been fired. He did not have the firearm on his person during the confrontation with police. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. It's been a wild ride for the 20-year-old singer-songwriter from Normal, who made the top 7 on Sunday. Take a look back at her time on "Americ BLOOMINGTON Prosecutors on Friday conceded that a hearing is "legally required" on two aspects of a Bloomington mans petition for post-conviction relief from his 1999 murder conviction in his daughters death. Barton M. McNeil, 62, is serving a 100-year prison sentence on murder charges in the June 15, 1998, suffocation death of 3-year-old Christina McNeil. McNeil has long argued his innocence and accused his ex-girlfriend, Misook Nowlin, from whom he separated earlier that night, of causing his daughters death. Nowlin, 56, is serving a 55-year prison sentence on murder charges in the 2011 strangulation death of her 70-year-old mother-in-law, Linda Tyda. McNeils lawyers, from the Exoneration Project and the Illinois Innocence Project, filed a petition for post-conviction relief in February 2021. They suggested that new evidence would have led to his acquittal if it had been available at McNeil's trial. The motion filed Friday by the McLean County States Attorneys Office argues the bulk of McNeil's arguments should be dismissed. But it conceded that hearings should be held on two affidavits backing McNeils argument that Nowlin confessed to the murder to her then-husband, Don Wang. Nowlins daughter and her ex-husbands wife submitted the affidavits in 2013. Assistant States Attorney Mary Koll wrote that the states concession to McNeils two affidavits requires evidentiary hearings, which would entail a trial-like setting to include testimony. In a phone interview Friday with The Pantagraph, McNeil said he is intrigued by the state allowing hearings on the affidavits to move forward in court. But he also said he is "not really surprised" that prosecutors want to dismiss the rest of his petition. "I'm disappointed, as I always am, that this is just extending the injustice suffered by both me and Christina, who for almost a quarter-century now has suffered the indignity of those behind her killing getting clean away and paying no penalties," McNeil said from the Pinckneyville Correctional Center. "That's where I'm at and that's where I've always been," McNeil said. "From the minute I dialed 911 back in 1998, this is what I was dialing 911 for, is to get a response by the police so that they would then go and arrest who then was transparently obviously responsible for this murder." Nowlins hair and touch DNA had been discovered at the scene of Christinas death McNeils bed, where Christina would sleep when she visited him. McNeil and Christinas mother were separated at the time. Prosecutors minimized Nowlins DNA found in the bedsheets, pointing out her romantic relationship with McNeil. McNeil, however, says he washed the bedsheets earlier the same day of Christinas death, as shown in a line item of a credit card statement submitted in court. McNeils petition also argues that evidence suggests that someone entered Christinas room through a window. He notes a window fan was knocked on the floor, holes were cut in the window screen, scuff marks were located outside the window and nearby plants were trampled. McNeils lawyers, who include John Hanlon and Stephanie Kamel, also wrote in his petition for relief that advances in the science of child abuse pediatrics confirm that there is no evidence whatsoever that Christina was sexually abused and, therefore, the evidence presented to the trier of fact regarding McNeils alleged motive was entirely false. Prosecutors argued in Fridays motion that the newly discovered evidence that McNeils lawyers attribute to a doctor is instead simply ... a different interpretation of the autopsy findings than the States forensic pathologist. McNeils lawyers have until April 21 to file a response to the states motion to dismiss. A hearing for the state's motion to dismiss is set for May 12. Contact Kade Heather at 309-820-3256. Follow him on Twitter: @kadeheather Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. EUREKA Eureka College will allow students from soon-to-close Lincoln College at the same net tuition cost they had previously paid, officials said. Lincoln College announced last week it would close at the end of its spring semester in May. Students who are not graduating will need to transfer to continue their education. Eureka officials said Friday that the college would expedite admissions for Lincoln College students, waive the application fee and accept students from all programs. The two institutions are about 55 miles apart. Some Lincoln students may also qualify for the Eureka Promise, which gives students who meet specific requirements a full tuition scholarship. Eureka expanded the program to graduates of all Illinois high schools in December. Eureka President Jamel Wright expressed her condolences to the Lincoln College community in a statement to The Pantagraph last week. "On behalf of Eureka College, my heart goes out to the students, faculty, staff and the entire Lincoln College community affected by this unfortunate situation," she said. Contact Connor Wood at (309)820-3240. Follow Connor on Twitter: @connorkwood Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. BLOOMINGTON A 36-year-old Bloomington man walked out of prison last May in a pair of joggers and a T-shirt. Coming off a 10-year prison sentence, he had no money. He had nothing but the joggers and a T-shirt. But the man, who asked only to be identified as Richard, heard about the Jobs Partnership Program at the Joy Care Center in Bloomington, a program that assists mostly ex-incarcerees with finding jobs, housing and essential items like clothing and food. The organization is volunteer- and faith-based, and its solely operated by donations. Clients connect whenever they wish at their home a basement floor apartment in south Bloomington with a sign reading Joy Care Center hanging from the wide-open front door. Let go of what was, is painted on the main room wall alongside a blue, green and pink dragonfly. Accept what is. Have faith in what will be, is painted on the other side of the dragonfly. April is recognized as Second Chance Month, started in 2017 by the nonprofit Prison Fellowship, as a campaign to raise awareness of the challenges people with a criminal record face. The Pantagraph spoke to four members of the Joy Care Center. While all credited the program with helping them turn their lives around and get good jobs, they asked not to be identified by their full names because of concerns about public scrutiny and the safety of their families. The clients and the programs director, Michelle Cook, were surprised to hear that a recent report ranked Illinois atop the nation in re-integrating ex-incarcerees into society. If were No. 1, it must be really bad for other states, because its rough enough here in Illinois, Cook said. But having said that, there are resources; its just more of the public attitude toward folks coming home. That just shows you how far behind we are as a country for this particular population. An author of the recent report that examined all 50 states restorative rights laws mirrored Cooks point. There is still a long way to go before people with a record are treated fairly in getting a job and supporting a family, securing a place to live, and participating fully in civic affairs, Collateral Consequences Resource Center Executive Director Margaret Love wrote. The report, released in early March by the nonprofit Collateral Consequences Resource Center, studied laws aimed at restoring rights after incarceration, such as voting rights, felony and misdemeanor relief, non-conviction relief, and abilities to obtain employment and occupational licensing. It ranked Illinois as No. 1 for the second year in a row. The report comes as the state's Prisoner Review Board has become caught up in political gridlock, forcing the indefinite postponement of clemency hearings. The board now has just six seated members of a 15-member board, and three of those members still need state Senate approval. That left the agency unable to meet a quorum to conduct its quarterly clemency hearings this month. The state's top ranking shocked clients of Joy Care Center who have experienced the challenges of re-entry. Joy Care Center consists of a 12-week class session that provides services to empower participants to improve personal and work place performance, change attitudes, and build a firm foundation for a positive, successful future, its website states. Members are paired with a mentor, who is someone from the community with a caring heart that wants to help them, Cook said. Theyre also paired with an accountability partner, someone with a similar past who also has been in the program. There are about 40 people active in the program and more than 80 others are on a waiting list to be admitted. About 2,500 people have gone through the program. Since 2010, when the Jobs Partnership started, 21 members have returned to prison, Cook said. Joy Care Center partners with more than 70 employers and several landlords and real estate agents who accept its clients. The program also helps clients to expunge or seal criminal records. The organization is one of many within the McLean County Reentry Council, which formed in early 2021 after a group of organizations, including the Fully Free Campaign, came together to address how to connect people coming home from incarceration with resources in the community. "Were about breaking barriers for the formerly incarcerated by providing resources and educating the community about what reentry is, said Toy Beasley, a community advocate and founding member of the council. We want to make the community aware that these are not bad people, these are people who are dealing with trauma in the past." The McLean County Reentry Council will host a resource fair from 1 to 4 p.m. April 30 at the Miller Park Pavilion in Bloomington to celebrate Second Chance Month. During the event, organizations that can help with expunging records, job searching and housing will be available. It also will include testimonials from people who have been incarcerated and their experiences when reentering the community. Contact Beasley at toy.beasley@yahoo.com for more information. Richard, the 36-year-old man of Bloomington who ended his 10-year prison sentence last May, grew up in Chicago and said that since he was young, I was on the streets and thats all I knew Without (Joy Care Center), I dont know if Id still be out right now because the life I lived, it was just a rotating door, always in and out. He added that Cook "loves us like we're her kids." In fact, they call each other family. Members call Cook Momma or Momma Michelle, and in turn, Cook, 80, calls the members her children. We are a family. We love each other as a family. Family is not 9 (a.m.) to 5 (p.m.), Monday through Friday, Cook said, referring to other re-entry programs. A family is 24/7, 365. It takes a 24/7, 365 commitment. Emergencies dont happen just 9 (a.m.) to 5 (p.m.), Monday through Friday. Mina, 52, of Normal, has gone full circle in the program. She joined about nine years ago after spending a week in the McLean County jail on bond for a felony. Since then, she has worked a couple of jobs and is now an accountability partner for the program, helping current members to navigate hurdles that people with a criminal record face. We want to do new hurdles, which means future, bigger prospective goals to reach, said Mina, whose felony record has been expunged. Those are the great hurdles we want to jump instead of having somebody with their foot on our neck saying, Youre always going to be a convict." Mina, along with David, 55, of Towanda, shared similar stories. They each now hold commercial drivers licenses and drive trucks. David, who spent a total of 19 years in prison between two sentences, said still faces obstacles despite the programs support and despite expunging part of his record. But without the Joy Care program, David doesn't think he would be where he is today. Most jobs kids get coming out of high school is what they want to give us, so its hard to get a prevailing wage job, he said. Its something thats not going to make you a millionaire, but its going to give you a life thats a little bit more comfortable. Contact Kade Heather at 309-820-3256. Follow him on Twitter: @kadeheather Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. By Trend The Ministry of Energy of Kyrgyzstan has signed an investment agreement with a Chinese state company to build a 500-megawatt hydropower plant, Minister Doskul Bekmurzaev said during a press conference, Trend reports citing Kabar. He noted that the facility will be located in Issyk-Kul Oblast. "Tariffs have already been negotiated with the company. The land issues are being solved now. The Ministry of Energy is doing its best to support investors in the energy sector," the minister added. BLOOMINGTON After decades of run-ins with law enforcement and years spent in and out of prison, Jeffrey Ray Walls says he is dedicating his life to serving his community. The 53-year-old man has served around 16 non-consecutive years in prison on charges related to burglary, forgery and selling cocaine. Nearly two years after his most recent sentence, Walls said he is taking accountability for his life by volunteering with local churches and support groups. "My transparency is my integrity to let others know: Don't go down those dead-end roads," Walls said in a recent interview with The Pantagraph. "Jeffrey Walls did a lot of hurt to this community; Jeffrey Walls is here to help this community. "Jeffrey Walls tears down walls of hate that divide us to build up bridges of love that unite us, that's what I do. It is my whole purpose in life." April is recognized as Second Chance Month, an effort that began in 2017 led by the nonprofit Prison Fellowship, as a campaign to raise awareness of the challenges faced by people with criminal records, such as finding jobs and housing. Later this month, Walls will speak about his experiences during a resource fair sponsored by the McLean County Reentry Council, a group formed last year to help connect people released from incarceration with resources. Advocating for reform Since he was a young child, Walls said he faced racial discrimination that led him down a dark path. He has spoken since his release from prison about instances of discrimination he said he faced during interactions with the legal system and law enforcement. Walls was sentenced to prison in 1989 after pleading guilty to commercial burglary, forgery and criminal damage of property. The offenses carried a consecutive sentence of 10 years and released in 1993. It wasn't long after his release from prison when Walls said he began selling powdered cocaine. McLean County court records show Walls was in and out of prison between 1994 and 2004 on charges related to manufacturing and selling cocaine. While in prison, Walls said he was able to attend a college class on state and local government, where he became interested in prison reform. As part of the class, Walls wrote a proposal that he presented to former Illinois Department of Corrections Assistant Deputy Director Michael O'Leary about the formation of gang-free and drug-free institutions. Walls pulled from his experience in the Illinois prison system and from what he learned in the class. In his proposal he wrote that, while Illinois prisons are intended to be gang- and drug-free, the rules are often ignored. The proposal makes suggestions for how the state can create drug-free and gang-free institutions, such as instituting disciplinary actions and transferals for prisoners who attempt to form any gangs or who test positive for drugs while in prison. With the help of friends and family, Walls distributed a petition that got hundreds of signatures in support. He also received letters from former McLean County State's Attorney Charles G. Reynard and former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun acknowledging the proposal. "Based upon his description of such a facility as well as his personal experiences, his proposal strikes me as being a worthy one," Reynard wrote. "It is my hope that the true extent of the problem can at least be recognized so that we can then work on solutions." After 2004, Walls said he stayed out of prison for 14 years. He was arrested in 2016 on felony burglary and theft charges and sentenced in 2018 to two years in prison, with 237 days of credit for time served. Walls was then released in early 2020, and he began focusing on turning his life around again. A 'serving heart' When coming home after incarceration, many people face challenges in finding jobs or housing. In early 2021, the McLean County Reentry Council began to form as a way to connect people with local resources and organizations to help them overcome such challenges. Toy Beasley, a local advocate and founding member of the group, said one of the most important steps upon returning home from prison or jail is to find a support group. "People come out and say they need a job, and they do need a job," said Beasley. "I think the most important thing is that they have a support group. They get that job, they get that apartment, but how do they keep it? They need those support groups. Since Walls' release from prison in 2020, he has volunteered with churches in Bloomington-Normal while working to find employment. After several months volunteering with the First Assembly of God Church, 800 E. Vernon Ave., he was hired as a maintenance worker. In his free time, Walls volunteers with Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered, 12-step recovery program. He first became interested while he was incarcerated, when volunteers would visit jails and prisons as part of the Celebrate Recovery Inside program. As an accountability partner, Walls shares his story with other people who attend Celebrate Recovery, some who have been incarcerated, and works to build relationships with them and encourage them to continue attending support group meetings. "He's got an incredible serving heart," said Scott Kemp, Celebrate Recovery program director with First Assembly of God, and regional director of the national organization. "He would give the shirt off his back to anybody who needs help for anything." Celebrate Recovery is centered on helping people through any "hurts, habits and hangups" they might be experiencing, such as drug and alcohol addiction, Kemp said. The program was founded in 1991 by John and Cheryl Baker of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. Beasley said Celebrate Recovery is just one of many support groups available in McLean County, but he added that it is highly recommended due to its success rate. "It is a great organization to help the formerly incarcerated, because I consider it a one-stop-shop support group," Beasley said. "You can talk about depression, you can talk about substance abuse, anything." Walls said he recommends the program to many people because, "Celebrate Recovery helps out anybody." "It's not just drugs and alcohol addictions. This is a true recovery for anybody that's dealing with mental health, dealing with emotional issues, dealing with sexual issues, food, overeating, anything." While Walls has slid back into old habits in the past, he said he now considers himself a qualified accountability partner because of his experience. The biggest advice he gives is for people to start volunteering in any way possible once they are released from prison. "If you volunteer because a lot of them can't get jobs because of their criminal background you show what you can do," Walls said. "Prove to the community that you are here to help the community." Contact Sierra Henry at 309-820-3234. Follow her on Twitter: @pg_sierrahenry. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. 100 years ago April 2, 1922: Local losses include Dr. J. W. Dinsmore, former pastor at Second Presbyterian Church. He died at his home in California. And Leroy farmer Preston Bishop has died. He fought with the 116th Illinois Cavalry in the Civil War. Only one man survives from that outfit. 75 years ago April 2, 1947: A grand jury indicted Woodford County Sheriff J. Wallace Meiner for allegedly letting a murder suspect run loose when he was supposed to be in jail. He was served with the indictment by the coroner. Meiner appeared in court and posted $1,000 bond. 50 years ago April 2, 1972: Twin City residents woke up to another surprise from Mother Nature: a few inches of fresh snow on the ground. The view was post-card pretty, and the impact was more inconvenient than intolerable. Todays Easter egg hunts had to be postponed until next week. 25 years ago April 2, 1997: Alderwoman Judy Markowitz defeated three-term incumbent Mayor Jesse Smart to become Bloomingtons first female mayor-elect. The margin of victory made for an early call last evening. In Normal, incumbent Mayor Kent Karraker defeated challenger Steve Harsh. Compiled by Jack Keefe; jkeefe@coldwellhomes.com. The Ukraine war has led the World Trade Organization (WTO) to cut its global trade growth forecast for this year. The previous 4.7% growth forecast has been cut to 2.5% due to "the impact of the war and related policies", said WTO boss Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. The cut is also linked to continuing global supply chain problems that started as a result of the pandemic. She said disruptions would make food more costly, saying "my worry is that we have a food crisis that is brewing". Dr Okonjo-Iweala told the BBC that although Russia and Ukraine only make up about 2.5% of global merchandise exports, they "are very, very significant in certain sectors". "The first worry, of course, is for the people of Ukraine, who are being displaced [and] not having enough food to eat," she said. She added the global economy was "going to suffer some severe consequences", and said poorer countries would particularly feel the impact of the shortages, and "the supply constraints on food". Supplies of many food products including wheat and corn have been affected following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Industry groups have warned the EU faces a shortage of sunflower oil. In total, 46.9% of global exports come from Ukraine and 29.9% from Russia according to S&P Global, but with Ukraine's ports closed it is struggling to export it. "I'm truly worried about looming hunger, particularly in poor countries that can least afford it," Dr Okonjo-Iweala warned. Using Africa as an example, the former Nigerian finance minister said 35 of 55 countries there imported wheat and other grains from Russia and Ukraine and 22 imported fertiliser. "Work being done by the African Development Bank now shows that in many countries, food prices are rising by 20% to 50% already," she said. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Madam Justina Owusu-Banahene, the Bono Regional Minister on Friday assured no qualified student would be denied access to the governments Free Senior High School (FSHS) programme and asked parents and guardians to remain calm. The FSHS, the Regional Minister emphasised had come to stay, saying the government was determined to address emerging challenges to strengthen its implementation to benefit the larger population. Mad. Owusu-Banahene gave the assurance when she visited the Sunyani Senior High school (SHS) and the St James Seminary/SHS to acquaint herself with the ongoing Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS). Interacting with parents and guardians who had come to the schools to seek admission for their children and wards, Mad Owusu-Banahene told them to have hope in the government, saying all challenges confronting the CSSPS would be addressed. She said quality education remained a key indicator to measure the success of ones life and the government would thus ensure that all students qualified for the SHS were admitted to benefit from the FSHS programme. Mad Owusu-Banahene advised the parents to draw closer and monitor the movements of their children so that they would not join bad peers as they gained admission to the SHSs. She said the FSHS programme would be useful and successful only when students concentrated on their studies and passed their examinations well and asked them to strive hard and justify the programme by obtaining the best grades in their internal and external examinations. The Regional Minister said the implementation of the FSHS was not a justification or excuse for parents and guardians to deny their children and wards basic educational and material needs that would make life comfortable for them to stay and learn in the schools. We must not regard the boarding school as a place to dump our children and wards, but rather connect well with teachers and school authorities to know the academic interest, performance and character of our children, Mad Owusu-Banahene told parents. By so doing we would motivate and empower teachers to facilitate the proper upbringing and development of our children and wards so that they would achieve high academic laurels. Mad Owusu-Banahene reminded the parents that the future of the country depended much on the younger generation, hence the need to support teachers to instill discipline in the students and mould them well to become useful adults to occupy responsible positions. Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the two SHSs was calm, but the Ghana News Agency (GNA) learnt that poor internet connectivity was frustrating the CSSPS. 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 A courier company, ShaQ Express, has started piloting the use of electric (e) bicycles for the delivery of items in Accra. The company deployed its first set of two e-bikes in Accra last week as part of efforts to operate in a sustainable manner and also to cut down on its recurrent expenditure, particularly fuel. Although a burgeoning business with dozens of delivery companies in operation, not many courier operators use e-bikes making ShaQ Express one of the first companies to do so in the country. Announcement Its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Anthony Owusu-Ansah, said the pilot phase was going on well with emissions and fuel turning out to be the two main areas of improvement. Announcing the piloting phase, Mr Owusu-Ansah said the future is here and it is indeed electric. We have started piloting the use of our new e-bikes for deliveries as our small way of contributing to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seven and 13, by cutting down on carbon emissions in the environment, he said. This is going to be a game changer in reducing our dependence on fuel and creating a way of serving you better economically, he added. Healthy delivery Mr Owusu-Ansah said while the bikes performed just like the fuel-driven motorcycles on long-distance journeys, they emitted less to no carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that were found to be dangerous to the environment and humans. This, the CEO of ShaQ said made e-bikes the appropriate vehicle to use in delivering food and other health essentials such as medications. Impact on pricing Mr Owusu-Ansah Express said the company was beginning to also realise that the use of e-bikes could help it make savings from its fuel expenditure, leading to a reduction in prices for consumers. The deployment will reduce our dependence on fuel and generally reduce our operation cost by about 50 per cent to 60 per cent. That will help with the pricing to our end user, he explained. He said the savings could also be ploughed back into the business through the creation of more jobs for riders. Convenient charging Mr Owusu-Ansah said the e-bikes did not require the purchase of petrol or diesel but charging from an electricity source. He said they could be charged from almost anywhere, provided the electricity source had the appropriate socket to take the charging system of the motor. According to him, this made the e-motorbikes convenient and more cost-effective to use. SDG 13 The CEO of ShaQ said at a time when the United Nations (UN) and other global institutions were rallying the world to combat climate change and mitigate its impact on the environment and lives, e-bikes poof as a major tool to realise that objective. He said as cities expand and more areas get urbanised, courier services would become more critical, resulting in the use of many motorbikes and other vehicles to get goods to consumers. This, he said had the potential to impact negatively on the realisation of the UNs Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13, which calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. Mr Owusu-Ansah, however, noted that the advent of e-motorbikes, if properly exploited, could help mitigate the impact of a booming courier service business on the achievement of the SDG 13. Going forward Going forward, Mr Owusu-Ansah said ShaQ Express would continue to monitor and t performance of the two bikes to be able to make an informed decision on the next step to take. He said at the moment, it was obvious that using e-motorbikes could impact positively on the business and efforts to increase the numbers would be pursued. About ShaQ ShaQ Express is a local e-commerce and courier company established in 2020. It aims to create the convenience of a digital lifestyle that connects the customer and vendor by providing logistical support to customers that allow them to move packages from one point to another. It prides itself of leveraging technological advancement and the growing rate of smartphone penetration in the country to provide the service on a mobile App, the ShaQ Express app, that connects the gap between customers and vendors. Source: Gladys Boakye/Peace News 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 Parliament on Friday continued with the debate on President Akufo-Addos message on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) he presented to the House on March 30, 2022. While contributions from the Majority Caucus lauded the President and his government for the strong and bold leadership in transforming the economy, the Minority side accused the government of failing to protect Ghanaians from the current economic hardships. Mr Moses Anim, Deputy Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture who took his turn on the floor praised President Akufo-Addo for his transformational leadership which salvaged the economy from its doldrums when assuming office in 2017. He said despite the huge economic challenges that the President inherited he did not resign himself to complaining but worked to fix the economic difficulties. Mr Speaker at the end of 2019 we all knew the status of the economy that the President had brought from the worst situation at end of 2016 to the end of 2019, he said. Mr Anim also stated that as a result of the pragmatic measures taken by government the economy at the end of 2019 grew on average by seven percent, reducing the fiscal deficit to 4.5 percent and the banks which were in difficulty saw some appreciable growth. He said the government was able to roll out its Free Senior School (SHS) policy in addition to providing teacher trainee and nursing allowance among others because the economy was effectively managed by the government and resilient to accommodate the new programmes. Mr Speaker before the COVID struck, we were being touted by the IMF and the World Bank and that where Ghana is now is about to leapfrog he added. However, Mr Kwabina Mintah Akandor, Ranking Member on Health in his contribution accused the President of providing wrong figures in terms of the COVID expenditures to the House. He said President informed the House that GH17.7 billion has been spent to contain the pandemic up till 2022 but disputed the claim saying records from the 2021 and 2022 budgets show that GH20.7 was spent on COVID. He said, Mr Speaker, with all these expenditures we could not even install simple equipment at the Kotoka International Airport to do antigen testas I speak to you now, there are frontline health workers that we are still owing in this country. Mr Akandor also alleged that for the past two months the service providers of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) have threatened to withdraw their services if monies owed them are not paid. He said citizens are complaining that anytime they go to these facilities they are made to pay money and buy their own drugs even though they are carrying the NHIS card. Mr Speaker, the NHIS is the main health finance scheme in the country and the President did not touch on it, I now understand why he did not touch on it he added. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Mr Alban S.K Bagbin, Speaker has underscored the need for more inclusivity and participation of both sides of the political divide in the development process of the country. He said: "Basic important national policies must get the buy-in of the representatives of the people, and that buy-in will in effect enrich our policies." Mr Bagbin said when a delegation made up of the leadership of the Africa Parliamentary Monitoring Organisations Network (APMON) called on him in parliament on Friday. The group called on the Speaker to introduce the Network and its initiatives as well as discuss ways to foster engagements with Ghana's Parliament on parliamentary openness. "Humanity finally is settling in on the conviction that when there is true democracy the society thrives healthily, and in the absence of democracy the opposite pertains," he said. According to Mr Bagbin, Ghana had signed on to the Open Governance Initiatives and could not go against what it had committed itself. He added that it would build more transparent, accountable and participatory governments that could restore citizens' trust and promote inclusive growth. Mr Bagbin, therefore, called for a closer partnership and regular dialogue between parliament and Civils Society Organisations (CSOs) to be able to achieve the needed growth. The parliament of Ghana he said would soon outdoor a revised Standing Orders which he said would ensure greater access and openness in the business of parliament. "When approved, the new Standing Orders will open up Committee Sittings to the media to allow for more transparency and accountability," the Speaker said. For his part, Mr Samuel Nana Kwame Obeng, Executive Director, PN Africa commended the Speaker for his vision to make Ghanas Parliament more responsive to the needs of the citizenry. He said major reforms needed to be introduced in the various parliaments across Africa to address the challenge of access to parliamentary information to aid CSOs in the work. Mr Obeng announced the piloting of an index to rank parliaments on openness within the subregion. He said: "The pilot phase will rank 10 parliaments and national assemblies in West Africa and will involve deeper engagements with key CSOs." 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 Parliament is expected to adjourn sine die on Tuesday, 5th April, Mr Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, the Deputy Majority Leader, has disclosed. The Deputy Majority Leader stated this in his presentation of the Business Statement of the House for the 11th week ending, Tuesday, April 5th, 2022, of the First Meeting of the Second Session of the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana. "In this regard, the Business Committee entreats Members to continue to devote themselves to the scheduled business for the week under consideration to enable the House adjourn on the proposed Tuesday, 5th April," he stated. With regards to the debate on the message on the state of the nation delivered by the President to the House, Mr Afenyo-Markin said as indicated in this week's Business Statement read on Friday, 25th March, the Business Committee proposed that the two leaders of the House together with two members one from each side of the House Saturday, 2nd April, however, due to the exigencies of the scheduled business, debate on the Motion to thank the President for delivering the Message on the State of the Nation would conclude on Monday, 4th April, instead of Saturday, 2nd. He said in view of this development, the House would no longer sit on Saturday, 2nd April, as announced earlier on. "Mr Speaker, again regard to the exigencies of the time, the House would sit on Monday, 4th April," he said. Mr Afenyo-Markin said sittings of the House might also be extended to ensure that business scheduled for the week under consideration was completed. "The Business Committee takes this opportunity to sincerely commend your good self, your deputies and all Members for the self-sacrifice and devotion to business of the House during this First Meeting." He urged all Members of the House to continue with this commitment until the House adjourns sine die. 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 Alhaji Mohammed Nasiru, a member of the Communication team of the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has shot down reports that Gh2.7 million is missing from its coffers. The Herald newspaper, a few days ago alleged the whereabout of Gh2.7 million which was refunded by the Electoral Commission (EC) after the 2020 general election was not known. Its report claims that, "Sometime last year, the EC paid nearly GH2.7 million to the NDC, as a refund of the filing fees paid by its 2020 presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama, and its parliamentary candidates ahead of the December 7, polls". However, that money can't be found in its account according to the Herald newspaper. However, reacting to this during a panel discussion on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', Alhaji Nasiru wondered how "an outsider will come into one's house and tell him or her that money is missing". " . . has the NDC said money is missing? Why would someone come from outside to tell us that our money is missing when we don't know. I've not sat in any meeting where it has been announced that money is missing," he said. According to him, it is not easy to take money out of NDC's account; hence it cannot be true that money will just vanish like that. Listen to him in the video below Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A member of the legal team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amaliba has said that the signing of the e-levy bill into law by President Nana Addo Danklwa Akufo-Addo does not affect the case against the approval in court. Mr Amaliba said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, April 2 with host Dzifa Bampoh that the signing of the bill does not affect the case at the Supreme Court, he said. The issue is still on the front burner. Mr Amaliba earlier accused Mr Akufo-Addo of engaging in recklessness following the signing of the e-levy bill. He said Mr Akufo-Addo was fully aware of the suit filed against the approval of the e-levy by the Minority yet, he went ahead to sign the bill, a situation Mr Amaliba said is putting undue pressure on the Supreme Court. Speaking on the New Day show on TV3 on Friday April 1, he said The action of the President has put undue pressure on the justices of the Supreme Court. He was reckless in doing that because he was aware there is a case in the Supreme Court. His act is not illegal but his action, is it desirable? He is going to put undue pressure on the judges. For his part, the Governments Spokesperson on Governance and Security, Palgrave Boakye Danquah, said the signing of the e-levy bill was not appropriate because there was no injunction on it. President Akufo-Addo on Thursday, March 31 assented to the Electronic Transaction Levy (e-levy) bill into law on Thursday, March 31. The policy was approved by a one-sided Parliament on Tuesday, March 29 after the minority staged a walkout. Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta revealed on Wednesday, March 30 that deductions will start in May this year. He said that is the assurance he has been given by the Controller and Accountant General (CAGD) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), who will be the revenue collectors. We had some meetings with Controller and Accountant Generals Department (CAGD) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and they have said right at the beginning of May they should be able to put their system together, he told TV3s Roland Walker in Parliament after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo delivered the State of the Nation Address. The signing comes at a time the Minority has sued the Attorney General at the Supreme Court over the approval of the bill by the House. Speaking on the New Day show Mr Boakye Danquah said [the signing] is not a rush. Once parliament has approved a bill the final stage is for the president to assent to the bill. He added Persons who have a contrary view in terms of the interpretation of the law will go to the supreme court. The Minoritys case has just been filed, there is no injunction. He further indicated that Parliament had the required number of lawmakers present in the House when the bill was approved on Tuesday, March 29. We had the quorum, if we didnt have the quorum, two-thirds, there is no way the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin would have allowed that to happen, he said. Source: 3news 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 By Azernews By Laman Ismayilova World-famous photographer Reza Deghati has presented his personal exhibition in Vienna within OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation. The exhibition "Souls of Karabakh. A Long Journey to Peace" includes over100 photographs, stands, videos and books by Reza Deghati, which highlights Armenian vandalism during the almost three decades of occupation. The Azerbaijani Ambassador to Austria Rovshan Sadikhbeyli and the Special Representative of the Azerbaijani President in the liberated territories (except Shusha) Emin Huseynov addressed the event. In their remarks, they stressed that the main goal of the exhibition is not only to show the horrors of war, but also to look into the future. While Reza Deghati's photo works reflect conflict and human tragedy, they also express unquenchable hope for the future. And this exhibition is not about the war at all, but rather a photo chronicle and visual stories dedicated to the love for the homeland, the resilience of people who returned to their native lands, restoration of cities and much more. In his speech, Reza Deghati said that for more than 40 years he has been photographing war areas in different parts of the world. But he sees himself not as a war photojournalist, but as a man urging mankind to avoid war and massacres through his work, which reflects the consequences of devastating wars and human suffering. The soul of Karabakh strives for peace, creation and prosperity. " " Children carry torches to celebrate the beginning of Ramadan, a time of fasting and prayer for Muslims. Oscar Siagian/Getty Images Every year, more than one billion Muslims around the globe observe the importance of the month of Ramadan. This time of the year is a time for reflection, devotion to God, and self-control. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims show their devotion to God by fasting, or abstaining from food. Many religions encourage some kind of fasting for religious purposes. For instance, Catholics give up meat for Lent and Jews fast during the holiday of Yom Kippur. For Muslims, fasting is a very important component of Islam. The benefits of fasting for Ramadan are numerous. The most important, though, is the idea that through the self-control of fasting one can pay special attention to his spiritual nature. Advertisement Ramadan is an important time for Muslims, not simply because it helps develop a closer relationship with God, but also because Ramadan is a time to think about those who are less fortunate. Another goal of fasting for Ramadan is to experience hunger in sympathy for those without food. It is a way that many Muslims learn thankfulness and appreciation for what they have. In this article, we will examine the meaning of Ramadan, the tradition of fasting, how the time of Ramadan is determined, Eid al-Fitr (the end of Ramadan) and the benefits of observing the holiday. FILE PHOTO: Retired Maj. Gen. Jovito answers questions from the media at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after his arrest on August 12, 2014. Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan is currently facing charges of kidnapping, serious illegal detention, extra-judicial killings, torture and disappearances. (Photo: Mark Fredesjed R. Cristino/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) The Department of Justice (DOJ) is now investigating an interview between Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) and human rights violator Jovito Palparan, who was responsible for the abduction University of the Philippines (UP) students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan. DOJ Undersecretary Adrian Sugay said that the Bureau of Correction (BuCor) has already been told to look into the matter. "The Secretary has directed the BuCor (Bureau of Corrections) through the undersecretary in charge of corrections, Usec. Deo Marco, to look into the matter and to see if in fact there were violations on the part of whoever initiated this interview of the guidelines of the BuCor with regard to interviewing inmates, he said. DOJ confirmed that the court that convicted Gen. Palparan did not receive any request for permission to grant a media interview. SMNI interviewed Palparan in their segment Laban Kasama ang Bayan, where they talked about the armed revolution in the countryside, just one day after the 53rd anniversary of the New Peoples Army (NPA). The segment also included National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokesperson Lorraine Badoy, who was recently tagged by an international human rights coalition as a part of the Dirty Dozen for being part of the public orchestration of alleged state repression. Desparecidos, a group of families and close friends of victims of forced disappearance, called the interview a travesty of justice, and a cheap desperate attempt to vindicate criminals and rights violators. It is nauseating, to say the least, to see Palparan and this Badoy trying so hard to salvage the face of the berdugo (butcher) for two hours, when Palparan is now a convicted criminal, Concepcion Empeno, the mother of Karen Empeno said. The courts have convicted him, with overwhelming evidence and witness testimonies, for taking away our daughters. What a travesty of justice! Story continues Erlinda Cadapan, the mother of Sherlyn Cadapan added, To this day, Palparan continues to vilify our daughters and justify their abduction and disappearance. We say again, with the strongest conviction, that never should any person be subject to enforced disappearance. This act of Palparan, and Badoy, is a cheap, desperate work of thieves. They stole our daughters, and those who continue to employ abduction and enforced disappearances should be held accountable for the rest of their lives, like what they did to us, as we remain searching for our missing loved ones, she said.. Mark Ernest Famatigan is a news writer who focuses on Philippine politics. He is an advocate for press freedom and regularly follows developments in the Philippine economy. The views expressed are his own. Watch more videos on Yahoo: Normally, wrapping up the arduous process of circulating political nominating petitions is a time of celebration. This year, the celebration is tempered with uncertainty after state Supreme Court Judge Patrick McAllister declared the states congressional and legislative redistricting plan unconstitutional. The Warren Country Republican Committee is just finishing up this years petition cycle, said Warren County Republican Chairman George Ferone, who said the judges decision surprised him. Over the next few weeks, we will find out if the work the committee performed this past month will need to be redone, as the petitions will be invalidated if new district maps are approved, yet again, Ferone said. Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James, in a joint statement on Thursday, said the state intends to appeal the Supreme Court decision. The Associated Press reported that notices of appeal were filed on Friday. John Faso, a lawyer and former congressman who advised Republican plaintiffs in the Supreme Court lawsuit, said he expected the state appellate court likely would move fast, given the election season time sensitivity. I expect that this hearing would be in the Court of Appeals in late April, he said. I expect that they (lawyers and the court) will attempt to expedite that, agreed Lynne Boecher, the Warren County Democratic chairwoman. The state Board of Elections advised candidates on Friday to submit nominating petitions, as planned, beginning on Monday. Boecher said that state Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs sent an email to county chairs on Friday advising: Keep calm and petition on. Democratic congressional candidate Ezra Watson said he already is struggling to collect enough signatures to get on the ballot, and it would be frustrating if he and his volunteers had to circulate petitions again for a redrawn district. I spent a good solid three days (collecting signatures), he said in a telephone interview on Friday. I might have wasted three days. Watson said he was surprised with the judges decision. At first, I was thinking it was an April Fools joke, he said. Watson, a technician from Wilton, is one of three candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville. Matt Putorti, a second Democratic candidate, said he is set to file nominating petitions next week. We have more (signatures) than what we need, but we are still out their knocking on doors, he said in a phone interview on Friday. Putorti, a lawyer from Whitehall, said uncertainty over district boundaries does not change the importance of defeating Stefanik. I think at the end of the day, the lines might change. They might not, he said. Were following it closely. The third candidate, Matt Castelli, a former CIA counterterrorism official from the town of Saratoga, said in a statement that his campaign is in a strong position to file more than enough signatures than what is required to get on the ballot. This campaign has generated support from every county and every committee, he said. Stefanik praised the judges decision. The decision rendered by Judge Patrick McAllister is a win for all New Yorkers and confirms what we have been saying all along: New York Democrats drew gerrymandered congressional lines to protect themselves and hurt all New Yorkers, she said in a statement. The judges decision also creates uncertainty about the date of congressional and legislative primaries, currently scheduled for June 28. Faso said that the Supreme Court judge left it up to Governor Hochul and the Legislature to decide whether to delay the primary. Delaying the primary could make campaigns more costly, said Robert Turner, a political science professor at Skidmore College. June primaries typically have low turnout, so candidates identify voters that voted in previous primaries and contact those voters directly, he explained. Those primary campaigns become about hand-to-hand combat, he said. The later the primary, the greater the expected turnout, causing candidates to spend money on indirect campaigning such as television advertising and mass mailings, he said. Delaying the primary also could delay contributions from major donors, many of whom prefer to wait until the nominee is decided to contribute. It certainly looks like the decision is going to help the incumbent in races where a primary will determine the challenger, he said. Maury Thompson covered local government and politics for The Post-Star for 21 years before he retired in 2017. He continues to follow regional politics as a freelance writer. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 MIDDLE TOWNSHIP For Stan Sperlak, an artist, educator, author and now film director, there is a story behind everything. In his gallery on Route 47 in the Goshen section of the township, a conversation about plans for a documentary about Middle Township history continually digresses into a series of fascinating rabbit holes: the summertime visits to local areas of the Leni Lenape, the housing of German prisoners during World War II where there is now the headquarters of the county Mosquito Control Commission, the local families who first bought land in the township in the early 18th century. As part of a project with the Museum of Cape May County, Sperlak and many others are working to include as many of those stories as possible in a documentary film, set to debut April 30 at the Middle Township Performing Arts Center, 212 Bayberry Drive. There is a suggested donation of $10, and two shows planned, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. He described 300 years in the Middle: A History of Middle Township as a Ken Burns-esque documentary, combining interviews and narration to tell the story of Middle Township. The film is put together, he said. Next comes the narration and then the final editing. The final product is planned to be a little over a half-hour. After the premier, it may be available to stream, although the platform is not yet certain. In 1723, Cape May County was divided into three precincts, called, matter-of-factly enough, Upper, Middle and Lower township. Over the centuries, all the other municipalities in the county were carved from those original three. Other communities remained a part of the township, including Cape May Court House, Goshen, Burleigh, Rio Grande and Whitesboro. Cape May Court House was laid out by Jeremiah Hand in 1703 and became the county seat. Whitesboro began at the start of the 20th century as a planned community for African Americans as Jim Crow laws rose in the Southern states. Before the American Revolution, Goshen was a thriving settlement, with shipbuilding, crabbing and more, and at one point rivaled Cape May Court House to become the county seat, Sperlak said. Sperlak and the other participants in the project want to capture that span of history in the film, which will serve as a fundraiser for the museum. But it also will capture some of the local history in a way they hope will engage future generations. Its part of a healthy town, knowing your towns stories, knowing where youre from and whos gone before you, said Robin Salasin Metz, the films assistant director and a member of the Economic Development Council of Middle Township. Contemporary families often move so much, they may lose connections to their communities. Knowing local history is part of strengthening community bonds, Metz said. Kids grow up and move off, especially in the Cape, she said. We dont have the support of our families, or the stories of our families. In addition to working on the film, shes part of a related project planned for a much longer term. Working with the Cape May County Library, and with the invaluable help of staff members there, Metz is recording the oral history of township residents. On Friday, she said, she completed interviews with two 90-year-old women. Those recordings will remain available through the library, she said. The plan is to keep collecting and recording local stories for years to come. Its going to be there for generations, Sperlak said. Eventually, he said, the project will be turned over to local students and will remain available to future researchers. Part of the inspiration for the project was a Facebook group, Sperlak said. Middle Township, NJ: Our History Through People, Pictures and Stories is dedicated to local stories and historic images and showed Sperlak just how much material is out there, waiting to be gathered. Wildwood schools to keep Warriors name WILDWOOD The citys public school district is keeping the Warriors name, as well as the im Filmmakers also sought to capture the diversity of the history of the township, and to put female voices at the forefront of the project. He said he has excellent advisers on the project, including local historians, experts on Leni Lenape history and Bobbi Hornbeck with the museum, who is also a professor of sociology and anthropology at Stockton University. He said she reviewed the script for accuracy. The Cape May County Historical and Genealogical Society, operating as the Museum of Cape May County, dates to 1927 and established its first museum in 1930. In 1976, the current site at 504 Route 9 was purchased to house the growing collection. The main house dates to 1704, and an addition is from 1830. Sperlak said all nonprofits struggle financially, but he said the museum is in good shape. This year, even with the pandemic, weve turned a corner and the museum is not bleeding anymore, he said. Were breaking even, and were moving ahead. Its because of the current directors and the programing thats going on there, including offerings for children. In addition to building community connections and raising money, Sperlak hopes the film will increase peoples interest in the museum, drawing them for a visit or to eventually become a member. Helping fund the film is a $14,700 grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Cape May County Board of Commissioners through the Division of Culture and Heritage. West Wildwood Police Officer pleads to death threats against former girlfriend WEST WILDWOOD West Wildwood Police Officer Dylan Keenan-Hannum is out of jail and out of a Sperlak declined to say how much he expects the film to make for the museum. He hopes it will be the start of a series of documentary films about Cape May County communities. Metz said she hopes the film will help people in Middle Township understand the value of their community. The township is central to the county, she said, not only in the most literal sense but also as the community connecting the barrier island resorts and other towns on the Cape. We dont appreciate what we have. People dont realize how precious this is, she said. We need to realize our value in Middle. We dont. Were all about the islands. Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A raccoon collected in Northfield tested positive for rabies, the fifth case found in Atlantic County this year, the county Division of Public Health said Friday. Homeowners on Forrest Drive called Animal Control after they discovered the raccoon being attacked by their two dogs in their yard, the county said in a news release. One resident was found to be bitten or scratched while attempting to remove the dogs, according to the Division of Public Health, and was advised to consult his medical provider. The dogs will receive rabies vaccine boosters and be placed under a 45-day observation, the county said. Skunk yields Atlantic County's fourth rabies case of 2022 The fourth case of rabies in Atlantic County in 2022 was found in another skunk, the third t Rabies can be fatal if left untreated, which is why it is so important to vaccinate your pets, said Kara Janson, acting public health director for the county. A rabies vaccination not only protects your pet but also helps protect the pet owner and family members from contracting the disease from an infected pet. The countys previous rabies cases this year have involved a fox collected from Hamilton Township and three skunks found in Egg Harbor Township. The Atlantic County Animal Shelter will hold its next monthly free rabies vaccination clinic from 9 a.m. to noon April 10 for both dogs and cats, by appointment. Appointments can be made at aclink.org/animalshelter. Public health officials remind residents of the importance of vaccinating their pets and advise them to teach children to stay away from wild animals. Additionally, calling Animal Control if you see wildlife behaving strangely or aggressively. For more information about rabies control and precautions, visit aclink.org/publichealth or call 609-645-5971. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. AD Ports Group, a leading global driver of trade and logistics in the UAE, has announced that 2021 was a remarkable year for the company, netting strong revenue and net profit growth, emerging as a major distributor of Covid-19 vaccines in the UAE and a supplier to more than 60 countries worldwide. Group revenue rose for the 14th consecutive year to AED3.9 billion ($1.06 billion) from AED3.4 billion ($925 million) in 2020, and also it successfully leveraged synergies across five of its business clusters to achieve record revenue and growth in net profit and earnings per share, stated AD Ports Group in its annual report to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). The group's net profit soared to AED853 million from AED397 million the year before and earnings per share stood at AED 0.22 compared to AED 0.10 in 2020. AD Ports Group has evolved into a vertically integrated ecosystem of businesses that include Economic Cities & Free Zones, Ports, Logistics, Maritime, and Digital services, it stated. As a strategic gateway to Abu Dhabi, AD Ports Group generated 21% of all non-oil related GDP in the emirate, according to Oxford Economics and the company empowered more than 212,000 jobs in the UAE. On the remarkable performance, Managing Director and Group CEO Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi said: "2021 was a transformative year for AD Ports Group, as we delivered robust financial results and strengthened our position as the global financial communitys port of entry to invest in the Gulfs fastest-growing economy." The Annual Report details some of the major agreements signed in 2021 that have extended AD Ports Groups global reach, including its 35-year concession agreement with CMA CGM for a new AED570 million terminal at Khalifa Port, which will position it as a global hub for three of the worlds four mainline shipping companies. The year also saw the signing of several strategic agreements between AD Ports Group and the Aqaba Development Corporation, who are now working closely together to drive the development of tourism, logistics, transport, and digital infrastructure within the Jordanian port city. Other key achievements included a joint venture with Chinas Shandong Ports Group to build a 150,000 sq m tyre storage and distribution city at Kizad; an agreement with Australias Lepidicos to build a new facility for lithium batteries at Kizad that will drive electric car production in the GCC; and a contract with Helios Industry to develop an AED3.67 billion hydrogen production facility to make green ammonia using an 800MW solar plant. In the UAE, AD Port Groups joint venture OFCO won the undersea cabling business of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and the company signed an agreement to ship five million tonnes of steel each year for Emirates Steel. Key financial highlights of the year included AD Ports Groups successful inaugural USD 1 billion issuance of 10-year bonds, which were listed on the ADX and London Stock Exchange (LSE), as well as preparation for its successful February 2022 ADX equity listing, which raised AED 4 billion for organic growth and acquisitions.-TradeArabia News Service The Camden City School District has stopped serving milk to all its students after at least 53 children in four schools were medically treated Wednesday after consuming milk contaminated with hand sanitizer. After drinking the milk distributed at the Camden Early Childhood Development Center, the Riletta T. Cream Early Childhood Development Center, the Yorkship Family School and the Veterans Memorial School the children, who ranged in age from 3 to 5 years old, were taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and Cooper University Hospital, or treated on site. The students and one staff member were treated and released, with primary symptoms being vomiting. Heres an update on what else we know: What kind of milk was it and who manufactured and distributed it? The half-pint cartons containing 1% low-fat milk with a sell date of April 11 were distributed to Camden schools by Aramark, the districts Philadelphia-based food service provider. The milk was manufactured by Guidas Dairy in New Britain, Connecticut, and distributed by Cream-O-Land. How did this happen? Guidas Dairy believes the contamination was limited and was caused when the food-grade sanitizer, used to clean the cartons, was inadvertently introduced into machines during milk production. The cartons were sealed and shipped out with the milk. Pine Barrens show takes root on Stockton campus GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP The 1.1-million-acre expanse of flora and fauna that is the New Jersey P How many cartons were involved? The school district pulled 95 cartons from its inventory. Milk from this batch was found at four locations, but it is unknown whether the milk was contaminated at each of these locations. What is known about the sanitizer? The colorless substance is known as Vortexx and is usually diluted in water. The nontoxic substance is used to sanitize certain surfaces of airtight and sealed packages containing foods and beverages to prevent mold and bacteria. What precautions are being taken to prevent this from happening again? The Camden school district said out of an abundance of caution, it has directed its food services department not to serve any milk products until investigations are completed. Were any other school districts affected? According to the Camden County Health Department, the contamination has been limited to Camden city public schools, which serves about 5,200 students, and there have been no reports from other districts. Are other districts taking precautions? Cherry Hill Public Schools has pulled all plain milk from its buildings and stopped providing it through at least Friday. (Students can get chocolate milk, juice or water.) It also received milk provided by Aramark, but not from the same batch as the milk served in Camden. Collingswood Public Schools, supplied with the same brand of milk, has replaced its batch with a different brand, although it had no reports of adverse reactions related to milk consumption there. The district said it will not accept any shipments of milk produced by Guida until the Camden County Health Department completes its investigation. Friends in Action and Atlantic City firefighters host toy giveaway ATLANTIC CITY There was no snow or reindeer in sight at Vagabond Kitchen and Tap House in Is it possible this could show up in stores? No, it is not available at retail outlets for consumer purchase. Guida said about 1,000 cartons from the batch were distributed in New Jersey, to schools and institutions. What happens next? The New Jersey Department of Health notified local health authorities Thursday that Guidas Dairy advised all its institutional customers to dispose of any remaining half-pint cartons of its 1% low-fat milk. CHICAGO - An attorney for former House Speaker Michael Madigan said Friday his team will need to review millions and millions of documents over the next several months before deciding on any pretrial motions to be filed in the bombshell racketeering case. The comment came during a brief status hearing before U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey, the first since Madigan and his longtime confidant, Michael McClain, were charged in an indictment with a yearslong corruption scheme that allegedly leveraged Madigans elected office and political power for personal gain. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu told the judge his office had already turned over a quite voluminous batch of discovery materials to the defense, and that another large production would be made by the end of the month. Madigans lead attorney, Sheldon Zenner, said the amount of material would likely keep his team busy for months and that extra time to decide on a motions schedule would be warranted. Blakey agreed, setting the next status hearing for Aug. 2. Madigans appearance was waived for that hearing, as it was for Fridays proceedings. Madigan, 79, and McClain, 74, were charged last month in a 22-count indictment alleging they conspired to participate an array of bribery and extortion schemes from 2011 to 2019, including a plot to steer payments from Commonwealth Edison to member of Madigans vast political operation in exchange for the speakers help with legislation in Springfield. The indictment also accused Madigan of illegally soliciting business for his private property tax law firm during discussions to turn a state-owned parcel of land in Chinatown into a commercial development. Though the land deal never was consummated, its been a source of continued interest for federal investigators, who in 2020 subpoenaed Madigans office for records and communications hed had with key players. Both Madigan and McClain have pleaded not guilty. Their attorneys have accused prosecutors of trying to criminalize legal political actions such as job recommendations in a quest to bring down the once-powerful speaker. McClain, a former state legislator and lobbyist, is also facing separate charges stemming from the alleged ComEd scheme. That case is set for trial in September. The long-awaited charges punctuated a stunning downfall for Madigan, the longest serving leader of any legislative chamber in the nation who held an ironclad grip on the state legislature as well as the Democratic Party and its political spoils. He was dethroned as speaker in early 2021 as the investigation swirled around him, and soon after resigned the House seat hed held since 1971. During Fridays hearing, Blakey asked prosecutors whether they intended to seek a superseding indictment in the case, which would add more charges and possibly more defendants. Bhachu said he wouldnt be able to speak to that as of Friday. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Eastern Iowa Community College District will reopen its search for a new chancellor. During a special meeting Saturday, its board voted 6-0 to extend the search for a new chancellor. The public forums scheduled for the coming week with the two candidates, Dr. John Maduko and Dr. Ellen Bluth, will be postponed to a later date. Board chair Robert Gallagher said the special meeting was called after two of the four people recently chosen for interviews dropped out after accepting jobs elsewhere. Board member Kendra Beck, who was on the search committee that reviewed 27 applications and narrowed the field of candidates to four, said the committees job was not complete. We really felt we had four really good candidates and were hopeful that we could fill the chancellor position from them, Beck said. One of the objectives of the search committee was to recommend three to four candidates. I dont feel weve completed our job as a search committee. Board member Bill Vetter, who also served on the search committee, said the decision on a new chancellor was not only critical for the institution, its critical for the region and the institutions competitiveness and future successes. Board member Dr. Joe DSouza said: I feel our work is not complete. We need to start this differently. Honey Bedell, chief of staff of the Chancellors Cabinet, said it needed to be clear that the two candidates remaining were excellent candidates. Bluth is EICC vice chancellor for workforce and economic development. Maduko is vice president for academic and student affairs at Minnesota State Community and Technical College. A search for a new chancellor has been in the works since current Chancellor Don Doucette announced earlier this year that he will retire July 1. Doucette has served as the districts chancellor since 2011. The district is comprised of the community colleges in Scott, Clinton and Muscatine counties. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Eastern Iowa Community College trustees will meet virtually Saturday, April 2, to discuss extending the search for a new chancellor. Friday's announcement of Saturday's special board meeting comes a day after trustees announced two finalists in the running to lead the community college district. "We have two good candidates," Board of Trustees President Robert H. Gallagher said Friday. "Im sure they are excellent candidates." Gallagher, though, said the board had wanted four candidates from which to choose. They initially whittled a pool of applicants to four, but two dropped out after being hired by other institutions. "The issue is whether the board wants to go forward with just the two names or open the door for getting a couple of new names in the hopper," Gallagher said. "The question is do we want a bigger pool from which to choose. Its a very important position. Its a question that needs to be discussed." The finalists announced Thursday are Dr. Ellen Bluth, EICC vice chancellor for workforce and economic development, and Dr. John Maduko, vice president for academic and student affairs at Minnesota State Community and Technical College. A search for a new chancellor has been in the works since current Chancellor Don Doucette announced earlier this year that he will retire July 1. Doucette has served as the districts chancellor since 2011. Saturdays board of trustee meeting will take place at noon over Zoom at http://www.eicc.edu/boardzoom. Bluth and Maduko will participate in public forums beginning Monday. The Board of Trustees also will interview them and make the final selection, which is to be announced in late April or early May. The public is invited to the forums, which will begin with introductions of the candidates, followed by question-and-answer sessions. Here is the schedule: Dr. John Maduko Monday, April 4 10:20-11 a.m., SCC Urban Campus, Room W116/117, 101 W. Third St., Davenport. Watch via Zoom at: https://zoom.us/j/94443787604 1:30-2:30 p.m., MCC Student Center Lounge, 152 Colorado St., Muscatine. 4-5 p.m., SCC Belmont Student Life Center, 500 Belmont Rd., Bettendorf. Tuesday, April 5 9:30-10:30 a.m., CCC Auditorium, 1000 Lincoln Blvd., Clinton. Dr. Ellen Bluth Tuesday, April 5 10:20-11 a.m., SCC Urban Campus, Room W116/117, 101 W. Third St., Davenport. Watch via Zoom at: https://zoom.us/j/97793107950 1:30-2:30 p.m., MCC Student Center Lounge, 152 Colorado St., Muscatine. 4-5 p.m., SCC Belmont Student Life Center, 500 Belmont Rd., Bettendorf. Wednesday, April 6 9:30-10:30 a.m., CCC Auditorium, 1000 Lincoln Blvd., Clinton. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The New River Valley Public Health Task Force and LewisGale Hospital Montgomery will host an American Red Cross blood drive on April 8. There continues to be a nationwide blood crisis impacting care delivery in every health care system in the nation, according to a news release about the event. The Red Cross is still experiencing a decrease in the number of blood donors. FILE PHOTO: Yandex CEO Bunina attends a session of the Moscow Financial Forum in Moscow (Reuters) -Elena Bunina is stepping down as chief executive of Yandex LLC, Russia's biggest technology company, some two weeks before her tenure is due to expire on April 15, the company said on Saturday. "Elena Bunina is leaving (her) positions of CEO and HR director at Yandex LLC, it was her personal decision," Yandex's press service said in an email. It said Artem Savinovsky, a senior manager at the company, had been appointed acting CEO. No further details were given of reasons for the move, which is the second recent high-level departure from Yandex, which builds intelligent products and services powered by machine learning. Last month, Tigran Khudaverdyan stepped down as executive director and deputy CEO at Nasdaq-listed Yandex NV, Yandex LLC's parent which is registered in the Netherlands, after the European Union included him and a group of Russian businessmen on a sanctions list over Moscow's "special military operation" in Ukraine. Khudaverdyan was sanctioned in the EU as an individual. Neither Yandex NV nor any of its subsidiaries have been sanctioned by the United States, EU or Britain. In its statement announcing the departure on March 15, the company said Bunina would continue as general director of Yandex LLC, its principal operating subsidiary, until April 15. (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Potter and David Holmes) After following a white rabbit down a hole in the ground and changing sizes several times, Alice finds herself wondering Who in the world am I? This scene from Lewis Carrolls Alices Adventures in Wonderland might resonate with you. In a world that is constantly changing, it may be challenging to find your authentic self. But the new science of authenticity provides some valuable insights that not only shed light on what is meant by authenticity a somewhat vague term whose definition has been debated but can also offer some tips for how to tap into your true self. I am a social psychologist, and over the past few years my colleagues and I have been conducting research to better understand what it means to be authentic. We discovered that gaining a better understanding of your true self might look different than you think. What is authenticity? In Sincerity and Authenticity, literary critic and professor Lionel Trilling described how society in past centuries was held together by the commitment of people to fulfilling their stations in life, whether they were blacksmiths or barons. Trilling argued that people in modern societies are much less willing to give up their individuality, and instead value authenticity. But what, exactly, did he mean by authenticity? Like Trilling, many modern philosophers also understood authenticity as a kind of individuality. For example, Sren Kierkegaard believed that being authentic meant breaking from cultural and social constraints and living a self-determined life. The German philosopher Martin Heidegger equated authenticity to accepting who you are today and living up to all the potential you have in the future. Writing many decades after Heidegger, the French existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre had a similar idea: People have the freedom to interpret themselves, and their experiences, however they like. So being true to oneself means living as the person you think yourself to be. Common among these different perspectives is the notion that there is something about a person that represents who they really are. If we could only find the true self hidden behind the false self, we could live a perfectly authentic life. This is how contemporary psychologists understood authenticity as well at least at first. The authentic personality In an attempt to define authenticity, psychologists in the early 21st century started to characterize what an authentic person looks like. They settled on some criteria: An authentic person is supposed to be self-aware and willing to learn what makes them who they really are. Once an authentic person gains insight into their true self, they will aim to be unbiased about it choosing not to delude themselves and distort the reality of who they are. After deciding what defines the true self, the authentic person will then behave in a way that is true to those characteristics, and avoid being false or fake merely to please others. Some researchers have used this framework to create measurement scales that can test how authentic a person is. In this view, authenticity is a psychological trait a part of someones personality. But my colleagues and I felt there was more to the experience of authenticity something that goes beyond a list of characteristics or certain ways of living. In our most recent work, we explain why this traditional definition of authenticity might be falling short. Thinking is hard Have you ever found yourself trying to analyze your own thoughts or feelings about something, only to make yourself more confused? The poet Theodore Roethke once wrote that self-contemplation is a curse, that makes an old confusion worse. And theres a growing body of psychological research supporting this idea. Thinking, on its own, is surprisingly effortful and even a little bit boring, and people will do almost anything to avoid it. One study found theyll even shock themselves to avoid having to sit with their own thoughts. This is a problem for a definition of authenticity that requires people to think about who they are and then act on that knowledge in an unbiased way. We dont find thinking very enjoyable, and even when we do, our reflection and introspection abilities are rather poor. Fortunately, our research gets around this problem by defining authenticity not as something about a person, but as a feeling. When something feels right We propose that authenticity is a feeling that people interpret as a sign that what they are doing in the moment aligns with their true self. Importantly, this view does not require people to know what their true self is, nor do they need to have a true self at all. According to this view, an authentic person can look many different ways; and as long as something feels authentic, it is. Although we are not the first to take this view, our research aims to describe exactly what this feeling is like. This is where we depart a bit from tradition. We propose that the feeling of authenticity is actually an experience of fluency. Have you ever been playing a sport, reading a book, or having a conversation, and had the feeling that it was just right? This is what some psychologists call fluency, or the subjective experience of ease associated with an experience. Fluency usually happens outside of our immediate awareness in what psychologist William James called fringe consciousness. According to our research, this feeling of fluency might contribute to feelings of authenticity. In one study, we asked U.S. adults to recall the last activity they did and to rate how fluent it felt. We found that, regardless of the activity whether it was work, leisure or something else people felt more authentic the more fluent the activity was. Getting in the way of fluency We were also able to show that when an activity becomes less fluent, people feel less authentic. To do this, we asked participants to list some attributes that describe who they really are. However, sometimes we asked them to try to remember complicated strings of numbers at the same time, which increased their cognitive load. At the end, participants answered some questions about how authentic they felt while completing the task. As we predicted, the participants felt less authentic when they had to think about their attributes under cognitive load, because being forced to do the memory task at the same time created a distraction that impeded fluency. At the same time, this doesnt necessarily mean youre not being authentic if you take on challenging tasks. While some people may interpret feelings of unease as a hint that they arent being true to themselves, in some cases difficulty might be interpreted as importance. Research by a team of psychologists led by Daphna Oyserman has shown that people have different personal theories about ease and difficulty when carrying out tasks. Sometimes when something is too easy it feels not worth our time. Conversely, when something gets difficult or when life gives us lemons we might see it as especially important and worth doing. We choose to make lemonade instead of giving up. This might mean that there are times when we feel particularly true to ourselves when the going gets tough as long as we interpret that difficulty as important to who we are. Trust your gut As romantic as it sounds to have a true self thats merely hiding behind a false one, it probably isnt that simple. But that doesnt mean authenticity shouldnt be something to strive for. Seeking fluency and avoiding internal conflict is probably a pretty good way to stay on the path to being true to yourself, pursuing what is morally good and knowing when youre in the right place. When you go searching for the self in a sea of change, you might find yourself feeling like Alice in Wonderland. But the new science of authenticity suggests that if you let feelings of fluency be your guide, you might find what youve been looking for all along. ___ Get fascinating science, health and technology news. Sign up for The Conversations weekly science newsletter. Matthew Baldwin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. ___ Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SIOUX CITY -- If SkyWest Airlines, Sioux Gateway Airport's lone carrier, pulls out of the Sioux City market ahead of the busy summer travel season, will passengers be left in the lurch? Assistant City Manager Mike Collett said the goal is to keep the transition to a new airline "smooth." He said it's possible that a different United Airlines regional carrier could be chosen. "If you book today, when a new carrier is found, they will either try to rebook you out of another airport or refund your money," he said. "It might be a rebooking here, because we don't even know who the ultimate provider is yet." Collett said he anticipates that other airlines will be interested in offering service from Sioux Gateway under the Essential Air Service (EAS) program, which is currently federally subsidizing SkyWest's flights from Sioux City. SkyWest offers two daily connecting routes to and from Sioux City -- one each to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Denver International Airport. "We would like to see the current destinations in the mix, but, really the carrier can propose any destinations," Collett said. "We would take that into consideration on the community preference." Earlier this month, SkyWest announced its intent to pull out of Sioux Gateway and 28 other airports as early as this summer due to a shortage of pilots. SkyWest must continue to serve the market until the federal government selects a replacement carrier. "We will help with that process. We will definitely call upon the airlines and contacts that we have," Collett said. "We have relationships with all the major airlines." Carriers have until April 11 to submit proposals to the Department of Transportation, according to Collett. He said the DOT will then provide those proposals in summary form to the city, which will give input. However, the DOT ultimately makes the selection. Collett said he couldn't speculate on how soon a new carrier could begin providing service. In August 2020, American Airlines announced that it would stop flying to several smaller cities, including Sioux City, due to the catastrophic impact of COVID-19 on the airline industry. The airline backtracked a few days later, delaying its plan to suspend its unsubsidized flights to Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth. By the end of August, American filed for subsidies for the Sioux City to Chicago flights, under the EAS program. That triggered a new round of federal bidding for the routes. Last spring, SkyWest beat out American for the contract under the EAS program, which was created in 1978 to ensure that smaller communities maintained at least a minimal level of air service. SkyWest began offering direct flights to and from Chicago on April 1, 2021. The carrier's daily service between Sioux City and Denver commenced in October 2020. Love 2 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. LINCOLN, Neb. -- A Sioux City man was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in federal prison for attempting to steal thousands of dollars from a credit union at the Tyson Foods plant in Dakota City. Mike Obed, 22, had pleaded guilty in December in U.S. District Court in Lincoln to one count of robbery of a federal credit union. He must serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence. Obed was found in the ceiling of the Siouxland Federal Credit Union satellite branch at Tyson after authorities responded three times to burglar alarms at the credit union in the early morning hours of June 11. Dakota County Sheriff's deputies found a damaged virtual teller machine and a piece of ceiling removed from inside the vault with a ladder set up under the hole. They found Obed hiding in the ceiling and a bag containing $218,000 in cash. A review of surveillance video showed a male in the vault room attempting to access the vault. During questioning, Obed told authorities he was a former Tyson employee and had used his identification card to gain entry into the plant. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 2 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Some experts say it's time to think the unthinkable: How the U.S. should respond if Russia drops a nuclear bomb in Ukraine. Explore the scenarios here. Plus, view today's photos from the fighting. Pay Dirt is Slates money advice column. Have a question? Send it to Athena and Elizabeth here. (Its anonymous!) Dear Pay Dirt, I work in the arts and have always lived on very little. While I think the arts should be more highly valued and offer some kind of job security, Ive made it work and been able to save for things that really matter to me. My husband and I tend to be aligned on how we prioritize spending: travel, food and experiences. He likes to occasionally splurge on material things that often improve life for both of us. Its worked well for us to maintain our incomes separately and pay into a joint account for rent, groceries and other shared essentials. My husband works in a much higher-paid industry; when we first met he earned slightly more than me and we each paid half our shared expenses. I chose work that Im passionate about, make my own schedule and am willing to sacrifice a higher salary for those benefits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This year my husbands been rapidly promoted and now makes about 2.5 times what I earn in a good month. Im doing a masters degree and while Ive reduced my hours (and make even less), Im working about 25 hours, split between 3 different jobs, and am in class 15 hours a week, leaving only weekends to study (never mind clean the house or take care of myself!). Im overwhelmed and burnt out. My husband has taken on almost 100 percent of the cooking and way more than half of the cleaning, in addition to his job. But theres just no time, the house is always a mess, we never get to enjoy each others company, Im often angry and stressed. Advertisement Advertisement If I were single, I would have a full scholarship for my master and could live on my savings while working on my thesis but with my husbands income I have to use all my savings to pay full tuition. Whenever I think of a solution, like hiring someone to clean or making an appointment with my therapist, I remember I cant afford it. Recently we reviewed our budget and after paying for essentials and activities, I have 50 dollars left over every month while my husband has 700 (after paying for a lot more hobbies and fun things). He always pays when we go out together, and pays for plenty of extra things for the house. Advertisement Ive always felt strongly about paying my own way, especially because of my career choices. But Im suddenly full of resentment. If my situation, for purposes of the scholarship, was calculated to include my husbands income, isnt some extra financial support from him assumed? Advertisement We talked about it and he said hes happy supporting me economically because hes happy living with me. But saying hes supporting me economically feels wrong to me. Its true he does pay for a lot more, and does a lot more around the house, but when I saw the numbers of how much more financial wiggle room he has it really frustrated me. Advertisement Advertisement I guess I want to pay less than half the rent and not feel like a charity case. How? Broke Tired MFA Dear Broke Tired MFA, Im not sure you can really have it both ways here. A big part of marriage is deciding what you want out of your lives together, and how you will, logistically, make it happen. It sounds as if youre mostly making it work, and you have a partner whos supportive, both financially and in terms of what he puts into household responsibilities. And youve decided to keep your finances separate, so it doesnt sound like youve agreed that your combined incomes are your shared money. In fact, you explicitly state that you feel strongly about paying your own way, which is not what youre actually doing. Your husband is effectively subsidizing your career development. Theres nothing wrong with this, and he seems to have no problem with it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Given that, I think you should have a conversation about your burnout and the fact that you dont have enough time to relax or spend time together. Im sure your husband wouldnt mind paying for a housekeeper, for example, if hes already paying for other similar things, like nights out. I think you should also consider how youd feel if your roles were reversed, and you were the primary breadwinner. I doubt youd want your husband to suggest that your financial contributions were fundamentally equal when they arent, even if you didnt mind footing most of the bill. Id feel a little differently if you both agreed at the beginning of the marriage, or agreed now, that all money is sharedyour combined money is our money. Then it would be reasonable to expect that more of it would be contributed to your education. Even then, however, you wouldnt be an equal contributor. Im sympathetic to your frustration that the arts are less stable and dont pay as well, but as someone who has made similar choices to forego pay to do creative work, and also taken jobs that are not as creatively fulfilling to make ends meet, I think you have to acknowledge that these are normal tradeoffs. I have no idea how your husband feels about his job, but Im sure there are downsides too. (Does he make his own schedule? Is he passionate about his work the way you are?) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So I think you need to decide, together, whether youre going to treat your combined income as one pool of money that belongs to both of you, and I also think you have to let go of the notion that you can entirely pay your own way and be able to afford what you can now, given your disparate incomes. Your other option is to find a way to increase your income so that you can actually pay into your expenses equally, but that would likely entail modifying your career choices. Ultimately, you have to decide what is more important to you: feeling completely independent financially, or getting through your MFA program in one piece, with the hopes that you can find more stability later. Advertisement Dear Pay Dirt, I am divorced. My ex-husband and I share two kids. We have a clause in our divorce decree that states each of us shall claim a child as a dependent on our taxes. The clause also includes a stipulation that if my ex is not current on child support at the end of the year I can claim both kids on my taxes. My ex was not current at the end of 2021. He was just shy of $3,000 behind (about eight months worth of child support). When I informed him that because of the arrears in child support that I would be filing both of the kids as dependents on my 2021 taxes he did not react well. He accused me of stealing money from him during our marriage (which is not true) and of not having a heart (also not true). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My ex has struggled in many ways since our separation two years ago. He tried to start his own business twice and it failed both times. In addition to that he has had four other jobs and didnt keep any of them for more than three months. He has dug himself in a pretty big hole financially. Advertisement Advertisement I sympathize with his financial situation, but I am paycheck-to-paycheck myself. The child support he is supposed to pay covers his half of the kids health insurance (that I pay for and provide through my employer) and nothing else, despite the current custody arrangement where I have the kids more than 50 percent of the time. I have tried my hardest to have an amicable co-parenting relationship with my ex and he has been a nightmare to deal with. Filing my taxes with both kids gets me an additional $4,500. Is it selfish of me to claim both kids, or is it a fair consequence for his actions? Advertisement Trying to Do The Right Thing Dear Trying to Do The Right Thing, I understand why your ex is upsethe is under financial stress, and thats upsetting by itselfbut its not your fault. The terms of your divorce are very clear, and eight months of child support is not a small, incidental amount. If you want to potentially give him an out, you could offer to let him pay what he owes you in arrears and take the deduction, but you are under no obligation to do that, and it sounds as if he would not appreciate the leniency anyway, if hes baselessly accusing you of stealing money. But it is an option. However, you are not being selfish or unreasonable if you choose to simply claim both children as dependents. Your ex is feeling a lot of financial pressure, and sometimes when people are under a lot of stress they lash out at others, or blame others for problems of their own making. That is what your ex is doing to you, and you do not deserve it. You are doing your part to have an amicable co-parenting relationship. He is not. Advertisement Advertisement Get the Pay Dirt Newsletter Money advice from Athena and Elizabeth, delivered weekly. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. Dear Pay Dirt, We have a group of friends who like to get together about once a month when the weather is nice and go to a winery. The group consists of three families and all of us have children that are similar in age that play together while were there. We always welcome our friends to invite any additional families as well. Overall, our group is good about taking turns ordering bottles of wine while were there, but there is one couple, Shannon and Robert, who are sometimes invited through our friend Alice and never volunteer to pay for anything. They do drink as much as the other people in attendance, and I know them well enough to know that they are not struggling financially, and have a similar financial situation as the rest of the group. I do not know them well enough to call them out on it, though. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My wife has mentioned this to Alice, who is a very non-confrontational person and is not comfortable saying anything to them. Theyre nice people to hang out with, so I dont feel right to ask Alice to stop inviting them. Theyre either clueless, and thus would probably want to be made aware, or theyre cheap and think nobody notices that theyre mooching off of the group. What do you think the best course of action is here? I feel like I need to find a Larry David to invite to the group to call them out. No Mooching Allowed Dear No Mooching, I dont think you have to confront them; I think you just have to establish at the beginning of the trip that costs will be divvied up among you and put someone in charge of managing the bill. This is why God made Venmo, by the way. Have one person pick up the check, and then request payment from all participants for their share through the app. Shannon and Robert will either have to pay what they owe, or confront the rest of you about why they cant or wont. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can do this very simply via email. Heres a script: Hi all: Excited about our next trip! To ease the annoyance of having to manage the logistics of figuring out what we all owe and paying for everything in the moment, Im happy to pick up the check and settle up afterwards via Venmo, if no one objects. Let me know if youre not on the app and well figure out something else. Keep in mind they may not be intentionally mooching. They may think Alice is treating them, or something, since shes inviting them. The Venmo solution or some comparable expectation-setting before the next trip should remove any ambiguity about it, and save everyone a needless confrontation. Advertisement Dear Pay Dirt, For years, I have quietly been covering the travel expenses of my brother and sister for when there are family trips or to see our aging parents. Military life left my brother with bad knees and PTSD, while my sister lost her life savings after a bad divorce and two bouts of cancer. Both work retail and pay their own bills, but even one plane ticket across the country is out of their budget. Our parents dont travel much anymore and live on a fixed income. However, I make a good living and a few thousand dollars every year for us all to be together is not a sacrifice for me. Advertisement Advertisement My other brother and his wife Ellen both have steady careers, as do Ellens adult children. None of them are hurting for money, it seems, given how much they travel and post about it on social media (Ellens youngest just went to Europe twice this year alone). My sister was speaking with Ellen on the phone about her work stress and her upcoming visit to see our parents. My sister said she couldnt afford to stay more than a weekend and miss a day of work, with all her bills. Ellen asked where she got the money for the plane ticket, then? My sister said I was helping her out and had done so for years. She wouldnt be able to visit at all if it wasnt for me. Advertisement Advertisement This pissed Ellen off, to no end. Apparently, me never offering to cover her kids trips, even though they were teens living at home was a personal slight. Ellen married my brother when her kids were in high school. While no one is particularly close to them, we do consider them family and send all the appropriate gifts on the right occasions (birthdays, etc). Ellen called me up to confront me about the issue. In hindsight, I shouldnt have engaged but this completely blindsided me. It was like arguing with my supervisor why I got the unpaid intern Starbucks and not him. Ellen accused me of hating her and her kids. I called her an entitled Karen (which according to my brother is a slur). Later, my brother followed up to make me see reason. I told him I would apologize to his wife for any insults but the subject needed to be dropped six feet under. Advertisement Advertisement Ellen went to my parents and sister. My brother pulled our other brother in to clear the air. Long story short, my parents who have no money are offering to cover the trips for my siblings who have no money and who are refusing because our parents have no money, and everyone feels like a charity case because my sister-in-law is mad I didnt pay to send her kids to Iceland (which all three have gone to). I dont know how to fix this. I am not bragging. I dont have a savior complex. I just dont see the need for my sister to clip coupons or my brother to have to work double shifts to see our family when I can afford the ticket. They cover coffee when the family goes out, our parents cook, and my other brother and I cover big meals. Everyone gets a little grace and saves face. Not acceptable to my sister-in-law. If there was actual need, real need, I would happily help out my brother and his wife. I dont think overseas trips are a need. Help. Advertisement Advertisement Social Graces Dear Social Graces, Your sister-in-law is way out of line. You are being generous to two of your siblings who are seriously struggling. She and your brother should be grateful for that, especially when they are in a position to help, too, and theyre not doing it. You dont owe anyone plane tickets, but you especially dont owe your brother and Ellen plane tickets to see your parents, when they can obviously afford it themselves. Advertisement Advertisement Tell Ellen that if she and your brother were struggling to make ends meet the way your other siblings are, you would gladly pay for their plane tickets, to see your parents, specifically. (You are not subsidizing your less-well-off siblings island vacations, here.) But they are doing fine, and now they are putting your parents in a position where they might incur financial hardship, just so that the family can be together. Advertisement I would ignore Ellen and your brother and their wildly inflated sense of entitlement to your money. Just buy your less-well-off siblings tickets anyway, so your parents dont have to, before your parents are able to foot the bill. If Ellen and your brother want to join, they can buy their own tickets, just like they do when they want to travel to Iceland. Your willingness to give a gift to someone who needs it does not morally obligate you to give one to someone who doesnt. Your money belongs to you, not the family at large. If your money did belong to the family at large, by that logic, so would the money that belongs to Ellen and your brother, which would presumably also be used to pay for your other siblings plane tickets. By Ellens logic, she should also be pitching in to subsidize your siblings plane tickets, not taking money from you for hers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elizabeth More Advice from Slate My ex-wife married a good man immediately after our divorce. Our marriage dissolved under the stress of my career and a need for constant moves. Honestly, we get along better now than we did during most of our marriage. I dont own my own place, as it would be a waste with me relocating as often as I do. When I see my kids, I usually ended up staying at my exs. Our youngest has mobility issues, and it is easier to bring all the children together (mine and my exs new kids) than to parcel out separate child care. My question is: How do I explain this situation to the women I date and make it clear I am doing it for my kids and not because I am still in love with my ex? Its rare to call a unionization victory historic, but its hard to avoid calling this weeks win at a giant, 8,000-employee Amazon warehouse in Staten Island anything but that. Amazon is an American juggernaut, a hugely powerful corporation that is the nations second largest private employer, with nearly one million workers. It is also one of the fiercest anti-union companies in the United States. Not one of its facilities in the country has been unionizeduntil now. Advertisement Much like the first union victory at a corporate-owned Starbuckswhich happened last December in Buffalothe union win in Staten Island will inspire many workers and many more unionization drives, at Amazon and elsewhere. Indeed, the unionization effort in Staten Island must have gotten some momentum and lift from the union wave spreading across the U.S., not just at Starbucks, but at REI and the Art Institute of Chicago and among New York Times tech workers and elsewhere. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The effort was led by Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer, both of whom worked at the Staten Island Amazon fulfillment center. Palmer still works there, but Smalls was fired from the job in March 2020 after he led a protest outside the warehouse, asserting that Amazon was not doing enough to protect workers from Covid, including not having adequate social distancing. As its reason for firing Smalls, Amazon said he violated social distancing rules. Advertisement Advertisement Last year, when Smalls first set his sights on unionization, it looked like a quixotic venture. He was creating a new union, the Amazon Labor Union, from scratch, and was raising money for the campaign through GoFundMe. It seemed like a mark of desperation. Moreover, Smalls was tilting his lance at a $470-billion-a-year giant, which was employing an army of anti-union consultants, some of whom were paid $3,200 a day. But it turns out that Smalls had many things going for him. The pandemic helped his union drive: Amazons business, revenues and profits boomed during the pandemic, and Jeff Bezos net worth soared by tens of billions of dollars. Amazon employees in Staten Island and elsewhere felt they were working harder and faster than ever, but werent sharing adequately in Amazons increased profits. Many viewed unionization as a way to get a fairer deal and make their high-stress jobs less unpleasant. Advertisement Advertisement It didnt help that Bezos took a rocket ship into space in the summer of 2021, making Amazon workers think he had billions of dollars to wastemoney they thought could have gone to higher wages. Celebrating the unions victory on Friday, Smalls said, We want to thank Jeff Bezos for going to space because while he was up there, we were organizing a union. Advertisement Advertisement From the beginning, Smalls deliberately took a different tack than traditional unions. He wanted to show that he and his team of organizerscurrent and former Amazon workersknew Amazon through and through, and that he and the other organizers knew what Amazon workers wanted. Smalls boasted that his effort would succeed even though a union drive at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama failed last year, because the Staten Island effort was led by current and former Amazon workers and included few outsider organizers. Many employees, including Palmer, vigorously talked up unionizing inside the break room and during lunch. They also distributed literature in the workplace and wore pro-union T-shirts. Palmer and others showed a fearlessness that encouraged their coworkers to speak up and show their pro-union colors publicly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Staten Island effort also found a handy location to reach out to workers: a bus stop just outside the warehouse. Many Staten Island Amazon workers take public buses to work so Smalls and the other organizers had easy access to them, frequently talking to people as they were coming and going from shifts. That was far different from the Amazon Bessemer warehouseand many other workplaceswhere organizers can have a hard time getting a word with workers, except by visiting their homes. Companies often prohibit organizers from setting foot on company property, including parking lots. Amazon employed a dour, the-union-is-bad message, while the union had a winning, hopeful message. The union promised to seek longer rest breaks and minimum pay of $30 an hour, up from the current $18 minimum. In contrast, Amazon repeatedly warned workers that their wages and benefits could decrease if they voted to unionize. But with the nations jobless rate low and wages rising across the country, Amazons warnings looked dark and disingenuous. Advertisement Advertisement In February, Amazon unwittingly helped turned Smalls into a hero and martyr when it had the police arrest him as he was delivering lunch to some workers at the Staten Island warehouse. By then, the union drive was in many ways a popularity contest, and the union had already won. Advertisement Smalls and his fellow organizers were cool and likable, fighting the Amazon beast, raging against the Bezos machine. They made the union fun, posting pro-union TikTok messages, having picnics and parties, and delivering free pizzas to the warehouses breakroom. Meanwhile, many workers saw Amazon, despite its comparatively good benefits, as a harsh taskmaster that made employees do very repetitive jobs, rapidly, day after day, with constant monitoring and computer apps often warning about small infractions. Advertisement When push came to shove, the workers saw an attractive way to seek change: unionizing. According to results the National Labor Relations Board released on Friday, Amazons Staten Island employees cast 2,654 votes to be represented by the Amazon Labor Union and 2,131 against, giving the union a win by more than 10 percentage points. This historical union victory bucked several tides. Unions rarely win organizing drives at large factories, stores or warehouses against aggressively anti-union companies like Amazon, Walmart or Target. And in a nation where the percentage of workers in unions has declined from one in three in the 1950s to one in five in the 1980s to one in ten now, the tide has been ebbing for organized labor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But now we are perhaps seeing a shift. The historic union win in Staten Island and the string of highly publicized union wins at Starbucksplus a revote at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer that is too close to call (challenged ballots still to be counted could deliver victory to either side)are all examples of courage and determination that are giving many unionization efforts energy and publicity. Some labor experts talk of a possible new pro-labor surge. Advertisement Advertisement Young Americans are helping power these efforts. A recent Gallup poll found that 77 percent of young Americans (between ages 18 and 34) approve of unions. Undergraduate student workers are unionizing at Dartmouth, Wesleyan and Grinnell. So are thousands of grad students and adjunct professors. Thousands of twenty-somethings and thirty-somethings in newsrooms, museums, and non-profit organizations are also unionizing. It certainly doesnt hurt that Joe Biden is a pro-union president, helping improve the atmosphere for organizing. What happened in Staten Island this week shows that change is in the air. The big question now is: Can Americas unions, and its workers overall, somehow seize on the moment and turn this into a bigger wave? We spent much of the last two editions discussing former President Donald Trumps revocation of his Rep. Mo Brooks Senate endorsement in Alabama. Now lets look at another endorsement that isnt turning out so hot: that of former Sen. David Perdue, whom Trump recruited to run in the primary against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who did not overturn the presidential election results in the state in 2020. Perdue is trailing in this primary, according to the most recent Fox News poll, and theres not a straightforward way for Trump to save face if Perdue cant turn it around. So what could he do? Maybe its time to root for a Democrat! Consider a couple of lines at his Georgia rally last weekend, where he warned about the consequences of a Perdue primary loss. If Brian Kemp is renominated, he will go down in flames at the ballot box because Stacey [Abrams] will steal it from him and humiliate him, Trump said. He added that Kemps renomination would hurt the likely Republican Senate candidate too. "And if they don't vote for Kemp, they're not going to be able to vote for a great man right there, Herschel Walker, Trump said. And we don't want that to happen. So a vote for Brian Kemp, RINO, in the primary is a vote for a Democrat senator who shouldn't be in the Senate. If Kemp is renominated, Trump will probably want both Abrams to win the gubernatorial race and Sen. Raphael Warnock to win reelection, just so he can hold fast to the belief that defying him will always cost the Republicans power. Dinosaurs arent immune to popularity contests. Some species are beloved because they were the publics first introduction to the weird world of prehistoric monsters that lurked in the ancient jungles of imagination, such as Stegosaurus and Ceratosaurus. Others got a lucky break thanks to Hollywood, like Dilophosaurus, which took a star turn in Jurassic Park (and definitively did not spit venom, even at entitled computer programmers). Still others, like Brontosaurus, had names that just sounded coolits hard not to be in awe of an animal named the thunder lizard. Advertisement But one dinosaur looms above the restthe most debated and prized of them all. You already know who Im talking about. Tyrannosaurus rex graces movie posters, and childrens books, but the toothy terror is an A-list star in scientific papers, too. The grandeur of the tyrant king certainly made the dinosaur popular from the start, but our modern T. rex has its claws dug in deep thanks to tabloid-level controversy, as well as its enduring appeal as an emblem of masculinity. And I kind of hate it. As a professional dinosaur enthusiast, I am, frankly, tired of talking about T. rex (my protest here notwithstanding). Our obsession with T. rex comes not just at the expense of giving airtime to other dinosaursit obscures our understanding of T. rex itself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The tyrant king was always a media darling. The notoriously cantankerous and racist paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn coined the name Tyrannosaurus rex in 1905 based off a partial skeleton including parts of the jaw, spine, hips, and legs uncovered in the Hell Creek Formation in Montana. The dinosaur was clearly the largestand therefore the most ferociouscarnivorous dinosaur anyone had found at that time. It was seemingly evidence for Osborns views that evolution was dictated by the consistent improvement and dominance of some groups over othersall the punier terrible lizards that came before were just leading up to this superlatively fearsome reptile. Newspapers quickly jumped on the hype. When just the legs and hips of that original T. rex were put on display at the American Museum of Natural History the New York Times declared that these disembodied limbs clearly represented the prize-fighter of antiquity. Advertisement Osborns Upper West Side institution did even better in 1915. By then, multiple specimens had turned up, and the museum had a partial T. rex with a gorgeously complete skull. The specimen was known as AMNH 5027 and served as the iconic image of T. rex that dominated in the decades before the 1990 discovery of the now-famous Sue. Being able to see the carnivores massive, bulky skull fit with serrated teeth the size of bananas conjured up images of violent Mesozoic battles. In skeletal form, in art, and in the public imagination T. rex was enshrined as the apex of ancient appetite. Even now, no museum hall or dinosaur movie seems complete without at least a T. rex cameo somewhere, though the dinosaur is often the star of the show. T. rex is a staple of paleontology research, too: Every year paleontologists roll out new technical papers on everything from the dinosaurs population count to its walking speed and whether or not the tyrannosaur was covered in fuzz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Paleontological matters are able to generate so much controversy because its incredibly difficult to study and understand the basic biology and everyday lives of organisms that went extinct before anyone could see them in the flesh. That leaves plenty of room for debate, argument, and, now and then, unsubstantiated claims that spark years of heated argument overessentiallynothing of any importance. In the 1990s, for example, paleontologist Jack Horner rode his fame as Jurassic Parks science adviser to propose that T. rex didnt hunt. This toothy tyrant, Horner stated, was actually a big, lazy, gnarly scavenger. Horner primarily presented his case to the public in books and documentaries, largely leaving it to other researchers to argue back and forth over what was essentially a nonquestion. Of course T. rex scavenged, just like any other carnivorous animal that comes across a free, if slightly rotten, meal. But the reputation of T. rex made the dinosaur a great target for controversy. If Horner had made the claim about almost any other dinosaur, the issue would have probably been dropped. But because this was about T. rexalready envisioned as a dinosaur that could eat whatever they wantedthe off-the-cuff proposal spurred a pseudo-debate that still stumbles along in the mind of the public even as experts have left the issue behind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even the mention of T. rex can launch what would be a ho-hum scientific disagreement into a battle over fossiliferous minutiae. Earlier this year, a trio of paleontologists proposed that some of the fossils labeled T. rex are different species and should get new namesT. regina and T. imperator. Their colleagues didnt buy it, which caused no shortage of consternation on the part of the studys lead author Gregory Paul. If it had been a paper about putting another dinosaur into different species, nobody would really care, Paul told the New York Times, calling dissenters uptight for not agreeing to the new proposal. Thats not unusual for discussions about an iconic fossil animal thats framed our understanding of dinosaurs for more than a century. Advertisement Advertisement Naturally, science isnt the only realm where T. rex rules. The dinosaur has also become big business. In 1997, the Field Museums Sue was famously purchased for $8.36 million at the end of a vicious and ugly custody battle. The sale indicated that dinosaursand tyrannosaurs, in particularcould rake in huge sums. Last year, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences purchased a set of Cretaceous skeletons, said to be a juvenile Tyrannosaurus and a Triceratops, for an undisclosed amount after the sellers decided $5.5 million at auction was not enough to meet their reserve price. And thats to say nothing of black market dinosaur rustling. In 2013, the Southern District of New York made a judgment in the case of United States v. One Tyrannosaurus Bataar Skeleton involving the bones of a closely related dinosauractually named Tarbosaurusthat had been smuggled out of Mongolia and put up for auction, before ultimately being pulled from sale and returned to their country of origin. Even with legal sales, such as the auction of the famed T. rex Stan for over $31 million, its strange to see museums competing with anonymous buyers who eventually put these dinosaurs up in places like Abu Dhabi, far from the communities where the dinosaurs were found. It seems like everyone wants a piece of the tyrants. Advertisement Advertisement Given the dozens upon dozens of carnivorous dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes that have been uncovered over the years, its still strange to me that T. rex should be the most celebrated and desired. That T. rex is perceived as one of the biggest, last, and most powerful of the nonavian dinosaurs has certainly attracted a particular crowd around it. In both the commercial market and paleontology, whether academically backed or self-styled, its primarily white cisgender men who sell T. rex to us. The dinosaur, even when carrying nonbinary pronouns like Sues public persona, inevitably bears a masculine gloss, thanks to so many decades of fearsome pop culture portrayals and the fact that its almost always men who step forward as the prime interpreters of T. rex biology. In a sense, T. rex is a symbol of toxic masculinitya dinosaur molded by over a century of male-dominated interpretation with an emphasis on bone-crushing bites and wild power, one that edges out so many other interpretations of what it meant to be a dinosaur. To discover, name, buy, or sell T. rex is about displaying power, exerting control over an animal thatwe are breathlessly toldcould gobble us up in a few bites. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We could easily turn our gaze elsewhere, and perhaps learn even more about life on Earth than we presently understand. Theres no shortage of other large, predatory dinosaurs that can benefit from the same kind of techniques and scientific questioningand no doubt fundingthat T. rex has drawn over the years. Immense carnivorous dinosaurs from the Southern Hemisphere, for example, are little-known beyond their names, size estimates, and their preference for meat. Paleontologists should spread the love around and use some of the same cutting-edge techniques for mass estimation, age analysis, and biomechanics that rex is treated to on these lesser-known parts of the ancient world, not to mention the literally hundreds of other dinosaur species about which little is known beyond their status as unique species. Advertisement There is certainly more to learn about T. rex, but theres little harm in letting those finds come to us in time rather than tussling for control of an animal thats been dead for 66 million years. We could benefit from a break in the cycle of, frankly, useless arguments over an animals biology that often have more to do with mens aesthetic preferences than the dinosaur itself. I think we need that break, even if just for a little while. Perhaps, if we can let go of our preconceptions and preoccupation with defending the honor of an animal that looked at our ancient mammal relatives as little more than hors doeuvres, we might be able to approach and understand the deeper nuances about a long lost reptile that is both strange and familiar. The bones will still be there, waiting for us when were ready. For now, though, I think Rex deserves a rest. Slovak Film Week takes place in the first week of April, offering Slovak films with English subtitles. A scene from "The Auschwitz Report", which is one of over 40 Slovak films to be screened during the Slovak Film Week in early April. (Source: Sprava.sk) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled In 2021, 107 Mothers was the most awarded Slovak film, Perfect Strangers was the most visited Slovak film, and The Auschwitz Report was also a favourite of many film buffs. During this years Slovak Film Week, Cinema Lumiere goers can watch over 40 Slovak films premiered last year, including the three aforementioned movies. Throughout the week, people can choose out of 15 documentaries, 13 feature films and one animated film. Slovak Film Week Date: April 4-10, 2022 Venue: Cinema Lumiere in Bratislava List of films can be found here (in English). Despite all films being Slovak, foreigners can watch them as well as they will be subtitled in English. The event takes place between April 4 and 10 in Bratislava. Support of Ukraine The week will kick off with a screening of the Slovak-Ukrainian drama Forebodings. Another film related to Ukraine, 107 Mothers will then end the film event. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement This is just a symbolic support that we want to express to our eastern neighbour, said Simona Notova from the Slovak Film Fund, which organises the film week. Those who love animated films can look forward to My Sunny Maad, which was nominated for a Golden Globe. Read also: Read also: Award-winning Slovak director who filmed with murderesses: I no longer have quick answers Read more The Slovak Film Fund will, moreover, screen films that are nominated for Slnko v sieti, the national film award, and which premiered in 2020 and 2021. The winner of the prize will be announced on April 9. Lowest cinema visits in history Slovak films were also featured and awarded at various festivals in 2021. Last year was a successful year for Slovak cinematography, said Miro Ulman. He put together the list of films that will be screened through film week. However, Ulman is skeptical when it comes to the number of new Slovak film premieres. The number increased from 20 in 2020 to 30 in 2021 only because premieres were delayed due to the pandemic, he noted. Read also: Read also: The Allies knew about Auschwitz atrocities, but they bombed the Bratislava refinery instead Read more Slovak cinemas saw 14 percent less visitors in 2021 compared to 2020, Ulman continued. This was the lowest number of cinema goers in Slovakias independent history, according Ulman. Cinemas were closed for 173 days last year. Anyone who has dreamed of seeing their name during the credits at the end of a film now has a chanceand it doesnt require an investment of thousands of dollars. In an effort to raise funds for their next project and make it simple and accessible for anyone to support the arts, local filmmakers Aaron Crocker and Justin Bridges have launched the #letsmakeamoviefxbg campaign. One dollar will earn your name a spot in the thank you list during the credits for Poison Tree, a psychological horror movie that Crocker and Bridges plan to begin filming in Fredericksburg this summer. Their goal is to raise $20,000 to support the project via 20,000 donors. Theyre also hoping to thank so many people that the credits roll for Poison Tree will break the world record for longest credits roll, an honor currently held by 2003s Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, which has a nine-and-a-half-minute long credits roll. The $1 minimum makes it accessible, said Crocker, an actor, writer and director who has lived in the Fredericksburg area since 2008. There have been times in the past when I have wanted to contribute to a project, but the minimum was too high, and I wasnt in the place where I am now. Crocker teamed up with Bridges, a King George County native and full-time photographer, several years ago, and the two completed their first film project, a short horror film titled Slashed Ceiling, in 2021. That movie turns the slasher genre on its head by depicting a female serial killer who goes after her victims with an axe and isnt motivated by money or a romantic relationship, but by career ambition. Slashed Ceiling is making its way through the festival circuit and this year and won Best Horror Short at the L.A.-based Awesome Film Festival. Crocker and Bridges made the film in Fredericksburg, shooting scenes at Katora Coffee downtown, a local gym and the Bowman Center. Their follow-up feature-length film, a tale based on the 1794 poem A Poison Tree by William Blake about a couple who cant escape the pull of the past, will also shoot in Fredericksburg. It will open with a shot of the train going over the train bridge, Bridges said. It was actually a picture he took of the train bridge that motivated Bridges to take up photography as a business four years ago. He posted the image on a Facebook group and received requests to purchase a print of the image. The only problem was, he didnt have any. That inspired me to go out and buy a camera, Bridges said. He started a full-time wedding photography business, JB Concepts, and then ventured into videography, teaming up with several local musicians to make music videos. However, opportunities dried up during the spring 2020 pandemic shutdown, so when Crockerwho hed met through Facebookreached out to say, Lets make a movie, Bridges was on board right away. I just want to make Aarons story look as cool as possible, he said, noting that hes inspired by the directing of Stanley Kubrik and cinematography of Roger Deakins, who is known for collaborations with the Coen brothers and Sam Mendes. Crocker has published several books but said he has always visualized his writing as film and that the horror genre, especially, has been a salvation and outlet for him. As a child, Crocker experienced trauma and wasnt able to relate to much childhood fiction. Stuff like The Babysitters Club and the American Girl booksI didnt find it relatable and dark enough for what I went through, he said. But books like Firestarter by Stephen King and Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews helped him both process his trauma and escape from it. Horror is supposed to make our lives more palatable, Crocker said. It was survival for me. I hope to give back to the genre that really saved me. In Slashed Ceiling, Crocker started to find his directorial voice and hes hoping to smooth it out in Poison Tree. Crocker and Bridges have already cast the movie with actors hailing from Washington, D.C., Washington state, Maryland and Virginia. There will be a handful of extra roles for locals, which the filmmakers will cast closer to filming. The pair kicked off the #letsmakeamoviefxbg campaign in February and have garnered about $2,000 so far, they said. Theyve started canvassing downtown businesses, as well. Businesses that donate a minimum of $100 to the project get to appear in a promotional video shot by Crocker and Bridges, which theyll post on all their social media platforms. Katora and Bilikens Smokehouse are among a handful of businesses that have contributed so far. Our aim is to bring positivity through film to Fredericksburg and Stafford County, and we hope to raise community awareness and involvement with our indie production, Crocker said. To contribute to the campaign or find out more about the project, visit the films Facebook page at facebook.com/poisontreethemovie or follow @letsmakeamoviefxbg on Instagram. Banner County firefighters battled a fire that completely destroyed a Harrisburg home early Saturday. Banner County Fire Chief Tim Grubbs said firefighters were called to a single-story home on Missouri Avenue at about 1:40 a.m. Saturday morning. Arriving firefighters found the home to be partially engulfed, with flames coming from the roof of the home. Firefighters remained on scene of the fire at about 6 a.m. Saturday, doing finishing work. "We probably had it under control within an hour and a half," Grubbs told the Star-Herald. Firefighters experienced some complications in battling the fire and had to do an exterior attack for much of the fire. "We could not do an interior attack because we had unstable floors, two collapsed ceilings and a collapsed roof." At the time of the fire, the home was unoccupied and had been vacant. Grubbs said Firefighter Ministry also responded, but the owner of the home didn't require any assistance. In a preliminary investigation, Grubbs said he attributes the cause of the fire to be electrical in nature. The Banner County Fire Department is consulting with the State Fire Marshal's Office. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Chadron Police arrested an Oregon man on suspicion of possessing more than 10 pounds of marijuana Thursday. According to information released from Chadron Chief of Police Rick Hickstein, police made contact with Allen D. Powley, 33, of Rogue River, Oregon, after he was found passed out in his vehicle in the alley of the 200 Main Street. A Chadron police officer reported smelling the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle and she awakened and identified Stolley. Two officers searched the vehicle, seizing more than 10 pounds of marijuana, including THC wax and hash. Officers also reported locating a gram of suspected heroin, residue amounts of methamphetamine and several items of drug paraphernalia. After obtaining a search warrant, the vehicle was searched further and items related to its rental papers and additional drug paraphernalia were reported to have been seized. Hickstein said Powley was taken to Chadron Community Hospital for medical clearance and was then transported to the Dawes County Jail for booking. He was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana, over one pound; possession of heroin; possession of oxycodone and possession of methamphetamine all Class IV felonies. He was also charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, a Class IIA felony, and the infraction of possession of drug paraphernalia. Bail in the case has been set $10,000. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Nebraska Supreme Court has turned back an effort by a public defender convicted on drug charges to get a new trial. District Judge Richard Birch convicted Jon Worthman in January 2021 of possession of 10 to 28 grams of cocaine with intent to distribute, a Class 1D felony. The finding came after a bench trial in September 2020 in front of Birch, an 11th District judge in North Platte, who was appointed to hear the case. Worthman, of Scottsbluff, was the Box Butte County public defender at the time of his arrest. Worthman had been arrested Jan. 7, 2020, as a result of a WING (Western Nebraska Intelligence & Narcotics Group) task force investigation. Authorities recorded Worthman arranging to purchase and receive two balls of cocaine from an informant, Jeffrey Lujan. Lujan testified at trial that he had provided cocaine to Worthman in exchange for legal favors. He testified that he believed Worthman had gotten charges dismissed or investigations halted for himself and other associates. Worthmans attorney, Maren Chaloupka, didnt dispute at trial that Worthman possessed the cocaine, but argued that he was using cocaine for his personal use and had conned Lujan to acquire drugs. After Worthmans conviction, Chaloupka filed a motion for a new trial, which the judge denied. Birch sentenced Worthman to the mandatory minimum on the charge, three years in prison, in March 2021. Worthman filed an appeal, and the Nebraska Supreme Court released its ruling Friday. On appeal, Worthman argued that the district court erred in finding sufficient evidence to support the guilty verdict and in overruling a motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence. Worthman said in his appeal that Lujan determined how much cocaine to deliver to Worthman. He claimed he never indicated he wanted to purchase a large amount. Worthman asked, What am I getting? which Worthman argues is indicative of a narcotics user but not indicative of a narcotics distributor, the court said in the ruling. Worthman also argued that Lujan had credibility problems and therefore there was no credible evidence that he ever did or intended to distribute narcotics to others. The court ruling cited testimony from a WING investigator, Andrew Soucie of the Scottsbluff Police Department, who opined in his testimony at trial that Worthman went through a lot of cocaine in six months and my opinion is that this is more than personal use. Soucie testified that based on his training and experience, he believed Worthman to be selling cocaine. Evidence at trial showed that the substance used in the controlled delivery was cocaine in the requested amount and that an audio recording from the delivery indicated Worthman possessed the cocaine. Evidence in the form of the quantity, as well as text messages, supported Worthmans conviction on the distribution charge, the court said. In his motion for new trial, Worthman had argued that the court abused its discretion in not granting a new trial based on evidence that Lujan had faced felony and criminal charges in the months before the trial and that a plea agreement had been offered to him. However, the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld the judges motion to deny the new trial, citing precedent that credibility of a witness is not grounds for a new trial. With good time, Worthman is slated to be released from prison in March 2024, according to the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services website. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Western Nebraskas six state senators will return to Lincoln Tuesday for their last major push toward completing the 2022 legislative session. Final approval of Nebraskas use of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds and updates to the North Platte-born microTIF program remain pending with eight of the sessions 60 days left. State tax cuts, prison sentencing reforms, changes to horse racing and casino regulations and a bill poising Nebraska to outlaw abortion also remain pending on the Unicamerals agenda. Lawmakers, now on their last four-day weekend of the year, are scheduled to meet weekdays from Tuesday through the sessions 59th day April 13. They plan to return for the 107th Legislatures final day April 20, giving them a chance to override any vetoes Gov. Pete Ricketts might issue during their week off in between. The ARPA bill (Legislative Bill 1014) includes $20 million toward Sustainable Beef LLCs North Platte meatpacking project and $23.5 million for permanent repairs to the middle of the Gering-Fort Laramie Canals three tunnels. Senators pulled LB 1014 back from final reading Thursday and tweaked provisions related to projects to help economic development in north and south Omaha. The maneuver means they cant take their third and final vote on the ARPA bill until at least Wednesday. Legislative rules require bills lay over one legislative day between the second and last rounds of consideration. Also awaiting a final vote is LB 1065, introduced by former Sen. Mike Groene to tweak his two-year-old property tax incentives to rehabilitate or replace aging homes and business buildings. His original microTIF co-sponsor, Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne, took over the bill after Groene resigned Feb. 21. Sen. Mike Jacobson, Groenes successor, co-sponsors LB 1065. If passed and approved by Ricketts, LB 1065 will enable cities and villages to narrowly target microTIF to specific neighborhoods without quickly reaching state limits on how much of their land is eligible for tax increment financing. MicroTIF allows owners of buildings 60 years old and older to gradually recover property taxes from the increase in taxable value from an improvement project. LB 1065 would extend that to vacant lots platted and inside city limits for at least 60 years. Lawmakers last week advanced eight other bills by regional senators to final votes, while granting first-round approval to a ninth. That bill, Gering Sen. John Stinners LB 1068, would expand staffing at the statewide Behavioral Health Education Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The bill, which advanced 34-4 Thursday, would fund up to 10 additional physician residents, physician assistants or psychiatric nurse practitioners in the centers psychiatry program. Each of the 10 would have to train for serving rural areas for up to three months, with at least three of them active in rural training each year. LB 1068 also would raise the centers number of doctoral-level psychology internships from five to 12 and fund up to 10 one-year internships or practicums for mental health therapists in rural and underserved communities. Bills by regional senators advanced to final reading last week were: Stinners LB 59, which would let the Nebraska Tourism Commission engage directly with retailers to sell its tourism promotional products. LB 805, introduced by Sen. Dan Hughes of Venango, which would make various changes to state laws on promoting wheat sales and controlling black-tailed prairie dogs and noxious weeds. Each was the subject of a separate Hughes bills (LBs 802, 712 and 805) before the Agriculture Committee combined and advanced them. Gothenburg Sen. Matt Williams LB 705, which would eliminate booth rental permits at barber shops and shorten the time for assistant barber instructors to complete their barber-teaching training. Two other Williams bills (LBs 707 and 863) that would respectively update banking and insurance laws. Williams chairs the Legislatures Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee. Measures by Sen. Steve Erdman of Gering to make changes to the states probate code (LB 1124) and let local governments store their meeting minutes electronically (LB 742). Gordon Sen. Tom Brewers LB 1057, which proposes various changes to legal requirements for Class III school districts outside Lincoln and Omaha. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form For more than 30 years, the Nebraska Junior Duck Stamp contests has joined similar contests in raising money for national wildlife refuges across the country. Students from kindergarten through 12th grades can participate in the junior contests. On Friday, students from Bayard, Dalton, Dix, Gering, Gordon, Harrison, Hay Springs, Hemingford, Mitchell, Oshkosh and Scottsbluff participated in a contest held at the Western Nebraska Arts Center (WNAC). A ninth-grade student from Scottsbluff High School won top honors Friday. Brooklyn Glennon, 14, submitted an acrylic painting of two Rosss geese at rest in the water titled Blue Winter. After advancing to the final round, the piece received perfect marks from the five judges. Of the 354 pieces of artwork submitted this year, all but 50 were made by Panhandle students. The whole purpose of it (the duck stamp contest) is to combine art and conservation education ... and keep young minds involved to grow the conservation ethic in the country, Lydia Patrick, a duck stamp coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said. The students works were judged based on age group. Categories included kindergarten through third grade, fourth through sixth grade, seventh through ninth grade and 10th through 12th grade. Judging took place in rounds. The judges this year included Michele Denton, the WNAC director and a longtime participant. Also judging the paintings and drawings were Justin Haag, a public information officer for Nebraska Game and Parks; Kristine Askerooth, a visitor services manager with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and conservationists Rick Patrick and Mike Petko. For both adult and junior competitions, there are always five judges and the judging works the same way each time. Patrick said she tries to get judges with a diverse range of skill sets each year. For each age group, judges placed 10 poker chips each on paintings they liked until they had 50 pieces of art selected. They then placed five chips down, then three, then two and finally one until they were left with the five best artworks from each group. They then judged these with a point system to determine the top three winners from each round. They selected artwork that looked polished and natural, as close to the real animal as possible. Its got to look good on a stamp, Haag said, but were also looking for an accurate representation. Askerooth said another facet to consider was making sure the artists placed the birds in places befitting their natural habitat. The top three finishers in each category will receive different drawing guides. As the state champion, Glennon will receive two. Her work will move into consideration for the national Junior Duck Stamp contest alongside artwork from the champions of other states, territories and Washington, D.C. Each student also completed an entry form and needed to adhere to a strict species criteria. Only 43 endemic North American species could be drawn; students from Pacific or Caribbean regions could choose from five additional species from those areas. Patrick said participation was lower than usual. She attributed it to students not taking art classes as often as in the past. We used to do classroom visits (to get kids invested) ... but when the pandemic hit, thats when they recorded their sessions, she said. ...Art is sort of a dying subject in most schools. While classes from across the state used to participate, fewer and fewer schools from eastern Nebraska have contributed since the coronavirus pandemic began. Last year, entries came exclusively from schools in the Panhandle. This year, just one teacher from Johnson-Brock Schools in Johnson submitted student artwork from outside the Panhandle. This year, several of the overall finalists, including Glennon, were taught by WNAC art instructor Mary Hunt. She said her students had been discussing which one of their pieces would be the one to beat. Patrick said shed thought Glennons work would wind up as the states best from the beginning. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. President Joe Biden set off international alarms over the weekend when he committed the United States to the goal of regime change in Russia. For Gods sake, this man cannot remain in power, Biden said of Russian leader Vladimir Putin during a speech in Poland. The last time the United States set itself to removing a foreign leader, in Iraq in 2003, the American plan turned into a long-running disaster. Now, with war raging in Ukraine, it would seem a terrible idea for the president to announce that the goal of U.S. forces is to remove Putin from his position atop the Russian government. The White House was quick to explain that it was all a mistake Bidens mistake. Worried aides put out word that Bidens statement was not in his prepared remarks. They made clear that no, no, no, United States policy was not regime change in Russia. He was not discussing Putins power in Russia, or regime change, a freaked-out White House official told Fox News. The presidents point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putins power in Russia or regime change. So when Biden said Putin cannot remain in power, he meant that Putin cannot remain in power over his neighbors. Secretary of State Antony Blinken performed the formal cleanup Sunday during a news conference in Jerusalem. Unbidden, he said, As you know, and as youve heard us say repeatedly, we do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia or anywhere else. Blinken said any regime change in Russia would be up to the Russian people. Finally, Biden, back home, said flatly, Im not walking anything back. Asked what he meant when he said Putin cannot remain in power, Biden explained, I was expressing the moral outrage I felt towards this man. Indeed, some of the administrations most fervent supporters argued that the president was right to say what he did. The pro-Biden Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin wrote that Biden reminds us how fortunate we are to have an experienced diplomat and energetic proponent of our democratic alliances rather than Putins poodle, by which she meant former President Donald Trump. Democratic fundraiser Bill Kristol, who as a Republican was one of the loudest and most influential proponents of regime change in Iraq in 2003, compared Bidens retracted cannot remain in power statement to President Ronald Reagans famous declaration at the Berlin Wall in 1987: Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! It was a laughable comparison. For one thing, Reagans line was not a gaffe. In the weeks leading up to the Berlin speech, some in the Reagan administration opposed the proposed tear down this wall declaration. The president favored it, and thus it stayed in the speech. In an article on the National Archives website, Peter Robinson, the Reagan speechwriter who penned the speech, included an image of the page of Reagans speech that contained the declaration. There it was, in black and white. So Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall was not a gaffe. It was a planned remark. Second, the Reagan White House and administration did not rush to disavow the presidents words. The tear down this wall passage became the most famous of the speech, and one of the most famous of Reagans presidency, because it dramatically expressed Ronald Reagans feelings and policy toward Communism. In the days that followed, the president did not run away from his own words. Third, Reagan called for Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader, to allow freedom in his country and the nations under Soviet control. Reagan did not call for the removal of Gorbachev. Perhaps if Biden had said, in todays circumstances, Mr. Putin, end this war, there would have been some analogy. But that is not what Biden said. After Bidens gaffe, there emerged a debate over whether it was really a gaffe whether Biden said exactly what he intended to say and then allowed his staff to back away from it to avoid the charge that the U.S. is trying to remove Putin, even though, in fact, the U.S. is trying to. Just a week earlier, the historian Niall Ferguson argued that the Biden administration had decided to make Russian regime change its goal in the Ukraine war in other words, to use the war to try to bring Putin down, rather than to seek a quick and peaceful resolution to stop the killing. After Biden delivered his speech, Ferguson tweeted: As I said last week, the Biden administration has apparently decided to instrumentalize the war in Ukraine to bring about regime change in Russia, rather than trying to end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible. Biden just said it out loud. This is a highly risky strategy. Instead, Ferguson wrote, the U.S. should be doing everything in its (considerable) power to broker a ceasefire and compromise peace. Now, after Bidens cannot remain in power gaffe, or non-gaffe, the U.S. strategy is not clear. If it was a gaffe, it was a sign of a disturbing trend. As Glenn Greenwald noted, This episode marked at least the third time in the past couple weeks that White House officials had to walk back Bidens comments, following his clear decree that U.S. troops would soon be back in Ukraine and his prior warning that the U.S. would use chemical weapons against Russia if they used them first. If it was not a gaffe, it was perhaps even more disturbing. So if it was a gaffe, it was bad. If it was not a gaffe, it was worse. What it was not was the reincarnation of Reagans tear down this wall declaration. Of that, everyone can be sure. This content originally appeared on the Washington Examiner at washingtonexaminer.com, Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner. More than 20,000 North Carolinians have lost their lives to opioid overdoses. Still more are struggling with the disease of addiction, and many thousands more live in fear that they will lose someone they love. The morphine molecule has left a trail of death, destruction, and damaged families and communities in its wake all across our state. After years of reading horrible statistics and devastating stories, help is on the way. I am so proud that my office led the bi-partisan, multi-state negotiations with the four major companies responsible for manufacturing and distributing opioids Cardinal, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Johnson & Johnson. These companies made billions of dollars while millions of Americans got hooked on opioids. Too many people are mourning their loved ones and too many jails are filled with people addicted to opioids. We achieved a historic $26 billion agreement that will distribute relief to state and local governments around the nation. North Carolina will receive $750 million, most of which will go straight to county governments to make a difference where it is needed the most. Now is the time for Iredell County to work with its local leaders and residents to decide on proven, effective strategies to address the opioid epidemic. This settlement money represents a transformative tool in our fight against the opioid epidemic. The deal requires funds to go directly to strategies to attack the crisis. It also requires the companies to fundamentally change their business practices to ensure something like this never happens again. As a result of the national opioid settlement and the programs it will fund, I am certain that there will be people alive in North Carolina a year from now who otherwise wouldnt be. In sum, this settlement brings much-needed hope to every corner of our state. The opioid epidemic has devastated communities across North Carolina and Iredell County is no exception. In 2020, at least 30 people died from an overdose across Iredell County. Thats why, along with other health metrics, Iredell County will receive $13,631,188 to combat the crisis. The money will be distributed to the county commission, which, with community input, will decide how to invest the money to save lives. We required full transparency with the settlement funds so the public will know which programs each government funds and how effective the program was. We want the money to have the maximum impact so that more lives will be saved. Now is the time for each person in Iredell County to reach out to your county commissioners to make your voice heard. I encourage you to share your thoughts with them. Its been my honor to fight for the families all across our state who have suffered the tragedy of opioid addiction. Im proud that this money will ensure that people with substance use disorder will get the help they need and bring us closer to ending the opioid epidemic. Together, we can achieve a North Carolina where people can lead happy, healthy lives, free of addiction. Josh Stein is the attorney general for North Carolina. Sher Bahadur Deuba's Delhi visit to give fresh momentum to India-Nepal cooperation by IANS | New Delhi, March 29 (IANS) Blood is thicker than water. The recent upswing in relations between India and Nepal goes to underscore the truth behind this old saying. India has been Nepal's historical, spiritual and economic partners since ages. At the heart of this relation is extensive people-to-people contact between the two countries, with many of the former ruling elites of Nepal being of Rajput origin. Attempts by strangers from across the high Himalayas to throw spanners into this relationship is bound to fail, as recent developments confirm. There is hardly any instance of the same level of co-operation between two sovereign countries as in the case of India and Nepal; an open border, allowing for free flow of goods, services, technology and people. Nepal needs India to get access to sea ports, to get its supplies of building materials, pharmaceuticals and other essentials. Patients from Nepal visit India for treatment and students from Nepal are enrolled in educational institutes in India. The temporary setbacks in relations between India and Nepal are now a thing of the past, bilateral relations between Delhi and Kathmandu have been improving steadily since Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba took over as the Prime Minister of Nepal in July 2021. Deuba will be arriving in Delhi on April 1, 2022, on a three-day visit, his first foreign visit since taking over as the Prime Minister of the Himalayan country. It is expected that the visit will inject a new momentum to the bilateral ties, especially in areas of trade, investment, healthcare and connectivity. The Prime Minister of Nepal is scheduled to have wide-ranging talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 2. Deuba will also visit Varanasi, Modi's parliamentary constituency. In fact, Deuba has agreed to visit India shortly after an invitation extended by Narendra Modi. A number of agreements are likely to be signed between Nepal and India during Deuba's visit, including one on a cross-border railway which has been on the table for some time. The Jaynagar - Kurtha cross border railway link, according to a Kathmandu Post report, will be the first modern railway service in Nepal. The 35-km long cross-border railway link will connect Jaynagar in Bihar with Kurtha in Nepal. Earlier, there was a narrow-gauge rail link from Janakpur in Nepal to Jaynagar that had served people from 1937 to January 2014. With this railway link between India and Nepal likely to be inaugurated by the two Prime Ministers, Modi and Deuba, Delhi is set to pip Beijing at the post in the race between the two countries to set up a cross-border railway link with Nepal. Though the Standard Operating Procedure for the cross-border railway operation between India and Nepal was signed in October 2021, the service could not be introduced in the absence of a law in Nepal to govern railway operations. The Diesel Electric Multiple Unit trains are reported to be lying idle in Janakpur in Nepal. To circumvent the delay in passage of a law in the Parliament of Nepal, Kathmandu has now decided to reissue a railway ordinance for the operation of the shuttle train between Kurtha in Nepal and Jaynagar in India. The Jaynagar - Kurtha section is in fact a part of the 69-km long Jaynagar - Bijalpura - Bardidas rail link that is being built under a grant assistance of the Indian government of NPR 8.77 billion. The cross-border rail link will increase trade and commerce and develop a people-to-people link between India and Nepal. The trains would pass through the historic city of Janakpur in Nepal. People-to-people ties are the most important of the four layers of relationship between India and Nepal, noted intellectual from the hills and former vice chancellor of Sikkim University Mahendra P. Lama has said in a recent interview to National Herald, the other three being government-to-government, business-to-business relations and ties between the civil societies of the two countries. Changes in political systems and leadership in Nepal have failed to affect this people-to-people relationship which has stood the test of time. Even during the tenure of K.P. Sharma Oli-led Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) government in Nepal which was regarded as pro-China, these people-to-people contacts between Nepal and India have remained unaffected. Among the other issues likely to figure in discussions during Sher Bahadur Deuba's visit to Delhi is the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on rebuilding around 137 health posts with financial assistance that New Delhi had announced in the aftermath of the earthquake of 2015, it is learnt. Overall, Sher Bahadur Deuba's visit is likely to give an opportunity to both India and Nepal to review the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, including development and economic partnership, trade, co-operation in the health sector, power, connectivity and people-to-people links, it is believed. Ties were strained between the two countries during the tenure of the Sharma Oli government when in 2020 Nepal published a new political map that showed three Indian territories -- Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh -- as part of Nepal. Kathmandu also favours a review of the Indo - Nepal Treaty of 1950, to make its provisions more contemporary. As Mahendra P. Lama has pointed out, one of the archaic provisions of the treaty is that Nepal must import arms and weapons from a third country through India. Kathmandu also has reservations about the reciprocal provisions in the treaty that citizens of either country can travel to the other country without any restriction, can work and have property rights. Since India is a much larger country compared to Nepal, there is apprehension that Nepal could be swamped by an influx of population from India. The Indian embassy in Nepal has been involved in a host of projects in Nepal, particularly in the education sector. In March 2022, for instance, the new school buildings of a higher secondary school at Sinam in Taplejung district was completed at a cost of NPR 31 million with financial assistance from Delhi under Indo - Nepal Development Cooperation. Since 2003, India has taken up over 523 projects under the development cooperation and completed 467 projects. In the same month, the ground breaking ceremony for the Tribhuvan University Central Library was held. The three-storey library building, to be built at a cost of $50 million grant from the government of India, would follow norms of earthquake resistance and would be equipped with modern facilities. India has been actively involved in helping Nepal in tackling flood, inundation and erosion. In March 2022, the 14th meeting of the India-Nepal Joint Committee on Inundation and Food Management was held in Nepal. India has also been trying to promote entrepreneurship in Nepal through joint conclaves between the two countries. Without understanding the depth and dynamics of friendly relations between India and Nepal, China tried to take advantage of the temporary misunderstanding between Delhi and Kathmandu over the Madhesi agitation in southern Nepal in 2015. In 2017, Nepal and China signed an MoU on bilateral cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. As none of these projects moved forward, in October 2019 President of China Xi Jinping visited Nepal to give a fillip to the BRI projects. The Nepal - China protocol on transit and trade was also signed in April 2019, under which Nepal could use seven Chinese sea and land ports for third country trade. One of the nine MoUs signed by the Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi during his visit to Nepal from March 25, 2022, to March 27, 2022, was on a cross-border railway line between Nepal and China. Even then, during his visit to Kathmandu, the Foreign Minister of China had to face uncomfortable questions on why China had blocked transit with Nepal, which was having a negative impact on the economy of the landlocked Himalayan country. That the on-going BRI projects were not being executed was also emphasised. Wang Yi's hurried visit to Nepal came in the wake of the US signing with Nepal the Millennium Challenge Corporation compact under which Washington would extend Kathmandu grant of $500 million for infrastructure projects like power and road. Beijing now seems to have an uncomfortable feeling that its grip over Nepal is slipping. Jaishankar meets Nepal FM in Colombo by IANS | Kathmandu/Colombo, March 29 (IANS) Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Nepal counterpart Narayan Khadka on Tuesday held talks in Colombo on the sidelines of the ongoing Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) meet. The meeting came just a few days ahead of Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's scheduled visit to New Delhi on April 1. "Matters including the ongoing preparations for the Prime Minister's visit to India were discussed in the meeting," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu said. Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said: "Discussed our cooperation in connectivity, energy, fertilizers, health and power. Agreed to focus on taking forward the Ramayan circuit." A Wythe felon with a history of drugs and violence got more jail time last week on four new convictions. Nathan Andrew Wilson, 51, of Max Meadows pleaded guilty on March 24 to charges of being a violent felon in possession of a firearm, felony drug possession (two counts) and possession of a gun with drugs. As part of a plea agreement, Wilson was sentenced to serve five years behind bars. After his release, hell be on probation for three years, during which time hell waive his Fourth Amendment protections against police searches. Wilson was also convicted of violating his probation on convictions of unlawful wounding and concealing or destroying evidence. He didnt get any jail time, but his probation on those convictions will be extended to the three more years he got on the new convictions. According to a probation violation letter, police found methamphetamine, Lortab pills and two high-powered rifles in Wilsons bedroom during a Dec. 3, 2020, search. A probation officer said Wilson also admitted to using meth after his release on April 13, 2020. In 2019, Wilson was sentenced to serve one year and six months on the two charges. Based on earlier police accounts, Wilson shot his ex-girlfriend several times with a pellet gun when she tried to retrieve her belongings from a residence where Wilson was staying. His criminal history also includes convictions for felony assault and battery, drug distribution, and reckless handling of a firearm. Wilson is being held at the New River Valley Regional Jail. John Diamond will be the next executive director of the Cowlitz County 911 Center. Diamond is coming to Longview from Oak Harbor, Washington, where he worked on the technology side of Island Countys dispatch center I-COM for a decade. His first day on the job at the local center is April 11, bringing a five-month hiring search to a close. My jobs have been in public safety for most of my career. I love the work and having worked in dispatch centers in various capacities, I am excited for this new opportunity and challenge, Diamond said. Diamond said he wants to bring a long-term stability to the Cowlitz 911 Center after taking charge. He will be the centers third executive director since it broke off into its own free-standing public authority in 2019, not including Norm Krehbiels time as the interim director over the past five months. The Cowlitz 911 Public Authority is overseen by an executive director and a board of directors representing the cities, police departments and fire departments served by the dispatch center. Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue Commissioner Alan Headley was chair of the Board of Directors when the search process began in November. Headley said the board decided not to rush the search for a new director. They accepted applications until early January and had their final interview with Diamond during a board meeting in mid-March. We took our time and fortunately, Diamond was patient enough to work through that with us, Headley said. Headley and Cowlitz County Sheriff Brad Thurman said Diamonds community involvement was a selling point for him among the other applicants in the nationwide search. Diamond was elected twice to the Oak Harbor School District Board of Trustees and had been the school board director since 2019. During Mondays school board meeting, Diamond announced he was stepping down in order to take the job with Cowlitz 911. Earlier in his career Diamond spent four years working for Spillman Technologies, a company that provides dispatch software to law enforcement agencies across the country. Spillman is used by the Cowlitz County Jail and the county records center. The dispatch center is being converted to run on the Spillman software this year. The 911 center is so technology-driven. If you dont have that in your background its easy to get lost in the weeds, Headley said. Dave Storaker was hired as the previous executive director in December 2020. The board of directors signed a termination agreement with Storaker in November 2021. Headley said the separation was a mutual agreement. Diamonds hire is one of two major changes the Cowlitz 911 Center will see this month. Construction on the new 911 dispatch center along Ocean Beach Highways is expected to finish by the end of April. The agency broke ground on the new $8.6 million building in March 2021, which will provide nearly double the space as the current dispatch office in the basement of the Hall of Justice Thurman said the new building will not be occupied by dispatchers until later this year, as there are supply chain delays with some of the equipment. There are great people already running that project, Diamond said. I just need to get up to speed about whats going on and ensure this is a successful transition. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Plans for a renewable diesel fuel facility at Port Westward near Clatskanie got approval from key jurisdictions last month, drawing concerns from several community groups who say it will disrupt local agriculture. The Columbia County Board of Commissioners on March 23 approved a permit for NEXT Renewable Fuels Oregon, LLC to build a 12.3-acre railroad that will accompany the proposed renewable facility at the industrial park near the Port of Columbia County. Another permit to remove/fill 117 acres of wetlands in the county recently was approved by the Oregon Department of State Lands. NEXT is now awaiting an environmental impact study from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. NEXT spokesperson Michael Hinrichs said the facility is a much-needed step away from petroleum diesel and will bring positive economic growth to the area. Columbia Riverkeeper Conservation Director Dan Serres said he believes the construction will disturb mint fields, blueberry crops, irrigation and the rail corridor through Columbia County. We are not opposed to renewable diesel what we are opposed to is this particular project in this particular location, Serres wrote in a news release following the boards decision. The areas sensitive water resources, unique soils and surrounding high-value farmland make it unsuitable for a refinery of this size. Farmers who have been working the land surrounding Port Westward for generations now find their livelihoods threatened by this poorly planned facility. The proposal Hinrichs said the site would operate by taking in organic material, like fish oil or french fry grease, and converting it to renewable diesel. Its about 60 to 80% cleaner than petroleum diesel because it uses clean, organic material, Hinrichs said. We are 100% within what Oregon is trying to accomplish. The facility would process up to 50,000 barrels of renewable biomass feedstocks each day, Hinrichs said. The company estimates this will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7 million tons annually, he said. The rail branch line, approved by the county commissioners, would transport the organic materials to and from the site. Because it is considered a branch line and not a railyard, the commissioners decided it could legally pass through agriculture-zoned land. Some farms around the site might see a 10-minute delay in their practices because of the railroad, according to meeting documents. Commissioners determined this delay would not significantly affect farms or result in higher costs. Every time we get an approval, I feel very proud to be part of this project because it means we passed one of the highest bars in the nation, Hinrichs said. With local approval in hand, Hinrichs said they need one other state permit. It could be years before NEXT gets the go-ahead to break ground while the environmental impact study goes through its rigorous public comment period, he said. Serres said a renewable fuel facility holds potential to move away from fossil fuel production. But this company, this plan, this place it raises major red flags, he said. Concerns about location NEXTs application to the county commissioners said they chose this location out of necessity: the facility needs access to water and rail connections, and it needs to be on land that allows for industrial construction. Brandon Schilling, Save Port Westward spokesperson and a farmer in Clatskanie, said he believes the area should be returned to agriculture-use only. Heres the big picture: Why would we put industry next to where our food is grown? Schilling said. Theres a narrative these two kinds of industries can coexist and, I mean, they cant. They just cant. A refinery on the edge of the Columbia River risks upsetting the salmon restoration habitat, Schilling said. The fuel site may also upend a very sensitive drainage system, Schilling said. The Columbia County commissioners conceded the companys construction will force the relocation of some drainage systems, but said waterways still would end up in the same place by the end of construction, according to board meeting documents. Serres said he felt uneasy about the size of the refinery in sensitive farmland and the possibility of air and river pollution. If the facility has a diesel spill, it would directly affect nearby farms and important crops, he said. In its report, NEXT said it had not conducted any plant surveys at the project site but predicted construction would not hinder crops. NEXT estimated in its permit application more than 78,000 square feet of waterways would see permanent impact. Schilling said he felt local agencies have not taken public commenters seriously during the meetings, and it has resulted in what he said is a rushed permitting process. The average people, the farmers and people who live out in the dikes, are going to be the most impacted, Schilling said. Opposition has come from farmers like Schilling, as well as the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, the Beaver Drainage Improvement District and Protect Oregon Farms. But the facilitys economic benefit and creation of unionized jobs also has outward support from the Labor Caucus of the Democratic Party of Oregon, the chamber of commerce and the Columbia Economic Team, on top of recent permit approval by local jurisdictions. This project is a win for labor, industry and the environment, Labor Caucus Chair Donna Nyberg was quoted saying in a NEXT news release. Not only does it provide apprenticeship opportunities that allow people to earn fair wages while learning on the job, it also supports Oregons renewable fuel ambitions while restoring local wetland habitat. Dan Rocha, board secretary for the South Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, was quoted in a NEXT press release saying he agreed the facility would have positive effects on the states goal to have cleaner fuel supplies. NEXT is not only meeting the stringent regulations set forth by the ODSL, but they go above and beyond to protect and preserve our local water resources, Rocha said in the news release. Paul Vogel, executive director of Columbia Economic Team, also voiced support for NEXT, according to NEXTs news release. Vogel said the facility would have economic benefit and further Oregons clean energy and environmental policy objectives, according to the NEXT news release. We have overwhelming support, Hinrichs said. Our experience in this industry is that these projects are wanted and are needed for this transition away from petroleum diesel. Schilling said he hopes the environmental impact study reveals how much the facility will affect the farms who depend on the port. Preserving farmland is huge, Schilling said. Farmland is disappearing at exponential rates and its really alarming. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. From Oppo F21 Pro, Samsung Galaxy M33 5G to Vivo T1 Pro 5G, here are the smartphones under 30000 to launch in April 2022. Check list here. Can you imagine your life without a smartphone now? No, for doing every basic thing you require a smartphone. From calling to sharing media files, watching movies, playing games, you can do almost everything with the smartphone you have. With the increasing needs and improving technology, smartphone companies keep on updating and launching new phones in the market. There have been several smartphone launches in 2022 from companies like Apple, Samsung, Realme, Vivo, Oppo, among others, while many new launches are in line. Here are some of the smartphones under Rs. 30,000 that are going to launch in April 2022. From Oppo F21 Pro to Samsung Galaxy M33 5G, Vivo T1 Pro 5G, among others- check the list here. 1. OPPO F21 Pro OPPO has announced plans to launch the OPPO F21 Pro series in India on April 12 at 5 pm IST. The company has confirmed that both OPPO F21 Pro will come with an industry-first Fibreglass-Leather design. It will be available in Sunset Orange and Cosmic Black colour variants. On the other hand, OPPO F21 Pro 5G will come in Rainbow Spectrum and Cosmic Black colour variants. Launch Date: 12th April 2022 2. Samsung Galaxy M33 5G Samsung is preparing to launch a new M series mobile phone in India. The brand officially confirmed the launch date of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy M33 5G in the country on April 2 at 12 pm IST via e-commerce site Amazon. The smartphone will come in three colour options- Dark Blue, Khaki Green, and Brown. Samsung Galaxy M33 5G product page has already gone live on Samsung India's website. Moreover, a dedicated page for the same has also gone live on Amazon India website. Launch Date: 2nd April 2022 3. Vivo T1 Pro 5G Vivo brings the all-new T series smartphone to the Indian market that is aimed at customers seeking great performance with a low price tag. Vivo is all prepared to launch the new Vivo T1 Pro 5G on April 21, 2022 (Unofficial) in India. As for the colour options, the Vivo T1 Pro 5G smartphone may come in Black colour. Expected Launch Date: 3rd week of April 4. Motorola Edge 30 Motorola may soon launch Edge 30 in the market. The phone is the trimmed version of the Edge 30 Pro and has made several appearances on the certification website. Motorola Edge 30 has appeared on Geekbench with the model number XT2203-1. The listing shows the phone will come with Snapdragon 778G, Adreno 642L GPU, 8GB RAM and Android 12 OS. Motorola Edge 30 launch date is yet to be revealed. Expected Launch Date: 4th week of April Emoji bosses to not accept proposals for new flag emojis in the future unless one criteria is met. Read to know more. Emoji bosses have taken a big step on flag emojis! The Unicode Consortium, who manage emojis on a global level, have made a new announcement regarding the future of flag emojis. Specifically, it is the flag of emoji of any new category that will no longer be accepted. Unicode says that the addition of one flag creates exclusivity at the expense of other flags. Hence, for category flags, there will no more new emojis added to the emoji set. If the Emoji Subcommittee recommends the addition of a Catalonia flag emoji, then it looks like favoritism unless all the other subdivisions of Spain are added. And if those are added, what about the subdivisions of Japan or Namibia, or the Cantons of Liechtenstein? The inclusion of new flags will always continue to emphasize the exclusion of others. And there isnt much room for the fluid nature of politics countries change but Unicode additions are forever once a character is added it can never be removed, says Jennifer Daniel. Looking for a smartphone? To check mobile finder click here. Also read: Emoji bosses put a full stop on new emojis "Identities are fluid and unstoppable which makes mapping them to a formal unchanging universal character set incompatible," Daniel added. "We realise closing this door may come as a disappointment after all, flags often serve as a rallying cry to be seen, heard, recognised, and understood. When people ask for a new flag emoji, we recognize that the underlying request is about more than simply a new emoji. And when we say, We arent adding more flags, we are only saying changing the Unicode Standard is not an effective mechanism for this recognition, says Daniel. However, it is not the end of new flag emojis in totality. There is an exception to this ban. If one country gains independence and is recognised by the International Organisation of Standardisation), there will be a recommendation made to automatically put a flag to represent it with the need for a proposal. Unicode also makes it clear that it has no business to decide the appearance of flags, which is why it is up to the phone companies to update them in case of geopolitical reasons. Staten Island based Amazon.com Inc distribution center union organizer Chris Smalls celebrates with union members after getting the voting results to unionize Amazon warehouse on Staten Island, N.Y., Friday, April 1, 2022, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Credit: AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez Amazon workers in Staten Island, New York, voted to unionize on Friday, marking the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the retail giant's history and handing an unexpected win to a nascent group that fueled the union drive. Warehouse workers cast 2,654 votesor about 55%in favor of a union, giving the fledgling Amazon Labor Union enough support to pull off a victory. According to the National Labor Relations Board, which is overseeing the process, 2,131 workersor 45%rejected the union bid. The 67 ballots that were challenged by either Amazon or the ALU were not enough to sway the outcome. Federal labor officials said the results of the count won't be verified until they process any objectionsdue by April 8that both parties may file. The victory was an uphill battle for the independent group, made up of former and current workers who lacked official backing from an established union and were out-gunned by the deep-pocketed retail giant. Despite obstacles, organizers believed their grassroots approach was more relatable to workers and could help them overcome where established unions have failed in the past. They were right. Chris Smalls, a fired Amazon employee who has been leading the ALU in its fight on Staten Island, bounded out of the NLRB building in Brooklyn on Friday with other union organizers, pumping their fists and jumping, chanting "ALU." They uncorked a bottle of Champagne, and Smalls hailed the victory as a call to arms for other Amazon workers across the sprawling company. "I hope that everybody's paying attention now because a lot of people doubted us," he said. Smalls hopes the success in New York will embolden workers at other facilities to launch their own organizing campaigns. Even his group will soon shift their attention to a neighboring Amazon warehouse on Staten Island, where a separate union election is scheduled to be held in late April. Organizers believe Friday's win is going to make it easier for them to win there, too. Amazon Labor Union (ALU) members celebrates after an update during the voting results to unionize Amazon warehouse on Staten Island, N.Y., Friday, April 1, 2022, in Brooklyn borough of New York. If a majority of Amazon workers ultimately votes yes in either Staten Island or Bessemer, Ala., it would mark the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the company's history. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez) Credit: AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez Amazon posted a statement on its company website Friday saying that it was evaluating its options following the election. "We're disappointed with the outcome of the election in Staten Island because we believe having a direct relationship with the company is best for our employees," the post said. "We're evaluating our options, including filing objections based on the inappropriate and undue influence by the NLRB that we and others (including the National Retail Federation and U.S. Chamber of Commerce) witnessed in this election." The company did not elaborate but it signaled it might challenge the election based on a lawsuit filed in March by the NLRB, which sought to force Amazon to reinstate a fired employee who was involved in the union drive. NLRB spokesperson Kayla Blado responded to Amazon's statement by noting that the independent agency has been authorized by Congress to enforce the National Labor Relations Act. "All NLRB enforcement actions against Amazon have been consistent with that Congressional mandate," she said. Mark Cohen, director of retail studies at Columbia University, said he doesn't see how workers will benefit from a unionized Amazon facility and called the overall push to unionize companies misguided. He said that Amazon is a "highly disciplined and regimented" business willing to pay premium wages and good benefits, but it also demands tremendous output from its workers who work 10-hour shifts. "Amazon is not going to change their culture because there is now a union in their midst," Cohen said. ""They might be forced to let people work eight hours but those people will make less money." Amazon Labor Union (ALU) members celebrates after an update during the voting results to unionize Amazon warehouse on Staten Island, N.Y., Friday, April 1, 2022, in Brooklyn borough of New York. If a majority of Amazon workers ultimately votes yes in either Staten Island or Bessemer, Ala., it would mark the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the company's history. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez) Credit: AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez The successful union effort on Staten Island stood in contrast to the one launched in Bessemer, Alabama by the more established Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Workers at an Amazon warehouse there appeared to have rejected a union bid but outstanding challenged ballots could change the outcome. The votes were 993-to-875 against the union. A hearing to review 416 challenged ballots is expected to begin in the next few days. The union campaigns come at a time of widespread labor unrest at many corporations. Workers at more than 140 Starbucks locations around the country, for instance, have requested union elections and several of them have already been successful. But Amazon has long been considered a top prize for the labor movement given the company's massive size and impact. The results in Staten Island reverberated all the way to the White House. "The president was glad to see workers ensure their voices are heard with respect to important workplace decisions," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at Friday's briefing about the vote. "He believes firmly that every worker in every state must have a free and fair choice to join a union and the right to bargain collectively with their employer." John Logan, director of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University, said the union win was a potential tipping point two years into a pandemic that has shifted the labor landscape. "We knew that unions were having a moment, but this is much bigger," Logan said "There is no bigger prize than organizing Amazon." He added that the ALU's win defies traditional thinking that only national unions can take on big companies. But the group might still have a fight ahead of it, according to Erin Hatton, a sociology professor at the University of Buffalo in New York. Amazon Labor Union (ALU) member Tristan Lion Dutchin, 27, gestures as he waits the voting results, Friday, April 1, 2022, in the borough of New York. If a majority of Amazon workers ultimately votes yes in either Staten Island or Bessemer, Ala., it would mark the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the company's history. Credit: AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez "Getting Amazon to the bargaining table will be another feat all together," Hatton said. "Oftentimes the union will fizzle out because the company doesn't come to the bargaining table in good faith as they're obliged to do." Rebecca Givan, professor of labor studies at Rutgers University, said the victory is just the first step in a likely protracted battle against Amazon. "It's clear Amazon will keep fighting, they're not conceding that workers have a right to organize," she said. "It looks like the legal questions they've raised this afternoon suggest they're trying to undermine entire authority of NLRB." Amazon has pushed back hard in the lead-up to both elections in Staten Island and Bessemer. The retail giant held mandatory meetings, where workers were told unions are a bad idea. The company also launched an anti-union website targeting workers and placed English and Spanish posters across the Staten Island facility. In Bessemer, Amazon has made some changes to but still kept a controversial U.S. Postal Service mailbox that was key in the NLRB's decision to invalidate last year's vote. Both labor fights faced unique challenges. Alabama, for instance, is a right-to-work state that prohibits a company and a union from signing a contract that requires workers to pay dues to the union that represents them. The union landscape in Alabama is also starkly different from New York. Last year, union members accounted for 22.2% of wage and salary workers in New York, ranked only behind Hawaii, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's more than double the national average of 10.3%. In Alabama, it's 5.9%. Amazon workers in Staten Island are seeking longer breaks, paid time off for injured employees and an hourly wage of $30, up from a minimum of just over $18 per hour offered by the company. The estimated average wage for the borough is $41 per hour, according to a similar U.S. Census Bureau analysis of Staten Island's $85,381 median household income. Amazon JFK8 distribution center union organizer Jason Anthony speaks to media on Friday, April 1, 2022, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Amazon workers in Staten Island, N.Y. voted to unionize on Friday, marking the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the retail giant's history and handing an unexpected win to a nascent group that fueled the union drive. Credit: AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez Tristan Dutchin, who began working for the online retailer about a year ago, is hopeful that the new union will improve working conditions at his jobsite. "I'm excited that we're making history," Dutchin said. "This will be a fantastic time for workers to be surrounded in a better, safer working environment." Tinea Greenaway voted against unionizing but said she would reserve judgment for now. "We can't take back our votes," she said. "I'll give things a chance, but let's see if they deliver on what they promised." Explore further Labor groups close in on Amazon in two tight union elections (Update) 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.